Demonspotting: Buer

The Lamen of Buer

Like Barbatos, the Goetia says Buer ‘ appeareth in Sagittary.’ It also says “that is his shape when the Sun is there,” but it isn’t really clear what ‘that’ refers to. It might mean he appears as a Great President, or it might mean he appears as Sagittarius. If he appears as Sagittarius, then he looks like a centaur. If he appears as a Great President, then maybe he looks like Lincoln or Washington.

A picture of Buer

He’s a bit of a teacher, dabbling in Philosophy (moral and natural), and the art of logic. He knows the powers of all plants and herbs, their healing/destructive properties, I suppose. He can cure all illness and he’ll summon up a good Familiar spirit for you if you want.

Bloodsucking podcast

CBC (Canadian Broadcasting System) Radio’s Quirks and Quarks program featured expert Bill Schutt talking about vampire bats in November 2009. Apparently there’s been an explosion in the population recently due to deforestation, and the introduction of a new food source in large herds of cattle.

He also talks about other bloodsuckers, like leeches and bedbugs.

Sources

Bill Schutt

Redcap: A fairy you don’t want doing your laundry

It’s a dark and stormy night. You’re wandering alone in a ruined castle on the borderlands where the north of England meets the south of Scotland. Thunder peels, so loud that your heart begins to pound in terror and your ears ring with it. Lighting bursts, flashing over the ruins of a tower that looms above your head. The sky cracks and pours icy rain down on your chilled skin.

Between lightning bursts, a dark figure appears in front of you. A short old man with brilliant red eyes and hair so long it falls down his back walks toward you, his steps clanging with the sound of his iron boots ringing on the flagstones. In one hand, his claw-like fingers clutch a pikestaff. On his head sits a cap dyed red with human blood.

You’ve just met the Redcap, a malicious fairy who is seriously not interested in guiding you back to your tour bus. He’s way more interested in re-dyeing the hat he always wears (with your blood, if you haven’t figured that one out). The Redcap is faster than you (even in his iron boots) and stronger than you. Don’t even bother trying to fight him.

To worm your way out of this one, make the sign of the cross, and quote some Bible verses for good measure. The Redcap will disappear faster than you can say “John 3:16,” and leave one of his long fangs behind. I have no clue what you should do with the fang. I suspect it might have magical properties, but on the other hand, do you want its owner deciding to come after it?

Sources

The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead (Paperback) by J. Gordon Melton

Ekkekko: The happiness spirit of the Andes

Do you want prosperity and happiness? Ekkekko is the spirit to talk to in the Andes and South America. (And doesn’t fall into the demonic class, but it’s my blog and I’ll cheat if I want to.) A helpful spirit, Ekkekko is a small, bald guy who wears a natty poncho to cover his fat belly, and pointed hat.

What is it with helpful spirits and their pointy hats?

Ekkekko dispenses gifts to those who respect him. In some South American markets, you can find figures of the benevolent spirit that people buy and take home to their houses. You can also buy miniature models of the gifts you want from Ekkekko, and put it near the statue–just as a reminder, I guess.

For example, if you want that car you’ve got your eye on, buy a model of it and place it near the statue. But be careful–if you don’t respect Ekkekko, you’re not going to get what you wish for.

Some say that the little fairy was once a powerful god in his own right, now demoted to spirit by the advent of Christianity.

Sources

Patricia Turner, Charles Russell Coulter; Dictionary of Ancient Deities, Oxford University Press US, 2001

Michelle Roehm McCann, Marianne Monson-Burton, David Hohn; Finding fairies: secrets for attracting little people from around the world, Council Oak Books, 2005