were demons ever human?

[z0r3k]

The idea of demons and their true nature has been on my mind for a long time. They are generally seen as “evil spirits” seeking to corrupt or harm, but if we dig deeper into philosophical and occult traditions, the story can be much more complex and interesting.

To begin with, the etymology already gives us clues. The word “demon” comes from the Latin daemonium, which in turn derives from the Greek “daimon”. And here's the funny thing: for the Greeks, a daimon was not an evil being, but a kind of spiritual guide or intermediary between gods and humans. Socrates himself claimed to have a daimon who whispered advice to him. With the passage of time, under the influence of Christianity, the word became loaded with a negative meaning, until it reached the devil as we understand him today.

Now, in many esoteric philosophies it is held that souls go through multiple incarnations, in order to polish themselves, learn and reach a higher level of consciousness. There are those who affirm that when the soul reaches a certain degree of evolution, it can choose to merge into a universal consciousness (the “unity” that various currents speak of, such as Hermeticism or even Buddhism), or maintain its individuality and become a powerful spiritual guide.

This is where my hypothesis comes in: What if some of those “spirit guides” who decided not to merge into unity, but to preserve their individuality, are the ones who over time became known as “demons”? That is, ancient humans who reached such a high level of wisdom and spiritual power that they transcended to another dimension and now manifest as independent entities.

This would make sense if we think of demons as beings who possess immense knowledge, who can teach, guide or tempt. They are not simple “bad guys from the movie”, but they play the role of dark masters, guardians of secrets and primordial forces. In fact, in medieval grimoires like the Goetia, demons are not seen only as destroyers, but as kings, princes and dukes of a spiritual world with highly structured hierarchies. That doesn't sound like meaningless chaotic beings, but rather entities with history and order.

Are demons truly enemies of man, or are they shadow masters who once shared our same human condition? What do you think? Does this vision make sense to you from esoteric philosophy and occult tradition?

 

[Jsinclair]

The consensus seems to indicate that they were never exactly human. One can draw interesting conclusions about certain...unions (past, present, future) from The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. (As well as from multiple other sources - such as Diana's recently posted sex magic collection.) One could even speculate (from outside the Window, of course) that the Magus renounces all possible enjoyment of the afterlife by incarnating, inasmuch as possible, his own Daemon - following the dusty dissolution of the ego/consciousness of separation. There is also related speculation that demons climb the corporate ladder by consenting to this process, as well as to lesser (preliminary?) ones (see Crowley's "The Wake World", for example).

All of this is, of course, speculation and, perhaps, whimsical fancy. The proof would only come from the doing - and who knows but that the results would yield only subjective cognition and phenomenon. Absolute truth about such matters is, by necessity, only the purview of certain Roman Catholic priests who have ascended their own corporate ladders with much Pomp and Pederasty.

 

[Yazata]

some

Yes, seems a logical thing to think. I wonder if all these legions of nameless underlings (maybe in part once human followers) are the collective known as (insert cool demon name here), and if they can get their own name out they eventually can branch out. Like a franchise of hell.
Would suck for the freedom craving demonolatrists if they end up spending an eternity as the demonic equivalent of a McDonald's drive thru worker though.

 

[Morell]

When I start to think about what demons are really, biblical concept of fallen angels somehow stops applying. But that leads to demons not being demons. they stop fitting the description.

Though some former humans could be demons. I've heard, not sure where, that there are angels who are former humans. So why not? But @Yazata had good note with McDonald's. It is another matter whether these former humans like their new existence.

 

[Robert]

I do think the same thing, demons are likely close to human nature, separately the world of demons with our world are reflection, human are cohabited with them eventhough they don't show up, some human manifeste them and use them in different dimension. I'am asking myself if we knew the secret to summon them as we want that could be very powerful.

 

[Faria]

In fact, in medieval grimoires like the Goetia, demons are not seen only as destroyers, but as kings, princes and dukes of a spiritual world with highly structured hierarchies. That doesn't sound like meaningless chaotic beings, but rather entities with history and order.

All the Goetia demons were at one time given worship as deities, as described in the Goetia. The devotees did not see them as evil demons, but as gods or even as God. All of them were proven to be less than godly when their priests and temples were completely destroyed and the so-called gods could do nothing to stop it. The version of law and society that those gods supported was not one that matches the demands of reality, so they were overcome by powers obviously greater than whatever they claimed to control.

If you pick Jerusalem as the starting point, the gods that were worshipped east of there are under the King of the East. The ones south of there, from Egypt and Arabia, like Ptah or Horus, are ruled by the King of the South. Deities like Freya are in the north, those like Macha are in the West, and all of their names and identities have been obscured. It looks chaotic because the authors who put the whole thing together were stuffing ten thousand years of mysticism into thirty pages.

