Introducing the Demons

Introduction to Demonology: Small Treatise by Jymie Darling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Treatise on Demonology

Local magician , Jymie Darling, has generated a small but very informational treatise on various types of demons that spans across several cultures and philosophies. Stating off with the ancient Sumerians she describes the demons that plagued our first society and then goes through the Judeo Christian , indian ,native american and finally Gnostic traditions. The information provided in this book is top notch. The book is not a how to but rather an excellent overview. I have no complaints about her knowledge or writing style, rather there are editing issues that I noticed occurred with the kindle edition. The biggest problem is that the photos and illustrations cover over the text in many places. This blots out lots of information. A major drag. Having known the author and conversed with her let me tell you she is supernaturally intelligent. I wish she would write a much longer book. In fact I wish this book was longer.
In Sumerian mythos which carries into Assyrian and Babylonian demons. The first class of demons are the demons who are god like. In a sense they are gods and goddesses of evil. The second class of demons are those wandering spirits of the undead , who may be angry or vengeful. The last kind of demon are those that are half human half demon. There were also winged demons who could bring evil to people or guard against evil. The author warns that when working with demons it is important to use incantation that are specific to their home religion. In other words you cannot threaten a demon like Labartu, Sumerian demon with the name adinai or Jesus as he would not know who they are. Important of note is that demons and gods tend to evolve,especially as they go through different religion's. They will get different names and characteristic. Still! Context is important.

In Egypt demons did not have specific names, rather when they were called upon they would be called based on a certain characteristic. An example!e would be the demon of anger. Next is the Judeo Christian tradition. Everyone is familiar with Satan and Lucifer they are supposedly names of the same being .Lucifer and Satan have different meaning as does Baalzebub . different names for the devil noting his different characteristics. Many of the demons were in fact formerly pagan gods.Look through the key of Solomon. Demons I. This philosophy can possess and harass. Several demand names are mentioned and what they do.

In India rakashas and asuras are prevalent demonic figures. There are also vitelas, pishachas and Bhutas. Vitelas tend to inhabit cadaver of rotting flesh. Some times they attach to the living and cause various misfortune. Bhutan spirits are angry spirits that haunt certain locales. Pishachas feed on flesh..The treatise next goes into Buddhist demons called Narakas who dwell in our world below.The demons are hot and cold narakas. Their leader is Mara.

Next the author covers Native American demons. These demons tend to harrass rather than possess, although that can happen. The most famous of these is the Wendigo, a human turned demon due to cannabilism .Going from native american philosophies the author covers Gnosticism. Demons here are of an internal nature , like greed, anger and lust . There are seven manifestation of these inner demons. Lastly there is a huge list of demob names at the end.a great addition would be a bibliography. I reccomend this book highly but get the printed version not the kindle.

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Do You Believe in Faeries

The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book might be old but it is not dated. I think most people these days that right on Faery-Craft often times refer to this book. I would call it the bible of the Faery faith.
Back around the turn of the century the author went on a little tour of the Celtic countries in order to assess the Faery faith. He travelled to Iraeland, Wales, Scotland, and Britany in France. In this book he talks with people who have stated that they have had Faery experiences. Information from the interviews is presented along with historical research. The Faery faith might not be too much alive in the city but in the country side it was being practiced more regularly.

There are several theories as to what the faeries are and what their origins are. The one the author favors is the psychological theory where in the faeries or belief in them stems from a need to explain phenomena in nature. Other theories would suggest that the faeries descends from the Tuatha De Danan, or Celtic gods. They have been reduced to small being thanks to Christianization. This theory hold weight in Ireland. They are often described at being of light and extremely tall. Driven underground by Milesian invader they dwell in underground dwellings. They come out at night sometimes riding in a crowd. People will leave offering for them on their front steps so as to placate them and avoid vengeance.

In Scotland they are viewed as fallen angels. It was said that during Satans rebellion, the renegade Angels were cast out of heaven. Some went to Hell others were trapped on Earth. In Wales they are considered the spirits of the dead who can come back at certain times. In Brittany it is more animist where they are the spirits of the trees and plants. The faeries no matter where they are or their origins seem to behave the same. They need offerings in rider to gain their favor and keep vengeance at bay. They can steal a baby and replace it with a changeling. Sometimes a Faery can possess a human being.

