Editing Demon (section)

=== European occultism and Renaissance magic ===
{{See also|Jinn|Daimon}}
Under influence of [[Islamic philosophy]], [[occultism|Medieval occult traditions]] and [[Renaissance magic]], demons are often seen as beneficial and useful, lacking an inherent negative connotation.<ref name="Saif, Liana 2015">{{Cite book |last=Saif |first=Liana |title=The Arabic influences on early modern occult philosophy |date=2015 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke}}</ref> In fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Renaissance magic, the terms ''demon'' and ''devil'' have two different, although not exclusive, meanings.<ref name="Maggi, A. 2001 p. 14-15">Maggi, A. (2001). Satan's Rhetoric: A Study of Renaissance Demonology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 14-15</ref> The term ''demons'' refers to a cluster of supernatural beings, such as daimons, spirits, and devils, affecting the mind.<ref name="Maggi, A. 2001 p. 14-15"/> While some people fear demons, or attempt to exorcise them, others willfully attempt to summon them for knowledge, assistance, or power. [[William of Conches]] ({{circa|1090/1091|1155/1170s}}) understands ''demon'' closer to the Greek ''{{Lang|grc-latn|daimōn}}'', reserving the concept of the devil only for the "demons of the lower regions":<blockquote>You think, as I infer from your words, that a demon is the same as a devil, which is not the case. For a demon is said to be any invisible being using reason, as if knowing. Of these the two high orders are called calodemons, that is, 'good knowing ones', the lower order is called cacodemon, that is, 'evil knowing one', for calos means 'good', cacos 'bad'.<ref name="Saif, Liana 2015"/></blockquote>

In the sixteenth century, among proponents of demons as ambivalent spirits, [[Paracelsus]] was the most vocal.<ref name="Goodare, Julian 2018">Goodare, Julian. "Between humans and angels: Scientific uses for fairies in early modern Scotland." Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom (2018): 175.</ref> He asserted that these beings are spirit-like and thus not human, but they have bodies and flesh and are thus, not angels.<ref name="Goodare, Julian 2018"/> [[Robert Kirk (folklorist)|Robert Kirk]] (1644–1692) integrated [[Fairy|fairies]] into his theories of intermediary spirits.<ref>Goodare, Julian. "Between humans and angels: Scientific uses for fairies in early modern Scotland." Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom (2018): 180.</ref> He suggested that these beings are structured similar to human societies, intelligent beings who eat and drink yet invisible to most humans.<ref>Goodare, Julian. "Between humans and angels: Scientific uses for fairies in early modern Scotland." Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom (2018): 181.</ref> Their views were rejected by demonologists and religious orthodoxy and labelled as "atheistic". They denied that spirits could have an autonomeous existence and that they are demons with the sole purpose of deceiving and harming people.<ref>Goodare, Julian. "Between humans and angels: Scientific uses for fairies in early modern Scotland." Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom (2018): 186-187.</ref>

A variety of spirits or the assumption that demons might be morally ambivalent is encouraged by [[necromancy]].<ref>Goodare, Julian. "Between humans and angels: Scientific uses for fairies in early modern Scotland." Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom (2018): 174.</ref> Here, a necromancer supposedly converses with the spirits of the dead. A ceremonial magician usually consults a [[grimoire]], which gives the names and abilities of demons as well as detailed instructions for conjuring and controlling them. Grimoires are not limited to demons – some give instructions for the invocation of deity, a process called [[theurgy]]. The use of ceremonial magic to call demons is also known as [[goetia|''goetia'']], a word derived from the Greek word {{Lang|grc-latn|goes}}, which originally denoted [[Divination|diviners]], [[Magic (supernatural)#Magicians|magicians]], healers, and [[Oracle|seer]]s.{{sfnp|Drury|Hume|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oV4BjGoOZvoC&pg=PA124 124]}}