Have you ever talked to a demon?

[Rae'ya]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

I've never actually called on a demon (as I have yet to feel the need to), but I've always been curious: what kind of things do they ask for in return? What could a demon possibly want from one of us?

That depends on the Demon. For the most part They want energy, just like most deities. Devotional practices, prayer, emotion, offerings, direct energy exchange, belief, acknowledgement, respect... those things all impart energy to the deity that you are working with, and in my experience it's some variation of these things that most deities desire when they are working with people. Different devotional practices have different energetic kicks, and some deities have specific tastes or requirements. Some may ask that specific tasks are carried out or offerings made to organisations or spirits in this world.

It also depends on the relationship that you have. Many Demons have Divine Answering Machines just like other deities, though they are often set more to 'ignore' or 'piss off and leave me alone' than 'give the applicant a token energy boost'. I think that accounts for the negativity that some people feel when they approach Demons from a fearful or 'demons are malevolent' standpoint. You have to remember that many of these entities have been abused and treated badly by humans for thousands of years... particularly by ceremonial magicians who attempt to forcibly conjure and bind Them.

Just like for most deities, those transitory, temporary relationships 'for this spell only' often get an automatic energy exchange that happens and not much else... an 'accept the offering, send some energy for the working, continue doing my more important things' sort of response. But if you have an ongoing relationship with a Demon, or have a Demon as a patron/matron/teacher/whatever you want to call it then there may be other things involved. They may require you to learn certain skills so that you can perform work that They would like to have carried out in this world. Or if you are a shamanist and can journey then They may have tasks for you in the Otherworlds. Or you may be asked to run communications or interference or deliver messages or perform healings or whatever. It all depends on who you are dealing with... Glasya-Labolas will likely ask different things to Astaroth, for example. Just like Ares would ask for different things than Apollo might.

I am sworn to Skuld, who is not a Demon but a Jotnar goddess of the Northern pantheons. I do work with certain Demons on a semi-regular basis though, and they are generally happy to accept my standard payment of devotional artwork along with the initial energy exchange. They also work with me on the condition that I have a certain attitude and respect... if I thought that Demons were all evil malevolent spirits who must be forcibly conjured and bound by medieval symbols then obviously I wouldn't get much help from them. They seem to be a bit more cliquey too... in terms of banding together and protecting the interests of the other Demons in their pantheon. There seems to be less in-fighting and politics between them. Barbatos is the Demon that I work with the most, and we connect via my work with animal spirits and as a veterinary nurse. He appreciates emotion and passion for my patients and wards... I generally end up in tears when I work with Him, with an enormous sense of love and care for the animal that I am seeking help with. He drinks that up. On the other hand, Demons like Glasya-Labolas and Halphas couldn't care less what I feel or what my motivations are... it's all business with Them... accept Their help, make the payment, depart amicably with the understanding that if I need help again I know who to turn to.

[SilentMentalist]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

I've only been a Spiritual Satanist for a couple months, so I'm still fairly new with energy workings. If I, theoretically, called upon a demon right now (not planning on it), and they wanted something in return that I could not supply because I'm not skilled enough, would they teach me or would they expect me to figure it out on my own?

[Rae'ya]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

I've only been a Spiritual Satanist for a couple months, so I'm still fairly new with energy workings. If I, theoretically, called upon a demon right now (not planning on it), and they wanted something in return that I could not supply because I'm not skilled enough, would they teach me or would they expect me to figure it out on my own?

Again, it depends on the Demon. My experience is that most Demons fall into the category of deities who wont hand you things on silver platters. But they also generally wont ask more than you are capable of. Honestly, for most transitory purposes you probably wont be looking at anything too drastic, and you may get Divine Answering Machines until you get a bit more practice. The DAMs aren't useless, and are usually a lot easier to deal with, and generally don't test you too badly beyond whether you are actually genuine or just trying a conjure a Demon to prove how badass you are.

The thing is to never agree to something you aren't confident you can provide. Certain Demons are very good and discerning what you are capable of but not necessarily likely to attain (either because you can't be bothered, the price is too high or it's inconvenient). It's okay to haggle... and for the most part it's actually good practice to have a standard payment that you offer to everyone. Then it's up to Them whether your payment is acceptable or whether They want something else. Obviously, the higher the service you are requesting, the higher or harder the payment is likely to be. If you don't like what They are asking, it's okay to say no and offer an alternative. They might haggle with you, or They might tell you to go elsewhere. Occaisionally you may meet one that gets annoyed at you for wasting their time. But generally, beginners either get ignored, get a light kick up the arse if they're approaching in a disrespectful matter, get a DAM, or get a Demon who is willing to work with a beginner.

Just don't 'open yourself up to any spirit who wants to work with you'. That's a good way to pick up an astral nasty or opportunistic spirit. These often claim to be whatever entity you're trying to work with, and are good at picking up your fears and exploiting them (hence the vast number of Catholics and Christians who get 'possessed' by 'demons').

[bloodstorm]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

a few times yes and they were not exactly very pleasent experiences.

[SilentMentalist]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

a few times yes and they were not exactly very pleasent experiences.

Oh? Did you perhaps expect them to be unpleasant, and inadvertently contact an unpleasant demon? Were you disrespectful in any way that you can think of?

- - - Updated - - -

Again, it depends on the Demon. My experience is that most Demons fall into the category of deities who wont hand you things on silver platters. But they also generally wont ask more than you are capable of. Honestly, for most transitory purposes you probably wont be looking at anything too drastic, and you may get Divine Answering Machines until you get a bit more practice. The DAMs aren't useless, and are usually a lot easier to deal with, and generally don't test you too badly beyond whether you are actually genuine or just trying a conjure a Demon to prove how badass you are.

The thing is to never agree to something you aren't confident you can provide. Certain Demons are very good and discerning what you are capable of but not necessarily likely to attain (either because you can't be bothered, the price is too high or it's inconvenient). It's okay to haggle... and for the most part it's actually good practice to have a standard payment that you offer to everyone. Then it's up to Them whether your payment is acceptable or whether They want something else. Obviously, the higher the service you are requesting, the higher or harder the payment is likely to be. If you don't like what They are asking, it's okay to say no and offer an alternative. They might haggle with you, or They might tell you to go elsewhere. Occaisionally you may meet one that gets annoyed at you for wasting their time. But generally, beginners either get ignored, get a light kick up the arse if they're approaching in a disrespectful matter, get a DAM, or get a Demon who is willing to work with a beginner.

Just don't 'open yourself up to any spirit who wants to work with you'. That's a good way to pick up an astral nasty or opportunistic spirit. These often claim to be whatever entity you're trying to work with, and are good at picking up your fears and exploiting them (hence the vast number of Catholics and Christians who get 'possessed' by 'demons').

What do you mean by "Divine Answering Machine"? Also, what are a couple different ways of calling on a demon? The JoS website's method involved going directly through Satan (this is just for security purposes; Satan ensures that you aren't getting a nasty demon), but once I've established that a demon is kind, I wouldn't feel the need to go through Satan anymore.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

What do you mean by "Divine Answering Machine"?

Basically, the Divine Answering Machine is an automatic human-deity interface that picks up some of the contact that we have with deities. I'm a hard polytheist and I tend to feel that most deities have better things to do than jump to our every whim. I think they have this automatic interface that means they can interact with us on a fairly superficial level while continuing on their 'more important things'. The DAM is pretty complex... but basically it accepts offerings, gives out rote answers, sends a bit of the deity's energy your way, or gives out the 'thanks, but no thanks' response.

I can't remember where I first saw it called the Divine Answering Machine... online or in a book somewhere... it's not my term, but when I first saw it I had one of those 'ping' moments. You know... that moment where you see or hear something and it's like getting hit over the head with a spiritual two by four. You get this enormous feeling of "THIS... right here... THIS". I had this concept in the back of my head, but didn't have a name for it, and then wham... there it was. I've seen the term used by lots of people since then.

Personally, I think that most of the temporary 'for this spell only' interactions that we have with deities are really a DAM... which is not to lessen the experience at all... some people don't even get the DAM, just silence. I've gotten the DAM from several Demons, even while in the same working a different Demon has given me personal attention. There's... a difference to the attention that you get. The depth and quality is different, and even though you get a successful piece of magick out of it (and you still have to make payment), there's just something a bit... 'more' when you have personal attention. I also got the DAM from Skuld once, which was a bit of a shock. But at that particular time I was being a bit slack and it was Her way of telling me to lift my game, because if I wasn't going to put in the effort why should She. Needless to say I learned my lesson lol.

Sometimes it's hard, because when you talk about the Divine Answering Machine, some people get offended and feel like you're minimising their experience or relationship with the deities. It's not like that. It's just that they are bigger than us and have more important things to do. So they have an automatic answering service that gives you what you need, while reserving the personal attention for those who have a more ongoing, regular, committed relationship with them.

Also, what are a couple different ways of calling on a demon? The JoS website's method involved going directly through Satan (this is just for security purposes; Satan ensures that you aren't getting a nasty demon), but once I've established that a demon is kind, I wouldn't feel the need to go through Satan anymore.

If you have a good relationship with Satan then He can make introductions for you. Sometimes going through your patron is a good way to ensure that you are getting the right deity for the right job, or to skip past the DAM, or to protect against the opportunistic spirits who will pretend to be a deity when they aren't.

Otherwise, calling on a Demon is just like calling on any deity. Research, find out what They like, make an offering (sometimes more than one if you need to woo Them a bit), attempt contact, and wait to see what happens. I don't know if this works for others, but sometimes I'll have a purpose in mind, and go through the list of Goetia, and there'll be a 'ping' moment when I see a particular name. Offerings vary depending on who you are dealing with, as I mentioned before. The actual mechanics of calling on a Demon... that depends more on your magickal framework than on Them. Theoretically, any ritual would work if it's one that fits into your spiritual context.

With the Goetic Demons and many of the Dukante Demons, we have the benefit of sigils that tap into the Cosmic Groove and give us a fairly direct line straight to the associated Demon. They were originally used by medieval magicians to conjure and bind the Demons, along with certain seals and ritual signs and words. That's what you'll read in texts like the Lesser Key of Solomon. Take the individual sigils from those texts and throw out everything else... the rituals will likely get you ignored and put onto the blacklist because they are most definitely not respectful. If you keep trying then you may get some sort of backlash. The sigils themselves seem to be acceptable though, and most Demons will respond or at least trigger the DAM with their use. You can draw/paint them, sleep with them under your pillow (with the proper security in place, of course), meditate on them, use them as a focus during magick... the possibilities are endless.

Personally, I'm not particularly strict in the way that I do magick. Magick works in a million different ways, as does deity communication. The trick is to find the framework that works for you... it has to fit your skills, avoid your weaknesses, use the items that you have access to, fit into your cultural context and be a respectful use of any existing ritual without cultural appropriation. Other than that the sky is the limit. That's why there are so many different paths... because they all work. You just have to find the one that suits you. Most Satanist and Demonolatry groups tend towards the ceremonial, but that's not the only way to do it.

[Shahaku]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

Do you ever worry about an entity latching onto you? Becoming more interested in you than you would like, etc? Do you use protection against that sort of thing, or just not believe in it? If you believe that there's an equal chance of good vs bad or a mixture thereof, then how do you protect yourself from entities that are malicious? How do you feel safe, I guess?

[Rae'ya]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

Do you ever worry about an entity latching onto you? Becoming more interested in you than you would like, etc? Do you use protection against that sort of thing, or just not believe in it? If you believe that there's an equal chance of good vs bad or a mixture thereof, then how do you protect yourself from entities that are malicious? How do you feel safe, I guess?

Is this question for me or the OP?

Just checking rather than jumping in and answering something that wasn't meant for me lol

[Shahaku]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

lol, for you, Rae'ya. I didn't think it was too far out of topic, though anyone who practices these beliefs, I'd be interested in their answer too.

[axbancroft]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

As a Satanist, I speak with a lot of demons. every one I have spoken to thus far has been friendly. Also if you think of a horned thing with red eyes when you hear demon, that is really not what they look like. Thats some hollywood type stuff.

