On Demons and Demonology

This weekend I read a book called Encounter with Hell by Alexis McQuinllan.  It's a supposedly true account of a woman with some psychic ability and her encounter with a demon.  It's a very quick and rather thought-provoking read, though I'm not entirely sure if I liked it or not.  The basic gist of it is that Alexis moves to a smallish town and immediately becomes obsessed with a haunted house.  She goes there and ignores a bunch of metaphysical red flags that would have had me out of there in a heartbeat.  She goes blundering about and eventually really pisses off the demon that happened to be living in the basement.  She then fails to get proper help in dealing with the situation she's created for herself and her life becomes a living hell for a while - as it would.  This book is a worthwhile read as a cautionary tale of what never to do.  The author seems to realize this and repeatedly points out the mistakes she made, which I respect.  I certainly didn't do everything (or if I'm honest even most things) right the first time I came up against a demon, but at least I had a better idea of what I was dealing with.  If you're interested in how demons tend to actually behave this is a worthwhile read, just do not emulate the author.  If you think you've encountered a demon get help, serious help, wherever you can find it.

Reading this book really got me thinking about demons and demonology. What most people think of as demonology is based in Ceremonial Magick (see The Lesser Key of Solomon and other Goetic grimoires for more info) and Ceremonial Magick is based on Abrahamic lore.  There are lots of books and websites (like Demonicpedia) that list out all of the Goetic demons, their descriptions, habits, dominions, and places in hell.  That's all well and good if you believe in the Abrahamic cosmology - heave, hell, purgatory, and all that.  However, I don't.  Therefore, the classical view of demonology just doesn't work for me.  Yes, yes, I know that all of these cosmologies are just frameworks through which people learn to relate to things we don't understand rather than how things actually are; and yes this framework is so pervasive that it's gotten enough energy put into it to make it "real" even if things weren't that way originally.  However, I just can't work with this.  Further, it just doesn't fit with my experiences.  

I've had the misfortune of dealing with a couple of demons in my time (and I sincerely hope that I won't again).  In my experience demons are essentially distilled malevolence with independent thought and a lot of power.  Now, that picture probably has a lot to do with how I experience energy; I feel it intuitively and sometimes "see" it.  I didn't learn about energy from within an existing framework with ideas of how things should be, so I didn't immediately label particular energies (e.g. oh that energy is a pixy, that energy is an imp, that energy is Amon the seventh lord of hell).  Rather, I'd feel the energy and look at the behavior it exhibited and try to fit it with the best label I could find (this is the method behind all the identifications in my book Defense Against the Dark).  Using this method of feeling out what things are, nothing I've encountered and labelled as a demon makes me think they were any of the Goetic demons. 

In my experience demons seem to evaluate people as either prey or a threat.  If you have the misfortune of being identified as prey, well you're going to have a very bad day.  Demons are insidious bastards and will do everything they can to sour every good thing in your life without you realizing what's happening until it's too late.  They threaten, cajole, and generally manipulate the shit out of you.  If you are identified as a threat you are probably going to be attacked - hardcore.  I'm talking scratching, biting, pushing, screaming, nightmares, visions, and anything else it can think of to get you to run far, far away and never come back.  They are horrible miasmas of malevolence.  There is nothing good about them and they need to be banished back to wherever they came from or completely dispelled.  There are no other ethical options in my opinion.

Goetic demons are an entirely different thing.  They seem to be intelligent, non-human, amoral entities that can be worked with as long as the practitioner understands their natures and is cautious.  I personally believe that Goetic demons are just thought forms and that calling them demons at all is a misnomer, which is why a lot of practitioners call them daemons (after the greek intermediaries) rather than demons - totally different connotation.  

It's for this reason that I don't think traditional demonology is terribly useful in defensive situations, except psychologically.  If you encounter something horrible and decide it's a particular Goetic demon then you have a psychological advantage.  Something with a name that other people have dealt with is a lot less scary than dealing with an unnamed, unseen malevolence (think of the difference between scary movies that show you the monster verses the ones that just suggest it and leave your imagination to fill in the blanks).  In the human mind if you can name something you can have power over it.  So, using traditional demonology as a tool can be helpful, but it's just not quite accurate. 

