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Demons
DemonsSee also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism.
ademonistone who denies the existence of the devil or demons.bogyism, bogeyismrecognition of the existence of demons and goblins.cacodemoniaa mania that causes a person to believe himself possessed and controlled by an evil spirit. Also cacodemonomania. — cacodemonic, cacodemoniac, adj.demonianism1. a belief in the possibility of possession by a demon.
2. demoniac possession. Also demoniacism. — demonian, adj. — demoniac, n., adj.demonism1. the belief in demons.
2. the worship of demons. Also demonolatry. — demonist, n.demonocracy1. the power of demons.
2. government or rule by demons. — demonocratic, adj.demonographydemonology. — demonographer, n.demonolatrythe worship, through propitiation, of ghosts, demons, and spirits. Also demonism.demonology1. the study of demons or superstitions about demons.
2. the doctrine of demons. Also demonography. — demonologist, n. — demonologic, demonological, adj.demonomagyObsolete, forms of magie that require the invocation or assistance of demons.demonomancya form of divination involving a demon or demons.demonomistObsolete, a person who is possessed by demons.demonomyObsolete, the sway or dominion of demons.demonophobiaan abnormal fear of spirits and demons.demonurgythe working of magie with the aid of demons. — demonurgist, n.devilismqualities and doctrines that are diabolical. — devilish, adj.energumena demoniac; a person possessed by an evil spirit. See also fadsexorcism1. the ceremony that seeks to expel an evil spirit from a person or place.
2. the act or process of exorcising. — exorcist, n. — exorcismal, exorcisory, exorcistic, exorcistical, adj.incubusa demon alleged to lie upon people in their sleep and especially to tempt women to sexual relations. — incubi, n. pl.nympholepsy1. an ecstatic variety of demonic possession believed by the ancients to be inspired by nymphs.
2. a frenzy of emotion, as for something unattainable. — nympholeptic, adj.pandemonismRare. the worship of spirits dwelling in all forms of nature.Pandemonium1. the abode of all demons; Heil.
2. any scène of wild confusion or disorder.polydemonism, polydaemonisma devotion to a multitude of demonic powers or spirits. — polydemonistic, polydaemonistic, adj.succubus, succubaa demon that assumes a female form to tempt men to intercourse, especially appearing in their dreams. — succubi, succubae, n. pl.IdiomsSeedemonDemons
 Demons and devils have become part of our collective unconscious, thus appearing not only in art and literature, but also in our dreams. (Detail of the fourteenth-century Catholic cathedral Duomo di Orvieto, Italy). Demons (dreams)The belief that malicious entities lie behind natural disasters and other unpleasant aspects of human life is very old and is still prevalent in many traditional societies. Especially before the development of scientific discoveries that proffered more neutral explanations for the irregularities of nature, it was not unreasonable to postulate that such beings were responsible for unexplainable natural disasters and diseases. While scientific explanations have gradually supplanted metaphysical explanations, demons and devils presently survive in the mythology of Carl Jung‘s collective unconscious and in other schools of the study of the mind that interpret evil forces as projections of human fear and/or as hallucinations. While often the two words are used interchangeably—devils from Greek diaballo (to throw across, i.e., an accuser) and demons from Greek daimon (spirit)—their meaning evolved through the centuries and within different religious contexts. Devils have always had a negative connotation as evil forces, whereas demons had more individual natures. Daimones in ancient Greece were tutelary, semi-divine spirits of either good or bad nature. In the early days of Judaism, demons did not have a big impact on the religious belief system. During the first Diaspora, when the Jews were in contact with the dualist vision of Zoroastrianism, a more defined role for demons was developed within the tradition, in particular in the aggadah that reflected the popular rabbinic beliefs. These mythological figures drew from the indigenous pagan beliefs (such as the shedim) and are believed to be either creations of God or offspring of Lilith, the first wife of Adam. In the Cabbala during the Middle Ages, the evil forces of the Jewish tradition took definite forms, names, and roles, although they were never really fully accepted into Orthodox Judaism. The Greek word daimon was introduced in the Roman and Hellenistic worlds to indicate evil forces, and thus entered early Christian writings with the negative connotation of impure spirits. The Judeo-Christian tradition elaborated upon the concept of the Devil as the fallen angel who tempted Adam and Eve and was forever banished from Paradise. Christian literature also drew upon the belief system of neighboring cultures in the depiction of the Apocalypse, in which demons appear that recall Jewish, Persian, and Mesopotamian myths. In the transmission of the texts of the Scriptures the devil (in Hellenistic Greek diabolos) came to be identified with Satan (a name used in the Hebrew Bible to indicate adversary). The belief in evil powers as the source of sicknesses and problems for humans is found in all the early Christian literature, and Christian theology acknowledges evil as necessary for the fulfillment of free will. From very early, Christianity developed the practice of exorcism to expel evil spirits who had taken over control of human individuals. In medieval Europe, the belief in the existence of demons came to be associated with witchcraft and contributed to the development of the practice of exorcism and witch hunting, which faded out only after the introduction of the religious skepticism of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. References to demons and their association with nightmares are frequent. Christian theologians often attributed dreams or nightmares with any sexual content to the influence of Satan and his demonic minions. Macrobius was the first ancient Christian to discuss seductive demons in Christian literature. In his thesis on dreams and nightmares, he included categories of apparitions and nightmares that were not previously cover by Aristotle. This included, but was not limited to, references to the nature of incubi, succubi, and the demon Lilith. The third-century Christian theologian Tertullian portrayed them as the most common cause of nightmares in A Treatise on the Soul. He assured his readers that any sins committed while dreaming were not the fault of the dream because these types of dreams were merely the attempts of various demons to lead the faithful astray. St. Thomas Aquinas also acknowledged the direct or indirect invocations of demons in particular dreams and nightmares. When considering the emphasis that the western Christian world placed on celibacy it becomes apparent why demons were blamed for sexual dreams. It was not common for the clergy of this period to acknowledge their internal demons. Quite often, they just redoubled their efforts on controlling and eliminating external demons. If one looks farther back, it is possible to find just as many pre-Christian references to demons. In ancient Mesopotamia, demons were included as instigators of nightmares, along with evil spirits and spirits of the dead. A demon that resembled a goat was the cause of erotic dreams. Lilith was associated with sexual dreams that a person experienced while sleeping alone in a house, regardless of gender, because Lilith could change her physical form. Naamah (Lilith’s sister) and Igrath were both female demons who were responsible for nocturnal emissions. |