[Aeran]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

Basically, the Divine Answering Machine is an automatic human-deity interface that picks up some of the contact that we have with deities. I'm a hard polytheist and I tend to feel that most deities have better things to do than jump to our every whim. I think they have this automatic interface that means they can interact with us on a fairly superficial level while continuing on their 'more important things'. The DAM is pretty complex... but basically it accepts offerings, gives out rote answers, sends a bit of the deity's energy your way, or gives out the 'thanks, but no thanks' response.

I can't remember where I first saw it called the Divine Answering Machine... online or in a book somewhere... it's not my term, but when I first saw it I had one of those 'ping' moments. You know... that moment where you see or hear something and it's like getting hit over the head with a spiritual two by four. You get this enormous feeling of "THIS... right here... THIS". I had this concept in the back of my head, but didn't have a name for it, and then wham... there it was. I've seen the term used by lots of people since then.

Personally, I think that most of the temporary 'for this spell only' interactions that we have with deities are really a DAM... which is not to lessen the experience at all... some people don't even get the DAM, just silence. I've gotten the DAM from several Demons, even while in the same working a different Demon has given me personal attention. There's... a difference to the attention that you get. The depth and quality is different, and even though you get a successful piece of magick out of it (and you still have to make payment), there's just something a bit... 'more' when you have personal attention. I also got the DAM from Skuld once, which was a bit of a shock. But at that particular time I was being a bit slack and it was Her way of telling me to lift my game, because if I wasn't going to put in the effort why should She. Needless to say I learned my lesson lol.

Sometimes it's hard, because when you talk about the Divine Answering Machine, some people get offended and feel like you're minimising their experience or relationship with the deities. It's not like that. It's just that they are bigger than us and have more important things to do. So they have an automatic answering service that gives you what you need, while reserving the personal attention for those who have a more ongoing, regular, committed relationship with them.

But would a spiritual entity, let alone a deity, need something like this? It seems to me that, as they operate outside of physical reality, such beings wouldn't be bound by the mechanics of space and time. At least to a certain degree, anyway.

As to the question at hand, nope. But I had an encounter with what I'm fairly sure was the ghost of my recently deceased friend (I actually ended up accidentally banishing him :/ felt kind of rude when I realized what I'd done).

[Rae'ya]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

Do you ever worry about an entity latching onto you? Becoming more interested in you than you would like, etc? Do you use protection against that sort of thing, or just not believe in it? If you believe that there's an equal chance of good vs bad or a mixture thereof, then how do you protect yourself from entities that are malicious? How do you feel safe, I guess?

Do I worry about it? No. But that's because I take the proper precautions and practice good spiritual hygiene. Astral nasties and opportunistic entities are out there... but they're relatively easy to protect against if you are careful.

I have good spiritual hygiene, which means that I do aura checks regularly and try to make sure that I have a basic shield going most of the time. I do the majority of my practice in our ritual room, which is in a constant state of sacred space... think a permanent Circle surrounding the entire room and that's what it's like in there... you can feel it the second you walk in there, and even visitors treat the room with instinctive respect. If I do something significant outside of the ritual room then I throw up some extra wards. I also have some spiritual house hygiene too... where there are basic shields as a part of the house and property boundaries. A well constructed ward or shield goes a long way, but you have to be careful not to make big, flashy, over-the-top shields, or walk around wearing the spiritual equivalent of a full suit of armor... that can attract unwanted attention.

The main thing you can do to protect against opportunistic entities is to be careful how you attempt communication. I never open myself up to communication... well ever really lol. When I reach out to a deity (and I include Demons as deities), I have a very specific purpose in mind, as well as using sigils as a sort of direct line straight to the Demon. Sitting down and inviting 'anyone who wants to help' to communicate with you is asking for trouble.

It also helps to have some spirits on your side. Spirit guides, helpers, servitors or familiars can help run interference and keep out the nasties. Having a patron also helps, though if they're anything like mine they may be more inclined to say 'do it yourself, you're capable' and only step in if there's an emergency. It also helps to have a deity or significant spirit who can introduce you to who you want to talk to, so that you go straight to the source. Once you are talking to the Real Deal it's a lot harder for the opportunistic entities to trick you.

