Chief in hell. Demonology - types of demons from various sources. Devil, Satan, Lucifer

Each mythology has its own list of the most powerful creations, both representing the forces of light and the forces of darkness.

In some religions they are more structured, in others less. In Christianity, which has had a significant influence on occult views on, there are several conflicting views on demons, their essence, image, power and hierarchy.

But, nevertheless, it is possible to isolate the most powerful demons, which undoubtedly occupy key places in the hierarchy of hell.

Demon names and power

According to various sources, to the number the most powerful demons their number varies. Here we will highlight those of them that are considered the strongest according to the majority of religious teachings of Christianity and religions close to it.

And also, according to most mystics and occultists. The most powerful are considered:

Devil, Satan, Lucifer- the most powerful demon of the fiery hyena, the lord of hell, the concentration of universal evil. He has a huge number of names and appearances. Moreover, in different Abrahamic religions and in different eras there are differences in its description. It is designated as fallen angel who rebelled against the Lord. Moreover, also in the Middle Ages, the devil was correlated with Beelzebub, although this demon is also an independent creature.

It is possible that Satan is a broader concept than just a name or title and includes a collective image of higher demons. But this statement is controversial.

Right Hand of the Lord of Hell

The latter is a giant sea monster, which according to some versions is considered the highest demons, according to others one of the incarnations of Satan. The position of Lilith is very ambiguous.

But she definitely occupies a high position and has enormous power.

According to a number of divisions, the four supreme, and therefore the most powerful, demons are Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan and Belial.

Other positions

A separate division is proposed by Satanists with a clearer structure. But it lends itself to criticism, both from the church and from the occultists.

Mystics and occultists themselves also do not have a common opinion on issues of the power of demons.

There are times when representatives of different directions argue about the meaning and power of individual demons.

A completely separate look at the power of demons is a statement that rarely comes out of the circle of some mystics that everything hell demons divided by species.

And representatives of the same species, being inextricably linked, have equal strength. Thus, a completely different hierarchy emerges.

Details, however, are unknown. Since supporters of this classification of demons practically do not share this information.

Creatures are sinister and mysterious, bringing the darkness of the underworld to the world of people. Frightening and tempting mortals, existing in opposition to the Light and angels, according to classical legends, they themselves were once also angels, but rebelled against God. For which they were cast out of heaven and turned into servants of darkness. There are many different interpretations of the origin of demons, and after that I will try to compare how much the KpH Version diverges from the “standard” one. In principle, they don’t differ that much if you look closely, because anyway, to create the manga and series, the authors studied a lot of materials related to religion and demonology, and the basics still remained the same. And below is some of what the authors of KpH shoveled: historical data and legends about demons, the phenomenon of which humanity has been trying to substantiate throughout its entire existence, paying no less attention to this than to substantiating the existence of God and angels. And this is quite explainable in simple words: light and darkness depend on each other, and the state of mortals depends on their relationship and connection with each other. And the end result is a complete circle.
I invite you to a short excursion designed to tell about the structure of the world of demons, about their hierarchy and classification, about the age and estimated number of hellish spirits, and about the fight against evil spirits, not to ignore the prince of darkness himself, and the place where he and his subordinates live.
Interesting? Well, well, in that case...

Demons are fallen angels: this is the official teaching of the Christian Church. It seems that the story of the revolt of angels is familiar to everyone - hints of it are contained in the Bible, Christian thinkers appeal to it, and a brilliant literary description of angelomachy is given by J. Milton. I will remind you of this story briefly.
One of God's bright angels named Lucifer ("light-bearer") became proud of his power and set out to occupy the throne of God. He stirred up a rebellion in heaven and carried away a third of the angelic army. Archangel Michael came out against the rebels with the heavenly armies faithful to God. As a result of the battle, the rebel angels led by Lucifer (Satan) were thrown from heaven to the underworld and turned into demons, whose only goal from now on is to sow evil.
This story has many interpretations, but here we will give only completely original versions of the origin of demons, fundamentally different from the orthodox one:
1. In the Middle Ages, there was a point of view that demons were originally created by God to commit evil. Defenders of this idea relied on a quote from the Book of Isaiah, where through the mouth of God it is said: “I am creating a destroyer to destroy” (54, 16). Rabbinic treatises state that Satan was created on the sixth day of creation at the same time as Eve; evil spirits were created "between the suns", i.e. between sunset and dawn on the eve of the first Saturday - when God created their souls, the dawn of Saturday had already dawned, and he did not have time to create their bodies.
2. In the heretical teaching of the Bogomils, as well as in popular beliefs that have not gotten rid of pagan dualism, Satan (Satanael) appears not as God’s creation, but as an independent figure opposing God, like the Persian Ahriman. Both forces - good and evil - take part in the process of creating the world; in contrast to God's angels, Satan creates his demonic army by striking his staff on a flint.
3. The apocryphal Book of Enoch tells the story of the cohabitation of the “sons of God” (angels) with the “daughters of men.” The angels, who exchanged the heavenly Kingdom for the earthly vale out of lust, were cursed by God and became demons. This theory was shared by many church authorities in the Middle Ages (for example, Thomas Aquinas).
4. The same Book of Enoch says that from the marriages of fallen angels with earthly women arose a tribe of monstrous giants. When God destroyed the giants, evil spirits came out of their bodies.
5. The ancient Jews believed that many evil spirits were born from the intercourse of Adam with female spirits (or Eve with male spirits) during the one hundred and thirty years for which Adam and Eve were separated after the Fall. Adam’s first wife, Lilith, also gave birth to numerous demons, who later turned into a demon herself.
6. Some of the people scattered after the unsuccessful construction of the Tower of Babel were transformed into demons of three types - Shedim, Ruhin and Lilin.
7. Finally, according to later popular beliefs, the infernal army is constantly replenished by the souls of great sinners; children cursed by their parents, as well as the offspring of incubi and succubi. However, these are all demons of the lowest category, as are all kinds of vampires, ghosts and werewolves, who also make up the army of Satan.

DARK ARMY

It is not surprising that Satan has invested heavily in creating his own army. He loved the soldiers of his army and adored what they were intended for - war. What could suppress an uprising, a bloody revolution or extinguish an international conflict better than death and destruction? For demons, the battlefield is just an amusement park. And the hierarchy of ranks and positions in Satan's army was more complex and confusing than in the Pentagon. Here are its main faces.
Put Satanachia, the chief general, had a deep knowledge of all the planets and helped the witches establish a close connection with those living on Earth. He also had special power over earthly mothers.
Agaliarept - Great general of Hell and commander of the second legion, controlled Europe and Asia Minor, as well as the past and future. Possessing the ability to reveal secrets, he sowed enmity and mistrust between people.
Africa was under the rule of Beelzebub's personal lieutenant general, Fleurety. An expert in the use of poisoned plants and herbs that cause hallucinations, Flevreti worked at night. He sowed enmity between people, inciting feelings of lust. Usually a group of violent associates took part in his adventures.
Marquis Amon controlled the formations of forty legions of the army of Hell. This demon spewed fire from its wolf's mouth. Amon had a wolf's head and a snake's tail. He had the gift of prophecy and the ability to predict the future.
Punishment for the sin of gluttony. From "Le grant kalendrier et compost des Berglers", printed by Nicolas Le Rouge, Troyes, 1496
Aguares - the great duke of the eastern regions of Hell, had 30 legions under his command. He was a good linguist and also knew how to organize dances of the dead.
Amduscias - another great duke, commanded 29 legions and, strangely enough, was famous for his ability to compose terrible, ear-piercing music. He was usually depicted with a human figure and the head of a unicorn.
Sargatanas, a brigadier general, served directly under Astaroth and had a unique gift - he could penetrate a person’s mind and read his innermost thoughts. If Sargatanas experienced the same thoughts and feelings, then he could erase them from a person’s consciousness, and transfer him to the other side of the globe.
The field marshal in Astaroth's army was a demon named Nebiros, who personally watched over North America and often used animals for his vile deeds.
Count Raum commanded 30 legions and was known for the destruction of cities. He had the mysterious ability to determine who committed the theft.
Baal - Grand Duke, commanded 66 legions, one of Satan's ugliest officers. His body was short and fat, and his legs, growing in all directions, resembled spider legs. Baal had three heads - a cat's, a toad's and a human's, with the latter crowned with a crown. His hoarse and shrill voice was terrible. Baal used it to instruct his treacherous followers. This ruthless and cunning demon could become invisible.
At the head of 60 legions was Abigor, a knight riding a winged horse and controlling his warriors from above. He knew all the wisdom of warfare and possessed the gift of prophecy. Unlike other demons, Abigor was portrayed as a handsome and dashing dandy.
Azazel was the standard bearer of the army of Hell.
In addition to those listed, there were, of course, many other demons who were high enough in rank to have their own name and duties, but were not of the highest class. Many of them controlled and manipulated the forces of nature, directing them towards the destruction of humanity. We name some of the most famous demons of this class.
Furfur could control thunder, lightning and hurricanes. Having the title of count in Hell, he appeared in the form of a winged deer with human hands and a flaming tail. If Furfur was not inside the magic triangle, then every word he said was a lie.
Vine could destroy the thickest walls and cause a storm at sea.
Procel could freeze water and bring it to a boil.
Seera could slow down or speed up the passage of time.
Abduscius could uproot mighty trees and bring them down on people.
Haborym had the title of duke in hell and ruled fire and conflagrations. He had three heads - a cat's, a human's and a snake's, and he rode on a viper, waving a torch.
Halpas, a great count, had the appearance of a stork and spoke in a hoarse voice reminiscent of a croak. He was famous for two things - he could incinerate an entire city, and then rebuild it, populating it with soldiers eager for battle.

