Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

BEELZEBUB
(Known variations of this name include: Beelzebuth, Belzebuth, Beelzeboul, Baalzebub, Belzebut, Belzeboub and Belzebud)

The demon was originally Baal-zebub, god of the Philistine city of Ekron, west of Jerusalem. Ahaziah, King of Israel in the 9th century BC, fell ill and sent messengers to the god asking whether he would recover (2 Kings 1).

The Latin name "Beelzebub" is derived from the Hebrew term "Baalzebub" and means "Lord of Flies" ("Baal", meaning "lord" + "zebub" ("ZBVB"), meaning a fly or insect).

Baal-zebub probably means 'Lord of the High House'. This title could only properly apply to Solomon in his temple, so the Jews changed the name to Beelzebub, which translates as 'Lord of Flies'.

Beelzebub appears in the New Testament of the Bible, examples being Mathew 10:25, 12:24 ("But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils"), and Mark 3:22 ("And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils")

A monk of the abbey of Stablo in the Netherlands confessed in 1595, without undergoing torture, to being a witch. He said that the demonic being worshipped by witches at their sabbaths was Beelzebub. They kissed his footprints and before they began their feast said grace 'in the name of Beelzebub, our Grand Master, Sovereign Commander and Lord'.

Two French Witch hunters of the early 17th century, Pierre de Lancre and Henri Boguet, also said that witches blessed their food in Beelzebub's name, and Boguet added that they called him 'the creator and preserver of all things'; in other words, that they regarded him as their God.

In the 16th century the demonologist John Wier, a pupil of Agrippa, gave Beelzebub pride of place in a catalogue of demons as supreme chieftain of hell, with Satan ranking below him. A book published in Germany in 1505, attributed to the celebrated magician Faust, lists Beelzebub as one of the five most powerful demons (the others being Lucifer, Satan, Astaroth and Beherit). One story was that it was Beelzebub with whom Faust made his pact.

Two Grimoires, the Grimorium Verum and the Grand Grimoire, state that the supreme trinity of evil consists of Lucifer, Beelzebub and Astaroth. When summoned by a magician, Beelzebub appears in the form of a huge fly.

Beelzebub was described as the supreme chieftain of demons in Alexis De Terreneuve de Thym's autobiography Farfadets, Ou Tous Le Demons Ne Sont Pas L'autre Monde. Beelzebub was the leader of the "false gods" in Barret's The Magus.

Beelzebub is one of the Infernal names listed in Anton Szandor La Vey's Satanic Bible, as well as a name used in the performance of rituals in LaVey's The Satanic Rituals. Beelzebub is an Arch-Daimon who is Satan's second in command, who makes one of the "Statements" in the Diabolicon.

Beelzebub is a prince of the demonic order of Seraphim listed by Michaelis in his Admirable History. He is also a demon of gluttony listed by Binsfield.

Conjuring up so fearsome a power is considered peculiarly dangerous. S. L. MacGregor Mathers, a magician who died in 1918, said that unless the magic circle is accurately and properly drawn, to summon up Beelzebub would probably result in the death of the magician on the spot. This did not deter his pupil Aleister Crowley from invoking Beelzebub with 49 attendant demons and sending them to attack Mathers. The reactions of Mathers are not recorded.

Beelzebub's reputation as a spirit of evil so powerful that he could be ranked with, or even take precedence of, Satan goes back at least to Jewish popular belief at the time of Christ, when he was regarded as the prince of devils. When Jesus expelled demons from the bodies of the sick, he was accused of doing it with Beelzebub's assistance.

Beelzebub came to be regarded as the leading representative of the fallen angels; in Matthew, 12:24, he is mentioned as 'Prince of the Devils', and identified with the person of Satan, even though Milton has him next in rank to Satan (Paradise Lost).

see also: KABBALAH; SATAN

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc