Demon question

You mean an exorcist?

I don't remember it being called anything other than a "magical circle" or a "ritual circle"

If you were calling a demon, it might be a "containment circle."

If you were calling my former mother in law it would be a "Circle of False Hope"

bah dump-bump

MysteryRiter said:

And what is the weird circle thing he/she draws called?

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Do you mean the five pointed star with a circle around it? I don't know that it's used in exorcism, but I've seen it in depictions of magic-users trying to control demons.
I believe `pentagram` is the star, and `pentacle` is the whole enclosed symbol, although I may have got it wrong.

MysteryRiter said:

What is the person who rids demons from possessed people called?

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An exorcist.

And what is the weird circle thing he/she draws called?

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If the exorcist is a Priest, he doesn't draw a circle at all. This might be helpful:

http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/english/p01975b.htm

If your exorcist is some sort of magician instead, he would possibly draw a circle of protection and stand in it himself while he works to prevent the demon attempting to posses him once it is driven out of the current host.

Depending on your magician, this might be a simple pentacle (five pointed star in a circle) or something more elaborate:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/lks08.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/img/fig153-4.jpg

Winchester brothers use salt to confine a demon.

Not sure what the circle is called. Protective circle. Circle of protection. Ward?

yea, I was going to say that you draw a circle of protection with salt around an object. You cast a circle when doing spells or reciting incantations. That is actually a complex process that can be done several ways.


All this info brought to you by current research and the fact I had psycho neighbors that drove me to cleanse our duplex and draw a freaking giant salt circle around it!!!

tedi.s said:

yea, I was going to say that you draw a circle of protection with salt around an object. You cast a circle when doing spells or reciting incantations. That is actually a complex process that can be done several ways.


All this info brought to you by current research and the fact I had psycho neighbors that drove me to cleanse our duplex and draw a freaking giant salt circle around it!!!

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Now look, you can't just drop that neighbor thing on us and not explain! There's a story in that.

A circle of protection, a pentacle, either one would be the correct name. I've often used salt lines, salt circles, and salt in house blessing/purifications

The demon can't cross the line of the circle. So you either draw it around yourself so it can't get in and hurt you, or round where you intend to confine the demon so it can't get out.

Is this the standard Christian paradigm demon? Exorcist has been named. Usually it's a circle. Sometimes it's a circle inside a triangle, called a Goetic Circle. Just plain old circle works fine, especially if you're describing the old-school ring of salt.

The term exorcist is used in the Heptameron and some other grimoires to refer to the magician conjuring demons but to my understanding, Catholic priests and other varieties of Christian clergy performing exorcisms in the usually understood sense (i.e. - casting out demons rather than conjuring them) don't use a magic circle because it is presumed that their faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit protects them.

Classical grimoires usually refer to the circle as the circle although sometimes, the terms magic circle or magical circle can be found.

Diana's post above is correct in that demons are conjured into a triangle of art outside the main circle where the magician stands during the ritual. The triangle of art has a circle in its centre although I think most people coming across the term Goetic circle would think of the circle the magician stands in rather than the much smaller one inside the triangle where the demon manifests.

The term exorcism was imported into Latin from Greek and actually does refer to both the summoning and banishing of spirits and the original Greek refers to binding by oath which in 'Solomonic' ritual magic (i.e. Goetia, Key of Solomon, Heptameron etc) is precisely what the exorcist/magician does.

A word on circles...

A circle by itself isn't going to keep the demon in or out. It's a circle that has been warded a particular way.

you might want to look up the exorcism of anneliese michael. Be warned if you google her: PICTURES ARE DISTRUBING.

There is also a youtube video of her exorcism...or at least a tap recording of the sounds she made. I made the stupid mistake of listening to it around Halloween.

Again, be warned it's REALLLY creepy...I'm going to hide under the sheets now.