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Before I go into detail, I will mention to you that I seriously recommend reading up on the topic. While I will not go and recommend every book I have read on the topic (that would take up two pages worth of a bibliography alone!) I will however recommend some of the ones that cover the symptoms more in depth than others. However, let me tell you, there is no set method for recognizing possession. Even some of the first recorded accounts (excluding the ones in the bible) dating back to the medieval times, were random and even at times vague as to what they had used in order to identify diabolical possession.  The books below are the ones I would most like to recommend, being that they are extremely informative on this specific topic, and those books are as follows:

Father Gabriele Amorth, An Exorcist Tells His Story, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, ISBN 978-0-89870-710-6, 1999

Father Gabriele Amorth, An Exorcist: More Stories, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, ISBN 978-0-89870-917-9, 2002

Father Jose Antonio Fortea, Interview With an Exorcist: An Insider’s Look at the Devil, Demonic Possession, and the Path to Deliverance, West Chester, Pennsylvania: Ascension Press, ISBN 978-1-932645-96-5, 2006

Matt Baglio, The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, DoubleDay Religion, ISBN 978-0-385-52271-7, 2009

Gerald D. Brittle, The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren, Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse Press, ISBN 0-595-24618-4, 2002

Thomas B. Allen, Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism, Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse Press, ISBN 0-595-13264-2, 2000

John Zaffis & Brian McIntyre, Shadows of the Dark, Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse Press, ISBN 0-595-32509-2, 2004

Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman, The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel, Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, ISBN 1-59752-432-8, 2005

Father Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans, New York, New York: HarperOne Press, ISBN 978-0-06-065337-8, 1992

As you can see, almost each and every one of those books takes a look at this topic from the Roman Catholic or Christian point of view. I am not being discriminatory, but unfortunately, the Roman Catholics/Christians/Judeo-Christians happen to have the most information available about diabolical possession and exorcism. Am I saying that the Jewish religion does not have anything on possession and/or exorcism? Not at all. They actually have a good amount of information, but I simply have not studied it very much, so I do not feel qualified to speak of it until I do my own research. The Muslim religion does not believe in diabolical or demonic possession because they do not believe in demons. Their belief system encapsulates that there are very demon-like beings who actually share much of the same parallels in story with the demonic, but these beings were never angels, and they are not all evil. These beings are called the “Djinn”. Their topic is far too vast, but the Djinn are capable of taking possession of a human much like the demonic do, and there will be some in-depth articles being released here very soon about them as well. All of the books I mentioned above are not the only books released on the topic. Not by a long shot. As a matter of fact, they aren’t even scratching the surface. I have in my possession (both physically and digitally) a great many books, some of them that are hundreds of years old, and go into far greater detail about the “demonic epidemic” of the middle ages, but I will not even post them as reading material here because quite frankly, you would never really be able to find them. Some of them are available through digital archival services such as GoogleBooks, but unless you can fluently read Latin, French, or German, it may be useless to you.

With all of that information being said, let me begin on this specific article: this is not going to be an article that goes into extreme detail on the history of possession, but since those topics are rather important, they will be touched upon briefly. Other articles are currently in the works, which will delve more deeply into the topics we brush upon here. The major focus of this article are what some of the symptoms of possession are. Let me also tell you that there is no way to concretely ascertain the state of possession. There are obviously things in which you can look out for, and/or test for, but to be completely honest, the demonic have so many tools at their disposal it would be foolish to believe that we know all of their methods. Father Gabriele Amorth, who I recommended above, claims that after almost 40 years of being the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican and serving under multiple Popes, even he does not know all of the tricks of the demonic. He doesn’t even claim to know half of them, actually, and that is what I mean – a man with over 30,000 (Yes, thats thirty thousand!) exorcisms under his belt, openly admits that it is a “learn as you go” experience. Let us start by first briefly explaining what diabolical/demonic possession actually is, and what it is described as.

WHAT EXACTLY IS POSSESSION?

Possession in itself is not something in which can be easily explained. It is not an “easy” topic, either. It depends on what belief system you are following, it depends on what the circumstances are of your possession, and it also depends on whether or not it is a human or an inhuman possession. In the paranormal community, when a human spirit temporarily takes possession of a person, it is usually not on a permeant basis. It will happen in short spurts or bursts, and they are known as “Walk-Ins”, because the human spirits walk in, take control, say or do what they need to pass on their message, and then walk out. This is also what many people who claim to be psychic or mediums engage in when they conduct seances – they allow spirits of humans who have died to temporarily take control of their vessel to pass on its message and provide brief interaction between the spirit and the client. Demonic possession is quite different. I will go into more depth below, further down in the article, but what it basically is, in essence, is an ancient entity taking control of your body, and forcing it into any type of demeaning or demoralizing activity it possibly can. It will try to sever all of your relationships and acquaintances, it will get you fired from your jobs, it will make your loved ones hate you, and in extreme cases, it will cause you to commit homicide, and ultimately, suicide. It won’t always be both, for example, if you commit murder while you are possessed, as Animus mentions below in the case of Azazel, the demonic entity will ‘release’ you just as it is time for you to be arrested and/or serve trial. If it has the opportunity and your will is totally broken, it will force suicide of your body, thus condemning you to Hell for eternity to serve as a slave to the demons who dominated you in life. Their ultimate goal, from the start to finish, is to isolate you and break your will down to the point where one way or another, you are destroying God’s most perfect creation – man.

So obviously, I cannot even begin to attempt to give you all of the answers you may seek. So, to learn what to look for, we must also know what causes it, and I see no better way begin this journey that to start at a point where it all began.

THE ORIGINS OF POSSESSION: The Devil You Know and THE Adversary of Mankind

[Content for this section provided by ANIMUS]

Since first Man gained the gift of speech, we have been telling stories, and the oldest of these have been scary stories.  Far from today’s goal to terrify an audience while in the complete safety of a theatre, the primeval scary stories were told for the purpose of protecting loved ones against the real threats that lived along side our ancestors.  Man-eating monster stood as warnings about potential predators, giants and witches came from the homelands of strangers to the community, and the desolate wilderness that surrounded ancient civilizations was most greatly feared because it housed all of these horrors and more and existed quite literally right outside the city gates.

Many names have been given to the collective phantasm that embodies these fears to the point that one might argue that this host of horrors that appears across the world over is in fact a single entity.  But of these many names and incarnations, few surviving to the modern day are as detailed and developed as one appearing in the Hebrew Bible, called Azazel.  It is the later Abrahamic faith of Islam, however, that truly describes Azazel, calling him Iblis or Shaytan, like its Hebrew cognate Satan, meaning “adversary”.  But unlike Judaism and Christianity, the Islamic Shaytan is not the Adversary of God, for what force created could stand against an Almighty and Everlasting God.  Iblis or Azazel is instead a different breed of Devil: the Adversary of Mankind.

APPEARANCES IN THE BIBLE

From a strictly textual stand point, Azazel’s role could not be more enigmatic, appearing in only one passage of the Hebrew Bible.  Appearing in Leviticus 16, regarding the rituals for the Day of Atonement or the surviving Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur, a mistranslation of his name has given rise to the commonly used English word scapegoat.  However in Jewish lore and exegesis, his role is made clear.  Those familiar with the concept of Revelation’s “Number of the Beast” know that ancient Greek and Hebrew used their letters as numeral, ‘A’ equaling 1, ‘B’ equaling 2, and so on.  This means that certain words can have a value imparted to them and therefore a mystical numeric significance.  The value of “The Adversary” or Satan equals 364, interpreted to mean that for 364 days of the year, the Adversary of Man can hold our sins against us, but on the Day of Atonement, the sins of Israel are remitted and the Devil has no claim over man.

