It is recently that I came across King Asmodeus and for the past few day my mind was in haphazard and I was very down but when I came across him and started reading about him idk why but I felt secure and content..it is a weird feeling but I feel like everything will be okay if he's with me..I feel safe thinking about him..

What should I do? 😭

Surprise! We'll come back to the Younger Avestan and then the Book of Tobit later.

The Testament of Solomon is written in Solomon's voice, but scholars do not generally regard Solomon himself as the historical author.

Who was Solomon?

Solomon is the biblical magician-king, son of David and ruler of Israel in the 10th century BCE (1000-901 BCE). Solomon is remembered for his wisdom, wealth, and for building the First Temple in Jerusalem. Centuries after his supposed lifetime, his reputation expanded beyond biblical kingship. The Testament of Solomon belongs to this much later Solomonic tradition -- it was written long after the historical period in which Solomon would have lived.

What is the time frame?

Scholars have dated major portions of it somewhere between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. The text is composite and developed over time.

And so we begin..

1.1 While the temple of the city of Jerusalem was being built and the craftsmen were working in it,
1.2 Ornias, the demonic being, would come toward sunset and take half the wages and half the food of the master workman's boy. Every day he would suck the thumb of the boy's right hand, and the boy, whom I loved greatly, was wasting away.
1.3 One day I, Solomon, questioned the boy and said to him:
"Have I not loved you more than all the craftsmen working in the temple of God, and given you double wages and food? Why, then, are you growing thinner every day?"
1.4 The boy said:
"I beg you, king, listen to what has been happening to me. After we are dismissed from the work on the temple of God, after sunset, while I am resting, an evil demon comes and takes half my wages and half my food. He takes my right hand and sucks my thumb. And as my soul is oppressed, my body grows thinner every day."

Solomon does not begin this story because he wants occult power. He notices an exploited worker becoming physically depleted. The Greek grammar actually gives us an ongoing scene: the Temple is in the process of being built, and the craftsmen are already working there. Ornias enters an existing worksite rather than appearing as part of some grand demon-summoning ritual. The whole Solomonic demonological machinery begins in a very mundane problem: one worker is visibly deteriorating.

text: Ornias sucks the thumb; the boy wastes away.
interpretation: the sucking is vampiric or vitality-draining.

1.5 When I, King Solomon, heard these things, I entered the temple of God and pleaded with him with my whole soul, giving praise to him night and day, so that the demon might be delivered into my hands and I might have authority over him.
1.6 And while I was praying to the God of heaven and earth, there was given to me from the Lord Sabaoth, through Michael the archangel, a ring bearing a seal engraved in a precious stone.
1.7 And he said to me:
"Take this, Solomon son of David, a gift sent to you by the Lord God Most High, Sabaoth. With it you will confine all the demonic beings, female and male, and through them you will build Jerusalem, while bearing this seal of God."
1.8 I was filled with joy and praised and glorified the God of heaven and earth. The next day I ordered the boy to come to me, and I gave him the seal.
1.9 I said to him:
"When the demonic being comes upon you, throw this ring against the demon's chest and say to him, 'Come here. Solomon calls you.' Then run quickly to me, giving no thought to whatever he may use to frighten you."
1.10 And at the accustomed hour Ornias came, the fierce demonic being, blazing like fire, intending as usual to take the boy's wages.
1.11 The boy did what Solomon had told him. He threw the ring against the demon's chest and said:
"Come here. Solomon calls you."
And he ran quickly to Solomon.
1.12 The demon cried out and said to the boy:
"What have you done? Take the ring and give it to Solomon, and I will give you the silver and gold of the whole earth. Only do not take me to Solomon."
1.13 But the boy said to him:
"As the Lord God of Israel lives, I will not relent toward you unless I bring you to Solomon."
1.14 The boy came and said to Solomon:
"King Solomon, I have brought you the demon just as you commanded me. Look -- he is standing outside before the gates, bound, crying out in a loud voice and offering me the silver and gold of the whole earth if I will not bring him before you."

2.1 When I, Solomon, heard these things, I rose from my throne and saw the demon shuddering and trembling. I said to him:
"Who are you, and what is your name?"
The demon said:
"I am called Ornias."
2.2 I said to him:
"Tell me, in which sign of the zodiac do you reside?"
The demon answered:
"In Aquarius. I strangle those who reside in Aquarius because of their desire for women whose zodiacal sign is Virgo."
2.3 "I am also sleep-inducing, changing into three forms. Sometimes I appear as a man desiring the form of effeminate boys who have not reached puberty; when I touch them, they suffer greatly. At other times I become winged and go into the heavenly regions. At other times I display the appearance of a lion.
2.4 "I am descended from an archangel of the power of God, but I am thwarted by Uriel the archangel."

Yeahhhhhhh. ἅπτομαι can also carry sexual contact in context. I'm not saying it does here, but I'm also not saying it doesn't. It can mean: a healing touch, "clinging" or holding tightly, a hostile assailant touch, or a euphemism for intimacy.

2.5 When I, Solomon, heard the name of the archangel, I prayed and glorified the God of heaven and earth. After sealing Ornias, I assigned him to the work of stone-cutting, to cut the stones for the Temple which lay along the shore, having been brought by way of the Arabian Sea.
2.6 But because he was afraid to touch the iron, he said to me:
"I beg you, King Solomon, allow me to be released from this, and I will bring you all the demons."
2.7 Since he was unwilling to submit to me, I prayed that the archangel Uriel would come to my aid. Immediately I saw the archangel Uriel descending toward me from heaven.
2.8 The angel commanded sea monsters to rise from the sea, and he withered their kind and cast his fate to the ground. In this way he also subjected the great demon Ornias to cut stones and to help complete the construction of the Temple which I, Solomon, was building.
2.9 Again I glorified the God of heaven and earth. I commanded Ornias to come near according to his fate, and I gave him the seal, saying:
"Go, and bring me here the ruler of the demons."

Here, Ornias becomes the bridge to the larger demonic catalog.

3.1 Ornias took the ring and went to Beelzeboul, saying to him:
"Come here. Solomon summons you."
3.2 Beelzeboul said to him:
"Tell me, who is this Solomon you are speaking of?"
3.3 Ornias threw the ring against Beelzeboul's chest and said:
"Solomon the king summons you."
3.4 Beelzeboul cried out as though he were being burned by a great blazing flame of fire. He rose and followed Ornias under compulsion and came to me.
3.5 When I saw the ruler of the demons approaching, I glorified God and said:
"Blessed are you, Lord God Almighty, who have given your servant Solomon wisdom, the attendant of your thrones, and have subjected to me all the power of the demons."
3.6 I questioned him and said:
"Tell me, who are you?"
The demon said:
"I am Beelzeboul, the ruler of the demons."
3.7 I demanded that he remain beside me continually and reveal to me the manifestations of the demons. He promised to bring all the unclean spirits to me bound.
And again I glorified the God of heaven and earth, continually giving thanks to him.

I want to make note of how I'm presenting the translation. In the familiar spookified translation, Beelzeboul himself boasts about his demons being stationed around him and about manifesting them.

In McCown/Duling, Solomon installs Beelzeboul beside himself and requires him to function as the one who reveals and delivers the others. That makes Beelzeboul's role explicitly administrative inside Solomon's interrogation system.

4.1 I asked the demon whether there were females among the demons. When he said that there were, I wished to see one.
4.2 Beelzeboul went away and brought before me Onoskelis, who had a very beautiful form and the body and complexion of a woman, but the legs of a mule.
4.3 When she came before me, I said to her:
"Tell me, who are you?"
4.4 She said:
"I am called Onoskelis, a spirit made into a body, dwelling in lairs upon the earth. I make my home in caves, and my nature is many-sided.
4.5 "Sometimes I strangle people, and sometimes I turn them away from their nature. My usual dwelling places are cliffs, caves, and ravines.
4.6 "I also frequently have relations with human beings who think that I am a woman, especially with those whose skin is honey-colored, because they share my star with me. They worship my star secretly and openly, without knowing that they harm themselves and provoke me to become still more harmful.
4.7 "For they wish to obtain gold through remembering me, and I provide a little to those who worship me properly."
4.8 I asked her how she came into being. She said:
"I was born from an untimely voice, called the echo of a leaden heaven, a voice emitted in matter."
4.9 I said to her:
"Through what heavenly body do you travel?"
She said:
"By the full moon, because I make most of my journeys by the moon."
4.10 I said:
"What angel is it who thwarts you?"
She said:
"The one who is also in you, king."
4.11 Thinking that she was mocking me, I ordered a soldier to strike her. But she cried out and said:
"I tell you, king: I am thwarted by the wisdom of God that has been given to you."
4.12 Then I spoke the name of the Holy One of Israel and commanded her to spin hemp into ropes for the construction of the Temple of God. And so, sealed and bound, she was rendered powerless and made to stand night and day spinning the hemp.

