Larvae

Larva

Plural: Larvae

ORIGIN:

Rome

Larvae are ghosts; Roman spirits of the dead. The Romans had various categories of ghosts and ancestral spirits: although there is plenty of speculation, the distinctions between them are now not always clear. The Larvae may or may not be identical with Lemures. Larvae are generally assumed to be malevolent ghosts who take pleasure in scaring or harming humans.

Larva literally means ā€œmaskā€ and they may have been celebrated, dispersed or invoked via masking rituals. During the Middle Ages, the Latin term Larvatus was used to indicate anyone wearing a mask and/or possessed by spirits.

A spirit named Larva appears in the manga/ anime Vampire Princess Miyu but he is identified as a shinma, translated as ā€œgod-Demonā€.

SEE ALSO:

  • Ghost
  • Lemures
  • Manes

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & GoddessesĀ – Written by :Ā Judika Illes Copyright Ā© 2009 by Judika Illes.

Larvae are half-beings existing on either the Astral Plane or the MENTAL PLANE ā€” usually astral ā€” that are created from intense thought, especially over a prolonged period. Larvae are usually negative in nature and are associated with a personā€™s preoccupation or obsession with a particular passion or habit. A personā€™s thoughts and emotional energies nourish a larva and enable it to maintain its existence.

The form or shell of a larva depends on its created characteristics. It has enough intelligence to direct itself toward self-preservation; thus it is vampiric in nature, feeding off its human source. Larvae can gain strength over time and may be difficult to dislodge and destroy by magic.

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright Ā© 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.