Demons of narrow specialization.
Other demons were even more specific in their attacks on humanity. Without causing storms at sea or earthquakes on land, they exploited the weaknesses of human nature. These demons affected individuals by instilling fear and doubt, envy and cruelty in their minds, or causing pain in the body. Here are some representatives of this unpleasant brethren.
Andras and his squire Flauros were to carry out the murders. Andras, the great marquis of Hell, had the body of a winged angel and the head of an owl. He rode around on a black wolf with a sword in his hand.
Shax made his victims blind and deaf.
Duke Valafar gave orders to bandits and robbers to attack innocent travelers.
Sabnack desecrated the bodies of the dead.
Three demons controlled the dead. Murmur handled the souls, while Bifrons and Bune carried the bodies from one grave to another.
Philotanus is a second-class demon and Belial's assistant. He specialized in inciting mortals into debauchery.
Dantalian used magic to change a person's good thoughts into bad ones.
Zepar could penetrate a woman's mind and drive her crazy.
Moloch was once a deity to whom children were sacrificed, then he became the prince of hell and reveled in the tears of mothers. His face is usually smeared with blood.
Belphegor sowed discord among people and incited them, using wealth, to do bad things. He was depicted either as a naked woman or as a monstrous bearded demon with a constantly open mouth and very sharp nails.
Belphegor, an insidious demon who seduces people with wealth L. Breton
Oliver (Olivier), the prince of the archangels, targeted people for cruelty and indifference, especially towards the poor.
Mammon - the demon of wealth and greed. He gained his face in the Middle Ages. He was mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6, art. 24):
“No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon...” (wealth - Transl.)
Oiellet, prince of the dominion, had probably one of the easiest jobs - he tempted people to break their vow of poverty.

DEMONS

Demons (demons, demonesses, female demons, etc.) are female demons. Like demons, demonesses are viewed as fallen angels. A prime example of this is Barbelo. According to legend, before her fall, she was the most beautiful angel, along with Lucifer. Also, the most famous of demonesses are succubi, considered defeated angels. However, Lilith (the supreme demoness) has a different origin. She, like Naama, was mortal before she became a demoness. In addition, daughters of demons can be called demonesses.
And now about the most famous female demons, in more detail. In Kabbalistic literature, four “mothers of demons” are often mentioned: Lilith, Naama, Agrat and Mahallat - they send the spirits under their control to do evil. Sometimes they gather on the mountains, where they discuss future evil deeds and engage in sexual intercourse with Samael (a reminiscence of ideas about the demonic Sabbath among Christian peoples). Often this list of mothers of demons (or more precisely, wives of Satan) changes. The constants in it are: Naama, Lilith and Agrat. The fourth one added to them was the already mentioned Mahallat, then Nega (the demoness of the plague), then Ishet Zenunim (the demoness of fornication), then a certain Even Maskit. Sometimes the demoness Elisazdra is considered one of the wives of the Devil, who, along with Lilith, is considered the supreme demoness. Speaking of the supreme demonesses, the well-known Roman goddess of the underworld Proserpina, classified as a demon, like many pagan deities, is also called the main one among the demonesses. Speaking about famous female demons, one cannot help but recall Lamia. Lamia is an ancient Greek vampire demon who successfully moved from paganism to Christianity, where she was actually identified with Lilith.
In almost all lists and hierarchies of demons, demonesses occupy a fairly low position. This was the main reason why very few “ladies” are known among demons.

ADA ADMINISTRATION STAFF

In the political arena, Hell had its own prime minister named Lucifuge Rofocale. Lucifuge could only take on his natural appearance at night and hated the light. His many duties included spreading disease and injury, causing earthquakes, and destroying sacred deities. His power extended to all the treasures of the earth.
The great president of Hell was a strong, white-haired old man named Forcas. He taught logic and rhetoric and commanded 29 legions of Hell's military forces.
Leonard - an outstanding demon, was the chief inspector of black magic and witchcraft, something of a quality control expert, as well. also the master of the Sabbaths. He appeared to them in the form of a huge black goat with three horns and a fox's head.
Abbadon, or Apollyon, has been nicknamed "the destroyer" since his days as the destroying angel of the Apocalypse. In the “Revelation” of John the Theologian, he is called the chief of the locust demons, who are depicted as horses with wings, human faces and poisonous scorpion tails. Abbadon's other title is Lord of the Bottomless Well.
Adramelech is the great chancellor and at the same time responsible for Satan's wardrobe. Most of his body was from a mule, part of his torso was human, and his tail was peacock.
Baalberith was the general secretary of Hell and also headed the archives service. This demon incited people to blasphemy and murder. At meetings with the princes of Hell, he appeared in the guise of a bishop. Vaalberith was quite eloquent. According to the Admirable History, written by Father Sebastian Michaelis in 1612, this demon possessed a nun in the city of Aix-en-Provence. During the exorcism (exorcism), Vaalberith named not only his name and the names of the other devils who possessed the nun, but also the names of those saints who could most effectively carry out the exorcism.
Alastor was the executor of the decrees passed by the court of Satan.
Melchom is the keeper of the treasures of the princes of Hell.
Uphir was a doctor in Hell. He was responsible for the health of all demons living in the underworld.
Verdelet played the role of butler and transport organizer. He supervised the ceremonies and, in addition, made sure that the witches arrived at the Sabbath without delay, as well as safe and sound.
Nysrock, a second-class demon, was a chef in the houses of the princes of Hell.
Dagon - baker of princes. Before he took over culinary duties, he was the main god of the Philistines, so important that after they recaptured Ark from the Israelites, they erected a temple to Dagon there.
Paymon ruled public ceremonies in Hell, and also sought to break the will of people by opposing it with his own desire. He was portrayed as a man with a woman's face. He carried out his duties by riding a camel.
Nybras is a lower devil, responsible for entertainment in Hell - a very thankless task.
Xaphan - a demon of the second category, supported the fires of Hell. During the rebellion of the angels, the idea to set fire to the sky came from Xaphan.

