What are demons. Who are demons and how to deal with them

The information below has no scientific basis.

Bes(Greek δαiμων, "deity, spirit, genius") - in ancient Greek mythology: supernatural being, a deity usually of a lower order, a spirit that can possess both positive and negative properties.

In the Christian tradition, it denoted a demon, an evil spirit. Among the apologists of the 2nd century, there was a widespread theory of the origin of demons from the mixing of the sons of God, identified with angels, with the sons of men (taken from Jewish apocryphal traditions); but according to the point of view established in the Church, demons (demons) are fallen angels.

The word "demon" is introduced into folk beliefs Christianity and sacred books (New Testament, Old Testament). In folk beliefs, demons are seen only as a harmful force. Being invisible and inaccessible to observation, these spirits make themselves known, though not in the action itself, but in the aftermath of it, when, for example, an inexplicable evil lying in the air damages woody and field plants in their very bloom ... With such but by the mysteriousness of the breath of demons and angels, various diseases of the spirit are produced by means of insanity, shameful and terrible wishes.

Occultists believe that demons (demons) are made of narrow matter, invisible to humans, although their presence around oneself can be felt by an unexpected wary feeling (there is someone nearby), and this feeling is oppressive, disturbing. They can seep through all obstacles (wall, door) because they can "leak" through them. It is believed that demons love the air element very much, but they also live in the seas, and in rivers, and in the mountains, and in ravines.

“They resembled people, but indescribably, terribly old. Their bodies withered and twisted. Ghastly holes shone somewhere, where the flesh had decayed and crumbled into remains. The greyish, faded skin wrinkled and tore with every movement. However, their faces were the worst of all. The lips were gone, and the skulls, devoid of cover, showed longish dark teeth in a vile grin. Blood ran in a narrow stream from dirty yellow eyes, dripped from putrid fangs onto skin that was covered with new cracks. They were Brimbston imps, humanoid creatures, neither alive nor dead.

Imp: "Black wings. A milky-white face and carnivorous writhing arms, and healthy fangs gleamed from a twisted mouth. He had dark eyes with reddish pupils." (M. Uspensky. Trilogy about Zhikhar).

Imps, stamping their feet, can fall into the dungeon, where they love to roam. All European and Arab demons possess this property. They love to eat human flesh and drink ichor, and their wings must be dark.

In Orthodox beliefs, it is believed that free demons cannot seep into a consecrated room. This room is “marked” for the Lord, and in that case, actions pleasing to him take place in it, prayers are performed, then he sends his Gracious protection to this place. The grace of God, covering such places, scorches the demons, they cannot overcome it. In that case, there is no God's protection on a person, then demons can freely seep into his energy body. Demons live where they belong. Man, sinning, prepares such a place for them. Where there is sin, there they are. By the nature of their own demons (demons) are very malicious, insidious, deceitful creatures with a vile appearance. They hate righteousness and virtue, they hate everything that is connected with the Lord. They strive with all their might to get a person, to incline him to sin, and then to nurture, build up this sin in him until the person becomes their “slave”. Demons feed on the energies of a person when he indulges in vicious activities (for example, the energies of anger, lust, hatred). Also, demons love to inhale incense from various incense burnt, demons really like it when a person absorbs meat, separately with blood, or indulges prodigal passion(with all this, the energy of the partner is “sucked out” by the demon). In that case, the demon is in a person who has come to a consecrated place (an Orthodox church), then from the grace of God he becomes ill, and the person is inclined to leave this room as quickly as possible, by mentally suggesting the demon so that the person even did not suspect (for example, under any pretext). Or the demon, which was previously quietly in him, suddenly manifests itself sharply, and is located.

Varieties of demons

It is rather difficult to systematize demons, since often the abilities and nature of various spirits are intertwined and turn out to be interconnected. But the Dutch doctor and occultist Johann Weyer, in his book Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1588), provides a detailed systematization of demons and annotations for those who want to call them.

In general, there are several main groups:

  • Geniuses- guardian demons assigned to a person, object or area. This can include various folklore characters such as goblin, water, brownies, house spirits, witches (familiaries), nymphs and dryads, guardians of the palaces of ancient cultures like shedu, and guardians of the person himself like a guardian angel.
  • Spirits not bound to a particular place, like elemental spirits: gnomes, elves, mermaids, satyrs, etc.
  • Archons- demons acting as personifications of the forces of nature and the cosmos, which maintain the constant order of natural things or serve as immortal models for all creatures on earth (which makes them related to the concept of archetype and thoughts in philosophy). The decans from the Hermetic writings can be attributed to this kind of creatures.
  • In science, a "demon" is often called a fictional creature that appears in a mental experience. For example, Maxwell's demon, Laplace's demon and others.

    Primary sources:

  • bogistina.info - who are demons and their impact on people;
  • otvety.google.ru - who are the demons, how many of them are there and what are the varieties;
  • angel-demon.ru - demons;
  • inomir.ru - who are demons;
  • liveinternet.ru - who are demons and how they look;
  • en.wikipedia.org - demon (Wikipedia).
  • The Catholic Church under the new Pope began to actively support exorcists, that is, priests specially trained to exorcise demons. Even Pope Francis himself helps them in this difficult work. Once, while going around the flock, he had to exorcise four demons from a possessed Mexican. The paralyzed sufferer was brought in by the chief exorcist of the Vatican, Father Amort. Alone, he could not cope with the unholy spirits. This suggests that in our time the forces of Darkness are especially active and each person should understand what types of demons exists.

    exorcism

    What are unholy spirits? These are evil entities called by the Prince of Darkness to pervert human souls. And moving into the body is the best way to do this. Abroad, as already mentioned, the rite of exorcism is used. Not every priest has the right to conduct this ritual. This requires special qualifications.

    V Orthodox tradition exorcism corresponds to a report. The priest reads prayers in an authoritative voice, frightening the demon that has settled in a person. This practice has been known in Russia since the 14th century. And in 1646, the Kiev metropolitan Petro Mohyla compiled a breviary, in which a list of prayers necessary for Orthodox reprimand was created.

    Types of demons according to the way they affect a person

    Prince of Darkness

    The first among the demons is Satan. The fallen angel turned away from the Lord and was followed by entities of different levels. The main task of Satan was the fight against God and the aversion of people from the righteous path. He knows God's laws better than anyone and knows how to find loopholes in them. It is Satan who directs demons to take over human bodies.

    Vaalberite

    One of the main assistants and secretary of the Devil. Vaalberith controls demons that persuade people to commit suicide. In addition, he and his henchmen cause causeless quarrels. Gossip, evil scheming and blasphemy are also the consequences of the actions of this type of demon.

    Leviathan

    It is also a demon of the highest level, subordinate directly to Satan. The types of demons that are under his control incline people to sins that go against faith in the Lord.

