The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

exorcism 75
love, even death. In the Middle Ages, witches, who were
in league with the DEVIL, were said to give anyone who
crossed them the evil eye and to use it to bewitch judges
from convicting them.
The evil eye also occurs when someone, especially a
stranger, admires another’s children, livestock, or possessions
or casts anyone a lingering look. Unless immediate
precautions are taken, the children become sick, the
animals die, the possessions are stolen, or good fortune
in business turns sour. If the evil eye cannot be warded
off, the victim must turn to an initiate—usually an older
woman in the family—who knows a secret cure.
Besides envious glances, the evil eye results from
strangers in town or anyone who has unusual or different-colored
eyes, for example, a blue-eyed stranger in a
land of brown-eyed people. Some unfortunate souls are
born with a permanent evil eye, laying waste to everything
they see.
The primary defense against evil eye is an AMULET.
Most common are frogs, horns, and the “fig,” a clenched
fist with thumb thrust between the index and middle fingers.
Horns and the fig represent a phallus and are associated
with the Roman phallic god Fascinus (Priapus). His
name is derived from the word fascinum, which means
“witchcraft.” The evil eye is sometimes called fascination.
Other amulets include various herbs and stones, red ribbons,
and spitting.
FURTHER READING:
Elworthy, Frederick Thomas. The Evil Eye. Secaucus, N.J.:
University Books/Citadel Press, 1895 ed.
Frieskens, Barbara. Living with Djinns: Understanding and
Dealing with the Invisible in Cairo. London: Saqi Books,
2008.
exorcism The expulsion of DEMONs and other
unwanted spirits from a person or place. Rites of exorcism
have been performed since ancient times as remedies
against the negative or malevolent influences of
spirits, such as the perceived cause of illnesses, bad luck,
personal difficulties, OBSESSION, and POSSESSION.
The word exorcism is from the Greek exousia, meaning
“oath,” and translates as adjuro, or “adjure,” in Latin and
English. To exorcise does not really mean to “cast out” so
much as it means to “put the Devil on oath,” or petition a
higher authority to compel the Devil to act in a way contrary
to his wishes.
In Catholicism, exorcism is performed when the church
asks publicly and with authority in the name of JESUS
Christ that a person or object be protected from the power
of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion.
In some cultures, demons are exorcised by loud noises,
such as beating gongs and bells, and by beating the victim
physically, in order to force the demons out of the body.
In other methods, rituals for exorcism provide for less
extreme measures through the use of holy objects, prayer,
and commands.
Exorcism is considered dangerous for victim and exorcist,
and even for onlookers, for expelled demons will
immediately look for a new host, unless they are properly
bound and dispatched.
Demonic Exorcism
In Jewish tradition, demons were exorcised often by casting
them into an object or an animal. An exorcism formula
in the Talmud for healing demon-caused blindness
calls for the blindness (demon) to leave the victim and
pierce the eyeballs of a designated dog.
The Jewish historian Josephus, born soon after the
Crucifixion of Jesus, wrote of a celebrated exorcist named
Eliezar, whom he witnessed in action. Eliezar had a ring
attached with certain roots prescribed by the legendary
King SOLOMON. The root, called Baaras, was probably boara,
a highly toxic root that burns with a flamelike color
and emits lightninglike rays. Eliezar held the ring under
the nose of a DEMONIAC and caused the demons to leave
through the breath blown through the nostrils. Eliezar
then passed the demons into a bowl of water, which was at
once thrown over, dispersing the demons. The technique
was in accordance with prevailing beliefs of the time that
many illnesses were caused by inhaling demons.
In the New Testament, Jesus and the disciples cast out
numerous evil spirits, the most famous of which are LE-
GION, demons sent by Jesus from a man into pigs (Luke
8:30). According to descriptions in the Gospels and Acts,
exorcisms were usually easy to perform. Jesus or an apostle
ordered the evil spirit to depart, and the demon immediately
complied. Luke 9:38–43 tells of a case in which
the disciples had failed to exorcise a boy, and Jesus succeeds
in casting out the demon by rebuking him:
A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to
look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes
him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions
so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever
leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples
to drive it out, but they could not.”
“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus
replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with
you? Bring your son here.”
Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw
him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked
the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his
father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
Jesus recommended in one case that prayer and fasting
are necessary to expel some demons. In Mark 9:18,
Jesus told a man that all things are possible, including the
exorcism of his son, to those who believe. Thus, faith can
influence the success of exorcism.
Sometimes an expelled demon can return with reinforcements,
as Jesus noted in Matthew 12:43–45:
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through
arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says,
‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds