No matter how one looks at it, or what one’s opinion is on it, the very notion of Demonic Possession is an interesting and intriguing idea to think about. It’s either a scary, abhorant thought to you, or it’s something that you wish you could experience just once. Though I am sure there are more than a few that couldn’t care less one way or the other. The problem with Demonic Possession is that for it to stay within the definition of the thought, it would have to be done against the person’s will. That is only assuming though that we always know what our will is. If we were always on top of that then none of us would make the odd stupid mistakes that get told around a campfire. I know people that believe that not only is Demonic Possession possible but it’s rampant in our society. Then there are those that don’t even believe in Demons so no way they could believe in such a thing. Somewhere in there, probably, lies the truth. I don’t think Demons need us to do their will or to get stuff done or to take over the world. But I do think they sometimes are as curious about us as we are about them. Now I don’t think Demons are jumping into occultists willy nilly. But I do think there are times that they might choose to communicate with us in this way. That doesn’t mean we are going to start spewing pea soup and turning our heads 360 degrees, though that would be interesting as well, it just means that another avenue of communication was initiated with us from the Demons we seek out. Technically this is not Demonic Possession, at least not in the strictest sense. Most of us would be open to such a thing. What about people who have not gone down the road we have? Could they have a moment that could be considered “Demonic Possession”? With the Demons I think anything is possible. It is not so much that the Demons couldn’t do these things, it is more they don’t usually find the need. But occasionally they could decide for a more intimate amount of time with us. This is where the rule “against the person’s will” would come into play. If the Demons that we work with, talk with, and cultivate knowledge from were to, in their wisdom, decide it was time to attempt this type of communication, would it truly be against our will? Or could it just be something as simple as a nice surprise? I know that sounds simple. Even though it can be a complex subject, depending on how it is looked at. I think that during some of our rituals or some of our meditation this is something that routinely happens. One could argue that consent was given a long time ago and is being held as sacred. Maybe what we need is a different term altogether. Instead of “possession” maybe something more like “merging”. That would probably be a more accurate description. However, I do have to say, the Hollywood version of Possession would have it’s advantages. Speaking in ancient tongues, without having to study them, bending so far backwards you could make a gymnast jealous, and of course the whole levitation thing. If all that were possible, most of us would be lining up to sign up for such a thing. “Merging”. A much better and probably a more accurate concept.
Updates: Paypal, Lulu & Overall Site
With Paypal backing down on their censorship policies we will resume accepting paypal payments on this website. The links to Paypal will be returning shortly, but we’ll also keep the Google Checkout Links up as well. This will give everyone a choice of payment method when purchasing ritual supplies, readings, or books off of this website.
Thank you for supporting us during our PayPal boycott and we hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.
Also – I think I’m going to be talking to Frank about updating the theme of this website again. I don’t like how it formats pages or posts. The text runs together and it’s hard on the eyes. So please bear with us as we update the site.
Now with regard to Lulu. For years Lulu has been a valuable partner in helping DB Publishing bring our books to the world. However, we’ve outgrown them. Since early 2010, Lulu has not been our primary printing and distribution service, but we’ve kept them on our site as a distributor just because we wanted our customers to have a choice.
Starting in April 2012, the bulk of our paperback books will NO LONGER be available through Lulu. Instead, you’ll be able to get them through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and you’ll be able to order them through your local bookseller. The only books that will be available through Lulu will be the hardcovers and some private printings (though we might move the paperbacks on those, too). These editions will be available through direct links from our store here – only. We will no longer have a storefront on Lulu. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions, feel free to contact DB Publishing at [email protected] or Frank at [email protected] .
Dream-Work & Astral Temples
It’s pretty hard for me to write posts that are reader Q&A these days since most of my answers to the questions are printed in my books and most readers have read the bulk of my books. So everyone knows my opinion on this stuff.