CLASSIFICATION OF DEMONS

Among demonologists, there has not yet been a Linnaeus who would create an exhaustive and generally accepted classification of infernal creatures. As for the available options, they are as contradictory and imperfect as attempts to establish the exact number of demons. Here are a few common types of classifications:
1. By habitat.
This type of classification goes back to the Neoplatonic ideas that not all demons are completely evil and not all must necessarily live in Hell. The classification of perfumes by Michael Psellus became especially widespread in the Middle Ages:
- fire demons - live in the ether, the region of rarefied air above the moon;
- air demons - live in the air under the moon;
- earthly demons - inhabit the earth;
- water demons - live in water;
- underground demons - reside underground;
- Lucifuges or heliophobes - haters of light, living in the most remote depths of hell;
2. By occupation.
A rather arbitrary classification proposed in the 15th century. Alphonse de Spina. A number of claims can be made against this scheme: many of the characteristic demonic functions remained outside its boundaries, moreover, it is almost impossible to classify one or another of the known demons into a certain category.
- Parks are women who spin the thread of fate, who are actually demons;
- Poltergeists are demons that wander around at night, moving things and committing other minor mischief;
- Incubi and succubi - seducing mainly nuns;
- Marching demons - usually arrive in crowds and make a lot of noise;
- Service demons - serve the witches, eat and drink with them;
- Demons of nightmares - come in dreams;
- Demons formed from semen and its smell during sexual intercourse;
- Deceiver demons - can appear in the form of men or women;
- Pure demons - attack only saints;
- Demons who deceive old women, making them believe that they flew to the Sabbath.
3. By rank.
Based on the fact that demons are fallen angels, some demonologists (I. Vier, R. Burton) suggested the presence in hell of a system of nine ranks, similar to the angelic hierarchy of Dionysius. This system in their presentation looks like this:
- The first rank is Pseudo-gods, those who pretend to be gods, their prince Beelzebub;
- Second rank - Spirits of lies, fooling people with predictions, their prince Python;
- Third rank - Vessel of iniquities, inventors of evil deeds and vicious arts, they are headed by Belial;
- Fourth rank - Punishers of atrocities, vengeful devils, their prince Asmodeus;
- Fifth rank - Deceivers, those who seduce people with false miracles, prince - Satan;
- Sixth rank - Air authorities, causing infection and other disasters, they are led by Merezin;
- Seventh rank - Furies, sowers of troubles, strife and wars, they are ruled by Abaddon;
- Eighth rank - Accusers and spies, led by Astaroth;
- Ninth rank - Tempters and spiteful critics, their prince Mammon.
4. Planetary classification.
Since ancient times, spirits have been correlated with heavenly bodies. Even in the ancient “Key of Solomon” the author claims that there are “spirits of the sky of Saturn”, called “Saturnians”, there are spirits “Jovians”, “Martians”, “Solar”, “Venerites”, “Lunar” and “Mercurians”. Cornelius Agrippa, in the fourth part of Occult Philosophy, gives a detailed description of each category:
- Spirits of Saturn. They usually appear in a long and thin body with a face expressing rage. They have four faces: the first is behind the head, the second is in front, and the third and fourth are on each knee. Their color is black - matte. The movements are like gusts of wind; when they appear, you get the impression of ground vibrations. Sign - the ground seems whiter than any snow. The images they take on in exceptional cases: A bearded king riding a dragon. Bearded old man, old woman leaning on a stick. Hog. The Dragon. Owl. Dark clothes. Scythe. Juniper.
- Spirits of Jupiter. They appear in a full-blooded and bilious body, of medium height, in terrible excitement, a very meek look, friendly speech, color reminiscent of iron. Their mode of movement is like lightning in thunder. A sign - people appear near the circle, looking like they are being devoured by lions. The images they take on in exceptional cases: A king with a drawn sword, riding a deer. A man in a miter and long robe. A girl wearing a laurel wreath and decorated with flowers. Bull. Deer. Peacock. Azure dress. Sword. Buxus.
- Spirits of Mars. They appear long and bilious; the appearance is very ugly, dark and somewhat reddish in color, with the antlers of a deer and the claws of a vulture. They roar like mad bulls. Their impulses are like fire, which spares nothing. A sign - you might think that lightning is flashing and thunder is thundering near the circle. The images they take on in exceptional cases: An armed king riding a wolf. Red clothes. Armed man. A woman with a shield at her hip. Goat. Horse. Deer. Fleece of wool.
- Spirits of the Sun. They usually appear in a wide and large body, dense and full-blooded. Their color is like gold dyed with blood. The appearance is similar to a glow in the sky. Sign - the caller feels covered in sweat. The images they take on in exceptional cases: King with a scepter, riding a lion. King in a crown. Queen with a scepter. Bird. A lion. Clothing in gold or saffron color. Scepter. Wheel.
- Perfume of Venus. They appear in a beautiful body; medium height; their appearance is charming and pleasant; color - white or green, with gilding on top. The gait is like a bright star. The sign is girls frolicking around a circle, inviting the caller to join them. The images they take on in exceptional cases: A king with a scepter, riding a camel. A girl, amazingly dressed. Nude girl. Goat. Camel. Dove. The clothes are white and green. Flowers. Grass. Cossack juniper.
- Spirits of Mercury. They appear in a body of average height; cold, damp, beautiful, affably eloquent. With a human appearance, they are like an armed soldier who has turned transparent. They are approaching like a silver cloud. Sign - the caller is terrified. The images they take on in exceptional cases: A king riding a bear. A wonderful young man. Woman holding a spinning wheel. Dog. Bear. Sphinx. Colorful dress. Rod. Stick.
- Spirits of the Moon. They usually appear in a body that is large, wide, sluggish and phlegmatic. In color they resemble a gloomy and dark cloud. Their faces are puffy, their eyes are red and watery. The bald head is decorated with prominent boar tusks. They move with the speed of the strongest storm at sea. The sign is heavy rain right next to the circle. The images they take on in exceptional cases: A king with a bow, sitting on a doe. Small child. Hunter with bow and arrows. Cow. Little doe. Goose. Green or silver robe. Dart. A man with several legs.
5. By areas of influence.
The classification proposed by the priestess of modern demonolatry Stephanie Connolly is perhaps the most convenient for practitioners who summon demons for specific purposes. According to S. Connolly, the main spheres of influence of demons are as follows:
- Love-Lust (this category includes Asmodeus, Astaroth, Lilith, etc.)
- Hatred-Revenge-Wrath-War (Andras, Abbadon, Agaliarept, etc.)
- Life-Healing (Verrin, Verrier, Velial, etc.)
- Death (Evrynom, Vaalberith, Babael)
- Nature (Lucifer, Leviathan, Dagon, etc.)
- Money-Prosperity-Luck (Belphegor, Beelzebub, Mammon, etc.)
- Knowledge-Secrets-Witchcraft (Ronwe, Python, Delepitora, etc.)

NUMBER OF DEMONS

No one doubts that there are a great many demons. However, since the first centuries of Christianity, theologians and demonologists have been practicing mathematics with amazing persistence, trying to calculate the exact number of hellish spirits.
Maximus of Tire in the 2nd century gives a very modest figure of 30,000, but subsequent centuries inflated the composition of the devilish army to incredible limits.
Alfonso de Spina in 1459, referring to the fact that exactly a third of the heavenly host fell away from God, named the number of demons - 133,306,608.
In the 16th century a certain researcher, using the biblical “number of the beast” as a basis, counted 66 infernal princes commanding 6,660,000 devils.
Johann Wier, the famous student of Agrippa, claimed that 7,405,926 demons lived in hell, ruled by 72 princes. The demons form 1111 units of 6666 each.
Lutheran theologians surpassed everyone, calling a fantastic figure - 2,665,866,746,664 demons.

HIERARCHY OF HELL

How are all these demons organized? Who dominates whom? Who orders and who carries out orders?
There has been a lot of debate on this issue, but unanimity has not been achieved for several centuries. And only one statement was almost uncontroversial: Satan, also known as the Emperor of the Great Underworld, the Prince of Light and the Angel of Darkness, reigned over everyone. He was the great adversary of God, the Serpent, the Gad, the Spirit of universal hatred. It was Satan who embodied true evil.
Under his command there was a huge and terrible army of demons and other creatures that brought disaster, injury and destruction. But keeping such a horde in obedience would be an enormous task even for Satan himself, and, like God, he had seraphim, cherubim and archangels. Satan rallied demonic aristocrats around himself to help him rule the Kingdom of Darkness. These demons, in contrast to the nine levels of the angelic hierarchy, formed their own hellish nine-level structure. And everyone agrees that the first among the demons was one of Satan's Oldest friends - a powerful angel named Beelzebub.