The ritual of this Day required several animal sacrifices by the High Priest, most notably two goats of identical health and value.  In the Lord’s Sanctuary before the Ark of the Covenant, lots were to be cast to divine the Lord’s choice as to which goat would be sacrificed in the presence of the Lord as a sin offering and the other would become the “scapegoat” or rather, “the one for Azazel”.  The High Priest would confess over the scapegoat the sins of the Israelites and tie a scarlet cord around its horns, severing the last portion of the cord’s end.  The Priest would then take the goat out of Jerusalem into the wilderness and abandon it there, returning to the City.  The remaining piece of the red cord was hung from the gateway into the Temple courtyard for all to see, and when the red cord turned white, the Israelites would know that Azazel had slaughtered the scapegoat, and with it the sins of the People.  Unknown to most Christians, this ritual was adapted and merged with the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb from Exodus by Jesus of Nazareth into a single redemptive ritual; the Christ using Himself as the sacrificial animal that was slaughtered outside of Jerusalem’s gates and substituting an entire woven robe of scarlet as opposed to a single cord.

As mentioned above, the mistranslation of the name Azazel arose from Leviticus’ translation into Greek, mistaking the name as the phrase ez ozel or “the goat that goes out/escapes.”  This sense of being sent out may not be entirely incorrect, certain pseudepigraphal sources list his name as Azael, from this root meaning sent out, possibly referring to a dual meaning of the scapegoat and the demon himself as an entity capable of possessing humans.  The name has also been split, to be rendered as Azaz-el with the argued meaning being roughly “the rugged high place” giving rise to one rabbinic explanation that Azazel was not only an entity, but also the mountainous cliffs the scapegoat was abandoned on (and in some accounts thrown off of).  But one meaning of the name stands out above the others and fits well with this individual to surface time and time again in his mythology.  Taking a similar Hebrew root to “rugged” meaning “strength” and combining it with the theophoric tradition of angelic names ending in El, “God,” we have a name that means “the one who turns his strength against God” or simply “The Rebel of God”.

PRIME POSSESSOR

Demonic possession is the most terrifying, ultimate weapon fallen angels have against humans in their war against the Almighty.  The oldest complete sources of the Bible available to us date from about the tenth century, but treatises and even practical artifacts for combating, binding, or dispelling demons from as far back as the oldest recorded civilizations have been discovered.  The Jewish Talmud, the extensive rabbinic commentary relating and applying the Torah to all aspects of life, records the behavior of mazikin.  From the Semitic root that means “to damage,” these possessing spirits were considered the worst and most feared of evil spirits, with countless amulets and incantations devoted to protecting against them.

Rebelling against all things natural and holy as well as any preconceived notion, Azazel seems to make a point to abide by an erratic, contradictory behavior.  Many stories regard him as a numinous spirit of the vast wilderness, the unsettling force that heightens our senses to every noise and movement in the underbrush.  But at the same time, Azazel seems to be singularly embodied as a stranger wandering the wilderness.  In the Synoptic Gospels, Christ spends forty day wandering in the wilderness, commemorated in the Christian calendar as the period of Lent, and during this time, Lucifer appears to tempt Christ.  To the early Judeo-Christians recording and repeating these Gospels, this is a very familiar moral which stands as a complementing foil to the story of the Exodus; we are never alone when we wander through the wilderness and we must remember that though unseen, God is always near, even if the Devil would appear to be our only friend and companion.

The origins of Azazel’s invention of possession dates to the days of Noah: Genesis 6 records the Beni Elohim “The Sons of Heaven” or “Sons of God” came down unto the Daughters of Men and conceived in their lust and revelry the Nephilim, from the Hebrew word meaning “to fall” or “The Fallen Ones”.  Culminating in the Flood, the Book of Enoch records the details of the ensuing war after the birth and rise of the unholy Nephilim and their fallen angelic fathers with the Archangels, which will be discussed in greater depth, along with the events preceding it, later on.

On orders directly from the Throne, the Archangel Raphael hunts Azazel, the leader of this band of fallen angels, down and captures him.  Stripping him of his tattered Mantle, essentially an ancient way of describing angelic ‘wings’, Raphael bodily binds Azazel in unbreakable chains and fastens them to the deepest bedrock of the earth.  Raphael carries out God’s curse that Azazel would never again be graced by the light of day, covering his face and burying the Demon’s prison/tomb beneath the sharpest of rocks, salt, and desert sands; all baked bone-dry beneath the unforgiving blaze of the unhidden sun.  The entirety of the place is covered in a layer of burning salt in the hottest, most desolate desert on God’s green earth, that no man would ever stumble across Azazel’s Grave.  This barren and uninhabitable hellscape was named Dudael, meaning “God’s Cauldron.”

It is unknown how many ages passed after the time of his imprisonment.  What can be said is that it was this time that drove Azazel, once called the cleverest and most cunning angel ever created, to absolute madness.  Unable to escape his chains, Azazel did the next best thing: he ripped his spirit and body completely apart, and tore his way out of his prison through the ether.  It is to this day that Azazel  wanders the world’s desolate places in spirits.  It was through these wanderings that Azazel came to understand his ability to take control of other vessels by force.

In modern demonology, it is understood and reported that demonic possession takes time.  Months are spent haunting, obsessing over, and oppressing a victim before the actual possession can begin.  During this time, the target is tortured psychologically, spiritually, and even physically until their wills are broken down and they allow the demon into themselves.  This is by no means to say that the victims of possession want or have a desire to be possessed. Possession is permitted by the victim having no other ability to resist.

Azazel pioneered this method, being rather imaginative of angels, forcing his victims to come face-to-face with the darkest horrors of his demented mind.  But the driving force behind Azazel’s possessions, which truly distinguishes him from every other demon, is explained by none other than the Chief Archangel Iahoel, called the Metatron, in the Apocalypse of Abraham.  Challenged by Azazel, the Metatron speaks to Abraham and warns him:

“Answer him not; for God hath given him power over those who do answer him…  Now rather, however much he speak to thee, answer him not, that his will may have no free course in thee, because the Eternal and Mighty One hath given him weight and will; answer him not!”

Where demonic possession can be averted and a demon’s efforts thwarted, Azazel has such an unholy will to drive himself into any who would confront him.  This allows Azazel to require only a brief moment – never more than the span of seven heartbeats – to fully seize control of a human.

His abilities extend beyond possessing humans, animals make for much easier targets.  Azazel is known to take forms usually associated as devilish animal, his preference being feral canines, but also crows, and the occasional black serpent.  Azazel distinguishes his animal possessions by splitting himself across multiple animal victims.  Employing an entire pack of wild dogs or murder of crows, he splits his assault over multiple fronts while allowing himself the ability to escape any situation.

There is however, no escape for those Azazel is able to possess.  Animals, needless to say, fall dead the moment Azazel leaves their bodies.  Humans however are a different case.  The Rebel’s undying hatred for humanity means that the moment something as twisted and hate-filled as Azazel enters their body, they can never be the same.  For whatever reason, if Azazel leaves a body with its heart still beating, the person inside will be an unrecognizable shell.  Azazel leaves the broken shade of their psyche trapped inside their body in the dark place Azazel kept them while he was inside of them, and for the remaining time that their heart beats, they will be trapped inside a place as dark and hellish as Azazel’s tomb beneath Dudael.

It is Azazel’s claim that he has never killed a single human.  A statement which is true in the same respects that no one has ever died of a fall, but from the sudden stop at the end of it.  Azazel prefers to engineer impossible situations that will guarantee the death of his victim the instant he parts ways with them.  A personal favorite past time of his is slaughtering those close to his victims (of course blaming his victim’s anger at his loved ones for the act and not himself) and then abandoning the vessel, laughing manically, when the police inevitably arrive at the blood-bath and are forced to defend themselves. His second favorite method, deadly tricks failing,  is to leave his vessel alone in the wilderness to die of exposure, or more often the wild predators patrolling in the vicinity, claiming that if they ever truly wanted to safe themselves, they could.

No human has ever successfully exorcized Azazel from a vessel, human or otherwise, his hold on his victim is too strong.  If Azazel is discovered, he will either flee with the body to abandon it like a scapegoat in the wilderness, or he will force the hand of the exorcist to over-tax the body’s limits.  Though usually lacking the patience to watch a victim die of exhaustion and  dehydration, he has been known to do so depending on the exorcist so that he enjoys the brief moment of delight followed by crushing dejection as the exorcist and victims family watches their loved one have a brief moment of lucidity before dying horribly.

There is a limited set of lore regarding the certain extreme Divine methods needed to liberate one of Azazel’s hostages.  A later Slavic incarnation of Azazel depicts the sum of these methods best, saying that to be defeated, the Victimizer and vessel must be directly struck by a lightning bolt delivered by Azazel’s lone, holy nemesis.  In every incarnation, Azazel is dogged by a heavenly individual of great courage and virtue who stands to oppose everything that the Rebel is.  This angelic being has either stood with or against him since Azazel was first created.  And it is this, his Archangel brother, who is said to be the one thing Azazel loves and hates more than any other, but more over, the only one created he is truly afraid of.

THE FATHER OF POSSESSION: MORE ON AZAZEL

So as you can see in the above mentioned content provided by one of our new writers, Animus, possession began with Azazel, who is allegedly the master of possession. So who is this entity? Who is Azazel, as far as what is literally known about him?

A future article by our very own Animus will be going to in-depth, excessive detail about who Azazel is and what his history is as well, including all pertinent details, citations, references, and the like, so we will not turn this current  article into an echo of the future one we plan to release. We will stick to a rather brief explanation by simply quoting and citing other authors who have previously released details about Azazel in their own work:

According to Michelle Belanger in her book Dictionary of Demons: Names of the Damned, ISBN 978-0-7387-2306-8, released by Llewellyn Worldwide in 2010, her entry for Azazel, the father of possession, reads as follows:

 Azazel: According to the Book of Enoch, Azazel, together with Shemyaza, was a leader of the Watcher Angels. The text gives parallel versions of the fall of the Watcher Angels. In these side-by-side tales, first Shemyaza and then Azazel is credited with leading the Watchers astray. In Shemyaza’s tale, the main sin committed by the Watchers is one of lust for the daughters of men. For Azazel, the transgression is the dissemination of forbidden knowledge. Azazel can be seen as an angel of warfare, as he taught mankind about the metals of the earth, further showing them how to fashion weapons and armor. In addition to this, he also taught the secret of cosmetics, encouraging mortal women to paint their eyelids and adorn themselves with costly jewelry.

Whether Azazel was the leader of the Watchers, or whether that distinction falls more properly to Shemyaza, can be debated. However, at the very least, Azazel was one of the “chiefs of ten,” making him essentially a lieutenant. In the Book of Enoch, Azazel is punished along with Shemyaza for inspiring the revolt of these angels. They are both bound hand and foot in the desert. Other Jewish sources, such as the Haggadah and the Chronicles of ]erahmeel, also contain versions of the Watcher Angel story. Notably, in the Haggadah, Azazel escapes punishment and remains on earth to cause problems for humanity. This text links Azazel the Watcher Angel directly to the Azazel featured in the Jewish ritual of the Day of Atonement. In ancient times, the sins of all of the Israelites would be cleansed once a year by transferring their collective guilt to a sacrificial goat. This practice is recorded in Leviticus 16. Two goats were chosen as sin-offerings in this rite, and lots would be cast for them. One lot was for Yahweh, and the other lot is described as being for Azazel. When the lot for Azazel fell, that goat, from which we derive the term scapegoat, was then taken, and the high priest would confess all of the sins of the people over it. With the sins thus transferred, the goat was then driven off into the desert to meet its fate . Although the scapegoat is often recorded as being named Azazel, Azazel is more properly the name of a demon believed to reside in the wastes of the desert. By driving the goat into the desert and associating it with the name Azazel, the ancient Israelites were sacrificing this sin-offering to the demon. In his 1921 publication Immortality and the Unseen World, the Reverend W.O.E. Oesterley argues convincingly that Azazel is an intentionally corrupted rendition of a Hebrew name meaning “strength of God.” Henry Cornelius Agrippa gives Azazel as the Hebrew version of the demon Amaimon, King of the South. This attribution may be derived from Magiae Naturalis et Innatural, a text associated with the Faust tradition and published in Passau in 1505. In this work, Azazel is assigned Azemo to the element of air. Mathers repeats Agrippa’s information in his Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage.

See also AGRIPPA, AMAIMON, SHEMYAZA, WATCHER ANGELS.

And another entry by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, in her book The Encyclopedia of Demons & Demonology, ISBN 978-0-8160-7315-3, released by Checkmark Books in 2009, she goes on to also explain about Azazel:

Azazel (Azael) 

Archdemon of the Judean desert and king of the seirim, goatlike spirits.

On the Day of Atonement, Jewish custom called for the offering of two goats. One was sacrificed to Yahweh, and the other, blamed with the sins of the people, was taken alive to the wilderness to be released for Azazel (Leviticus 16:8).

In 3 Enoch, Azazel is one of the WATCHERS who lust after mortal women and descend from heaven to cohabit with them. He taught witchcraft and revealed eternal secrets.

As punishment, he was bound by angels and imprisoned in the desert in a place called Dudael until Judgment Day.

Under the name of Azael, he is one of the principal evil angels who cohabited with mortal women. The  name Azael means “who God strengthens.” According to lore, Azael slept with Naamah and spawned Assyrian guardian spirits known as sedim, invoked in the EXORCISM of evil spirits. As punishment, Azael is chained in a desert until Judgment Day. In magical lore, he guards hidden treasure and teaches WITCHCRAFT that enable men to make the Sun, Moon, and stars move down from the sky.

In 3 Enoch, Azazel (Azael) is one of three primary ministering angels with Azza and Uzza, who live in the seventh (highest) heaven. In later lore, he is fallen and is punished by having his nose pierced.

In Akkadian lore, Azazel is one of the MASKIM, princes of HELL.

In Islamic lore, Azazel or Azazeel was the name of IBLIS before  he disobeyed God by not bowing to humans and was sent from the Earth.

FURTHER READING:

al-Ashqar, Umar Sulaiman. The World of the Jinn and Devils. Translated by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo. New York: Al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations, 1998.

Mack, Carol K., and Dinah Mack. A Field Guide to Demons: Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits. New York: Owl Books/Henry Holt, 1998.

In the book The Routledge Dictionary of Gods, Goddesses, Devils & Demons, by Manfred Lurker, released by Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, ISBN 0-203-64351-8, their entry on Azazel is actually rather short, leading me to believe they did not do much research on this specific entity:

Asasel (Azazel) Hebrew proper name for a demon of the wilderness to whom a scapegoat is sent on the Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16: 8–10). In the apocryphal book of Enoch, Asasel appears as the ringleader of the rebellious angels.

