So between religion, (no offence to anyone) which seems to put a large blanket on what is considered "demonic" and so on, and a post by CH that had the question "do you sell demons/evil spirits?" which the response was that "we do not sell anything related to black arts"
(which kinda answers the question, but it doesn't. It just means black arts. Not whether demons is black arts)

Exactly what is a demon?

I call it a type of race, in my opinion, like mammals, or reptiles. So multiple species would be considered "demon/demonic"

I also wouldn't say demons are BA, there may be types that are BA, but there is also types that are DA. (And that there are other species that are BA, but aren't demons)

Now, I couldn't find the answer anywhere, but, what makes something a demon, and what makes something not a demon?

Say, Ifrits (or is it Hellhound? Or are they the same?) and Succubi/Incubi are considered demons by some, (and I wouldn't disagree) but why? Without the whole religion aspect that is.

Just looking for some clarification.

Cheers!

Depends on who you ask. To Islamic cultures, many times djinn are considered demons. Some people think of Ubi as demonic while others don't. It has to do with perceptions of energy and characteristics of the presented individual entity, as well as any potential affiliations with immortal groups. Check Satan and Suns forum for lots more information on demons and such. That forum is dedicated almost in its entirety to discussions about demons and other "demonic" entities.

i consider a demon to be a being who works with destruction and that's it, either as their job or because they enjoy it. i also see a huge difference between the label demon and demonic. demon meaning the above and demonic meaning having such properties ie demonic witch= a witch who works with destroying powers that is not necessarily a demon herself.
i know that might seem to be too broad, so i'll explain-
by destruction, i dont mean simply harming or messing with someone, i mean working with the underworld power of destruction,(as oppose to the angelic/divine power of creation) that is, the breaking down of something. this CAN manifest as harm coming to someone, death, the breaking of a relationship and etc.
(also adding, since im talking about destruction here, i'll clarify that i dont see demons as all being bad, i see them as mediators, guides, workers, guardians and every once in awhile-- huge nuisances)
so what makes a demon a demon? destructive power/energy, but to add something else, you could just as easily have the same conundrum asking what makes an elf an elf or what makes an angel an angel or even what makes us human. we all have different opinions on this.
think about this, what is the difference between a wolf shifter, a werewolf and the other wolf shifter type of beings? what makes us say 'this is an adlet, this is a werewolf, and this is a wolf shifter'? we can all speculate or even have specifications that we follow BUT there are so many different types of werewolves for one thing and the other is where one person will label a being a shifter, another will call it a werewolf. in my opinion, it's all subjective.
labeling is always a bit iffy in the world of the paranormal. even when we can hear spirits/entities, for all we know the being is simply giving us the label to help us understand what it is that they do, as they know we associate elf, vampire and werewolf with certain properties. all we can do is give labels based on passed experiences and what we read and choose to believe.
i may have raised more questions than answers here haha.

Krowe wrote:i consider a demon to be a being who works with destruction and that's it, either as their job or because they enjoy it. i also see a huge difference between the label demon and demonic. demon meaning the above and demonic meaning having such properties ie demonic witch= a witch who works with destroying powers that is not necessarily a demon herself.
i know that might seem to be too broad, so i'll explain-
by destruction, i dont mean simply harming or messing with someone, i mean working with the underworld power of destruction,(as oppose to the angelic/divine power of creation) that is, the breaking down of something. this CAN manifest as harm coming to someone, death, the breaking of a relationship and etc.
(also adding, since im talking about destruction here, i'll clarify that i dont see demons as all being bad, i see them as mediators, guides, workers, guardians and every once in awhile-- huge nuisances)
so what makes a demon a demon? destructive power/energy, but to add something else, you could just as easily have the same conundrum asking what makes an elf an elf or what makes an angel an angel or even what makes us human. we all have different opinions on this.
think about this, what is the difference between a wolf shifter, a werewolf and the other wolf shifter type of beings? what makes us say 'this is an adlet, this is a werewolf, and this is a wolf shifter'? we can all speculate or even have specifications that we follow BUT there are so many different types of werewolves for one thing and the other is where one person will label a being a shifter, another will call it a werewolf. in my opinion, it's all subjective.
labeling is always a bit iffy in the world of the paranormal. even when we can hear spirits/entities, for all we know the being is simply giving us the label to help us understand what it is that they do, as they know we associate elf, vampire and werewolf with certain properties. all we can do is give labels based on passed experiences and what we read and choose to believe.
i may have raised more questions than answers here haha.

Actually that was very clarifying, and what my Uli friend (Mark) had mentioned. He said that by human standards (as I was asking a few questions, like what is a Uli) he would be considered undead, but that's merely humans defining things, he considered himself a (noise that I cannot describe. Almost a hiss/gurgle screech? ) which humans have put the term "Uli" as. Which doesn't mean he is undead, that is merely the term that he would likely fall into, for most people "defining" him.

