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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Expelling the Spirit: Exorcism Around the World


When people think exorcism, they think Catholicism. A vision of the Exorcist, with the priest with his bible and robes comes to mind. However, this was not the only religion that practiced exorcism.

In Hinduism, the Artharva Veda, one of the four holy books, is said to contain the secrets of magic and alchemy, including exorcism practices. Basic exorcism includes a mantra (a chant capable of creating transformation) accompanied by the yajna (a ritual of offerings).

Quran- Photo by ~crystalina~
In Islam, the exorcism is called the ruqya and is used to repair damage done by shir, or black magic. This consists of the afflicted person laying down while a sheikh, or elder, places his hand over the afflicted forehead and chants specific verses from the Quran. The afflicted may also drink holy water.

In Judaism the exorcism is performed by a rabbi (priest) who has mastered the art of the Kabbalah. A minyan, a group of ten adults, gather around the possessed and recited Psalms 91 three times while the rabbi blows a ram’s horn. The horn is blown with certain notes to shatter the hold the possessing entity has on the body. Once it’s shattered the rabbi asked the entity why it’s possessing the person and the minyan pray and make the entity feel ready to move on.

So, back to Catholicism, what is their deal? Well, early in Christianity it was believed that anyone could perform an exorcism because the power was derived from Christ. He stated “And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons.” (Mark 16:17). It started as laying hands on the possessed person, and invocation of Jesus’s name, and the signing of the cross. Then the church created an office for handling the matter in the 3rd century and added exsufflation, or blowing upon the possessed. It evolved into the Roman ritual and now an exorcist, appointed by the Church, is the only ones allowed to perform the ritual. This priest recited passage from the Roman Ritual and entreats God to intervene on behalf of the possessed. It is different for each priest but it is imperative at some point that the priest commands the spirit to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

It seems that even though their practices are different, most exorcisms require at the bare minimum a belief in a higher power. Most with their prayers, or mantra call upon that power to drive out possessing forces.


Be sure to catch more from Gabriella and her version of exorcism in "A Prescription for Delirium" available NOW on AmazonBarnes & Noble, and Smashwords.



7 comments:

  1. I've never liked how most people seem to assume that exorcisms are purely a Christian thing. As you've so expertly explored in this post, plenty of other religions practice a form of it, too!

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    1. Agrred. There are more too, like Babylonian or Egyptian who i think both had their own exorcism rituals. But, that would have been a lot more research to explain what they were.

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  2. Very interesting post! I've nominated you for a Liebster Award.

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  3. Very interesting. I'm always intrigued by informative tidbits of information, and that's why I love to do the A to Z each April. Hi, I'm Kathy and am looking forward to A-Zing it with you. I've chosen you for the Leibster award. Follow the directions on my site and you are on your way to meeting lots of other writers/authors who share like interests. It's great fun. Enjoy. http://kscollier1.blogspot.com/

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  4. Jolie and KAthy: Thanks so much. I will get that out this weekend.

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  5. How interesting! I had no idea. Hopped over here because Kathy also nominated me for the Liebster award. I look forward to reading more; it's nice to meet you!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Jessica. It's nice to meet you as well and I hope I see more of you.

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