I had to do this on my phone as my laptop basically died on me. Hence why it's so scruffy. I just wanted to know what everyone thinks Hell is like in their belief/opinions or what they think it''s like
Most people, including many Satanists, do not believe in Hell per se. Rather utilise it as a symbol for the underworld, and if taking a Jungian bent, the Unconscious mind.
The ranks come out medieval grimoire magick and run along the lines of hierarchy simply because it works as a system "By the authority of x, I summon y" was the mentality of thinking. That is to say, you needn;t believe that Paimon is a King of Hell, rather that his influence is greater and more abstract than that of a being such as Agares and also that his nature is more solar orientated (since king was a title of classification).
I personally believe only in the afterlife, and believe there is no dread at all, unless it is shaped by the individual. I work with beings which have been called Satan and even Lucifer himself. I can honestly say the devil I know is not the devil the Church has embellished, and I have no reason to believe 'Hell' exists: in fact in the old testament, it does not.
If you look at the older literature concerning Lucifer and some of the literature coming out of certain early gnostic sects you will find that Satan has never been the ruler of a place called Hell, but rather, a ruler of the Earth. This is also found in the Yezedi traditions. This being said, I do believe many people have created their own Hells, just as they have created their own heaven.
If we are to take the Jungian idea and interpet the underworld as the unconscious, then this would mean that the demonic hierarchy represents certain hidden portions of the human psyche which can be tapped into. Some being easier and some being more hidden or challenging- hence the ranking system. I do not wholly subscribe to this idea, however, it has become a modern trend to do so.
Oh certainly. In a few of my books I have read since at least early 100 CE demons have been ranked in hierarchies, much like an army. There are certain kinds of demons and each kind is governed by one of the Lords of Darkness (an arch demon) such as Asmodeus, Abraxas, Beelzebub,and etc. Each demon lord is given a part of the kingdom of Hell by Lucifer to govern while he distributes the justice of Hell. At least that is what I have read. It makes since to me but since I am no Demonologist or Satanist I might be wrong.
Souses:
The black arts by Richard Cavendish
Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard by Oberon Zell Ravenheart.
I heard that the Pope has reportedly said that there is no such place as Hell. What the ...! How on earth is he going to keep those Catholics in line now. Of course, Pagans don't believe in Hell, do they? I don't.
In Buddhism, rather, hell exists and is for those who have committed more serious deeds like murder and so on. They are to be reborn in Hell and be reborn again to pay for their sins. Of course, it depends how much bad karma you have. Usually, it's being reborn into a lower realm but Hell is for more serious cases. The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva himself was once a girl who's mother died and she bought offerings for the Buddhas and bodhisattvas for her mother to be saved. This soon worked and she pitied the victims in Hell when she was shown Hell to show her mother was in the paradise of Amitabha(there are several paradises, however, paradise isn't enlightenment). So she vowed to be a bodhisattva and never be a Buddha until all the hells were empty and there, she became the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who helps out many dead people and those in Hell. Guan Yin also helps out as well. But this is the Buddhist belief. There are other beliefs like the Korean one where 9 judges and rulers of the underworld judge on the person himself/herself and how their family reacts to them. In Hinduism, Lord Yama is the lord of Hell which is also what Lord Yama does in Tibetan Buddhism as well along with being one of the 8 main dharmapalas of Buddhism. Though in Japan, Yama is known as Emma-O and judges only males while his sister judges females.
i used to study satanism and from what i gathered demons work like this there are legions by number each legion has a number of demons in it that each do there own thing each with there own ranking some demons have ranks such as lieutenant and so forth once you get to the top of the list of that legion there is a demon in charge of that legion after that there is the demon fluerty who is in charge of all of hells army after the generals it goes arch demons then royalty and then the gods of hell basicly like that