Another fairly detailed entry is from the book A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits by Carol Mack and Dinah Mack, Arcade Publishing, ISBN 1-55970-447-0:

AZAZEL

Judean Wilderness

Azazel was king of the seirim, an ancient species of goatlike spirits. Although some say “Azazel” was simply the name of a place near Jerusalem, others say that it referred to an archdemon who dwelled in the desert. In ancient Jewish custom, on the Day of Atonement, two goats were brought to the tabernacle. One goat was sacrificed for Yahweh, the other was laden with the sins of the people and taken to the wilderness for Azazel. He is spoken of in Leviticus 16:8:

And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one for the Lord, and the other for Azazel. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement with him and to let him go to Azazel in the desert.

As this passage shows, Azazel was as important in ancient Judaism as Satan came to be later in Christianity. Azazel represented the powerful evil supernatural adversary to the Lord. Azazel appears in the Apocryphal Book of Enoch as an angel fallen from heaven because he lusted after mortal women. On earth he then established himself as a corrupt archdemon teaching unrighteousness. In the Book of Enoch he is charged with revealing eternal secrets to humankind. God responds to this charge by sending angels to bind Azazel and imprison him in the desert in a place called Dudael. He is to remain there until the Final Judgment.

Eventually, Azazel’s notoriety seemed to fade away, and his place was ultimately usurped by Satan (the Adversary, in the Book of Job), whom the New Testament takes up as its most important fallen angel.

In Islamic lore, Azazel is also mentioned as a fallen angel who lusted after mortal maidens. His name becomes interchangeable with Iblis, and then Iblis becomes the archdemon of Islam.

So, as you can see, Azazel was a significantly powerful being in the ancient times, and he was a pretty damned fear-inducing. Do all of the above entries explain all of the details in relation to Azazel? Not even close. But, that is what our above-referenced article by Animus will be about – to fill you in on all the details that are quite frankly extremely hard to find and overtly obscure.

You can also do some pop-culture digging and see that Azazel has been a major character in some fairly recent movies, such as “Fallen” starring Denzel Washington, as well as the recently released “X-Men: First Class” comic-book based movie. While the comic movie does a horrible job explaining anything at all about Azazel, “Fallen” is actually quite good and does a somewhat decent job giving you an idea about who and what Azazel is, and what he is capable of.

THE STAGES OF POSSESSION

Father Malachi Martin said it best when he was on the radio show Coast to Coast AM, with Art Bell: “You don’t just wake up one day possessed, there was a choice. You made a choice. You know when you are possessed.”

What did he mean when he said that? In the context of that show, he was discussing with host Art Bell the practical concept of possession. He was mentioning that there are stages of possession, and they are actually fairly common. You can almost witness the stages like clockwork, however, each stage is different, and can contain different activities, and last different periods of time.

Diabolical Infestation

The first stage is always brought on by some type of “invitation”. The first stage is what’s known as “diabolical infestation”. The invitation can even be something of a simple one. Many people use the example of the Ouija board, because despite the fact that it is a “toy” made by Parker Brothers Games, the second that you pick it up, in your mind, you have consciously made the choice to use it to communicate with the other side, the world of the unknown – the world of the dead or inhuman. (Interestingly, Father Martin refers to this place/world as “The Middle Plateau”, but there will be an entire article dedicated to that, and it is not this one.) This action, this choice that you have made, is actually the invitation the demonic look for – by using this ‘toy’ in this manner, you have turned it into something else: a proverbial doorway for the supernatural to cross through. It’s like standing in a pitch black forest, and turning on an S.O.S. light, alerting everything there to your presence. Sometimes, demure animals will come to investigate out of curiosity, but other times, a hungry bear will respond because it wants dinner.

Other examples of “invitation” could also be effected through the process of “scrying”, a minor ritual where low-lighting levels and mirrors are mixed with the element of concentration and darkness specifically for the purpose of contacting the ‘Middle Plateau’. There is also an article on this also located within this site if you are interested in further reading.

Some of the activities that occur during infestation are drastic, while others will most likely go unnoticed completely. It will start with minor things, such as the sounds of scratching within your walls, on the ceiling, under your floorboards, or on your window. There will be other things, such as the sudden increase in nightmares, and the general feeling of ‘uneasiness’ around your home. There will also be the feeling that you are never alone, as if you are being ‘watched’. Little things, such as your keys or money will turn up missing – sometimes to be found later in a place you know for a fact you looked previously, other times never to be seen again. You will start to see things out of the corner of your eye, but see nothing when you focus your vision completely. Other things, like your wedding ring, may disappear suddenly, and then reappear at the bottom of your toilet. These are only the beginning stages of diabolical infestation. As time goes on, things will increase dramatically. You will notice that things will happen in sets of “three”. You will hear phantom footsteps while you are alone in the house, either walking around above you, below you, or up/down the stairs. You will hear knocks at your door, usually three knocks, only to look through your peephole, or open the door, to see no one at all. (Author’s Note: Don’t EVER, ever, ever, ever, ever open the door when you hear three knocks after the sun goes down. Just trust me on this.) You will begin to see things, such as shadow figures that are becoming “bolder”, and more aggressive. You will wake up from your nightmares to see that these entities are now in your room, standing over you, watching you, or even in bed with you attacking you. Your lights will turn on or off, usually three times. You will have your hair mysterious pulled, or you will be lightly touched, once again, usually in sets of three.The reason that the number three is so significant in the demonic world is attributed to their strict hatred for the church, and its doctrine. The Roman Catholic and Christian Church believes that everything is governed by the “Holy Trinity” of the blessed Father: This trinity is composed of three entities that make up the one God. These entities are: The Father (God), The Son (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost (Spirit). Three o’clock in the afternoon (P.M.) is the approximate time when Jesus died on the cross. In the world of the demonic, their mockery of this number is known to be attributed to the unholy trinity. In direct opposition to what I mentioned above, the most intense of demonic activity usually occurs at approximately three o’clock in the morning (A.M.). Many people may noticed that they will constantly wake up in the middle of the night at the same time, that time will usually be between 2:00a.m. – 4:00a.m., and it will happen in sets of threes – for example, in the past month, you will have woken up a total of six times at 3:12a.m. – that would constitute two sets of three. This is actually an extremely common thing in diabolical torments, and it is not the “exception” to the rule, it actually is the rule.

Additional things to look for would include waking up to hear what sounds like two people having a conversation. They won’t sound like anyone you know, and no matter how hard you try to listen, you will not be able to actually comprehend or understand the words they are saying. You will hear a language that sounds extremely familiar to you, but you just won’t be able to understand it or recognize the voices. You will notice that you avoid certain areas of your home at all costs, because you feel like an intruder there, without any type of reason. It will feel like someone else’s space. You will become increasingly uncomfortable. You will begin to physically see things in a mirror’s reflection. At night, just as you go to sleep, you’ll feel the depression of weight coming down onto your mattress, making an indent, but you will not see anyone there. Your animals will begin to seemingly go crazy. Cats and dogs will begin to stare intently on thin air, and follow some type of invisible movement with their eyes/head. Dogs will many times wake you up in the middle of the night, because they will begin to insanely bark at absolutely nothing. In extreme instances, you will be physically attacked – sometimes, sexually. Scratches may spontaneously appear on your body – often times there will be three scratch marks at a time. They will also fade just as quickly as they appeared. Women have claimed to be physically molested and/or flat out raped by these entities. If there are children in the household, they are not safe either. These entities will often begin to ‘appear’ to the children as an ‘imaginary friend’, who is nice and innocent enough at first, but then begins to influence and change the children’s personality. Over some period of time, this ‘friend’ will begin to show its true nature and begin its campaign of fear and terror on the household. You may also begin to experience strange and awful smells, and randomly find piles of excrement and/or puddles of urine inexplicably located in fairly unusual places, such as on your bedspread, or on your couch cushions. Another famous trick is that you will leave the room for a moment, come back literally minutes later, and all your cabinet doors will be flung open, or all of that rooms furniture will be completely rearranged. Doors will open on their own. They will lock and unlock on their own. Doorknobs will turn by themselves as well.

Other times, you may be coming home after work, once the sun has gone down, and you will pass through your yard. You will swear that just within the shadows, you see an animal of some kind, but don’t know what. Or you will hear whispers just outside of your hearing range. Your electronic appliances will begin to malfunction. Your television and/or DVD player will randomly go on or off by itself. Your watches and clocks will freeze and unfreeze by themselves. Your phone will ring in an odd manner, but there will either be no one on the other end, or sounds which you cannot interpret of understand. You may even see apparitions of supposed people. It is important to note though, that when you see these apparitions, they will never be a 100% perfect interpretation of a human. There will always be something odd, like empty eye sockets, animalistic teeth, missing/invisible feet, an odd number of fingers, etc. The demonic can never fully recreate the perfect creation that God has already done when he made man.

These are just some of the things that occur during the period of diabolical infestation. Unfortunately, it only gets worse from there. And that has a lot to do with the fact that the demonic entities doing this are the ‘weaker’ ones – the ‘foot soldiers’. Their sole purpose is to ‘prepare the environment’ for their bosses, who once arrived, will begin do to the real work of the actual possession.

Diabolical Oppression/Obsession

Father Gabriel Amorth, from his book An Exorcist Tells His Story, referenced and cited at the top of this article, describes diabolical oppression/obsession much, much more simply than I could, so I will just let his words speak for me:

3. Diabolical oppression. Symptoms vary from a very serious to a mild illness. There is no possession, loss of consciousness, or involuntary action and word. The Bible gives us many examples of oppression; one of them is Job, He was not possessed, but he lost his children, his goods, and his health. The bent woman and the deaf and dumb man who were cured by Jesus were not subject to total possession, but there was a demonic presence that caused physical discomfort. Saint Paul was most certainly not possessed by a demon, but he had a demonic oppression that caused an evil affliction: “And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me” (2 Cor 12:7). There is no doubting the evil origin of the affliction.

While possessions are still relatively rare today, we exorcists run into a great number of people who have been struck by the devil in their health, jobs, or relationships. We must make it clear that to diagnose and heal an oppression-related illness is not any easier than to diagnose and cure a person afflicted by full possession. The degree of gravity may be different, but the difficulty of the diagnosis and the amount of time involved in healing are the same.

4. Diabolic obsession. Symptoms include sudden attacks, at times ongoing, of obsessive thoughts, sometimes even rationally absurd, but of such nature that the victim is unable to free himself. Therefore the obsessed person lives in a perpetual state of prostration, desperation, and attempts at suicide. Almost always obsession influences dreams. Some people will say that this is evidence of mental illness, requiring the services of a psychiatrist or a psychologist. The same could be said of all other forms of demonic phenomena. Some symptoms, however, are so inconsistent with known illnesses that they point with certainty to their evil origins. Only an expert and well-trained eye can identify the crucial differences.

So as you can see, it is not a simple set of things to determine what stage exactly you are in. It must also be noted though that each stage can last years, or it can last days. These stages are designed to break down the human psyche and will, so that when the next stage arrives, you give in, and you invite the entity to take control of your being. You cannot be possessed without explicitly allowing it. This is exactly what Father Martin meant in the quote I provided at the top of this session: You have to give the demon permission of sorts to possess you, and it never comes in the form of physically saying “Yes, you can do it.”. No, not at all, in fact. Most often, it will come in the form of you simply admitting that you give up fighting against this entity. It will use your ‘defeat’ and ‘resignation’ as a de facto grant of permission to conduct whatever actions it wishes because you simply don’t want to continue opposing it, or simply don’t have the energy to do so. By giving in, you give up, and by giving up, you grant permission.

Diabolical Possession

Just because there is a demonic entity ‘present’ during a fit of what is believed to be ‘possession’, that does not mean the demonic entity was sitting within the immediate vicinity of the possessed. They are not always “swarming around” the person or people they are tormenting. One of the most famous exorcists out there, Father Gabriele Amorth, the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican who I had previously mentioned as one of the authors at the top of this article, stated that the way demonic spirits work is as such: they cannot leave hell. This confuses a lot of people. The simple way to explain it is that yes, these entities can be in two (or more!) places at one time. As a matter of fact, if the demonic entity is powerful enough, they can possess MULTIPLE PEOPLE at the same time. Father Amorth advises us that it would be like imagining a puppet master, but instead of strings, there are pipes, and instead of one puppet, there are many. All of those “pipes” lead back to the demonic entity. Now, when momentary bouts of possession occur, or for example, it is sending the possessed person a series of “bad thoughts” such as homicidal of suicidal tendencies, it is like sending out a signal, through one of those pipes. It gets to the possessed person, and then he/she has those thoughts, or could begin to “lose time“, where he/she acts and says things which are uncharacteristic of him and he will not remember. This is how the demonic work. Even during “full possession“, once that stage has been achieved, the demonic entity is not FULLY present. He is just sending stronger and longer “impulses” through his “pipes“. The only time that the demonic entity will be fully present, at least according to Roman Catholic ritual, is during the exorcism. The Priest-Exorcist calls it forth, and commands it to be present in the name of Jesus Christ. According to the “laws of God” against the demonic, they cannot go against this. They must obey, so they basically abandon their activities in Hell temporarily, and focus their full being into just that one “pipe“. Then, the Exorcist metaphorically beats the crap out of them and sends them back to Hell, sometimes. However, this does not “destroy” the demonic entity. It simply evicts him from this person. If that person does not change their ways, or continually experiments with the supernatural and/or continues to invite this type of supernatural contact into their lives, they can be repossessed by the SAME damned demonic entity, and this time, it will bring friends.

Now, thats a basic, crash course in possession. As you can see, the demonic does not need to be present to send his overriding impulses through the pipes to the possessed person.

THE SYMPTOMS OF POSSESSION

One of the foremost authorities on the subject, in his book An Interview With an Exorcist: An Insider’s Look At The Devil, Demonic Possession, And The Path To Deliverance, ISBN 978-1-932645-96-5, pages 72 & 73, Father Jose Antonio Fortea states, in regards to the question of the ‘traits’ of possession:

65. What are the essential characteristics of a possession?

A person should present the following characteristics for one to suspect demonic possession:

1. Sacred or religious objects present a range of sensations from repugnance to horror, from the least expression of annoyance to the manifestation of anger or fury.

2. In the most extreme cases, this horror at the sacred leads to outbursts of fury, which is normally accompanied by blasphemy or insults directed toward the religious object that has been placed in proximity to the person.

3. In the most acute episodes of fury, the possessed loses consciousness. When the person regains consciousness, he remembers nothing; he has total amnesia. (Some, though, may be conscious and observe the episode, feeling as if an alien presence is operating in their bodies.) Nevertheless, even though the individual remembers nothing, he demonstrates a change of personality during this “anger crisis.” A second personality emerges.

4. This second personality always has an evil character. It often happens that at those times a rolling of the eyes occurs, with the pupils turned upwards or downwards. There is often a twitching of facial muscles and hands, or rigidity in the body. In these moments of fury, the person articulates words full of hate and rage.

5. After the crisis passes, the person slowly returns to normalcy. This transition to normalcy is similar to the transition that is observed in the return from a state of hypnosis to a normal state of consciousness.

6. Outside of the periods of fury in which the second personality appears, the person lives a completely normal life. This pathology does not noticeably affect him in his work or social relationships. The individual appears as a perfectly sane, normal person. He can perfectly distinguish between the real and “intra-psychic” worlds and is not aware of any delirious behavior.

7. In some cases, the possessed may experience sensory hallucinations, such as sporadically seeing shadows, feeling diffuse sensations on some part of their body, hearing creaking noises, or hearing voices.

Some of these are also extremely hard to identify or locate. But these are also very common. These are unwilling people who have been possessed. Father Malachi Martin has also spoken about people who welcome being possessed, such as Satanists or others who have made a pact with the Devil or one of his emissaries.

People who are PERFECTLY POSSESSED do not experience the symptoms listed above.

In his book Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans, ISBN 978-0-06-065337-8, page XXIII & XXIV, in the preface to the new edition:

In such a setting, the intending Possessor may come as what St. Paul described with dramatic precision as an Angel of Light. But the danger is all the more insidious for that. For in such a situation, the condition commonly called “perfect Possession” may be the result. As the term implies, a victim of perfect Possession is absolutely controlled by evil and gives no outward indication, no hint whatsoever, of the demonic residing within. He or she will not cringe, as others who are Possessed will, at the sight of such religious symbols as a crucifix or a Rosary. The perfectly Possessed will not bridle at the touch of Holy Water, nor hesitate to discuss religious topics with equanimity.

If convicted of crimes against the law, such a victim will frequently acknowledge “guilt,” and even the moral “badness” of the acts committed. More often than not, such a person will petition that his physical life be forfeited; that he be executed for his crimes. Thus, in his own way, he voices the insistent Satanist preference for death over life, and the fixated desire to join the Prince in his kingdom.

Because there is no will left to call the victim’s own – and because some part of the victim’s will is necessary for any hope of successful Exorcism – remedy is unlikely to succeed even in the event the Possession should somehow be uncovered and verified as the problem.

In effect, this also applies to Satanists, as mentioned above. When someone welcome the demonic into themselves, AND gladly turn over their soul, they will have no problems with that person whatsoever, because that person is saving the demonic the work of FIGHTING for that person’s soul.

Father Gabriele Amorth also lists a few of the ‘officially’ recognized symptoms by the Roman Catholic Church. In the book An Exorcist Tells His Story, ISBN 978-0-89870-710-6, page 46 and 47:

For example, the three signs that the Ritual cites as symptoms of satanic possession are talking in unknown languages, exhibiting superhuman strength, and knowing what is hidden; it is my significant experience, and that of all the other exorcists whom I questioned, that these signs always surfaced during an exorcism, never before. It would be unrealistic to expect the manifestation of those signs before proceeding with the exorcism.

However, we cannot always arrive at a precise diagnosis. Often we are faced with situations that leave us perplexed. This is because often, in the most difficult cases, we are faced with individuals who are afflicted both by evil influences and psychological disturbances. In these cases, a psychiatrist is a valuable help.

Many times, even to ‘professionals’ in the field, it is hard – damned near impossible actually – to distinguish between demonic possession and mental illness. There have been some ingenious tricks that exorcists have come up with over the past 500 years or so. One of my favorites is secretly giving the possessed person holy water instead of regular water, to see how they react. A truly possessed person will flip out at the water before it is even handed to them. They will not willingly drink it, or let it stay within their presence. Another favorite trick of mine, is to cook their food with blessed spices and/or salts, and give it to them. Similarly, if a truly possessed person is present, they will completely freak out and have violent outbursts. This trick was also used in the Anna Ecklund case documented both on this website as well as in the book BeGone Satan! by Rev. Celestine Capsner. There is no logical way that a mental illness could distinguish between blessed water, oils, salts, or spices.

Another trick is to wash an allegedly possessed person’s clothes in holy water, or bring the clothes to the clergy to have them blessed.

An additional test is to sprinkle holy water on that persons bed and/or blankets a few hours before they get home, giving the droplets a proper amount of time to dry. Once again, if that person becomes violent, angry, and blasphemous, you’ve got a bad situation on your hands.

This is also not including the obvious signs, such as levitation. If a person levitates and it is witnessed by another person, I don’t care who the hell you are, there is no mental illness in the world that can make a person float.

The above also applies to situations such as transmorphing/transfiguring as well, which is the term for when someone’s facial features physically change in front of you to look like another person or being. This usually happens during inhuman possession (demonic entities, or the djinn) as well as human possession. Human possession is a whole different topic completely, but ha been known to happen in the paranormal community. It usually involves relatives who died suddenly who had a supreme hatred for the person being tormented. For example, there is a story about this in the book The Dark Sacrament, by David Keiley and Christina McKenna. A woman was being tormented and actually possessed by her bitter, violent, and abusive (dead!) grandmother. When this woman took possession of her granddaughter, the young woman’s face completely changed and actually physically took on the features of the grandmother. However, it could be argued that in this situation, the demonic were simply taking on the form of her grandmother, and using that to assist them in their ultimate goal of possession. In the end, the woman wound up committing suicide, so unfortunately, this story has no real ending. It is not uncommon for a possessed individual to wind up committing homicide or suicide. That is the ultimate crime, and that is what the demonic try to accomplish as an “end game” to possession.

That is also exactly what happened in both the case of Anneliese Michel, which wound up in her death due to her claiming that her sacrifice would free a multitude of damned souls from an eternity in Hell which was confided to her in a brief moment of peace and clarity by the Holy Mother Mary herself, as well as the case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who was tried and convicted of murder in the United States’ first ever claim of “not guilty by reason of diabolical possession”. This entire case was documented in the book The Devil in Connecticut by Gerald D. Brittle. It coincidentally happened to involve famed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The actual family, now all grown up and looking for a larger payout, claim that the entire book was a lie, and that none of those things ever happened. They are now claiming defamation, loss of wages, and that all actions of the child at the time were conducted through a mental illness. Believe what you want, the story has too many realistic markers and details to be chalked up to complete falsity. But that is just my opinion, please read the book and form your own. I will say that it is one of the most highly engaging books I have ever read, and will quite frankly scare the living hell out of you. At times, some of it seems a little bit over-the-top, but this isn’t a book review, so please give it a shot yourself and draw your own conclusions.

I don’t normally tell stories about people I know, but I am not going to reveal any identities here, so I don’t think it will be a problem. When I was a child, I knew a man. This was the older brother of a very, very close friend of mine. He had always had anger issues, and was extremely violent and aggressive, and sadistic. There were no alcohol or drug addictions, this guy was just simply labelled as “crazy”. I once, accidentally, overheard a retelling of a story from multiple members of this family, about a time when this man went into a type of trance. It freaked the entire family out. Now, this is a large family, but at the time, times were tough, and they did not have a camcorder, so in an effort to somehow document this event, they got out a tape recorder. This was twenty years ago, mind you, so nothing was digital. While he was in this trance, he began speaking Latin. The problem is, at this time in his life, he was very uneducated, had dropped out of school, and had never come into contact with the Latin language. And that isn’t the best part of this story. The best part, is that weeks later, for some unknown reason, one of his relatives decided to play back the audio recording. On the tape, they had everyone in the family recorded and identified, including the man in the trance as he was speaking Latin. Except that there was one additional voice that no one could recognize or identify. It was slightly distorted, but apparently, this man was not only speaking Latin, he was having a conversation in Latin with this unidentified voice. There were six people in the room at the time this all went down. There were seven voices on the recorder. Apparently, this man was having a conversation with some type of entity that was not visible or audible to those people in the room. This voice was responding to the man when he spoke, and the man in the trance was also responding, intelligently, to this voice.

