Tales Of The Devil

[Anonymous]

Sinister??? where?

I wasn't implying anything sinister. Just a funny coincidence I thought! Though the Babel Fish is probably is the most "sinister" thing IN the universe!

 

[stonedog3]

When I read it I assumed it was the sort of allusion many would pick up on but wouldn't alienate people who didn't get it.

Kath

 

[_Lizard23_]

Both the Robert Johnson and Led Zep "pact with the devil" stories are somewhat dubious.
The Led Zep thing probably arose from Jimmy Page's interest in Aleister Crowley and his work .... judging by the amount of er lively debate the mere mention of Crowley's name has generated on this board in the past I think it is safe to say a fair number of people share that interest .... without being indefinitely and tragically enslaved to the dark one
I am not sure but I think the "Page's magic meddling cursed the band" idea possibly comes from Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis which is an unauthorised biography of the band and is widely considered to be amusing and legend-enhancing but utterly unreliable fact-wise.

This excellent site on hoodoo has a good bit on the Robert Johnson story, the "devil at the crossroads" meme and is the best online resource I have seen on the paraphenalia, practice, history etc of root work.

http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Re: Images of the devil

Yes I think the Devil is an "evil" (in the Christian sense) version of Pan. Music and sex and other things associated with Pan/Devil are now viewed with suspicion by the religious establishment.

Hope this is coherent I'm in a rush, (breaktime).

Yep - picture the scene:

A group of villagers practicing their ancient folklore/pagan rites/festivals have an image of the Goddess and the Horned God (AKA Pan, amongst other things) come to the attention of the Clergy.

Keen to suppress the Old Religion, anyone seen to be worshipping the Horned God (Horns, Hinds legs of a goat, cloven hooves - he represents the wild, nature, plants & animals) is said to be an enemny of Christianity.

I reckon the image of Pan became the image of the Anti-Christ or the Devil through this sort of control and subversion.
The entity, then took on an evil persona as the Great Adversary.

So if you really want authentic images of the Devil, look for images of the Pagan Horned God, Pan, Cernussos, Herne etc, etc.

He's the real one, though not evil IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

Devil stories

Verchiel,

I guess that one of the best stories you could find is Jaques Cazotte's The Devil In Love. There is an edition from Dedalus (ISBN: 0946626731), but I appreciate very much a french pocket edition, with the original XVIII century illustrations (Flammarion; ISBN: 2080703617). I will try to find some other good stories I can suggest.

Chico

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Re: Re: Images of the devil

I reckon the image of Pan became the image of the Anti-Christ or the Devil through this sort of control and subversion.
The entity, then took on an evil persona as the Great Adversary.

Interestingly, Pan is linked with Dionysis, and apparently certain Greek writers in the Palestine region identified Dionysis with ...Yahweh! (Apparently because the rites the Hebrews observed involved much singing and dancing!)

 

[Anonymous]

The Devil In Love

Thank you muchly Chico,

I will endeavour to look into this one closely when I have more time on my hands. At the mo, being near to xmas I have crimble prezzies to buy and countless bills to pay, as you may well imagine!

And thank you all for your helpful input into my question, you've all been most helpful. I shall look into everything you all have said on the subject.

Nighty night!

Verchiel

 

[Anonymous]

Verchiel, I just remembered another good book about the subject, with cross references between Pan, the Devil figure and the late XIXth century mythology about the evil. It's Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan". I guess it's still easy to find a good pocket edition.

Chico

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Images of the devil

...Yahweh! (Apparently because the rites the Hebrews observed involved much singing and dancing!)

and sacrificing animals,

 

[escargot]

The Great God Pan

Pass me my mulled wine, poke the crackling log, light up the silver candelabra and draw the velvet curtains.
Settle back in your old leather armchair, and I will read us a chapter of our good friend Mr Machen's new book.

"I am glad you came, Clarke; very glad indeed. I was not sure you could spare the time."

 

[TulipTree]

There's "The Devil and Daniel Webster".

http://www.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/devil/devil.htm

Essentially, Daniel Webster decides to represent his neighbor Jabez Stone in court. Jabez sold his soul to the devil and regretted it when the payment came due. It's a tongue in cheek story of yankee ingenuity.

Edit: I just realized that's not really what you're looking for. . It's kind of cool that the devil recatches someone's soul in his handkerchief like it's a moth...

 

[Yithian]

Re: Re: Re: Images of the devil


Interestingly, Pan is linked with Dionysis, and apparently certain Greek writers in the Palestine region identified Dionysis with ...Yahweh! (Apparently because the rites the Hebrews observed involved much singing and dancing!)

There's an awful lot of speculation when it comes to identifying specific gods and worship practices from from low-fidelity images.

No doubt there has been extensive cross-comparison with other contemporaneous finds, but would, for instance, your first thought here be 'horned god' or perhaps something... bunnier?

Title
Carved stone (stone) Horned god figure
Creation date
Roman
Description
Romano-British (2nd to 4th century AD), from Bremenium (High Rochester) Roman fort, Sandstone (32 x 20 x 13 cm), The horned male figule stands facing us with his short arms by his side. In his left hand he holds a small round object, probably a patera (a flat pan). His head is oval and his nose, instead of protruding, is incised on the face. His eyes are two small holes, the mouth a slit. The nipples are represented by incised circles on the chest.
Dimensions
height 310 mm; width 200 mm; depth 90 mm
Material
materials – inorganic material – rock – stone
Object number
DURMA.1986.161.1
Production period
Roman

Source:
https://discover.durham.ac.uk/primo...ine&tab=mus-col_tab&query=any,contains,Horned