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Sabaoth Adamas In the Texts of the Saviour, he is an evil power, ruler of the wicked aeons; he is mentioned in the Coptic Pistis Sophia. Sachiel ”covering of God” An angel of the order of hashmallim (cherubim). He resides in the 1st Heaven (or the 6th, depending upon the source). He is a Monday (or Thursday or Friday) angel, invoked from the south and also from the west. He is also the presiding spirit of Jupiter. In Gnostic lore, he is called a servitor of the 4 sub-princes of Hell. Sachiel-Melek In the cabala, a king of the underworld hierarchy governing priesthoods and sacrifices. Salamiel, Satanail, Satomail A great angel, prince of the grigori. Although the grigori dwell in Heaven, a certain number of them are malign. A legend has it that Salamiel rejected God and is now a fallen angel. Salmael, Samael A prince of one of the angel orders. He used to accuse Israel on Yom Kippur, calling for the annihilation of the Jews. Salmael is equated with Samael and Azazel. He has also been identified as Jacob’s dark antagonist at Peniel, as have others. Salpsan A son of Satan, according to the Gospel of Bartholomew. Sam(m)ael, Satanil, Samil, Satan, Seir, Salmael A combination of ”sam” meaning poison and ”el” meaning angel. In rabbinic literature, he is chief of the Satans and the angel of death. In the Secrets of Enoch (Enoch II) he is the prince of demons and a magickian. Samael has been regarded as both evil and good; as one of the greatest and as one of the foulest spirits operating in Heaven, on the earth, and in Hell. On the one hand he is said to be chief ruler of the 5th Heaven (in Jewish legendary lore he usually resides in the 7th Heaven), one of the seven regents of the world served by two million angels; on the other hand, he is ”that great serpent with twelve wings that draws after him, in his fall, the solar system.” Samael is also the angel of death who God sent to fetch the soul of Moses. Talmud Yalkut I, 110, speaks of him as Esau’s guardian angel. Sotah 10b speaks of Samael as Edom’s Sar (angelic prince guardian). In the Sayings of Rabbi Eliezer, he is charged with being the one (in the guise of a serpent) who tempted Eve, seduced her, and became the father of Cain. In The Zohar, he is the dark angel who wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, although Michael, Uriel, Metatron and others have been identified as this antagonist. Samael is also equated with the satan who tempted David to number Israel (I Chronicles 21). The Holy Kabbalah characterizes him as the ”severity of God” and lists him as the 5th of the archangels of the world of Briah. Here he corresponds to the sefira Geburah. Cornelius Agrippa equates him with the Greek god Typhon. In The Ascension of Isaiah IV, 7, this passage occurs: ”And we ascended to the firmament, I and he [Isaiah and his escorting angel], and there I saw Sammael and his hosts, and there was great fighting therein and the angels of Satan were envying one another.” Samax Rex As recorded in a book of Elizabethan black magick, a spirit of evil. Sameveel One of the fallen angels listed in Enoch I. Samiel In the Apocalypse of Peter and The Apocryphal New Testament Samiel is an ”immortal angel of God.” In The Book of Protection, he is grouped with Michael, Gabriel and other spellbinding angels. However, according to Voltaire, he is one of the leaders of the fallen angels, therefore evil. He was apparently another form for Samael, prince of evil. In Bar-Khonai, The Book of Scholia, he is described as ”blind, malformed, and evil.” Samsapeel, Samsaveel, Shamshiel An evil archangel listed among the apostates in Enoch I. He was one of 200 who descended from Heaven to cohabit with the daughters of men. Saraknyal, Sarakuyal One of the 200 angels under the leadership of Semyaza who descended to earth to cohabit with the daughters of men. Sar ha-Olam Literally ”prince of the world” and the equivalent of Sar ha-Panim, ”prince of the face.” Identified as Michael, Jehoel, Metatron, and—by St. Paul—as Satan. Talmud calls Sar ha-Olam an angel who ”bears God’s name within him,” referring to Exodus 23:21. Sar ha-Olam, like Metatron is credited with composing Psalms 37:25 and Isaiah 24:16. Sar Shel Yam ”prince of the sea” Rahab. Sartael, Satarel ”God’s side” An evil archangel in control of hidden things. Mentioned in Talmud Berakoth 57b. Satan ”adversary” In Numbers 22:22 the angel of the Lord stands against Balaam ”for an adversary” (satan). In other Old Testament books (Job, I Chronicles, Psalms, Zechariah) the term likewise designates an office; and the angel investing that office is not apostate or fallen. He becomes such starting in early New Testament times and writings, when he emerges as Satan (capital S), the