So not only is the lore examined but also ancient religious belief of the Celts. They believe that every living thing had a nu men or life essence. They believed in reincarnation where once someone died they would come to life in another body. The world of the fae is sometimes underneath the sea, the ground r in the land of the dead. Sometimes not much distinction is rented between the dead and the fae as they share the same characteristics.. In some places they are larger than humans and in others they have are smaller.

You want too read a good book on the fae well then right this way.

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Sacred Tanta forthe Modern Day: DMK Study series #4

Modern Tantra: Living One of the World's Oldest, Continuously Practiced Forms of Pagan Spirituality in the New Millennium by Donald Michael Kraig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here come a tour de force by Donald Michael Kraig, unfortunately this is also his last work and too bad for that. DMK was a luminary to the pagan world and he was every knowledgeable so that everyone learned from. I have read his book on Tarot magic and I have his book Modern Magick, which I still have to read.

Tantra is probably the oldest form of pagan spirituality that is still intact. It was an oral tradition with nothing written down till , historically speaking, quite recently. It was the practice of the Harrapan people or the Saraswati. Once the indo European took over they subsumed the spirituality of the natives and what was not useful they banned. Tantra might be what they banned. It involves free thinking and the smashing of taboos. There are many traditions within Tantra and sometime they are in agreement and sometimes at odds.

According to legend there was an enlightened group of people living in Shambala. A mad man set off a primative bomb that devastated the place. The king and queen took everyone to live underground. Eventually the brother and sister parted ways each developing separate yet related spiritual traditions. In reality there must have been a disaster that sent the people out in different directions. Their culture and influence had a profound impact on the world culture in general.

For a western pagan this is a good primer. Some kabbalistic ideas are brought in for comparison, especially in comparison to chakras and the tree of life. The main deities of Tantra are Shiva and Shakti. Shiva, the male, represents form while the goddess represents the animTing energy. A couple of terms are worthy of note. Brahman is the suprem deity. All other deities are a reflections of him. Atman is the highest spiritual nature of man. Prana is energy. Chakras connect the five bodies of man and act as a nexus for energy.

The book contains good instruction on banishing an area, summoning deity and some sound meditations. Rituals for occasions and purposes are included along with tools you might need. Mantras and bij mantras are included for given purposes. The author spent a lot of t time discussing Shri yantra. A shape representing the goddess.

This book is a great start, you can add subtract as you will. Everything is individual. Namaste


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The Sacred Whore of Babylon

The Red Goddess by Peter Grey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It just goes to show you cannot keep a good goddess down. Much is made of Babalon, sex goddess so revered by Aleister Crowley. Outside of Crowley's work and that of his protégés you may not hear much about Babalon, but fear not she is there. Perhaps the most recent thing we hear about her is thousands of years old, the Book of Revelations, written by John Patmos in some meditative state.

The whore of Babylon is ultimately put down as the most evil thing about. She seduced men with the grail filled with her filth and polluted wine of whoredom. Of course Revelations was written during the time the Romans had control over Judea. They were not talking about Babylon but rather Rome. She was the whore of Babylon. But the whore of Babylon who makes it with a dragon and gives birth to the antichrist was in fact a pagan goddess.

So who was this pervasive goddess who hides silently in the shadows waiting for the right moment to emerge. Now many have confused her with Lilith, various Egyptian goddesses like Isis, Hathor or Sekhment. Of these she is neither. Lilith who lives in a tree and oft associated with owls , snakes and flying demons that suck the life out of men in fact may have been the niece of this goddess. Liliths were also sacred priestesses or concubines of this goddess.

This was a goddess of love and war. She is hot burning passion riding on a lion into battle. She takes any man she desires and lives for sec not necessarily to ha e kids. This goddess had temples everywhere. She challenged death and won to rescue her lover. The siburi sometimes gave men intoxicating el mental like opium,hash, shrooms and alcohol to reach that divine state of bliss.

