The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

236 Sitri
one hung in the window of Augustine’s cell and one hung
in the door. Herbs were strewn on the floor. When the incubus
next appeared, he would not enter the cell. He grew
angry, hurled abuse, and left, never to return.
Sinistrari said that incubi are on a spiritual path and,
like humans, capable of salvation and damnation. They
are born, live, and die. They, have their own sperm and
can reproduce themselves and impregnate human women
on their own, he said, refuting the prevailing view that in
order to impregnate a woman, a demon had to become a
succubus to seduce a man and then change into an incubus
to seduce a woman. However, the offspring of incubi
and humans are barren, he said, and do not reproduce on
their own.
Sinistrari would have been in a minority in his time
concerning his views on copulating demons. By the 17th
century, there were other skeptics about sabbats, Devil
pacts, and other infernal activities; REGINALD SCOT had
been vocal in the century before. It is not known why
Sinistrari’s manuscript remained unknown for 171 years
after his death. There is no record of his attempting to
publish it.
FURTHER READING:
Sinistrari, Lodovico Maria. Demoniality. New York: Dover,
1989.
Sitri FALLEN ANGEL and 12th of the 72 SPIRITS OF SOLO-
MON. Sitri is a great prince who appears first with a leopard’s
face and griffin wings. He then assumes the shape
of a beautiful human. He inflames men and women to
fall in love with each other and take off all their clothes.
He commands 60 LEGIONs of DEMONs.
Six-six-six (666) The number of “the Beast,” or Antichrist,
according to interpretations of the book of REVE-
LATION in the Bible. Six-six-six is associated with the
DEVIL and SATANISM.
Revelation is based on a series of apocalyptic visions
John of Patmos experienced during his exile on the island
of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. In one vision, a beast
rises up from the sea. It has seven heads, 10 horns, and
10 crowns; the heads bear the name of blasphemy. One of
the heads had a fatal wound but had healed. A voice in the
vision says, “Let him that hath understanding count the
number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his
number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
The number would be marked on the forehead or
right hand of worshippers. An ANGEL tells John, “If anyone
worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark
on his forehead or hand, he also shall drink the wine of
God’s wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and sulphur
in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And
the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and
they have no rest, day or night.”
The number 666 has been projected onto many enemies
throughout history. Names have been manipulated
to add up to the numerical value of 666. Revelation
makes reference to Roman emperors who claimed deity,
and “Nero Caesar” adds up to 666. The Gnostics were
considered great enemies of the church, and some church
fathers said the Gnostic Ogdoad was the Number of the
Beast. During the Reformation, Protestants called the
Catholic Church the Italika Ekklesia and referred to the
pope by the Greek word papeiskos in order to arrive at
666, and the Catholics did the same to MARTIN LUTHER.
Similarly, the number has been applied to Muhammad,
and even to political villains such as Napoleon Bonaparte
and Adolf Hitler.
ALEISTER CROWLEY often signed his name as “The Beast
666” or “TO MEGA THERION,” which equals “The Great
Beast” in Greek, or 666. He associated 666 with the powers
of the Sun, not evil. In the KABBALAH, the Sun is the
sixth emanation from God. A magical square expressing
the Sun adds up to 666. A square composed of 36 squares
(6 times 6) contains the numbers 1 through 36 so that any
line connecting the numbers, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal,
adds up to 111. The sum of all the squares is 666.
In 1934, Crowley testified in a lawsuit and was asked
about his self-designations of “The Beast 666” and “Mega
Therion.” Therion means “great wild beast,” he said, and
666 is the number of the Sun. Crowley said, “You can call
me Little Sunshine.”
Throughout history, people look for the Beast in
names or things that add up to 666. However, languages
and numbers can be manipulated to arrive at 666 for any
name. Crowley was able to make his own name add up to
666 by using Hebrew letters and adding his middle initial,
E, which he never used otherwise. The number 666
has been so stigmatized that people avoid using it for legitimate
purposes.
Because of its associations with the Antichrist, 666
is feared and avoided by many people, especially for addresses
and telephone exchange numbers. Fear of 666 is
called hexakosioihexakontahexaphobia.
FURTHER READING:
DuQuette, Lou Milo. “666: What’s in a Number?” FATE,
October 2005, 10–17.
Edinger, Edward F. Archetype of the Apocalypse: A Jungian
Study of the Book of Revelation. Chicago: Open Court,
1999.
Godwin, David F. “The Number of the Beast.” FATE, October
2005, 18.
Smith, Helene (19th century) Swiss medium who
underwent a spirit POSSESSION and was overtaken by the
discarnate Count Cagliostro. Smith, whose real name
was Catherine Elise Muller, never worked as a paid
medium but gave séances to friends and admirers for
entertainment. She earned a living holding a high position
in a large store in Geneva, Switzerland.
Smith’s séances were characterized by trances, automatic
writing in Arabic, and glossolalia, or speaking in