Excorsism.

[Avaros]

IE: The act of "Excorsizing" or "Removing" an unwanted spirit/demon/entity from a persons body.

I was wondering if anyone had knowledge of such a thing, or have partaken (Successfully) in such an act before. Any methods, or personal experiences of such a thing would be highly prized.

[muladzh]

Exorcism is something I have done regularly for many more years than I can remember. Though personal 'possession' is not common, it does indeed exist and needs dealing with. Exorcism of property is something I do far more often - the last two weeks ago. I have never failed to remove the entity from the location of exorcism, and have never had a problem, attack or spirit invasion from such rituals.

Unfortunately the film companies tend to make horror mysteries of such things, making the general impression of them somewhat misguided. We live in a realm of many life forms, both physical and metaphysical - occasionally they mix inappropriately causing the need for rituals to remove them and locate them where they should be. Most personal 'possessions' are not particularly malicious - just something moving into an undefended void. Persons more likely to 'possessed' are those who do not take care of themselves, abuse substances, ignorantly mess with parts of the occult that should not be messed with in ignorance, or of very low intelligence. The latter can remain ' possessed ' for many years, as nobody suspects anything is amiss.

[celticmagick]

I personally have not attempted an exorcism but have done much research on the subject and have written a chapter on it in my book of shadows. Some copy paste and then edited and from MANY sources. Well, here it is. Hope it helps.

ENTITY POSESSION

Spirit possession is a paranormal or supernatural event in which it is said that spirits, gods, demons, animals, extraterrestrials, or other dis incarnate or extraterrestrial entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behavior. The term can also describe a similar action of taking residence in an inanimate object, possibly giving it animation.
The concept of spiritual possession exists in many religions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Haitian Voodoo, Wicca, and Southeast Asian and African traditions. Depending on the cultural context in which it is found, possession may be considered voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects. Scientific materialists also have opinions about the nature of the phenomenon.
Possession occurs when a hostile or adverse spirit takes control of the body without consent of the person. These adverse forces are often called demons. A demon is a malevolent evil nonhuman spirit who's primary goal is to create havoc. There are many spirits of many different categories from ghosts to elementals, demons andgods. Let us not forget living humans. When one of these entities acts in a way the goes against us, this is an adverse force. Not all of them are malicious or dwellers in the abyss, although some are. They may be going against us because, like people, they have an agenda. For example, an elemental may be in the service of a long-dead shaman and be charged with protecting a particular piece of land. Three hundred years later a house gets built on the land and a conflict ensues over the land with the elemental trying to remove the occupants.
But does this necessarily result in possession? Probably not, as elementals tend to be more brutish and less strategic, but they might look for a weakness and exploit that to fulfill their goal. If the occupant, for example, was prone to depression the elemental may look for times to reduce the person's energy even more. It may transfer the energy back when the person is trying to sleep creating worse insomnia. This type of attack is far more common than possession, and is often referred to as oppression. Even though the spirit is not taking control it is still coming into the person's aura.
Conflicts with adverse forces happen over time and build up gradually. They do not just happen one day and all of a sudden your puking pea soup. It starts with a way in. This could be drugs including alcohol, bad karma, mental illness, abuse (whether you are a perpetrator or victim),malnutrition, playing with occult things in an irresponsible manner, or a curse which is cast on you or rebounded back to you. Once the force is attracted to you, it may encourage the behavior making the weakness larger and the connection stronger. This happens though the proverbial whisper in the ear. It is also tied to being in an alpha-state and the suggestions of the adverse force become that more powerful. An alpha-state is the same state a hypnotist induces in people, but the state is easy to induce by listening to music or rhythmic dance. The
connection to mysticism would take another article, but yes there is a connection. Once the weakness is expanded to the point where the entity can enter, the aura oppression may occur. Energy manipulation can also occur which often drives the person deeper into depression. An entity may also try to oppress multiple persons to drive a wedge between them.
An extremely rare, but much more serious conflict with adverse forces is possession. There is a connection between a person's soul/spirit and brain/mind. This may be best understood in the context of astral travel, in which it is a disconnect of the soul/spirit and brain/mind, which allows for such travel. Just as a person can disconnect, so too can an adverse or even friendly spirit connect. If it is a willing connection, it is often referred to as channeling. With adverse spirits, it is possession. When an entity gets into the mind it can create illusions such as heads spinning and walls shifting etc. Things that seem impossible because they just do not work in the world of physics. Levitation may or may not be exhibited.
Some possessed people exhibit superhuman speech or strange voices. This may be caused by the entity will controlling the body as its natural environmental. The entity does not connect into the pain centers and does not feel pain. It may increase adrenaline, and this may account for superhuman strength. It should be noted that channeling could become possession if the channeled entity refuses to leave. If an entity does refuse to leave, an exorcism may be required.

