Three Books of Occult Philosophy · 152 of 186

Book III, Ch. 18: Of the orders of evil spirits, and of their fall, and divers natures

There are some of the School of the Theologians, who distribute the evill spirits into nine degrees, as contrary to the nine orders of the Angels; Therefone the first of these are those which are called false gods, who usurping the name of God, would be worshipped for gods, and require sacrifices and adorations, as that Devil, who saith to Christ, if thou wilt fal [fall] down and worship me, I will give thee all these things, shewing him all the kingdoms of the world; and the Prince of these is he who said, I will ascend ahove the height of the clouds, and will he like to the most High; who is therefore called Beelzebub, that is, an old god. In the second place follow the spirits of lies, of which sort was he who went forth, and was a lying spirit in the mouth of the Prophets of Achab; and the Prince of these is the Serpent Pytho; from whence Apollo is called Pythius, and that woman a witch in Samuel, and the other in the Gospel, who had Pytho m their belly. Therefore this kind of Devils joyneth himself to the Oracles, and deludeth men by divinations, and predictions, so that he may deceive. In the third order are the vessels of iniquity, which are also called the vessels of wrath, these are the inventors of evil things and of all wicked arts, as in Plato, that devill Theutus who taught Cards and Dice; for all wickedness, malice and deformity proceedeth from these; of the which in Genesis, in the Benedictions of Simeon and Levi, Jacob saith, vessels of iniquity are in their habitations; into their counsel let not my soul come; whom the Psalmist calleth vessels of death, Esay vessels of fury, and Jeremy vessels of wrath, Ezekiel vessels of destroying and slaying, and their prince is Belial, which is interpreted without a yoak [yoke] or disobedient, a prevaricator and an Apostate, of whom Paul to the Corinthians saith, what agreement hath Christ with Beliall? Fourthly follow the revengers of evil, and their Prince is Asmodeus, viz. causing judgement; After these in the fifth place come the deluders, who Imitate miracles, and serve wicked conjurers and witches, and seduce the people by their miracles, as the serpent seduced Eve, and their Prince is Satan, of whom is written in the Revelations, that he seduced the whole world, doing great signs, and causing fire to descend from heaven in the sight of men, seducing the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the signs, which are given him to do. Sixthly the Aeriall powers offer themselves; they joyn [join] themselves to thundering and lightnings, corrupting the aire, causing pestilences and other evils; in the number of which, are the four Angels, of whom the Revelation speaketh, to whom it is given to hurt the Earth and Sea, holding the four windes, from the four corners of the earth; and their prince is called Meririm; he is the Meridian Devill, a boyling [boiling] spirit, a devill raging in the South, whom Paul to the Ephesians calleth the Prince of the power of this air, and the spirit which worketh in the children of disobedience. The seventh mansion the furies possess, which are powers of evil, discords, war and devastations, whose Prince in the Revelations is called in Greek Apollyon, in Hebrew Abaddon, that is destroying and wasting. In the eighth place are the accusers, or the inquisitors, whose Prince is Astarath [Astaroth], that is, a searcher out: in the Greek language he is called Diabolos, that is an accuser, or calumniator, which in the Revelations is called the accuser, of the brethren, accusing them night & day before the face of our God. Moreover the Tempters and Ensnarers have the last place, one of which is present with every man, which we therefore call the evill Genius, and their Prince is Mammon, which is interpreted covetousness: But all unanimously maintain that evil spirits do wander up & down in this inferiour world, enraged against all, whom they therefore call Devils, of whom Austin [Augustine] in his first hook of the incarnation of the word to Januarius, saith: Concerning the devils and his Angels contrary to Vertues, the Ecclesiasticall preaching hath taught, that there are such things; but what they are and how they are, he hath not clear enough expounded: yet there is this opinion amongst most, that this Devill was an Angel, and being made an Apostate, perswaded very many of the Angels to decline with himself, who even unto this day are called his Angels: Greece notwithstanding thinketh not that all these are damned, nor that they are all purposefully evil, but that from the Creation of the world, the dispensation of things is ordained by this means, that the tormenting of sinful souls is made over to them: The other Theologians say that not any Devill was created evill, but that they were driven and cast forth of Heaven, from the orders of good Angels for their pride, whose fall not only our and the Hebrew Theologians, but also the Assyrians, Arabians, Egyptians and Greeks do confirm by their tenents [tenets]; Pherecydes he Syrian describeth the fall of the Devils and that Ophis, that is, the Devilish serpent, was the head of that rebelling Army; Trismegistus sings the same fall in his Pimander, and Homer under the name of Ararus, in his verses; and Plutarch in his speech of usury, signifieth, that Empedocles knew that the fall of the devils was after this manner: the devils also themselves often confess their fall: they therefore being cast forth into this valley of misery, some that are nigh to us wander up and down in this obscure air, others inhabit lakes, rivers and seas, others the earth, and terrifie [terrify] earthly things, and invade those who dig Wells and Metals, cause the gapings of the earth, strike together the foundation of mountains, and vex not only men, but also other creatures; some being content with laughter and delusion only, do contrive rather to weary men, then to hurt them, some heightning themselves to the length of a Giants body, and again shrinking themselves up to the smallness of the Pigmies, and changing themselves into divers forms, do disturb men with vain fear: others study lies and blasphemies, as we read of one in the third book of Kings, saying, I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the Prophets of Achab: but the worst sort of devils are those, who lay wait and overthrow passengers in their journeys, and rejoyce in wars and effusion of blood, and afflict men with most cruell stripes: we read of such in Matthew, for fear of whom no man durst pass that way; moreover the scripture reckoneth up nocturnall, diurnall, and meridionall devils, and describeth other spirits of wickedness by divers names, as we read in Esay of Satyrs, Scrichowls [screech owls], Syrenes, storks, Owls; and in the Psalms of Aspes, Basiliskes, Lions, Dragons; and in the Gospel we read of Scorpions and Mammon and the prince of this world and rulers of darkness, of all which Beelzebub is the prince, whom Scripture calleth the prince of wickedness. Porphyrie [Porphyry] saith, their prince is Serapis, who is also called Pluto by the Greeks, and also Cerberus is chief amongst them, that three-headed dog: viz. Because he is conversant in three elements, air, water, and earth, a most pernicious devill; whence also Proserpina, who can do very much in these three elements, is their Princess, which she testifies of her self in her answers, in these verses.