This books does contain some tips on sex magic and using roses in the ritual. Oops did I forget to tell you who this goddess was? Guess you will ha e to read the book to find out

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Grimoire of Pope Honorious

The Complete Grimoire of Pope Honorius by David Rankine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Could you believe that Catholic Popes used to practice magic? Yeah that is write they summoned demons, Angels and other spirits to do their bidding. This Grimoire is one of the oust famous. It has had an impact on several other European grimoires. Most notable would be the Red Dragon Grimoire. It maybe have been influenced by the keys of Solomon and the works of Cornelius Agrippa. There were also several addition to this Grimoire.

The Grimoire has it's most value as a historical document to study. The book has several invocations including one to have the book bless the owner. There are several ways of calling quarters and casting a circle depending on how you want too do your working. There are also secrets or folk magic spells on how to win games , cure sicknesses, win over a lover and to dominate a lover. The appendices are rather lengthy and at times they seem to be space fillers. Several entries will say that the spell is mentioned elsewhere.

A big question that remains is how useful is the book. The invocations can used and adopted for those who are pagans r anything but CHristian. Some of the working call for serial days of fasting and some of them call for items that would involve the harm of animals to obtain. Such things are not useful, especially when it comes to hurting animals to get stuff. Fasting is rather difficult. The authors name various intelligences and when to work with them. This is useful.

I myself grind Grimoire magic rather complicated and hard t figure out. I prefer something a bit more on the simple side. Reading vast amounts of material and experimenting can help you figure that out.

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The Darkspears in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft: Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde by Michael A. Stackpole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tying in books to video games has become en vogue for a good many years now. This series is based on the online subscription game World of War Craft. The story centers around a troll named Vol’jin leader of the Dark Spears. The rest of the characters are dog like or furry creatures called Pandaren and of course they live on Pandaria, an island continent that kin of reminds me of Australia. The shado Pan are Pandarian monks ho practice martial arts that enhance their mental powers. These monks are clearly based on the Shaolin Monks of China.
A little background on the story. Pnadaria used to be controlled by the Mogu, giant magical beings that seems to live forever. They ha been buried a god long time an no want to rise with the help of the Zandalari, powerful troll nation. An armed conflict I raging between the human Alliance and the trollish Horde. The trolls, or at least many of them wish to revive the old troll empire an rule the world. The story line itself is rather simple, Chen a brewmaster is called to a river in order to rescue and heal a wounded troll. That troll is Vol’jin who was set up by his leader Garrosh. Being ambushed in a cave by Surok creatures and ogres, Vol’jin is thought to be dead. While healing at the monastery he befriends a human named Tarathan. Together they become friends and allies against a Zandalari /Mogu invasion.During the invasion they offer resistance, get captured and then set traps for the invaders. At the end is an intense conflict.

The story line to this rather simple as you have just read above, there is a lot of going inside the characters head and dealing with l their thought. Some of them are rather extraneous and not important to the plot nor story line. The book was somewhat difficult at times to get into. But over ll an enjoyable read.

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Nordic Folk Magic

Trolldom - Spells and Methods of the Norse Folk MagicTradition by Johannes Gårdbäck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finally a book on Norse Folk magic! The book is mostly a collection of various spells used for a variety of reasons. The spells are based on pre Christian methods but in reality a variety of spiritual entities are called upon. Occasionally Thor and Odin will show up in a spell, on even more occasions the devil and his demons will be summoned, and finally most of all the Christian deities of Jesus, Mother Mary and the Holy Ghost are invoked. The reason the methods survived and not the belief in deity is that when Christianity took over, the Norse used the same spells and prayer but adopted them too different saints and other spiritual creatures in the Christian Pantheon. So the saints after a while get the prayers.

Trolldom is any sort of magic that falls outside the official purview of the Church. The spells include the usual gambit of blessing the field and cattle, protecting the cattle and farmstead from both magic and regular human assault. There are a variety of spells for revenge, hunting luck, getting Justice , so forth and so on. There is also extensive discussion on divination and talk of the different spiritual creatures that are still worked with.

While I am not too sure about how many people use this magic, I think the numbers are dwindling. The spells are relatively simple which would qualify this as low magic, or magic to obtain things. Some of them are impractical cause they ask you to take the parts of a dead man, or hair of an intended lover or put something in their food. No one is going to do that. There are other spells that can be used and they are simple to perform.

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