With regard to possession, suffice to say that I view possession as being something that happens “against a person’s will” whereas channeling is where the magus/medium is a willing participant to the spirit speaking or doing things through them. Yes, mincing semantics but nothing annoys me more than people running amock tauting, “I’m possessed! I’m possessed!” Not to mention I once met a guy who actually thought he was “possessed” by a squirrel. But we won’t go there. That’s another tale for another time perhaps. Everyone else here chose possession as their topic to discuss so I’ll discuss the astral and dream work.
First, let me say that if you’re a magician of any sort, Dream Work and Astral Work both have their place, but they should never be a sole method for all magick. I personally think the magician loses a great deal when they do everything astrally. I also think this is why some magicians are ineffective. Sure – there are exceptions and I have met that rare one or two astral magicians who do have some flack to herald magickal success from astral and dream-work exclusively. But otherwise I think astral and dream-work has a primary purpose and that purpose is communication with spirits (of all types).
Now for exclusively *spiritual* Demonolaters – go ahead and do all the astral and dream work you can. When it comes to devotion and prayer you really don’t absolutely need a physical temple. But as a magician, things are a little different.
For some people astral and dream-work is the only way they’re able to practice ascension or communicate with the Daemonic. I prefer it when I’m looking for very specific instruction on how to do something, or I would like to have an extended conversation with a Divine Intelligence. This way I get full visual input as well as verbal input. But alas – I’ve learned to communicate without astral and dream-work, too. I think it took me just as much practice to learn how to effectively dream-walk and astral travel (they’re different) as it did to learn to trust my intuition and speak with the Daemonic while being wide-awake and completely in control of my faculties.
Think of Dream Work as lucid dreaming with a goal and think of astral travel as being able to put yourself into an awake, but meditative state to where you actually disconnect from your body and are able to travel anywhere in this world or other planes of existence/realms. It’s similar, but not quite the same thing. That’s my two cents.
Demonic Possession Doubts
I’m not a very big fan of the commonly held perception of Demonic possession. Even ignoring the fact that it perpetuates the negative stereotypes and misconceptions about the Daemons, I simply don’t think it’s very well thought out. To begin with, the very premise of non-consensual Demonic possession infers that the Daemon wishes to make the subject do something against their will or to their harm, or needs the subject to accomplish something that would otherwise be impossible for the Daemon to do alone. I have serious qualms about both of these scenarios.
For starters, if a Daemon wished to force a person to do something, I think there would be much easier and more effective ways to get it done than to personally assume control of their body and then perform the task through them. Even acts of self-mutilation and sabotage can be more easily achieved through deception or deceit than direct possession. Magic, as well as nature(as Magic is a part of nature), will always take the path of least resistance, and I highly doubt the Daemons make a habit of going to extra effort for inferior results.
Secondly, seeing as how Daemons are ancients begins of immense power, there aren’t too many instances I can envision that human assistance would be warranted. And if such an occasion were to arise, there would be plenty of subjects willing to volunteer themselves. This completely removes the need for non-consensual possession.
Finally, I am not entirely convinced that total Demonic possession of random everyday people is even possible without dire repercussions. In my experience Daemonic energy is quite powerful, even just being in the same room. Being touched by that energy can be intense, sometimes even bordering on uncomfortable. Personally, I believe that the energy encountered during full Demonic possession would cause permanent damage to the nervous system, if not other vital organs as well. This may not be the case for mediums and other experienced occultists who have trained their ability to handle higher energy levels, but for the average person, I have serious doubts about whether full possession is even possible.
My thoughts on Demonic Possession.
Hello, just starting publishing here, I’d like to take time to greet and thank, both S. Conelly and Co-Bloggers for the space.
I addressed this matter in my personal blog before, though I was remarked a few things that went a bit off topic, so Im going to remake the whole thing.
