What are Demons? Demonology, Magick & Psychology

Witchy Wisdom
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One final thing for now, now that I’ve thought of it.

Many different types of offerings can be given to demons. However, with some demons, some see the sacrifice of a vice as the most appropriate offering. So, for example, vowing to quit smoking, spend less, eat less, or whatever it may be, for a certain amount of time or indefinitely, in exchange for something is not uncommon.

But for some, whether it’s because we don’t have such obvious vices or just don’t want to give them up, the usual offerings of alcohol, gems, metals, herbs, tobacco, coffee, and whatnot particular to the demon also work. The exception is in the case of Lucifer, who some say only accepts prayer. But some also say the sacrifice of a vice is good, too.

In many cases, it’s also proper to give an offering before requesting something and not after, to not imply that the offering is a payment for services, but actually an offering freely given.

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I just wanted to pop in and say it’s really neat to hear about your studies and knowledge indemonology, @starborn! I don’t currently work with demons in my practice, but it’s a topic that is fascinating to hear about from those who have studied it closely. Thank you! :pray:

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Oh wow! I have really enjoyed reading the post & following thread! I :heart: love the explanations & learned so much too. So… now I’m curious & at some point today probably going to wind up in a rabbit hole of some kind… I have never worked with or summoned any that I know of… but also do understand where or how they an or are a part of your psyche. Also, a deeper than shadow work or side type of thing.

I have a lot to look into & kind of pieve together!

Thank you for all the insights! :hugs:

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@starborn You mention the arch angel Lucifer in with the demons. Is he seen in this way? I’ve never seen him as a demon, more of a much maligned, misunderstood angel. It makes sense that he would prefer prayer as an offering, as an angel I think. I don’t know. You also mention Satan. The church I used to belong to before I left it, put Lucifer and Satan as one of the same, but to me I view Satan and Devil more as descriptive titles for the actions of a person/entity, and always thought of Lucifer seperate from these names. I worship Loki, another much misunderstood deity and often accused of being Satan too. Interesting how both Lucifer and Loki have upside down triangles as sigils. Just curious on your view? :heartpulse:

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God or Demon is merely perspective. :imp: This discussion presents me with yet another rabbit hole in this baby witch’s education. :pray:

:goat:

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@Shadeweaver Gotta keep it lively. Never get bored. :rofl::joy:

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Lucifer is seen this way by many, but as you (perhaps) imply, yeah, there’s no right answer – we’re all just humans trying to understand things beyond our material understanding, so perceptions vary. A lot. If there’s one thing in common with all demonolatrists, it’s that they can’t agree on anything. :joy:

My bible studies aren’t thorough (between being exposed to Anglicanism as a child and whatever I’ve studied out of curiosity since), but I was taught that Lucifer was a fallen (arch) angel. Since studying demons, a la demonolatry, I’ve learnt that all the ranked demons were once angels. For example, some see Belial as having been the angel that was Lucifer’s most loyal when they were still in heaven.

For example, here’s an excerpt from Introduction to Demonic Magick:

Luciferians believe that Lucifer co-created with the Abrahamic “God”, all that exists. We believe that it was Lucifer who was determined to be the Light Bearer for humanity. We believe that his determination to protect mankind’s free will and refusal to allow humans as puppets caused the grand separation of the Abrahamic God and Lucifer.

It goes on to add:

People forget that Lucifer was also technically an Angel and did not lose his moral code.

Now, of course, popular culture doesn’t represent truth either, but it does give an idea of what the societal norm is. In the USA-influenced world, there are many references to Lucifer as the king of hell, Satan himself, and so on. From movies like Constantine, The Ninth Gate, and The Devil’s Advocate, to TV series like Supernatural, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Lucifer (some more, Devil in the arts and popular culture - Wikipedia). Many of them make him out to be really evil, but in more recent times, they’re starting to depict him as being misunderstood more and more. For example, Lucifer in Lucifer is mostly a decent guy that has a real chip on his shoulder about all this slandering by humans, while Lucifer in Sabrina is ultimately shown to be a caring father who does what he feels is right but does some kind of nasty stuff along the way.

Overall, it’s kind of in part due to Lucifer’s misunderstanding by the majority that I am drawn to supporting him as a demon. That being said, my patron is firstly Hekate, and then I keep close ties with Lilith. I don’t know how to put my perspective on Lucifer himself into words yet, other than to say that there is a lot of respect. But there is time yet for me to figure all of this out for myself.

