Psychodynamic Aspects of Demonic Possession and Satanic Worship

The phenomena of demonic possession and Satanic ritual involvement are understandable within a demonological discourse as the psychic infiltration of malevolent supernatural entities. However, those rejecting the demonological model, but who wish to make psychological sense out of these phenomena, are frustrated by the lack of academically sound psychological material on the subject. In this article I address this lacuna by developing an object relations psychoanalytic model of both involuntary demonic possession, and voluntary Satanic ritual participation. I begin by examining the Freudian understanding of demonic possession, using the classical psychoanalytic paradigm. The Freudian model is criticized as being too limited, and an alternative object relations model, based on the theories of Melanie Klein and Ronald Fairbairn, is proposed. A case study is used to advance the idea that the internalization of a bad paternal object constitutes the developmental nucleus of demonic possession. The intrusive return of the projected bad object relation gives rise to the experience of possession. In voluntary Satanic worship, however, a different dynamic involving the individual's identification with the bad object suggests itself. The unconscious motivation for this identification arises from the child's experience of vulnerability and powerlessness at the hands of the persecutory parent. Identification with this bad object, symbolized by Satan, gives the individual a sense of personal power and control over his/her life. Satanic involvement thus compensates for the original childhood narcissistic injury.