    Everything that is connected with the thirst for a luxurious life is sent by the demons of Asmodeus. He seduces man by showing him visions of wealth. Makes you jealous of those who have a lot of money.

    If a person is prone to laziness and does not like righteous work, then there is a high probability of exposure to the demons of Astaroth. They make people spend their days in idleness. Of course, the first task of demons is to turn a person away from God. After all, spending whole days on the couch in front of the TV, a person does not even find the strength to pray to the Almighty.

    Demons that obey the demon Veren stand at the origins of human intolerance. They rejoice when people quarrel over nationality or religion. Unwillingness to help others and contempt for the suffering is the action of the demon Veren.

    A sloppy person becomes from the intrigues of Gressil. Insidious spirits turn a person away from hygiene, wanting to turn him into a kind of animal. Often it is they who are among those who take possession of the human body.

    Sonnelone

    With his servants, Sonnelon annoys the Lord, causing a person to have a passionate hatred for other people. After all, if the creatures of the Creator are divided, it will be easier for Satan to subdue them one by one.

    Confronting different types of demons

    Whatever demon tries to tempt a person, there is one most important way to resist him. Keep your thoughts pure. If you think badly about people, come to your senses and ask for forgiveness in prayer. The Lord always gives strength to resist evil. Any types of demons they will be afraid of a priest with high spirituality, so go to church for services more often.

    Exists different kinds demons - the classification was compiled at different times by different authors from among the monks, occultists and philosophers. Find out what demons exist, how they differ from each other and what they have to do with angelic ranks.

    In the article:

    Types of demons - ranks in demonology

    In modern demonology, types of demons are not a fully disclosed topic. But it is known that each representative of evil spirits has a strictly regulated range of duties, beyond which he rarely appears. At different times, medieval, modern, classical demonology, and the leading authors who study this science, created different ways of classifying the forces of hell.

    All demons were once angels. Some authors, for example, I. Wier and R. Burton believe that if there is an angelic hierarchy, then the demonic one was created in its image and likeness. The fallen angels used the familiar way of building a hierarchy without creating anything new. There is, and there are as many demonic ranks.

    Nine Demon Orders

    The first rank is pseudo-gods, demons posing as gods. These are pagan deities, as well as all the rest, with the exception of the one Lord. He commands them.

    The second rank is the demons of lies. Their task is to deceive people with the help of prophecies and predictions. They patronize fortunetellers, psychics, soothsayers. Among these representatives of the demonic hierarchy, the ruler is Python.

    The third rank - fighters with God's laws and commandments. They invented all the evil deeds, vicious activities and arts. The prince of the demons of iniquity is.

    The fourth rank is the avengers and punishers. They inspire thoughts of revenge and atrocities against other people who supposedly deserve it. .

    The fifth rank is deceiver demons who seduce people with pseudo-miracles. They are able to introduce themselves as anyone - both an ordinary person who has a gift, and a messenger of God. Lord of the deceivers - .

    The sixth rank rules over the air element, with the help of which its representatives bring diseases and epidemics to people, as well as natural disasters. The head of the sixth rank is Merezin.

    The seventh rank is the furies who kindle wars and strife. Their influence can be seen on a large scale when we are talking about military conflicts or major urban clashes. Furies also affect people individually, causing them to conflict. .

    The eighth rank - accusers and spies. They watch people, noticing their slightest sins and sinful thoughts. At the same time, these representatives of evil spirits never miss a chance to do dirty tricks. Usually their influence is manifested in false accusations, slander, quarrels with colleagues and relatives due to misunderstandings. The accusers give all the "compromising evidence" to their overlord.

    The ninth rank is the tempters who push a person into sin. The greatest pleasure for him is the transformation of the righteous into an inveterate sinner. Most often, it is these demons that appear to people, it is easier to call them, but keep in mind that it is not you who will benefit from your communication, but evil spirits. It is led by Mammon.

    There is another classification of demons tied to . Before the fall, all the demons took their places in it. According to medieval records that were obtained during the exorcism of the demon Balberith from a girl named Madeleine, the demons, after being cast into hell, took their places in the new, dark hierarchy in accordance with the places they occupied in heaven. In other words, the fallen cherubim occupy the same position among the demons as the cherubim in heaven.

    Beelzebub

    Hierarchy of demons

    First level

    The first level of the demonic hierarchy corresponds to the angelic one, consisting of seraphim, cherubim and thrones. Above them - only:

    • Seraphim Beelzebub takes second place after Lucifer, as. He inclines people to pride. Seraphim Leviathan pushes people away from the Christian faith, teaches heresy and inclines to sins that are contrary to Christian morality. Seraphim Asmodeus seduces with luxury and material goods.
    • Cherub Balberit, who communicated with the exorcist, according to legend, pushes people to commit suicide. He also promotes quarrels and squabbles, incites scandals and teaches slander.
    • The throne of Astaroth governs laziness, despondency and idleness. The throne of Veren makes people intolerant of each other, teaches them selfishness. Throne Gressin is responsible for the tendency to slovenliness, manages the dirt in her physical sense. The throne of Sonnelon is always ready to incite hatred of the enemy and force him to take revenge.

    Second level

    The second level of the hierarchy of demons corresponds to the rank of dominance, strength and power in the angelic hierarchy:

    • Elle's dominance incites breaking the vow of poverty. The dominance of Rosier is a demon of voluptuousness and fornication.
    • Prince Sil Verrier is able to force to break the vow of obedience.
    • The power of Carro instills cruelty in the hearts of people and fights with compassion and mercy. The power of Karnivan governs shamelessness and lack of guilt for committed sins, the inability to repent and receive God's forgiveness.

    Third level

    The third level is the former beginnings, archangels and angels:

    • The beginning of Belial inclines to arrogance. It was he who created fashion and the concept of beauty, because differences in appearance are closely related to a high opinion of oneself. Belial teaches to chat and be distracted during worship. It affects women and children the most.
    • Archangel Olivius is responsible for the hatred of poverty. People who are under his influence hate those who earn less than they do. Olivius teaches not to give alms and treats the poor and wretched with all cruelty.

    Classification of demons according to their habitat

    Identified types of demons according to their habitat monk Michael Psellos who lived about a thousand years ago. He argued that not all demons reside in hell. According to this author of historical, religious and philosophical works, demons have certain habitats and rarely get out of them. The original source has not survived to this day, but it has been repeatedly quoted by other authors, for example, Henry Halliwell.

    fire demons

    According to this theory, fire demons live in the upper layers of the air, lunar ether, or even above the moon. They do not descend either to the world of men or to hell. According to Psellus, they will appear only on the Day of Judgment.

    air demons

    Air demons reside in the air of the human world. It is they who are the very unclean force that every person should beware of. These demons can summon natural disasters become visible and influence people's lives. From time to time they descend into hell on their own business. Airborne evil spirits are mentioned in the Goetia.

    earth demons

    Earth demons, like air ones, live among people. They can hide in rocks, forests and mountains. This type of evil spirit loves to harm people, but not all of them are evil. Some of the demons of the earth secretly live among mortals, posing as ordinary people.

    water demons

    Water demons live in water sources. They harm sailors and underwater life. Water evil spirits are aggressive, never tell the truth and are quite restless. Most often, she appears in the guise of women.

