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Abstract

hem. A soothsayer or holy man (really, a proto-psychiatrist, in my opinion) would be consulted by a person with insomnia, for example. The holy man would then show the patient the scary document with demon-filled pages and ask, “Which one is bothering you?”</p><figure id="0e70"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*lXuEuVY8pAPTDdffZFI1NA.jpeg"><figcaption>Some images depict entities associated with the 12 signs of the zodiac. Source: <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/persian-demons-from-a-book-of-magic-and-astrology-1921">Public Domain Review</a></figcaption></figure><p id="88d0">The patient would look through the book, pick the painting of the tormenting demon (most likely, the scariest-looking one) and the holy man will say, “Ahah! This is your tormentor, the demon is named so-and so. But do not worry, I have a remedy to vanquish it.” And then proceed to sell a spell or incantation for the patient to recite. And like magic, the patient is miraculously cured.</p><figure id="fb31"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*G3VASPkiz_amxd4hECk2jQ.jpeg"><figcaption>A blue cat demon is pulling the teeth from a poor woman and her child! Source: <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/persian-demons-from-a-book-of-magic-and-astrology-1921">Public Domain Review</a></figcaption></figure><p id="a8f1">The demons depicted were blamed for causing various ailments, physical and psychological. There were demons that kept children awake at night, gave men venereal disease or digestive problems, gouged out people’s eyes while they slept (yes as horrifically painful as that sounds) and caused gynaecological problems.</p><p id="263f">This belief in illness-causing demons dates back thousands of years in the Middle East. The accompanying tradition, the belief that certain holy men (and women) possess the power to vanquish them, also dates back to pre-Islamic times.</p><p id="454d">But here’s the thing — these holy men were the ancient world’s equivalents of modern psychiatrists and psychotherapis

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ts!</p><h1 id="580c">Old-school psychology</h1><p id="7a66">In practice, holy men and soothsayers were astute psychiatrists who knew how to tap into the healing power of suggestion, especially for mental illness. By suggesting to the patient that his or her problems were caused by infernal demons (fueled by traditional Near Eastern beliefs going back thousands of years — Persian grandmothers would scare their grandchildren with tales of scary demonic creatures lurking at night) the patient then recovers, thanks to the placebo effect.</p><figure id="d32f"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*t-Caz2mPv2PjByMwkpl-BQ.jpeg"><figcaption>A demon gouging a woman’s eye out while she sleeps! Source: <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/persian-demons-from-a-book-of-magic-and-astrology-1921">Public Domain Review</a></figcaption></figure><p id="bb49">But there is a certain amount of science behind the superstition, and modern researchers think that the ancients actually had an excellent understanding of human psychology.</p><h1 id="19f2">The power of the human mind</h1><p id="9837">During modern-day drug trials, some test patients are given placebos (usually sugar pills) and then strangely after taking them, their symptoms disappear.</p><p id="84f1">I’ve heard of psychiatric patients becoming cured after going on religious pilgrimages. One formerly-insomniac friend is now cured after a visit to Lourdes in France, a holy site where the Virgin Mary was supposed to have appeared in the 19th century.</p><p id="11c8">Perhaps the holy men and soothsayers of old Persia had the same brilliant idea. Suggest to believing patients that their problems would go away as soon as their demons were exorcised and their minds would literally convince their bodies to heal. It’s “Power of Suggestion 101”!</p><p id="5276">Now if only modern-day psychologists could develop techniques to harness the power of our own minds to heal? Maybe one day, all it takes to heal a minor ailment is a quick hypnotherapy session with the shrink.</p></article></body>

Beware the Foot-Licking and Tooth-Pulling Demons from Persia

Having trouble sleeping? Maybe there’s a foul demon lurking by your bed doing horrible things to you at night (at least according to this early 20th-century Persian manuscript)

Some of the creepy and unusual images from the text. Source: Public Domain Review

One of the most interesting illustrated documents I have ever seen is a manuscript written and illustrated by a soothsayer in what is now Iran in the early 1920s.

The pages show bizarre demons (called “div” in Persian) associated with the 12 signs of the zodiac. But that’s not all. There are also images of demons doing all sorts of strange and disturbing things like lurking at the bedside of innocent sleeping people and tormenting them at night.

There’s a feline-looking one whose tail ends in a shark’s head complete with razor-sharp teeth that enjoys licking (yes, licking) the feet of hapless sleeping humans. Even more creepy, there’s a blue-skinned, cat-headed one that loves pulling out human teeth, and yet again from poor sleeping humans!

The disturbing foot-licking demon, complete with shark-toothed tail. Source: Public Domain Review

Why was this manuscript made? Why did the people of old Persia (now modern Iran) make use of such strange and gruesome images?

Ancient book of magic and astrology

One likely use is as a sort of manual on demons and what kinds of spells to use to exorcise them. A soothsayer or holy man (really, a proto-psychiatrist, in my opinion) would be consulted by a person with insomnia, for example. The holy man would then show the patient the scary document with demon-filled pages and ask, “Which one is bothering you?”

Some images depict entities associated with the 12 signs of the zodiac. Source: Public Domain Review

The patient would look through the book, pick the painting of the tormenting demon (most likely, the scariest-looking one) and the holy man will say, “Ahah! This is your tormentor, the demon is named so-and so. But do not worry, I have a remedy to vanquish it.” And then proceed to sell a spell or incantation for the patient to recite. And like magic, the patient is miraculously cured.

A blue cat demon is pulling the teeth from a poor woman and her child! Source: Public Domain Review

The demons depicted were blamed for causing various ailments, physical and psychological. There were demons that kept children awake at night, gave men venereal disease or digestive problems, gouged out people’s eyes while they slept (yes as horrifically painful as that sounds) and caused gynaecological problems.

This belief in illness-causing demons dates back thousands of years in the Middle East. The accompanying tradition, the belief that certain holy men (and women) possess the power to vanquish them, also dates back to pre-Islamic times.

But here’s the thing — these holy men were the ancient world’s equivalents of modern psychiatrists and psychotherapists!

Old-school psychology

In practice, holy men and soothsayers were astute psychiatrists who knew how to tap into the healing power of suggestion, especially for mental illness. By suggesting to the patient that his or her problems were caused by infernal demons (fueled by traditional Near Eastern beliefs going back thousands of years — Persian grandmothers would scare their grandchildren with tales of scary demonic creatures lurking at night) the patient then recovers, thanks to the placebo effect.

A demon gouging a woman’s eye out while she sleeps! Source: Public Domain Review

But there is a certain amount of science behind the superstition, and modern researchers think that the ancients actually had an excellent understanding of human psychology.

The power of the human mind

During modern-day drug trials, some test patients are given placebos (usually sugar pills) and then strangely after taking them, their symptoms disappear.

I’ve heard of psychiatric patients becoming cured after going on religious pilgrimages. One formerly-insomniac friend is now cured after a visit to Lourdes in France, a holy site where the Virgin Mary was supposed to have appeared in the 19th century.

Perhaps the holy men and soothsayers of old Persia had the same brilliant idea. Suggest to believing patients that their problems would go away as soon as their demons were exorcised and their minds would literally convince their bodies to heal. It’s “Power of Suggestion 101”!

Now if only modern-day psychologists could develop techniques to harness the power of our own minds to heal? Maybe one day, all it takes to heal a minor ailment is a quick hypnotherapy session with the shrink.