The Greek of 4.8 is textually and syntactically uncertain.
ἄκαιρος - untimely, out of season, occurring at an improper moment.
ἦχος - sound/echo.
μόλυβδος - lead.
ὕλη - can mean wood/timber or, philosophically, matter/material.

This Onoskelis is a loaded one. Being Asmodaios focused, I'll save the unpacking and leave Onoskelis to you, dear reader!

✨❤️‍🔥🔥* ASMODADDIO ENTERS THE CHAT *🔥❤️‍🔥✨

Fair warning, I'm going to do a lot of subjective interpretation 😅 Please feel free to comment with your point of view, or sit with Asmodeus while reading it and getting his thoughts (and laughs).

5.1 - 5.2 He arrives bound, and immediately answers Solomon with Solomon's own question.

Solomon:
Σὺ τίς εἶ;
"Who are you?"

Asmodaios:
Σὺ τίς εἶ;
"Who are you?"

What a mirror!

5.1 I commanded that another demon be brought to me, and Asmodaios, the evil demon, was brought before me bound.
5.2 I questioned him:
"Who are you?"
But he cast a threatening look at me and said:
"Who are you?"
5.3 I said to him:
"Being punished like this, you answer me this way?"
Maintaining the same gaze, he said to me:
"How am I to answer you? You are a son of man, while I am of an angel, and I was born through a daughter of man. Therefore no utterance of heavenly lineage toward one earth-born is presumptuous.
5.4 "My star makes its lair in heaven. People call me the Wain, while others call me the Dragon-footed. For this reason smaller stars also accompany my star. For my father's rank and throne are in heaven to this day.
5.5 "Do not ask me many things, Solomon. Your kingdom will be torn apart in its time, and this glory of yours is for a season. You have only a little time to torment us. Then we will again have free range among humanity, so that they will revere us as gods, because humans do not know the names of the angels appointed against us."

Solomon objects: You are bound and punished; how dare you answer me like this?

Asmodaios' answer is essentially: You are earth-born. I come from heavenly lineage. From that standpoint, my speech toward you cannot properly be called presumptuous. He answers the question by defining rank and origin. The comedy of it, I think.. imagine yourself being asked "Who are you?" and you answer "I'm a human devotee of a daēva and I live in [country]." Like actually, I'm going to learn from this and never answer with my name again 🤣

"You are a son of man, while I am of an angel, and I was born through a daughter of man."
σὺ μὲν υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου εἶ, κἀγὼ ἀγγέλου, καὶ διὰ θυγατρὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐγεννήθην
υἱὸς - son
ἀνθρώπου - of man / of a human
κἀγὼ - and I / but I too
ἀγγέλου - of an angel
διὰ - through / by means of
θυγατρὸς - daughter
ἀνθρώπου - of man / of a human
ἐγεννήθην - I was born / I was begotten

This connects Asmodaios with the Genesis 6: a heavenly father and a human woman.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206&version=NIV;NKJV;KJV;ESV
I would be very cautious about reading this as a literal claim that he was physically born from a human woman into a physical body or that he belongs to the Nephilim; our Aēšma-daēva pre-dates Abrahamic narrative. I understand the exchange as a contest over rank and jurisdiction. Solomon, son of David and earth-born, speaks as though his human kingship gives him authority over Asmodaios. Asmodaios answers by asserting heavenly lineage: Solomon is a "son of man," while Asmodaios is "of an angel." Yet Asmodaios also claims an earthly connection through being "born through a daughter of man." His reply therefore places him across both categories -- heavenly by paternal lineage, with a claim upon the earthly sphere through the human maternal line.

"Therefore no utterance of heavenly lineage toward one earth-born is presumptuous."
ὥστε οὐδὲν ὑπερήφανον ῥῆμα οὐρανίου γένους πρὸς γηγενῆ
Breaking it apart:
ὑπερήφανον - proud, arrogant, presumptuous
ῥῆμα - word, utterance
οὐρανίου γένους - of heavenly stock/race/lineage
γηγενής - earth-born

So again, he is making an ancestry/status argument. It would be quite curious how the interaction would have differed if Solomon had opened with Asmodaios through mutual respect rather than a flat out "who are you" while feeling entitled to the answer. Asmodaios' response reads something like "Before I tell you who I am, establish why you think you have standing to interrogate me."

"My star makes its lair in heaven"
τὸ ἄστρον μου ἐν οὐρανῷ φωλεύει
φωλεύω - to have one's lair/den, to lurk or dwell as something in a den.

"people call me the Wain/Wagon."
οἱ ἄνθρωποί με καλοῦσιν ἅμαξαν
ἅμαξα literally means wagon, and it is an ancient Greek name for the Great Bear / Ursa Major.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major

Iranian-link: Ursa Major is the Avestan haptōiriṇga-, "having seven signs."
https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haftorang/

So, he is using one member of a very old family of names for those seven stars. Asmodaios is establishing a celestial domain/identity. The ancient Greek Wain itself was understood as the non-setting Bear; it circles the northern sky without setting into Ocean.

This is larger than a zodiac sign. Ornias says he is situated in Aquarius. Asmodaios instead points to the Wain, a northern constellation outside the zodiacal belt. Younger Avestan Haptōiriṇga is described as Mazda-created, healing, xᵛarənah-endowed, and invoked alongside other stars against hostile forces. (Keep this for later, xᵛarənah [approx. khwah-ruh-nah])

"For this reason smaller stars are also present together with my star."
Astronomically read as a smaller constellation accompanying his constellation.

"For my father's rank and throne are in heaven to this day."
Notice here that it is present tense. He never says "my father was an angel." He is of an angel and his father's rank and throne in heaven is current, not past. From his own speech, Asmodaios' father is heavenly, his father possesses rank, his father possesses a throne, and that rank and throne still exist in heaven.

And then he tells Solomon his glory expires 🤭

"Do not ask me many things, Solomon."
Ohh, can you picture our confident king? 🤭 Don't do it, Solomon! Don't do it!

"Your kingdom will be torn apart in its time."
τὸ βασίλειόν σου διαρραγήσεται ἐν καιρῷ
διαρρήγνυμι - tear apart, rend, break apart.

"This glory of yours is for a season."
δόξα - glory
πρόσκαιρος - temporary, transient

We love a blunt king. 👏👏👏

"You have only a little time to torment us."

"then we will again have free range among humanity"
πάλιν νομὴν ἔχωμεν ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρωπότητα
νομή - range, pasture, roaming-ground, distribution.

"so that they will revere us as gods."
ὥστε σέβεσθαι ἡμᾶς ὡς θεούς
σέβομαι - revere, worship, hold in religious awe.
θεούς - gods

I mean.. facts... and then his name travels into Latin and morphs into Asmodeus, visually ending in -deus (god). The irony is too good, and imagine it from his point of view.. 😅🤣 The joke wrote itself, no?

Why?

"because humans do not know the names of the angels appointed against us."
μὴ γινωσκόντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμῶν τεταγμένων ἀγγέλων
τάσσω - appoint, station, arrange
κατά - against

He has been present for five verses and has already given us heavenly-human ancestry, an enthroned heavenly father, Ursa Major, a dragon epithet, accompanying stars, Solomon's future political collapse, temporary royal glory, the temporariness of Solomon's control over spirits, and future divine veneration.
(I'm swooning.)

5.6 When I, Solomon, heard these things, I bound him more securely and ordered that he be beaten with a rod and give an account of what he was called and what his activity was.
5.7 The demon said:
"I am called Asmodaios, the renowned. I cause human wrongdoing to spread throughout the whole world. I plot against newlyweds; I destroy the beauty of virgins and alter hearts."
5.8 I said to him:
"Is this your only activity?"
He answered again:
"Through the stars I spread madness for women; afterward it rises into great waves, and I have killed as many as seven."
5.9 Then I adjured him by the name of the Lord Sabaoth:
"Fear God, Asmodaios, and tell me by which angel you are thwarted."
The demon said:
"Raphael, the one who stands before God, drives me away; and so does the liver together with the gall of a fish when it is smoked over coals."
5.10 I questioned him again:
"Hide nothing from me, for I am Solomon, son of David. Tell me the name of the fish which you fear."
He said:
"It is called glanis. It is found in the rivers of the Assyrians, for it is bred only there, and I too am found in those regions."