Some of the Goetia demon motifs are inspired by real once-living people, like Volac who is otherwise known as Count Dracula of Wallachia, a person whose reputation was so fearsome as to merit him a presidency in Hell. The 27th spirit is similarly modeled after the King of Lanka. There are also others, even more obscure. From my perspective, the spirits are not actually these people, but what the spirits do match up fairly well to the overblown mythic representation of these otherwise historical persons. I do not believe that people "become" anything, whether angelic or demonic, after death, and that the connections between the spirits and the people are more about mythology than reality.

 

[FireBorn]

Would suck for the freedom craving demonolatrists if they end up spending an eternity as the demonic equivalent of a McDonald's drive thru worker though.

Dude, I just coked on my coffee laughing! I wasn't expecting that, thank you!

Thank you for choosing Demonic Burger! Come again, forever! Muahahahaha!

When I start to think about what demons are really, biblical concept of fallen angels somehow stops applying. But that leads to demons not being demons. they stop fitting the description.

I agree. Remove the Abrahamic lens the whole picture shifts dramatically, doesn’t it?

I think a lot of the Goetic spirits were just deities and powerful entities from defeated peoples, especially those the Israelites conquered. It’s a classic control tactic. Demonize your enemies’ gods, call them evil, and boom, your religion gains exclusive legitimacy.

But syncretization isn’t just a Hebrew thing. It’s everywhere, Sumer, Akkad, Egypt, Rome. Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte… same goddess, shifting masks, new names. Over time, their domains and symbolism get reframed. Some get sanitized into saints, others dragged into the dirt and labeled demons.

So how many spirits haven’t been syncretized? I sometimes wonder if maybe the planetary intelligences are the closest to their original unfiltered states. Maybe.

What if “demon” and “angel” are just buckets we made, for our benefit, not theirs? Ways to categorize divine intelligences based on resonance. Maybe demons are just closer to our wavelength, raw, unfiltered, stronger signal. AM band. Easy to tune in, even if it crackles and hisses. Angels? Higher frequency, FM. Takes more precision, more clarity, but once you’re locked in, it's beautiful. And the gods? Maybe they’re the damn radio tower itself.

Who’s right? Your gnosis, of course. Always.

 

[Morell]

So how many spirits haven’t been syncretized? I sometimes wonder if maybe the planetary intelligences are the closest to their original unfiltered states. Maybe.

What if “demon” and “angel” are just buckets we made, for our benefit, not theirs? Ways to categorize divine intelligences based on resonance....
...Who’s right? Your gnosis, of course. Always.

What in the world had not been syncretized in one way or the other? Even every one of us is syncretised mix of our parents. Yet we are pure, pure ourselves.

Sometimes I think that thinking about origin as something special, even pure, is wrong. Not that degeneration doesn't happen but when it happens, something is wrong. I actually think that the magic peole can do today, especialy with the help of technology, is way stronger than in history. I aslo think that our occult understanding evolves too. The way people redit tables of angels and demons, the understanding of Kabbalah, it all improves through experience and is writen down. Sure we can discover the magic of old, but I think that it would be going away from who we are now and where we are heading... wherever it is.

 

[System Error Message]

i can tell you what the demons themselves told me. Demons are a group of people (angels, beings) that once followed lucifer and fell with him however after they fell they want nothing to have to do with lucifer or humans. Devils are the term you are looking for and often mistaken in wording as many people tend to refer to demons when demons themselves dont want to have anything to do with humans or lucifer. Demons consider those who involve themselves with humans as scum in their society. Demons can breed, angels cant (hence the hybrids nephilim are demon/devil with human not angel).

There are many different beings that are not demons that often get mistaken for them from malicious spirits to satan, devils, djinns and other malicious spirits. Humans incorrectly use demon as a blanket term.

In a nutshell demons are fallen angels who basically went their own path after their fall. They have lifespans like everyone else (though very long), they have decent supernatural power and "physical" strength, societies however their societal structure isnt the same as humans.

Post automatically merged: Aug 26, 2025

I agree. Remove the Abrahamic lens the whole picture shifts dramatically, doesn’t it?

I think a lot of the Goetic spirits were just deities and powerful entities from defeated peoples, especially those the Israelites conquered. It’s a classic control tactic. Demonize your enemies’ gods, call them evil, and boom, your religion gains exclusive legitimacy.

But syncretization isn’t just a Hebrew thing. It’s everywhere, Sumer, Akkad, Egypt, Rome. Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte… same goddess, shifting masks, new names. Over time, their domains and symbolism get reframed. Some get sanitized into saints, others dragged into the dirt and labeled demons.

So how many spirits haven’t been syncretized? I sometimes wonder if maybe the planetary intelligences are the closest to their original unfiltered states. Maybe.