prince of evil and enemy of God, and is characterized by such titles as ”prince of this world” (John 16:11) and ”prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). When Jesus rebuked Peter, he was called Satan (Luke 4:8). Reading back into Genesis, medieval writers like Peter Lombard (c. 1100-1160) saw Satan in the guise of the serpent tempting Eve, although other writers, like the 9th-century Bishop Agobard, held that Satan tempted Eve through the serpent. Originally, Satan (as ha-satan) was a great angel. Chief of the seraphim, head of the order of virtues. While seraphim were usually pictured as 6-winged, Satan was shown as 12-winged. Gregory the Great, after listing the nine hierarchic orders, pays this tribute to Satan: ”he wore all of them [angels] as a garment, transcending all in glory and knowledge.” Talmud claims that Satan was created on the 6th day of Creation. Through a misreading of Isaiah 14:12, he has been identified with Lucifer. To Aquinas, Satan, as ”the first angel who sinned” is not a seraph but a cherub, the argument being that ”cherubim is derived from knowledge, which is compatible with mortal sin; but seraphim is derived from the heat of charity, which is incompatible with mortal sin”. In time, according to Jerome, Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, Ambrosiaster, and others, Satan will be reinstated in his ”pristine splendor and original rank.” This is also cabalistic doctrine. Other names for Satan include Mastema, Beliar or Beliel, Duma, Gadreel, Azazel, Sammael, angel of Edom. In rabbinic lore his nickname is ”the ugly one”. Satanail According to Enoch II (the Slavonic Enoch) ”his name [Satan’s] was formerly Satanail.” Seeliah, Saeliah In the cabala a fallen angel once of the order of virtues. He has (or had) dominion over vegetables. When invoking him recite a verse from Psalm 93. Seir Another name for Samael. Semibel One of the seven angels reprobated at the church council in Rome in 745 C. E. Semyaza, Semiaza, Shemhazai, Shamazya, Amezyarak Probably a running together of Shem (name) and Azza (the angel Azza or Uzza). He was the leader of the evil angels who fell, or one of the leaders. In legend he is the seraph tempted by the maiden Ishtahar to reveal the Explicit Name (of God). It is said that he now hangs between heaven and earth, head down, and in the constellation Orion. Levi suggests that Orion ”would be identified with the angel Michael doing battle with the dragon, and the appearance of this sign in the sky would be, for the cabalist, a portent of victory and happiness.” According to The Zohar his sons, Hiwa and Hiya, by one of Eve’s daughters, were so mighty that they ate 1,000 camels, 1,000 horses, and 1,000 oxen, daily. A recently unearthed version of Enoch (Qumram collection) contains a letter from Enoch addressed to Semyaza (Shemazya) and his companions. The Vocabulaire de l’Angélologie, identifies him with Azael. Seriel, Sariel A fallen angel who taught men the signs of the moon. However as Sariel he is one of the seven archangels who stand around the throne of God. He is sometimes equated with Uriel. Shafan, Xaphan A fire demon that once threatened to set fire to heaven. He is in charge of the fires in hell, which he keeps burning. Shaitan, Satan One of the fallen angels in Arabic lore. Shaitan is a cognate term for Iblis. In the Koran, sura 27, 24, he induces the Queen of Sheba and her people to adore the sun instead of Allah. Shamdan, Ashamdon The angel-demon who mated with Naamah, ”lovely sister of Tubal-cain, who led the angels astray with her beauty.” This union created Asmodeus. Shams(h)iel ”light of day” “mighty sun of God” A ruler of the 4th Heaven and prince of Paradise; also guardian angel of Eden. He conducted Moses around Heaven. The treasures of David and Solomon were turned over by the scribe Hilkiah to him. In The Zohar he is head of 365 legions of angels. He crowns prayers and accompanies them to the 5th Heaven. In The Book of Protection he is grouped with Michael, Nuriel, and Sarphiel as a spellbinding power. In The Book of Jubilees he is one of the watchers or grigori and equated with Samsapeel. In I>Enoch I he rates as a fallen angel who ”taught men the signs of the sun.” According to The Zohar he served as one of the two chief aides to Uriel (the other aide was Hasdiel) when Uriel bore his standard in battle. Sheila-na-gig The goddess of fertility in British-Celtic mythology. She is prominently displaying her genitals in an attempt to allay the power of death. With the advent of Christianity she is portrayed (even on the outside of English churches) as a female demon to ward off evil. Shiq A type of demon appearing to travelers as half a man. Sholmos Sholmoses are evil humanoid demons in Mongol mythology Shudkher