I’d like to say that there was a satisfactory ending to this story, but on my end, there was not. The family, being of Latin-American descent, engaged in some form of Spanish exorcism, and allegedly, the problems went away. Years later, when I asked the family to play back the tape, they told me that it was impossible, because after the ‘event’ where they had the entity removed, they had burned the tape recording. To this day, I still have my suspicions about the outcome, but I’m afraid that this is one of those stories that will never have a suitable resolution. The reason I have told this story is because it displays things you could look for. In this situation, the family had inadvertently and unintentionally captured a class “A” E.V.P. (“electronic voice phenomena”) of a full blown conversation between one possessing entity, and another who wasn’t visible or audible to the human ear or eye. This, as I said, was witnessed by a total of six people who were present, each who would swear to this story on a stack of Bibles. This would be regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as incontrovertible proof of the supernatural. This would be something to look for, thus, a ‘symptom’ of possession.

Ironically enough and slightly off-topic, even as a child of twelve or thirteen years of age, around my neighborhood, I was known as “Lucifer” (hence the blogging name I chose). The kid from that family I told the story about above was and still is my closest living friend, and was known as “Diablo”. New York City is funny like that, people are known more by their nicknames than they are by their birth-names.

A BRIEF EXPLANATION ON HOW TO GET RID OF DEMONIC ACTIVITY

As I mentioned, I have been hiding within the shadows recently of a paranormal investigation society’s forums, and I see that there are a lot of people who go there looking for answers. A fairly common issue that they seem to be having is that they will see “shadow people” or “shadow figures” on a fairly consistent basis, and they are worried that the situations will escalate. And far and wide, the most common response is “Don’t give it any of your energy! Don’t be afraid of it, they feed off of your fear and get stronger!”, etc. There will also be responses, when asked how to get rid of them, of supposedly learned people telling these victims to “Assert yourself. Don’t show fear. Yell at it and tell it to leave. Let it know it is your living space, not theirs. Tell them they are not welcome, and they will go away!”.

Except that they won’t. I’m not a fan of using four-letter words on my professional work (even though I curse like a sailor in every-day life), but I only have two comments to offer in response to that: 1) That’s a load of bullshit; and 2) You can yell at them and be assertive all you want, but these creatures are accustomed to being unwelcome, so they simply won’t give a damn. Plainly put, all yelling at them will likely do is piss them off and increase the voracity and intensity of their attacks on you.

This is a very shady area. I can guarantee you that people who have given this advice who are reading this very post are seething at the seems right now. I don’t care. They are wrong. Now, to be clear, not all cases reported are genuine cases of hauntings, or the like. Even the ones that are legitimate and are genuinely experiencing these shadow figures, not all of those shadow entities will be demonic in nature. So you see how the list is slowly narrowing and narrowing. I am talking about the real demonic entities that are oppressing an individual or a location. Demons are wicked and fallen angels. They were not welcome in Heaven, and were expelled from that place in the great fall. So by you standing there with your tinfoil hat and plastic sword and screaming at it to “go away” or to ‘leave this place’, you somehow think that is going to get rid of your problems? As if.

Let me ask you a question, reader: in other articles on this site, such as the Anneliese Michel case history, the Anna Ecklund case history, and the Robbie Mannheim case history, do you genuinely think that the people being tormented endlessly by these entities DIDN’T try to assertively tell these entities to leave themselves? Do you think that Michel’s family, who was literally tortured, didn’t aggressively command it to leave? Do you think that in the case of Robbie Mannheim, a 12 year old boy who was the true-life inspiration for “The Exorcist” movie – do you think his parents, clergy, or priests didn’t command these entities to leave as well?

EXACTLY. 

Now, another common “solution” to getting rid of these negative demonic entities is to perform a house cleansing. Now, by itself, that is fine, but it is 100% a matter of faith. I have heard people recommend burning some sage and going corner to corner chanting some nonsense. And yes, that will work – if you are Native American and/or Wiccan. If you are Catholic, or Jewish, then guess what? You have just engaged in sorcery, or at the very least engaged in a “magic/nature ritual”, which your religion expressly forbids. A perfect example of this can be found in perhaps the world’s second greatest exorcist’s story, King Solomon. In The Testament of Solomon, it reads as follows:

128. And I Solomon glorified God, and adorned the Temple of the Lord with all fair-seeming. And I was glad in spirit in my kingdom, and there was peace in my days. And I took wives of my own from every land, who were numberless. And I marched against the Jebusaeans, and there I saw Jebusaean, daughter of a man: and fell violently in love with her, and desired to take her to wife along with my other wives. And I said to their priests: “Give me the Sonmanites (i.e. Shunammite) to wife [1].” But the priests of Moloch said to me: “If thou lovest this maiden, go in and worship our gods, the great god Raphan and the god called Moloch.” I therefore was in fear of the glory of God, and did not follow to worship. And I said to them: “I will not worship a strange god. What is this proposal, that ye compel me to do so much?” But they said: “. . . . . [2] by our fathers.”

129. And when I answered that I would on no account worship strange gods, they told the maiden not to sleep with me until I complied and sacrificed to the gods. I then was moved, but crafty Eros brought and laid by her for me five grasshoppers, saying: “Take these grasshoppers, and crush them together in the name of the god Moloch; and then will I sleep with you.” And this I actually did. And at once the Spirit of God departed from me, and I became weak as well as foolish in my words. And after that I was obliged by her to build a temple of idols to Baal [1], and to Rapha, and to Moloch, and to the other idols.

130. I then, wretch that I am, followed her advice, and the glory of God quite departed from me; and my spirit was darkened, and I became the sport of idols and demons. Wherefore I wrote out this Testament, that ye who get possession of it may pity, and attend to the last things [1], and not to the first. So that ye may find grace for ever and ever. Amen.

As you can see in verses 129 and 130, (emphasis by me), God does not take too kindly when you go against His wishes, and oh, I don’t know, participate in sorcery to rid yourself of some of the problems you are having. Now, the Testament of Solomon is of Judeo-Christian origin, meaning that both the Jewish and Christian-based religions follow this, however, it is not actually written by King Solomon. This was traced back as far as maybe the fourteenth century, and it was attributed as being written by Solomon, but was in fact not. Both of those religions also mention how it is a violation of God’s law to participate in any type of engagement of sorcery, because sorcerer’s are either knowingly or unknowingly appealing to the fallen angels for their power and/or abilities. The Roman Catholic church has gone on record, many times, publicly, to state that even simple things such as getting a psychic reading, or having your tarot cards read is engaging in sorcery, because the people involved are most likely receiving their gifts from a dark force – even if they don’t know it. In the scriptures, people who have this ability are called “Charismatics”, and they are given a charism by God – the ones with true gifts will never accept a single dime for their services, and they will only use these gifts to help, not hurt. Does that make it true? No. But it doesn’t make it false, either. We simply don’t know. What we DO know is that as a practicing Jew or Christian/Catholic, engaging in any type of these activities is strictly forbidden. So don’t do it.

Once you have identified what type of malevolent entity is oppressing either a person or place, there are official ways to get rid of them, but they are not easy. The first step, if you are Catholic/Christian or Jewish, is to contact your local clergy and request a house blessing. Provided that you have already confirmed that the demonic entity is indeed demonic, this will most likely not be enough, and all it will do is anger the spirit. There are two common outcomes to the house blessing. 1) It will work, and it will drive out the weaker entities. Your life can return to normal; or 2) You will get a few days of peace, be lulled into a false sense of comfort and security, and then the activity and/or assaults will pick up once again, with increased intensity and voracity. In the event of #2 as your result, you will then have to perform a house cleansing/banishment. To clarify, certain “minor rituals” are to be performed, and the common layperson would normally not know what they are. To be 100% perfectly honest, I only know what I have read, and what I have read is from famed demonologists who make it their work to go around helping people get rid of these problems.