The entities I call demons are not the same as Goetic demons and require a very different method of approach.  In my encounters with demons the best defense you can possibly have is a strong sense of self, extreme confidence, and either massive shields or a totally uncracked aura (easier said than done).  Demons can taste weakness and will exploit it to the Nth degree.  All the circles, incense, and prayer in the world won't help unless you KNOW that they will keep you safe.  All it takes is one seed of doubt for your fortifications to crack and let it in.  Demons are not to be messed with by the inexperienced - they are scary, scary bastards and can take down even the most skilled and experienced if they get caught on the wrong day. 

If you think you might encounter a demon one day be diligent in your shadow work and heal those cracks in your aura.  Every internal demon you vanquish is one less thing for an external one to prey on.  And, for the love of all that is good, get help IMMEDIATELY!

Book Review – The Ghost Hunter’s Survival Guide by Michelle Belanger

I often kill time by browsing my amazon recommendation list.  This has brought me to some of the best and worst books that now live in my library.  The other day my list popped up with the suggestion that I read Michelle Belanger’s The Ghost Hunter’s SurvivalGuide.  I was leery at first because I am not generally the author’s biggest fan.  However, since the kindle version of the book was only $2.99 I figured what the hell.  I was surprised to find that there was actually some useful information in the book, though not the kind I was expecting.

With a title like The Ghost Hunter’s Survival Guide I was expecting the book to focus on how investigators can protect themselves during an investigation.  The book did spend about a chapter on this - discussing grounding and centering on a very basic level and an introduction to simple shields.  However, the topic of protecting the investigator stopped there.  Instead, the vast majority of the book focuses on how to cleanse a haunted house.  So if you’re looking for a book that gives basic “how to deal with negative energy in a dwelling” information then this might be a decent book to start with.

On the plus side, the book is well written.  It’s organized as a story of a particular haunting investigation and house cleansing.  Each chapter tells a bit of the story and then goes into some technical details of what was done.  The story makes the book an entertaining read and thus worth the three bucks I spent on it.  The techniques she discusses for removing attachments and getting rid of stagnant energy are all good solid techniques if you’re unfamiliar with the practices.  If you already have any proficiency with energetic cleansing then you really don’t need this book.  (I’m certainly biased but I think most people would be better off getting my book instead.)

I guess my biggest problem with this book is that it’s really not what I expected from the title and the book jacket description.  This is not a book for paranormal investigators.  The actual “investigation” that’s discussed in this book is really just Belanger getting the psychic lay of the land and isn’t what I’ve come to expect from people that use the term “ghost hunter.”  I tend to lump ghost hunters with paranormal investigators – folks who go into purportedly haunted place and try to gather some kind of tangible evidence that something beyond the mundane is going on.  When I get a call from someone who wants my help dealing with a haunting I will basically do what Belanger outlines – go to the house, get a feel for it and then do the appropriate cleansing- but I don’t call myself a ghost hunter for doing it.  That’s not being a ghost hunter, just a good witch.

So yeah, I give this book a solid “meh.”  I didn’t really like it, but I didn’t really dislike it either.  Belanger’s techniques are all well explained and will actually work if done correctly, but they’re really not for ghost hunters they’re for people who specialize in banishing.  If you’re a ghost hunter who wants to transition to performing cleansings and banishings, then this might be the book for you.  There are better books out there on basic psychic protection whose techniques will be far more valuable to paranormal investigators.

Check out my previous blog post on psychic protection for paranormal investigators.

Personal Protection Routine

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I teach protection magick at the Grey School.  One of the things that I get questions about is what sorts of protection routines my students should practice.  The answer is: it depends.

I believe that anyone who practices magick needs some kind of personal protective routine.  People who practice magick tend to attract more metaphysical attention than non-magick users.  Using magick lights up your aura like a lighthouse in the fog – that light pierces the astral and draws the curiosity of the things that live there (friendly and unfriendly).  This increased attention makes a magick user a lot more likely to be plagued by unfriendly entities than non-magick users.  People that practice magick also tend to be more sensitive to ambient energy and the energies given off by other people.  Practicing magick teaches helps to develop people’s energetic senses.  On the plus side, being more sensitive to energy makes working with it easier, on the negative it makes unpleasant energy feel a lot worse than it did when the senses were less sharp.  These increased sensitivities can make dealing with negative energy (most often from other people) quite difficult.  A regular cleansing and protective routine can make dealing with these things much easier.

