The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

Symiel 253
is no chief DEVIL, for all the spirits in hell are former human
beings. Because they have chosen malice and darkness,
their faces are distorted into monstrous, repulsive
shapes. They live in gloom yet appear burned by the fire
of their own hatred. They speak with anger and vengefulness,
they crave each other’s company, and they shrink
back in loathing and pain from the approach of an angel.
The constant clash of their falsehoods and senses produces
a sound like the gnashing of teeth. The openings,
or “gates,” of hell are numerous and everywhere but only
visible to those spirits who have chosen that path. Inside,
hell resembles cavernous, bestial lairs, with tumbledown
homes and cities, brothels, filth, and excrement. Other
hells may be barren deserts.
Swedenborg had conversations with evil spirits. Once,
a man and woman were given permission to go to heaven
from hell. The woman was a siren who served as the man’s
concubine. That man said that in his hell nature was their
God, and religion was only a toy for the lower class. He
dismissed angels and heaven as having no significance.
On another occasion, Swedenborg was told by devils that
they cannot avoid bothering people, and they become enraged
when they see angels.
In any of these afterlife worlds, time does not exist as
it does on Earth. It is measured by changes of one’s interior
state. Space also is different; spirits of like mind are
“near” each other whatever their actual “location.”
Swedenborg places responsibility for the permanent
state of the soul squarely upon the individual and not on
a judging God or a redeeming savior. The road to heaven
or hell begins early in life with thoughts and intentions.
Ultimately, each soul is true to its own nature.
FURTHER READING:
Lachman, Gary. “Heavens and Hells: The Inner Worlds of
Emanuel Swedenborg.” Gnosis no. 36 (Summer 1995):
44–49.
Swedenborg, Emanuel. Heaven and Hell. Translated by George
F. Dole. New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1976.
Symiel DEMON among the 31 AERIAL SPIRITS OF SOLO-
MON. Symiel rules as a king in the northeast, with 10
dukes during the day and 1,000 during the night. The
daytime dukes have 720 servants each, and the night
dukes have 790 servants each. The daytime dukes are
good-natured, but the nighttime dukes are stubborn and
resist commands. The 10 major dukes of the day are
Asmiel, Chrubas, Vaslos, Malgron, Romiel, Larael, Achol,
Bonyel, Dagiel, and Musor. The 10 dukes of the night are
Mafrus, Apiel, Curiel, Molael, Arafos, Marlano, Narzael,
Murahe, Rhicel, and Nalael.