Yet Another History of SatanTaxonomy of Virtual Beings who Interact with Humanity |
We have two theories about the nature of these virtual beings. One states that Demons and Devis are separate forms of the same species, like women and men are separate forms of humanity, or like Arabians and Clydsdales are separate forms of horses. The other proposes that they are two parts of the same being (this last is what I believe). This dual persona is found in China as the xi (earth spirits) and shin (heaven spirits). In Egypt the ba went onto its ordeal before the gods while the ka remained with the dead body until it returned to the dust. In India, the Šiva-ba is the shadow of the Kali-ma, who in turn is the Shakti of the Šiva-ba. In each case, the one serves to compliment the other, making it possible to function optimally.
When human awareness was still rather simple, we saw the very forces of nature with awe. We also wanted rational explanations for unexplained phenomena. In our dreams, when we become irrational and see what our rational minds ignore — or in those days when lightening and mighty winds would still terrify us — we would look to demons to sort them out. These devis seemed to have knowledge of things yet to come or of how stuff works. With care, the Mogur or Magus can sit as students at the feet of teachers.
In Jung’s theories of psychology, the Shadow is the antithesis of the Ego. Where the Ego is our public face, the Shadow is our private one. This Shadow is the guardian of every secret thought, even those desires that are too young or too fragile to be brought into the light. She may even be put in charge of those desires that society has declared taboo, such as voyeurism. If these tabooed desires are not given a healthy place to air out (those who like to look are placed with those who like to be looked at) the Shadow can become a personal demon, interfering with every other thought. I believe this is where many psychological disorders arise.
Devis are either angels or gods, depending on whether the being answers to a supreme being. Then again, supreme beings exist where humans have built a separation between themselves and their gods. In that same gulf we find demons only when we look so closely at the angel or try to deny a god the capacity to be insane. So, it is likely that demons are spirits who have committed what we believe to be an evil act, and so are condemned with a new label. Then, instead of taking responsibility for our own despicable actions, we accuse the devil, who then accuses us. The Shadow becomes a mirror, reflecting our own damnation upon us.
Before the Hebrews encountered Zoroaster, ha-Satan means adversary, accuser, or obstacle (diablo in Greek is one who throws obstacles in the path). In the Hebrew testament the satan seems more like a guardian (a Watcher?) than a being of evil. Balaºam’s greed got the better of him and he took Balak up on his contract to Curse the Israeli clans [Num. 22. et al.]. It was Satan [vs. 22], as angel of the Eternal One who obstructed Balaºam’s path three times. Satan served the function of a barricade that says, “Danger! Will Robinson, Danger!” Such signs could either prevent someone from proceeding, or encourage them to go with caution. Only an ignoramus would ignore such signs.
1. Before the Zoroastrian Era.
After the Hebrews encountered Zoroaster, ha-Satan became the embodiment of everything evil that the Hebrews could no longer accept in their god. During the Davidic dynasty of Israel there was some confusion as to just whom the satan really is. Someone incites David to violate the Mishpat concerning direct census of the Israeli people (see Ex. 30.11 — 16). This act caused the promised plague. In 2 Samuel 24 it was the Eternal One who was the incitory force. In 1 Chronicles 21 it was the satan who did that. If we view the label as a title, rather than as a name, this could make sense. Given the environmental differences in the writing of these two books, it might be reasonable to see that the Hebrews coming out of Babylon would not want to see their god as capable of evil.
The Christian Satan is born from the Book of the Watchers, found within the Book of Enoch, the Prophet (7 — 13).
The angels, the sons of heaven, beheld [the elegant and beautiful daughters of men], they became enamored of them, saying to each other, “Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children (7.2).”
They took wives, each choosing for himself; whom they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery, incantations 2, and the dividing of roots and trees 3 (7.10).
For bringing these gifts to humanity, these titans and sons of God were demonized and condemned to suffer.
In the earlier development of the Gospels, Satan holds his early Hebrew office of testing and preparing prophets. There are stories from across time and Earth that tell of leaders, secular and spiritual, who are tested with an ordeal. Abraham and his son Isaac; ‘Iob and his Fear; Buddha and his enlightenment; this is only a small sample of souls who Satan tested and made stronger, more capable. Once the initiation is finished, the would be leader may be better for it, because they have faced their impermanence and returned with something meaningful. Then again, once the initiation is finished, the would be leader may become a mad man, if she or he survives. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Satan serves as God’s attorney general. Here, Satan serves to prove if the would be visionary, the Christ, is genuine.
