Demonology & Spirits
Leviathan
Leviathan appears in biblical poetry and later religious symbolism. The vivid descriptions belong to different literary contexts and should be interpreted accordingly.
Results for “Myth and literal belief”
Texts & Sources
Satan in Job
Job 1–2 presents Satan in a heavenly assembly and in a dispute about Job’s righteousness. The passage should be read before later accounts of Satan’s origins are supplied.
History
Romantic Satanism
Romantic Satanism concerns literary and political readings that give Satan a positive role in opposition to tyranny or conventional authority. It should be distinguished from membership in a religious organization.
Organizations & Traditions
The Satanic Temple
The Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religious organization whose public principles and activism differ from those of the Church of Satan and from theistic Satanist devotion.
Demonology & Spirits
Raziel
Raziel is an angel associated with the revelation of divine secrets, especially the legendary book given to Adam. His name appears in Jewish interpretive and magical literature and later Western esotericism, where Agrippa connects him with Chokmah, or Wisdom.
Organizations & Traditions
Church of Satan
The Church of Satan is the organization founded by Anton LaVey in 1966. Its official account describes Satanism as atheistic and gives Satan a symbolic role.
History
Johann Weyer
The physician and author whose Pseudomonarchia daemonum supplied an important source for later spirit catalogues.
Demonology & Spirits
Lilith
Lilith is a figure whose history spans ancient Near Eastern demonology, Jewish folklore, medieval protective magic, Kabbalah, literature, feminist reinterpretation, modern occultism, and contemporary Satanic or Luciferian religion. She is often introduced today as “Adam’s first wife,” but that familiar story is medieval rather than biblical. Earlier sources describe beings called lilith or lilin in…
Texts & Sources
Grimoires
A grimoire is a book or manuscript containing magical knowledge, ritual procedures, charms, conjurations, talismans, spirit catalogues, astrological instructions, prayers, or other techniques intended to produce supernatural or occult effects. The term is most strongly associated with European magic, but scholars use it within a much wider history of magical books and written ritual technologies.
Texts & Sources
Dictionnaire infernal
Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire infernal gathered supernatural traditions in a dictionary format. Its 1863 entries and illustrations remain influential in modern depictions of spirits.
Devotional Practice
Folk magic
Protective charms, witch bottles, and everyday materials in local magical traditions, with documented British museum examples.
Culture & Ethics
Halloween
The public holiday of 31 October, including lanterns, visiting customs, disguise, and its Celtic and Christian histories.
Culture & Ethics
Samhain
The Gaelic beginning-of-winter festival, Irish customs of food and divination, and its place in modern Pagan practice.
History
Salem witch trials
The Massachusetts prosecutions of 1692-1693, the spread of accusations, spectral evidence, and the surviving court archive.
Demonology & Spirits
Stolas
A Goetic prince associated with astronomy, herbs, and precious stones, with changing bird imagery in later reception.
Texts & Sources
The Satanic Bible
Anton LaVey’s 1969 book of Satanic philosophy and ritual, foundational to the Church of Satan.
History
Anton LaVey
The founder of the Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible and The Satanic Rituals.
History
Austin Osman Spare
An English artist and occult author whose treatment of desire and sigils influenced later magical practice.
Demonology & Spirits
Watchers
The Watchers are heavenly beings whose descent, teachings, and punishment are narrated in 1 Enoch. Their literary identity must be distinguished from later religious interpretations.
Texts & Sources
Book of Enoch
1 Enoch brings together accounts of heavenly beings, judgment, celestial order, and righteousness. It is a composite work rather than a single continuous biography of Enoch.