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@starborn Thankyou for this. Very interesting. I like the point

I tend to agree with this, I think if you’ve lived by this moral code as angels have for millennium, why would it suddenly disappear overnight. The fall of Adam and Eve, I feel is inpart, their own responsibility. We all have choices put before us, it’s up to us to decide what path we take. God gave all life free will, so I do feel a bit that Lucifer has taken a heavier share of the blame. Anyways, I don’t know him, but I tend to agree that angels whether heaven or earth would probably keep their moral code, which is probably why he likes prayers. :heartpulse:

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According to christianity, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden for defying God’s command. It’s mentioned in the Bible, God even ordered angels with flaming swords to protect the entrance to prevent any other man and woman from entering ever again. OK, we can talk about heaven vs Eden, but truly, it’s just a naming convention. There is no geographical data. I can’t help, but to notice the resemblance with Satan’s story. He was kicked out of heaven, too and as of that moment Satan is kinda persona non grata there… I always ask myself a question - how we, humans, should be perceived in that case? But, I am a total rookie and it’s just one of many thoughts going through my mind. There is no black and white. Just a million shades of grey. All I know is that it’s easier to control humans when you put something in easy frames “THIS - good, but THAT - bad”. Society seems to need it unfortunately.

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@marta

This is so true. I feel life and all the beautiful entities that we share it with, are so much deeper and more complex than simple good and bad. :heartpulse: They have personalities, history, feelings, they change and evolve over time.

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I feel life and all the beautiful entities that we share it with, are so much deeper and more complex

They really are, aren’t they. :smile:

Why judge anyone on their past

I’m gonna be honest, my mind slipped back into some traumatic memories reading this. I know you were referring to entities and not people, but I guess a part of my mind didn’t get the memo.

I suppose it’s a sign that I’m not ready to think this – it’s possible I won’t ever be. Perhaps part of my draw to Lilith is because, like her depictions as a demonic entity, I refuse to forget and forgive.

But on the other hand, I’m grateful for the reminder that things haven’t always been as good as they are now, as my mind likes to shut it all out. Repress the pain. But now that I’ve grown some, I’ve found that to remember is more humbling than crippling.

And gives me the angry/passionate fire I use to strive to do better myself and do more for others. :fire:

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For me Forgiveness comes rather easily, but I seldom Forget. They say we are taught lessons over and over until we understand. Throughout my life I have been humbled… I suppose I ought to work on that a bit more :sweat_smile:

I feel this is why we are here. To learn, to feel. :sparkling_heart: Many of us learn a small portion of what we are interested in and feel we have an understanding of it (myself included… especially). I am the poster child for *** don’t do it this way *** so we get ourselves in trouble with “Powers”
we don’t understand and can not possibly control.

It is trough discussions like this we gain the knowledge to do or refrain from doing things that may be dangerous to us all. I Love you all :purple_heart: let’s be safe and learn together. :heart_on_fire:

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@starborn Didn’t mean to trigger any painful memories with my statement. Sorry beautiful. I’ve taken out the “why judge anyone on their past”, :sparkling_heart:. That’s the Loki in me, words run away. :person_facepalming: I was speaking mainly of angels and demons. Take care lovely. :kissing_heart:

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This post reminds of the chilling adventures of Sabrina so now I’m watching it again.lol Your very intuitive and I really appreciate the knowledge you share it has sent me too down a rabbit hole but a good one thank you for sharing :blush::crystal_ball::sparkles:

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@starborn having been raised in a VERY Catholic family. (Much better way to phrase that in this context) Originally my views :thinking: beliefs on Lucifer were that he was… the Devil, Satan, what have you. (Please bear in mind there is A LOT that I do not remember or can recall about my younger years) So I can’t actually remember if it was ever expressed or mentioned him being a Fallen Angel.

That being said, I had neber really looked into or gone down that rabbit hole until my oldest (24 year old) one day said, “Mom, you NEED to watch this show called Lucifer. It’s entertaining but also leads to a different perspective of Lucifer & his relationship to the Arch Angels, Demons, God, & his wife… that I think you’ll at the very least be interested in regardless of the storyline of the episodes.”

