The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

118 Icosiel
The SERPENT agreed and carried Iblis into paradise hidden
in its mouth. Iblis spoke to Eve from within the mouth.
Iblis is both male and female and can impregnate himself.
Everytime he celebrates humans’ rebelling against
God, he lays two eggs that hatch as demons.
FURTHER READING:
Hyatt, Victoria, and Joseph W. Charles. The Book of Demons.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974.
Kelly, Henry Ansgar. A Biography of Satan. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2006.
Mack, Carol K., and Dinah Mack. A Field Guide to Demons:
Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits. New
York: Owl Books/Henry Holt, 1998.
Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages.
Ithaca, N.Y., and London: Cornell University Press, 1984.
Icosiel DEMON and a wandering duke of the air. Icosiel
has 100 dukes, 300 companions, and many other servants.
His 15 chief dukes have 2,200 servants. He and his
demons mainly appear in houses. They can be summoned
day and night and will do as commanded. The 15 principal
dukes are Mchariel, Pischiel, Thanatiel, Zosiel,
Agapiel, Larphiel, Amediet, Cambriet, Nathriel, Zachartel,
Athesiel, Cumariel, Munefiel, Heresiel, and Ubaniel.
imp A small DEMON usually kept inside a bottle or
ring. An imp is like a FAMILIAR and is comparable to the
DJINN. It is evoked for magical purposes. Imps are both
good and evil.
As familiars, imps can take the shape of animals, including
insects and birds, which are sent out on tasks
at the command of a witch or magician. Witch hunters
during the Inquisition accused witches of rewarding
their imps for evil deeds by suckling them with their
own BLOOD, which the imps sucked from fingers, warts,
breasts, or any protuberance on the skin.
In England the Lincoln Imp is a carved stone demon
on a column in the Angel Choir at the cathedral in Lincoln,
constructed in the 12th century and once the tallest
structure in the world. The grinning imp is in a seated
position with one leg crossed over the other.
There are different versions of the legend. One version
tells in rhyme that one day the Devil was in good spirits
and let his young demons out to play. One rode on the
wind to Lindum (Lincoln) and ordered the wind to take
him into the church, intending to wreak havoc there. The
imp started breaking things in the Angel Choir and was
turned to stone by angels in punishment.
Another version says that in the 14th century, the Devil
sent two imps out to make mischief. First, they went to
Chesterfield and twisted the spire of the church there,
and then they went to Lincoln Cathedral. They tripped
the bishop and smashed tables and chairs and started to
destroy the Angel Choir. An angel ordered them to stop.
One of the imps defiantly flew up to a stone pillar and began
to throw heavy objects at the angel. The angel turned
him into stone, leaving him there forever. The second imp
hid in the wreckage and made his escape by latching on
to the broomstick of a passing witch. The witch turned
him into a black cat to become her familiar.
The Lincoln Imp is associated with both good and bad
luck. The imp has been used in jewelry and even worn
by royalty. In 1928, the prince of Wales (the future King
Edward VII) was given an imp tie pin. The next year, two
of his horses won major races, the Grand National and
the Epsom Derby.
FURTHER READING:
Kesson, H. J. The Legend of the Lincoln Imp. Lincoln, England:
J. W. Ruddock & Sons, 1904.
incantation bowl A terra-cotta bowl inscribed with
CHARMs or magical texts, used to trap or drive away
DEMONs. Incantation bowls also are known as Babylonian
demon or DEVIL traps.
The bowls, about the size of soup tureens, were inverted
and buried under the four corners of the foundations
of houses and buildings to seal the cracks where
demons could sneak in. Their magic was believed to protect
against an assortment of evils, including male and
female demons, especially the attacks of LILITH and her
offspring; illness; WITCHCRAFT; the CURSEs of sorcerers;
and the EVIL EYE. The bowl either overturned or captured
demons.
Incantation bowls were common among the Babylonians
and the Hebrews, who were held captive for a
time in Babylonia. Their period of usage is uncertain but
ranges at least from the second century to the seventh
century. Almost all of the bowls that survive are inscribed
in Aramaic; a few are inscribed in Persian. The charms
are written in ink in a spiral from the rim to the center,
and sometimes on the outside of the bowls as well. Some
of the centers of bowls have a primitive drawing of a demon
in chains. The charms specify protection of homes,
families, and possessions. One bowl proclaims a “bill of
divorce” from the Devil and all his night monsters, ordering
them to leave the community.
Many of the inscriptions call upon powerful ANGELs
or King SOLOMON and the power of the seal of his magical
ring. The name of the great angel Metatron appears
often on incantation bowls in invocations for angelic
help. Various titles given him are the Great Prince of the
Whole World, Prince of the World, and Great Prince of
God’s Throne.
Some Jewish bowls refer to the Angel of Yahweh with
this or similar inscriptions: “YYY the Great, the angel
who has 11 names.”
An example of a charm is the following:
The demon NTY′, TTY QLY′. BTY′, Nuriel, Holy Rock.
Sealed and countersealed and fortified are Ahat, the
daughter of Imma; Rabbi, Malki and Dipshi, the sons
of Ahat; and Yanai the daughter of Ahat, and Ahat the