Of threefold nature I Lucina fair, The daughter am, sent from above the air; The golden Phoebe am, and with heads trine, Whom many forms do change, and the trine sign Which I bear with forms of earth, fire, and air, I for black mastives [mastiffs] of the earth do care. Origen’s opinion concerning the devils, is: The spirits who act of their own free will, left the service of God with their Prince the devil; if they began to repent a little, are clothed with humane flesh; That further by this repentance, after the resurrection, by the same means by the which they came into the flesh, they might at the last return to the vision of God, being then also freed from etheriall and aeriall bodies, and then all knees are to be bowed to God, of Celestiall, Terrestrial, and Infernal things, that God may be all in all: Moreover Saint Ireneus approveth the opinion of Justine Martyr, who hath said, Satan never durst speak blasphemy against God, before that the Lord came on the earth, because that he knew not as yet his condemnation; but there are many of the devils who are fallen, who hope for their salvation: Very many think by the History of Paul the Hermite written by Jerome, & reverenced by the Church with Canonical hours, also by the Legend of Brandan, they are so taught; and even by this Argument they maintain that their prayers are heard; that we read in the Gospels, that Christ heard the prayers of the devils, and granted that they should enter into the Herd of Swine; to these also agreeth the 71. Psalm, according to our supputation, but according to the supputation of the Hebrews the 72, where we read, the Ethiopians shall fall before him, and his enemies lick the dust; there it is read according to the Hebrew text, they that inhabit the desert, shall bend their knees before him, that is, the aiery spirits shall adore him, as the Cabalists affirm, and his enemies shall lick the dust, which they understand of Zazell, and his Army: of which we read in Genesis, Dust shalt thou eat all the dayes of thy life, and elsewhere the Prophet saith, because the dust of the earth is his bread; hence the Cabalists think, that even some devils shall be saved, which opinion also it is manifest that Origen was of.