When Satan first rebelled in heaven, he called into his ranks several very powerful seraphim, among whom was Beelzebub. Once in his new abode, he learned to seduce people with pride and ambition. When Beelzebub called the witches and sorcerers to him, he appeared before them in the guise of a fly, since his military nickname was “Lord of the Flies.” He received this name because he sent a plague to Canaan with flies, or perhaps because flies were believed to be the product of dead flesh. But in any case, this nickname remained with Beelzebub.
Another great angel who fell from heaven along with “Lucifer” was Leriathan, who was depicted in the Bible as “a twisting serpent... a sea monster” (Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 21, Art. 1). Leviathan is sometimes accused of being the same serpent who seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden. In hell, he is considered the secretary of maritime affairs, since Satan appointed him in charge of all water spaces.
Asmodeus is one of the busiest demons. He is not only the overseer of all the gambling houses in hell, but also the main distributor of debauchery. In charge of all this, Asmodeus was a demon of lust and was personally responsible for stirring up troubles in families. Perhaps the reason was that he himself came from a dysfunctional family. According to Jewish legend, his mother was the mortal woman Naamah, and his father was one of the fallen angels (possibly Adam before Eve). The famous textbook of magic, The Testament of Solomon, described Asmodeus as “fierce and screaming.” Every day he did everything he could to prevent husbands and wives from copulating, while at the same time spurring their hidden animal instincts, inciting adultery and other sins. Asmodeus appeared before mortals sitting astride a dragon, holding a sword in his hands. And he had three heads: one was a bull’s, the other was a ram’s, and the third was a human’s. All three heads were considered dissolute by birth. According to one version, the demon’s legs were like those of a rooster.
Astaroth also rode around on a dragon, but perhaps he had only one head, which is usually depicted as very ugly. In his left hand he held a viper. This demon was the Grand Duke of the western regions of Hell, and in addition the keeper of the infernal treasury. Astaroth incited people to spend idle time, awakening laziness in them; in his free time, he served as an advisor or mentor for the rest of the fallen angels.
Behemoth was a huge demon, as his name suggests. It is usually depicted as an elephant with a huge round belly, hobbling on two legs. He ruled over all the gluttons and led the feasts in Hell. And since his duty required him to stay awake most of the night, he was also a watchman. The hippopotamus is also known to a certain extent for its singing.
Belial was one of Satan's most venerable demons. Even before Satan was named in the New Testament as the head of the dark forces of the underworld, Belial had already achieved a high position. In one of the Dead Sea manuscripts, “The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness,” Belial appears as the sole ruler of the underworld:
“You were born for the sake of depravity, Belial - the angel of enmity. You and your abode are darkness, and your goals are to sow evil and pain around you.”
In the end, Belial descended from heaven, but he still retained the name of the demon of lies. Milton captured it in his book Paradise Lost II as follows:
“... Honest do not leave heaven, it seemed that he was born noble and for glorious deeds, but everything was deception and untruth, although his tongue promised manna from heaven and could give plausibility to any crime in order to confuse and amaze any reasonable advice: since his thoughts were low, he seduced those who were hardworking, but timid in good deeds and careless in noble deeds.”
When Gilles de Rais, famous for his mass murders, tried to summon demons using parts of the dismembered body of a child he had killed, Beelzebub and Belial appeared to him.

HIERARCHY OF DEMONS

In matters of demonic hierarchy, the same confusion reigns as in the classification options. Despite the fact that hell is often presented as a kingdom of chaos and disorder, humanity has been irresistibly drawn to attribute a coherent hierarchical system to it.
In popular grimoires of the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the Grand Grimoire and Grimorium Verum, the lords of Hell are named Lucifer (emperor), Beelzebub (prince) and Astaroth (great duke), who control 6 high-ranking spirits and many smaller ones.
Other books may mention not three, but four supreme hierarchs of Darkness, corresponding to the four cardinal directions; to the three above is added either Belial, then Leviathan, or Moloch.
P. Binsfeld, a demonologist of the 16th century, identified seven, in his opinion, main demons corresponding to the seven deadly sins: Lucifer is associated with pride, Mammon with stinginess, Asmodeus commands lust, Satan - anger, Beelzebub correlates with gluttony, Leviathan - with envy , Belphegor - with laziness.
In later Kabbalah, the ten archdevils correspond to the ten evil sephiroth (dark forces), among them Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Astaroth, Asmodeus, Belphegor, Baal, Adramelech, Lilith and Naamah.
Johann Wier in "De Praestigius Daemonum" tried to paint a complete picture of the Infernal Empire, assigning to each demon a corresponding rank or position. The supreme ruler of Hell is Beelzebub, among the highest princes are Evrynos, Pluto, Moloch, etc.
The famous magical treatise "Lemegeton" (16th century) lists 72 dominant demons subordinate to the four emperors of the cardinal directions (Amaimon, Corson, Ziminaru and Gaap). In accordance with the feudal system of the time, demons bear the titles of kings, dukes, counts, marquises and governors, but nothing is said about the subordination of the lesser to the more important.
Agrippa, in his Occult Philosophy, also ascribes titles of nobility to spirits, but attaches greater importance to the “rank” or “order” of the spirit. “Let it be known,” he writes, “that a spirit of a lower order, whatever dignity may be inherent in it, is always lower than a spirit of a higher order. It is not an inconvenience that kings and counts are subject to the highest authorities and have no greater importance than their ministers.” .

