Demons and evil spirits have many names and characteristics that have been passed down to us through church traditions, the writings of saints, the Bible, and other documents on the subject. In this article, we will discuss some types of demons and their descriptions for those interested in these topics.
types of demons
Angels and demons have been categorized as benevolent, malevolent, ambivalent, or neutral beings who mediate between the sacred and profane realms. There are several different types of each.
Benevolent beings, usually angels but sometimes ghosts of ancestors or other spiritual beings who have been placated by sacrifices or other rituals, help humans achieve a proper relationship with God, other spiritual beings, or complicated situations in one's life. each.
On the contrary, the malevolent beings are represented by demons, fallen angels, ghosts, goblins, evil spirits in nature, hybrid creatures, the daevas of Zoroastrianism, the narakas or creatures of the hell of Jainism, the oni or assistants of the gods of the underworld in Japanese religions and other such beings.
These beings are the ones that prevent humans from achieving a proper relationship with God, the spiritual realm or the different situations of life and ultimately fail in their spiritual development.
It is believed that some angels fell from a position of proximity to God, such as Lucifer, who after his fall was called Satan by the first representatives of the Church in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, this happened due to pride or attempts to usurp the position of the Supreme.
Due to their status as fallen angels, the different types of demons try to prevent humans from achieving a right relationship with God by inciting them to sin and do wrong. Some medieval scholars of demonology attributed the seven deadly sins to a hierarchy of seven archdemons:
- Lucifer: pride.
- Mammon: greed.
- Asmodeus: lasciviousness.
- Satan: anger.
- Beelzebub: gluttony.
- Leviathan: envy.
- Belphegor: lazy.
In addition to inciting sin, demons or fallen angels were attributed many evils, it was said that they were responsible for many misfortunes, accidents and natural calamities.
Like the evil spirits of nature in animistic and original religions, the different types of demons were seen as agents of famine, disease, war, earthquakes, accidental deaths, and various mental or emotional disorders.
Although the functions of evil figures, such as demons and fallen angels, are of great relevance to many religions, the nature of these figures has long preoccupied theologians and people imbued with popular piety.
Like angels, demons are considered spiritual and not corporeal beings, but in religious iconography they are described and represented as hybrid creatures with terrifying characteristics or as caricatures of idols from another religion.
In primitive religions, there was a belief that pagan idols were inhabited by demons and their characteristics and horrible aspects have been represented in the different medieval artistic samples and those of the reform era, as well as in the masks of the shamans, healers and priests of native religions.
All this with the intention of scaring the believer into behaving according to accepted norms or to protect himself from the power of any demonic force that roams the earthly realm.
Demons and other beings in world religions
Intermediate beings between the sacred and profane realms take various forms in world religions: celestial and benevolent beings, devils, demons and evil spirits, ghosts, ghouls and goblins, and nature spirits and fairies.
Each of the beliefs in the world grants very varied and diverse attributes and characteristics to supernatural beings and in this case to the different types of demons. We are going to know some according to religion:
in traditional religions
In Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, characterized as monotheistic religions that see the cosmos as a tripartite universe, both angels and demons are generally conceived as spirits of celestial origin, but who have made different decisions and therefore are in different situations.
However, in the popular belief of people still belonging to these religions, there is a certain fear of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, demons and evil spirits, which influence humans, their condition and activities on earth.
Celestial beings can be benevolent or malevolent, good or bad, depending on their relationship with the Supreme Being. On the other hand, demons and evil spirits that influence humans in their role as earthly beings are seen by people as malicious.
Angels are usually grouped in orders of four, six, or seven in the early ranks, of which there may be several. The use of four, which symbolically implies perfection and is related to the four cardinal points, is found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Early Zoroastrianism, greatly influenced by the astronomical and astrological sciences of ancient Iran, coordinated the concept of the seven known planetary spheres with its belief in the heptad of celestial beings, i.e. the amesha spentas of Ahura Mazdā:
- Spenta Mainyu: the Holy Spirit.
- Vohu Mana: good mind
- Ash: true,
- Ārmaiti: uprightness of mind
- Khshathra: Kingdom
- Haurvatāt: totality
- Ameretat: Immortality.
In later Zoroastrianism, though not in the Gāthās or early hymns, believed to have been written by Zoroaster, and in the Avesta holy scriptures, Ahura Mazdā and Spenta Mainyu were identified with each other and the remaining bountiful immortals were grouped in an order of six.
Opposite the generous immortals who helped unite the spiritual and material world, was the counterpart of the Holy Spirit, known as Angra Mainyu, the Evil Spirit, who later became the great adversary Ahriman.
Similar to the Satan of the Jews, Christians and Islam and the Daevas, who were probably gods of early Indo-Iranian religion. Allied with Angra Mainyu and against the beings of light were different types of demons:
- Akōman or Evil Mind.
- Indrā-vāyū or Death.
- Saurva a daeva of death and disease.
- Nāñhaithya, a daeva related to the Vedic god Nāsatya.
- Taurus, is the most difficult to identify
- Zairi, the personification of haoma, the sacred drink related to the sacrifices of ahuras and daevas.
- Ashma, violence, fury or aggressive impulse, associated with the demon Asmodeus from the book of Tobit.
- Āz . concupiscence or lust.
- Mithrāndruj, the liar or false.
- Jēh, the promiscuous, later created by Ahriman to defile the human race
Angelology and demonology in Judaism developed further during and after the period of the Babylonian exile, between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries BC, when contacts with Zoroastrianism were established.
In the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh is called the Lord of the armies, these are known as Sabaoth or heavenly armies that fight against the forces of evil and carry out missions and assignments, protect the entrance to paradise, punish the wicked and evildoers, protect the faithful and good men and reveal the Word of God to humans.
Two archangels are mentioned in the canonical: Michael, the warrior leader of the heavenly hosts, and Gabriel, the heavenly messenger. On the other hand, two others are mentioned in the apocryphal Hebrew Bible: Raphael, the healer or helper of God in the book of Tobit and Uriel, the Fire of God, the watcher of the world.
Although these are the only four named, seven archangels are mentioned in Tobias 12:15, but not only they exist, in addition to the archangels, there were also other orders of angels: cherubim and seraphim, which have been mentioned above.
Under the influence of Zoroastrianism, Satan the adversary probably became the archdemon, commanding other demons including:
- Azazel - the demon of the desert, embodied in the scapegoat.
- Leviathan and Rahab: the demons of chaos.
- Lilith - A female nocturnal demon.
To protect themselves from the powers of demons and unclean spirits, the Jews influenced by popular beliefs and customs, like the Christians some time later, frequently used amulets, contras and talismans, prepared and conjured with effective formulas to protect themselves.
Christianity, probably influenced by the angelology of some Jewish sects such as the Pharisees and the Essenes, as well as the Hellenistic world, improved and further developed the theories and beliefs in angels and demons.
Specifically in the New Testament, heavenly beings were grouped into seven ranks: angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, and thrones. In addition to these, the Old Testament cherubim and seraphim were added, which with the other seven ranks constituted the nine choirs of angels in later Christian mystical theology.
Several different numbers of angelic orders have been given by early Christian writers, for example: four, in The Sibylline Oracles, six, in the Shepherd of Hermas, a book accepted as canonical in some local early Christian churches, and seven, in the works of Clement of Alexandria and other important theologians.
In both popular belief and theology, the number has generally been set at seven, yet it is undeniable that the angels that received the most attention and veneration in Christianity were the four angels mentioned in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. Michael became the favorite of many and in practice, there was some confusion with Saint George, who was also a warrior figure, but they are not related.
Demonology underwent a renewal in Christianity that would probably have been acceptable in Zoroastrianism, for example names mentioned by Jesus at different times as demons appeared, these are:
- Satan, the archenemy of Christ.
- Lucifer, the fallen Lightbringer.
- Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies or Beelzebul, the Lord of Dung.
The concept and term "devil" are derived from the Zoroastrian concept of daevas and the Greek word daibolos, which translates as slanderer or accuser, similar to the Jewish concept of Satan. As a singular demonic force or personification of evil, the devil's primary activity was to tempt humans to act in ways that would prevent them from achieving their otherworldly destiny.
Because demons were believed to inhabit waterless wastelands, where hungry and tired people often had visual and auditory hallucinations, early Christian monks went to the deserts, to be the vanguard of God's army by joining the battle. against these evil beings.