After a time of practicing magic I can say It is very unlikely that a Daemon in a magical current or a grimoire will just jump into your body unless it has something very important to say or do (Old powerful Genni and Gods have better things to do than messing with your body), it’s also unlikely to stay there for long, in cases of possession I’ve heard are not Daemons as a high spirit, but are random entities that came by some other means the particular cases I can recall:
A friend can personally testify that using the Ouija board (or what I consider the Mystical Chat Roulette) extendedly he found himself out of control of his body, and by mere chance made it out by knocking himself out in the wall near the stairs swinging his head at the first change he got, and one of the local Mystic girls I know told me that she had a friend possessed, in which case it could not be stopped until they give up and started to open their feelings of fraternal love for each other, the other left, which Im not sure if the power of love triumphed that day or only the entity got bored, I think Ouija boards were involved here too.
Now what these cases have in common and most of the cases of spirit possession that I know is when they started to meddle with something that have no kind of protection or filter thusly giving change to entities to jump at them, I have a friend being haunted by a departed ghost and it would seem the dead don’t try to do possession either unless channeled, they are more concerned on being attached to their homes. (Ive never encountered passed away criminaly insane people so not sure if happens)
I’ve never heard of a Magician getting unwillingly or dangerously possessed by a daemon especially if it’s treated with respect, I do know some practitioners have had some things gone dangerously wrong, but not in a possession but in getting unexpected results or having angering the Daemon due disrespect, but if you are specific in what you ask for, avoid disrespect or practicing to satisfy a morbid urge “to see what happens” you should be fine.
Now I have not worked with everything that is out there, but long way practices and grimoires have survived because they have been tested over and over, so if you are starting in your magical path, you might want to start practicing your path within safe grounds before experimenting things that you are not ready to handle.
Blessings of Lucifer
Jadean Lazulli
Demonic Possession???
We are bombarded with movies, books, tv shows of demonic possession. We are shown images of projectile vomit and heads spinning 360. I have never witnessed anything like that, there are moments that I seen people dancing, in a trance, and tremors. Have they been possessed by demons of their faith? I don’t know.. I’m sure this is the shortest posting from me, but I’m not going to beat around the bush about this… I have no clue.. I want to believe that it may be possible, but then again I want to believe that the world well explode around December..
In Search of Demonic Possession
Infernal Greetings to All …
Welcome to March and this month’s topic, Demonic Possession. This is a rather difficult topic to write about since nobody seems to agree what exactly it is or if it is real at all. I have read everything from psychologists that feel it is nothing more than a severe form of mental illness or schizophrenia to religious zealots that think everyone from Adolf Hitler to Marilyn Manson are possessed. I know that all the way back to Sumerian times around 4500BC the concept of spiritual possession was recorded in their history. It appeared here and there in various cultures but really found its home in the judeo-christian religion. There is a ton written by both secular and religious people on the topic and I won’t go into much detail since it is rather boring unless you have a sense of humor.
It probably would have remained a dusty old biblical concept if it hadn’t been for Hollywood in the 20th century. I am not forgetting some of the really interesting pieces of literature and artwork that have surfaced in the last 2000 years since all of the biblical myths were written, but it is hard to find somebody in this country that hasn’t seen or at least heard of “The Exorcist”. The extreme music world, especially Heavy Metal, has used the theme of Demonic Possession frequently also. Another area that you can find Demonic Possession is in many role-playing games and some of the modern horror fiction being written.
I have read all that is written in the CBOD about the subject and it seems to be pretty close to how I feel. In my experiences with the Demonic I have never felt any malevolence or had anything ever attempt to take over my senses or mind. But, this still does not mean it is impossible. I have never seen a UFO or little green men but after all I have read I do believe that something is out there. I have also seen a great deal of religious strangeness (stigmata, speaking in tongues, levitation) but once again not in person just in literature and video. By now it must be obvious that I tend to be a realist and look at many things logically. The good thing is that I am always open to being proven wrong and I really enjoy surprises.
I would like to ask anyone that has a similar point of view (or thinks I am wrong) to post their ideas and share what this topic means to them. Most of what I know about Demonic Possession came from books and I would really like to hear from someone with a more personal point of view on this topic.
Until next month (I Promise).
In Darkness We are United …
Devil Murdock
March 2012: Reader Q&A
When we asked blog readers what they wanted the bloggers to talk about this month we were told:
“I would love to hear the bloggers thoughts on Demonic possession. I know it’s be covered slightly in the CBOD but it’s such a fascinating subject and the idea that people are being possessed seems to be on the increase. I’m just curious about what the blogger think especially the Generational Demonolaters. “
and…
“I would like to hear their experiences/opinions on dream magic and/or astral temples.”
The bloggers will either discuss these topics this month, or they’ll just blog about whatever they feel like this month.
Enjoy it.
Website Payment Methods Update
As of today we at demonolatry.org are beginning to remove Paypal links from this site because we cannot, in good conscience, continue to support a credit card processing company that promotes censorship and book banning. As a publisher of occult books, occult fiction, and erotica (where the banning has started), I would be hypocrite to cry foul and then continue to support them by using them to process transactions on my own website and on any website on which I do business (here).
We have chosen to start using Google Checkout. However, we can also accept payments through Amazon Payments and we can accept money orders and certified checks the old fashioned way – via snail mail. If there is absolutely NO other way for you to pay, you may still send us Paypal payments to [email protected]. I won’t smite you for it as I understand some people only have Paypal. However, both Google and Amazon are viable alternatives if you are wanting to pay via a credit card. Contact me at the e-mail address above if you have any questions.
Alas, I won’t be closing my Paypal account completely because sadly in order to get paid by several of my book distributors I need to keep that account open and that’s why I’ll still accept Paypal if necessary.
Please note the Paypal links will remain on the demonolatry.org website until I have time to switch over to the new Google purchase buttons.
Thank you for your understanding and I hope this doesn’t cause any inconvenience.
-S. Connolly
Pathworking Thoughts
I have been thinking about this topic for some time now. It is one of those things where the definition is a little elusive. So many things could be called “pathworking” in magick. Someone does meditation a few nights and voila it’s pathworking. But the word and the ideal of pathworking is so much deeper than that. It is a part of the Great Work. Knowing and discovering oneself. Ultimately that is what pathworking leads to for the serious magician. Getting to know and being able to discover oneself is not an easy task. When real life learning takes place it usually comes at a cost. A tragedy happens and we learn to carry on in the aftermath. We discover things about ourselves we never would have without that tragedy. This is how I see pathworking, to a point. Let me explain. In pathworking we take the energy of that ritual and we extend it to it’s and ours breaking point. We push ourselves further and further unlocking the secrets of the ritual and along with that ourselves. It is not for the faint of heart. At times, it can be painful and uncomfortable. But it can also be a catalyst to a great change and a greater understanding of ourselves as well as the world around us. The same type of change and understanding that can be brought on by a tragedy. But at the end of all that work and all that sweat and energy, you are futher along the path to getting to know what you are capable of and what futher discovery may be possible. On the other side of a tragedy or the other side of pathworking there is greater understanding and greater knowledge about oneself.
So in observing all that, comparing pathworking to a tragedy, recognizing the pain and hard work that goes along with discovery, I would be inclined to ask, “Why the hell would I want to put myself through that?” A fair question. This is why I believe that the Demonic has a lot to do with us choosing this type of discovery. This is the level of communication that is necessary with the Demonic. We stare into their eyes and then find out we are looking at ourselves. I do believe that we are influenced by the Demonic to push ourselves to greater heights. Pathworking, the act of performing a ritual or a group of rituals until anything that can be drawn from the act, is drawn. I have to be honest, when I have anything that could be defined as “pathworking” it has come upon me by accident. And many times I have not recognized it until it was over. This is where I think the Demonic is communicating with me. Driving me to continue the ritual work until some unseen lever clicks and I am satisfied. And in turn they are satisfied that I have taken from the ritual or rituals that which was necessary. I don’t believe pathworking can be done without the influence or the assistance of the Demonic. Rituals can be done over and over and yes different things can be learned from each working, but unless it is in conjunction with the Demonic, I am not sure it could be called “pathworking”.