    Underground demons

    Underground demons live in caves and mountain crevices. They harm miners and other professions who work underground. Underground evil spirits are also credited with the destruction of the foundations of houses and earthquakes.

    Light-hater demons, heliophobes or lucifugas live in hell and never go beyond it. According to Psellus, they are incomprehensible and unattainable for a mortal. When meeting with a person, the lucifug will surely kill him by strangling or poisoning him with his breath. Light-haters are afraid only of the light, it is impossible to keep, summon or defend against them by any witchcraft or magic seal. They shun people and never respond to various challenges.

    According to Psellus, only air, earth, water and underground demons can be summoned. This can be done in a place corresponding to its essence. For example, with water evil spirit it is better to communicate on the shore of a reservoir, with the earth - in the forest, with the underground - in a cave. To summon an air demon, this condition is not necessary, the air is already around you.

    Types of demons in demonology - division by occupation

    The duties of a demonic entity reveal its power. The stronger the demon, the more influence it has on a person in particular and the world in general. The classification of demons according to their occupation and level of power was first introduced Alphonse de Spinoy in the 15th century. It is often criticized, since this source does not mention many duties of evil spirits, and most famous demons does not fit into this classification.

    Parks - Roman goddesses of fate, almost identical with the Greek Moirai. (Painting "Three Moiras", Marco Biggio, 1525)

    Parks were called goddesses weaving human destinies in Roman mythology. Similar characters are found in most of the pagan pantheons of the world. De Spina ranked them among the demons, in whose power are human destinies.

    Pure demons are powerful beings from hell that only attack saints. Deceiver demons appear only to humans, usually in human form. Their goal is to deceive, to lead a righteous person into sin, to get his soul. There are also sleep demons, or nightmarish demons, who send terrible dreams and feed on the energy of the sleeper.

    Two types of representatives of the infernal army are assigned to witches and sorcerers. According to de Spina, every witch has an assistant, who is almost always in the form of a small animal. A separate type of demon inspires them with false memories of the covens - the source calls the covens taking place in the real world a fiction.

    Almost everyone knows who the incubus and succubus are. These are demonic entities that seduce a person and feed on his energy. De Spina added to these two species one more - demons, who are interested in the male seed. According to Christian beliefs, demons and demons are born from it.

    Demonolotarian Stephanie Connolly

    Already in our time, there was another attempt to distinguish varieties of demons according to their occupation and area of ​​​​responsibility. Classification contemporary demonologist and demonolatry priestess Stephanie Connolly closer to traditional ideas about the occupation of evil spirits of different ranks and levels of influence. It is also more convenient for practitioners who are involved in summoning representatives of the infernal forces and working with them.

    Each demon has its own sphere of responsibility, and each of the demons has lower demons, demons, devils and other representatives of the infernal army under his command. Of course, it is unlikely that a powerful demon will be able to be summoned, but he can send someone of a lower rank to help the magician.

    Love, passion and sex are the responsibility of Asmodeus and Astaroth. They can be contacted to create a love spell or sexual attachment, as well as gaining attractiveness and finding a lover.

    Hatred, vindictiveness, anger and war are ruled by Andras, Abaddon and Agaliarept. These demons and their servants are turned to inflict damage, take revenge on the enemy with the help of magic, and also find help in confronting a strong opponent.

    Demons can both take life and bestow it. Verrin, Verrier and Belial are responsible for health and healing. They can be asked for help in the fight against a serious illness if you are engaged in black magic for healing.

    Demons of death - Eurynom, Vaalberit and Babael. They are turned to in order to avoid death or to kill the enemy with the help of magic. These same demons patronize necromancy.

    Natural forces and elements are commanded by Lucifer, Leviathan and Dagon. They can be asked for help to facilitate contact with natural sources of energy, as well as to enhance the power of the rite, in which important role play the elements.

    Wealth, luck and all the material components of human life are under the influence of Belphegor, Beelzebub and Mammon. They can be asked for good luck in any business, enrichment - and without any restrictions on the ways of earning, as well as ruining the enemy.

    Secret knowledge is given to sorcerers and magicians by the demons Python, Ronve and Delepitor. They are approached for advice by sorcerers who work exclusively with the forces of darkness. For white magicians this path is closed.

    Classification of demons in the demonology of Cornellius Agrippa - planetary correspondences

    In demonology, the classification of demons can be tied to planets. Many ancient sources speak of certain spirits of the planets. For example, they are described in some detail in "Key of Solomon". It is difficult to say exactly who is described in this source - spirits or demons, because Christian demonology attributed to the representatives of evil spirits in general all mythological characters except those that are directly related to God.

    Occult Philosophy. Book 4

    The planetary classification of the demons of hell was compiled Cornelius Agrippa. It is described in detail in the fourth volume of Occult Philosophy by this author. Each of these creatures corresponds to a certain appearance, demeanor, as well as a number of questions that can be addressed to them. The latter correspond to the meaning of the planets in the generally accepted sense, for example, the demons of Venus can help with a love spell or gaining attractiveness.

    So there are demons or spirits of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. They all come in various forms, and their appearance is accompanied by physical phenomena around the magic circle - for example, lunar demons cause rain, and Mercurians plunge everyone present into horror. To communicate with them, it is necessary to strictly observe all correspondences. Each planet corresponds to a certain time of day, metal, color, stone and other important components of summoning demons.

    Christian demonology - classification according to sins

    Christian demonology is based on the connection between a person's ability to sin and demons, which are directly related to the transformation of the righteous into sinners. For the first time connected demons and human vices demonologist P. Binsfeld in the 16th century thus:

    Lucifer - pride;
    Mammon - greed;
    Asmodeus - lust;
    Satan - anger;
    Beelzebub - gluttony;
    Leviathan - envy;
    Belphegor is lazy.

    In the 19th century London occultist F. Barrett changed the classification in one of his books. Mammon became the patron of seduction and temptation, not greed and greed. However, wealth- this is one of the temptations for a person. Asmodeus, according to Barret, commands not lust, but revenge and anger. Satan is a known deceiver who has nothing to do with anger and vindictiveness. Beelzebub, in this source, is called the ruler of false gods, who are actually demons. Gluttony Barret "transferred" to Mammon, as the lord of temptation.

    Python - the prince of the spirits of lies;
    Belial - the receptacle of vice;
    Merihim is the leader of the spirits that cause contagious diseases;
    Abaddon - demon of wars;
    Astaroth - the demon of accusers and inquisitors;
    Azazel is a scapegoat.