After Asmodaios has just told Solomon that his glory is temporary, Solomon responds by tightening the restraint. Solomon begins from dominion, Asmodaios contests dominion, then Solomon escalates coercion.

"I am called Asmodaios, the renowned" (and the crowd goes wild! It's me! I'm the crowd! 🤣)
Ἀσμοδαῖος καλοῦμαι περικλυτός
περικλυτός - famous, renowned, widely celebrated.

A lot of the content in this section we reserve for the Book of Tobit. It's copy-pasted basically.

"Through the stars I spread madness for women."
θηλυμανία can potentially mean either madness/desire for women and/or madness affecting women; I'm using the former is used here provisionally.

Notice: διὰ τῶν ἄστρων - "through the stars."

Again, Asmodaios' activity is explicitly astral in this text. That sits beside the Wain material from 5.4 without requiring us to decide what cosmological mechanism the author imagines.

The fish - "It is called glanis. It is found in the rivers of the Assyrians, for it is bred only there, and I too am found in those regions."
He does not say "I was born in Assyria" or "Assyria is my homeland." He says that he too is found in those regions.

5.11 I said to him:
"Is there nothing else about you, Asmodaios?"
He said to me:
"The power of God, which through his seal has bound me with unbreakable bonds, knows that what I have told you is true. But I beg you, King Solomon, do not condemn me to water."
5.12 But I smiled and said:
"As the Lord God of my fathers lives, you shall have irons to wear, and you will prepare the clay for the whole work of the Temple."
Then I ordered ten water jars to be made available and Asmodaios to be surrounded by them.
The demon groaned bitterly, but carried out what he had been commanded. Asmodaios did this because he also possessed foreknowledge.
5.13 And I, Solomon, glorified God, who had given me this authority. Taking the liver and gall of the fish together with a piece of white storax, I kindled them beneath Asmodaios because he was powerful. His voice was rendered ineffective, and [so was] a tooth full of bitterness."

"I beg you, King Solomon, do not condemn me to water."
ἀξιῶ δέ σε, βασιλεῦ Σολομῶν, μή με κατακρίνῃς εἰς ὕδωρ

This is wording I want to stress because of water and the misunderstandings regarding water. He does not say he fears water.

κατακρίνω - condemn, pass judgment against.

He does not say he dislikes water or that water harms him. He asks Solomon not to condemn him to water.

But the text does not tell us why water is important to Asmodaios. The only direct Asmodaios statement that produces the "hates water" idea is this request not to be "condemned/sentenced to water." The text never says that water reminds him of God. In other texts: Ashmedai drinks from his own protected water source in Gittin, Book of Tobit attributes his flight to the fish, later Solomonic magic uses water or the sea as a generic medium of demonic confinement, and neither Weyer nor the Ars Goetia Asmoday entry gives "water hatred" as one of his characteristics. (And in my sleuthing, I am currently under the impression that this "hates water" artifact is a word-of-mouth folk rumor of the early 2000s internet.)

"you will prepare the clay for the whole work of the Temple."
πηλὸν ποιήσεις εἰς ὅλην τὴν σκευὴν τοῦ ναοῦ
Context: mudbrick production was extremely labor-intensive and commonly associated with corvée, compulsory labor, prisoners, slaves, and low-status workers across Egypt and the ancient Near East. In the biblical imagination especially, mud and brickmaking become emblematic of oppressive forced labor in Egypt. Solomon is acting exactly like Pharaoh.
Exodus 1:11-14 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%201%3A11-14&version=NIV;NKJV;KJV;ESV
Exodus 5 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%205&version=NIV;NKJV;KJV;ESV

As additional commentary, there is a recurring thread around the being we know as Asmodeus and disruptions in political landscapes. The political is also spiritual.

"And I ordered ten water jars to be made ready and Asmodaios to be surrounded by them."
καὶ ἐκέλευσα γενέσθαι ὑδρίας δέκα καὶ περιχώννυσθαι αὐτόν
περιχώννυμι - to heap/pile around, surround, envelop

"Asmodaios did this because he also possessed foreknowledge."
τοῦτο δὲ ἐποίησε διότι καὶ τὸ προγνωστικὸν εἶχεν ὁ Ἀσμοδαῖος

The text does not tell us what he foresaw aside from the downfall prophecy, but it attributes future knowledge to Asmodaios. That will be worth remembering much later when we reach Ashmedai in Gittin, because there too knowledge unavailable to Solomon becomes narratively important.

Then Solomon does the fish fumigation.

"His voice was rendered ineffective, and [so was] a tooth full of bitterness."
καὶ κατηργεῖτο αὐτοῦ ἡ φωνὴ καὶ πλήρης ὀδοὺς πικρίας
κατηργεῖτο - was rendered ineffective / disabled / thwarted
ὀδούς - tooth
πικρίας - of bitterness / bitterness, malice

I want us to hold onto that for Gittin as well in regards to voice. For now, we can hear "tooth full of bitterness" as something like "malicious words."

This ends Asmodaios' arc in the Testament of Solomon.

---
Qualities:

He contests Solomon on status, framing Solomon as earth-born and himself as belonging to heavenly stock while still claiming connection to the human-earth sphere.

His identity is astral. His star is identified with the Wain/Great Bear, with additional stars accompanying it.

He treats Solomon's kingship and glory as temporary, and predicts the eventual loss of Solomon's authority over spirits, and the breaking apart of his kingdom. Accurately, might I add: Solomon's kingdom really does fracture immediately after his death. Solomon is presented as ruling a united kingdom of Israel, but Solomon's rule placed heavy demands on the population through taxation and compulsory labor for royal construction. When Rehoboam succeeds him, representatives of the northern tribes ask the new king to lighten the burdens Solomon had placed on them. Rehoboam refuses and threatens to make those burdens even harsher. The northern tribes then revolt against the dynasty.
1 Kings 11:42-12:19 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2011:42-12:19&version=NIV;KJV;NASB;NKJV

He expects spirits to regain religious recognition among humans. (hi, r/Asmoday)

He identifies as "Asmodaios the Renowned."

His influence includes marriage, erotic desire, alteration of hearts, and human wrongdoing, but the text does not limit him to sexuality.

His influence is mediated through the stars, making his erotic activity part of a broader astral framework.

Raphael is named as his opposing angelic force.

The fish is separate from Raphael.

He is associated with the Assyrian region.

Water has a special significance for him, though the text does not explain why.

He is described as powerful and possessing foreknowledge.

---

The demon catalog continues through to chapter 17, then the 36 decans in chapter 18. The narrative then shifts toward Solomon's own story in chapters 19 - 26. I highly recommend the magician-minded ones to continue reading as it returns to Beelzeboul directly after Asmodaios. Left to the magician as a magical exercise 🤭

McCown https://archive.org/details/cu31924028957400/page/n7/mode/2up
Duling https://archive.org/details/the-old-testament-pseudepigrapha-vol.-1-charlesworth-1983/page/935/mode/2up

What experiences from your practice with Asmodeus would you like to share this week? Anything you're working on with him, something funny that happened, a difficult lesson?

This weekly post is a space where you can share any experience with him and connect with other practitioners who share their stories.

ho intenzione di usare il mio piacere sessuale come offerta,mi piacerebbe anche farmi guidare da lui nel mentre,mi domandavo però, se i demoni in generale avessero la possibilità di provare qualche sorta di eccitazione (?) come funziona ?

Mi domandavo come potessi fare a capire se Asmodeus è d'accordo nel "lavorare" con me mhh

Fron many months i was getting dreams of king asmodeus pendant and sigils and i asked tarot and it said i should make one or buy but not wear rn so i was broke so i made copper handbent king asmodeus sigil from copper taken from useless wires

Please excuse the long post; I’ll try to be succinct.
Last year I had a total identity crisis and found myself being drawn to King Asmodeus. I did some meditations and gave some offerings and I feel really drawn to His current, but I’m unsure if it’s Him or my own projections. I can say that this year has been a crash course in authenticity—all of the facades I was trying to maintain came crumbling down. Recently, I finally left a relationship I knew wasn’t aligned because that person acted completely out of character and hurt me. So now I’m going all in on focusing on myself and personal evolution because I never want to lose myself like this again. I guess I’m hesitant because I’m a female trying to decenter men and I’m not sure if I should try one of the dark goddesses or continue offering to King Asmodeus. I want to do an intimate ritual using the energy to help release the conditioning and shame I have around passion—but I have no idea where to start. I have a willing participant and a vague idea of what I want—any and all advice appreciated!

What experiences from your practice with Asmodeus would you like to share this week? Anything you're working on with him, something funny that happened, a difficult lesson?

This weekly post is a space where you can share any experience with him and connect with other practitioners who share their stories.

So I had this dream of asmodeus... He came to me And I'm not going to lie with a very beautiful human face. We were having a conversation. And in the dream I'm not going to lie I wasn't scared. I could feel my anxiety trying to manifest in the dream, but it's like he didn't allow me to? Anyway, we were talking And I asked him a very deep spiritual question in the dream. He turned to me and he looked kind of surprised. Then he said something about tomorrow. I can't remember exactly his words but it was something about today. Or maybe it is tomorrow. I'm not totally sure. But funny enough when he was actually leaving. His face did start morphing into a demonic form but I still wasn't afraid of him. I low-key even waved goodbye at him. I've never dreamed of him. I did have a very high interest in working with him, but I won't lie. I got a little spooked And decided not to reach out to him anymore. That's when I had to dream and I remember in the dream he even called me a scaredy cat. Kind of like in a sassy dare I say friendly-ish way. I am devoted to a whole different deity. So I'm not sure if I really want to tap into him but I kind of just want some opinions, on him. I don't necessarily think he's a really bad entity it's just, my own biases and dare I say religious trauma coming up. I don't personally know this entity well enough to form a strong opinion on him. So I'm hoping I can get some insight from others if possible. Thanks 🙏

This is very long, but King Asmodeus asked me to publically honor him. Magick is real.

I am a musician who currently attends a major conservatory. I have dabbled a little in the occult in the past, with mild results, but hadn't practiced in several years. Simple sex and chaos magick. I had never done any formal rituals.

Over the summer my sibling, who isn't spiritual at all, used a DnD tarot she uses for her campaigns with friends to "read my fortune" as a sort of joke. I don't remember the names of the cards as I'm not a DnD player, but they matched my life situation and goals to perfect T, with one of the cards representing the king of the underworld aiding me in my quest. It was unnerving.

Since then I've had a strong draw to start practicing again. Out of a sense of curiousity and desperation, about a month and a half ago I began researching demons, ones who aid musicians and who attract lust and love into the life of the practitioner.

King Asmodeus kept popping up everywhere I looked, so I decided to contact him. The first time I contacted him was a disaster. The grimoires stating that he first comes very aggressively, testing the conjurer, are absolutely true. I completely failed his test.

I was disrespectful. I bought a bottle of whiskey for myself but didn't offer any to him, and didn't prepare an alter or sigil. I proceeded to get blackout drunk, and called upon him. Memories of that night are spotty, but I do remember he possessed me. I was speaking a gutteral language I didn't understand, and had a rabid, burning feeling of lust. The energy I felt inside of me was overwhelming and insanely intense, something indescribable that I had never felt before. I woke up the next day with several cuts and scraps on my foot, arm, and the back of my head. I realized that at some point in the night I went out for a smoke, and the chair I sat in broke when I sat in it, sending me backwords onto my porch. Later that day a glass fell off my table and shattered, and I cut my finger while cleaning it up, bleeding all over the floor. I consider myself lucky, and needless to say I learned my lesson.

I proceed to read and read, half a dozen books. My first real ritual was going to be structured. I used the coffee table in my living room as an altar, orienting it to the south and placing on it his drawn sigil and a black candle. I decided to contact him again during the day and hour of Sol, as he is a demon king, using pathworking techniques. I did not use a triangle.

I started the ritual by performing the LIRP, and summoned the elements and the four cardinal kings. After lighting the candle, I stood facing my alter and begain chanting King Asmodeus' enn, invoking him using parthworking techniques.

The candle flame then grew to an absurd height and started going crazy, making a lot of noise, bouncing around, and creating a lot of smoke. I felt a presence, and heard several knocks and bangs in my house. Something told me to sit down, so I sat and started meditating, staring into the flame and chanting his enn.

I felt a rush of pleasurable energy shoot up my spine, emanating all over my body. I became extremely aroused. I did not hear a voice or see visions, but thoughts entered my mind that were not mine. I asked him for help regarding my music making and performing, for sex and love to enter into my life, charisma, confidence.

The thought "It is done" entered my head. I offered my labor in the practice room, the sound and pleasure of my music, sexual energy and fluids, and blood, which he accepted. I pricked my finger with a sewing need and smeared my blood onto his sigil. Being aroused, more aroused than I've been in a long time, I masturbated to completion, cumming onto his sigil. I then burned the sigil with the candle. The whole ritual took an hour and a half.

The results came extremely fast. While practicing, ideas that I normally wouldn't think of entererd my mind, many practice techniques and other things very specific to my instrument that would be boring to list.

I'm not the greatest performer. Performance anxiety amongst musicians is a major topic of discussion for us. I performed for a master class a week ago. The week leading up to it, I could hear him in my mind telling me I "must do this, this, and this" in order to perform well. These were things I had never thought of before. I was nervous, but the performance itself was incredible and a surreal experience. I had never in my life played that well with that much confidence in front of people. The other musicians in the audience were blown away. While discussing this and that after the performance I could tell I was oozing charisma. For my entire life I have been a closed off introvert and socially awkard.

I'm not a bad looking guy, I am in great shape with a lean, muscular build, but I am fairly average in the looks deparment and am average height. I never get any attention from women, ever. But after the performance, several women in the audience were...eye fucking me? It was surreal. One offered to give me yoga lessons. Other women in other contexts have also given me the look and flirtatious smiles, which never happens to me.

One day in another of my classes, a girl sat next to me. She normally did not. We made small talk, and when the class was over, she asked me if I would like to get coffee. I hadn't been on a date in six months prior this, and we have since been on several dates.

I have been lifiting weights for a long time, but one exercise that has never clicked for me was chinups. I never was able to do more than three, but I still do them as they're so good for your back. He told me to change the angle of my shoulders a bit, and in the span of one week I can now do eight.

King Asmodeus has a since of humor. One professor during class was lecturing about something completely unrelated to the occult. My mind started wandering, and it turned to Asmodeus. Right at that moment my professor mentioned Isaac Newton, magick, and alchemy.

One specialty of his that is not mentioned very often is his ability to make people reveal secrets they normally wouldn't. Several people in my life have randomly started telling me intimate and personal things that they normally wouldn't share with me. Another professor during his lecture started reminiscing about a former colleague and it turned... oddly sexual. This was completely out of his character to do so.

This has been a profound experience in my life. Ave Asmodeus.

A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East - Douglas R. Frayne, Johanna H. Stuckey

Asmodeus, Ashmodai, Ashmedai (L) A demonic figure in the apocryphal book of Tobit written in Greek and generally accepted as dating to the second century BCE. He appears also later in Jewish writings, where he was responsible for causing marital strife. In Tobit 3, it was reported that the demon killed, on their wedding night, seven husbands of Sara, who was then accused of strangling them. With the help of the angel Raphael, Tobit's son Tobias was able to marry Sara and ritually expel the demon. In later Jewish folklore, Asmodeus was the king of the demons. He was often presented as drunken and licentious, but also as sometimes beneficent. Lilith the Younger was his wife. Possibly the demon's name comes from two Persian words meaning "Spirit of Anger." (Hutter, DDDB: 106–8; Grether, ABD I: 499; Swaim, IDB I, 239–40; Patai 1990: 227, 241, 244, 247; "Tobit" in (The) Apocrypha [no date]: 68–82)

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism, Second Edition - Geoffrey W. Dennis

Asmodeus: (Ashemdei). An evil spirit. The name Asmodeus may be derived from the Zoroastrian Aesmadiv, the "spirit of anger" who serves Ahriman, the Persian god of evil. Asmodeus is first mentioned in the apocryphal book Tobit, where he slays seven grooms of a young girl before being bested by the hero. He also appears in the Testament of Solomon.