Exorcism/ Banishing an Entity

Exorcism is the process or ritual of banishing and entity. Exorcism is about power and authority. These two things come from confidence and ability. It is a combative arena to be sure and not one to be entered into lightly. It is also a healing situation for the person possessed. There are of course other consideration like is this entity a family member or non malicious entity past human or otherwise. It is important to remember this is in dealing with adverse spirits.
Before a exorcism is considered, a typical investigation is essential to conclude that the person it in fact possessed. This is a process of elimination. Does the subject exhibit the telltale signs of possession? Is there any other way to explain the subject's behavior besides possession? The priest or priestess will consult a psychiatrist in his or her investigation in order to determine whether the "possessed" person's symptoms can be fully explained by mental illness. (According to Michael Cuneo's "American Exorcism," there are about a dozen psychiatrists in the United States who evaluate potentially possessed subjects for the Catholic Church.) The subject will also undergo a medical examination to find out if the symptoms can be attributed to a physical disorder or illness. A expert on the paranormal may also be contacted for additional input. Another possibility the investigator must consider is plain old fraud.
The priest or priestess who is about to exorcise those tormented by Evil Spirit, must have the necessary piety, prudence and personal integrity. He or she should perform this most heroic work humbly and courageously, not relying on his own strength, but on the power of the Gods and Goddesses; and he must have no greed for material benefit. Exorcism is extremely dangerous even for the most fluent practitioner and for that reason no exorcism is to be preformed alone, but with the help of at least one other person.
Let the exorcist note for himself the tricks and deceits which evil spirits use in order to lead him astray. For they are accustomed to answering falsely. They manifest themselves only under pressure--in the hope that the exorcist will get tired and desist from pressuring them. Or they make it appear that the subject of Exorcism is not possessed at all. Sometimes, Evil Spirit betrays its presence, and then goes into hiding. It appears to have left the body of the possessed free from all molestation, so that the possessed thinks he is completely rid of it. But the exorcist should not, for all that, desist until he sees the signs of liberation.
The idea of using blessed water, whether by a Catholic priest or merely the head of a Wiccan cover, is a very old belief. Water is thought to be one of the neutral elements which can act as a transitory plane or a barrier. Its ability to cleanse and wash off anything that sullies the body in addition to its necessity for all living creatures makes most cultures believe in the sacredness of water in general. If you add the consecrated quality that is innate to water to a divine blessing of sorts, no matter what religion you prefer, you will create a naturally powerful element which will protect you against all types of evil spirits. Once you have your water blessed by the religious official of your choice, merely wet your fingers with the water then spread it across the top part of all the thresholds of the haunted room—doorways and windows. The barrier created by the blessed water should keep out the evil spirits at each of the room’s entryways.
The idea of a banishing ritual is seen throughout history and across the globe. Any culture that has a strong belief in malicious spirits and their ability to interact and affect the living has a type of banishing ritual. However, modern Western culture has designated most banishing rituals as a pagan custom. Spells that banish can vary greatly even from person to person. Yet, they can be relatively simple. The easiest way is to write down the problem on a piece of paper, being as concise and specific as possible. After focusing deeply on the problem written on the paper, you must burn it. Most people prefer to burn using a white candle or by lighting the paper and placing it in a white bowl to allow it to burn in a controlled setting.
The mystical use of herbs in certain settings and for certain reasons has been used for centuries. During the Elizabethan era of Tudor England, it was common place to use herbs rather than flowers during ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, or elevations of status to bless the special occasion. However, the meanings and specialized uses for particular herbs varies over the entire world and over time. To suggest for helpful herbs though, here are some useful herbs from different cultures from history to try out on your malevolent ghost. Even though most people think garlic is merely for vampires, it is actually a protective herb for all evil spirits. All you need is a single clove (not a giant bulb) placed at points of entry that need protection, doorways as well as windows. If you are the particular subject of the spirit’s actions instead of just the room, feel free to keep a clove in your pocket. A bag of protection can also be made from herbs that will be helpful. A small amount of cinnamon, five-finger grass, ague weed, and sage in a pouch that you place at thresholds or carry with you will most certainly protect from evil spirits. Sage in general is renowned for its ability to cleanse any malicious presences. Merely burning sage in a doorway and windows of the haunted room are thought to provide a very strong barrier for particular evil spirits while allowing good spirits to pass.
Salt is very prevalent in folk remedies. It is thought to have the same purifying and cleansing properties as water. Just like water, some people prefer to have it blessed before they use it. Once blessed, or even not, make a line of the salt at the threshold of your door and windows. The salt on the floor or ledge of these entryways will keep any spirit from entering your room. If you perform this act at entries of the entire house, the whole residence is assumed to be protected from entering spirits—whether they are vindictive or neutral. Sea salt is the favored type even though table salt can work as well.

Exorcism Rite

Before trying this ritual, try to cleanse the person of the spirit. If that doesn't work you can move onto banishing. If you can convince the spirit to leave on it's own, there is no need to banish. You would normally cleanse an area to make it safe for your circle which you would then cast however, you should not use a circle in this situation. For one, as you have discovered if you are moving onto this step, cleansing did not remove the spirit and therefore you can actually trap the spirit within your circle. This clearly goes against the purpose of this rite.
As you will see this rite is quite different from that of most due to the fact that it focuses on the Deities rather than the four elements. Either method can be used.

PREPARATION:

You will need:
8 bulbs of garlic
8 white candles
lavender incense
holy water
black marker
symbols of the god and goddess (optional)
stones, crystals and other things which are relevent (optional)

Bless all items to be used in this rite. Restrain the possessed if necessary for the safety of them and that of others. Draw the symbols of the God and Goddess on one of your palms of your hand. Place the symbols of the Deities and other optional items wherever you feel is best (possibly on the possessed). Set garlic near/ around them. Light the candles and incense at a proper distance.

Invoke the Deities by saying this:

“I invoke the Horned God.
He who is the stag.
Keeper of the sun.
Father Time.

I call forth he who goes by many names. I invoke:
Anubis,
Aten,
Geb,
Mafdet,
Osirus,
Ra,
Shu,
Thoth,
Dionysus,
Hermes,
Zeus,
Cupid,
Janus,
Jupiter,
Mercury,
Neptune,
Pluto.

I invoke the Triple Goddess.
Maiden, Mother, Crone.
Keeper of the Moon.
Mother Earth.”

“I call forth she who goes by many names. I invoke:

Bastet,
Hathor,
Heket,
Isis,
Kebechet,
Ma'at,
Nut,
Sehkmet,
Aphrodite,
Artemis,
Athena,
Demeter,
Hecate,
Hestia,
Venus,
Bridjit,
Epona.”

Sprinkle holy water thoroughly on the possessed. Then say:

“All powerful deities, arm me with the power of your holy strength so I can exorcise this unwelcome spirit in confidence and security.”

Sprinkle holy water on them again as thoroughly as you did before. Then say:

“I exorcise you, Most unholy spirit! All spirits! Every one of you! I banish you from this creature of the Gods! I repel you, for your place is in solitude! Go away intruder! I cast you out in the names of Isis and Ra!”

Hold out your arm with your palm and it's symbols facing them. At the same time say:

“Be cast down for even though you have deceived man, you cannot make a mockery of the Gods! To their might all things are subject! It is before them and only them that every knee will bow! It is they who expel you from their beloved creature!”

Again, hold out your arm with your palm and it's symbols facing them. At the same time say:

“Your malice and torture will dwell no longer in this creature! The divine has the power to create any order it desires, and the divine has the power to destroy it as well! Be gone unholy spirit! You have no power here, for this is a creature of the Gods!”

Repeat the portion of the exorcism that follows invocations until the unwelcome spirit has left.

AFTERWARDS:

It is a good idea to cast a circle and preform a binding spell to bind the entity from doing future harm and because a possession can cause physical harm to the body, you may wish preform a healing ritual as well to help get them back to feeling their selves again.

