The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

O
Obry, Nicole
See MIRACLE OF LAON.
obsession A state of being besieged by DEMONs. Obsession
is derived from the Latin obsidere and refers to a
state of siege or an attack on a person or personality from
without. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably
with OPPRESSION or even POSSESSION; however, this is not
accurate, for possession entails being completely taken
over within.
The literature of saints, monks, and hermits describes
numerous cases of obsession as part of a holy person’s
spiritual challenges. The Life of St. Hilary describes how
the saint’s “temptations were numerous; . . . how often
when he lay down did naked women appear to him.” St.
Anthony endured the most famous obsession during his
withdrawal into the desert. When he tried to sleep, the
DEVIL assumed the form of a woman and tried to seduce
him with feminine gestures. (See SUCCUBUS.) Other holy
or biblical figures, such as Saul, also suffered obsessive
spirits.
In the 17th century, a young Spanish nun, Doña Micaela
de Aguirre, was obsessed by the Devil. Irritated by
Doña Micaela’s perfection, the Devil began tormenting
her, appearing one night in the shape of a horse. He stood
on Micaela with his full weight, kicking and trampling
her and leaving her severely bruised. Sometimes the Devil
immersed Doña Micaela in the convent well up to her
neck, leaving her there all night. In the end, according to
her biographer, Doña Micaela triumphed. “Mocking his
cunning she bade him fetch an ax and chop wood. And
the enemy could not disobey her [for she was a saint];
he took the ax and chopped the wood up with all haste
and departed in confusion, roaring with anger at being
defeated by a young nun.”
In modern psychiatry, obsession refers to total domination
by a fixed idea, which controls or affects all other
actions, such as constantly checking to see whether a door
is locked or believing that deadly germs are everywhere.
Obyzouth Female DEMON whose principal acts of evil
are to kill newborn infants and cause others to be stillborn,
making her comparable to the LAMIAE and the offspring
of LILITH.
In the Testament of Solomon, Obyzouth appears with
disheveled hair and arrogantly refuses to answer questions
until King SOLOMON has purified himself by washing
his hands and has sat on his throne. The king complies.
Obyzouth describes how she travels about every
night, visiting women as they give birth and strangling
their newborns. She is successful every night, going to
even the remotest parts of Earth. She also injures eyes,
condemns mouths, destroys minds, and makes bodies
feel pain.
Obyzouth says Solomon cannot give her orders.
However, she is thwarted by the archangel Raphael (see
THWARTING ANGELS) and admits that she will flee to the
“other world” (the realm of demons) if women who are in
labor write her name on a piece of parchment.
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