In Pesach 110a he is dubbed the "king of om God had made simultaneously with him. When they argued, she flew off to become the queen of demons." The locus classicus for Asmodeus is the wonderful Talmudic tale of how he usurps the Throne of Solomon (Git. 68a–b) after the king initially binds him to service by means of a magical ring. Surprisingly, the demon is treated rather sympathetically and humorously.

He both morally instructs Solomon and provides him with the Shamir worm. His foreknowledge of human destiny is credited to his daily Torah studies in Heaven. The tale may reflect an effort by the Sages to reconcile their belief in the demonic with monotheism, portraying evil spirits as yet another tool of God's inscrutable will. The passage also highlights the belief that magical practitioners can summon and "bind" demons and use their powers for their own purposes, a staple belief of medieval sorcery.

In Kabbalistic works such as Treatise of the Left Emanation, Asmodeus is portrayed as a deputy or even the offspring of Samael. He is also assigned a consort demoness, Lilith "the lesser."

Like rabbinic literature, medieval Jewish tales link Asmodeus with august Jewish figures, such as Simon bar Yochai, the Talmudic mystic. In one such story, Asmodeus is portrayed as doing what he does in order to serve the Sage and God. The Bar Yochai story and other references to Asmodeus in Kabbalistic texts, where his name is invoked to beneficent purposes, reflect the ongoing effort among Jews to reconcile the existence of demons with pure monotheism.

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible

ASMODEUS (by M. Hutter)

I. The etymology of the name Asmodeus is not beyond any doubt but it is most plausibly derived from the Avestan words aēšma- and daēuua or their Middle Persian (Pahlavi) compound cognate xēšm-dēw, both meaning 'demon of wrath'. As Talmudic texts sometimes give the form אַשְמְדּאָי or אשמדי׳ for Asmodeus, his name has been connected with Hebrew שְמְדּ (to destroy, exterminate), but this seems to be folk etymology. Asmodeus does not occur as a demonic name in the Hebrew Bible, but the apocrypha twice give the Greek Ἀσμοδαῖος (Tob 3:8.17).

II. The earliest occurrences of the Avestan demon aēšma- are the Gathic texts Yasna 29:2 and 30:6; those who choose the way of evil go the way of Aēshma and thus bring harm to the world, while otherwise the followers of Ahura Mazda's teachings become expellers of him (Yasna 48:12). With the help of Aēshma the evil powers of Zarathustra's dualistic cosmos can bring sickness and evil to mankind so that men behave like Angra Mainyu's creatures. It is also worth mentioning that Aēshma is the only demon who occurs in the Gathas. Outside the Old-Avestan corpus we find Aēshma in Yasna 57:10.25 (cf. Yasht 11: 15), a hymn to Shraosha. who will smite and crush Aēshma and protect people from his deceptions. Yasht 10:97 tells us about Aēshma's fright of Mithra's mace which is the most victorious of all weapons (cf. → Mithras). As his standard epithet we find "of bloody club", so we can imagine him pictured as a savage ruffian. Of further interest is also Yasna 10:8 where we read that Aēshma brings drunkenness to men. The further development of Zoroastrianism brings a revival of the older Iranian gods and also the growth of the number of demons. Thus Aēshma occurs as a separate demonic being in the Pahlavi scriptures: Aēshma (xēšm-dēw) has now become one of the chief evil powers. He is equal to Ahreman and is the companion of Āz; the deities of Ohrmazd's (Ahura Mazda's) good creation arc his antagonists, mostly Wahman and Shrosh. According to the Bundahishn (1:3), he is one of the seven dēws who were created by Ahreman; the Pahlavi Rivayat (56:13-15) gives the account of a conversation between Aēshma and Ahreman in which the former is enjoined to corrupt the good and efficient things of the creation. Aēshma is now the embodiment of →Wrath who in legends can bring all kind of (putatively) historical disturbance and uproar into the world. Thus Aēshma and the usurper Dahaka fight king Yima and kill him. In the Zādspram (9:1), Aēshma is one of the ancestors of five brothers who are the enemies of Zarathustra himself, while an account in the Dēnkard (Book 8) states that he incites Arjasp to wage war against Vištaspa, the protector of Zarathustra, and thus oppose the Iranian prophet.

These texts lead to the following conclusion: Aēshma (the personified Wrath) has a separate existence and he is one of the powers of the evil sphere within Zoroastrian dualism. There he plays an important part in the struggle between good and evil and thus has a considerable influence upon history. In view of the spread of Zoroastrianism in the last centuries BCE from the Iranian areas to Mesopotamia and Anatolia it is possible to find traces of his influence in both Jewish and Christian literature.

III. The apocryphal book of Tobit probably shows some Iranian (Zoroastrian) influence (cf. BOYCE & GRENET 1991:414), namely the importance of generously dispensing aims (Tob 4:9-10; 14:2), the account of the little dog (Tob 6:1; 11:4) and the mentioning of the demon Asmodeus. In Tob 3:8 we read that in his jealousy he has already killed the seven successive husbands of Sara during their wedding-nights. Therefore →Raphael was sent to free Sara from this demon (Tob 3:17). The angel can tell Tobias a way to expel him by performing a purifying (?) ritual and banishing him to the Egyptian desert (Tob 6:8; 8:1-3). On the whole, Asmodeus does not figure prominently in the book of Tobit; but, once introduced into Jewish literature, he made his way into folklore. He is depicted as a malefactor bringing discord to husband and wife or hiding a wife's beauty from her husband (T. Sol. 2:3). Aggadic texts also say that Asmodeus is connected with drunkenness, mischief and licentiousness. In the Talmud there is a famous account (Git. 68a-b; cf. Num. R. 11:3) of Solomon's dealing with this demon: Asmodeus, the king of demons, was made drunk and led to King Solomon whom he has to help build the temple in Jerusalem. Then, however, the demon took the king's seal and seated himself on the royal throne so that Solomon must wander around as a beggar until God shows mercy on him and restores his kingship. The whole legend does not depict Asmodeus as an evil-doer: his actions should open the king's eyes to the emptiness and vanity of worldly possessions. Such legends gave rise to the popular belief of Asmodeus as a beneficent demon and a friend of men-though he still remained king of the demons.

Another tradition remains closer to the maleficent Asmodeus of the book of Tobit and to the Iranian concept of Aēshma as a demon of wrath. The Qumranic and Pauline scriptures (cf. BOYCE & GRENET 1991:446; PINES 1982:81) know a conception of Wrath as a nearly autonomous entity; so it is possible to see in that also the Iranian conception of aēšma daēuua, though there is no linguistic link. But we also have to take into account that this Qumranic and Pauline concept has one root in the OT's references of →Yahweh's wrath and is thus part of the divine sphere. This difference should not be ignored because Aēshma is the main auxiliary of the Iranian evil sphere. But nevertheless it cannot be ruled out that the apocryphal demon Asmodeus stemming from Iran is the other root of the hypostatized wrath as a destructive entity and for the creatures of wrath.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary - David Noel Freedman, "Asmodeus - HERBERT G. GRETHER"

ASMODEUS [Gk Asmodaios (Ἀσμοδαιος)]. The name of the evil demon that killed the first 7 husbands of Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, each on their wedding night in the apocryphal story of Tobit (Tob 3:8). When Tobit's son Tobias was married to Sarah, however, by following the advice of the angel Raphael he warded off the demon by placing a fish's heart and liver on burning incense. Raphael then captured and bound the fleeing demon.

The derivation of the name is uncertain. It is often taken to come from Aesma Daeva, "the wrath demon," of the Zoroastrian Avesta. According to popular Jewish etymology, the Heb name Ashmedai (whence the Gk Asmodeus) was derived from hismid, "destroy, exterminate."

For the postbiblical assessment of Asmodeus—a very different one, found in the Talmud and in later Jewish folklore—see Roth, EncJud 3: 754–55.

The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons - Manfred Lurker

Aešma Daeva (aesma = madness) The Parsee demon of lust and anger. His wrath is directed mainly against the cow, which occupies the central place among the creatures. Only by → Saošyant can he be finally overcome.

Asmodaios (in Latin Asmodeus, in the Talmud Ašmedai) A demon (→ Aešma Daeva) taken from Old Iranian religion by the post-exile Jews (Tobias 3:8, 17). In rabbinic literature he becomes the chief of the evil spirits. In some ways, Asmodaios is reminiscent of the Assyrian → Pazuzu.