    Russian demonology and its features

    Russian demonology was born even before the arrival Orthodox faith on the lands of the ancient Slavs. Our ancestors always believed in evil spirits. somewhat changed under the influence of Christianity. But information about the evil spirits of the Slavs has been well preserved, since Christianity only added new characters without affecting the existing ones in any way.

    As well as other types of "walking dead" - one of the most striking characters in Russian demonology. At the time of the Cossacks in Russia and Ukraine, they believed in people who had demonic abilities - zduhachi and double-hearted people. During sleep, according to ancient legends, they get almost complete control over the situation.

    Badzula is a demon that can make any person a drunkard and a vagabond. In the form of a woman in rags, he appears near the settlements closer to winter. If you let the bazulu for the night, the family will soon become impoverished and fall apart. Therefore, travelers were treated rather wary in winter - in the cold, our ancestors rarely went far from their native places.

    Forest, swamp, field and river evil spirits are the constant characters of Russian folklore. A lot of information about them has been preserved in signs and folk tales. Devils, contrary to popular belief, from time immemorial lived near people, according to the beliefs of the Slavs. There are many evil spirits - Sinister, Indulgence, Pesigolovets and many others.

    The Slavs tried to appease the evil spirits so that they would not harm. Some of them are completely kind to people, for example, such are brownies, with whom it is customary to be friends to this day.

    They are vile ... just as it is impossible for a sinner to look at the light of an angel, so it is terrible to see demons, because they are vile.

    Reverend Seraphim of Sarov


    Satan himself takes on the form of an angel of light

    For such false apostles, deceitful workers, assume the form of the Apostles of Christ. And no wonder: because Satan himself takes the form of an angel of light, and therefore it is not a great thing if his servants also take the form of servants of righteousness, but their end will be according to their deeds (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

    Venerable Theodora of Constantinople

    (ordeal)

    I turned away my eyes so as not to see their terrible faces.

    Seeing her, Grigory was delighted and asked how her soul was separated from her body, what she saw at her death, how she went through the air trials. To these questions Theodora answered him thus:

    “Child Gregory, you asked about a terrible thing, it’s terrible to remember it. I saw faces that I had never seen, and heard words that I had never heard. What can I tell you? Terrible and terrible I had to see and hear for my deeds, but with the help and prayers of our father, the Monk Basil, everything was easy for me. the last hour destroys a man. Truly terrible is the death of sinners like me! So, when the hour came for the separation of my soul from the body, I saw around my bed a lot of Ethiopians, black as soot or pitch, with eyes burning like coals. They raised a noise and shout: alone roared like beasts and beasts, others barked like dogs, some howled like wolves, and some grunted like pigs, all of them, looking at me, raged, threatened, gnashed their teeth, as if they wanted to eat me, they prepared charters in which all my bad deeds were recorded. Then my poor soul trembled; it was as if the torment of death did not exist for me: the terrible vision of the terrible Ethiopians was for me another, more terrible death. I turned away my eyes so as not to see their terrible faces, but they were everywhere and their voices were carried from everywhere.

    An evil spirit in appearance and being

    I

    The devil is an evil mental force that has departed from God, ormental evil spirit, and his superior dignity(Eph. 6:12).

    Thus, the demons, being of the same spiritual nature with the angels, but voluntarily deviating from good to evil, became in the image of being - in contrast to the first (lights) - darkness.

    The ancient pagans and their magicians, who were in direct contact with demons, whom they respectfully called gods, of course, should have known more about their nature than people of the 20th century, who do not even believe in the existence of demons. Therefore, spells (a kind of “prayer”) of sorcerers and sorcerers, especially Assyria and Egypt, where the latter were powerful, can give some material on the negative side, if not adding anything new to patristic or biblical data, then still illuminating in their own way case. And it’s enough that the “dogmatics” of incantations coincides with Christian dogmatics and, therefore, shows how low the current culture and its worldview, which is so at odds with the foundations of faith, have fallen! ..

    For example, I will give two spells from the ritual of black magic of the ancient Chaldean priests.

    First (against the “great maskims” - the name of one demonic class): “Seven, there are seven of them! Seven of them in the deepest depths of the sea. Seven troublemakers of heaven; they rise from the deepest bowels of the ocean, from the innermost recesses. They are not men and they are not women; spread like a web. They have no women, no children are born; honor and goodness are unknown to them; they do not listen to prayers and requests. Evil spirits born in the mountains, the enemies of the god Ea, they are the instruments of the wrath of the gods... Enemies! Enemies! Seven of them, seven of them, twice seven of them!

    Another spell against Umu* - a separate category of demons:

    “They (demons) are the fiends of hell ... They penetrate from one house to another and you can’t keep them with doors, you can’t lock them with locks, they crawl through the doors like snakes; they prevent a wife from conceiving by her husband ... They are that ominous voice that, cursing people, pursues everywhere.

    Since angels, as we have seen, cannot be limited to any physical place, then, consequently, demons, by their nature, cannot be spatially defined and measured by our vershoks, arshins and sazhens. Thus, the question of scholastic theologians "how many demons can fit on the point of a needle?" may be called idle, but not stupid, not illogical, not unreasonable. Due to the above properties of their spiritual nature, they can fit hundreds, thousands, billions, quintillions ... The theological concepts of a “spiritual place” are explained in the above spells and the properties of demons to penetrate through material things and locked locks. I will give a few more examples that clearly show the many different abilities of spirits.

    Renowned scientist, prof. V. Bogoraz-Tan, who studied (of course, not believing in demons) shamanism, witchcraft and magic first-hand, that is, from the words of the shamans themselves and from their own experience (he himself was subjected to their spells), wrote a whole book on this topic in connection with Einstein's newly discovered ideas, embodied in the so-called theory of relativity. I borrow something from her.

    The learned intellectual kept asking in what form the demons appear to the sorcerers, how exactly they appear and what sizes they are. The professor says: “Chukotka shamans pointed out to me more than once: “It is difficult to understand what kind of spirits there are, large or small. You look at the spirit - and it is smaller than a midge. cliff and his feet are below on the sand... Look at him from afar, through a light mist - and he rises like a whole mountain..."

    “When you begin to get acquainted with shamanism,” their incapable and incomprehensible student continues, “first of all, this smallness of the spirits called by the shaman strikes. They are often hundreds, the shaman gathers them into a tambourine, shakes them - and they are squeezed together and rolled into a ball.

    Then he shakes the tambourine, the spirits wake up all over the room, swarm and buzz, break out and, sticking around the room from all sides with a thick layer, protect it from enemy attacks.

    “The sizes of spirits at meetings,” Bogoraz-Tan continues, “are constantly changing... The spirit that attacks a person, a terrible hunter of souls, is huge, gigantic... The same spirit, defeated, tamed by a shaman, on the contrary, is small, even tiny.

