What Are Demons, Deities, etc?

[MoonFlower]

First I want to apologize if someone already made this topic and I missed it while searching, but I’ve been really struggling with this so I wanted to hear other people’s views on it.

I’ve really been struggling to form in my head what are these known spirits like demons, gods, angels, etc. For example: I don’t believe the Biblical story and yet I will work with Azazel which his existence came out of the Biblical myth area. So then what am I interacting with?

Right now I’m kind of leaning toward that spirits exist and they take on the masks of the being we are calling either because it’s a mask they relate to/embody, it allows them to work in the world in a specific way, and/or it allows humans to interact with them in a way their minds can comprehend better.

In Azazel’s case, Azazel the spirit exists. I kind of think there will be one main spirit for this mask that is the spirit many practitioners are interacting with. He embodies the essence, power, and myth of Azazel and uses that when interacting with us and world.

[Mulberry]

There’s a discussion on spiritual philosophy here where I gave my opinion on what entties are. @HailTheOldGods has a completely different model above it.

Philosophy/Cosmology

For me I tend to follow a philosophy that’s basically taoist (with a small “t”, the philosophy not any of the religions - I’m not religious) mixed in with animistic shamanism and the current models used in modern physics. The taoist way of describing basic cosmology: The Tao that cannot be named created the tao that we can talk about. “The Tao produced the One tao; One produced Two (yin and yang); Two produced the Five (elements), The Five produced the Ten Thousand things (everything else).” …

Long and short, these are models, and “all models are wrong, but some are useful”. It’s up to you to decide what model works for you.

[MoonFlower]

Ok, thank you so much! I guess I wasn’t using the right terminology when I was searching . @Mulberry

[HailTheOldGods]

The idea is to find a model that resonates with you.
Cosmology can be confusing. Any small research will tell you that angels as beings predate religion. So where did they come from?
Questions like this are difficult, mostly because once again all the models are wrong.
It’s the duty of sorcerers to find a model that resonates with us and wield it.
Do plenty of research and meditation.

[Auberon]

@MoonFlower

For example: I don’t believe the Biblical story and yet I will work with Azazel which his existence came out of the Biblical myth area. So then what am I interacting with?

There are so many theories about it.

Maybe spirits were created by people? Maybe they existed but they evolved by exchanging with humans? Maybe they revealed themselves? Maybe the are archetypes?

Maybe all that.

My theory is they are different entities that share a shame name, lore… But they aren’t the same either.

I don’t think the demons of Goetia that are named Astaroth, Mammon or Moloch are the same that the Bible presents.

In the Bible, Astaroth is used to talk about previous goddesses, Mammon is the hebrew word for money and Moloch has a complete history fake backstory with NO EVIDENCES.

When you check the Goatia, you notice those entities have little to a lot of difference from the Bible versions.