Why would anyone make a pact with a demon?

[psichevoluzione]

First, let’s clarify: what is a demon?

• In traditional Christianity: a demon is a fallen, malevolent spirit linked to the devil.
• In Western occultism: a demon can be a spiritual or archetypal entity with knowledge, power, or abilities. Not necessarily “evil,” but potentially dangerous if mishandled.
• In psychology: demons can symbolize the shadow side of the psyche—hidden desires, fears, or repressed emotions.

In some esoteric traditions, people engage with demons to:

• Gain knowledge or abilities through ceremonial or evocative magic.
• Test limits or pursue personal transformation.
• Symbolically confront their inner shadow.

Caution: Even if one doesn’t believe in objective evil, these practices can bring fear, obsession, or psychological challenges if not approached carefully.

So the real question is: why would anyone choose to make a pact with a demon?

I’d love to hear your experiences or perspectives—how do you approach working with demons, if at all?

 

[Faria]

So the real question is: why would anyone choose to make a pact with a demon?

There are bad things in the world that prevent people from getting what they deserve out of life. Some of the unpleasantness of life comes from making bad decisions, but most of it comes from the bad decisions of other people who have been dead for ages. Unfortunately, most of the bad things that make life suck are also the things that the world depends upon for survival. Communication demands deceit, prosperity demands exploitation, security demands violence, and so on. This is the way of the world, a natural condition that is more than just chemistry and physics, so that our whole world is filled with the consequences of decisions.

Making a deal with a demon, the whole Demon Summoning business, is really about deciding how much of those consequences will affect you. Maybe you want to have more or less of it. Classic example is the Robert Johnson story: the young man who goes to the crossroads and the devil teaches him how to play the guitar in a unique way, spawning generations of music inspired by lust and rebellion. The protagonist in the tale is a person deprived of a future, hopeless through no fault of his own, who overturns his fate and escapes his previous situation. This is the substance of the Pact With Demons, a revolutionary twist of fortune that mitigates some current lack or oppression, whether for love or money or some other unattainable goal.

 

[FireBorn]

I guess it depends on your frame to begin with. I don’t do pacts. I do relationships. Pacts are contracts, my path is a current not a business.

To me, demons aren’t ATM machines or some infernal Santa Claus archetypes. And I don’t see them as evil, that lens feels a bit too Abrahamic, too small for what I’ve encountered. I’m not saying my way is right or better, just different. But it works very well for me.

I walk with demons. Not below them. Not behind them. I don’t bow. I don’t kneel, not to deity, demon, or angel.

Sovereignty is central to my path, and in my experience, spirits resonate with that. Your mileage may vary and that is expected. The only real danger I’ve ever faced with demons has been to my ego and my framework and yeah, both have been shattered and stretched more than a few times. At least it isn't boring.

Some people reduce demons to archetypes, or symbols of the psyche. If that’s what blows your skirt up, cool. But I’ve felt the air shift. I’ve experienced the pressure in the room. That Otherness that is felt in the body. To me, it’s very fucking real.

I don’t need others to believe my experiences. They aren't for mass consumption.

Another member here (@MorganBlack ) called it UPG: Unverified Personal Gnosis. I like that.

But verified or not, what I’ve lived is mine.

 

[Yazata]

why would anyone choose to make a pact with a demon

Because it's the same as hiring a worker, taking a course with a teacher, or forming any other relation where one thing is exchanged for another.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

I connect with them and see what we can offer each other, just like I work with other spirits or entities. I always did such things. No demon ever asked me to make a pact. Being connected and making the exchange of informatie always seemed to be enough.

 

[Yazata]

Also, "pact" may have become an obsolete word. If a chaos magician orgasms on a sigil that's really the same as signing and paying a contract. If a witch offers some wine or cake, that's basically the same. If someone makes a verbal agreement, that's also binding. The meaning of the word has changed in my opinion.
I did make some short pacts by the way. One of three months for example where I gave a drop op blood every week in exchange for spells.

 

[Shade]

Why make a pact with a Demon?... Have you ever tried making a pact with an angel? Yikes talk about testy.
But no in all seriousness, demon comes from the Greek "Daemon/Daimon" that simply means spirit, We are in essence using archetypes of our psyche that exist in the zeitgeist. When using "Demons" you are more working wit a shadow aspect where as Angel is more of a Light aspect, and usually people need to work more on the Shadow aspects so it makes sense they'd be subconsciously drawn to working with the Archetypical "Demon" rather than "Angel" although they both fall under the premise of Spirit, a lot of western bias is tied up to occult and esoteric concepts which is an extremely naive and narrow view of the broader reality.