Here is the routine I recommend:

Monthly (or at least once every three months): A full house cleansing and warding

Weekly: A cleansing ritual bath (can be done more often)

Daily: A protective spell in the morning and another at night

As needed: smudging

I recommend doing a fully house cleansing and warding, like the strong house cleansing ritual in my book, roughly once a month.  This will clear out stagnant or negative energies in your surroundings and help keep you from getting bogged down in old energy or the negative energies of your neighbours and keep your protections fresh and strong.

A ritual bath is far and away my favourite way to do personal cleansing.  It can be as elaborate as a full bath with steeped herbs, essential oils, and salts, or as simple as taking a moment during your morning shower to envision negative energy and attachments flowing away from you with the water and going down the drain.

I have a very quick and simple blessing that I say every morning to protect and guide me through my day.  I feel a little lost if I don’t say it (yes, I know that’s totally OCD but it works for me).  I also have a fairly extensive nightly protection ritual that I’ve talked about before.  If such ceremony feels like too much, something as simple as pausing for a moment before you head out for the day and envisioning yourself protected by the energy of your own aura would be better than nothing – the mindfulness of protection is the real goal.

And last but not least, I smudge whenever I feel that my energy is a bit gunky.  I personally like the heavy, earthy feeling of white sage or dragon’s blood, but any smouldering herb or incense can be used as long as it feels cleansing and healthy to you.

Do you think they know?

A while ago I was discussing my book with a co-worker and she asked me, “Do you think the demons know what you’re doing?”  “Umm, yes,” I replied.  Then she got an odd look on her face and asked, “Do you think it pisses them off?”  I stopped and didn’t quite know how to answer but went with, “Well yeah.”

As I’ve said before, I have a much higher than normal probability of running into really scary metaphysical stuff.  There is a reason for this...several actually.  First off, I’m naturally shiny.  When I say someone is “shiny” I mean that person has very strong personal energy.  Strong energy has a way of shining like fog light cutting through both the mass of people around them and the boundaries between the mundane and astral planes.  Both people and places can be shiny, and the energy can be positive, negative, and anything in-between as long as it’s strong.  Such strong energy is very attractive to certain creatures.  On one hand this means that helpful and friendly astral creatures might come to check you out, on the other it means that not so nice things might come to turn you into a snack.  A lot of negative entities feed on energy, particularly dark energy.  Not only am I shiny, I’m very, very dark.  If most witches were like a big scoop of chocolate ice cream to a dark creature, I might be a chocolate sundae topped with hot fudge and oreos – extra tasty.  When I first started practicing magick I would shine like a beacon and had very little in the way of defences; this made me a very tempting target.  This is a big part of why I had so many crazy encounters early on in my study of magick.

The reason I’ve continued to have lots of experiences with magickal nasties is because I piss them off.  A lot.  I’ve pretty much dedicated my life to helping people learn how to deal with negative entities and have now been doing it long enough and to significant effect to the point where things have taken notice.  I’ve dealt with ghosts, goblins, imps, vampires, and infernals over the years and have managed to come out on top every time.  They do not like this and word seems to get around.

When I was in the process of writing the book I had quite a few unwanted visitors hanging around my property that tried their damndest to get me to stop.  For the most part it was just a pack of pixies worried about getting kicked out of the few places where they’re still allowed to live (a solemn promise that what I was writing was only for helping people who were being hurt got them to stop rearranging my book shelves and freaking out my cat).  However, there were a few slightly nastier creatures hanging about as well.  I got a series of some of the worst nightmares in my life while writing about hungry ghosts and I won’t even go into the process of writing about demons.  Apparently even writing about what I do can send ripples through the astral.

So yeah, the monsters know what I’m doing and they don’t like it.  I take the resistance I have to deal with as a sign that what I’m doing is important and can actually make a difference.  I know how to take care of myself so I say bring it.