Demons: An Introduction

Demonology

Posted by J. Goodwin - November 24, 2011 Comments 0

First off, I would like to welcome everyone who is reading this to our new site. It is truly a great project we are undertaking, documenting the wide expanse of information and history about demons, demonology, exorcism, the occult, and spirits.

For our first landmark post, I will touch on something very basic, but something that many people are not clear about:

What is a demon?

To start off, demons, also known as daemons, are found everywhere in human cultures all around the world – religions, occultism, literature, folklores, and mythology. Many times, these demons are demonstrated to be malevolent, evil creatures. However, in some cultures and texts, demons are not at all evil and even sometimes peaceful and benevolent.

Etymology of “demon”

One way to learn more about something is to find out the history of the word, or etymology. The word “demon” actually comes from the ancient Greek word, “daimon.” Interestingly enough, the word “daimon” does not have the negative, evil connotation that the term “demon” presents; it was originally used to identify a spirit or a type of spiritual being.

Christianity

Demons have had a presence in various cultures from around the world for thousands of years. Demons today are mostly associated with Christianity, in a field known as Christian demonology. Under such beliefs, demons are a type of “unclean spirits” and are able to possess the minds or souls of humans. This is known as demonic possession. In Christian belief, in order to get rid of the possessed demon, an exorcism must be performed. In Christian folklore and literature, many demons are former fallen angels.

Occultism

In occultism, demons are somewhat different from those in Christian beliefs. From magical beliefs in ancient times in Europe, such as Jewish demonology and Greco-Roman magic, arose ideas of Renaissance magic which focus on the conjuring and controlling of demons.