Shudkhers are evil demons like sholmoses in Buryat (North-Mongol) mythology. Siho I Salo A demon from the Solomon Islands. Sihon Grandson of the fallen angel Semyaza and brother of Og. Silat, Tilath, Feluth According to the Grimorium Verum an angel invoked in goetic ritual. In Mohammedan lore, she is a female demon. Simapesiel One of the fallen angels in the Enoch listings. Simiel, Chamuel, Semibel One of the seven archangels. However at a Church Council in Rome, 745 C.E., he was reprobated as a fallen or evil spirit and not to be venerated. At the Council of Laodicia (343-381? C.E.) to name angels was expressly forbidden (canon 35). Josephus mentions, as among the religious rites of the Essenes, the taking of oaths not to reveal the names of angels. Sitriel In the listing of Moses of Burgos, he is 3rd of the ten unholy sefiroth. Smal, Sammael A fallen angel of death and of poison whose wife, Eisheth Zenunim, is the woman of whoredom. The two together, united, are known as the beast Chioa. Siu Yan Unlike the Irish, for South Chinese, the Little People are the really big people -- often neighbors -- who are out of favor. Specifically, they are the victims of someone's curses. A curse can be made by a Da Siu Yan (Little People Hitter), or the curse can be do-it-yourself. The Da Siu Yan is usually a woman. Her equipment is simple: the food, incense and written prayers of ordinary ancestor worship. Except the prayer is that the mentioned person should have bad luck, usually some specific inconvenience. It is easier -- especially for a Gwai Lo (the writer and most readers are Gwai Lo -- Foreign Ghosts, sometimes translated also as Demons or Devils) to buy the spell at a paper goods store (see Dzi Dzat) or find an appropriate spell in a Chinese almanac. The Da Siu Yan is still a professional class in Hong Kong, but if the guild is still alive in Macau it is not easily visible. There is a seasonal cursing that is still practiced in Macau, and the encyclopedia will publish an article on that in the near future. Little Man curses seem not to be severe ones. The object does not seem to be death or damnation. Perhaps that is because of the rather mechanical nature of Chinese magic. Its application is a technology, and so is its reversal or defeat. One of the most impolite (but common) public artifacts of the Hac Tao and the Da Siu Yan is the Pakua and its variants, or even the simple mirror. The presence of the mirror usually suggests a belief in a curse, or at least in bad luck proceeding from the direction indicated by the mirror. The mirror's meaning is as simple as the childhood rhyme "I'm rubber, you're glue . . ." and the curser becomes the cursed. There is also a simple technology for attacking the curser, the Little People Hitter. In Macau, at least, little paper tigers are sold. They are yellow paper, with stripes and features printed black. People who think they are cursed thump the little paper tigers and say, "da siu yan," believing that the curser will himself be harmed. Sonneillon, Sonnillon An angel, now fallen, once of the order of thrones. He is cited as one of three ”devils” Sorath An evil power, bearer of the mysterious number 666, which is also applied cabalistically to the Emperor Nero. In talismanic magick, he is the spirit of the sun. Sphendonael The demon of disease. Sri, Srin-po In Tibetan Bon religion, the Sri is a group of gigantic demons who live beneath the surface of the earth. These demons feed on corpses. They belong to the dMu. Striges Winged female demons from Macedonia, who preyed on little children, drank their blood and ate their entrails. They were supposed to be the descendants of the Harpies. Sumiel Voltaire claims him to be a leader of the fallen angels, however no other source can be found naming him thusly. Voltaire may have meant Sammael or Simapesiel. The name Sumiel is found on a kamea for warding off evil. Sut One of the five sons of the Moslem fallen archangel Iblis. He is the demon of lies. The other four sons are: Awar, demon of lubricity; Dasim, demon of discord; Tir, demon of fatal accidents; Zalambur, demon of mercantile dishonesty. Svarog, Svarozic, Svarozits Slavic sun and fire god, originally the supreme god of the Slavic pantheon. He is the divine smith, and patron of the fire of the hearth and of blacksmiths. In his capacity as a smith he is often equated with the Greek Hephaestus. He is also thought responsible for institutionalizing marriage. His son is the god Dabog. In later times he degrades to some sort of fire demon. Symnay An angel of the order of powers invoked during cabalistic rites. It is not clear if he joined in the rebellion and became a fallen angel or if he remained loyal. Demons Main Page
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