Demons
© 2002
>> I am about half way through "Frabato the Magician" and I am a little confused about something. In the book, the F.O.G.C is said to be in a pact with Satan and other demonic spirits as well as an appearance of the demon Baphomet is mentioned. In my limited knowledge of Hermetics and Kabbala, I thought that these spirits do not exist and that there is no "Devil" other than those that we create with our minds. Can anyone enlighten me on the subject. <<
You have answered your own quandary, though you don't realize it. :) The answer is that the beings mentioned ARE created with our minds. However, these particular creatures also exist at the collective level of the human group-mind, and are therefore quite powerful. Their power extends ONLY within the human group-mind. In other words, they do not have corollaries beyond the human experience and do not exist within non-human nature. The only place that anything definable as "evil" exists in this universe is within the hearts and minds of human beings.
But this does not mean that they are not real. All it means is that they are only real in human terms. They have no power over the non-human rest of the universe. They also have only as much power over us as we give them, either consciously or sub-consciously.
This is why it is so important to follow a path of self-realization that BEGINS with character development, mental discipline and the bringing to light of all the dark matter that fills the ordinary human psyche.
>> This is by no means the only such possession either - there are at least two others that are being dealt with, or about to be dealt with - there does seem to be a definite trend taking place. It seems just possible to me that as the rise in "seekers of the light" gains momentum, as seems to be the case generally, there might be an associated "balancing" by means of reciprocal dark forces. I would be interested to hear from others regarding this hypothesis. <<
It is tied to the rise in our numbers but only indirectly. The reason we are seeing so much more of this sort of thing lately is due to the poor training that most folks pursue. Right off the bat, folks these days are tapping into resources of inner power before they have first purified their own psyches. When a person does this, they empower their own inner demons, the source of all such beings. For an untrained person, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a self-generated demon and an external force. [This is the nature of the mental body. Our projections appear to be external things coming at us, instead of the other way around.]
When such a person does practice magic, it opens them directly to the demons we have created for ourselves within our human group-mind. They will gladly enter the personal sphere of an individual *through the person's own un-regenerated psyche*.
The well trained magician however, doesn't face these dangers since their psyche is well known to them. Where there are no dark corners, these demons cannot grab hold. This is one benefit of the Elemental Equilibrium.
What must be accomplished in an exorcism is to sever the link between the subject's own psyche and the demon that has found a home there. If it's to be a permanent cure, one must also eliminate that part of the subject's psyche that provides a suitable atmosphere for this demon, otherwise this demon will return once the exorcist is absent. The effective removal of the host environment is crucial and is the most difficult part of an exorcism to accomplish.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
21 Mar 2002
>> The majority of victims that I am aware of are very young people, mostly young children. It would tragically seem that the younger the child, the more vulnerable they are to possession and other psychic attacks. I remember for example a high ranking Demon that R. exorcised from a five year old boy (I think his age was). In that case, the Demon, after R. exorcised it from the child, subsequently entered R. and very nearly killed him in the battle that ensued. Now, clearly five year old children are not engaging in any sort of Occult of Magical activities, and have psyches equivalent to their age - so how does this reconcile with these possessions? <<
There are several issues here. First off, I don't know the specifics of this case and I don't know R's abilities so far as determining whether or not a true "possession" is in place.
Secondly, the term "possession" is problematic in that it implies a completely external force taking over and this is not a strictly accurate assessment of what is commonly called "possession".
Thirdly, every child born has a past life history or karma.
>> Also - the Demon which possessed R. after removing it from the child did so spontaneously, and not due to anything within R's own psyche. <<
I think this is an inaccurate assessment of R's psyche. Such an entity cannot take hold in the psyche unless it has an avenue of entry.
>> These dark entities are very real and very powerful, and in the cases mentioned, psyche independent - so where do they originate, and why do they attack is the ultimate question here. <<
To my mind, your assumption that these cases are "psyche independent", is erroneous.
As I said before, these beings originate in the human psyche and many reside within the human group-mind.
"Attack" is not an accurate description. These beings are merely trying to survive in the same way that every other living creature tries to survive. They seek out and inhabit realms that support and nurture their own life force, just like you or I. What feeds them is the strong energy of the un-regenerated human psyche, so when they inhabit this realm, they naturally do their best to cultivate this "dark" energy. They are well adapted to their environment -- an evolutionary success in scientific terms.
A good analogy is a virus. To the host body, it may feel like an attack, but the virus itself has no such motivation. All a virus is trying to do is survive and prosper.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
22 Mar 2002
>> One does have to ask however - out of a population of say 6 billion people, how do these clearly powerful demonic entities select a victim to possess? <<
They are like birds who find the best tree for their nest. But can we say that a bird has thus "possessed" the tree? I think this is the wrong way of looking at this whole issue. The terms "possession" and "victim" both imply a lack of responsibility or causation on the part of the host. If we cut our own finger, are we then a "victim" of our own abuse?
