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Sorts of Demons
Were-Creatures	The Changeling Child	Demons of Lust	Shape-Shifter
Were-Creatures At first I want to make clear that the term „Were-creatures“ does include more phenomenons than the werewolf. The werewolf is only one representative of this sort of demons and his mythological roots can be followed back to the European mythology. Different types of Were-creatures (the technical term calls them Lycanthrops) can be found in nearly all cultures. It is known about weretigers in India, wereleopards in Afrika and werebears in Asia and the Russian country. They all do present the personification of the inner desires; Their origin goes back to the early human culture when it was common tradition to clothe the hunters in coats and fleeces of different animals in order to give them courage and strength. In the Western culture the believe in the werewolf is probably the most popular myth. The creation of these demons can have a great variety of reasons in connection to the numerous different cultures. According to the Christian mythology a werewolf is created out of a human who is in league with the devil or has been cursed. The transformation of a human into a were-creature is known to take place mostly during a full moon night. The victim is often forced by strange powers to change it´s appearence but if the were-creature is stronger the transformation can also happen out of voluntary will. In posess of brutal strength and wildness were-creatures hunt animals but also humans in order to kill them and nourish themselves with the flesh of the victims. Only if were-creatures are hit by a silver bullet produced in a special, ritual process they can be killed and in the moment of death their bodies are transformed back to human. Otherwise they are invulnerable and immortal. Let us turn to some of these demons and analyze them and their origin: An example might be the Virolac, a were-creature whose roots lead us to the Romanian folk legends. A Virolac eats the stars and is able to cause an eclipse of the sun or the moon. He can be created out of an unbaptized child or by sweeping dust in direction of the setting sun. The Virolac appears in the shape of a human having scaly skin but also as a big dog or dragon. One part of the Slavian mythologie deals with the Oborots. These were-creatures can easily transform themselves into numerous animals and within destroy everything that tries to cross their plans. Often the Orobots used the shape of werewolfs but also bears and foxes. Another representative of the were-creature is the Marticora – an evil monster described in the mythologie of the Near East. The Marticora is a wer-creature but is able to adopt the human face of a man. In his original form he appears as a beast similar to the size and shape of a tiger. During the night he hunts people in the forest and eats them. The Sima Gadhungan, also a part of the Asian mythology – in this case of Indonesia is a demon and moreover a ghost of revenge. He uses the shape of a tiger to persecute and kill the people who have once committed a crime to him when he has still been in his human shape. The serie of were-creatures in the different mythologies can still be continued. Interested readers might be refered to the encyclopedia of demons if they want to follow the subject more in details. The animal human is in it´s fundamental character part of everyone of us. The border between an educated, adapted behavior and the bowing to our inner original desires, sleeping beyond the surface of our more or less weak conscience, is not always a strong one. The overcoming of this border can have positive consequences, for example in a free experience of sexuality without any hypocritical taboos or religious limitations. Contrasting to that the animal desires can also cause deep pain, sorrow and misery, as it happens in the case of sexual offenders or murderers who let their animal instincts rule above all moral and social conscience. In every case we can be asured – the animal demon slumbers in all of us and we should carefull watch his awakeness. Only if are able to control him he might turn out to be a pleasant companion who helps us to enjoy the excesses of life in all their essence and always under the highest principle – to respect the will of other human beeings. The Changeling Child Everyone of us knows the cuckoo who hides his eggs in other nests by destroying the original ones. The cuckoo acts like this out of his natural instinct and probably his laziness not to take care for the noisy brood himself. The mythos of the changeling child functions in nearly the same manner replacing the bird by a demon whose behavior is surely not inspired by only laziness. The mythos is spread over various countries and it´s main aspect is that special demons secretly give their offspring to parents of human origin and take the human baby in exchange. In some myths the human baby is educated by it´s demonic parents and returns later to the human society in order to corrupt peoples´character. Some demons are also said to torture the children and some finally eat them. The demonic baby soon becomes a nuisance to his parents because it develops an insatiable appetite and furthermore is in posess of superhuman powers which force the parents to serve the child and fulfill all it´s wishes. According to their appearence changeling childs can be identified either by the unordinary size of their head and extremities or by typical demonic features like horns and hoofs. Once being “blessed” with such a kid the parents can hardly get rid of the child nor escape from it. More often they finally die in supression. Interestingly enough a special, uniform mythos was created throughout different countries although the regions developped completely independantly from one another. Opressed parents should cook water in an eggshell while standing in front of the child´s babybed. The little demon, fascinated by the process, betrays his parents his real age. Because of that he is forced to leave the human family and has to return to the demonic world. In order to protect from a compulsery adoption in connection to childrens´robbery a great variety of methods has developped depending on the different cultures. A common tradition is to draw a circle of protection around the cradle. More absurd methods recommand parents to leave the afterbirth lying under the bed or to put a key into the cradle. Three burning candles or a scarecrow standing in the children´s room should also prevent demons from exchanging the offspring. Before we turn to the demons who have achieved a master´s degree in the field of children´s robbery we should refer to the real events and reasons that could have led to these myths of changeling childs. One of the central aspects in the developpment of such myths is surely the problem of deformed new-born babies. Especially in the early times of human culture parents had difficulties to explain the illness of their children to relatives and friends. In making unknown, demonic powers responsable they could possibly escape from being condemned or even disowed from society. Furthermore political intriges could partly lead to a „disappearing“ of unwelcome successors to the throne and not seldom the ostensible exchanged children were killed. Another important aspect, which reaches a certain topicality also in our times, is the fact that some fathers were not pleased at all when they were confrontated with a illegitimate child by their secret lovers. Refering to the wellknown myths the child was said to be demonic and brought by the devil. During the middle age this could lead to an accusation of the unfortunate mother. Often she was said to be a witch and then burnt. Who were these demons exchanging their children with ours? One legends deals with the Schab – a demon out of the Austrian superstition. He is said to roam the streets at the edge of villages waiting until the end of a birth and then trying to exchange his child with the new-born human baby. The Schab sometimes brings treasures to compensate the unlucky parents for the naughty robbery. The Slesian folk believe tells us about the Fenixmännlein, that was skilled to exchange the babies even under the eyes of the parents in the same room. The Rüttelweiber, also called female demons of storm in the german folk legends, as well exchanged the babies in a very clever way. They used to distract the parents´ attention by causing heavy rain and thunder. Even cheekier acted the Enerbanske on the island helgoland. They parked themselves on the members of the family. So they had the possibility to observe the growing up of their brood. However they also regarded themselves as servants of the house in cleaning the rooms or in mending. A more dangerous representative of this sort of demons is the Kodakan. This deaf and dumb demon who is described in the old legends of the Hindukush population waylays children in front of the house, robbs and eats them. His own brood is in return left to the family. A Kodakan cannot be banished. His deafness protects him from being enchanted by any magic. Not less dangerous is the Slawian Poludniza. The figure who is clothed completly white appears around midday and everyone that only risks one look at her instantly turns to madness. She also exchanges children and tears of their head. Demons of Lust In all mythologies and religions sexuality plays a leading role. The Christian/Jewish/Islamic religions consider demons to be the personification of forbidden cravings. Sexual desire itself is regarded as an inspiration of Satan and his fellows just to prevent the human from enjoying his sexuality and being devoted to his natural desires. Everything that goes beyond sexual intercourse under the blanket and light turned off is a taboo and furthermore said to be caused by demonic influences. After that the question appears if being a demon might also be an advantage because only their longing for sexuality is considered to be natural. The desaster of frigid fanatism concerning chastity has it´s roots in the bible in the legend of Adam´s first wife Lilith. Her sexual wishes lead to her banishment from paradise. The read thread of sexuality influenced by demons extracts from vampires who represent forbidden desires to the werewolf who can not control his animal lust until the classical demons Succubi or Incubi who seduce the human race until death caused by sexual exhaustion. Furthermore they try to father a demonic offspring in order to ensure the further existence of their race. In a figurative sense this refusal against human lust and desire leads to an aversion against any “uncommon” sort of sex. SM, fetishism and homosexuality were attacked fiercly and considered to be abnormal and mentally ill. It has to be clear that the sexuality of every human being is his own holy matter. This is not to understand in a religous sense but in the sense of experiencing the own wishes and desires in order to be able to identify our minds and wishes. Let us consider the demons of lust more in detail... The Incubi (lat. The lying upon) and the Succubi (lat. The lying under) are demons that pick out human beings to experience different sorts of sexual lust with them. Their aim is to bring the forbidden desires to bright daylight in order to enjoy them in all their essence. According to diverse mythologies, people who are caught by such a demon are obsessed with the fulfillement of their sexual cravings. This is the reason why they sooner or later become completly exhausted. The permanent sexual orgy charges a high price. In the end they often die, broken down and in loss of all physical fluids. Besides the demons father an offspring on the cost of the human servants and breed their race. Behind all these legends concerning demons of lust stood the fear of religious advocates. Their anxiety was that people, celebrating one orgy after another and being obsessed only with their sexual excesses, would neither work nor serve the church in an appropriate way. In finding and experiencing the sexual pleasures on earth they probably would have even lost their longing for paradise in another dimension. Of course that was impossible to support from the church´s point of view and so they took their chance in demonizing the sexual desire. Further demons whose desire is of sexual nature are the Zmeu. These are demons out of the Rumanian popular belief. They are said to appear in the shape of little flames. During the night the Zmeu try to force their way into the rooms of young ladies and molest them. Men (for example in Japan) are descended on by the Koki-Teno. These demons are were-foxes appearing in a human shape. They present themselves to men of every age in order to seduce them to experience sex games and corrupt men´s character and soul completly. Also the Aztecan Tzitzimime waylay men during the night, especially at crossroads, to persuade them to sexual offense. The Tzitzimime can be created out of the souls of women who have died during a birth. Furthermore the Tzitzimine have the unpleasant quality to infect children with epilepsy. Especially mean are the Mandurugo who are described in the Phillipian mythology. These female demons, shaped like ordinary women, seduce men with their sexual refinement until they reach their aim to get married to their victims. After the marriage the Mandurugo show their real character. They turn into vampires who suck out the blood of their newly husbands. The popular belief of the Indians living in the Andes tells us about the Condenados. They appear in the shape of women as well as in the one of men with the intention to seduce the particular other gender and suck out their blood. Condenados are created out of the souls of criminals to whom the entrance to gods´paradise is forbidden. Shape-Shifter "Shifting" is a strange sounding word, popular in all mythologies of our world and easily found by interested people in research for these topics. Shifting, what does that mean ? Shifting, is the short-form to " Shapeshifting ". In general it is called only „Shifting“ because this term includes more than only the „shifting of the shape“. Shifters are, easily said, human beings that are able to shift/to change their appearence, mostly into the shape of an animal. Numerous phenotypes are possible like wolfs, foxes, bears, tigers, panthers, birds, also delphins and other animals but always in their Archaic form. Typical representatives of the „shifting“ – phenomenon: Therianthropen... are shifters who can transform their phenotype : were : - wolves - foxes - tigers - bears Lykanthropen... are a further category of the theriantrops , they are shape shifters who can only turn into werwolves. Contheriantropen... do not really switch between the human shape and the shape of animals. The animal and the human personality are closely connected to each other in the sense that there is no rivalry between them. A popular example might be the phenomenon of Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde. If the animal or the human features form the personalitiy´s character can variate from human to human. Mostly human and animal qualities exist side by side in a constant balance Polymorphe... do include more than one phenotype mixed in one individual. That means they carry several, two three or even more features of different animals in their personality. The consequence of that is that they are unpredictable and shift without any control of decision from one to the other animal character. Werewolves are another expression for the old-german term „man-wolf“. They are considered to be the most popular form of shape-shifters. According to the popular belief the „man-wolves“ wear a so called „wolf-belt“ which is bound with a silver buckle or a robe made out of a wolf´s coat, a so called wolf´s robe. Werewolves are said to be obsessed by an ecstasian savatage, attacking other humans, disgracing and mutilating them in the most cruelest manner. Victims that are not torned into pieces are eternaly condamned to live with the curse that turned them into werwolves. The only thing they can do is to wait for death and within release. Only the epoch of Romanticism considers the werewolf´s life as desirable. The way of infection and it´s effect are similar to the symptomes of rabies. The term „obsession“ appears ever and ever again; mostly in it´s origin form and manner but also as a symbol for the sin, for the evil son, the thief, for the one who disgraces moral denomination, for the destroyer, for the scapegoat of contemporary culture and for the devil. The word lycanthropy has it´s origin in the Greek language and can be translated with the expression „animal shifting“. In the popular belief Lycanthrops were said to be able to transform their human body into animal shapes and the other way round. This is told to be nearly unrecognizable for the environment. Because of the extremly overexaggerated methods of the clesiastical doctrine of proselytisations the Roman Catholic institution felt finally obliged to carry out so called „experiments to recognize a werewolf“. The accused, mostly in loss of all his civil rights, was usually forced to confess his crime, independantly from the fact that he was in most cases unguilty. The werewolf-experiments required that the skin of the accused was cut open so that the doctors could see the rightless animal beyond. It has to be said that the doctors were as well standing under an enorm pressure because of the Catholic church. They also were not protected from the arbitrary laws of the church. From the psychological point of view lycanthropy is regarded to be a sort of psychical illness as well as the wish to castration, obsessive masturbation, narcism, exaggerated eroticism, psychological infaltism, nymphomania, hermaphrodicism, hypertrophy, homosexuality, also in the sense of travesty, sadism, cruelty to animals, desire to have sex with children, desire to commit sexual abuses, flaggelantism, symbolic masochism expressed in forms like succubism, sex with older people, priapism, general neurosis, cruelty to the own personality, leading of double life, desire to have sex with animals , longing for being tortured, the relationship between pimp and his tart, desire to serve, puerile masochism, Zooomic masochism, unpersonal masochism, loss of liberty, self-degradation, masochism in context religion, Graphomasochism, physical masochism, optical and acoustic masochism, picacism, self-denouncement, desire to hang oneself, self-mutilation of all sorts – today a taboo in society but often found in daily life and known as „scratching“, sexual murder, desire for death, negrophil desire to kill, desecration of corpses,hypochondry, epilepsy and all forms of neurospecific illnesses (also vampirism). Furthermore the desire to mix poisons, special sorts of fetishism experienced in a pleasant or unpleasant way but always under compulsion; not to forget scopopholy and marked exhibitionism. The epidemic makes the victim believe it could transform itself into an animal (wolf). The obsessed does not really change it´s appearence but adapts to the typical wolf´s character. In contrast to the theriantroph as well as to the lycantroph, he even believes to see a wolf when he looks into the mirror. He uses the same animal noises and sounds of lust as his „ostensible“ inner, wolfish personality. A safe distance is necessary because the „werewolf“ might also growl and bite. After all this phenomenon has less to do with real theriantrophy. Usually, shifters can behave themselves in the manner described here, but they do not loose their conscience in acting and take care that no one in their environment is hurt by their shape-shifting. In contrast the lycantroph works himself up into the character of the animal so that he forgets all his human characteristics. A small example for the the different sorts of shifting is the „Berserker“. In the Northern German mythology he is described as a warrior clothed in the coat of a bear who is able to bring himself into a state of ecstasy in order to fight with superhuman forces against unknown, dark powers until complete exhaustion. We can assume that berserkers are part of special men´s associations. The members of these communities were known to believe in animal shape-shifting by wearing masks of different animals. order.: "Beri" (bear) and " Sekr" (robe) It is very old common popular belief that the transformation into an animal is possible by wearing an animal skin or a „wolf-belt“ bound with a golden glasp, whose manufacturing process is not clearly known. The physical changement can be described as similar to a sort of wild force – bears, tigers, wolves – and has it´s origin not only in the German mythology. The whole European and even Asian culture takes part in these legends. As the werewolf is the most popular creature in our European region the were-tiger represents this sort of demons in Asia. In connection to the shifting phenomenon different deseases and illnesses have appeared: Shifters Desease Also called „the illness of pupils studying medecin“. Good examples might be young medecins who study a kind of illness so hard that they finally begin to feel symptoms of the illness. (imaginated illness). Doubter Syndrom In this case the shifting process seems to work „the other way round“. The shifter doubts his own identity although all signs show in the right direction; but they are mostly ignored. Shifters Pain Suffering from this illness the shifter does not only doubt his identity but even begins to feel pain and misery in trying to overcome the shifting phenomenon. The inner animal personality is considered to be evil, so the shifter tries to repress his further animal character or fights against it. If the battle against the animal character is unsuccessfull the illness can lead to a very dangerous disorder concerning the shifter´s behavior. It is said that this sort of shifters are extremly short-lived and often in danger of suicide because they are not able to survive in human society. Let us come to the different sorts of shifting. I want to begin with the four main phenomenons: Physical Shift The physical shift, also called „shape-shifting“ is the most rare sort of shifting because a complete changement of appearence seems to be impossible from the biological point of view. A physical shift often includes only the appearing of some animal features. This maybe be the changement of eye-colour or an increased growth of claws or hairs. Furthermore other possibilities of transformation can be noticed, for example in the field of personality, habits, instincts, behavior and perception. These changes in character adapt to the animal to whomthe shifter feels connected. All the other sorts of shifting are of either mental or supernatural origin in the sense that they happen without any change of appearence. Mental Shift Mental shift is a very complex sort if shifting. The shifter´s personality already includes characteristics, instincts or sences of the animal. In connection to that mental shift says that the animal character becomes more and more stronger while the human character looses it´s strength. This may also influence human intelligence, as the mind becomes weaker or is even repressed. The shifter is conquered by the were-creature, but mostly only during a short period of time. Then he experiences a higher ability of perception and instincts. Other chacteristic features of behavior may also become more obvious. The mental shift is often considered as mental illness or obsession by the society. Dream Shift - and Lucid Dream Shift The process of shifting happens during dreams and the animal character is present only then. This sort of shifting is the most established in society and is neither denied nor declared as an illness. In dreams, the variety of possibilities is only limited by the shifter´s individual phantasy. So, even supernatural things might happen; no sort if shifting, also the physical one, is impossible. A „Lucid Dream" is a clear and real experienced dream. The dreamer knows that he is only dreaming but he is also able to influence actively his actions. One could say that this conscious dream shift is very close to the physical shift. Because of that the shifter´s experiences are more vivid and intensive. Astral Shift To understand the Astral shift it is necessary to be informed about the topic „astral bodies“. In a state of trance, achieved by meditation or other opportunities in central concentration, the astral body leaves it´s physical wrapping. During this process the astral body turns into the body of an animal. Is it also reported that astral bodies might search themselves new bodies. At the end of this report I would like to explain the other sorts of shifting Attributes Shift This sort of shift is a mixture out of other types which appear in different strength and direction. The attributes of every animal can be achieved, so the attributes shift does not only include the were-creatures. Cameo Shift This shift, mental or spiritual, causes a transformation into another animal than the inner animal to whom the shifter is connected. Cameo shift is the most rare sort of shift and nearly never repeats in the exactly same way. According to different reports of shifters they have experienced several shifts of this sort but never have they turned into the same phenotype again. Aural Shift In this form the shifting process only includes a transformation of the aura. The shifter partly adapts to animal characteristics and behavior, similar to a weak shift. According to existing sources and written documents belonging to the popular belief, this sort of shift is carried out in dangerous situations in order to protect and defend the human personality. Personality Shift The profile of the personality changes, but the transformation does not involve the human spirit. The actions are influenced only a little bit by the inner animal. Phantom Shift The shifter is convinced to have physical and typical attributes of the inner animal. This may include a damp nose, painful changement of the jaw, lengthened ears or similar symptoms. This behavior is called phantom shift, because the sufferer complains about symptoms that can only be caused by physical shift. Because of that the very popular but nevertheless mistaken belief exists that phantom shift is a preliminary stage to physical shift. This is untrue. Sence Shift The sences become more animal and intensive. Sence shift often appears in connection with other shifts. Spirit Shift This sort of shift should not be mixed up with the mental shift. Spirit shifters usually have a guard or an advieser in the form of an animal. The transformation takes place when the adviser changes his appearence or if the adviser either adopts the human personality or leaves the human shape. Spirit shifter mostly see their guarding animal during dreams, more seldom also in their daily life. Bilocation Shift Bilocation shift is the ability of the shifter to be at two places at the same time. It is also called „two body shift“. The spirit leaves the human body in order to adopt a new physical shape. The consequence is, that the shifter can appear in two different shapes. Relocation Shift This sort of shift describes the re-appearing of the shifter at another place. Relocation shift is quite similar to bilocation shift. An invisible, physical shape is created – a sort of ghost. In appropriate time I will explain other typical sorts of shifts in detail. Here are the other shifts, just to make the list complete: Molecular Shifting Projection Shifting Ethereal Shifting Totemic Shifting Shadow Shift Shape Stealer (Thanks to Lestat for the text om the topic shape shifter)