Demonolatry by a demonolater: Do we worship demons?

When people talk about demonolatry, many say that demons don’t need worship and that worshiping them is foolish. But this is just a misunderstanding, stemming from the misuse of the word latria. What exists in demonolatry is not actually a latria, but a dulia (respect, veneration, honor) — the official term the Catholic Church uses for the veneration of saints and angels, in which a Catholic asks things of the saints and, in return, offers a promise, for example. Worshiping a demon is not adoring it the way a Christian adores Jehovah, nor is it seeing that demon as a perfect god. Demonolatry is establishing a relationship with a greater demon (Baal, Asmodeus, Haagenti, etc.) through a lesser demon (a legionary) that represents it. This practice allows the demonolater a more direct and potentially faster path. For example: a demonolater might perform a more elaborate, ceremonial ritual, but sometimes they can make a request more informally using the lesser demon, who is far more accessible.

The term demonolatry first appeared in 1557, in the treatise Daemonolatreiae libri tres (Three Books of Demonolatry), by the Frenchman Nicolas Rémy, a witch hunter. Originally, then, the term was an accusation of worshiping the devil and his demons leveled against supposed witches. It’s not accurate to say that demonolatry didn’t exist before Satanist groups and S. Connolly’s books: many people, whether seriously or as a provocation, were already performing cults to demonic entities. But demonolatry as we know it today — that is, a true cult of demons and a divine view of them — is something modern, still developing, and one that draws disapproval from more “traditional” people, such as practitioners of Solomonic goetia.

Demonolatry has a strong predominance of demons from Christian demonology, since that’s the most popular one in the West — where demonolatry originated. However, these beings are included in many religions and cultures, from the most ancient to the most recent: they appear in Hinduism, in the ancient religions of the Middle East, in the cultural religions of various indigenous peoples, in branches of Buddhism, in Hellenism, among others. The concept of a more “dense and materialistic” spirit has existed for millennia.

Demonolatry is not limited to worshiping the 72 demons of the Goetia, which are part of a list that, by the way, didn’t come into being fully formed, but only established itself as we find it today starting in the 17th century — well after the publication of the book that served as its basis: the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, from 1577, by Wierus. Therefore, the demons on that list, whose number amounts to just 72, already existed long before the Goetia as it is practiced today, in other texts. Moreover, there are demonolaters who don’t worship the 72 demons, but rather other, older demons and/or ones with no connection to Euro-Christian texts.

I’ve seen other demonolaters and people from the more traditional camp say that demons don’t want anyone’s soul and don’t want others’ energy, but that’s a mediocre lie.

Shiva, the Indian god seen by the West as an always benevolent, pure, and holy deity — the pinnacle of perfection — accepted human sacrifices of decapitated boys. Even Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, during Eid al-Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice), receives the sacrifice of more than 50 million animals annually. And I don’t even need to mention other deities like Kali, Baal Hammon, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and the sun who required a constant flow of human hearts to have the strength to make the sun rise every day.

It would be pretty funny if demons (dense, material, and amoral beings) were any different. They really aren’t vampires that need to drain others’ energy to exist, but that doesn’t mean they can’t, don’t want to, and don’t enjoy doing so.

It’s also “trendy” to say that the soul has no value whatsoever, and that demons aren’t interested in it. But for millennia and across thousands of cultures, the soul is the most important and powerful thing a person has, and the only thing they truly possess. In Siberia, there’s an indigenous people called the Evenki who believe that people can lose their soul during their lifetime. Shamans then set out on what we call an astral journey to recover people’s souls, and to do so, they passed through demons and great spirits. In Tibetan Buddhism and in Bön, the pre-Buddhist indigenous religion of Tibet, the “soul” or vitality bla can be lost or taken by demons. And to keep that from happening, rituals are performed by lamas invoking deities, protectors, and the power of the Buddha/Dharma, with ransom offerings (glud). The soul’s fate after physical death is not to be trapped in something, but through pacts and a reckless life, that can happen. And it’s very beneficial for demons to achieve that.

I’m not saying to start killing animals and people as offerings to demonic beings, nor to offer your soul to them, but saying that demons don’t care about offerings — that is, about energy — is utterly stupid. The offering is essential in demonolatry.

In demonolatrous rituals, we typically use the same tools a Solomonic magician uses, but adapted for demonolatry — for example, by removing the names of God and the angels and replacing them with demonic names, and by consecrating these tools to the demons. Some demonolaters no longer use the elements of Solomonic magic at all — the triangle of manifestation, the magic circle, the sigils from the grimoires, the wands, and other Solomonic tools — and instead work only with elements associated with the demon being evoked. Both approaches work and bring good results — and I say that from personal experience as well.

Something demonolaters may also do, though of course it isn’t required, is practice prayers and rosaries, meditations, and non-ritualistic offerings, or channel the energy of some activity as an offering. There are many demonolatrous ways to stay connected with a given demon.

Regardless of how a demonolater practices their demonolatry, the use of an oracle — preferably a tarot deck — is absolutely essential and mandatory. Always seek to find out through an oracle whether you’re truly working with a demon, whether it accepts what you’re doing, whether it’s being sincere, whether it’s worth contacting the demon you desire, etc. Always settle your doubts with an oracle.