What if “demon” and “angel” are just buckets we made, for our benefit, not theirs? Ways to categorize divine intelligences based on resonance. Maybe demons are just closer to our wavelength, raw, unfiltered, stronger signal. AM band. Easy to tune in, even if it crackles and hisses. Angels? Higher frequency, FM. Takes more precision, more clarity, but once you’re locked in, it's beautiful. And the gods? Maybe they’re the damn radio tower itself.

Who’s right? Your gnosis, of course. Always.

The goetia spirits were deities and deities were devils that presented themselves to humans and lead them (though in a bad way).

I dont subscribe to astrology, to me astrology does not define the being. Thats why many mistake samael for being an angel, due to astrology but astrology is more of a way to work with them, not a verification of who they are.

The concepts demons and angels are not terms we made, and they are not equivalence in opposition. They are not the representation of good and evil and do not have opposing intent.

 

[FireBorn]

What in the world had not been syncretized in one way or the other? Even every one of us is syncretised mix of our parents. Yet we are pure, pure ourselves.

You’re drifting into philosophy and getting loose with terms. I wasn’t being metaphorical, I was using syncretization in the historical and esoteric sense: the intentional erasure, conquest, or assimilation of spirits and deities. Being born of two parents isn’t that. One is a natural emergence. The other is strategic overwrite. Big difference.

I mean I get the vibe of what you are saying, its all poetic but still. Context is everything.

Post automatically merged: Aug 26, 2025

Your post.

Appreciate the passion, but this is kind of proving my point. You're using a cosmology that treats demon and angel as fixed ontological entities, defined by their relationship to the Abrahamic story arc. I’ve stepped outside that framework.

My point wasn’t about whose lore is right, it’s that these classifications are themselves the result of conquest. Spirits were renamed, reframed, or demonized depending on who held power. The Goetic spirits weren’t ‘devils that misled people’, they were once gods of the losing side. Their ‘evil’ is editorial.

So yeah, terms like demon and angel are human buckets. Maybe the spirits don’t care what we call them. But if we don't trace where those labels came from, we're just repeating someone else's propaganda and calling it truth.

 

[Mannimarco]

The idea of demons and their true nature has been on my mind for a long time. They are generally seen as “evil spirits” seeking to corrupt or harm, but if we dig deeper into philosophical and occult traditions, the story can be much more complex and interesting.

To begin with, the etymology already gives us clues. The word “demon” comes from the Latin daemonium, which in turn derives from the Greek “daimon”. And here's the funny thing: for the Greeks, a daimon was not an evil being, but a kind of spiritual guide or intermediary between gods and humans. Socrates himself claimed to have a daimon who whispered advice to him. With the passage of time, under the influence of Christianity, the word became loaded with a negative meaning, until it reached the devil as we understand him today.

Now, in many esoteric philosophies it is held that souls go through multiple incarnations, in order to polish themselves, learn and reach a higher level of consciousness. There are those who affirm that when the soul reaches a certain degree of evolution, it can choose to merge into a universal consciousness (the “unity” that various currents speak of, such as Hermeticism or even Buddhism), or maintain its individuality and become a powerful spiritual guide.

This is where my hypothesis comes in: What if some of those “spirit guides” who decided not to merge into unity, but to preserve their individuality, are the ones who over time became known as “demons”? That is, ancient humans who reached such a high level of wisdom and spiritual power that they transcended to another dimension and now manifest as independent entities.

This would make sense if we think of demons as beings who possess immense knowledge, who can teach, guide or tempt. They are not simple “bad guys from the movie”, but they play the role of dark masters, guardians of secrets and primordial forces. In fact, in medieval grimoires like the Goetia, demons are not seen only as destroyers, but as kings, princes and dukes of a spiritual world with highly structured hierarchies. That doesn't sound like meaningless chaotic beings, but rather entities with history and order.

Are demons truly enemies of man, or are they shadow masters who once shared our same human condition? What do you think? Does this vision make sense to you from esoteric philosophy and occult tradition?

"Demon" is the most overused term in metaphysics. Demons in Hinduism have little to nothing to do with demons in judaism. Same with christian demons. My own gnosis of the "demons" that i used to battle as a christian, is that they were egregores created by our belief in them. Wandering human ghosts attack people for various reasons, and get called demons. There are also "demons" that come into existence through extreme negative emotions, and thereafter seek to possess people experiencing those same emotions, feeding off them and growing stronger. Also, when I started doing deep inner journey's into my own mind, I found there were many self created entities within my mind, who were opposing me. These were mostly related to my beliefs, with the strongest ones being formed when I was young. There is little common awareness of these inner "demons" in the occult, but i find them to be far more significant and persistent than any external demons.

So basically every "demon" has its own backstory. As to them once being human, aside from the wandering dead, Vk's gnosis is that a couple qliphotic demons are ascended human sorcerers. I havent looked into it personally, and that is exactly the type of thing those beings lie about, but it may be possible.