    Without multiplying extracts from the vast shamanic practice, I will add that such examples are found in every folklore and any magical ritual. Even those folk traditions that have been processed and passed through the hands of poets and writers with a purely positivist direction have retained the main grain of truth.

    Let everyone remember only his school and gymnasium years and find as many examples as he likes from the books he read at that time, out of duty and according to his own disposition.

    Here, King Solomon from the Thousand and One Nights, the Arabian tales of Scheherazade, puts a huge genie - a spirit (which in a free state stood on the ground with its feet and went into the clouds with its head) into a small bottle and, having sealed it with a magical seal, throws it into the sea.

    In another fairy tale, "Aladin's Magic Lamp", genies-demons also appear in a giant form.

    In Goethe's Faust, the demon, the "genius of the earth", summoned by spells to frighten Faust, appears in enormous size, but the same demon under the guise of Mephistopheles, wanting to please Faust and seduce him, takes on already modest dimensions - there is nothing to be afraid of, they say ...

    Our poets do the same. In Pushkin's songs of the southwestern Slavs ("Marko Yakubovich") the spirit behind short time three times it changes its appearance, successively from a giant turning into a small dwarf.

    In the poem "Demons" the coachman says to the poet:

    Look: out, out playing,
    Blows, spits on me...
    There's an unprecedented milestone
    He stood in front of me
    There he flashed a small spark
    And disappeared into the darkness of the night ...

    Pushkin takes a closer look:

    I see - the spirits have gathered
    Among the whitening plains.
    Endless, ugly
    In the muddy moon game,
    Various demons swirled

    Like leaves in November...

    Or here is another mocking (when it’s not at all funny) phrase of a non-intellectual:

    You will catch a hundred of them in a bubble ...

    Nekrasov

    II

    He is incapable of remorse

    “It may be that before the creation of man, there was still some place for repentance for the devil,” says St. Basil the Great. - But as soon as the dispensation of the world, and the planting of paradise, and man in paradise, and the commandment of God, and the envy of the devil, and the murder of the exalted one, appeared, since then a place for repentance has been concluded for the devil. For if Esau, having sold the birthright, did not find a place for repentance, then is there any place for repentance for him who killed the first-created man and through him brought death?

    III

    Demons don't know the future

    Once a demonic power appeared to Pachomius the Great († 348) in the form of a wife. At the end of a long conversation, which I omit, the saint said to the devil:

    Do you know that after our death future monks will not work for God as faithfully as we do?

    I know well, - the demon answers.

    You lie on your bad head: to know the future is the business of God Himself alone, and you are a lie and you own a lie! ..

    Even if I don’t know anything by foreknowledge,” the devil answered the elder, “however, comparing the past events with the present, I conclude about those that will happen in the future.

    “The one who multiplies the demon blesses,” adds the life, “the Monk Pachomius in the name of Jesus Christ, rebuke him, and the demon with all his hordes will disappear.”

    Another example. One day the demon appeared blissfully. Andrew, for Christ's sake, the holy fool († c. 936 in Constantinople), and made a prediction about future, that is, current, Christians.

    In those days people will be wickeder than me, he said, and little children will surpass old people in cunning. Then I will begin to rest, then I will not teach people anything! They themselves will fulfill my will! ..

    How do you know it? - asked the blessed one. - After all, the demon knows nothing by foresight?

    The latter replied:

    Our smartest father, Satan, while in hell, conjectures about everything through sorcery (to put it in our language, with the help of the enormous occult, unknown forces inherent in him, he sort of solves problems for compiling equations regarding the relationships and clashes of peoples, just like a chemist, physicist, an astronomer or mathematician, with the help of his knowledge and various actions on acids, gases, planets, makes his predictions about various physico-chemical and astronomical phenomena) and transmits to us, but we ourselves do not know anything.

    But it is clearly seen that Satan himself does not know anything, but mixing human passions like different acids, pouring from one person into another who works for him, various poisons of malice, deceit, self-love, he draws probable conclusions.

    IV

    Despite their ignorance of the future, demons, as just mentioned, constantly take false predictions

    "And they are not to be believed, even though they speak the truth many times in the manner we have spoken of."

    V

    Demons also know the Holy Scriptures

    “Even in Scripture, this murderer is versed,” says St. Gregory the Theologian. - From one place he will say: it is written about bread, from another: it is written about angels. It’s written more, - is talking, - like an angel to command you about you, and they will take you in their hands(Ps. 90:12). O cunning one for evil, for which I did not finish the next (I firmly remember this, although you will keep silent), that, protected by the Trinity, I will step on you - asp and basilisk(13) and I will trample snake and scorpion?(Luke 10:19).”

    “One day,” says Rev. Ephraim the Syrian about his friend St. Avramias, - when the blessed one, according to custom, ate food, the enemy entered his cell in the form of a young man and approached him with the intention of overturning his cup.

    But he guessed and kept her, and he continued to eat food, not caring about his deceit. The young man, jumping back, stood in front of the blessed one and, placing a lamp with a burning luminary on it, loudly began to sing a psalm and say: Blessed is the undefiled one who walks in the law of the Lord...(Ps. 119:1.) So he said most psalm (it contains 176 verses. - Bishop Barnabas).

    VI

    But human thoughts (unless they are inspired by them themselves) demons do not know

    “Satan does not know by what passion the soul will be conquered,” says the ancient Egyptian ascetic Abba Matoy. He sows, but he does not know if he will reap. He sows thoughts of fornication, thoughts of slander, and also other passions. To what passion the soul shows itself inclined, that he inspires it. “Demons, although extremely unclean, however, are not hidden from each other in their ranks, but they do not see two ranks that are higher than them (that is, angelic and spiritual, our human. - Bishop Barnabas),” says St. Isaac Sirin.

    I will also cite the testimony of Abba Serena, the famous Egyptian ascetic. “Even the thoughts that they inspire, whether they are accepted or how they are accepted, they recognize not by the nature of the soul itself, that is, not by the internal movement that is hidden, so to speak, in the brain, but by the movements and signs outer man. For example, when gluttony is instilled, if they see that a monk with curiosity fixes his eyes at the window or at the sun, or carefully asks about the hour, then they will know that he has a desire to eat. If, suggesting fornication, they notice that he patiently accepted the arrow of lust, or they see that the flesh was indignant, or, at least, he did not breathe, as he should, against the suggestion of impure voluptuousness (remember, reader, how to act, according to reason and the work of the holy fathers, in such cases! - Bishop Barnabas), then they understand that an arrow of lust is stuck in his soul's insides.

