DAEMONOLATRIA

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Sabanack

A mighty marquis, appears in the form of an armed soldier, having a lion's head, and riding on a pale-coloured horse. He builds towers, camps and cities, fortifies the same, torments men with putrid sores swarming with worms; he gives good familiars.

Saleos

A great duke, who appears like a brave soldier, riding on a crocodile crowned. He promotes love between the sexes.

Sammael

For the Jews, Sammael is the prince of demons. In Rabbinical legend he is a storm demon, and his name is linked with Samiel or Simoon, which is the name of a desert wind.

According to tradition, Sammael was said to have been the highest throne-angel. He was said to have twelve wings, which was twice the number of wings of the Seraphim and other living creatures. According to the Debarim Rabbi (xi), Sammael is the wicked angel who is the chief of all the Satans.

It was Sammael (also associated with Satan) who, under the guise of the serpent, tempted Eve in paradise. According to chapters 13 and 14 of the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, Satan’s fall was mainly out of jealousy and envy on the part of the angels. The angels were in opposition to the creation of man, and were jealous that man was allowed to give names to all creatures. They saw this act as proving that man was superior to themselves. Sammael, who was the first of all the angel princes, led a group of angels to earth in an attempt to conspire against Adam, so that by his fall, they might again gain supremacy over man. In the Bereshith Rabba (xix), the serpent was described as possessing hands and feet and it resembled a camel. It also could speak. Sammael took possession of the serpent and thus deceived Eve. Because of this act, the angels were cast out of heaven and the feet of the serpent were cut off.

3 Baruch makes reference to this event. The Greek version uses the name 'Samael' while the Slavic text replaces the name with 'Satanael.'

     "And I said, 'I pray you, show me which is the tree which caused Adam to stray.' And

     the angel said, 'It is the vine which the angel Samael planted by which the Lord God

     became angered, and he cursed him and his planting. For this reason he did not permit

     Adam to touch it. And because of this the devil became envious, and tricked him by

     means of his vine.'" - 3 Baruch 4:8 (Greek)

     "And during the transgression of the first Adam, she gave light to Samael when he took

     the serpent as a garment, and did not hide, but on the contrary, waxed." - 3 Baruch 9:7

     (Greek)

Sammael plays the role of the accuser, seducer, and destroyer (and is identified with Satan in some traditions). Another example of the deeds of Sammael is his role in the trial of Abraham. Sammael stood before God to accuse Abraham of selfish piety. God decided to test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Sammael then tried to persuade Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac, and also to persuade Isaac to rebel against this trial. When he saw that Abraham would not disobey God, he revenged himself by telling Sarah that Isaac had been slain. She then died of her grief and terror.

Sammael is also a symbol of the 'venom of God.' This title refers to his role as executioner of the death sentences ordered by God, and links him to the Angel of Death. In T.B. Abuda Zarah, Sammael is represented as standing by a dying man with a drawn sword in his hand. The point of the sword has a drop of gall on it. When the dying man sees him, he is startled and opens his mouth. The drop of gall then falls into his mouth and the man dies. In this personification, Sammael is said to have brought about Moses' death. According to the T.B. Baba Metzia (86a), the Angel of Death did not fall but remains one of God's angels.

Sammael also, as an uncircumcised mate of Lilith, fathered a huge family of demons.

According to a fifteenth century story, a Spanish Kabbalist of that era tried to gain power over Sammael by summoning him in the name of God. When Sammael appeared in the form of a serpent, the conjurer bound the demon by placing on his head a crown inscribed with magic letters which spelled out: 'Thy Master's Name is upon Thee.' But Sammael was not to be duped that easily. He cunningly convinced the magician to burn incense to seal his victory. When the conjurer obeyed, the demon was instantly freed from the spell, as the burning of incense was an act of idolatry.

In the Kabbalistic tradition, Sammael is the chief of the ten evil Sephiroth. He is said to fly through the air like a bird. The dark blemishes on the moon's surface are supposed to be this archdemon's excrement.

Sargatanas

A brigadier general of the infernal legions.

Sarkany

A Hungarian demon, son of the witch Boszorkany. It is sadi she could turn a person into a horse.

Satanachia

A general of the infernal legions.

Scox

A Duke of Hell. He is depicted as a liar and a thief.

Seere

A mighty prince under Amaymon, King of the East, appearing in the form of a beautiful man on a strong winged horse. He brings all things to pass suddenly, transports to any place in the twinkling of an eye, and discovers all thefts. He is indifferently good or bad, and will do the will of the operator.

Seiktha

Burmese demons. They dwell in trees and groves. Their nature is usually malign, but occasionally we find them the tutelar or guardian of a village. In any case, they possess shrines where they may be propitiated by gifts of food and drink. Several of the demoniac figures have almost achieved godhead, so widespread did their cults become, and Hmin Nat, Chiton, and Winnein Nat, may be instanced as fiends of power, the dread of which spread across extensive district.