So yes, that makes sense, hmmm, guess it's all perspective, truly, huh? Well thank you Krowe. ^_^

Guess I'll just continue going by what I think. Although I'm not sure what I would consider like that, lol.

Not so much as destructive, but, hmmm.. It's ironic, as the Catholic definition is the default, (from hell/alike areas) but I don't agree with their views. (Again, no offence to any Catholic)

I think it will be in similar views as what "undead" is, for me at least. I guess I would consider it as you would elements. You have things that could be associated with light, fire, water, and so on, and things related to darkness/shadows, I would relate to demonic unless told specifically otherwise.
Would that relate wraiths to demons? Hmmm.

Again, I'm not too sure on my personal definition. :lol: Anyways, Cheers!

CerataPhthalma wrote:Depends on who you ask. To Islamic cultures, many times djinn are considered demons. Some people think of Ubi as demonic while others don't. It has to do with perceptions of energy and characteristics of the presented individual entity, as well as any potential affiliations with immortal groups. Check Satan and Suns forum for lots more information on demons and such. That forum is dedicated almost in its entirety to discussions about demons and other "demonic" entities.

Interesting, although not sure if I may go to that forum, but thank you for that option of information! As I mentioned in the other post, I guess it does indeed boil down to perspective.

I was just thinking it may have been more defined like how mammals and other types are, so there may have been more defining characteristics. Ah well


Cheers!

Krowe wrote:as oppose to the angelic/divine power of creation

That's a kind of one sided look at angels (and demons too, actually).
Most angels, especially in religion, are fierce warriors, capable of terrible destruction. There are some that could as easily wipe out a solar system without batting an eye, destroying billions of beings.
If you've ever seen an angel, in it's pure, fierce and fiery form that brings you to your knees in terror, then you might know that.

They are definitely different in energies and demons are made up of demonic energies. There are many races of demons and it's hard to pinpoint what exactly would make a demon and what would make a demonic entity. I'd say demons are pure demonic energy, however colored (chaos, abyssal, etc) and demonic beings have different energies too (draconic, vampiric, fae, etc).

Aprophis wrote: That's a kind of one sided look at angels (and demons too, actually).
Most angels, especially in religion, are fierce warriors, capable of terrible destruction. There are some that could as easily wipe out a solar system without batting an eye, destroying billions of beings.
If you've ever seen an angel, in it's pure, fierce and fiery form that brings you to your knees in terror, then you might know that.

i wasnt saying that angels are ONLY creative, i am aware that they can be destructive, by saying the DESCRIPTIVE words angelic and divine i was simply meaning to describe the power of creation that is GENERALLY used by angelic or divine beings and as a means to contrast and further explain what i meant by 'underworld power.'

Aprophis wrote:

Krowe wrote:as oppose to the angelic/divine power of creation

That's a kind of one sided look at angels (and demons too, actually).
Most angels, especially in religion, are fierce warriors, capable of terrible destruction. There are some that could as easily wipe out a solar system without batting an eye, destroying billions of beings.
If you've ever seen an angel, in it's pure, fierce and fiery form that brings you to your knees in terror, then you might know that.

They are definitely different in energies and demons are made up of demonic energies. There are many races of demons and it's hard to pinpoint what exactly would make a demon and what would make a demonic entity. I'd say demons are pure demonic energy, however colored (chaos, abyssal, etc) and demonic beings have different energies too (draconic, vampiric, fae, etc).

Interesting, so you say it's by energies? That's another interesting perspective!

Thank you for the input Aprophis, it's handy to have multiple opinions on this.

Hmmm, I'm still not sure how I define it, but I do think it's closer to what you mentioned, as "elements" (which is only a rough example) is similar to saying "energies".

Now I just got to figure out what I would say is "demon/demonic energy" and what isn't. What would make it "demonic/a demon", in terms of energy?

Many interesting questions indeed.

Krowe wrote:'underworld power'

And underworld power can easily mean shadow work, emotional work, the powers of darkness itself, necromancy, etc.
It's hard to define any supernatural power as long as you can't feel it. There are probably no describing words. A clear case of 'do rather than say'.

All those energies are so complex and prone to personal interpretation and perception that it's probably impossible to come to a clear consensus. So it's easier to say this is demonic and this is angelic than to describe what demonic and angelic entails.

Now if you could make energy balls with those certain energies, send them around and people can feel it and say: "Ah, this is demonic energy". That would be something different and pretty clear. Of course that would entail certain skills on both sides of that exchange.

Darksbane wrote: Now I just got to figure out what I would say is "demon/demonic energy" and what isn't. What would make it "demonic/a demon", in terms of energy?

Many interesting questions indeed.

Well, meet a demon, try to feel out his/her energy. Then meet an angel, try to feel out his/her energy and then find the difference. Should be easier, since they're on opposite sides of the spectrum.