They often recounted and recorded cases where the devil appeared to them in visions as an alluring woman, tempting them to violate their vows to remain sexually pure, both physically and mentally.
During certain periods in Christian Europe, especially in the Middle Ages, the worship of demons and the practice of witchcraft provoked the wrath of both the church and the people, on those suspected of practicing diabolical rites.
A rite that was popularized and persecuted in the past was the well-known black mass, a ceremony like the Christian mass said backwards and with an inverted crucifix on the altar. Witchcraft and wizardry have been closely associated with demonology in Christian thought, especially in the West.
In the second half of the XNUMXth century, in connection with a renewed interest in the supernatural, there was evidence of a revival of the cult of different types of demons and black magic, although this was generally restricted to small cults that turned out to be quite short-lived.
Angelology and demonology in Islam are closely related to similar doctrines in Judaism and Christianity.
In addition to the four bearers of the throne of Allah, four other angels are well known: Jibrīl or Gabriel, the angel of revelation, Mīkāl or Michael the angel of nature, who provides humans with food and knowledge, Izrāʾīl, the angel of death and Isrāfīl, the angel who places the soul in the body and blows the trumpet for the Last Judgment.
Demons also vie for control of human lives, the most prominent and well-known being Iblīs or the Devil, who tempts humans, and Shayṭan or Satan.
In the religions of the East
In Eastern beliefs, the function of the angels is carried out by beings called avatars and bodhisattvas, among other spiritual beings that have a lot of similarity, which are considered by believers as divine extensions of God.
The belief in demons was and is widespread, influencing various rituals and practices to counter their hostile forces, which harm humans and nature.
In Hinduism, the asuras are the demons who oppose the devas or gods, both competed for homa or amrita, a sacred drink that gives power. But in this case the god Vishnu, the preserver, helped the gods so that only they would drink the amrita and thus have the necessary power over the demons. Among the various types of Hindu demons or asuras that afflict humans are:
- The nagas or serpent demons.
- There, the demon of drought
- Kamsa, considered the archdemon
- Rakshasas, grotesque and horrible beings in various forms who haunt graveyards, drive people to do foolish deeds and attack sadhus or saintly persons.
- Pishachas, beings that haunt the places where violent deaths have occurred.
Buddhists often see their demons as forces that inhibit humans from achieving absolute happiness or the extinction of desire, which they call Nirvana.
Types of demons in Buddhist beliefs include Mara, an evil being who has three daughters Rati or Desire, Raga or Pleasure, and Tanha or Restlessness and who became an archenemy of Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, trying to get him out of his way. to Enlightenment.
As Mahayana Buddhism spread to areas of Tibet, China, and Japan, many of the demons of the popular religions of these areas were incorporated into Buddhist beliefs. The demons of Chinese religions and beliefs, the Mogwai, manifest themselves in all aspects of nature. In addition to these demons of nature, there are goblins, fairies and ghosts.
Because demons were believed to shun light, the Chinese who were influenced by Taoism and folk religions used bonfires, firecrackers, and torches to ward off the Mogwai. Japanese religions are very similar to Chinese religions, when it comes to the variety of demons that attack and disturb humans.
Among the most fearsome Japanese demons are the oni, evil spirits with great power, and the tengu, spirits that possess human beings and that generally must be exorcised by priests.
In primitive religions
The spiritual beings of the primitive and traditional religions of Asia, Africa, Oceania and America are generally seen as malevolent or benevolent, this depending on the circumstances rather than their inherent nature. Eshu, is a god of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, for example, he is seen as a protective and benevolent spirit, as well as a spirit with an evil power that can rebuke and push away your enemies if necessary.
These beings possess what is called mana or a supernatural power, a Melanesian term that can be applied both to spirits and to people of special status, such as chiefs or shamans. In traditional primitive religions, the spirits of nature are generally worshiped in exchange for certain favors, especially for protection against catastrophes, in the style of the religion that was professed in ancient Rome.
Ancestral gods, supernatural beings, ghosts of the dead, and various kinds of demons must be placated, often by the performance of elaborate rites and, above all, by the presentation of offerings.
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