Where do demonic entities or dark entities come from?

Dark entities, often referred to as demons or dark spirits, are believed to originate from various sources depending on cultural, religious, and philosophical perspectives. Their origins are deeply rooted in ancient beliefs and have evolved over millennia across different civilizations.

Origins of Dark Entities

The concept of dark entities, or demons, has a rich and varied history, with different traditions offering distinct explanations for their genesis.

Ancient Beliefs and Folklore

Historically, the belief in demons likely dates back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange, and the horrific. In ancient Near Eastern religions and Abrahamic traditions, demons are often considered harmful spiritual entities capable of causing demonic possession. Anthropologically, demons are seen as a result of human fear of the unknown, with forces of nature or foreign entities being portrayed as hostile or dangerous. Unknown causes of death or illness were anthropomorphized into rational agents with evil intentions, giving rise to the notion of demons.

Zoroastrianism

A significant influence on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic demonology comes from Zoroastrianism. In this ancient Persian religion, the founder Zoroaster elevated Ahura Mazda to the supreme God, relegating the daevas (originally deities) to demons. Zoroastrianism emphasizes free will, teaching that demons became evil by their own volition by rejecting truth. Later, Mazdaism posited Ahriman, the principle of Evil, as the creator and leader of these demons. The battle between divine hosts and evil demons (dīv and druz) is described in texts.

Mesopotamian Demonology

Mesopotamian demonology heavily influenced later Hebrew and Christian concepts. In this tradition, demons were generally hostile spirits of lesser power than deities. According to the Babylonian creation epic Enūma Eliš, both gods and demons are children of Tiamat, the goddess of primordial chaos. Demons were engendered by Tiamat as an act of revenge after the gods slew her partner Abzu. Some demons were believed to be the evil spirits of those who died in misery, while others were nature demons causing harm through plagues, nightmares, headaches, and storms.

Judaism

In Judaism, opinions on the existence of demons (shedim or se'irim) vary. The Hebrew Bible mentions se'irim (goat-like entities) and shedim (foreign gods themselves, considered evil because they are not affiliated with the Jewish deity). These entities appear in contexts of animal or child sacrifice to false gods. In Second Temple Judaism, demonic influence was often attributed to the Watchers or Nephilim, mentioned in Genesis 6 and elaborated upon in 1 Enoch and Jubilees. The Book of Enoch suggests that sin originated when angels descended and fornicated with women, birthing giants, and that demons originate from the evil spirits of these deceased giants, cursed to wander the Earth.

Christianity

Christianity conceptualizes demons primarily as fallen angels. This belief posits that demons were originally good angels who rebelled against God alongside Lucifer and were subsequently cast out of heaven. This narrative is a result of interpretations of various biblical passages in the second and third centuries, rather than being explicitly stated in the New Testament or early Judaism. Augustine of Hippo solidified this position for Western demonology and the Catholic Church. Early Christians, like Irenaeus and Justin Martyr, also linked demons to the ghosts of the Nephilim from Intertestamental writings.

Islam

In Islamic beliefs, dark entities are broadly categorized into two types: Jinn and devils (šayāṭīn). Jinn originate from pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs and are morally ambivalent, created from fire and air. They are not inherently evil but can be good or bad. The šayāṭīn, on the other hand, are malevolent forces akin to the devils in Judeo-Christian traditions, actively obstructing God's will. They are created from fire and are considered distinct from jinn in their inherent malevolence and lack of human-like attributes such as mortality.

Psychological Interpretations

Some psychological perspectives offer alternative explanations for the origin of beliefs in dark entities. Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt suggested that harmful demons predominate in myths, implying that bad demons are older than good ones. Sigmund Freud proposed that the concept of demons derived from the living's relationship with the dead, noting that demons are often regarded as spirits of the recently deceased, influenced by mourning. Modern psychology also attributes experiences of "shadow people" or shadowy figures to physiological and psychological conditions such as sleep paralysis, methamphetamine-induced hallucinations, and visual hallucinations associated with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Spiritual and Metaphysical Views

From a spiritual perspective, dark spirits are described as beings or energies disconnected from a divine source or "love." They are seen as souls lost in suffering, repeating cycles of pain rather than evolving towards light. These spirits are not inherently dark by design but become so through entanglement in their wounds and suffering, reflecting that suffering onto others. Demonic spirits, in this view, represent the deepest level of disconnection and intentional malevolence, existing at the extreme end of the vibrational spectrum.

In summary, the origins of dark entities are multifaceted, ranging from ancient fears and anthropomorphized natural phenomena to theological explanations of fallen angels, rebellious spirits, and souls lost in suffering.