HOUSE OF DEMONS

Demons needed somewhere to live, and Hell became the haven chosen for them by God. “Filled with unquenchable fire, a house of pain and misfortune,” Milton said about it. Since then, Satan and his subordinates have done everything they could with their monastery: they explored its vast spaces, overcoming torment, and even built their own tower monuments. It was very difficult to live in these dangerous areas, and even more difficult to get out of there. Since those who went to Hell very rarely returned, it was especially difficult to compile a map of it. To get even the slightest idea of what is where in Hell, we are forced to rely on the messages of saints and clairvoyants, poets and prophets. Over the centuries, the description of its territories has often changed.
In the New Testament, St. Matthew gives us “some insight into this passage by describing how Jesus will separate the good from the evil on Judgment Day:
“And all nations will be gathered before Him; and will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right side: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” ...Then He will also say to those on the left side: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels...” (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, cm. 32-34. 41) .
Fire has become an integral part of hell. Over the centuries, the landscape of hell has changed repeatedly - now swamps and swamps, now forests and glaciers, now lakes, now deserts filled it. But in any case, there was an all-consuming flame. In The City of God, written in the 5th century, St. Augustine describes the fire of Hell in great detail:
“Hell, otherwise called the lake of fire and brimstone, is a real fire, it will burn and torture the bodies of the damned, both people and devils, if they are made of flesh, or only their souls. For if people have both bodies and souls, then incorporeal evil spirits will still be given over to fiery hell to suffer forever in this state. And the same fire will be the fate of everyone.”
In the Middle Ages, the refuge of the damned was described by an Irish monk in a popular treatise known as The Vision of Thundal (1149). The handsome, slightly roguish knight Tundal falls into a state of stupor at the dinner table. The soul leaves the body and is instantly surrounded by a crowd of demons making some kind of muttering. Tundal, numb with fear, manages to escape only thanks to the intervention of his guardian angel, who then showed what could happen if the knight does not correct his way of life. This prediction was terrifying. First, Tundal saw a huge plain strewn with stinking coal, where great sinners were roasted on an iron grate. Then he saw scorching mountains and demons tormenting heretics and pagans with razor-sharp hooks. Further, the sinner's path lay past Acheron - a monster with flaming eyes, which immediately devoured him. The angel apparently believed that this would serve Thundal as a good lesson for the future. When he managed to get out of the belly of the beast, he had to cross a bridge two miles long and only a hand wide. Below, in the water, thousands of hungry creatures swarmed. When Tundal finally managed to cross the bridge, a huge bird with an iron beak was waiting for him on the other side, which devours the knight again, and then defecates into the frozen lake. After Thundal emerges from the icy water and ascends the Flame Plain, he is captured by a band of evil demons who beat him with a hammer on an anvil along with other sinners. After the intervention of a guardian angel, Tundal falls into the depths of Hell. And at the bottom of a huge dark pit he meets the Devil himself... He was
“...blacker than a raven, similar in appearance to a man, but with a beak and a sharp tail and thousands of hands, each with twenty fingers, and nails longer than the spears of knights, on the feet there were the same nails, in each of His hands held sinful souls. The Devil lay on iron bars, bound in chains, and hot coals were burning under him. Many demons crowded around him. And with each exhalation he threw the souls of the unfortunate ones straight into the flames of hell, and with each inhalation he again grabbed and squeezed them.”
Unable to drive away this vision, Tundal heads to purgatory and manages to see a piece of sky behind a high silver wall before waking up and finding himself again in his earthly body. He immediately asks for Holy Communion, distributes everything he has to the poor and unfortunate, and goes off to spread the word about the terrible punishment.
Who would have acted differently?
The most complete, detailed and witty description of Hell undoubtedly belongs to Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). In the prologue of The Divine Comedy, Dante describes how he got lost in a dark forest, and wild animals blocked his path and threatened his life. And the shadow of the poet Virgil appeared to him and told him that the only path to salvation lay through Hell. Dante the pilgrim was forced to agree to this journey.
Hell is presented by Dante as a cone turned inside out, piercing the Earth like a dagger to its very center. Its upper part is the widest. At this point Lucifer and his angels struck the Earth like a colossal meteorite as they were cast out of heaven. Above the entrance to the underworld are written the words: “Abandon hope, all who enter here*.” Dante felt a trembling run through his entire body, and Virgil took his hand encouragingly. They went downstairs. Immediately beyond the gates of Hell lay a huge gloomy plain, where the souls of those who did not have to truly live during their lives lived, who lived “neither blame nor praise.” And these souls endlessly rush across the gloomy plain, pursued by clouds of hornets. Dante and Virgil move on and stop on the banks of the Acheron River, which flows around Hell. Charon, the ferryman to Hell, transports them to the other side.
When will they come to land again? then they find themselves in the first circle of Hell, called the threshold of Hell. There are no gloomy pictures here yet. A stream flows through the pasture, next to which rises a seven-walled castle. In this place reside the souls of those who are pious but not baptized, and among them are great pagans. Virgil himself spent a lot of time in this circle of hell. However, everything was inevitably changing for the worse . The second circle was intended for the lustful, who were forever carried in the pitch darkness by the fierce, unabating winds of lust. The third circle was to the side and contained gluttons lying prostrate on the ground and showered with hail and terrible rain. Cerberus - a three-headed dog - continuously barked and tore away from their bodies are piece by piece.In the fourth circle - the stingy and wasteful, they are divided into two groups and are doomed to drag the blocks from one camp to another.
Dante and Virgil hurried on and reached the seething dark stream. They followed the stream and saw the dismal river known as the Styx. But even the Styx, so gloomy and muddy, is “Someone’s home. Here - in the fifth circle - are the angry and sullen, either tearing at each other in anger, or whining below in the black mud. Walking with caution, Dante and Virgil walked for a long time through the swamp, and then by boat crossed the moat-like Styx and got from the upper part of Hell to the lower levels... If only they had known earlier what they would have to face...
Now they found themselves in a place that Dante called the City of Dis (Dis - Satan). It was the capital of Hell, where fallen angels flocked to rest. Here - in the sixth circle - Dante discovered a wide plain dotted with burning graves. Eternal flame burned heretics.
In front of Dante and Virgil there was another river, the Phlegethon, which also had to be crossed. However, it was very wide, and instead of water, boiling blood flowed in it. In its whirlpools, Dante saw the souls of those who committed violence and murder, were tyrants or invaders. The shore also looked gloomy. Along it, Dante and Virgil had to go into the dull Forest of Suicides. In it, the souls of those who killed themselves took root and grew, becoming dwarf trees with poisonous fruits. Behind the forest stretched the sands, blazing with heat, in which the souls of those who committed a crime against God or nature were tormented in eternal fire.
But this was not yet the center of Hell. The eighth circle, known as Malebolge, contained deceivers and swindlers. This circle has the outline of a huge amphitheater and goes down another ten levels, on each of which a different class of sinners is tormented, Horned demons whip seducers into pimps, hypocrites are forced to walk in very long robes, and fire is directed at their heels. Bribe-takers and litigious people, who squandered public property for personal gain, were dipped into boiling resin by especially playful demons known as Malebranque or “Terrible Claws.” Below, at the very bottom of Malebolge, there is a crevice guarded by forty-legged giants, whom Dante called the Tartar Titans. Virgil ordered one of them. Anthea. help them go down - and he obeyed. Dante and his companion found themselves in the ninth and final circle of Hell - Cocytus - a frozen swampy river, where the Evil Traitor himself sat - Satan. He was huge, forever frozen up to his chest in ice. The huge wings that he flapped in vain, trying to free himself, brought nothing but a cold wind, further strengthening the ice. “If he was once as beautiful as he is now,” writes Dante, “then he must grieve greatly.” Satan had three faces - black, red and yellow, with three mouths secreting bloody foam and six crying eyes. And, crying, he mercilessly chews the bodies of three traitors - Judas, Brutus and Cassius, whose terrible crimes were still less disgusting than his own. Lucifer betrayed the Greatest Master of all the greats, and for this he is doomed to suffer here, in darkness and cold, hidden as far as possible from sources of light and heat.
Dante and Virgil escape from Hell on the back of Lucifer, who is so mad with grief that he does not notice them. They crawled out through a passage in the rock into the fresh air and saw the starry sky.
In Milton's Hell, which is named in the title of his book Paradise Lost (1667), flow the same four rivers - Styx, Acheron, Phlegethon and Cocytus. - But besides them, there is also a fifth - Lethe - the river of oblivion, which was supposed to surround all the possessions of Satan. According to Milton, Satan and a cohort of demons, quickly cast down from the Eternal Heavens, rushed like a stone through the voids of Chaos and fell into the lake of fire. They are no longer angels of light and from now on they will no longer live in happy heavenly palaces. And how does their new abode appear?
“The dungeon is terrible, on all sides the fire is Burning, as in a furnace, But from that fire there is no light - but only darkness and darkness, In which only despondency and evil, sadness and pain are visible. Peace and tranquility do not dare to enter there; Hope is also inaccessible to everyone living there...”
The most determined demons will attempt to explore this vast underground world, hoping to find some less terrible part of it, but will return with nothing. Everywhere they found either icy deserts, battered by hail and blown by winds, or scorched, incinerated plains - a world of death, cursed by God, the personification of evil... This was enough for any of the demons to forever abandon the search for the best, but not Satan.
With the same pride that caused his fall from the Eternal Heavens, Satan gathers materials from his terrible world and decides to begin construction! To match his new title as monarch of the underworld, he planned to create a luxurious palace. Hell turned out to be rich in minerals, among which was gold. (Milton believed that this was not surprising, since it was Hell that deserved this “cursed metal.”) Mammon, the demon of stinginess and wealth, of course, was the first to attack the gold deposits and mined it with his subordinates. And Mulciber, who had once erected towers and walls in Heaven, was now building new walls of a powerful sparkling palace in Hell - the abode of demons, the great capital of Satan and his officials. From now on, Hell has its own attraction. According to Milton, the palace had many gates and porches, and the common hall, intended for jousting, was as large as a field. How was the palace decorated? The proper adjective would be “lavish.” And when the demons gathered in it for their first council, then...
“High on a royal throne, surpassing in splendor the wealth of Ormuzd and Indus, and the pearls and gold of the rulers of the East, sat Satan, exalted for his merits to this evil greatness...”
Interpreted by the English artist John Martin, the meeting room of Pandemonium (literally: "Everything is Demon") was a huge winding amphitheater with rising tiers and a domed ceiling, which was lit by countless burning candles. Vaguely reminiscent of Byzantine-style buildings, the capital of Hell, this palace with massive walls and galleries, towers and bridges, could challenge the scale and splendor of the divine palaces themselves.

HOW OLD ARE DEMONS?

Another topic of discussion for several centuries is the question of the life expectancy of demons. The ancient Greek poet Hesiod calculated the average lifespan of the Phoenix, a mythical bird of indescribable beauty that built its own funeral pyre and then was reborn from the ashes. The Phoenix, Hesiod argued, lives ten times longer than a person, and demons live ten times longer than the Phoenix. Thus, the average life of a demon is 6,800 years.
Later, the famous Greek writer and biographer Plutarch slightly corrected this statement, taking into account that demons, like the people with whom they are compared, are susceptible to illness and disease. He increased the lifespan of demons to 9,720 years.
Others believe that demons, like angels, are immortal and will exist until the end of the world. So the answer to this question is not yet clear.

Submitted by Enola Gottick

Today's news from the Ryazan region prompted me to think about strange names - which for some reason parents come up with, and then the child suffers for the rest of his life. The hard workers, experiencing an acute attack of patri(id)otism, named their boy... United Russia. “Father Valentin from our rural church fully supported and blessed this choice of name,” noted the happy father and reminded reporters that two years ago he named his daughter Putin.

In general, it’s practically a joke. Purer than some, oh my God, Dazdraperma. But, I thought, do metalheads have such problems? Well, call my son Slayer. Or daughter Sepultura. Have you heard of these?..

And if you decide to stand out with something, here’s a list of “gothic baby names” compiled by wallofmetal.com for thought. The option, of course, is most likely for English speakers, but the idea will do...

Absinthe - absinthe. (I don’t think there’s any need to explain what this gloomy booze is.)
Ague is what malaria was called in the Middle Ages.
Ahriman is a destroyer spirit, the personification of the evil principle in Zoroastrianism.
Alcina is a sorceress from Italian legends.
Amanita is the mistress of poisoned mushrooms.
Amarantha is a mythological unfading flower from Greek myths.
Amaranthus - Amaranth flower, also known as "love lies bleeding." In ancient times it was used to stop bleeding.
Amethyst - amethyst. This stone is associated with the ability to save from drunkenness, as well as from celibacy. And astrology is considered a symbol of divine understanding.
Annabel Lee is the heroine of the tragic poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
Artemisia is a character from Greek mythology and is also a type of wormwood used to make absinthe.
Ash - ash.
Asmodeus is one of the names of Satan.
Astaroth is a Christian demon.
Asura is "demon" in Hinduism.
Asya is said to mean “born in a time of sorrow” in Swahili.
Atropine is a type of poison.
Avalon is where King Arthur went after his death.
Avarice - greed. One of the seven deadly sins.
Aveira means “sin” in Hebrew.
Avon - in Hebrew - impulsive sin of voluptuousness.
Azazel is a biblical demon in the form of a goat.
Azrael (Esdras) - Angel of Death according to the Koran.
Beelzebub is the Hebrew version of Satan.
Belial is another Satan.
Belinda is one of the satellites of the planet Uranus. Presumably, the etymology of this word is based on the ancient designation of a snake.
Belladonna is a poisonous plant with purple flowers.
Blood - what a great name!..
Bran/Branwen is the Celtic word for raven.
Briar - thorn, thorn.
Chalice is a special cup for holy blood.
Chaos - Chaos. In its original meaning: the state in which the Universe was before the reign of the Greek gods.
Chimera/Chimaera - Chimera. In Greek mythology, it is a hybrid monster with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake.
Chrysanthemum - chrysanthemum. A flower considered a symbol of death in Japan and some European countries.
Cinder is another name for ash.
Corvus/Cornix - "raven" in Latin.
Dark/Darque/Darkling etc. - several versions of darkness...
Demon/Daemon/Demona - several variations on the theme of demons.
Dies Irae - day of wrath, day of judgment.
Digitalis - digitalis, another poisonous flower.
Diti is the mother of demon in Hinduism.
Dolores means “sorrows” in Spanish.
Draconia - From "draconian", meaning "severe" or "extremely serious".
Dystopia is the opposite of Utopia. A fantastic place where everything is very bad.
Elysium - in Greek mythology, dead heroes go there.
Ember - fading embers.
Esmeree - according to legend, the daughter of a Welsh king, turned into a snake by the efforts of sorcerers. She returned to human form thanks to the kiss of a beautiful young man.
Eurydice - Eurydice, a tragic female character in Greek mythology.
Evilyn is a beautiful girl's name with the root "evil". It seems to come from an old cartoon.
Felony - sounds almost like the common Melanie, but also means "felony."
Gefjun/Gefion is a Nordic goddess who took dead virgins under her wing.
Gehenna is the name of Hell in the New Testament.
Golgotha is Hebrew for “skull.” Hill in the shape of a skull on which Christ was crucified.
Grendel is the monster in Beowulf.
Griffin/Gryphon is a mythological monstrous hybrid: the body of a lion, the wings and head of an eagle.
Grigori - fallen angels in the Bible.
Grimoire - grimoire. A book describing magical rituals and spells, containing magical recipes.
Hades is the Greek god of the underworld.
Hecate is an ancient Greek deity of moonlight, a powerful sorceress.
Hellebore - hellebore. A flower blooming in the snow in the middle of winter. According to medieval belief, it saves from leprosy and madness.
Hemlock - hemlock. Strong poison. For example, Socrates was poisoned with it.
Inclementia is Latin for “cruelty.”
Innominata is the name of an embalming agent.
Isolde is a Celtic name meaning "beauty", "she who is looked upon". It became famous thanks to the medieval chivalric romance of the 12th century, Tristan and Isolde.
Israfil/Rafael/Israfel - the angel who must cut through the beginning of the Day of Judgment.
Kalma is an ancient Finnish goddess of death. Her name means "cadaverous stench."
Lachrimae - "tears" in Latin.
Lamia - “witch”, “sorceress” in Latin.
Lanius - "executioner" in Latin.
Leila - "night" in Arabic.
Lenore is the heroine of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry.
Lethe - Summer. The river of oblivion in the underworld in Greek mythology.
Lilith is the notorious first wife of Adam. Very ominous.
Lily - lily. Traditional funeral flower.
Lucifer is a fallen angel, often associated with the Devil.
Luna - “moon”, Latin.
Malady is practically a Melody, but not. The word means "disease".
Malice - bad intentions.
Malik is the angel who rules Hell according to the Koran.
Mara is a demon in Scandinavian mythology that sits on the chest at night and causes bad dreams (kosh-mar). The Greeks knew this demon under the name Ephialtes, and the Romans called it Incubon. Among the Slavs, this role is played by the kikimora. In Hebrew, "mara" means "bitter."
Melancholia is a very gothic/doomy name for a girl. Or a boy...
Melania/Melanie - "black" in Greek.
Melanthe means "black flower" in Greek.
Merula means “black bird” in Latin.
Mephistopheles/Mephisto - this is what the Devil was called during the Renaissance.
Minax is Latin for "threat".
Misericordia - "compassionate heart" in Latin.
Mitternacht means "midnight" in German.
Miyuki - "silence of deep snow" in Japanese.
Moon, Moonless, Moonlight - everything related to the Moon. By the way, the Moon is an ancient symbol of fertility.
Moirai - Moirai. Greek goddesses of fate.
Monstrance is an empty cross with the holy spirit “sealed” inside.
Morrigan is the Celtic goddess of war and fertility.
Mort(e) - “death”, “dead” in French.
Mortifer/Mortifera - Latin equivalents of the words "lethal", "fatal", "deadly".
Mortis is a form of the Latin word for death.
Mortualia - grave pit.
Natrix - "water snake" in Latin.
Nephilim - Nephilim. A member of a race of giants, the sons of fallen angels.
Nocturne - nocturne. Romantic “night” genre of music.
Obsidian - obsidian. Black stone formed as a result of volcanic eruptions. Used in surgery because is sharper than steel.
Oleander - oleander. Beautiful poisonous flower.
Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing the end, the finale.
Orchid - orchid. Exotic rare flower. Often used as decoration in glamorous Western gothic clubs.
Osiris is the Egyptian ruler of the underworld.
Penance - repentance, penance.
Perdita - sounds great in Russian!!! This name was coined by Shakespeare and means "lost" in Latin.
Pestilentia is a Latin term meaning "plague", "unhealthy atmosphere".
Reaper - aka Great Reaper, Grim Reaper. English - male - version of the bony old woman with a braid.
Sabine/Sabina - Sabines or Sabines. The people of the Italian group. According to legend, the Romans kidnapped the Sabine women during one of the festivals in order to take them as wives. About a year later, the Sabine army approached Rome to free the captives, but they entered the battlefield with babies from their new husbands in their arms and achieved reconciliation between the parties.
Sabrina/Sabre/Sabrenn - goddess of the River Severn among the Celts.
Salem is a popular witch killing site in Massachusetts.
Samael - Angel of Death according to the Talmud.
Samhain is the equivalent of Halloween.
Sanctuary - sanctuary.
Serpent - "serpent". Symbol of evil in many cultures.
Shadow - “shadow”. By the way, a common nickname for black cats.
Tansy - tansy. According to legend, its seeds cause miscarriages.
Tartarus is the Greek equivalent of Hell.
Tenebrae - "darkness" in Latin.
Thorn(e) - thorn.
Tristesse/Tristessa - "sadness" in French and Italian.
Umbra is another word meaning darkness.
Vespers are morning prayers in Catholicism.
Willow - willow. "Weeping tree", a symbol of mortal sadness.
Wolf(e) - how would it be without a wolf...
Xenobia means "stranger" in Greek.
Yama/Yamaraja is the lord of death in Hinduism.

