The expulsion of ghosts, spirits, demons or other creatures that were believed to be capable of disturbing a person or possessing him, or a place that he often visits. Depending on the degree of possession and how evil the spirit turns out to be, the exorcism fluctuates between friendly, persuasive conversation and elaborate rituals forcing the creature to come out in the name of the Almighty or a local god.
The word "exorcism" comes from the Greek "exosia" - "oath". It translates into Latin as "adjure", in Russian as "swearing-in". "Exorcising" means not so much to exorcise as to "swear in a spirit or demon" or to call on higher powers to force the creature to act against its wishes. The American pamphlet Exorcism (1972) argues that exorcism binds the forces of evil through the triumph of Christ, His might, and His church. Christian exile rituals
demons, especially in the Roman Catholic Church, begin with the words: "Adjure te, spiritus nequissime, per Deum omnipotentem," which translates as: "I bring you, evil spirit, to an oath to Almighty God." The Gospels tell that Jesus Christ exorcised many demons, but he did not exorcise, since he did not need to appeal to a higher being.
Exorcism rituals have been around since ancient times. In many cultures, where spirits were believed to intervene regularly in the affairs of people, exorcism was a daily occurrence. An exorcist was consulted for illnesses caused by evil spirits, just as one consults a doctor for a physical illness. Exorcism of demons, poltergeist, unwanted or evil spirits, energies or
"Conceived forms" (artificial spirits created by magic ritual) are common throughout the world. Who is an exorcist depends on context and culture. Most often these are priests, rabbis, lamas, shamans, healers, doctors, witches and mediums. It can be said that forms of exorcism depend on a psychiatric or psychological treatment of personal disorders in which the patient feels he is possessed by an alien personality.
In Christianity, exorcism is associated with demonic possession. It is considered evil, the work of the devil. Obsession is evidenced by the victim's ability to levitate, show superhuman strength, renounce religious words and objects, and speak foreign languages. The latter feature was the strongest evidence for the Catholic Church. She allowed the bishop to be asked to authorize the exorcism.
The priests themselves cast out demons with the help of junior clergymen, a healer, and possibly a family member. The victim experienced pain, incredible mental shifts, spasms, her body made disgusting sounds, the victim spat, sweated, vomited, she suffered from diarrhea. Waves of heat and cold could roll across the room. Objects could be moved: furniture, clothes, carpets, lamps and toys. Usually they were removed so that they would not fly around the room and break.
From a spiritual point of view, Christian exorcism is a duel between the devil and the exorcist for the soul of the victim. However, there is no refuge. During the ritual, the priest and his assistant should be relatively sinless, for the devil can throw their sins in their faces and severely criticize them. To every cunning trick of the devil, the exorcist must oppose an open demand to leave in the name of Christ, threatening, if the devil does not obey, with incessant pain and curse. In addition, the exorcist must be firm in the belief that the power of Jesus Christ transcends all.
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Among Christians, the formal ritual of exorcism existed only in the Roman Catholic Church. These are Roman rituals (Rituale Romanum) dating back to 1614. Less formally, exorcisms were performed by Protestant priests.
Without following a specific procedure, the exorcist uses prayers, swearing, electric shock, beatings, hunger, smells of fragrant substances, substances that have a disgusting taste, which they feed the victim. Cheremitsa, rose oil and rue work very well. Salt was very rare in Europe in the Middle Ages. They believed that she brings spiritual purity. Salt has always been used in exorcism rituals and is still used today. Wine is also used, symbolizing the blood of Christ.
Catholics became the most famous among the exorcists. Several priests performed a ritual to the public in the squares, calling upon the demons of Lucifer, Nambrof, Bechet, Nashtaroth and Nabam to come out. In the 20th century, the church no longer attaches such great importance to demon possession and exorcism. In 1991, however, authorities allowed the American Broadcasting Company to film and broadcast live on television of a young girl's exorcism. For the first time in the history of the church, exorcism was shown on television, in the show "20/20". The victim vomited, she shook her fist, spoke obscenities in a changed voice. But the exorcism was not as dramatic as audiences expected based on the sensational procedures in films like The Exorcist. He did not convince the skeptics. The exorcism did not lead to recovery, the girl soon turned to psychiatrists again. Nevertheless,church representatives said they believe that the devil continues to annoy people.
The idea that a demon can take possession of an innocent person is an important tenet of the approximately eight million Pentacostal Chr in the United States. The five-ribbed and so-called "Charismatics" practice "deliverance pastorship," in which the one who claims to be "gifted" casts out demons and heals with the laying on of hands. prayers, urging him to come out. If the victim is truly possessed, the demons eventually reveal themselves, shouting out the names of sins that are their essence, like Lust, Envy, Greed. If the victim returns to Christ, the congregation joyfully offers prayers of thanks.
Exorcism occupied a different place in Iduaism. The Old Testament mentions possession and the casting out of evil spirits. In the Book of Kings, Saul is possessed by a demon who is cast out by David playing the lyre. In the Book of Tobit, Tobit learns about the exorcism from the angel Raphael. Talmudic literature of the 1st century A. D. mentions exorcist rituals. The most famous exorcism is the dybbuk.
In Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and animism, there are many spirits and ghosts responsible for diseases and unpleasant situations that can be ritually banished. In some shamanic traditions, the shaman goes into an ecstatic trance, going on a quest, recapturing a person's soul captured by a demon, and then casting out the demon.
Secular and ecclesiastical experts hold more modern views of obsession and exorcism. An American medium and psychologist, Carl Weekland, and his wife, Anna, believed that spirits were rarely evil, rather they were embarrassed and captured by the aura of a living person. At the same time, they caused multiplication or split personality, mental disorders from “simple mental abnormalities to … all types of dementia, hysteria, epilepsy, melancholy, contusion, kleptomania, idiocy, religious and suicidal mania, amnesia, mental disability, alcoholism, immorality, functional sodomy, cruelty and other types of crime "- wrote Wickland in his book" Thirty Years Among the Dead "(1924). The Weeklands used persuasion and mild electric shock to free the spirits.
Kanen John D. Pierce-Higgins, an English priest, also used persuasion. Dr. Martin Israel, a priest and senior lecturer in pathology at the University of London, agreed with this method, adding that most disembodied creatures are family members or friends of the victim trying to finish their earthly affairs.
English priest, Rev. J. C. Neil-Smith, of Hempstead, England, announced that he had conducted over eight hundred successful exorcisms from both people and places. He believed in both confused spirits and evil demons, believing that creatures who do not know rest fill the room with cold, and demons - with dry heat. Despite the fact that the Reverend Neil-Smith read the liturgy to exorcise the entities, he relied more on the conviction that the spirits would leave, and in his power to force them to do so.
Donald Page, a medium and exorcist, relies on guidance from above to drive out unwanted spirits. He felt the vibrations of the spirits, determining by them the degree of their malice, sometimes he caught an unpleasant smell. Page claimed to be able to see the patient's aura, and if a spirit enters the aura, he removes it from there, taking it in before sending it away. In this case, the patient sees how the spirit changes Page, giving him its own appearance, demonstrating the traits that characterize this spirit: hostility, shyness, dementia, aggressiveness or even anger. Depending on the degree of obsession, it is sometimes necessary to conduct several exorcisms. Page believes that by observing his transformation, the patient will be more resistant to the spirit's attempts to master him.
In California, psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Ellison writes in Shattered Mind (1980) that over the years of research, his patients, especially those with multiple personality disorder, have shown signs of demonic possession. Exorcism was recommended to them along with the usual treatment. One patient, a drug addict named Carrie, suffered from a fear of suffocation and death next New Year's Eve. The medium reported that Carrie was possessed by the spirit of a young woman named Bonnie, who died in 1968 from drug overdose.
Allison rejected this version at first. But when the patient's condition worsened, he tried expulsion of the spirit. He first hypnotized Carrie. Then he spoke to her, trying to determine if Bonnie was part of her personality. Carrie said no. Under deep hypnosis, she asked to get rid of Bonnie. Allison hung a crystal ball over Carrie and urged Bonnie to leave the victim alone, saying that when the ball stopped spinning, he would know that Bonnie was gone. The spirit left Carrie. The girl was no longer afraid of meeting the New Year. The fear of suffocation also disappeared.
In Christianity, there are no formal rituals for expelling spirits from places. A similar ritual may involve a priest sprinkling holy water on the ground and burning incense, demanding that the spirit leave this place.
Various magical rituals allegedly pacify the spirits that disturb the surroundings, especially if they live in the cemetery, in particular the spirits of murderers and suicides. To do this, you need to draw a magic circle on the ground that protects a person from ghosting. At midnight, the spellcaster steps into a circle and summons the ghost, which materializes with a loud crash. The caster then demands an explanation of what caused the spirit to appear. In accordance with the teaching, the ghost will answer all questions in a deaf voice. Usually the reason lies in the unfinished business. If the exorcist promises to fulfill the last wish of the ghost, it disappears and no longer appears.
If a disturbing spirit appears in the house, then the ritual is slightly modified. The exorcist enters the house at midnight carrying a candle, a compass, a crucifix and a Bible. He draws a magic circle, draws a cross inside it. The caster places a chair and a table on the cross. He sits down on a chair, puts the Bible and the crucifix on the table, lights a candle. The ghost appears with a noise and resolves all issues before meekly leaving. If the exorcist is a priest, he will sprinkle the spirit with holy water or show him a crucifix. In fact, such rituals are rarely performed, or at least rarely follow a similar pattern. Sometimes the ghosts do not answer questions and the exorcisms performed by the priests fail.
In China, ghosts from houses are traditionally driven out by a Taoist priest. First, in the place where the spirit dwells, an altar is erected, then incense sticks are lit and laid on it. Dressed in a red dress, blue socks and a black hat, the priest enters the house. In his left hand he holds a cup, in his right - a sword. The Taoist takes seven steps to the left and eight to the right and sings: “God of heaven and earth, dress me with many powers so that I can drive evil spirits of all kinds from this dwelling. If any of them do not obey me, give me the power to order the demon lords for safe protection. " Addressing the demon, the priest adds: "Disappear quickly, like light," puts down the sword, picks up a bunch of willow twigs, puts them in a cup and sprinkles ash water in the corners of the house in accordance with the cardinal points. He again takes the sword and with a cup goes to the east corner and says:"I have power, Tai-Shaong, Lu-Kiwan." The Taoist drinks from a cup and spits out water with the words: "Kill the green spirits caused by unlucky stars, or let them go." The ritual is repeated in all corners, but instead of green, red, white and yellow are mentioned.
The priest's assistants beat gongs and drums. The Taoist says:
"Evil spirits of the east (west, south, north), I send you back to the east (west, south, north)." The priest goes to the exit, making magic signs in the air with his hands and a sword, and announces that the house has been cleared of ghosts.
From the book: "Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits"