One of the most famous demonologists of recent times, Ed Warren, was known for having students and other people whom he taught. His most famous student was actually his and Lorraine Warren’s nephew, John Zaffis, who is now a staple in the paranormal community, and who is currently starring in SyFy’s “Haunted Collector” TV show. He is also the co-author of “Shadows of the Dark” with Brian McIntyre, which is one of the books I recommend you read at the top of this article. However, the student that I am referring to is mildly famous, and has since retired from ‘the work’. He is former-NYPD Sergeant Ralph Sarchie, co-author of the book “Beware the Night” with Lisa Collier Cool, in which he recounts many of the stories about cases he has been involved in, but more importantly, in the final 15 pages or so, offers a detailed, in-depth explanation about his techniques in this regard. He was trained by Ed & Lorraine Warren, and was friends with the famed Father Malachi Martin, the exorcist who happens to be another one of the author’s I suggested you read at the top of this article. I am not going to post ALL of the prayers and methods that he uses, but this specific method has been seen on television shows (in part and butchered by the editing teams) such as “Paranormal State”. This is an excerpt from Ralph Sarchie’s book which he grants everyone the ability to use these methods and prayers.

After a home has been cleared from all evil, then it is wise to establish an invisible spiritually protective fence around the property; approximate a rectangle on the land.

A                         B

C                         D

Starting at point “A”, bury a blessed religious medal at least six inches in the ground and recite the following prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII and formerly said after the traditional Latin mass:

Saint Michael, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Then walk from point “A” to point “B” saying this prayer as you walk. When you reach point “B, ” again bury a blessed medal in the ground. Then say the prayer again at this spot and as you move to the next point. After you have buried a medal at point “D”, walk from “D” to “A” before closing the fence. In an urban setting, use holy water in place of medals and the four corners of a block as your points.

Before leaving the home of a family that has suffered through a negative supernatural experience, you may choose to use one of the following blessings, before the final blessing of St. Maur is given over the family.

For a person:

(Bless him/her with holy oil or water and touch the person with a relic while saying):

We heal this child of God in body-mind-spirit in Jesus’ Name, and surround him/her with the Light of Christ Risen in Glory.

For an animal:

(Bless it with holy oil or water and touch it with a relic while saying):

In the Name of Jesus, we heal this creature of God in body and spirit, and restore it to the authority of God.

For a place:

(Sprinkle holy water and blessed salt)

In the name of Jesus, we bless this place and restore this place to the authority of God.

For an object:

(Touch with holy oil or holy water)

In the name of Jesus, we bless this place and restore this object to the authority of God.

He then goes on to cite the “Blessing of Saint Maur”, which you can find freely online. What he is doing by going from “point A to B, B to C, C to D, and D to A” is forming a spiritual “perimeter” around the property after he has cleared the location/person of any demonic forces that he could remove. The reason that this is done after is because if you don’t remove the entities, guess what? When you put up your spiritual boundaries, which they cannot cross, what are you doing? You’re locking the damned things in with you! 

The “blessed medals” he is talking about come in various different styles, but from what I have heard from paranormal teams across the country, the medals of Saint Michael, Saint Benedict, Jesus himself and/or Mother Mary work exceptionally well. You can get these at any religious store, online, eBay, or most churches. Do NOT purchase a medal that has been blessed, because once it is blessed, if it is sold, it goes against the very nature of the blessing itself (assistance and charity) and will lose all of its spiritual “ability”. If you are going to get it blessed, I recommend getting it blessed by taking it yourself to whatever religious establishment you frequent or know of, and having the clergy there do it in front of you. As a rule, I simply never trust the people who sell it to you.

Now, in most cases, this will work. Is it guaranteed? Nothing is guaranteed when dealing with the demonic. It may very well be that the entity in your home infesting or oppressing the location will be stubborn, or powerful, or both. In this event, there is not much a “layperson” can do. But bear in mind, this is only in the event that it is a location, animal, or object that is affected. If a person is indeed actually possessed, you will have to contact your local diocese, and put in a formal request for an exorcist to come and review your “case”. If he believes that it is genuine, he will contact his Bishop and request permission. If he does not, then he will most likely be polite and excuse himself. If this is done in error, you can always seek him out again and request another “investigation” be conducted. In the past, despite how disturbing this news is, it took up to almost two years for the Church to send out a Priest-Exorcist who would attempt to fix the problem. So reader, if you are engaged in reading this because you are currently undergoing demonic torment, as hard as it is to read that last statement, please don’t lose hope. It may take a long while, but when it happens, freedom will never taste so sweet.

Unfortunately, that is pretty much all I can recommend or advise upon, due to the fact that once the clergy get involved, the best thing a demonologist can do is to present the Church/Synagogue with whatever evidence they have documented though their own investigations, and then volunteer to be one of the assistants at the actual exorcism, if there is one. Often times, the demonologist who is called in winds up becoming a “secretary” or a “middleman” between the clergy, exorcist, and those afflicted. And often times, they are the last person to abandon you if they believe your torment is real. But make no mistake about it, if you feel that you are indeed infested, oppressed, or even possessed by a demonic entity, then the worst thing you can do is wait and do nothing. Picking your things up and leaving the premises will do nothing, it will follow you. Pretending they don’t exist will do nothing except give it time to fester, and gain strength or increase its attacks. A passive approach is often times the worst thing you can do.

In these types of situations, it is better to be safe than sorry.

WHAT HAPPENS IF AN EXORCISM DOESN’T WORK?

First and foremost, any actual Priest-Exorcist will tell you, a large majority of exorcisms are conducted over several exorcism rituals. It is not always like in the movies, where you have an exorcism performed, and all your problems are solved at the end. Father Gabriel Amorth has had cases in which people have come to him for exorcisms routinely for TWENTY YEARS. Anneliese Michel had many, many exorcisms performed. So did Robbie Mannheim and Anna Ecklund. This isn’t a “one shot deal” type of situation.  And there are many, many reasons why exorcisms could not work.For example, you might not be possessed by an actual demon, maybe you are possessed by a Djinn. In that case, your clergy would need to work in an assistant’s role to the Muslim clergy, and you would have to undergo the Muslim equivalent of an exorcism.

Another reason why an exorcism might not be successful could also be because the demonic entity who is possessing could be extremely powerful and refuses to release it’s hold. You never know, maybe it would rather endure the punishments of exorcism and endure the spiritual assault it is afflicted with during each Rituale Romanum in order to maintain control over the possessed person. Or maybe, just maybe, you didn’t change a thing about your life after the initial exorcism, and you are still living in a life of perpetual sin. This is an extremely common problem. Everyone thinks that the exorcism is like a demon detox, and afterwards, you’ve got a clean slate. This is not the case. If you previously lived a life of hardened sin, and became possessed, but refused to change your ways after the exorcisms, it will only continue to happen because you are constantly offering yourself up as an ideal target for possession, regardless of how many exorcisms you endure There are infinite reasons as to why it may or may not work. Ultimately, it is a battle of faith. As the tagline of the movie “The Rite” said: “You can only beat it if you believe.” The most important thing is to not abandon hope. Have faith that you will eventually be delivered, and you will experience freedom for yourself or your loved ones afflicted with this seemingly unbearable torment.

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