Possession is defined by many religions as the act by an outside force, either demonic or spiritual in nature, which takes physical control of an individual's body or an object. According to many religions and beliefs, humans, animals, places and objects alike are all susceptible to these supernatural forces. Possession can be ended in two different ways: through an exorcism as seen by the Catholic Church, or using an anti-possession symbol seen in voodoo, witchcraft, hoodoo, and shamanism. Possession is also seen, mainly in Christian beliefs as being unwanted, however there are other religions that allow and attract spirits for possession to take place such as spiritual healing mediums in Brazil (Greenfield). Anthropologists have discussed and theorized possession using a range of religious beliefs, and have decided that possession itself is either positive or negative. Along with this, they raised questions about how possession affects the culture in a society and the person who was possessed. By doing this, anthropologists try to go outside the concept of spirit possession as being solely negative, but rather an everyday phenomenon that is accepted in a society.
In the television series Supernatural many episodes revolve around the idea of possession as being a negative and unwanted occurrence, common to Christian beliefs. The series tries to answer anthropological questions about how beliefs and religion come across to people and how they affect those people in their everyday experiences and those occurring with the supernatural. They do this by showing the expected outcome that it is a fact possession and supernatural phenomena are part of many religions, but also the 'what-ifs' that are taken from folk lore such as the W...
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...of the Dream." The Dream and Human Societies. 1966. Ed. by G.E. Von Grunebaum and Roger Caillois. 23-53. Berkley: University of California Press. Print.
Greenfield, Sydney. "Jose Carlos Ribiero: An Introduction to Spiritist Therapy". Spirits with Scalpels: The Culturalbiology of Religious Healing in Brazil. 2008. 23-34. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press. Print.
Palmié, Stephan. "Evidence and Presence, Spectral and Other." A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion. 2nd ed. Edited by Michael Lambek. 2008. 598-610. Print.
Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season. Writ. Eric Kripke. Dir. Philip Sgriccia. Warner Brothers, 2009. DVD.
The Book of Revelations. Good News Translation Bible. New York: American Bible Society, 1865. Print.
"The Magnificent Seven." Supernatural: The Complete Third Season. Writ. Eric Kripke. Dir. Kim Manners. Warner Brothers, 2007. DVD.
... person, yet theirs remain unconquered. As we analyze Covington’s rhetoric, we can see the manifestation of an ethos that follows a strong ethic code, a powerful intellectual prowess, and a devoted righteousness towards the confusing, yet strong-willed worshipers of serpent handling. As Covington explains it, “There are moments when you stand on the brink of a new experience and understand that you have no choice about it. Either you walk into the experience or you turn away from it, but you know that no matter what you choose…there will be consequences” (2). For the followers of serpent handling, these experiences are always pursued. These consequences, such as broken windows, burning churches, murder allegations, or desperate pursuits of the Holy Ghost, all have laid the foundation for Covington’s argument, that no obstacle can conquer one’s religious devotion.
Levitating beds, loss of memory for long periods of time, loss of bladder control, speaking in tongues, these are all symptoms known to be associated with possession. A possession is having control or owning (Farlex). When a person is possessed they have no control over their feelings or actions a majority of the time. The reason it is called a possession is because, when one is possessed, the spirit or demon has control over that person. The possession and exorcism of Roland Doe is one of the most documented possessions in history. Many still believe the case as fictional, but there is significant evidence of Doe’s possession.
Voodoo is a religion rich in heiratage and founded in faith and community. The religion has been villianized by western culture and has been wrongly portrayed
In Christian society and belief, as well as many other religions, the one true possession that a person has total control over is their everlasting soul. It is this spirit that makes one truly unique from everyone else. The fight within one’s self between good and evil and the day to day struggle to ensure that the goodness prevails is the focal point of a true believer’s life. It is only by this triumph on goodness that he can achieve Salvation in the eyes of God.
The idea of duality permeates the literary world. Certain contradictory commonplace themes exist throughout great works, creation versus destruction, light versus dark, love versus lust, to name a few, and this trend continues in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The pivotal pair in this text however, is monotony versus individuality. The opposing entities of this pairing greatly contrast against each other in Frankenstein, but individuality proves more dominant of the two in this book.
I can’t prove her wrong, or right, but Filban believes her encounter was paranormal. Her belief is that a spirit was present in her home, nothing threatening, possibly an angel. It could be that this angel was the previous owner as thought by Filban. One thing is clear, that her belief is based on spirituality, and faith of a higher power.
Possession: the indwelling of a demon inside a human person. After reading The Tragedy of Macbeth it is important to consider whether or not Lady Macbeth was possessed during a section of the story. There are three main scenes that directly deal with this possible possession: the convincement of Macbeth, the murder of Duncan, , and the suicide of Lady Macbeth. During these three scenes there can be much conjecture about the possession of Lady Macbeth. She was not possessed; it was all in her head.
The terms voodoo, hoodoo, black magic and conjure arouse different ideas and interpretations such as fear, fascination, or repugnance. For some, the image of voodoo dolls, which are used to bring pain to the one’s enemy are associated with these words. Others might consider curses and spells used for evil intentions to be at the heart of voodoo. A more innocent notion of voodoo encompasses the idea that it is to be used for the communal good. All of these ideas came together and merged with Christian and Catholic beliefs after Africans were transported to the Americas and subjected to unimaginable horrors as slaves. Many historians define voodoo as “a syncretism between the African religion Vodu and Catholicism.” Voodoo is an entirely new creation, which was born as the African slaves were confronted with New World religions. These new ideas were “camouflaged as European saints, the Orisha divinities continued to be invoked, fed, and celebrated by their transplanted New World devotees, who in turn expected protection and assistance from their ancient spiritual guardian.” In some cases, slaves used the culturally accepted Catholic saints as a cover for their ancestral beliefs which were often seen as foolish and heretical by their masters. This new belief system “met new world needs that the settled and passive African modes could not match.” Voodoo held an important part in many slaves’ lives as remnants of their African beliefs evolved into a meaningful and powerful force. Voodoo was an essential element of survival for many slaves because it helped them cope psychologically with the physical torment they endured, it gave them a sense of power in impossibly difficult situations, and it served as a unifying force.
Envision yourself as encircled by strange, yet terrifying and evil spirits that trouble you in your worst nightmares. The spirits could desire something from you. In fact, they could aid you in locale of frightening you. Should you attend to them? What do you contemplate they are trying to notify you? In one of the inquiries above, notice the ironical use of the word “fact” that endeavors to obscure the fictitious nature of ghosts. It displays that the meaning of the word “ghost” is equivocal. In supplementary words, the word “ghost” is multivalued, that way that ghosts can purpose in extra than one way.
Along with the belief in a Higher Power comes the belief in the continued existence of the soul after physical death. Many Root-Workers start out working with spirits of the dead in the form of the Ancestors, the spirits of the dead connected to them by blood. It is believed that the dead don’t die, but rather ascend to another level of being, from which they can look on and assist us. From this higher level, the Ancestors can guide us in our daily lives, intercede with the Godhead on our behalf and protect us in times of
As long as one can remember, paranormal beliefs have always existed in human society. They are living in every man’s childhood and in every corner of human’s life. From the burning belief about Santa Claus’s gifts under a Christmas’s tree in the morning to a scary game about Bloody Mary and her coming back from the dead, it seems that people cannot help but draw themselves to these stories. Even when these beliefs fade, there would be a new one that eventually shows up. No matter how much science has progressed, the belief in paranormal phenomena still remains in society. Eventually, the question about paranormal phenomena seems pale in comparison to the human’s undying belief about such things. It is really hard to pinpoint an exact cause for human’s belief in the paranormal for only one cause is not enough; however, it is sure that psychological, sociological, and biological factors play an enormous role that contributes to this belief.
A History of Dissociative Identity Disorder. (n.d.). Specialized catholic web about possession and exorcism. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://www.fortea.us/english/psiquiatria/history.htm
Lehmann A. C. & Myers J. E. Magic, Witchcraft and Religion – An anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Fourth Edition) (Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997)
Shamanism has not been a concept with one succinct definition. However, there have been varying extents of specificity within the definition. Mircea Eliade defines shamanism as an archaic technique of ecstasy. In Graham Harvey’s Shamanism: A Reader, he does not unify to one specific construe of shamanism in his writings, preferably he establishes the ambit of controversy and diversity between various definitions to foresight the extent shamanism has in comparison to other definitions. Shamanism, History, and the State by Nicholas Thomas and Caroline Humphrey debate that people have been corrupted with finding one definition of shamanism that they no longer take into account the controversy within the definition. The authors argue that there are two aspects of shamanism that include power and knowledge. More over Atkinson in her writings Shamanisms Today gets ridiculed for defining shamanism in a broader sense. Atkinson defines shamanism as having two main concepts: the psychological state of shamans and the therapeutic value of shamanic healing. Atkinson thinks that the identification of shamanism in relation to altered states of consciousness has become so strong that the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. To this point, it is learnt that shamanism has a broad range of definitions that begins with an altered state of consciousness and can be as specific as identifying the type of altered state, paradigmatic experiences and a shaman’s ultimate goal. The skepticism of the definition leads to the speculation that these traditions have an original source.
For many years, people have debated whether or not spirits are real. Some people get scared at the fact that there might be something unknown lurking in their house in the middle of the night making their footsteps known to everyone in it. Maybe that person feels watched upon or feel some kind of presence in their home, or even sees shadows moving their way through rooms. Different people around the world have their own opinions based on religion and experiences when talking about angels, demons, and the spirits that have life after death. New technology is getting closer to detecting these energies happening in the world today. The history of haunting dates back many years, and more people want to get involved because of the new technology.