It is not until later, when the post apocalyptic forces of the Jerusalem revolt are looking for Azaz-el to explain their failure that Satan becomes the all powerful cosmic boggie man. It is only here that Satan evolves from the seraph (fiery serpent) of the garden into the dragon of the apocalypse. This early church needed an all-powerful god to blame, as Rome would not look too kindly on such talk from rebels. So, just as Jack’s giant came to symbolize British rule over the simple wit of the occupied people, Satan came to first symbolize Rome, then the Jews, whom the Christians blamed for that revolt.
2. Spells sung to change an undesired state of mind or nature.
3. Herb lore and apothecary.
With the end of the 10th Century Christ had not come to take the faithful away, and had not punished the wicked. After some introspection the Catholic Church did two things: declared herself a secular ruler 4, and put on a chastity belt. This last relegated the priesthood a fraternity of sexually repressed males. By repressing these desires, which are directly tied to our survival instincts, these priests created demons within themselves as powerful as any in history. Repressing such feelings can make a person feel dirty and unworthy, as any child psychologist who has treated a sexual abuse case can tell. Generally, we don’t like feeling this way. So, we package it all into a ball, project it into someone doesn’t suppress them so well 5, then beat them to death. This always fails to rid us of our demons, so the cycle starts over, often more violent than before.
With the start of the age of reason a theory had developed to portray Satan as — line for line — the antithesis of God, the Shadow to God’s Ego. Where God is Love, Satan is Hate, etc. By the 12th century this involved the inversion of symbols and rites. As the nobility grew in boredom, they looked for games of daring to entertain themselves with. Who would be more daring than the Devil, and what more fun than doing what they thought the Devil would rejoice in? This is the same reason the Gothic Satan appeals to so many Heavy Metal Rock groups 6. While it is true — that Satan enjoys watching us indulge in our struggle to survive, there is no need to blame her for social indiscretions. Someone said, “Lead us not into temptation, we can find it faster on our own, and you’d only get in the way.” It is only when artificial, oppressive taboos are imposed and compromise our death defying coping skills that the Devil becomes our enemy.
4. A Very brief history of the Catholic Church: When Constantine became Christian, the Roman Bishops were striving to centralize the Church’s rule in the Bishop of Rome. With the Crusades, this caused the breach when the Crusaders sacked Constantinople. The Eastern Catholic bishops then declared themselves wholly independent of Rome, and built their own Church to their liking.
5. A definition of the Evil Eye curse.
6. Some of these rock groups are genuinely Satanic, others are just enjoying the masterbatorial thrills that shocking our elders give us. I will leave it to the reader to decide who is real and who is staging their Satanism.
Rising nationalism combined with divine discontent with Catholic corruption to build a new movement in the Church. Where Martin Luther was interested in reform, John Calvin wanted to build from scratch, using his severe philosophy. It is with Calvinism that we may date the modern fundamentalist movement. Calvinism took on a decidedly English flavor just in time for Henry VIII to use it to localize English government.
The Presbyterians (English Calvinism) where not happy under Queen Elizabeth’s rule because she was a woman. They overthrew the English monarchy, which was soon replaced by a less powerful one. The overthrow of the monarchy had ostracized those puritans who dared upset the British standards of conduct. In response, they moved to America — to New England — to instal their favorite interpretation of Christian teaching. Their control of the average citizen was so intimate that single men and women were obliged to live with a married couple to learn good conduct. Given the hysteria 7 that culminated in the Witch trails of Salem and other places, is it so hard to assess that such repression of a human instinct 8 leads to far more evil than greed ever did?
It is with these Puritans that the idea that “Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!” has become very valid. In each hunt for Satan and his Witches, money — either the getting or the keeping of it — that has been a motivating factor of many fundamentalist churches.
For a social structure to function, the ruling elders must have the support of the people, the military, and the money. If the elders have the support of any two of these, they may hold the reigns of power even if the third is in revolt. If the ruling body should lose the support of two of those pillars, they must not take out any long term loans. So, the ruling elders create enemies “out there” to keep the people together. Is there any other reason why protestant churches rely so heavily on fear?
Other than that, the “upstanding” citizens of society wish to maintain the illusion that they are not the problem. To do that we need an enemy, or a criminal class, someone we can blame for our problem. We do not want to look to ourselves. Rather, we want someone worst than us to make us “feel” better, a “Scape Goat.”
7. According to Dr Frued, hysteria arises from a malfunctioning uterous. He felt, as Ellis Havelock and Marie Stopes concluded before hand, that a malfunctioning uterous arose from abusive or the absence of sexual activity.
8. Existential Psychology asserts that the Sexual drive is directly linked to our instinct to survive. though having children does not really ensure our individual immortality, it does ensure it for our species.
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