When I examine an individual said to be "possessed", with my mental eyes, I usually see that the so called "possession" is nothing other than the individual's own projection of their own unresolved subconscious content. This is self-caused -- certainly not intentional or even conscious, but self-caused nonetheless.
When the subconscious content itself is adequately dealt with and transformed (as in the Soul Mirror work) then the root of "possession" is eradicated and the "possession" is terminated -- the environment suitable for hosting such an entity is transformed into an environment unsuitable for such an entity and the entity must therefore vacate and not return.
>> Such victims are very often young children who, presumably do not have an excess of psychic energy, negative or otherwise, and who's psyche's are not very mature. <<
The psyche of a child is a VERY complex thing, especially that of a modern day child. A child's psyche is every bit as capable of creating its own demons as an adult's psyche is, if not more so.
>> In the case of P., from whom R. is exorcising this powerful entity, the demon, this is not the case - the entity claims to be her ex-husband apparently. <<
This is an example of how well adapted this life form is to its environment. P. has her own unresolved stuff around her ex-husband, so this entity is using this inner weakness to its advantage. These beings exist within the psyche and therefore know every little thing
about their host's darkest recesses.
>> I suppose the follow-up questions would be this. Why, once exorcised, are do these entities apparently become even more dangerous and aggressive, and in particular towards the exorcist? Is it because their victim was particularly suitable for their "need", or in fact is in a case of vindictiveness or revenge upon the exorcist? <<
This is survival instinct, not the human emotions of malice or revenge.
When a magician severs the link between a "demon" such as this, and its host environment, the magician must then contend with the entity's need for another suitable environment. Since the magician is the one presenting the threat to its survival and is also at that point exuding a great amount of energy, the entity will naturally be drawn to look within the magician's own psyche for its survival. VERY frequently, the entity will find a suitable environment within the "magician" since most who try to exorcise have not achieved the Elemental Equilibrium and still have unresolved "dark" matter lurking in their psyches.
If the magician does not present a suitable environment for the entity then the entity will do it's damnedest to re-enter its original host. If the magician does not allow this, then the entity will retreat elsewhere. Unless the entity finds another suitable host promptly, it
will again return to its original host and re-enter once the magician has left the scene. This, to a large extent, explains why P. has had no luck with the various exorcisms that have been performed prior to this attempt.
The only way to permanently resolve this situation is to completely and permanently resolve the environment of the host's psyche. It is NOT an easy matter for a magician to eradicate the "dark" matter residing within the psyche of another human being. Most often, this is not even permitted by the laws of karma.
The wisest and most permanent course is for the magician to guide the host through the process of transforming their own "dark" matter.
But we want fast cures that absolve us of all responsibility, so very, very few are willing to truly look within and really do the work of self-change required to permanently end this cycle.
Bardon places the Soul Mirror work and the work of self-transformation at the very beginning of IIH for good reason. He also leaves off the exploration of non-physical realms until the Elemental Equilibrium is well formed, for the same good reason. Namely, that our unresolved psychic content very easily blinds us and leads us astray. This has to do with the nature of the mental body itself. When we think a thought, it, in effect, bounces off the interior of the mental body and rebounds to us. This is what I referred to earlier when I said that to my mental eyes, "possession" is nothing other than a *projection* of self. That projection bounces off the interior of the mental body and *appears* to be an external force, impinging upon us. This bounce-effect causes a snowballing dynamic much like a "schema".
I get emails almost daily from folks describing absolutely bizarre phenomena that they've experienced while meditating or astral projecting. To a one, these are self-projections of unresolved psychic content, and to a one, these are people who have yet to attain the Elemental Equilibrium.
When we enter into these realms unprepared it's doubly difficult to discern what is self-projection and what is truly external.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
24 Mar 2002
>> Why does every demonic spirit or low level spirit, run away when they hear the name "Jesus"? <<
Well, not every negative being will respond in that way to every invocation of the name "Jesus". It's not the name itself that has this power -- it's what is in the heart and mind of the speaker that gives the spoken name this power.
If someone for whom the name "Jesus" had no meaning, spoke his name to a negative spirit, that spirit would be completely unaffected by it. But if someone who holds the name "Jesus" as a sacred, powerful thing, spoke his name to the same negative spirit, that spirit would react in fear.
The same holds true for any utterance of a sacred name, magical formula, or for that matter, any utterance whatsoever. An utterance has only as much meaning as you give it -- especially on the astral and mental planes.
For example, you could just as well say "Boo!" to make a negative spirit go away if you gave your utterance of "Boo!" sufficient force of meaning. If you are convinced that saying "Boo!" will force the spirit to flee, then it will flee. In fact, you needn't say anything at all if your will to have the spirit flee is strong enough and finely enough focused.
With true magic, the force of will is the paramount factor. The word or sigil or tool, etc., that holds or transmits the force of your will, is secondary. It is just a vessel meant to *help* you focus and directly express your magical will. Without the infusion of your will, the vessel is powerless (beyond what power nature gives to every thing). In other words, without your will, it is not truly "magical".
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
26 May 2002