Although the terms obsession and possession have been used interchangeably, obsession, from the Latin obsidere, technically refers to “besieging” or attacking a person or personality from without. possession, on the other hand, refers to being completely taken over by the Devil, Demons or other spirits from within. medieval theologians distinguished between the two states, although in neither case was the victim responsible.
Saints could not be possessed, but could be obsessed by devils and evil thoughts. Usually such torments afflicted monks and hermits who lived ascetic, celibate lives, often in the desert. The Life of St. Hilary tells how the saint’s “temptations were numerous; . . . how often when he lay down did naked women appear to him.” And when St. Anthony tried to sleep, the Devil assumed the form of a woman and tried to seduce him with feminine gestures. Other holy or biblical figures, such as Saul, also suffered obsessive spirits, not total possession.
In the 17th century a young Spanish nun, DoñaMicaela de Aguirre, was obsessed by the Devil. Irritated by Doña micaela’s perfection, the Devil began tormenting her, appearing one night in the shape of a horse. He stood on micaela with his full weight, kicking and trampling her and leaving her badly bruised. Sometimes the Devil immersed DoñaMicaela in the convent well up to her neck, leaving her there all night. In the end, according to her biographer, Doña Micaela triumphed: “mocking his cunning she bade him fetch an axe and chop wood. And the enemy could not disobey her [for she was a saint]; he took the axe and chopped the wood up with all haste and departed in confusion, roaring with anger at being defeated by a young nun.”
In modern psychiatry, obsession means being totally dominated by a fixed idea that controls or affects all other actions, such as constantly checking to see if a door is locked, or believing that deadly germs are everywhere. most physicians do not believe that a person can become totally possessed by Demons from within.
SOURCE:
The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca – written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – Copyright © 1989, 1999, 2008 by Visionary Living, Inc.
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