    So, let's remember that at any time of the day or night there are demons around us and literally, as they say, look into our mouths. “Every one of our movements is observed with curiosity,” says another great seer, Rev. Nilus of Sinai, - and nothing is left unnoticed in us, no uplifting on the bed, no sitting, no standing, no word, no way out, no look, they look at everything intently, they use everything, all day learn from us flattering(Ps. 37:13), in order to slander the humble mind during prayer and extinguish the blessed light in it. And that's enough about that. To write and speak aloud to the uninitiated, this same holy father restrains me more clearly and in more detail, just as he himself refrains from the same, and the reason for this, whoever wants to know, let him read it himself.

    VII

    Demons invented every vice, as well as impure passions

    The character of the devil is clearly defined in the Word of God - he proud(Ex. 14:12,14), cruel (Luke 8:21), malicious (Job 1:9; 2:4), deceitful (Matt. 6:13; 13:19), deceitful (John 8 :44), conceited (Matt. 4:9). And all the power of the hateful nature of demons is directed at people.

    With the advent of Christ, the power of the devil has already been completely broken, and he now acts only in sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2).

    “You are deposed by the Cross, mortified by the Life-giver, lifeless, dead, motionless, inactive, and although you retain the image of a serpent, you are betrayed to shame on high!” - exclaims Gregory the Theologian in the "Sermon for Holy Pascha".

    Satan himself once said to the great psychic Saint Nifont (326-373), bishop of the city of Constantia: "Since Jesus was crucified, indeed, I have become weak ...".

    But that's not how he acted before. (Apparently, our times are approaching when he will begin to boss around and torture mankind with his former strength. See: Rev. 11:7; 17:8; 20:3.) The ancient pagans learned well on their back (Ps 128:3) all the vindictiveness, malice and hatred of demons towards the human race. This popular belief was developed by the ancient Greek tragedians. Thus appeared among them the "spirit of vengeance."

    In Aeschylus, he appears as a demon-tempter, continuously acting in the destinies of a certain kind. So, in the Atrid family, a whole string of new ones grows out of one main sin; Alastor, avenging one crime, causes another, new one, which again in turn is followed by revenge and another new crime, and so on without end. In Sophocles and Euripides, the evil character of this demon remains the same, but with slight modifications.

    At any rate, the strength of his hatred had not diminished. So, in Sophocles in Oedipus at Colon we read:

    But here's what will happen: in Thebes My avenging spirit, settled forever... etc.

    In Homer himself, demons as good deities are almost never found, but as evil forces, especially with the application of the epithets στυγερος, χαλεπος, κακοσ*, (* terrible, severe, evil (Greek)) come across quite often. Directly, without any roundabouts, in the meaning of "evil, death" (Verderben) or "death" (Tod) stands δειμων in the Iliad (VIII, 166).

    The philosopher Socrates, who must have known a good deal about all these things, because he himself had, in his own words, a demon always accompanying him, inspiring him this and that, speaks of the evil character of the demons.

    Here is an excerpt from Plato's Lysis (223A):

    “Having said this, I (Socrates) thought it was already to touch someone else, older. But here like some demons teachers came up - one Meneksenov, the other Lizisov - together with their brothers and ordered them to go home ... "

    Of course, here the word "demon" is used in the sense of a hostile force that interferes with our intention. Thus, we also have evidence in favor of the same from the side of the two philosophical minds of Greece, on which, like on pillars, the whole ancient intellectual worldview rested.

    After this, the longing of mankind until the First Coming of Christ the Savior for the Redeemer and gratitude to God (for deliverance) together with the joy of the first Christians, who before that fear of death through all life, blame the work of the devil(Heb. 2: 14-15).

    VIII

    Demons are powerful (Eph. 2:2; 6:12)

    When St. Averky, the apostolic husband, Bishop of Hierapolis († c. 167), being in Rome, cast out a demon from the royal daughter, then as a punishment for forcing him in his old age to make such a long journey for the sake of this exile (from Hierapolis, near the present Turkish Bambuk-Kalasi, to Rome), said to him: “Here lies a stone (in front of the palace lay a huge block of stone, which many people could barely move; the saint pointed to it); I command you, devil, in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, to carry this stone all the way to my homeland, to Hierapolis, and put it there at the southern gate of the city. The devil, like some kind of slave and captive, bound by an oath, leaving the royal daughter, picked up that stone and, groaning heavily, carried it through the air through the hippodrome (the place of races and spectacles of the people). All the people watched with great surprise how this stone was rushing through the air, they also heard the loud cry of the groaning devil, but, of course, they could not see him himself. The devil, bringing the stone to Hierapolis, threw it at the place where St. Averkiem. The inhabitants of the city, seeing a stone suddenly fallen from the air, were very surprised, not knowing this secret, until the saint returned to them and told them everything.

    Averky carved an epitaph on this stone and then ordered the townspeople - his spiritual children - to put it on his grave as a monument. Which was done with great difficulty by common efforts.

    Of course, unbelievers, reading the life of Averky and his most tombstone inscription, always considered it to be fairy tales. But in 1883 God put them to shame. In that year, during excavations at the site of ancient Hierapolis, this stone was unearthed. The aforementioned epitaph carved on it, which was considered a “priestly invention,” in modern terms, has also survived intact. Science, as always, greedily pounced on the "novelty" and had to recognize the truth of everything that had denied before. At present, the authenticity and antiquity of the epitaph are recognized by such scholars as the famous archaeologist de Rossi.

    Rev. Seraphim speaks of the power of the smallest of the demons, that he is able to turn the whole earth with one claw.

    IX

    But despite this, Satan trembles at the name of Jesus Christ and at the sign of the cross

    For insurances (at midnight, at dark places etc.) St. John of the Ladder teaches to act as follows: “Arm yourself (with prayer), spread your arms (with the cross) and beat the adversaries with the name of Jesus, for there is no strongest weapon either in heaven or in substitute."

    Even when people who commit sin cross themselves, due to habit or upbringing, but also in order to protect against dark force, then and those receive help.

    St. Gregory the Theologian conveys interesting case from the life of Emperor Julian the Apostate, which took place during his initiation into one of the mystery cults. It was necessary to go to the "gods", that is, demons, in some underground caves, in order to conjure and confer with them there. “But when our brave man,” narrates the holy father, “goes forward, he is seized with horror, with every step he becomes more frightening; they also talk about unusual sounds, about stench, about fiery manifestations, and, I don’t know about what, ghosts and dreams. Struck by surprise, as inexperienced in such a matter, he (Julian) runs to the cross this ancient benefit, and is signified by him against horrors, calls for the help of the Wronged One (that is, Christ). What followed was even more terrible. The sign worked, the demons were defeated, fears dissipated. What then? Evil comes to life, the apostate again becomes impudent, tries to go further, and again the same horrors. He crosses himself again - and the demons subside. The student is at a loss, but with him is a mentor (the magician and sorcerer who accompanied him - Bishop Barnabas), reinterpreting the truth. He says: "They were not afraid of us, but they abhorred us." And evil took over. As soon as the teacher said - the student believes, and the one who convinces leads him to the abyss of death.

