The word demon is a loaded term and subject to both fascination and misinformation. Demons are a fixture in media from novels, to films, to video games. The evocative images of medieval artists are arresting and can’t be denied. The grotesque and hellish images of infernal creatures of Hieronymus Bosch seize the senses with their seeming impossible contorted combinations of man, animal, and things altogether unworldly. In our currently creatively bankrupt state one could do worse than to borrow from these artists when trying to display an image of a primordial evil.

However, popular conceptions do much to obscure the nature of the demonic whether intentionally or unintentionally, likely a combination of the two. Looking at popular culture one would think that demons are a being amongst others although differing in an accidental fashion. They primarily use force to accomplish their aims. This might take the form of an invisible entity tossing a scantily clad co-ed down a flight of stairs or perhaps a hulking monstrosity charging to tear and rend a hapless protagonist. However, if one looks at the traditional view this form of physical attack is past even the tertiary methods a demons would take towards accomplishing it’s aims, if one can call them aims.

The primary method of a demon is to whisper honey in the ear. In our fallen state our desires are disordered and subject to whims and various distortion. Without self-knowledge what is monstrous can seem desirable and this is where demonic takes hold. All of us have had experience temptations and have been faced with hard rights and easy wrongs. This brings up another aspect of overlooked, that of origins. Generally, demons are portrayed as arising from gateways from dark corners of the earth or through rare individuals attuned to the ether. Sources can be found in far more intimate locals, in sharing with the divine nature we have the capacity for creation within our physical and intellectual faculties. In our fallen state however, this very faculty can be corrupted.

“…  it is necessary firstly to take account of the fact that the world of evil consists not only of fallen entities of the celestial hierarchies( with the exception of seraphim) but also of entities of non-hierarchical origin i.e. entities who, in the manner of bacilli, microbes and viruses of infection diseases in the domain of biology, owe their origin- to express it in the terms of Scholastic philosophy-neither to the primary cause, nor to the secondary causes, but rather to tertiary causes, namely to arbitrary abuse on the part of autonomous creatures.”

~Meditation on the Tarot, Letter XV The Devil

Our most common encounter will be with these engendered entities arising from ourselves or those close to us. The form they take will likely be banal rather than stylized but will cause suffering all the same. Temptations, complexes, doubts and neuroses that are littered about the modern landscape. The specifics may have changed in our era, but the principle and continuity are there.

Knowing your enemy is critical in battle planning but it becomes tragically confusing when the enemy is so close not obviously hostile and comes with an unfortunate intimacy.

If one finds themselves accosted by such things one should not cease to ask for assistance.

“In order to assure this, one has to resort to sacred magic. Tradition, centuries of experience, teaches us what is necessary in order to protect oneself from the approach of demons-or, if one senses them approaching, what to do in order to drive them away- and gives the following practical advice: make the sign of the cross towards the north, south, east, and west, each time saying the first two verses of Psalm 68( from David)

            Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;

            Let those who hate him flee before himn!

            As Smoke is driven way, so drive them away

            As wax melts before fire,

            Let the wicked perish before God”

~ Meditations on the Tarot, Letter XV The Devil

Such practice is important but remember they must rest on a foundation of moral grounding and clear thinking. Knowledge of yourself will lead to being able to recognize how awash in influences one is and that they can both be beautiful and terrifying. And these influences have a mind of their own.