And the last thing is simply that I know what to do if I get an attachment. I've had astral nasties latch on to me before, but I've gotten rid of them pretty quickly. Granted, I've never had anything big and terrible and malevolent latch onto me, but that's possibly just because I've never actually put myself in the situation to be taken in by one. It's also possible that I'm just not an easy target, and so they don't tend to bother trying.

But would a spiritual entity, let alone a deity, need something like this? It seems to me that, as they operate outside of physical reality, such beings wouldn't be bound by the mechanics of space and time. At least to a certain degree, anyway.

I think so. Look at it this way... if you're a deity sitting over there in the Otherworlds tending to your business, and at any given moment you've got something like fifty two thousand people prattling away trying to get your attention, wouldn't you develop an automatic interface that let you get on with your day? Wouldn't you rather divide your conscious attention between the three hundred of your closest, most devoted followers than try to give fifty two thousand people personal attention when three quarters of them really only want you because it's Beltane and you're associated with fertility?

The thing is, the Divine Answering Machine is a part of the deity. It's not like some external answering service that is tended by a third party... it is actually the deity, it's just a small automatic part that is communicating with you while their main attention is elsewhere.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

Hello, guys!

I'm a newcomer and I want to ask you some questions about demons.

Have you ever talked to one of them? Were you afraid? Is it dangerous? And do you actually believe in them, maybe I came on the wrong forum?

Many thanks for considering my question!

If you are using the Christian notion of demons being some sort of evil incarnation, then no I have not spoken to any. However, if your using daemon / daimon in the Hellenic concept of a Spirit that can be used for inspiration whether it be via so called negative or positive interactions then the answer is yes. Especially so in the consideration of the Chaldean aspect of Hecate / Hekate in which she would dispatch such daemons to inspire or punish humanity for some reason.

[Aeran]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

I think so. Look at it this way... if you're a deity sitting over there in the Otherworlds tending to your business, and at any given moment you've got something like fifty two thousand people prattling away trying to get your attention, wouldn't you develop an automatic interface that let you get on with your day? Wouldn't you rather divide your conscious attention between the three hundred of your closest, most devoted followers than try to give fifty two thousand people personal attention when three quarters of them really only want you because it's Beltane and you're associated with fertility?

The thing is, the Divine Answering Machine is a part of the deity. It's not like some external answering service that is tended by a third party... it is actually the deity, it's just a small automatic part that is communicating with you while their main attention is elsewhere.

I dunno, guess it's a question of different perspective. It's funny cause I remember once, years back as a kid when I first became interested in magic, wondering what would happen if two people summoned the same spirit at the same time... But these days I see gods, at least, in a a more imminent way. I figure that something like a deity shouldn't need to divide it's consciousness to give more or less attention to certain people, purely by merit of what it is, that a deity would have a vast enough consciousness to be able to be able to pay attention to any worshipers and petitioners simultaneously. Same way that I don't need to choose between typing this post and digesting the croissant I just ate but on a vaster scale. Though that seems a pretty poor analogy. But I imagine that the consciousness of a god of war would be directed wherever battle is taking place, that a god of fertility would be present in some small way wherever reproduction is going on.

I think you're probably right that the more devoted followers would get more attention, but I have a hard time imagining Odin screening his calls. Instead it seems more like it'd be a 'whoever has the widest pipes gets more water situation,' with the pipes in this analogy being your relationship to the deity. You'd grow closer to them on a mental level as you integrate them into your lives, and then on an energetic level every time you work with and come into contact with them, and that would naturally allow greater and clearer contact in the future.


I do wonder about some spirits though. Especially local nature spirits or the dead. Seems that some of them would have a narrower scale.

[ThorsSon]

Re: Have you ever talked to a demon?

Hello, guys!

Hello

I'm a newcomer and I want to ask you some questions about demons.

OK

Have you ever talked to one of them?

no

Were you afraid?

n/a

Is it dangerous?

no

And do you actually believe in them,

no

maybe I came on the wrong forum?

no, you didn't, you came to one of the best places on the Internet... with a diversity of members with a diversity of beliefs and experiences.

Many thanks for considering my question!

You're welcome.