ASIDE: A QUICK GUIDE TO MALICIOUS SPIRITS

ASIDE: A QUICK FIELD GUIDE TO MALICIOUS SPIRITS

The term “demon” has become a shorthand for “the things that carry pitchforks in Christian Hell.” However, many of the entities referred to as “demons” are not demons.

Just as one must take care not to mistake a crow for a raven, one must understand the differences between a Daimon, a Sheyd, or a Djinn.

Demons: The malicious fallen angels of Christian mythology. The demons of Christianity are fallen angels (Rev 12:7-9), that rebelled against God and were cast down to earth as punishment. Though mentions of demons in the Bible are scant, their purpose in creation is generally to cause misery and suffering. Infamous witch-hunting handbook the Malleus Malefecarum describes demons as the external cause of all mortal sin. They are an ontological evil: their very nature is malicious.

Shedim: The spirits of Jewish mythology are generally associated with foreign gods. Though superficially similar to Christian demons, the role of Shedim in Jewish cosmology is significantly different. The Talmud describes them as being like ministering angels: They have wings like ministering angels; and they fly from one end of the world to the other like ministering angels; and they know what will be in the future like ministering angels. And in three ways they are similar to humans: They eat and drink like humans; they multiply like humans; and they die like humans.” (Hagigah 16a) [get that citation on Shedim practicing other religions from willo]

Djinn: A broad category of spirits from pre-Islamic arabian cultures who exist alongside humanity. Generally, the term “Djinn” refers to any entity that cannot be detected by human sensory organs. All angels and devils are djinn, but not all djinn are angels or devils. [1] More specifically, Djinn are creatures created by god out of “fire and air” who roamed the earth before the advent of humanity. Djinn come in several common sub-categories: [2]

• Jann - This is the broadest category of Jinn.
• Jinn - A general category, but also refers to specific jinn or tribes of jinn.
• Shaytan - The offspring of Iblis, the Islamic Satan. Always evil, more similar to the Christian idea of demons.
• Ifrit - More powerful Jinn, mostly evil. These are the evil spirits common in the Arabain Nights. They enjoy hanging out in ruins and causing sandstorms.
• Marid - The most powerful kind of djinn, mostly evil. These are the big wish-granting kind. In the story of aladdin, the djinn of the ring is is an ifrit, and the djinn of the lamp is a type of marid.
• There are also numerous lesser types of Jinn, like the corpse-eating Ghul.

Daimon: Also spelled daemon. Daimon are a class of entity similar to ghosts or guardian spirits. [3] They are considered to be of the same nature as that of dieities and men. Powerful heroes could be venerated as Daimon after their deaths. [4] The Hellenic Greeks would later divide Daimons into two categories: The good agathodaímōn, and the malicious kakodaímōn. Additionally, places had their own spirits known as Genius Loci.

[1] - Teuma, E. (1984). More on Qur'anic jinn. Melita Theologica, 35(1-2), 37-45.

[2] - “Legends of the Fire Spirits” Robert Leibling

[3] - Symposium

[4] - Burkert, Walter (1985). Greek Religion. Harvard University Press. pp. 179–181, 317, 331, 335. ISBN 978-0-674-36281-9. LCCN 84025209