Where Did The Devil Come From?
Where did The Devil come from? Why is he depicted with horns and hooves, or by a goat-like creature. Is this what he really looks like? Is he real?
Well, in my personal belief system, evil does exist. It manifests in many ways, and I do believe there are evil entities in the supernatural world. I also believe that The Devil manifests in this evil energy, but where did he come from?
Ancient man was a nature worshipper. He was in awe of the Sun, and the Moon, and the rivers and the weather. These became his "Gods". As nature worshippers, when ancient man had a productive harvest or a successful hunt they celebrated by worshipping and giving praise to the natural world around them. Celebration of past successes evolved into rituals in advance of future endeavors to ensure success, so, after a successful hunt and prior to embarking on a hunt, ancient man would don the pelts and skulls and remains of there last successful hunt.
Ancients placed the head of their game over their own to dance and celebrate around that ancient fire..........they used "sympathetic" magick to achieve their goals. Dancing around with the head of a deer on their shoulders prior to embarking on a hunt made them feel ritually charged with success, one of the earliest forms of magick.
New religions evolved. Religions that worshipped a supreme being rather than the natural world around them. Whenever a new religion evolves, recruiting converts becomes a primary occupation, whether through violence or education, it has happened throughout history.
When a new religion evolves, what happens to the Gods of the old religions?
They become The Devils of the new religion.
For some reason, in human nature, mankind has been unable to co-exist in harmony with those that have a differing belief system, and the easiest way to populate a new religion is to create a fear of the beliefs and symbolisms of an old religion.
Hence, the Judeo-Christian Devil was born from one of the Gods of an ancient pagan religion.
The Devil, to me, is an energy, not a manifested being as depicted herein.
Brigid Bishop
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