Plague of Demons

[WitchBoy]

ABRACAX



The name of this demon is probably a corruption of Abrasax, also known as Abraxas, a god of the Gnostics who had the head of either a cock or a lion, the body of a man, and serpents for legs. Note that the legs of Abracax are depicted as serpents.

The numerical values of the Greek letters in the Gnostic name Abrasax sum 365, the number of days in the year. This is also the number value of the Greek letters in the name Mithras, inviting the speculation that these two gods are one.

E. A. Wallis Budge wrote about this Gnostic deity: "Abrasax represented the 365 Aeons or emanations from the First Cause, and as a Pantheus, i.e. All-God, he appears on the amulets with the head of a cock (Phoebus) or of a lion (Ra or Mithras), the body of a man, and his legs are serpents which terminate in scorpions, types of the Agathodaimon. In his right hand he grasps a club, or a flail, and in his left is a round or oval shield." (Amulets and Talismans, p. 209)

It was common for the gods and goddesses of pagan religions and heretic sects to be reduced to the status of demons by Christian writers. Indeed, deities of heretic religions formed the primary source for Christian demons.

[WitchBoy]

AMDUSIAS



Amdusias (also spelled Amduscias and Amdukias) is one of the demons of hell described in the Goetia, one of the books of the manuscript grimoire known as the Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon. He is mentioned by Johann Wierus in his Pseudomonarchia daemonum, and by Reginald Scot in The Discoverie of Witchcraft. The Goetia asserts about this demon:

"He is a Duke Great and Strong, appearing at first like a Unicorn, but at the request of the Exorcist he standeth before him in Human Shape, causing Trumpets, and all manner of Musical Instruments to be heard, but not soon or immediately. Also he can cause Trees to bend and incline according to the Exorcist's Will. He giveth Excellent Familiars. He governeth 29 Legions of Spirits."

In Collin de Plancy's illustration, shown above, Amdusias is crowned to show that he is a duke of hell. He has been given a horse's head to go with his single horn, because unicorns are usually represented in the shape of a horse. Two trumpets lie on the ground, and a third trumpet is slung over his shoulders.

[WitchBoy]

ANDREALPHUS




"Andrealphus is a great marquesse, appearing as a peacocke, he raiseth great noises, and in humane shape perfectlie teacheth geometrie, and all things belonging to admeasurements, he maketh a man to be a subtill disputer, and cunning in astronomie, and transformeth a man into the likenes of a bird, and there are under him thirtie legions." (Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, page 224).

We know that this demon is very vain and proud, since he comes in the form of a peacock. The animal forms assumed by the demons express their true natures and personalities in a symbolic way. "Admeasurement" is an old word for practical mathematics. It was also known as mensuration. By astronomy the demon means practical astrology, the actual casting and interpretation of astrological charts. It is unlikely that this demon could physically change a human being into the shape of a bird, but more probable that he merely cast a glamour over the victim so that he thought himself to be a bird, and saw himself as a bird.

[WitchBoy]

BAEL



Bael or Baell has the distinction of being placed first of the seventy-two demons described in the Goetia. Collin de Plancy has identified this demon with the biblical god Baal by changing the spelling of the demon's name to match that of the god, but as I have indicated elsewhere, a similarity in names does not always indicate identity.

The word ba'al means Lord. Baal was worshipped by the Israelites on high places in the form of a phallic stone called a massebah, probably with rituals involving sexual union. He was a god of fertility. He also appears to have inspired the name of the demon Belphegor -- one of the forms of Baal was Baal-Peor (Numbers 25:3).

Concerning the demon Bael, the Goetia states: "The First Principal Spirit is a King ruling in the East, called Bael. He maketh thee to go Invisible. He ruleth over 66 Legions of Infernal Spirits. He appeareth in divers shapes, sometimes like a Cat, sometimes like a Toad, and sometimes like a Man, and sometimes all these forms at once. He speaketh hoarsely."

[WitchBoy]

BEELZEBUB





Beelzebub is a prince of hell whose name is usually translated Lord of the Flies (beelzeboub) but which should probably be translated Lord of the Earth (beelzeboul). He is one of the oldest and most famous demonic figures, having been derived from the local god of the Philistine city of Ekron, mentioned in the Old Testament. Evidently Beelzebub had command over disease, which may explain the popular version of his name. Flies congregate around the corpses of the dead, and spread disease from the dead to the living. In the Bible, messengers are sent to the priests of Baal-zebub in Ekron to inquire by divination whether or not a man will recover from sickness (Second Kings 1:2).

According to the inspired vision of the possessed Catholic nun Sister Madeleine of Aix-en-Provence, Beelzebub is one of the rulers of the infernal regions. "Beelzebub was Prince of the Seraphim, the next unto Lucifer. For all the princes, that is to say all the chief of the nine choirs of angels, are fallen; and of the choir of Seraphim there fell the three first, to wit, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Leviathan, who did all revolt." Sister Madeleine further reported that Beelzebub's office is to tempt men with the sin of pride, and that his heavenly adversary is the humble Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Renaissance magician Cornelius Agrippa classed Beelzebub among the demonic order of False Gods, who in his opinion have their place in the lower reflection of Kether. "There are some of the school of the theologians who distribute the evil spirits into nine degrees, as contrary to the nine orders of the angels. Therefore the first of these are those which are called False Gods, who usurping the name of God, would be worshipped for gods, and require sacrifices and adorations, as that Devil, who saith to Christ, if thou wilt fall down and worshop me, I will give thee all these things, showing him all the kingdoms of the world; and the prince of these is he who said, I will ascend above the height of the clouds, and will be like to the Most High; who is therefore called Beelzebub, that is, an old god." This would seem to place Beelzebub above even Lucifer. The leader of the Golden Dawn, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, put Beelzebub in the second demonic order in the sphere of Chokmah, below Satan and Moloch but above Lucifer (see the Kabbalah Unveiled, plate IV).

All of these systems of associations are speculative, and none of them should blindly be accepted as the supreme authority. The only thing we can state with certainty is that Beelzebub is very high up the rank of demons in hell.

[WitchBoy]

CASSIEL





Cassiel is not strictly speaking a demon of hell, but a ruling spirit of Saturday. When works of magic are conducted that fall within his authority, they are done on his day of the week, and his power is invoked to insure their fulfillment. There is often a fine line in Western magic between a spirit and a demon, as the illustration of Cassiel from Francis Barrett's The Magus indicates. Physically, nothing distinguishes Cassiel from dozens of infernal demons described in the Goetia. He is shown as a bearded king with wings and scaly skin, who rides on the back of a winged dragon, and carries in his right hand an arrow. Cassiel is described in the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy (which is a grimoire of magic falsely attributed to Cornelius Agrippa) as "A King having a beard, riding on a Dragon."

Francis Barrett stated concerning the spirits of Saturday "the nature of them is to sow discords, hatred, evil thoughts and cogitations, to give leave to kill and murder, and to lame or maim every member." This is demonic enough that Cassiel can safely be classed as a demon for all practical purposes. Barrett adds an interesting footnote about the kingly appearance of Cassiel: "Those spirits who appear in a kingly form, have a much higher dignity than them who take an inferior shape; and those who appear in a human shape, exceed in authority and power them that come as animals; and again, these latter surpass in dignity them who appear as trees or instruments, and the like: so that you are to judge of the power, government, and authority of spirits by their assuming a more noble and dignified apparition."

[WitchBoy]

FLAUROS





The infernal demon Flauros (also known by the variant names Haures, Hauras, Havres) is the sixty-fourth demon described in the Goetia:

"He is a Great Duke, and appeareth at first like a Leopard, Mighty, Terrible, and Strong, but after a while, at the Command of the Exorcist, he putteth on Human Shape with Eyes Flaming and Fiery, and a most Terrible Countenance. He giveth True Answers of all things, Present, Past, and to Come. But if he be not commanded into a Triangle, he will Lie in all these Things, and deceive and beguile the Exorcist in these things or in such and such business. He will, lastly, talk of the Creation of the World, and of Divinity, and of how he and other Spirits fell. He destroyeth and burneth up those who be the Enemies of the Exorcist should he desire it; also he will not suffer him to be tempted by any other Spirit or otherwise. He governeth 36 Legions of Spirits..."

The text given by Reginald Scot in his Discoverie of Witchcraft is somewhat different from that in S. L. MacGregor Mathers' edition of the Goetia, quoted above. It reads:

"Flauros a strong duke, is seene in the forme of a terrible strong leopard, in humane shape, he sheweth a terrible countenance, and fierie eies, he answereth trulie and fullie of things present, past, and to come; if he be [not] in a triangle, he lieth in all things and deceiveth on other things, and beguileth in other busines, he gladlie talketh of the divinitie, and of the creation of the world, and of the fall; he is constrained by divine vertue, and so are all divels or spirits, to burne and destroie all the conjurors adversaries. And if he be commanded, he suffereth the conjuror not to be tempted, and he hath twentie legions under him."

The square brackets above are mine. It is obvious that an error was made in Scot's text -- probably the error was in his manuscript source. Demons are usually invoked into a triangle, which in the Goetia is described as three feet long on each side, and located two feet away from the edge of the magic circle. The triangle is equilateral, and points away from the circle in the direction associated with the demon, if there is a particular direction linked to the demon (in the illustration in the Goetia it is shown pointing toward the east). A smaller circle fills the center of the triangle. The name of the angel Michael is written in the points of the triangle outside the boundary of the circle it contains -- the letters "Mi" are inscribed in the lower-left point of the triangle (from the perspective of the magus inside the great circle), the letters "ch" are inscribed in the upper point of the triangle, and the letters "al" are put in the lower-right point. Along the base of the triangle of evocation is written the word "Primeumaton," along the left side the word "Arrephezaton," and along the right side the word "Tetragrammaton."

[WitchBoy]

The primary purpose of the triangle is to bring forth the demon into visible appearance, but its secondary purpose is to contain the demon and allow it to be commanded and compelled by the magus. When the demon is within the triangle, it is not wandering around the ritual chamber causing trouble, and cannot depart from the triangle without the permission of the magus. It is the smaller circle within the triangle that constrains, the triangle itself that evokes. The larger circle in which the magus stands serves as a protective barrier that the demon cannot penetrate, even should it escape from the smaller circle within the triangle. Inside the triangle, incense is burned to produce smoke, or water is boiled to make steam, providing the demon with a physical matrix upon which to manifest itself. The fumes of freshly spilled blood are sometimes used as an energy source to aid the manifestation of the demon. Alternatively, a mirror is placed within the triangle, and the demon becomes visible within the depths of the mirror and speaks from the mirror. Or a material image of the demon, such as a statue or picture, is placed in the triangle to act as a host for the demon during its evocation. The demon will then animate this image from within, changing its facial expressions, moving its hands, and even speaking aloud from its mouth.

The line from Scot that reads "he is constrained by divine vertue, and so are all divels or spirits" means that all spiritual beings, good or evil, can be commanded by the power and authority of the names of God, such as the Tetragrammaton. Divine virtue or power in inherent in these names, provided they are vibrated upon the air by one who has assumed the role of a servant or agent of God. Only a magus who has placed himself under the authority of God can legitimately employ the names of God as words of occult virtue. Those who attempt to use these power names without acknowledging the authority of their Source have no right to use them, and achieve no results with them. This is the meaning of the Biblical fable of the Jewish exorcists who attempted without success to use the name of Jesus as a word of power to exorcise demons from a man who was possessed (see Acts 19:13-16). Since they had not acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God, his name possessed no power over the demon when uttered by their lips.

[WitchBoy]

GAAP





This demon is also sometimes known as Tap. The text of the Lemegeton reads: "he is a President; and a mighty Prince; he appeareth when the Sun is in some of the Southern Signs in a humane shape; Going before him 4 Great and Mighty Kings knowing Philosophy; and all the Liberal Sciences; he can cause love or hatred, and make men insensible; he cann teach you how to Consecrate those things that belong to the Dominion of Amaymon his King, and cann deliver familiars out of the Custidy of other Magicians; and men most speddly an Kingdom to Another at the will and pleasure of the Exorcist; he ruleth 66 Legions of Spirits; he was of the Order of Potentates;" (Sloane 2731).

Reginald Scot has some curious lore to record in connection with this demon. He states that Gaap is equal in might to Bileth, and writes of the latter spirit: "there were certaine necromancers that offered sacrifices and burnt offerings unto him; and to call him up, they exercised an art, saieng that Salomon the wise made it. Which is false: for it was rather Cham, the sonne of Noah, who after the floud began first to invocate wicked spirits. He invocated Bileth, and made an art in his name, and a booke which is knowne to manie mathematicians. There were burnt offerings and sacrifices made, and gifts given, and much wickednes wrought by the exorcists, who mingled therewithall the holie names of God, the which in that art are everie where expressed. Marie there is an epistle of those names written by Saloman, as also write Helias, Hierosolymitanus and Helisaeus. It is to be noted, that if anie exorcist have the art of Bileth, and cannot make him stand before him, nor see him, I may not bewaie you and declare the meanes to containe him, bicause it is abhomination, and for that I have learned nothing from Salomon of his dignitie and office."

What the abominations used to command Bileth may be, Scot does not divulge. They may have involved the spilling of human blood. Bileth is evidently the same as the demon Beleth, also known as Bileth or Bilet. Scot's text is confusing, and it is difficult to know with certainty at any given point whether he is writing about Gaap or Bileth, but I believe Bileth to be intended in the section quoted above. Gaap and Bileth are two of the four chief demons that rule over the 72 commanded by Solomon into the vessel of brass. The other two rulers are Belial and Asmoday.

Collin de Plancy has caused Gaap to be illustrated as a winged giant with horns and a tail, who carries a man through the air on his shoulders.

[WitchBoy]

INCUBUS




Incubus is another one of those demons who embodies in himself an entire class of beings. In this case, he is all incubi, who are male spirits of lust. The name comes from the Latin incubare, to lie upon, weigh down, brood. It was the belief that when an incubus came to a sleeping woman and had sex with her, she experienced nightmares and difficulty breathing. The incubus was thought to sit upon her chest, or in some cases her face.

This feeling of weight upon the chest is characteristic not only of incubi but of their female counterparts, the succubi demons who visit sleeping men for the purpose of sexual union. As someone who has experienced this weight and difficulty breathing numerous times, I can attest that it is very clear, distinct and real, and has nothing to do with dreaming, although it is usually felt for a brief period upon waking from sleep, when consciousness returns. The weight is not always localized upon the chest, but at times can be felt on the face, belly and legs as well.

It is possible by an act of will to drive away the demon, which relieves the pressure. Sometimes the demon will be reluctant to give up its place on your chest, belly, groin and thighs, and the feeling will persist for as much as thirty seconds or so after waking -- long after full consciousness has returned. Its removal is sudden and unmistakable. The feeling is exactly as though a soft weight has been lifted away from the surface of your skin. You can actually feel this removal as a sensation of something lifting itself and departing.

Occasionally you will also see the demon as a translucent, indistinct shape, pressing upon your chest -- it resembles a pale shadow upon the air, and has size and an overall mass, but no distinct features. However, the demon can be seen clearly within the nightmare experienced during its visit, and can be interacted with by the dreamer. The visit of an incubus or succubus does not always bring a dream, nor are those dreams always of an explicitly sexual nature during most of their duration. When a dream occurs, you will often become aware of its sexual energy near its end, at the same time that you feel the weight of the demon on your chest, and the natural response is to will oneself to wake up, which terminates both the dream and the sensation of weight, but not immediately.

My impression of succubi, based on personal experience, is that they derive some sort of nourishment or pleasure from the sexual energy of human beings. They possess the ability to enter our dreams by impersonating dream characters, and manipulate the plot of the dream in order to direct it into sexual channels. In this way they feed themselves on our sexual energy. They usually impersonate people we are familiar with, or sometimes average human beings we do not know, so that we will interact with them without fear (because strong fear terminates a dream), but every now and then they appear more directly in the dream and exhibit physical characteristics that might be described as unhuman or demonic. This usually causes a visceral response of fear or revulsion, ending the dream.

There is nothing inherently dangerous about the visits of incubi or succubi, but repeated visits on a nightly basis can cause fatigue. Some persons not accustomed to dealing with spirits may become frightened by the nonhuman appearances these spirits sometimes adopt. It is my belief that some incubi and succubi deliberate take on a horrible form to generate strong fear and revulsion in their human hosts, presumably because they like the flavor of these emotions when mingled with human sexual energy.

One effective way to terminate the visits of incubi or succubi is to form a close, loving alliance with a familiar spirit, and then request of that spirit that it prevent the intrusions of other spirits while you lie sleeping. The familiar will serve as your psychic bodyguard, so to speak, and prevent other spirits from harassing you. You may not wish to follow this course, since the visits of incubi or succubi can prove quite entertaining.

[WitchBoy]

MALPHAS





"Malphas is a great president, he is seene like a crowe, but being cloathed with humane image, speaketh with a hoarse voice, he buildeth houses and high towres wonderfullie, and quicklie bringeth artificers togither, he throweth downe also the enimies edifications, he helpeth to good familiars, he receiveth sacrifices willinglie, but he deceiveth all the sacrificers, there obeie him fourtie legions." (Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, pages 221-2)

Malphas comes first in the shape of a crow. When requested by the magician, he puts on a human shape, but retains a bit of the hoarse voice of his animal form. It should not be understood that he erects towers or throws down fortifications himself, but rather that he enables the means by which these tasks may be easily accomplished. This is indicated by the statement that he "quicklie bringeth artificers togither." It is these artificers who build or destroy. In Collin de Plancy's fanciful depiction, the demon carried a triangular masonry trowel for doing stonework, and for no obvious reason, wears trousers.