Promptly enter… rabbit :rabbit2: holes for days :laughing:

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I have a fun little memory of when I was something like 5 or 6 and drawing things for my own mom :blush: I drew a kind of spiral and told her that this is our planet Earth, and that when you travel all the way around it, you’ll come across a cave, that will lead all the way down, and that’s where you find Hell, and that there’s this really neat lake of fire… :sweat_smile: :fire: I remember she was especially disturbed by that last part, asking me how I know about the lake of fire… I was just like, I do :joy:

I also remember that she told me a story about Lucifer once, how he had been a beautiful angel of light, and was cast out because of his disobedience… I really liked her stories :blush: :heart:

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That show was fun. But for me, I think it was mostly because of the supporting characters. I love Maze! And Ella is great. :black_heart: Lucifer himself was a little unbearable for me, especially at the start, when his sky-high ego was getting a little hurt by Chloe’s existence. :joy:

I love that you thought the lake of fire was neat. :joy: That’s a really cool story. You already just knew things and were comfortable with your knowledge. :sparkles:

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How interesting. It’s weird, maybe it’s because I’m married into a Cypriot Greek family, but hell has never been a place of torment. My mother in law told me, “hell is from the Greek word “Hades” and Hades is where the dead go, but it’s nothing to fear, the fire is to cleanse away the bad stuff darling.” So even when I was a Christian and read the Bible, I never saw hell as a scary place, more a place of rest. :thinking: Funny this memory coming back now. I also remember Lucifer being described as this beautiful angel. I’ve never watched the TV show, the only TV Lucifer I saw was in Supernatural. There is one scene where he has a conversation with God and starts to believe that he may be forgiven and allowed back into the family, the way the actor played Lucifer was so delicate and precious, his face filled with hope, only to have it crushed when he realised he was being manipulated to get some info (I can’t remember now what it was) it made me cry. :pleading_face:. There were many little gems in how he played Lucifer, he wasn’t just a bad guy, but he played him complex, traumatized, hurt, all those feelings, he tried to show, not just the villian. I kept thinking, if Sam and Dean would just give this guy a chance things would be ok, :person_shrugging: Funny how I’m remembering this too, going to have to dig out the episode. :sparkling_heart:

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@CelestiaMoon @starborn @tracyS Lucifer was a really fun show for us to watch… & it was something we both enjoyed & got a few good laughs out of too :laughing: I really liked Maze & Ella. Dan… I don’t know I just didn’t like him :rofl: At first Lucifer (The actor that portrayed him nailed the character & his portrayal… it made it very… believable, maybe? Idk… I just really liked how much he put into being Lucifer the way they wanted him to come off in the show & having to accept some hard truths & being humbled. I also really loved that his name was Lucifer Morningstar) having the crazy ego I was like… Oh my aren’t we just way too self-absorbed? Take it down 50 notches there guy. Then when it set in that he was definitely “upset” about Chloe, I was like… ah… just stop, you need to just not :rofl:

As the show went on & I really got “involved” with the outer storylines of the characters & happenings & not necessarily the “case” they were working on for that episode…

It was also kind of a great thing for my son & me, we both watched it & would talk to each other… Since at the time he didn’t live with me the conversations always started with… *“Mom… where are you with Lucifer? What was the last episode you watched? Or have you started the new season yet?” Then conversations all about the everything :joy:

I always got upset or emotional when they would show the wings or wings being cut off or whatever or when Amenadiel (sp??) lost his… I always hated those times. I can remember a couple of scenes that I was just enamored by the actual scene & the beauty of the scenes.

The therapist though, (I can’t remember her name for the life of me) :rofl: that poor woman. She handled it all like a champ… I was a bit taken aback by how much I agreed with some of Maze’s solutions & reasoning at times but I absolutely loved her character.

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Oh gosh, he was intense. I thought that portrayal was cool.

I recently finished the last season, and… gosh, he got done dirty by his brother at the end. It stuck with me how sad his moment of death was. But that was the case for many characters along the way. Sigh. I miss Meg… She went out a badass at least.

Aww, yes. That’s the best part sometimes! Sharing the experience with another. I love that for you. :black_heart:

I do that with my partner. Sometimes I’ll watch a bit of a show to vet it and then we’ll watch it together and talk about it as we watch. :smile:

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