The demons of hell are the founders of all evil. Demons were expelled from paradise and took many with them. Their main goal is to create evil. For them, evil is food. And the greatest pleasure for them is to create blasphemy. The demons of hell consider God their enemy and do everything to harm him, and man himself is the weapon. Everything in our world is in balance: light and darkness, good and evil. Therefore, the demons of hell own the world just as we own it. Man has always tried to get rid of them, and is still doing so.

The demons of hell also do not sit idly by, they continue to do their dirty work.

Representatives of darkness enjoy all types of sin - pride, vanity, revenge, debauchery, quarrels. Each demon of hell instills into the human soul the sin from which he himself delights. But you shouldn’t blame the demons of hell for all your misfortunes either. A person always has a choice. Either follow the right, but long and difficult path, or choose the quick and sinful path. As a rule, most often a person chooses the path that the demon offers. After a huge number of sins committed, a person simply has no chance of going to heaven after death.

So he remains forever in the power of the demons of hell

During his lifetime they gave him no peace and after his death they forever take him into their service. But a person always has a chance to improve. God sees everything and, of course, will forgive a person. We cannot always cope with our sins on our own or get rid of influence hell demons. For this, today there are people who know everything about demons and even ways to fight them. Although it is not entirely safe, it is effective. But trying to get rid of the demons of hell on your own can end in disaster for you. Your attempts can lead to you becoming a “doll” in the hands of a demon, and that’s all they want.

Watch the video of the demons of Hell part 1

I will tell you about the most insidious and dangerous demons of Hell considered in demonology; their names are familiar to many. Their main goal is to create evil through man. They feed on negative human energy. The most common names for hell demons are

Asmodeus,
Baal,
Yara-ma,
Kali ma,
Itzpapalotl,
Kelpie,
Skadi,
Sri Lakshmi,
Zotz,
Hel,
Xipe Totec,
elementals,
Velial et al.

Each of these demons of Hell is responsible for a certain evil, each has its own story and a person invented each of them. It is true to say that demons can completely take over us, but all this happens only through our fault. The Demon of Hell becomes stronger only because a person commits more and more sins. Thanks to this, the demon feels so good that it is able to move into a person and control his body, thoughts and actions as if he were his own.

What are the names of the demons of Hell?

This is the most terrible and dangerous thing that can happen to a person. Therefore, today very often professionals perform rituals to exorcise the demons of hell. This is the most dangerous ritual in black magic. I had to witness this many times ritual of summoning the demons of Hell, I have to say that horror films are taking a break. It's incredibly scary. Only when you see this with your own eyes do you begin to understand how real everything is. The man not only begins to scream in a strange, non-human voice, curse everything and speak in ancient languages, but his body also wriggles as if it has no bones. I described all this only because many of you decide to independently engage in expelling the demons of Hell from a person. You will never do this without special knowledge. But the risk that the demon will take possession of you is very high. Here it is necessary to create a safe environment for everyone present. And this can only be done by those who have repeatedly encountered demons and done everything to resist them.

Watch the video of the demons of Hell part 2

We often talk a lot about demons, devils, demons. But few people know that they differ not only in their habitat and method of influence, but also in their names. Yes, the demons of hell also have names. I will just mention some of the names of the demons. The most
The demons of hell are insidious and bloodthirsty. There are many legends and beliefs associated with them in Slavic and ancient Indian mythology.

The real names of the demons of hell are very different from the names we are used to.

It cannot be denied that it was man who gave names to demons. That is why man came up with new names that have nothing in common with human names. There are a huge number of demons. Every nation has its own list of demon names. All nations have different legends associated with them. But what unites us all is only fear of them. But we have long learned to fight them.

List of names of the most famous demons of Christian Hell:

Abbadon = / demon destroyer.
Abduscius = / demon who uproots trees.
Abigor = / demon horseman, skilled warrior.
Adramalech = / demon advisor in charge of Satan's wardrobe.
Agaliarept = / a demon who can solve any riddles.
Agvares = / demon, Duke of Hell, organizer of dances.
Azazel = / demon, standard bearer of the troops of hell.
Alastor = / demon herald.
Amduscias = / demon musician, Duke of Hell.
Andras = / demon, marquis.
Asmodeus = / demon of lust and family troubles.
Astaroth = / great duke, keeper of the treasures of hell.
Acheron = / hellish monster with flaming eyes.
Barbatos = / demon, duke who can find hidden treasures and predict the future.
Behemoth = / a huge demon who ruled the feasts in hell.
Belphegor = / demon who seduces people with wealth.
Baal = / demon of treachery and deceit, great duke of hell.
Vaalberith = / chief secretary of hell.
Valafar = / demon, patron of robbers and robbers.
Belial = / Satan's powerful ally, demon of lies.
Beelzebub = / commander of the legions of hell, lord of the flies.
Verdelet = / master of ceremonies of hell.
Dagon = / demon, baker of hell.
Dantalian = / a demon who incites people to do evil things.
Dubbuk = / in mythology a wandering spirit.
Zepar = / a demon who drove women to madness.
Incubus = / male demon lover.
Xaphan = / demon who makes fires in hell.
Lamia = / female demon, vampire, who hunted mainly children.
Leviathan = / huge snake, ruler of the oceans.
Leonard = / demon, master of the covens.
Lufizer = / angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven, Satan.
Lucifuge Rofocal = / Prime Minister of Hell.
Mammon = / demon of wealth.
Marbas = / a demon who could send and cure illness.
Melchom = / demon, keeper of the treasures of the princes of hell.
Mephistopheles = / demon who served Faust for 24 years.
Moloch = / demon-deity to whom children were sacrificed.
Mulciber = / demon, architect of hell.
Navki = / souls of killed or unbaptized children (among the Slavs).
Nebiros = / demon, field marshal of the army of hell.
Nibras = / demon responsible for entertainment.
Nisrok = / demon, one of the administrators of hell.
Olivier = / fallen archangel who awakens in people cruelty towards the poor.
Put Satanakia = / the supreme commander of the army of Satan.
Sabnak = / demon responsible for the rotting of corpses.
Salamanders = / lords of fire, spirits living in flames.
Sargatanas = / demon, major general of the army of hell.
Satan = / Supreme lord of hell and demons.
Succubus = / devil - lover.
Ufir = / demon, doctor of hell.
Utburd = /ghost of a dead child (Norwegian).
Flevreti = / Beelzebub's lieutenant general, governor of Africa.
Furfur is a demon who controls thunder, lightning and hurricane winds.
Shax = /demon that blinds and stuns its victims.
Kaim = /at first had the appearance of a thrush, and then turned into a man with a sharp sword. If they asked him questions, he answered them not entirely clearly - with burning ashes. When he was an angel, he loved to argue, and if he was in the mood, he could talk about the meaning of bird songs, the mooing of cattle, the barking of dogs and the babbling brook.
Lerayer = / a powerful marquis, a shooter in a green tunic, armed with a bow and sharp arrows. He provoked quarrels and battles between people, but especially sought to ensure that they wounded each other with arrows, the wounds of which never healed.
Sitri = / prince who had the head of a leopard and the wings of a griffin. He stimulated sexual desire, in particular, he encouraged women to walk naked.
Gomori = / knew how to achieve the love of women, especially young ones. As a Grand Duke, he appeared in the form of a beautiful woman riding a camel, with a ducal crown on her head.
Parks = / demon of fate; If anyone has seen the parks, then that person is a demon himself.
Oiedlet = /demon seducer of the vow of poverty.
Philotanus = second-class demon and Belial's assistant. An instigator of debauchery.
Paimon = /rules public ceremonies in hell, breaking people's will. Rides a camel. Portrayed as a man with a woman's face.
Volley = /destroyer, builder of cities, populates them with warriors thirsty for battle. Has the appearance of a stork and a hoarse voice.
Khabaril = /demon of fire and fire. He has three heads = /cat, human and snake, he rides on a viper, waving torches.
Vin = / could destroy the thickest walls and cause a storm at sea.
Seera = / demon of time, could slow down or speed up its progress.
Glasyalabolas = / winged dog. He directed the killings. In his free time from his main duties, this demon taught people the art of becoming invisible.
Demon = /messenger of evil.

