Are demons really evil?

This is an opinion question. Please leave you explanation below, for your reasoning.



Me personally, I don't think they all are. I feel like the only reason they're seen as bad is because of the way they are depicted. But like other creatures, even these spirits have a good and bad side.

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I don't think all are. There are some though I've dealt with that have tried to mess up my life and what not, but there are also demons out there who are helpful and some that people even have as guardians.

As far as I know it depends on your mythology that you're taking demons from some mythology it's that their tricksters other that they are evil. But it all depends on what you see them as far as I'm concerned. The reason why some people don't see angels as good.

UPG warning.

In my experience demons do not have any sense of morality, therefore good and evil are moot. Their motives seem to be enigmatic, perhaps boredom, or compulsion. I don't really think, in most instances, there is an objective good and evil. For instance, I might say that killing a killer is good. Someone else may argue that any sort of killing is evil. Can either be proven right or wrong? A demon would most likely prescribe to the thought that it simply is. Good and evil are foreign ideas to them. They have no sense of justice, nor of vengeance. All things simply are. So there's two parts to this question that beg the question. The first, how are we defining good and evil? The second, does our constructed sense of morality apply to them? If we choose to apply it to them, what does it accomplish?

It also depends on what lore you are referring to. There's the demons in Abrahamic religions which originate from Hell. And then for example, there's Greek daemons, which were spirits or deities, some good or evil. That's just an example so it all depends really on what folklore you're basing your question on. I hope this helps any!

I suppose the first question to ask is 'how do you define a demon'? Is it by appearance, by label through the faith they are identified in, or by action and intent.

Some entities can appear frightening and inhuman but be healers and protectors. The six-winged serpentine seraphim come to mind for example.

Some may be labelled as evil and contrary by a particular faith, but recognized as wise and teaching by the next. Like the hoofed Satyr, Pan, and the like. In which case evil becomes merely 'from outside the faith' or 'contrary to/in opposition of the faith'.

And by action, a demon might be any being. Human, non-human, or non-earthly entirely. Fair or foul in appearance, Dragon, satyr, angel (or fallen) and anything between. If it acts to cause harm, usurp will, or otherwise divide a person from their spotitual Self then it might be called malevolent and demonic.

Personally I define this sort of entity by the latter. I feel that the word 'demon' is more of a title or descriptor and not some specific 'race' of being. To call something demonic is to define it as harmful and a source of opposition, oppression, and all-around ill will. Those traits can apply to anyone.

Even then, the line still blurs some because I see even encounters with darker entities as valuable. They act as a trial of one's ideas. They create a challenge to overcome, and by doing so the one overcoming becomes stronger and wiser for it.

They teach through opposition, and they especially reveal when there is a lacking of balance in one's life. Their darkness tends to draw out and reveal an individual's own challenges, and that awareness can on its own create growth.

So I am left with the idea that 'demon' is a man-made title we give to the teachers who come to us through opposition and challenge. And while the task is to fight and overcome their influence and presence, it also falls to us to thank them for the lessons they teach us along the way.

Define "evil".

From a kabbalistic perspective, demons are known as the Qlippoth. They are the forces of the sephiroth of the Tree of Life that are out of balance. They would be the opposite of the divine or angelic beings, which are balance and order. So, for every angel there is a corresponding demon.

But, are they evil? For that matter, are angels good? Honestly, "good" and "evil" are concepts that we apply onto things. It is my understanding that at the level of angels and demons there is no real concept of good and evil. From a magical perspective look at the energies of Mars and the Tower in the Tarot. This is something that many people fear. It is destruction, ruin, the break down of what you have built. But, is that good or evil? Your normal thought probably goes something like "It's bad! I built this. I worked hard at it. I don't want to lose it." But, what if it is something that no longer serves you? What if it is something that is blocking you from advancing further. Then, would removing it be evil?

Now, demons are the energy of destruction. The angelic side builds forms and structure. It creates. But, form without change does not grow. It becomes stagnant. It never improves. It never becomes more. So, that has to be balanced with destruction. Controlled destruction allows for growth, improvement and expansion. So, these two opposites work together to allow for growth and change and improvement, growth into new forms and order and learning, which when are no longer useful are destroyed to make way for new things.

So, why are demons considered "evil"? Well, first, they destroy things. If you worked hard to build something it is often painful to see it destroyed. Second, they are labeled that way to keep people from messing with them prematurely. You see, it is easier to allow chaos from an ordered position than it is to try to force order and structure from a position of chaos. So, occult students are taught to work with light and structure before working with dark and chaos. We exist as an interplay of order and chaos. Our bodies build cells that work and live, which in turn wear out and die only to be replaced by new cells. This process, this interaction of angelic and demonic forces, exists on everything on our level of existence. This is why in for example the Arbatel of Magic or the Key of Solomon you are taught to work with the angelic beings of Light before the demonic beings of Dark.

The next logical question is "If angels and demons are polar opposites, does that mean the Devil is the opposite of God, and therefore equally as powerful?" From the kabbalistic perspective, the answer is no. The Devil, as commonly portrayed, is not a thing. It is only when God becomes personified as "good" do you need something to balance it. God is everything in existence. Angelic and demonic, light and dark. Just like we can have both a light and a dark side, so does the divine. It is the power to create and destroy, to grow and change. It just is.

All of this being said, from this viewpoint it is not correct to call demons "evil". That being said, I was trained in working with them, and that training began with working with the angelic side first. I highly suggest this to anyone looking to work with demons. Build your structure first. Grow and connect to your higher energies, and then work with the destructive side in a controlled way. Jumping into the chaos first is not productive.

As always, just my opinion.

As I understand it we call them demons because the writers of the New Testament were writing using the Greek language. The term used for harmful unseen beings was generally "Unclean spirit" and "shedim". The name daemon (greek for a divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans) was then sometimes used as a placeholder for these ideas. This is similar to the use of Hades (the Greek abode of the dead) used as a word in the Bible for the waiting place for final judgement. To the best of my knowledge these beings are fallen angels: Matthew 25:41 ..."fire prepared for the devil and his angels." They are extremely intelligent, they are very ancient, and lethal. Please do an internet search on Demons in the New Testament and you'll see they are really very unpleasant.

Really depends on other's perspective of demons and the conceptof evil. The definition of the word demon refers to an inside and outside force. As said above, in mythology and different belief systems they vary on views. In Sumerian/Babylonian, they go into different class: 1. Are seenas guardians 2. seen as gods 3. seen as causes of sickness or an illness the body-mindor soul.

For example, most people see Belial "The Wicked One" an evil demon but other's would see him as a good teacher even though he would project the daemon or shadow self of the self some wouldn't consider it to be too much or the other part would see it as a lesson and a good change.

In my experience with demons from the Goetia if you start out thinking they will hurt you thenyou'll get just that in return. It is said those spirits are either a projection of the subconsciousmind and a real outer force or just both.

I think there are different demons. See for example Eastern philosophy.
Rauravas - hells demons. Asuras - brothers of the gods. - Bali, Prahlada, Maya, Usha fo example, see Hindu mythology. They have the same father but different mothers. Rakshasas - a night demons. See for example Brag srin mo. In mythology of Tibet a wife of a first man and mother of mankind... And many others. Some demons are evil, some indifferent, some can be good.