is no coincidence. It is very
65 sepher Sephiroth in 777 and other writings of Aleister Crowley, Samuel Weiser, INC, 1998, p. 40
104
-Babylonian demons we may find a group of called the or "Ensnarers", OlLayers of ambushes." This class of demons
is
only mentioned on clay tablets constitute the main source of knowledge about Babylonian evil Most of what we know about Mesopotamian demons isand exorcisms
to threat demons away, to avert their actions, and to protect from their attacks. In
Chaldean Its Origin and Development
by Lenormant we can find a and suggestive incantation against the seven evil called the which the author to as "the most formidable of the "Maskim are most often described as of the entities in the bowels of the earth, They are
most wicked demons which surpass all others in power and eviL In descriptions and incantations are mentioned as messengers of Namtar and the throne-bearers of Ereshkigal, underlines connection to the Ereshkigal is the "Queen of the Great Below", the goddess who rules the land of the dead, with her consort, Nergal. Namtar is her messenger and minister, one of the demons of the nether the of His name means "destiny" or
"death". On the other hand, from the same description we learn that number of Maskim is "twice seven": "seven in seven on earth".
were in "heaven's vault" as messengers to the god Anu, and in the "height of heaven", appearing on the earth as lightning flashes.
-10
5
-Anu (An) means "heaven" and is the name of the god the the prime mover, the supreme leader the gods and their father. Thus, the Maskim seem to constitute two distinct of spirits, both destructive terrifying. While the seven underworld demons cause plagues disasters on the earth (like the sky manifest as storms, and destructive winds "that bring in heaven" and "cast gloom over the day."
The about these dark entities
is
retold inDevils and Evil of Babylonia
by R. Campbell Thompson. According to the story, they were born out of together with main and are equally ancient.They are referred to as demons and Their ally is clouds to cover the sun. Darkness fell upon the earth. Neither the moon nor the sun was The gods were and called for Marduk, god of war, to the Many the legend are missing, but we can see now how the seven demons were if they managed to threaten the whole divine order. could ravage heaven and earth."
the movement of the stars and darken the sun and the moon. The gods' to oppose them were futile. Even the powerful god of fire is
"From house to house they dash along.
No door can shut them out,
106
-No bolt can tum them back . third - "a grim leopard, which carries the young/' the fourth "a terrible Shibbu," the fifth - "a furious knoweth not to " the sixth is "a
. H which marches and king"! and the seventh is lIa
The Maskim embodied the forces of chaos opposed to the normal course of nature. as we have already seen, they also attacked "From the four corners the thrust of their advance burns like violently invade the dwellings of man, they lay bare the town as well as the
" In Simon's which also mentions the read that they are the lords over the shadows and over the seas. reigned once over the lost land of
Let us now take a closer look at the particular demons and their nature.
This is based on from a magical project, which was at an exploration of Maskim through rituals and focused meditations. The project was in
2006
as a collaborationMagan and Lodge Dragon Rouge It included
devoted to each of the Maskim demons, on reversed exorcisms and banishing from ancient sources and also incantations from Simon's
Necronomicon.
Each working was constructed on similar words of power and incantations. Each also included aand meditation with the to establish an astral contact with other participants. burning everything that it encounters on its way,
66 R. Thompson: Devils and Evil
107
-demonic fire or a destructive tornado. In Mesopotamia winds
and
hurricanes were often regarded as elemental Sometimes they were believed to be sent by to punishand makes him a living torch or a fire elementaL In the magical work with this demon, the practitioner may also physical sensations of
dry air in the temple, or extreme thirst.
The second demon is the dragon "whose mouth is .'. that none can measure." creatures in ancient were not
viewed as demonic. In the Sumerian poetry there is a term "u1iumgal" (a which does not have any pejorative meaning,
but denotes a powerful god or a king. In mythology we encounter many dragon creatures, e,g. the serpent-dragon (Mu1ihu1i1iu), or the
lion-(identified sometimes with demons or Mushussu was a symbol of power, associated with such gods as Marduk, Nabu, or Asur.
On
the other Asag and Anzu were vicious demons, bringing plagues and disasters onto The nature of the Maskim also seems complicated. It assumes forms and connected to all elements:it can become a water serpent-dragon, like Leviathan, with its jaws as the waves of the ocean, very cold and silver. But it can also assume a form of a dragon, with electric and fiery breath, bolts of lightning through its eyes. it can be wholly chthonic - appearing as a part of the earth or the underworld . Its head is a mountain, and its open
-108
-Illws are an entrance to the cave, with stones and rocks resembling Ihe teeth of a beast. Its body is the earth with its underground caves, In byrinths and temples, where one can see statues of dragons. Its blood
ronstitutes with water which looks like blood in
t he dim light of the underworld. And finally, the demon may also assume a n In this it appears as a huge cosmic dragon, encircling t he whole like Ouroboros Its jaws are so enormous that it t'Ould easily swallow the globe. Its body is the sky and its are with this demon, one may visions and dreams of astral transformation into a dragon's form, or flying on the dragon's One may also see an eternaJ cosmic dance of the Kundalini
The third demon is Ita grim leopard which carries off the young." This
cults in which people are dressed in leopard skins and masks, in a wild fashion an altar with a captured performing an act of ritual cannibalism. A practice of wearing animal skins is of many African tribes. In Nigeria this custom is cultivated in funeral when the deceased are in skins. Also some sources mention other rites in which the priests and participants wear skins of this animal. skins were also used in funeral rites of ancient Egypt. In Mesopotamia the of wearing animal skins was not unknown either. On ancient reliefs we can often see people in lion
skins, the powers of the animal. was, of course,
a acquirement of the animal's skills, and In
magical practice it replaces the art of shape-shifting on the mundane level.
-109
-It induces a particular kind of a trance which allows for moving onto
the
I astral level a transformation into a beast - a manifestation of one's hidden instincts and lusts. In the case of this Maskim demon,this is
a manifestation of atavistic which becomeabsorption of
this
dark energy. spitting out deadly venom. It coils around the magician and bites him, its teeth into mortal and him with poisonous substance. While the venom flows through the veins, the magician falls intoa trance, and vapours of
visions of and vipers,
underground temples with statues, and endless tunnels, writhing and pulsating, as if alive. one meets the dwellers of the underworld half-human, half-serpents, akin to Lilith in her bestial form. The practitioner is invited to bathe in a cauldron filled with venom which visions and hallucinations, which is into a serpent himself, a creature able to craw] between the worlds, dimensions,
and The power this is the art of bestial
shape-shifting; this time into a serpent, in a trance of hallucinatory intoxication with the venomous
elixir vitae.
The of theis also very vampiric in its nature and from purposes, it could be used in astral vampirism - to the victim and drain one's
astral the of this shadowy wraith.
fifth demon is "a furious who knoweth not to flee." while exploring the nature of this we will discover a close relation to astral shape-shifting - this time into a wolf, or a half-wolf. This points at the connection with the of lycanthropy,
and totem animals. The demon appears as a huge wolf or an with sharp teeth and hard claws. It brings
11 0