If I forgot to mention the name of the demon, please add in the comments.

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There are different types of demons - the classification was compiled at different times by different authors from among monks, occultists and philosophers. Find out what demons exist, how they differ from each other and how they relate to the ranks of angels.

In the article:

Types of demons - ranks in demonology

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

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

Nine Demon Ranks

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

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

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

The fourth rank is 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 deceivers - .

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

The seventh rank is the furies who incite wars and strife. Their influence can be seen on a large scale when it comes to military conflicts or large urban clashes. Furies also influence people individually, causing them to conflict. .

The eighth rank is accusers and spies. They observe people, noticing their slightest sins and sinful thoughts. At the same time, these representatives of evil spirits never miss a chance to do something dirty. Usually their influence manifests itself in false accusations, slander, quarrels with colleagues and loved ones due to misunderstandings. The accusers give all the “compromising evidence” to their master.

The ninth rank is tempters who push a person into sin. Their greatest pleasure comes from the transformation of a righteous man into an avid sinner. Most often, it is these demons that appear to people; they are easier to summon, but keep in mind that it is not you who will benefit from your communication, but the 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 expelling the demon Balberith from a girl named Madeleine, the demons, after being cast into hell, took places in a new, dark hierarchy in accordance with the places they occupied in heaven. In other words, fallen cherubim among demons occupy the same position as cherubim in heaven.

Beelzebub

Hierarchy of demons

First level

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

Seraphim Beelzebub ranks second after Lucifer as. He inclines people to pride. Seraphim Leviathan pushes people away from the Christian faith, teaches heresy and inclines them to sins that contradict Christian morality. Seraphim Asmodeus seduces with luxury and material goods.
The 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 presides over laziness, despondency and idleness. The Throne of Faith makes people intolerant of each other, teaches them selfishness. The Throne of Gressin is responsible for the tendency to sloppiness and controls dirt in its physical sense. Throne Sonnelon is always ready to incite hatred towards 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 the breaking of the vow of poverty. Dominance of Rosier - demon of voluptuousness and fornication.
Prince Sil Verrier is able to force people to break their vow of obedience.
The power of Karro instills cruelty in the hearts of people and fights compassion and mercy. The power of Karnivan is in charge of shamelessness and lack of guilt for sins committed, 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 tends 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 chatter and distraction during worship. It affects women and children the most.
Archangel Olivia is responsible for hatred of poverty. People who are under its influence hate those who earn less than them. Olivia 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 Psellus who lived about a thousand years ago. He argued that not all demons live in hell. According to this author of historical, religious and philosophical works, demons have certain habitats and rarely leave them. The original source has not survived to this day, but it has been repeatedly cited by other authors, for example, Henry Halliwell.

Fire demons

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

Air demons

Air demons live in the air of the human world. They are the very evil forces that every person should beware of. These demons can cause natural disasters, become visible and influence people's lives. From time to time they go down to hell on their own business. Airborne evil spirits are mentioned in the Goetia.

Earth demons

Earthly demons, like airy 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 earth's demons live secretly 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. The destruction of house foundations and earthquakes are also attributed to underground evil spirits.

Demons who hate light, heliophobes or lucifuges live in hell and never go beyond it. According to Psellus, they are incomprehensible and unattainable for a mortal. When meeting a person, a Lucifuge will definitely kill him by strangling or poisoning him with his breath. Light-haters are afraid only of light; no witchcraft or magical seal can hold, summon or protect against them. They avoid people and never respond to various calls.

According to Psellus, only air, earth, water and underground demons can be summoned. This can be done in a place that matches its essence. For example, it is better to communicate with water evil spirits on the shore of a reservoir, with earthly ones - in the forest, with underground ones - 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 greater the influence it has on humans in particular and the world in general. The classification of demons according to their occupation and level of power was first introduced Alphonse de Spina in the 15th century. It is often criticized because this source does not mention many of the duties of evil spirits, and most known demons do not fit into the framework of this classification.

Parkes are Roman goddesses of fate, almost coinciding with the Greek Moirai. (Painting “Three Moirai”, Marco Biggio, 1525)

Parkas were the name given to goddesses who weave human destinies in Roman mythology. Similar characters exist in most of the pagan pantheons of the world. De Spina ranked them among the demons who control human destinies.

Pure demons are powerful creatures hailing from hell that only attack saints. Trickster demons appear only to people, usually in human form. Their goal is to deceive, lead a righteous person into sin, and gain his soul. There are also sleep demons, or nightmare 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 guise of a small animal. A certain type of demon instills in them false memories of the Sabbaths - the source calls the Sabbaths taking place in the real world a fiction.

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

Demonolotary Stephanie Connolly

Already in our time there was another attempt to distinguish the types of demons according to their occupation and area of responsibility. Classification modern demonologist and priestess of demonolatry 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 engaged in calling representatives of hellish 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 its subordination. Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to summon a powerful demon, but he can send someone of a lower rank to help the magician.

Love, passion and sex are the responsibility of Asmodeus and Astaroth. You can turn to them to create a love spell or sexual attachment, as well as gain attractiveness and find a lover.

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

Demons can both take life and give it. Verrin, Verrier and Belial are responsible for health and healing. You can ask them for help in fighting a serious illness if you practice black magic for healing.

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

Natural forces and elements are commanded by Lucifer, Leviathan and Dagon. You can ask them for help to facilitate contact with natural sources of energy, as well as to enhance the power of the ritual, in which the elements play an important role.

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

Secret knowledge is given to sorcerers and magicians by the demons Python, Ronwe and Delepitora. Sorcerers who work exclusively with the forces of darkness turn to them for advice. This path is closed to white magicians.

Classification of demons in demonology Cornellius Agrippa - planetary correspondences

In demonology, the classification of demons can be tied to planets. Many ancient sources talk about certain spirits of the planets. For example, these 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 has classified all mythological characters as representatives of evil spirits, except those who are directly related to God.

Occult Philosophy. Book 4

A planetary classification of hell demons has been 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, behavior, as well as a number of questions with which you can contact 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, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. They all come in different guises, 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 compliances. Each planet has a specific time of day, metal, color, stone and other important components for summoning demons.

Christian demonology - classification according to sins

Christian demonology is based on the connection between man'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 - laziness.

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

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

Russian demonology and its features

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

And also other types of “walking dead” - one of the most striking characters in Russian demonology. During the times of the Cossacks in Russia and Ukraine, they believed in people who had demonic abilities - zdukhachy and double-minded people. During sleep, according to ancient legends, they gain almost complete power over the situation.

Badzula is a demon who can make any person a drunkard and a tramp. In the guise of a woman in rags, he appears near settlements closer to winter. If you let the badzula spend the night, the family will soon become poorer and fall apart. Therefore, travelers were treated rather warily in winter - in the cold, our ancestors rarely strayed far from their homes.

Forest, swamp, field and river evil spirits are 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 not far from people, according to the beliefs of the Slavs. There are many evil spirits - Sinister, Potvora, Doghead and many others.

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