Devils and Realist
A term referencing demonic entities and their perceived reality, often explored in occult traditions. It suggests a duality where spiritual or supernatural beings are considered as concrete and knowable as the material world, challenging conventional notions of good and evil.
Where the word comes from
The term "Devils and Realist" is a modern coinage from a Japanese manga title, not an ancient esoteric term. "Devil" derives from Old English "deofol," ultimately from Greek "diabolos" meaning "accuser" or "slanderer." "Realist" stems from the Latin "realis," meaning "actual" or "pertaining to things."
In depth
Devils and Realist (Japanese: 魔界王子 devils and realist, Hepburn: Makai Ōji: Devils and Realist) is a Japanese manga series written by Madoka Takadono and illustrated by Utako Yukihiro. It was serialized in Ichijinsha's josei manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum from October 2009 to February 2018, with its chapters collected in fifteen tankōbon volumes as of July 2018. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America; they published the fifteen volumes between...
How different paths see it
What it means today
The juxtaposition of "Devils and Realist," though originating from a contemporary fictional work, resonates with a long-standing esoteric impulse to re-examine the nature of perceived evil. For the Hermeticist, or indeed any serious student of the hidden arts, the traditional demonology of popular culture often serves as a veil, obscuring deeper truths about the architecture of consciousness and the cosmos. The "devil," in many ancient traditions, is not simply a fallen angel but a principle of opposition, a necessary counterpoint that defines and activates its opposite. Think of the dualistic cosmologies described by Mircea Eliade, where the sacred and the profane, the light and the dark, are not eternally warring factions but interdependent forces within a larger, dynamic whole.
To approach these entities as a "realist" is to engage with them not through fear or superstition, but through rigorous observation and intellectual inquiry. It is akin to the alchemist's careful dissection of matter, seeking to understand its inherent properties and transformations. This realism demands a detachment from emotional bias, a willingness to see the underlying mechanics of spiritual forces, whether they manifest as what we label "demonic" or "divine." Carl Jung’s exploration of the shadow self, for instance, highlights how what we project as external evil often represents our own unacknowledged psychological components. A true realist in the esoteric sense would seek to integrate, or at least comprehend, these forces, recognizing their role in the grand unfolding of existence, much like a composer understands the function of dissonance within a symphony. This perspective shifts the focus from exorcism to understanding, from condemnation to conscious engagement with the full spectrum of reality.
RELATED_TERMS: Shadow, Gnosticism, Alchemy, Theurgy, Shadow Self, Luciferianism, Dualism
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