EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT EVIL SPIRITS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK:

Evil Spirits, fallen angles, rank demons incubi and succubus the cursed the damned souls that are tortured in the darkest foulest pits of hell... Are they real?

Story by Gina Lanier Artwork By Ricardo Pustanio.

Today, millions of people openly pray, "Deliver us from evil," yet it may be worth asking how readily we recognize that this is directed at the many evil spirits and demons or their work in the world. But for many of us, Paranormal investigators and weekend ghost hunters making the jump from the concept of evil to the reality of evil spirits can be difficult. That's why I want to focus your special attention on the fact that not everything haunted is just a ghost.

When haunted by a ghost some think that the actual haunting may either be due to lost souls seeking help, prayers or attention. Still others conjecture that it could be an infestation, meaning evil spirits are frequenting the place. In the case of haunted houses, it is best to look at the history of the place and when the paranormal occurrences began. Always ask questions is my motto: Has something evil happened here? Were there violent events? Were occult practices performed in the place? Such factors attract evil spirits. Bringing in a person sensitive to the presence of spirits can also help discern paranormal activity. (See: Sensitive Investigators - Don’t Leave Home Without One by Paranormal Task Force's Greg Myers)

The English word "spirit" is derived from the Latin spiritus, meaning "breath" (compare spiritus asper), but also "soul, courage, vigor", ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek, pneuma (Hebrew ruah), as opposed to anima, translating psykhe. The word was loaned into Middle English via Old French The distinction between soul and spirit became current in Judeo-Christian terminology (e.g. Greek. psykhe vs. pneuma, Latin anima vs. spiritus, Hebrew ruach vs. neshama or nephesh; in Hebrew neshama from the root NSHM or breath.)

By this definition - Souls are those of the living gone to the afterlife and a spirit is a entity that has not lived a mortal life. Many believe the world over that spirits inhabit many material forms from animals to tree, stones or the very air we breath. In this thought we must realize that their are good as well as evil spirits. A positive force equaled in each also a negative force of equal power and ability to counterbalance. As to say for every well wishing spirit their is one that wishes evil. Some ghost may be angry or just down right crazy. (See: CRAZY GHOST: HAUNTED DEMENTIA FROM A-Z also: Are you the real victim of a ghost bullying you?)

Belief in the good the bad and the ugly influences of spirits is nothing new by any means. In Chinese thought, the world is populated by a vast number of spirits, both good and evil. Such spirits include nature demons (kuei-shen), evil spirits or devils (oni), and ghosts (kui). These evil spirits are believed to avoid any type of light, so many rituals involving fire and light have developed, such as the use of bonfires, firecrackers, candles and torches. Evil spirits are also traditionally believed to travel in straight lines, which explains many curvy roads throughout China.

But not all spirits are evil — some are just unhappy. As evidenced by the practice of ancestor worship, most Chinese people believe the souls of the deceased endure after death and must be kept happy by offerings and honor.

PAZUZU : The Famed Demon of The Exorcist Movies

Although frequently regarded as a malevolent demon of the underworld, Pazuzu seems also to have played a beneficent role as a protector against pestilential winds (and particularly the south-west wind). Moreover, Pazuzu's association with Lamaštu led to his employment as a force against her evil, forcing her back into the Underworld. Amulets of the demon Pazuzu (or simply of his head and face) were therefore often situated in houses or hung about the necks of pregnant women. (See: PAZUZU : The king of the demons of the wind)

If a spirit is not kept happy, perhaps because it had a bad death, an improper burial or has no descendents to perform the proper rituals, it becomes a ghost (sometimes called a "hungry ghost," a term with Buddhist origins). Ghosts may attack human beings to prompt them to meet the ghosts' needs or at least to draw attention to the reason they are haunting a person or location or object. (See: HAUNTED POSSESSIONS)

Fireworks and their strange sound, during the Han dynasty (~200 B.C.), frightened people and animals terribly. The Chinese still believe that if it scared living creatures so much, it would probably scare away evil or malicious spirits - particularly an evil spirit called Nian, who they believed to ate crops and people. After that, it became customary for them to throw green bamboo onto a fire during the Lunar New Year in order to scare Nian and other spirits far way, thus ensuring happiness and prosperity to their people for the remainder of the year. The Chinese were using bursting bamboo for other special occasions, such as weddings, coronations, and births. The "bursting bamboo", or pao chuk as the Chinese called it, continued to be used for the next thousand or so years.

Ghosts receive the most attentions during Ghost Month, the seventh month in the Chinese lunar year, and especially during the Ghost Festival on the fifteenth day. The firecrackers for religious festivals were often made out of red paper. The fuses were plaited together to make long strings of firecrackers. When these were set off, they made a lot of very loud bangs and little bits of red paper were scattered far and wide. Evil spirits were supposed to be frightened of red, and so they would be kept away by the scattered pieces of red paper long after the firecrackers had finished. Chinese firecrackers are still used in huge numbers every year in Chinese festivals to chase away these foul demons that might cause ill or evil to befall the living.

Common among Filipinos is the belief that sickness is the work of evil spirits or vengeful ghost. Possesion is very well noted even today and local exorcist are still abundant in the small remote villages. To scare the spirits away and to cure those afflicted by the evil spirits, the curative practices are: to flog the patient, put signs of the cross on his forehead or at every post of his house, and make all kinds of noises; sacrifice some live animals or offer some food, “buyo” and oil to appease the offended spirit; and wear amulets (anting-anting) to neutralize the machinations of the devil.

Amulets or “anting-anting”s protect the wearer from illnesses and help counteract witchery. They also promote good health. Also an evil spirit usually goes with the fragrance of flowers at night. Anyone who smells it would also suck in the evil spirit who will eat the bridge of the nose until it crumbles down.

Filipinos (See: ISLAND SCARES: GHOST STORIES FROM THE PHILIPPINES by Jose G. Paman) seem to be particularly susceptible to the phenomena of demonic possession because our faith is still not that pure, says this official exorcist for the diocese of Metro Manila. “We still practice a lot of occult folk Catholicism and this includes subscribing to pre-Christian animist beliefs practiced by our ancestors. Some examples are the use of anting-anting (amulets) and magical rituals for protection, offering animal sacrifices for good luck, and going to the manghuhula.”

excerpt from: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view_article.php?article_id=29363

In extreme cases, when the person gets really violent and there seems to be some difficulty in expelling the demon, the parish priest can contact the Office of Exorcism. The two priests assigned to the Office have the faculty from the Cardinal to perform solemn exorcisms. Others still since early times have sought the powers of evil spirits to do their bidding through use of ceremonial magic. (Also see: Demonology)

In early Christian theology, Satan or the Devil was seen as chief of all other demons. But soon this changed and Hell was divided in several hierarchies of demons. This was presumably due to the division of angels in hierarchies or choirs taken from Judaism (see Demonology), and as demons were angels before, their organization had to be similar.

During the Middle Ages, many other schema were proposed, some drawing on and expanding on Pseudo-Dionysius, others suggesting completely different classifications. One of these divisions is offered by Sebastien Michaelis, who divided demons in three hierarchies (first, second and third), not making allusion to their rulers (see Michaelis' classification of demons).

Soon this division took another sense, and nobility titles were granted to demons as if they were part of an earthly monarchy. Demons were Great Marshals, Knights, Presidents, Great Presidents, Earls, Great Earls, Dukes, Great Dukes, Marquises, Great Marquises, Princes, Great Princes, Kings, Great Kings, and the ruler of all them the Emperor. As in the earth, some of them had more than one title. Curiously the titles of Baronet, Baron, Viscount and Viceroy were not used. It is unclear if Earl was used as a synonym of Count, or with the ancient meaning of Eorl (Old English for 'nobleman, Prince, Warlord, chief of soldiers'), because the Latin term 'comes' has both meanings. Other hierarchies mention physicians, superintendents, demons in charge of keeping the fire of Hell lit, etc. The rest of the demons were divided in legions.

Several grimoires rank demons according to titles of nobility, among them The Great Book of Saint Cyprian, Le Dragon Rouge, and The Lesser Key of Solomon.

Demonic possession is often the term used to describe the control over a human form by the Devil himself or one of his assigned advocates. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include: erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying. Unlike in channelling or other benign forms of possession, the subject has no control over the possessing entity and so it will persist until forced to leave the victim, usually through a form of exorcism. Many cultures and religions contain some concept of demonic possession, but the details vary considerably. Some cultures, in particular the Roma people believe that demons can also possess animals, plants, deceased persons or inanimate objects.

Spirit possession is a concept of paranormal, supernatural and/or superstitious belief in which spirits, gods, daemons, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in behaviour. The concept of spiritual possession exists in Christianity and other contemporary religions and can also be seen in the mythology and folklore of many cultures

Some branches of Buddhism affirm the existence of Hells peopled by demons who torment sinners and tempt mortals to sin, or who seek to thwart their enlightenment, with a demon named Mara as chief tempter. Most of these "demons" are considered to be representations of mental obstructions. Hinduism contains traditions of combats between its gods and various adversaries, such as the combat of Indra and the asura Vritra.

In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as shedu, meaning storm-demons. They were represented in winged bull form, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective genii of royal palaces, the name "shed" assumed also the meaning of a propitious genius in Babylonian magic literature.

 

THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS
R.C. Thompson, translator [The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, London 1903].[1]

Raging storms, evil gods are they
Ruthless demons, who in heaven's vault were created, are they,
Workers of evil are they,
They lift up the head to evil, every day to evil
Destruction to work.
Of these seven the first is the South wind...
The second is a dragon, whose mouth is opened...
That none can measure.
The third is a grim leopard, which carries off the young ...
The fourth is a terrible Shibbu ...
The fifth is a furious Wolf, who knoweth not to flee,
The sixth is a rampant ... which marches against god and king.
The seventh is a storm, an evil wind, which takes vengeance,
Seven are they, messengers to King Anu are they,
From city to city darkness work they,
A hurricane, which mightily hunts in the heavens, are they
Thick clouds, that bring darkness in heaven, are they,
Gusts of wind rising, which cast gloom over the bright day, are they,
With the Imkhullu [2] the evil wind, forcing their way, are they,
The overflowing of Adad [3] mighty destroyers, are they,
At the right of Adad stalking, are they,
In the height of heaven, like lightning flashing, are they,
To wreak destruction forward go they ,
In the broad heaven, the home of Anu, the King, evilly do they arise, and none to oppose.
When Enlil heard these tidings, a plan in his heart he pondered,
With Ea, exalted Massu of the gods, be took counsel. Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar, whom he had set to order the vault of heaven,
With Anu he divided the lordship of the whole heaven,
To these three gods, his offspring
Day and night, without ceasing, he ordained to stand,
When the seven evil gods stormed the vault of heaven,
Before the gleaming Sin, they set themselves angrily, [4]
The mighty Shamash, Adad the warrior, they brought on their side,
Ishtar, with Anu the King, moved into a shining dwelling, exercising dominion over the heavens,

[Nearly ten lines here are unreadable.]

Day and night he was dark (i.e., Sin), in the dwelling of his dominion he sat not down,
The evil gods, the messengers of Anu, the King, are they,
Raising their evil heads, in the night shaking themselves, are they,
Evil searching out, are they,
From the heaven, like a wind, over the land rush they.
Enlil saw the darkening of the hero Sin in heaven,
The lord spoke to his minister Nusku,
O My minister Nusku, my message unto the ocean bring,
The tidings of my son Sin, who in heaven has been sadly darkened,
Unto Ea, in the ocean, announce it."
Nusku exalted the word of his lord,
To Ea, in the ocean, he went quickly,
To the prince, the exalted Massu the lord Nudimmud.[5]
Nusku, the word of his lord there announced Ea in the ocean heard that word,
He bit his lip and filled his mouth with wailing;
Ea called his son Marduk, and gave him the message:
"Go, my son Marduk,
Son of a prince, the gleaming Sin has been sadly darkened in heaven,
His darkening is seen in the heavens,
The seven evil gods, death-dealing, fearless are they,
The seven evil gods, like a flood, rush on, the land they fall upon, do they,
Against the land, like a storm, they rise, do they,
Before the gleaming Sin, they set themselves angrily;
The mighty Shamash, Adad the warrior, they brought on their side."

NOTES:
[1] This story is the sixteenth tablet of a series called the "Evil Demon Series," of which we have an Assyrian with a parallel Sumerian text. Presumably, therefore, it was a very ancient legend.
[2] The Imkhullu appears also in the Creation Epic.
[3] Adad is god of storm, Anu of heaven, Enlil of storm, Sin of the Moon, Shamash of the Sun, and Ishtar of love and fruitfulness. The meaning of Massu is unknown; but Ea was long the chief ruler.
[4] The evil gods darken the moon by an eclipse, Shamash helping them by withdrawing his light from the moon, and Adad by sending cloudy weather.
[5] A name for Ea.

DESCRIPTIONS OF "THE SEVEN"

I
Destructive storms and evil winds are they,
A storm of evil, presaging the baneful storm,
A storm of evil, forerunner of the baneful storm.
Mighty children, mightv sons are they,
Messengers of Namtar are they,
Throne-bearers of Ereshkigal. [1]
The flood driving through the land are they.
Seven gods of the wide heavens,
Seven gods of the broad earth,
Seven robber-gods are they.
Seven gods of universal sway,
Seven evil gods,
Seven evil demons,
Seven evil and violent demons,
Seven in heaven, seven on earth.

II
Neither male nor female are they.
Destructive whirlwinds they,
Having neither wife nor offspring.
Compassion and mercy they do not know.
Prayer and supplication they do not hear.
Horses reared in the mountains, Hostile to Ea.
Throne-bearers of the gods are they.
Standing on the highway, befouling the street. Evil are they, evil are they,
Seven they are, seven they are, Twice seven they are.

III
The high enclosures, the broad enclosures like a flood they pass through.
From house to house they dash along.
No door can shut them out,
No bolt can turn them back.
Through the door, like a snake, they glide,
Through the hinge, like the wind, they storm.
Tearing the wife from the embrace of the man,
Snatching the child from the knees of a man,
Driving the freedman from his family home.

[1 ]The mistress of the netherworld, while Namtar is the god of pestilence.

CHARM AGAINST THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS

Seven are they, seven are they!
In the channel of the deep seven are they!
In the radiance of heaven seven are they!
In the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up.
Male they are not, female they are not.
In the midst of the deep are their paths.
Wife they have not, son they have not.
Order and kindness know they not.
Prayer and supplication hear they not.
The cavern in the mountain they enter.
Unto Hea are they hostile.
The throne-bearers of the gods are they.
Disturbing the lily in the torrents are they set.
Baleful are they, baleful are they.
Seven are they, seven are they, seven twice again are they.
May the spirits of heaven remember, may the spirits of earth remember.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/index.htm

Exorcising the Paranormal

Some victims of evil spirit infestations and paranormal activity, in the hopes of finding fast release from the haunting's they experience, call in help to find evidence of their experience and thereby prove their own sanity. There are some that call in actual exorcist from the church to banish these wretched foul spirits back to Hell. Then there are some who call for help because there is a genuine danger in what they are experiencing, and they definitely want it removed. Paranormal investigating encompasses all that is natural and un-natural. The concept of possession by evil spirits and the practice of exorcism are very ancient and were widespread, and may have originated in prehistoric Shamanism beliefs.

Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). The practice is quite ancient and part of the belief system of many religions.

The person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the clergy, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use prayers, and religious material, such as set formulas, gestures, symbols, icons, amulets, etc.. The exorcist invokes God, Jesus and/or several different angels and archangels to intervene with the exorcism. The Catholic Church revised the Rite of Exorcism in January 1999, although the traditional Rite of Exorcism in Latin is allowed as an option. The act of exorcism is considered to be an incredibly dangerous spiritual task; the ritual assumes that possessed persons retain their free-will, though the demon may hold control over their physical body, and involves prayers, blessings, and invocations with the use of the document Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications. Other formulas may have been used in the past, such as the Benedictine Vade retro satana. In the modern era, the Catholic Church authorizes exorcism rarely, approaching would-be cases with the presumption that mental or physical illness is in play. In mild cases the Chaplet of Saint Michael should be used.

Painting by Francisco Goya of Saint Francis Borgia performing an exorcism.

In general, possessed persons are not regarded as evil in themselves, nor wholly responsible for their actions. Therefore practitioners regard exorcism more as a cure than as a punishment. The mainstream rituals usually take this into account, making sure that there is no violence to the possessed, only that they be tied down if there is potential for violence.

From house blessings and smutting, to burying a St. Joseph statue to sell a house or throwing rice at a wedding all of this is a form of exorcsim evil spirits and malicious ghost that seek the ruin of the living. To being blessed by holy men and priest to ensure our good well being.

In kabbalah and European Jewish folklore (which does not believe in possession by demons), possession takes on a different (and often much more positive) context. A person may be possessed by a spirit called a dybbuk — which is believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person, returned from Gehenna (a Hebrew term for the in between world or purgatory that all spirits go to before entering heaven. It literally refers to the valley outside Jeruselem where the city's garbage and dead bodies were burned. The word later came to mean "the valley of dead", and became very loosely translated as "hell" by later Christian researchers). According to those beliefs, on rare occasions a soul which has not been able to fulfill its function in its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so in the form of a dybbuk. The soul then seeks out and "attaches" itself to a living person who is going through things or in a similar "life position" to what the soul was in during its lifetime.

It is believed there are good dybbuks and bad, with a good dybbuk's "attachment" performing more the role of a "spiritual guide" there to help the person through their current trials and tribulations that the soul was attracted to. These "good" possessions are usually referred to as a 'sod ha'ibbur.

In the case of a negative dybbuk, the spirit is not there to help as much as cause the same mistakes and chaos that it originally experienced during its own lifetime.

In the case of exorcism, there are generally two types - though both take on a much less negative confrontational manner than in the Christian context.

Briefly, the first involves a non-invasive approach (which generally is applied to the non-negative type of attachment but can be used in both) and involves treating the person and attached entity as a whole. Helping "him" to identify his goal or path in life (his true identity and purpose) and guiding them along it. In the case of a positive attachment, the spirit will leave when the "path" or purpose is significantly engrained and pursued. In the case of a negative, the pursuant of the "path" keeps it in check and eventually causes it to lose its connection (sometimes referred to as the "void" in the host) thereby forcing it to move on.

The second approach is a little more confrontational, but still far less than those commonly seen in Christian rites. It involves 10 people (including the rabbi) who surround the possessed individual. Each person (including the rabbi leading the ritual) represents the 10 kabbalistic sephirot. The rabbi that leads the ceremony also requires a shofar, which is interestingly used in a manner similar to the bell in Buddhist and other east Asian meditative practices. The group repeatedly recites Psalm 91 and then the rabbi proceeds to blow the shofar in a specific pattern. This "shocks" both the possessed and the possessor, causing a loosening between the two enabling the addressing of each individually. The rabbi then enters in to dialogue with the spirit to find its purpose, and the group proceeds to heal it through dialogue and prayer meant to have it feel it has accomplished its goal. This is also done for the possessed. As Rabbi Gershon Winkler puts it: "We don't drive anything out of anybody. What we want to do is to heal the soul that's possessing and heal the person. It's all about healing -- we do the ceremony on behalf of both people

† Notable Exorcisms
Salvador Dali is reputed to have received an exorcism from Italian friar, Gabriele Maria Berardi, while he was in France in 1947. Dali created a sculpture of Christ on the cross which he gave the friar in thanks.

According to a New York Post article of 19 February 2002, John Paul II personally performed three exorcisms during his tenure as pope. The first exorcism was performed on a woman in 1982. His second was in September 2000 when he performed the rite on a 19-year-old woman who had become enraged in St Peter's Square. A year later, in September 2001, he performed an exorcism on a 20-year-old woman.

Anneliese Michel was a Catholic woman from Germany who was said to be possessed by six or more demons and subsequently underwent an exorcism in 1975. Two motion pictures, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem are loosely based on Anneliese's story.

A boy identified by the pseudonym "Roland Doe" was the subject of an exorcism in 1949, which became the subject of The Exorcist, a horror novel and later film written by William Peter Blatty. Blatty heard about the case while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University. The exorcism was partially performed in both Cottage City, Maryland http://www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html and Bel-Nor, Missouri by Father William S. Bowdern, S.J. and a then Jesuit scholastic Fr. Walter Halloran, S.J.

In the sixties The phrase the devil made me do it was cute now a days as well as through out past history the sinister evil behind that statement still bares it's true meaning.