Belial
Student D 184
Belial is a formidable leader in the world of hell. Like many demons, he has many names. Demons have many names from different belief systems. Belial’s names include Worthless, Beliaal, Beliar and sometimes people think Belial is another name for Satan (Bellanger pg. 67). He is called Adversary (Livingston pg. 41) and Northern Crown Prince of Satanism (crabtree). He has gone by the title hell’s Ambassador to turkey, Matanbuchus, Angel of lawlessness, King of evil, Angel of Hostility, Prince of darkness, and Beliall (Bellanger pg. 68-69) as well as Beleth (Ars Goetia). According to Villians, the meaning of Belial is “without a master”. According to wikipedia.org/wiki/Belial, Belial is the angel of darkness. He is also the ruler of evil powers (Murjahel 2013).
When researching the sigils and seal of Belial. I did not find any descriptions regarding them other than according to Mathers who states that the seal of Belial is in gold which is to Venus.
One of Belial’s tasks has been the giving of familiars (Bellanger pg. 333). A familiar is a supernatural spirit or animal guide that assists a magick practitioner with their workings (wiki familiars). According to my past upbringing, familiars are small demons or animals who are possessed by demon(s) and assist a magician or sorcerer in their magical workings. According to wiki familiars:
“Familiar spirits were most commonly small animals such as cats, rats, dogs, ferrets, birds, frogs, toads, and hares. There were also cases of wasps and butterflies, as well as pigs, sheep, and horses. Familiar spirits were usually kept in pots or baskets lined with sheep’s wool and fed a variety of things including, milk, bread, meat, and blood”.
Due to the ignorance pervasive at the Salem witch trials, some people used to hunt down and kill animals that had strange or unfamiliar colors or mannerisms fearing them to be a witch’s familiars (wiki familiars). More than just the giver of familiars, Belial also has a significant story accredited to him.
Belial is known in certain circles as one of the four crowned princes of hell (villians). According to wikipedia.org/wiki/Belial;
“In the Dead Sea Scrolls, Belial is further contrasted with God. These are the Angel of Light and the Angel of Darkness. The Manual of Discipline identifies the Angel of Light as God himself. The Angel of Darkness is identified in the same scroll as Belial.”
The “worthless one” as people call him appears to have great rank and power in the area concerning Hell. According to Ars Goetia, Belial appears as a king and is the 68th Demon on the list of 72. Furthermore, Belanger states Belial was created right after Lucifer and is ranked equally with Satan, Leviathan, and Lucifer. Belanger goes on to say that Belial is one of three top ranking demons of the 72 that was trapped by King Solomon. Based off of the Goetia, Belial commands 80 legions of demons and 50 legions of spirits. “He was created as the first, after Lucifer” (Ars Goetia). The Goetia also states that He has the power to give higher ranking political titles as well. Livingston said that that he feels that there are several demons who are blamed for all the evil and wrong in the world. He says that they are “Satan (Devil), Lucifer, Belial, Beelzebub, Mastemah, Ahriman and Semihazah” as well as a few others. Belial is described as “a great fallen angel, once of the virtues, who is described as being the very essence of evil” (Mayette). Accoring to the Kopeelman Foundation, some groups around the area of Babylonia seek to identify Belial with one of their goddesses called Belili, a very powerful demon who was second in rank and power to the archangel Lucifer himself who was the most powerful of the arch angels. Deliriumsrealm.com adds that when the antichrist finally makes his appearance, Belial will be released against Israel.
Thinking to myself, why would anyone want to deal with demons, let alone summon one into this world? Anyone stupid enough to summon a demon, let alone summon Belial, deserves what they get from the confrontation in my opinion. Ars Goetia says Belial must be presented with offerings, sacrifices and gifts, or else he will not give true answers to demands. According to Koetting in his YouTube video, “Belial is able to influence or manipulate situations”. In this video, he summons the nine kings. He starts off with an educational lecture about some of the abilities these demons have and how to summon them into animal skulls in order to more quickly have access to them. There are other rules and techniques when summoning Belial as well. My friend, who only wants to go by the name of Earl, says that when one summons Belial one should follow the ways of old and wear a silver ring on the middle finger of one’s left hand and hold it to one’s cheek when communicating with Belial during the summoning. “He appears as an angel in a fiery chariot, but his intention is to deceive all, including those who conjure him” (Crabtree). Summoning is all well and good, but what happens when things go wrong, and one has to exorcise the demon or demons summoned?
The rites to exorcise a demon or demons is very important. If things go wrong, one needs to know how to defend one self. It definitely helps if one has divinity to back one up. “The lesser demons may be seen as small grey-to-black blobs attached to the clients energy body or to a spirit entity attached to a clients body” (Livingston pg. 257). Livingston also states that Michael the archangel is a great help and should be called upon when the demon refuses to go. A couple of my other friends, who don’t want to give their names, say that one should also call upon Gabriel, Raphael and Uril. With my studies as well, I have noticed that Kali Maa gets the job done pretty well too. Kali Maa is known as a demon slayer as one of her traits, and she happens to be one of my wife’s patron goddesses. My wife says that demon slaying is one of her many jobs.
In conclusion, Belial goes by many names and is very powerful, second only to Lucifer. Belial is known for giving people excellent familiars. A familiar is a supernatural animal or being that helps in magickal workings. Belial is known as “worthless”. Belial is one of the top three ranking demons that King Solomon trapped in his ring. I learned that either King Solomon was very powerful or that demons in general are not as powerful as they claim. Furthermore, when summoning Belial, one must offer gifts and sacrifices if they want him to help the summoner. What I learned from this paper is further confirmation that demons cannot and should not be trusted.
References
“ http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Belial_(demonology) “ 2016
“ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belial “ 2016
Livingston, John G. Adversaries Walk Among Us A guide to the origin, Nature, and removal of demons and spirits. 2004
Belanger, Michelle. Names of the Damed The Dictionary of Demons. 2010
Mathers, S.L. MacGregor,and Aleister Crowley“ http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/index.htm “ 1904
Admin “ http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/demonlistA-E.asp “
“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_Goetia#Ars_Goetia “ 2016
Wise, Michael, and Martin Abegg JR, and Edward Cook. The Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation. 2005
Mayette, Lisa” http://hafapea.com/angelpages/angels2.html#beliael“ 1998