Separ

A great duke, who appears in red apparel and armed like a soldier. He enflames women with love for men and can transform them into other shapes till they have been enjoyed by their lovers.

Shax

A great marquis, comes in the form of a stockdove, speaking with a hoarse voice. He destroys the sight, hearing and understanding of any man or woman at the will of the exorcist, steals money from the king's exchequer and returns it in 1200 years. He will transport anything, but first must be commanded into the triangle; otherwise he will decieve the operator. He discovers all hidden things which are not in the keeping of wicked spirits, and gives good familiars.

Shiq

A type of demon appearing to travellers as half a man.

Shony

A death bringing demon reigned in the waters of the North Sea, and he was known to the ancient Scottish fishermen as Shony. Although this creature was not commonly seen, he appeared as a man of large stature, a thick shag of hair covering his head, and a ridge of fins adorning his spine. He was greatly dreaded by all those who had any dealings with the sea, be it fishermen or sailors on trade vessels. When seamen fell overboard, no one tried to save them for it was believed that Shony 'maun hae its nummer,' that is Shony must have his annual quota of souls. He kept them imprisoned in his castle made of jagged coral on the ocean floor. If by chance a drowning man was given help, Shony would take the rescuer's life and leave the drowning person to die on his own.

Yearly sacrifices were made to him. These consisted of selecting a person from the crew, slitting his throat and throwing the body overboard. Viking shipbuilders reddened the keels of their boats by binding a victim on the logs upon which the boat was rolled to the water. They hoped that Shony would be appeased by the sight.

In later times, Shony was given the new name of Shellycoat, and he was sighted mainly off the east coast of Scotland. He seemed by this time to have taken on a less crude nature and became more of a prankster, mimicking the shrieks of a drowning man. When anybody swam out to save him, he burst into gales of laughter and dove underwater. Sir Walter Scott wrote that when Shellycoat appeared on the shore

     'he seemed to be decked with marine productions and, in particular, with shells whose

     clattering announced his approach. From this circumstance he derived his name.'

Shui-Mu

Shui-mu Niang-niang was a Chinese water demon whose evil doings caused yearly floods, claiming numerous lives and bringing famine and desolation to the town of Ssu Chou and its surroundings. Her power was so great that her cunning tricks triumphed over the troops Yo Huang, the Lord of the Skies, had sent out against her.

The demoness, enraged by the repeated attempts to capture her, kicked and turned over one of the magic buckets containing the sources of the great lakes. The freed water engulfed the unfortunate town of Ssu Chou, burying it for ever under a great mass of water called the lake of Hung-tse.

Now Yo Huang’s patience was exhausted, and he methodically organized her capture. Great heroes and large armies pursued her relentlessly. One day, having narrowly escaped after a furious race, Shui-mu stopped utterly exhausted and famished. She caught sight of an old hag selling bowls of freshly cooked noodles. Avidly she began to devour the food, unaware that she had fallen into a trap. The old woman was Kuan-yin Pusa, a good woman with great magical powers.

In Shui-mu’s stomach the noodles turned into iron chains, winding around her entrails. The chain's end, protruding from her mouth, welded itself to the noodles-turned-chains remaining in the dish. Bound and powerless, the demon was led away to be fastened securely at the bottom of a deep well, where she was to remain a prisoner for all times. The people of that province say that the end of the chain can be seen whenever the water level in the well drops particularly low.

Siho I Salo

A demon from the Solomon Islands.

Silcharde

One of the demons who may be summoned by necromancy.

Stolas

Grand Prince of Hell. He appears in the shape of an owl. When he assumes the shape of a man and appears before exorcists, he teaches astronomy, prophecy based on the study of plants, and the value of precious stones. He commands twenty-six legions.

Succubus

In medieval European folklore, a female demon (or evil spirit) who visits men in their sleep to lie with them in ghostly sexual intercourse. The man who falls victim to a succubus will not awaken, although may experience it in a dream. The male counterpart is the incubus.

Surgat

A demon who may be summoned and who will give a magic stone upon command.

Sytry

See Bitru.

Szepasszony

In Hungarian folklore, the Szepasszony is a taboo word. It is the name of the Fair Lady, a beautiful woman with long hair and a white dress. She is a female demon who seduces young men and comes out to dance in storms and hail showers.
Noon is the hour when she is the most powerful. Several expressions are associated with her. To "step into the platter of the Fair Lady" means to fall under a spell or one can describe a sick child as being "suckled by the Fair Lady."
Water dripping from the eaves forming a puddle constitutes a platter by which the Fair Lady can cast a spell on someone. It is considered dangerous to step into a circle of short grass surrounded by taller grass or no grass at all, since it may be the circle where the Fair Lady dances.

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