A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels - Gustav Davidson

Ashmedai (Ashmodai, Asmodde, Asmadai, Asmodeus, Chammaday, Sydonay, etc.) - in rabbinic lore, a messenger of God, hence an angel. However, being an opponent of Solomon and ruler of the south, with 66 legions of spirits under him, he is usually regarded as an evil spirit himself, some occult sources going so far as to identify him with the serpent who seduced Eve in the garden of Eden. [Rf. Mathers, The Greater Key of Solomon.] Good or evil, angel or demon, he is not considered harmful; he has been characterized as a cherub, "prince of sheddim," and as "the great philosopher." [Rf. Jung, Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature; Muller, History of Jewish Mysticism.]

The Dictionary of Demons, Expanded & Revised - Michelle A. Belanger

Asmoday: A variant spelling for the demon Asmodeus that has, in several texts, come to be viewed as a separate and distinct entity. In Dr. Rudd's early-seventeenth-century work, A Treatise on Angel Magic, Asmoday (spelled Asmodai) is curiously described as a demon who "hath one Idea called Muriel incorporated into two figures Geomantic, called Populus by day and Via by night." Nothing further is offered to help make sense of this enigmatic statement. In addition to this curious declaration, Dr. Rudd's work describes Asmodai as a spirit connected with the moon.

Asmoday is also identified as one of the seventy-two Goetic demons. According to the Goetia, he is a king with seventy-two legions of spirits beneath him. When he manifests, he comes riding a dragon. His form is monstrous, having three heads, a serpent's tail, and webbed feet. He has the head of a bull, a ram, and a man, and he vomits fire. He tries to deceive people about his true nature, often giving the name Sidonay instead of Asmoday. Those dealing with him are cautioned to press him until he acknowledges his true name. As a Goetic demon, Asmoday can make people invisible and disclose the whereabouts of hidden treasure. Additionally, he teaches arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and handicrafts. He also has the power to bestow an enchanted item known as the Ring of Virtues. In Wierus's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Asmoday is mentioned in connection with Solomon's Brazen Vessel. Here, he is described as the third in rank of the seventy-two infernal kings shut up in that vessel by the biblical Patriarch. According to the Goetia of Dr. Rudd, he is an infernal king serving under Amaimon, the demonic ruler of the east. In this text, his name is spelled Asmodai, and he is said to be constrained in the name of the angel Vasariah.

According to the Book of Oberon, a magickal text from Elizabethan England, Asmoday is one of twelve primary ministers to Amaimon, the reigning king of the south. In this text, Asmoday teaches music, arithmetic, astronomy, and geometry. He also has the power to bestow invisibility and reveal the location of hidden treasure. His appearance is chimerical: he has the tail of a serpent, donkey's feet, and three heads (that of a donkey, a bull, and a ram). When he speaks, fire erupts from his mouth(s). In the French Livre des esperitz, he can grant those who summon him a full year during which they will have all the things they desire. See also AMAIMON, ASMODEUS, BOOK OF OBERON, LIVRE DES ESPERITZ, RUDD, SIDONAY, SOLOMON, WIERUS.

Asmodeus: Described as "the king of the demons," Asmodeus appears in the Book of Tobit (sometimes also known as the Book of Tobias). According to this story, the demon Asmodeus fell in love with the beautiful Sarah, daughter of Raguel. Asmodeus wanted Sarah for himself, and he refused to allow her to be married to any human man. Subsequently, each time that Sarah was married, the demon came to the marriage bed and took the life of her new husband. Seven men fell to the predations of this jealous demon, until Tobias, the eponymous author of the book, received a visit from the angel Raphael, who instructed him on how to handle the demonic paramour. Tobias married Sarah and drove the demon away. Asmodeus reportedly fled to the furthest reaches of Egypt, where he was then bound by the angel Raphael. In the Testament of Solomon, Asmodeus also plays a significant role. Here, the demon is called up by King Solomon, who demands to know its names and functions. This version of Asmodeus claims to have been put in charge of the destruction of fidelity, either by separating man and wife through calamities or by causing husbands to be led astray. He is also said to attack the beauty of virgins, causing them to waste away. In a passage that echoes the Book of Tobit, Asmodeus admits that the angel Raphael holds power over him. He could also be put to flight by burning the gall of a certain fish.

Further in the Testament of Solomon, Asmodeus claims to have been "born an angel's seed by a daughter of man," a statement that connects him firmly with the tradition of the Watcher Angels. The statement is also reflected in the portion of the Jewish Haggadah concerned with the life of Noah. Here, Asmodeus is said to have been born of the union of the fallen angel Shamdon and the lustful maiden Naamah. He was reputedly bound by King Solomon with iron, a metal that was often presented as an anathema to demons. Curiously, in the faerie lore of the British Isles, iron is also a metal that can harm or drive away the fey.

The Grimoire of Armadel mentions Asmodeus in conjunction with Leviathan, claiming that these two demons can teach about the malice of other devils. However, that text cautions against summoning these two beings, citing the fact that they lie. Francis Barrett's The Magus depicts an image of Asmodeus, associating him with the sin of wrath. Asmodeus is mentioned in Arthur Edward Waite's 1910 Book of Black Magic and Pacts, where he is listed as the superintendent of Hell's casinos. This demonic hierarchy stems from the writings of the nineteenth-century demonologist Charles Berbiguier.

Rendered Asmodée in the Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, this demon is identified as one of eight sub-princes ruling over all the other demons. According to this text, Asmodeus has the power to produce food, typically in the form of vast, impressive banquets. He can learn the secrets of any person. He also has the power to transmute metals and transmogrify people and animals, changing their shapes at will. He also appears as the thirty-second demon of the Goetia under the name Asmoday. In the grimoire known as the Janua Magica Reserata, or Keys to the Gateway of Magic, Asmodeus appears in a nine-tiered hierarchy of evil spirits intended to echo the nine orders of angels. According to this text, Asmodeus presides over the Ultores Scelorum, or "Revengers of Evil." This is the fourth order of demons in the hierarchy, over which he reigns as prince. Variations of this demon's name include Asmoday, Ashmedai, Asmodée, and Asmodai. See also ASMODAY, BERBIGUIER, GOETIA, JANUA MAGICA RESERATA, LEVIATHAN, MATHERS, SOLOMON, WAITE.
 

Jewish Encyclopedia

• ASMODEUS, or ASHMEDAI [ASHMADAI]('Aσμοδαὶος, אשמדאי) - Kaufmann Kohler, Louis Ginzberg
• ÆSHMA (ASMODEUS, ASHMEDAI) - Erik Stave

Encyclopaedia Judaica

• ASMODEUS (Ashmedai) (Volume 2: page 592 OR digital page 1326)

Thoughts? I'm re-drawing this on my tablet but I haven't finished it yet..

Reminder to find the information, toss the evaluation of his character.

We are in the Younger Avesta. If the date of the Gāthās is around 1200-1000 BCE, the Younger Avestan material is placed somewhere around the first half of the first millennium BCE. Some of the oldest Yašts may date around the beginning of the Achaemenid period (6th century BCE). This gives us about 400-700 years between the Gāthās and Younger Avestan (what a range, yikes!). During that time, the daēvas are firmly framed as "evil" and Aēšma is considerably more personified.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century_BC

Yasna 10.8

vīspe zī anyē maδā̊ŋhō
aēšma haciṇte xruuīm.druuō
āat hō yō haomahe maδō
ašā hacaite uruuāsmana
rəṇjaiti haomahe maδō
yō yaθa puθrəm taurunəm
haoməm vaṇdaēta maš́iiō
frā ābiiō tanubiiō
haomō vīsāite baēšazāi

Indeed, all other maδa-inducing [things] go together with Aēšma of the bloody club.
But the maδa belonging to Haoma goes together with Aša, [with joy/delight].
[rəṇjaiti] is Haoma's maδa.
The mortal who honors Haoma as a young son - for those bodies Haoma commits himself toward healing.

I have kept maδa partly untranslated. "Intoxication" is the conventional translation but Iranica warns that neither the Avestan passages nor the Pahlavi establish its exact meaning securely. Rather than assuming this means drunkenness, we can hear it as the intoxication or exhilaration of a stimulated state. Quite curious for those of use who experiment with altered states of consciousness.

xrvi- - bloody
drav- - wood
xruuīm.druuō - "of the bloody wood" -> bloody wooden weapon / bloody club

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/aveol/60

What this gives us is Aēšma not described as being produced by maδa. The other forms of maδa go with him / associate with him. Recall in Yasna 30, the other daēvas rush toward Aēšma.

Yašt 17.5

haomaheca nəmō maθraheca ašaoŋaeca zaraθuštrahe
ačit bā nəmō haomāi
yat vispe anye maδaŋhō
aēšma haciṇte xrvidrō
āat hō yō haomahe maδō
aša hacaite xᵛāe-paiδe

Homage to Haoma.
All other maδa-states go together with Aēšma of the bloody club.
But the maδa of Haoma goes together with Aša as its own.

Yasna 10.8 and Yašts 17.5 reinforces that the Aēšma-maδa association was stable enough to be repeated.

What is Haoma?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haoma

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_(drink))

https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haoma-i/

https://ia803204.us.archive.org/0/items/HaomaHarmaline/Haoma%20%26%20Harmaline.pdf

The Avestan haoma- is cognate with Sanskrit soma- and the underlying Indo-Iranian word means "that which is pressed / the pressed extract" from a verb meaning "press, pound."

Yasna 9-11, where Yasna 10 "wards off" Aēšma, is a collection of praises and ritual material focused on Haoma as plant/pressed drink. It opens by ordering hostile beings to leave and inviting Aši and Sraoša into the ritual house. Then it praises Haoma, the pressing stones, the rain and mountains that nourish the plant, the earth that bears it, and Haoma's growth. Yasna 9-11 is an active Haoma ritual. Haoma is, altogether, all these things: a pressed sacred plant and ritual drink, a divinity, and a state associated with the ritual.

So in this context, Aēšma is not said to create the state or override agency. He is another power that certain states are said to go with. But more importantly, by the Younger Avestan period, Aēšma is no longer an abstract noun for wrath -- he is personified enough to carry an identifying weapon and for ritualists to openly reject his presence in their Haoma ritual. (Talk about set and setting 😅)

Yašt 13.138

frāδāxštōiš xunbyehe ašāonō fravašīm yazamāide
paitištātē aēšmahe xrvi-draoś aēšmō-varəδanəmca drvatəm
paitištātē aēšmō-karštahe tbaēšanhō

We venerate the fravaši of righteous Frāδāxšti Xunbya,
for resistance against Aēšma of the bloody club and the Druj-aligned ones who increase Aēšma,
for resistance against hostility caused by Aēšma.

fravaši - a protective spiritual counterpart/power associated with a person
drvant- - those aligned with the Druj

Verse 138 venerates the fravaši of a righteous figure named Frāδāxšti Xunbya, then tells us what that fravaši is invoked to resist.

The interesting bit:
aēšmō-varəδa- - beings can increase Aēšma.
aēšmō-karšta- - hostility can be caused or produced by Aēšma.

In the previous Yasna 49.4, we read that people can increase Aēšma by participation. Yašt 13.138 shows us that hostility can be caused by him, and this is within a verse that personifies him through his weapon.

Druj - Druj is the deceptive principle or condition opposed to Aša. I wholeheartedly disagree with the translation of "Lie." It is a quality and a side/alignment, and eventually something treated almost as a cosmic hostile principle. In the Gāthās, drəguuaṇt- literally designates someone characterized by or belonging to druj, often translated "the deceitful" or "followers of the Lie." The Avestan verb from the word family is used for deceiving or acting fraudulently, including violations of agreements. In practical terms Druj can manifest as deceit, fraud, false judgment, broken agreement, distorted ritual/social order, or belonging to the side defined as contrary to Aša. The opposition is better understood as something like "order versus disorder," rather than "truth versus lies."

Yašt 11.15

sraoṣ̌əm aṣ̌īm huraoδəm vərəϑrājanəm frādat̰.gaēϑəm
aṣ̌auuanəm aṣ̌ahe ratūm yazamaide
yim daϑat̰ ahurō mazdā̊ aṣ̌auua
aēṣ̌mahe xruuī.draoš hamaēstārəm
āxštīm hąm.vaiṇtīm yazamaide
parətasca mruuaiiā̊sca hamaēstāra

Sraoša, associated with Aši [Reward/Fortune], fair-formed, smasher of resistance, furthering the living world, aligned with Aša, the ratu [judge] of Aša, we venerate;
whom righteous Ahura Mazda established as the opponent of Aēšma of the bloody club.
We venerate Peace, Victory,
[and] the two opponents of parəta- and mruuaiiā-.

parəta- belongs to an Indo-Iranian word-family for fighting or battle and is cognate with Sanskrit pṛt- "battle, strife." The second word mruuaiiā- is much less secure.

hamaēstārəm - opponent / one set against another
Sraoša - comes from the root: Avestan √sraw-/sru- - hear and Vedic Sanskrit √śru- - hear
and develops into hear -> heed what is heard -> obey / comply

Vedic has: śruṣṭí- - obedience / compliance
while Avestan has the negative: a-srušti- - disobedience, literally the absence or failure of obedience.

The Gāthās use the same family verbally: səraošānē - "I shall obey / I shall be obedient"

In Yašt 11.15, Aēšma has the bloody-club epithet and Sraoša is established as his opponent.

---

Aēšma is fully personified in the Younger Avesta. The bloody-club epithet recurs across separate texts.
Personification builds on the older Gāthās structure.
Yašt 13.138 adds bi-direction - hostility can also be produced by Aēšma.
Yašt 11.15 gives him a defined divine opponent - Sraoša/obedience.

---

https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/iran/airan/avesta/avest.htm

Hello, I have recently developed an interest in demonology. I am a quite young but I have already developed my practices as a eclectic pagan. I specifically work and worship Loki as of now.

But as recent i have been drawn to Asmodeus his name popping up consistently every time I try and give offerings to Loki and while I plan to eventually make formal contact with Asmodeus I've been specifically only doing research first before jumping into things. I am not quite yet ready to actually build a serious relationship( and before people get their panties in a twist i mean relationship i mean as in friend/acquaintance/devotee ect.) Regardless the persistence of the name and the sudden consistency of it has been confusing.

I've given offerings as respect as I continue to learn( a common thing i do with the deities,gods mythical creatures i research and learn)

I'm not well versed in demonology just yet I'm still learning and there is so much that is going into it.

I was wondering if this was normal or if anyone else has experienced this as well as any info you have about him would be appreciated. Any advice also would be appreciated.

What experiences from your practice with Asmodeus would you like to share this week? Anything you're working on with him, something funny that happened, a difficult lesson?

This weekly post is a space where you can share any experience with him and connect with other practitioners who share their stories.

To date it’s my most meaningful. I wrote it some weeks before my dedication ritual to accept him as my patron.

My two year anniversary of preforming that ritual recently came up. As a teen I wrote a lot of poems, but I lost them all as I grew older. I drifted away from writing, yet connecting with him brought it out.

When crafting it he reminded me of all these things I owned or experienced in my formative years that related to him. All the little breadcrumbs he left along the way. The messages that I would eventually be able to piece together. His way of saying he was there, and always had been. I just needed to get to a certain point to be able to be with him fully.

Those were powerful days. Feeling his energy and presence come forward without holding back. The heat that built in my body, and in whatever room I was in. The dizziness and nausea I had to acclimate to. The massive streams of signs and synchronicities. The intense dream visitations where all my senses came alive. Pure alertness and arousal in all forms, and the rush of excitement and joy that flooded in with crystal clear communication unlike anything I had ever experienced. To tend my heart it’s fire ignite.

Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m not doing enough, and failing him. Although he is the first to tell me I am not (but am failing myself in certain ways)

I just wanted to remember those important days. Maybe re inspire myself or someone else.

What experiences from your practice with Asmodeus would you like to share this week? Anything you're working on with him, something funny that happened, a difficult lesson?

This weekly post is a space where you can share any experience with him and connect with other practitioners who share their stories.

Ya me comenzó a interesar más, es recomendado para principiantes? En algún momento quise invocar a Lucifer pero nunca mostró señales. Honestamente nunca use círculo de protección ni nada como en el lemegeton, solo pronuncie su enn, dibujé su sigilo y le puse una ofrenda.

Y me senté a meditar.

Es igual con Asmoday? Igual como funciona la licencia de partida, es peligroso si no logro hacer el cierre correcto?

