Demon Baal gained fame thanks tomedieval grimoire. There he occupies an honorable place among the many-sided gathering of hellish entities. In the first part of the “Small Key of Solomon” “Goethia”, Baal heads the impressive list of seventy-two demons. According to her, he is a powerful king ruling in the East. Baal has at least 66 legions of hellish spirits at his disposal. And in Johann Weyer's work “On Deceptions of Demons” he is mentioned as the Minister of the Underworld, the Commander-in-Chief of the Hell-Army and the Main Cross of the Order of the Fly.
Appearance Baal
How the demon Baal looks like, it also became knownthanks to the grimoires. In “Goetia”, as in the book “The Pseudomonarchy of Demons” by I. Veier, he appears as an unprecedented three-headed being. His body resembles a shapeless mass, from which many spider legs protrude. The body of Baal is crowned with a human head of impressive size with a royal crown. The face of the demon, judging by the image in the illustration, is dry and thin, with a huge long nose and frowning eyes. In addition to the human body, two more huge heads emerge from his body: on the right, the frog, and on the left, the cat's. He may appear and not in such a disgusting appearance. Man, cat, toad - typical creatures in which the demon Baal reincarnates.
Call and Exile the Baal Demon
Johann Weyer noted in one of his books thatthe demon Baal, if desired, can make a person invisible or reward with supernatural wisdom. However, in order to achieve this honor, you must meet him in person.
The man who decided to invoke the demon to getthese talents put on themselves as his symbol a metal plate called “lamen”. Thanks to him, according to Goethe, he deserves the attention and respect of Baal. Before invoking a demon, a person is recommended to draw a protective pentagram with chalk, place candles on it and light them. Then you should read the text of the invocation of Baal. Rumor has it that it should be encouraged only on Saturdays.
To get the desired talents, bhaal is necessaryrelease outside the protective circle. However, he is treacherous, cunning and cruel, therefore this step is capable of entailing a great danger to man. However, you can send back to hell even such a powerful entity as the demon Baal. The expulsion of the evil spirit is accomplished with the help of a simple phrase from Papus' textbook: “In the name of Adonai, through Gabriel, come forth Baal!”
God who became a demon
Baal has not always been a minion of hell.This demonic entity, now occupying significant “posts” in hell, was once a pagan deity. In ancient times, it was called Baal, Balu, or Bel. This god was worshiped by the Semitic peoples, as well as by the Phoenicians and Assyrians. It was presented to people in those times differently than now: in the form of an old man or a bull.
His name translates from general Semite as"Master" or "master". Initially, the word “Baal” was a nominal designation of God, in which members of individual tribes believed. Then people began to name his name in a certain area. Later, even the title “Baal”, which was given to princes and governors. This word was included in the name of the famous Carthaginian commander Hannibal and the Babylonian prince Veltasar.
Great deity
Since the day of its appearance, Baal has been in different tribes andHe managed to visit places of fertility, sun, sky, war and others. Ultimately, he became the Creator of the whole world and universe. According to historians, Baal was the first global patron god. The center of his cult was in the city of Tire, from where he penetrated into the kingdom of Israel. It later spread to North Africa, modern Europe and Scandinavia, as well as to the British Isles. By the power of Baal can be compared with the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian Set.
Savior Rituals
Demon even when he was a great deityHe was distinguished by excessive cruelty and demanded terrible acts from a man. People sacrificed him to their own kind, in particular, children. Insane orgies rolled in honor of Baal, and the priests, who were in a state of ecstasy, engaged in self-harm.
Once upon a time in Carthage during the siege of the cityGreek troops residents made the most ambitious act of sacrifice to their deity. Thus, they hoped to get rid of the enemy. The invasion of the Greeks, from the point of view of the Carthaginians, was a direct consequence of the fact that they did not want to give their children to Baal Hammon, as this deity was called in those places. Instead, city residents sacrificed the offspring of aliens. Carthaginians, realizing their "guilt", then burned more than two hundred children. And three hundred residents of the city voluntarily sacrificed themselves, relying on the help that God could provide, and now the demon Baal. A photo of the bas-relief depicting the ceremony is presented below.
The pursuit of idolaters
Acts of human sacrifice committedalso the inhabitants of the kingdom of Israel. The idolaters who killed their children in the name of Baal were fought by the prophets Jeremiah and Elijah. Fans of the pagan deity, it was decided to execute. All of them were killed during the religious revolution of the prophet Elijah. The destruction of the pagans led to the weakening of the cult of Baal.
Активное сопротивление кровавому богу оказывали и Early Christian prophets. The struggle with him ended in the complete victory of the Abrahamic religions, and the image of the deity was subjected to severe criticism. And so the demon Baal appeared. In Christianity, he visited, according to various sources, the Duke of Hell, and the Devil himself.
Associations with Beelzebub
Baal is often identified with Beelzebub.In Christianity, he is considered a demon and is mentioned in the Gospel, which says that the Pharisees and scribes called Jesus so. They believed that Christ cast out demons, using the power of Beelzebub.
The name of this creature is a translator and commentator.Bibles E. Jerome identified with Baal Zebub or “Lord of the Flies” mentioned in the Old Testament. He was also worshiped by the Philistines who lived in the seaside part of the kingdom of Israel in the city of Ekron. Beelzebub is usually depicted as a huge insect, similar to a fly.
His name could also come from the word Zabulus, which was used in those days by the Jews. So they called Satan. Based on this, the name "Beelzebub" (Baal Zebub) means "Baal-devil."
In antiquity existed and the verb zabal. In rabbinical literature, it is used in the sense of “taking out the impurities”, therefore the name “Beelzebub” can be interpreted as “Lord of Foul”.
Finally
Such a transformation has survived the demon Baal for allhistory of its existence. He was both a deity and the Devil himself. And only the medieval Greenwires, ordering the hellish hierarchy, were able to determine the final place of Baal in the Universe.