Divination and Possession

Here's the problem with divination- anyone can do it, and no skill is required. In other words, the thing that makes divination so easy to do is also what can make it potentially harmful. Look at it as a spiritual version of the chat room, if that helps. There's nothing at all wrong with talking to thirty strangers… until one of them turns out to be a serial killer or a pedophile. And the thing is, you don't know who is what when you enter that room. Same with a divination tool. Its purpose of a divination tool is to answer a question by inviting spirits to speak to you and in most cases, channel through you (again, this is a voluntary possession). For instance, In order to get the spirit to contact you through the a planchette (the moving piece that sits on top a ouiji board), you basically have to give up your will - it's the only way for them to work through you. The spirit isn't moving the planchette, but it's causing you to move it with your hands by way of possession. Once you've opened up the Ouija board, it's a crapshoot as to what's going to try to make contact - you don't know who or what is moving that planchette around, or what its purpose is.
On the other hand there are safe methods to channel if you wish to do so. The first rule to follow is to always cast a ritual circle around the area and tools. Then bless all divination tools to be used. If you do not know how to cast a ritual circle or do not know how to bless items, I would not recommend attempting divination that includes ouiji boards or automatic handwriting. These precautions are mandatory for safety, as without them you could be opening a doorway to invite bad spirits, negative energy or even demons right into your home or even your soul. If you wish to use divination methods that do not require possession, Tarot and Scrying are good ways to do that.

[celticmagick]

Oh and something else,

I figure I should also explain something else before anyone notices and gets the wrong idea. Notice that I used the word 'Demon' multiple times in this^^ I am not talking about the devil or anything like that. Lulz.

I believe in spirits of a malicious nature and what is described above when I mention the Demon. I struggled with many names and terms of creatures to describe the entity I am trying to explain and the only ones I could find were Demons and Djins wich If I understand correctly are pretty much considered to be the same mythological thing. This is the only way I know how to describe this kind of thing and until I research further so until them this is what I choose to call it. I hope this makes sense... I am having a hard time wording what I am trying to say.

[watershield]

The idea of exorcism is one created within the Catholic Church.

Spirits is spirits, angels or demon, these are just the traits we place upon them when we summon their aide.

[celticmagick]

Jan 31, 2012 4:11:07 GMT 1 watershield said:

The idea of exorcism is one created within the Catholic Church.

Spirits is spirits, angels or demon, these are just the traits we place upon them when we summon their aide.

Paganism can possibly be traced as far back to the Paleolithic people (I think). The idea of non adverse forces entering early pagan's bodies dates back very far but if this far is unknown to me. If there were a non adverse force who then refused to leave, it would be easy for me to assume that some sort of banishing ritual may have taken place similar to that of an exorcism which is what a pagan seems to do at least in present times. There is nothing I have to back this up but is simply speculation that was used in the above exorcism postings.

I have found Christian history to be similarly ancient. I have found it impossible(for me anyway) to decide which one is older. As a well documented religion, I would need to learn when exorcism began in christian/catholic religion. (This I have yet to learn because I have no access to a Bible.) To decide which religion most likely preformed this type of ritual first, I would need to find out that. As well as at what point in history pagans allowed themselves to become possessed and when they learned to banish.

To sum up what I am trying to point out is that it in my opinion it is very difficult to learn which one in fact did have exorcism first if it is either of them at all who was the first. (But I do agree in the sense that the actual term 'exorcism' is a Catholic one as it is not the same word as Banishing)

As to the spirit, demon, angel thing-- I can definitely see it that way as you have stated. That does make sense in my own mind.

[watershield]

Well, Animism definitely dates back to the Paleolithic period. Paganism is just a "recent" term to describe those who do not follow the God of Abraham.
And you're probably correct that they had some form of banishment process. However I suspect that didn't happen until Shamanism took off.

As to the Bible, it's a collections of books written at different times over many years with the oldest dating back over 3,500 years. And don't forget, they were written by Jews. There were no such thing as Christians when the books of the Bible were written. They came about much later in history. About 2012 years ago, the followers of Jesus came from Judea and created a new religion. Some scholars state that it was Paul who first taught this new faith, so at best, Christianity was created around 50AD.

Who was it....Charlemagne I think.....as part of the process of creating the Holy Roman Empire, held council in 330 AD and decided which books would form the Bible. And over the centuries, Kings and Churches have changed the wording to use faith as a tool to control the masses. From that time on, Church and State have been joined at the hip.

One of the functions of the Bible as a tool was to take already well accepted idea's of faith and twist them just a little. Spirits of nature over night became Angles and Demons. The concept of Satan was created along with the notion of Heaven and Hell.
Good little Christians follow the word of the Church and receive the blessing of the father and go to heaven. Everyone else is automatically damned and go to hell.
Those spirits that once visited grandma at night and gave hers visions of the things to come, to answer her questions, to listen to her prayers, were now seen as demons pulling grandma toward sin. Twisting her view of reality and either needed to be cast out or grandma burnt at the stake to rid her of them.

But that's just my opinion after a number of years of reading.

[khara]

A lot of this is presuming that the "posession" is by a christian demon. The thing is, many pantheons and paths have their own demons.

The Sumerians thought that all sickness came from "sickness demons". Many NA paths believe sickness, trouble and such come from vengeful or evil spirits. Most mental illnesses at ne time were considered demon posession.

So I think the question one needs to establish from the begining is actually is there such a thing?

How does it work?

Can there be different types of demons per pantheon? And do you have to believe in that pantheon to be posessed by one of their demons?

If not, and anyone can be posessed at any time by any number or type of demon or spirit then please prove you are not demon posessed...

See where I'm going with this?

You either put it with the you have to believe for it to happen or it's completely random and anyone can be posessed at any time by any numer of evil spirits or demons.

I personally do not believe this kind of thing is random. I do believe there are some terrible "entities" in and around us in the spirit realm. Can they posess us? Well, I guess if one were vulnerable enough, or open to that kind of thing. I do not believe two consciousness(s) can be in the same body at the same time. So one would first have to get rid of the current consciousness before another could move in.

Now this can happen, high fevers, astral projection, hypnosis and so forth are examples of how and when a person's consciousness might leave them. That would leave them open, at that point, for posession.

Does this happen? It is quite possible. Have I ever seen it? Well, my mother married a man who converted her to the christian church, they joined a pentecostal church. Now the pentecostals, they believe in posession. After watching them do their speaking in tongues and laying on of hands crap over the years, my belief in demons and posession went out the window.

Then I went to Haiti. Now I saw some things there that would make grown men wet their pants. It rather opened me up to the idea of posession again. However, I firmly believe that one must believe first and foremost and then be open to such a thing happening. Do note that when I say open, I mean without consciousness, not that they say "Hey come posess me" kind of open, thogh that might work too with the proper spell.

I'm not even going to touch on Voudou, Voodoo or hoodoo, because that is a topic all by itself.

Then we have the idea of spirits or demons inhabiting objects or places. Now that is quite a different idea. I believe that there are times when people can be so attached to an object or a place that that is where their spirit resides, because, for them, that is their summerland. Then you have the situations where a death may have been so violent the spirit can't or won't leave. There are hundreds of situations, but I do believe that things and places can be "haunted".

[watershield]

True, but then I think you can look at many of the Christian demons (or angles) and find a matching entity from some other time or culture.

I believe that "man" creates the type of and nature of the entities, intentionally or not, that we bring into our personal experience or interaction with the "spirit world".

The potential is within the source to come forward in any number of ways, but it remains that "we" as independant beings with free will, must in some way invite them to us. Lets face it, even Christians will tell you that you must open your heart and invite Jesus into your life.

[khara]

Feb 13, 2012 21:46:47 GMT 1 watershield said:

True, but then I think you can look at many of the Christian demons (or angles) and find a matching entity from some other time or culture.

I believe that "man" creates the type of and nature of the entities, intentionally or not, that we bring into our personal experience or interaction with the "spirit world".

The potential is within the source to come forward in any number of ways, but it remains that "we" as independant beings with free will, must in some way invite them to us. Lets face it, even Christians will tell you that you must open your heart and invite Jesus into your life.

See now I don't think it is as simple as that. I think, rather than asking, it is sometimes more of "providing an opportunity". Like the examples I gave.

[watershield]

To a large degree, I think it comes down to what you were taught growing up. Your core belief system so to speak.
If you believe demons can take over your body at any time, then it will happen. If you don't believe in demons at all, you will most likely never encounter one.