THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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11.11 Psychopathology of possessive states
Within this conceptual framework, demonic posseSSiOn may be regarded as the
dispossession of consciousness by an unconscious autonomous complex, experienced
as archetypally evil, and manifest consciously as an invasion by a personified diabolical
Image:
Psychologically speaking, an evil spirit or demon is. a split-off
complex with an autonomous dynamism which can possess the ego.
Its existence is perpetuated by a repressive ego-attitude which will
not accept the split-off content and integrate it into the personality as
a whole (Edinger, 1972, p. 287).
The archetype that form the nucleus ofthe resulting demonic complex is, of course, the
shadow. The Devil, notes Jung, "is a variant of the shadow archetype, i.e., of the
dangerous aspect ofthe unrecognized dark half ofthe personality" (1953b, p. 96). The
shadow is a dominant aspect of the personal unconscious, and typically consists of
those 'uncivilised' desires and emotions considered incompatible with social standards
and with the persona (Singer, 1972). The shadow is projected in two forms:
individually, as persons to whom we ascribe malevolent intentions; and collectively, as
the principle and personification ofevil, represented by the mythical figure ofthe Devil.
The more the shadow is isolated and repressed, the more alien, powerful, destructive
and violent it appears to the person who has disowned it. It is impossible, under these
circumstances, to convince somebody that the possessing forces are projected aspects
of their own psychic world. The sense of being invaded and controlled by a hostile
alien force cannot be underestimated. As Jung (1953c) notes, "Mephistopheles is the
diabolical aspect of every psychic function that has broken loose from the hierarchy of
the total psyche and now enjoys independence and absolute power" (p. 69).
Although Jung never discusses Satanism, or an actual case of demonic possession, a
useful model of satanic possession can be constructed on the basis of his theory.
Satanic possession occurs when egodystonic experience is split offto form a complex,
arising within the personal unconscious. This complex has the shadow as its archetypal
core and, within a Christian cultural context, finds expression in the personified image
ofSatan. How and why this personal complex manifests as a demonic possession state