    Another example. Came once blessed Basil, for the sake of Christ, the holy fool, the Moscow miracle worker, performing his difficult feat of foolishness, to the tavern (tavern, tavern), where the owner was angry at heart and brought wine with abuse, often repeating the name of the demon. Blessed Basil stood at the door and, grieving in spirit, looked at those who came to "drink." Following him came one "wine-drinker shaking with a hangover," who asked the kisser to give him wine for money as soon as possible. But out of impatience, in a fit of anger, he shouted at him: “Let the evil one take you, drunkard, who prevents me from offering you to the best.” Hearing such a word shielded himself sign of the cross who came, accepting wine from his hands, and blessed Basil, as if foolish, laughed loudly, clapped his hands and exclaimed: “Good, good you did, always do it to save yourself from the invisible enemy.” Those in the tavern asked about the reason for the laughter. The saint, now casting aside his foolishness, answered them wisely:

    “When the owner called on the name of the evil one, he went up with his word into a glass, when he who wanted to drink protected himself with the sign of the cross, a demon came out of the glass and fled from the tavern. I laughed with great joy and praise remembering Christ our Savior and overshadowing themselves in all their deeds with the sign of the cross, which reflects all the power of the enemy.

    X

    Demons change and transform

    With the permission of God, the demons change and transform into the form they want in accordance with their imagination, starting from bright angel(2 Corinthians 11:14) and ending with every kind of cattle, reptiles and monsters. The latter kind is the most suitable for them, and in their appearances they often appear to people in a different way. Only for the sake of seduction take on a “light” look. Why is that?

    The image of the appearance of the spirit, good or evil, corresponds to something in the spiritual world, some kind of spiritual essence, which we, due to our “carnality”, as it is said, “cannot understand and perceive”. But if there were no angelic and non-appearances for people, then we should have concluded that they should formally differ: some spirits should take on a beautiful, pleasant appearance, according to their beautiful and good nature, others - on the contrary. With ghost visions, indeed, this is what happens. Angels always appear in a beautiful way, and demons, as you will see, in a different, repulsive way. Rev. Seraphim of Sarov, when asked by a layman whether he had seen evil spirits, answered with a smile: “They are vile ... just as it is impossible for a sinner to look at the light of an angel, so it’s terrible to see demons, because they are vile.”

    Why, I repeat, so? Because their inner nature, darkened and perverted after being cast down from heaven, into whatever image they are transformed, even into Christ and into an angel of light, always shines through the accepted charming (not to be confused with charming) appearance. Therefore, no matter how beautiful the form of the appeared demon was, but since it serves as an expression and revelation of a disharmonious, distorted essence and crooked nature, it cannot be completely corrected. Just as an artist who is in the dark, although he would be brilliant, will not be able to draw the right picture and select the right colors, so the demon is unable to depict the good that he has lost. It will all be “on its side” and “inside out”. The personality remains with the demon, but it is crooked, incomplete, or, as the Lord Himself defines it, false, not true(John 8:44), but always changing, transforming. That is why the people expressed themselves in the proverb about a deceitful, dodgy person: he spins like a demon. And no matter how hard the demon tries to “dress up” and “beautify”, but from the one who sees the vile nature of demons ( received the gift of discerning spirits (1 John 4:1) and cleansed the eye of the mind completely from passions), cannot be hidden. The saints see its ugliness, that is, without an image (of course, god-like) appearance, and internal disorder with an external brilliant appearance, and soon drive away and dispel the dreamy ghost. Those who have not reached this measure of spiritual knowledge are easily caught by demons, especially when they are presumptuous, for it cannot be denied that they skillfully counterfeit things.

    And this transformation into decent images happens to demons when they want to seduce someone, and usually they appear in an unattractive and vile form. I will mention some here.

    1. I'll start with the "light" look just mentioned. “The light seen in them is not the real light,” says St. Anthony the Great, “or rather, the demons bear in themselves the beginning and the image of the fire prepared for them. In what they will burn, they will try to frighten people. In this form, the devil appeared to St. Nikita, a recluse of the Caves, venerable Simeon the Stylite, St. Pachomius the Great (in the form of "Christ") and others.

    2. The constantly occurring image of their appearance and images - in the form of an Ethiopian, Murin, according to the lives of the saints, or a Negro, speaking in modern terms, with an ape-human face, sometimes on goat legs with or without a tail, with horns or only with horns, shaggy. Briefly, a type inherent in the traditions (folklore) of all peoples, of all times, and at the same time so persecuted by ridicule and blasphemous remarks about church beliefs from the outside modern society. Obvious proof that this view best conveys the spiritual nature of the devil in three-dimensional boundaries and that the latter does not like it very much when the Church exposes his disgrace for show to all people.

    The fact that peoples who have never communicated with each other, some of which have been buried for millennia under the sand of the plains of Egypt, Assyria, Phenicia, Greece, Rome, have images of demons similar to the smallest detail when they appear to people, is very remarkable and shows that such a stable image really corresponds to some real essence, one and the same, outliving those that it once was. So, during the latest excavations at the place of residence of the ancient Phoenicians, they find teraphim, small idols, in the form of what? - in the usual ugly way for us with ponytails, horns, with pitchforks (tridents), sometimes in the highest degree cynically presented. The same can be seen among the treasures of archaeological excavations carried out in countries once inhabited by Semitic peoples. Among the amulets sometimes found in such in large numbers in the Punic graves of ancient Carthage, there are very often heads with horns and the face of a satyr and with an expression that today is given only to the faces of demons.

    From the time of Ancient Greece and Rome, thanks to the preserved vast material of classical literature and sculpture, the cultural world inherited a widely and detailed demonology. All this is too well known to require any examples or bibliographic data.

    Shall we take folk traditions so recently and only partly known to the cultural world of the Far East, namely, the rising sun, and here in her folklore, fairy tales, legends, beliefs we will see the same thing. And here the devil is depicted "with bull horns on an ugly disheveled head, sharp fangs in his mouth, tenacious claws on his feet and hands" (the fairy tale "The Ship of Happiness"), with "long, shaggy hands with claws" ("The Hero Ranko and the Devil") and takes possession of a person because of his cruelty and love of money (“Basket with imps”).

    I omit all the boundless material on this issue of our Russian writing and oral tradition. But I consider it useful to mention how our civilized people, denying the existence of demons in words and mocking their depiction by the Church in the form of Ethiopians and Murins, actually see them in reality in the same image. So, the philosopher “Spinoza, waking up in the morning, saw an image by the bed Negro”, - Professor P. Kovalevsky testifies about him, as if about his personal patient. To say only - Spinoza, this sharpened mind (from the point of view of cultured person), among the clients of the lunatic asylum! A man distinguished by a special disbelief - in the role of a spectator of demons in the form of black, disgusting murines! .. But no matter how you explain the matter and gloss over it, the fact remains.

    3. It is not possible even briefly to list all the forms in which demons appear to people. I will cite here only a few, exclusively from the lives of the saints and from their picturesque images in icon-painting originals, facial Apocalypses, and ancient Slavic manuscript collections.

    Rev. Anthony the Great says that demons are "deceitful and ready to turn into anything, taking on the likeness of women, beasts, reptiles, giants, many warriors" (Job 41:9-11; 18:22-23).

    About St. Hilarion the Great tells that “I rely on the nakedness of my wife, shamelessly mocking, to the resting saint.” During his prayer, the demon sometimes appeared to him in the form of a howling wolf, sometimes in the form of a galloping jackal.

    Rev. Sergius, the miracle worker of Radonezh, demons appeared in the form of many snakes that filled his entire cell, sometimes in the form of animals or disorderly soldiers in Lithuanian uniforms and pointed hats (shishaks).

    By order of St. Martyr Tryphon, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, a demon appeared to a multitude of people in the form of a black dog with fiery eyes.

    In ancient church icon painting, the image of Satan is often found with a second face in place of the shameful parts to show what his personality is and what his personality is aimed at: two faces means double-mindedness, inconstancy, deceit of the devilish nature, and the place where the second person is placed indicates its second feature - passion for fornication.

    There are images of the devil with his tongue hanging out, with a woman's face and hair, and so on.

    Notes:

    Black magic must be distinguished from white. Demons are cunning. Since the idea of ​​God cannot be eradicated from a person’s soul, but can only be perverted, replaced by something else, they inspired the pagans with such thoughts: there are de bright gods, merciful, who require such and such reverence (there was a learning complex and diverse a pagan cult, representing a perverted likeness of the genuine (Compare: "Fundamentals", Section III. Ch. 5. §4) and replacing faith in the true God). Otherwise, the demons suggested further, there are still unmerciful gods, who must be revered in a different way (the presentation of science followed magic spells, witchcraft, etc.). In both areas, therefore, there were ministers, priests and magicians. And again two religions: one is permitted, official, and the other is usually forbidden, persecuted, mystery; on the one hand - white, on the other - black magic; on the one hand - allegedly the veneration of "true gods", on the other - "unclean spirits". But in fact, all the same demons were revered and appeared, taking only different forms (2 Cor. 11:14).

    It is important here to pay attention to the fact that the demons not only know the Psalter by heart (the book that they read against them), but they themselves can sing it with impunity. (Although so demons only with Old Testament they turn, but they do not endure the New, Holy Gospel; see the life of St. Nikita, the recluse of the Caves, commemorated January 31: Paterik of the Caves. Kiev, 1883. Sheet 151/ob-152). Therefore, only then can we drive away demons and thoughts with the words of prayer and the Holy. Scriptures when we speak them with by faith and with heart feeling.

    St. Isaac the Syrian. Creations. P. 69. Word 17. As a passionate person, he cannot look directly into the face of an angel or person embraced by the Holy Spirit (cf. Motovilov’s answer to St. Seraphim when he was in the Spirit: “I can’t, father. Look at you, because Lightning is pouring out of your eyes. Your face has become brighter than the sun..."), so the demon cannot look at the human soul, especially when it is pious. In our ordinary life, this is reflected in the fact that the possessed, for example, cannot look into the eyes of the ascetic. Even passionate people, sinners, experience the same feeling before clean people(cf. expressions: “running eyes”, “look ashamed” and others), but about the look of such persons as Fr. John of Kronstadt, Ambrose of Optina and others, the sinners themselves say that he "burns" them.

    The look of a goat is most suitable for a demon, because there is nothing more dear to him than lust, which distinguishes these animals so much. This explains Herodotus’ mention that among some ancient peoples women were given to a goat in order to “honor God”: the devil appeared in the form of a goat, they thought that nothing could be more “holy” than this animal and connection with it. And it was also beneficial for the demons in practical terms - to captivate a person into the abyss of vice and destroy him through it.

    Abba Evagrius of Pontus

    The limit of spiritual work is love, but the limit of knowledge is theology; the beginning of the first is faith, and the beginning of the second is natural contemplation. And those of the demons that come into contact with the passionate part of the soul are, as they say, opponents of spiritual work, and those that annoy the rational part of the soul are called enemies of all truth and enemies of all true contemplation.

    Each person daily creates various thoughts in his head, starting with everyday ones and ending with high ones. Absolutely all thoughts enter the subtle plane, acquire form, color and content, and begin to live their own life. Thoughts need to be recharged, and therefore if a person scrolls it again in the head, it receives energy and becomes stronger. "Weak" thought forms are not capable of resistance, if a person stops thinking about them for some reason, they die. The strong attract to themselves, according to the law of attraction, thoughts of other people similar in meaning. Thus, a very powerful thought form is created, which forms the beliefs and worldview of a person.

    What are thought forms?

    There are negative (low-vibration) and light (high-frequency) thought forms.


    High-frequency thought forms are colored in light colors. They are filled with positive, kindness, love for everything around, compassion. Bright thoughts have a beneficial effect on thinking, purify the mind, improve energy flow, restore the aura, open the true view of things and bring positive changes to the physical reality of a person.


    Negative thought forms are colored in dark colors and often have an ugly shape. They depress consciousness, distort reality, destroy the energy field (aura), and negative changes occur in the physical world, manifested in the form of problems, addictions, diseases. Negative influence entities destroys the protective shell of a person. In the energy field, "holes" appear, creating funnels through which more serious entities, the so-called Demons, enter. Demons, in turn, make a person possessed. It is not invested in the concept of possession that a person will foam from the mouth, and he will speak in the voice of a Demon. No. A person possessed by a demon has an obsessive desire to take revenge, to cause physical harm, and many other horrifying acts.

    How to cast demons out of your life


    In order for demons to leave your life, you must:


    1. Stop and calm down. Our current way of life is an eternal race. People improve the body, forgetting about the spirit, they want to be the best, more successful, more beautiful, richer. Many fail to achieve the imposed ideals, hence there are such feelings as envy, anger at oneself and at the whole world. Think about whether you really want to be more successful than everyone else, richer. Can you handle this burden of responsibility? Who do you want to be prettier for? It is necessary to analyze your life, reconsider your ideals and beliefs.

    2. Control your thoughts. When a person generates negative thoughts around him, they change his consciousness, which subsequently attracts failures into life. If thoughts are directed at other people, then anger and aggression go to them. However, if the addressee does not live with anger and he has positive thinking, the thought form cannot cling to the person, and it returns back to the sender in the form of the same problems and illnesses.

    3. Avoid negative information feeding as much as possible. That is, it is necessary to exclude violent films and computer games from your life, daily viewing of the news, communication with aggressive people. Walk more, help your loved ones, do good deeds for free, do your favorite thing.

    Create your own life. You are a person and everything has already been given to you from above, you just need to take what you really need.