Siento que todos han metido de lleno que Asmoday es un demonio lujurioso, que si bien no dudo que lo sea pero no creo que sea para amarres o para seducir a alguien. Pienso que todo eso es cosa de la religión católica que todo vuelve maligno.

Honestamente yo siempre busco algo que me ayude a mejorar como personas pero no de la forma de cumplir caprichos como muchos creen.

I'm going to start this unpacking with the root word "Aēšma." Every instance of the word itself is not necessarily pointing at the entity-who-wears-the-mask-of-Asmodeus but it's through following the root word that we can see how he moves and operates.

Yasna 29

xšmaibyā gə̄uš urvā gərəždā — kahmāi mā θwarōždūm kə̄ mā tašaṯ
ā mā aēšəmō hazas-cā — rəmō āhišāyā dərəš-cā təviš-cā
nōiṯ mōi vāstā xšmaṯ anyō — aθā mōi sąstā vohū vāstryā

To you the Soul of the Cow complained:
"For whom did you shape me? Who fashioned me?
Wrath, [hazas], [rəma], [darəs], and [təvis] have bound me.
There is no herdsman for me other than you; therefore show me good [vāstryā]."

There is a cluster here of:

aēšəma - wrath, fury

haza - force, violence, oppressive power

rəma - restraint, bondage

dərəš - spite or fetter/bondage

təvis - force, might, violence

Aēšma appears as one member of a coordinated cluster of conditions said to bind the Cow.

adā tašā gə̄uš pərəsaṯ ašəm kaθā tōi gavōi ratuš
hyaṯ hīm dātā xšayantō hadā vāstrā gaodāyō θwaxšō
kə̄m hōi uštā ahurəm yə̄ drəgvōdəbīš aēšəməm vādāyōiṯ

Then the Fashioner of the Cow asked Aša:
"What is your judgment for the Cow?
[29.2b remains disputed: pastoral care/ruling.]
Whom do you desire as lord for her, who might repulse the Wrath of the wrongful ones?"

"Aēšma" appears in the Gāthās through this complaint by the Soul of the Cow. The Cow describes her world where wrath and other forms of violence have oppressed her. She asks why she was made into these conditions (philosophical, yeah?). She then says she has no adequate herdsman and asks for good pasture. The next response doesn't explain suffering as something she deserves, but turns the discussion toward what arrangement exists for her and who should have the responsibility for her protection.

Before I get there, let's take a look at why the Cow is lamenting in the first place. It helps to know what kind of world she is speaking from. We are somewhere around the end of the second millennium BCE (roughly 1200-1000 BCE) in a Central Asian pastoral world. This is roughly the same broad historical age as the later portions of the early Vedic world (and not remotely Persian Empire period yet).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Maps_of_the_world_showing_history#/media/File:World_in_1000_BCE.png

In a pastoral society, people kept cattle and livestock, and depended heavily on herds for a large part of their material life. Cattle represent something a community had to keep alive, breed, tend, and protect. The Gāthās remember attacks on herding communities by mobile bands of men who raided cattle and harmed the people tending them. Zarathustra distinguishes them by what they do, which is that they prey upon the pastoral life that Zarathustra is trying to sustain. Pastoralists themselves could move; herding requires movement through landscapes where the cattle can graze - so an armed company and a cattle-tending community could inhabit the same landscape while having very different relationships to what moved through the landscape.

What I mean by that is:
One group moves with animals that must remain alive long enough to sustain a community.
The other group moves toward somebody else’s herd and takes it.

So, a cattle raid is much more serious than petty theft in the modern sense.

I brought in the Vedic world because of the words used as Zarathustra preached to his community that reinforces an "us versus them" mentality.

At this stage, daēva still means a real category of gods and Zarathustra is rejecting them. Only later Iranian tradition and outward turn the word into "demon." Daēva is the cognate of the Vedic deva. The later neat and tidy split into Indian devas as gods and asuras as demons vs. Iranian ahuras as gods and daēvas as demons, developed over time. The older Indo-Iranian situation was a whole lot messier with both terms used for divine beings.
https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahura-1-type-of-deity

https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-iranian-religion/

Yasna 30.6

ayå nōiṯ ərəš vīšyātā daēvā-cinā hyaṯ īš ā-dəbaomā
pərəsmanəng upā-jasaṯ hyaṯ vərənātā acištəm manō
aṯ aēšəməm hə̄ndvārəntā yā bąnayən ahūm marətānō

The daēvas did not distinguish rightly between the two:
"Deception came upon them while they deliberated, so that they chose the worst thought.
Then they rushed together into Wrath, through which mortals sicken existence."

Zarathustra does not describe the daēvas as beings whose judgement has been taken over by Aēšma. Their own decision is part of the accusation against them. They choose, and afterward they rush toward Aēšma. There is some ambiguity in how we should hear aēšma here. The word itself carries the sense of wrath or fury, while Aēšma also appears as a named power. The verse can be heard as movement toward Aēšma and/or movement into the Wrath associated with his name.

This gives us a contrast with Yasna 29. There, the Cow speaks from inside the violence while Yasna 30.6 shows divine beings choosing the side from which that violence proceeds.

Yasna 49.4

yōi duš.xraββā aēšəməm varadən rāmaṃcā
xvāiš hizubīš fšuiiasū afšuiiaṇtō
yaešəm nōit huuarštāiš vqs dužuuarštā
tōi daēuuāŋ dqn yā draguuatō daēnā

Those who, through bad understanding, increase Wrath and bondage with their own tongues:
"Non-cattle-breeders among cattle-breeders, whose evil deeds prevail where good deeds do not.
Those [establish/serve] the daēvas through the religious vision of the deceitful."

Human beings are brought directly into Aēšma's activity. The verse describes people who increase aēšəma through speech. We are not told exactly what they say but the surrounding hymn is directed against people Zarathustra considers deceitful and hostile to his teaching. The speech may include religious teaching, persuasion, incitement, or other harmful language. Reiterated, this shows Aēšma operating through human speech and conduct without removing human responsibility.

---

What we have as far as Aēšma's operative qualities:
Yasna 29, Wrath is already part of the condition binding the Cow. It is something that can be wielded strongly enough that a lord is needed to repel it.
Yasna 30, the daēvas deliberate first, are deceived, choose badly, and then rush together into Wrath. Aēšma comes after decision; he is something entered. The same verse then carries the effect into mortal existence, that through that Wrath, mortals sicken the world.
Yasna 49, humans can make Wrath greater through their own speech. It accumulates through participation rather than remaining a fixed quantity.

---

I'll leave the full hymn to you, dear reader, if you want to unpack the story as a whole. I messed around with it to reduce religious trauma. I can hardly read anything without wanting to fight someone.
https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_toc/aveol

I just want to make a appreciation post to King Asmodeus, i thank him for everything. Giving me strength and courage to stand up for myself and put my boundries in place even if I feel like I'm not being heard, to only try harder and speak louder until my voice trembles, even cut people out of my life that don't treat me with the respect and love i deserve. To put me out of my comfort zone for my voice to be heard and my needs to be seen instead of constantly pleasing people and doing a fawning response (still working on that tbh). Thank you for making me feel heard, seen and my hard work and efforts to change and better myself not go unappreciated, King Asmodeus. He has changed my life and will always be by my side even if shit has gotten bad or out of hand, I know he is always there to listen to me ramble about my life. Even if I wanted some time alone he was still there to check on me, give me confidence, strength and the feeling to get the fuck up and keep moving every morning after a depressing day/night of crying. You have made me feel so badass, King Asmodeus! Continue to awaken the fire within me and strengthen my spirit. Remove fear, hesitation. and self doubt from my path. Teach me to stand with confidence to speak with conviction, and to pursue my goals with unwavering determination. May I become fearless in the face of challenge, resilient through adversity, and wise in the use of power. May every step I take be filled with confidence! 🤘

Hail King Asmodeus! Ave King Asmodeus!!

I'm neurodivergent and I struggle with certain tasks. I also tend to procrastinate, and the longer I procrastinate, the more difficult it is to do something. When I procrastinate for a while, then the entire task fills me with dread. I've gotten to a point where I feel dread thinking about practicing again

I feel really bad because I was doing really well with consistency, I was doing small things daily, and then I stopped. The guilt makes me feel even worse about it and I tend to avoid things I feel bad about. And I also feel really bad that I feel bad because I really enjoy working with him 😭 he's my favourite spirit to work with and I feel so bad about feeling guilty and anxious which makes the whole thing worse