SEVEN DEADLY SINS
why seven? it is a powerful number.there are seven days of the week seven seas
and seven heavens,seven is a popular number in ancient
magical incantations.
seven of the babylonian evil spirits railed against in incantations
are specifically identified in this fragment
of these seven,the first is the south wind,
the second is a dragon with mouth agape that none can withstand
the third is a grim leopard that carries off the young
the fourth is a terrible serpent
the fifth is a furious beast,after which no restraint
the sixth is a rampant against god and king
the seventh is an evil windstorm
these seven evil spirits are "workers of woe","bear gloom from city to city"
cause"darkness over the brightest day"and "wreak destruction" and can be said to define the traits
of the sins, who are also usually seen riding animals or as animals that represent their personalities.
the seven deadly sins were seen as agents of actions that always led to worse and worse sins.
from avarice,for a familiar example,springs fraud,treachery,deceit,violence,perjury,and hardness of heart
each sin has its own escalating consequences.they also have an ordered sequence that is generally agreed upon.
five of the sins are spiritual in nature,and two,lust and gluttony,carnal.
all of the seven deadly sins are notable in their selfishness.they each isolate each person from person and act within
to inflame personal ambitions,needs,gratifications,to neglect of family,commmunity,or spiritual development.
medieval scholars placed seven fallen angels as promoters
of the seven specific temptations.the efforts of these fallen angels
was tireless because their goal was to hinder humankind from goddness
and keep it from the presence of the divine as they themselves had been
when they fell from heaven.
1.PRIDE-LUCIFER
pride is considered the root of all evil.it is pride that LUCIFER fell from the celestial to the subteranean realm.
the selfish sin is to be"vainglorious" and think one self better than others.arrogance blocks the divine as well
as other persons from the heart.pride is invariably seen as a lion.its opposing virtue is humility.
2.AVARICE-MAMMON-
by Mammon is mean "the devil who is the lord of money" wrote THOMAS AQUINAS.avarice is a worldly sin,creating misers,thieves
and even murderers.the wolf is the animal usually depicted in medieval bestiaries,coming up from hell carrying MAMMON to inflame the human heart with greed.
like the "hungry ghost" of the buddhist hell, the greedy always crave more no matter how much they have.wretched and envious,avarice escaltes to state infinite dissatisfaction
and the sin's obssesion with wordly goods promotes neglect of spiritual wealth.the opposing virtue is sufficiency.
3.LUST-ASMODEUS-
lust is carried up from hell by the goat,an animal long considered lascivious,or the ass,who played the same role in ancient rome.
this "sin of the flesh" is said to lead to"uncleanliness" and away from its opposing virtue,chastity.
4.ENVY-LEVIATHAN-
that is the "twisting serpent" from primodial deep, LEVIATHAN,is envy incarnate seems appropriate.DANTE saw the spirit as evil as a huge serpent,who is entangled himself
with his victim that they became utterly interwined and no longer distinguishable,one from the other.ENVY is "the sin of the devil"
for"thou shall not covet" is one of the ten commandments.the sin is usually is represented by a dog and often depicted as a heartbeing eaten away.over concern of the possesions of others
is seen escalating to hinder sympathetic human relationships.when one is consumed by envy the opposing virtue is charity is completely erased.
5.GLUTTONY-BEELZEBUB-
BEELZEBUB,seen as GLUTTONY,started out as a canaanite deity whose name in hebrew{BAAL ZEBUB}meant lord of the flies and who later came to be equated with SATAN.in the gospels
BEELZEBUB is called prince of demons,as a sin,he rules over all excessive eating and drinking.the endless maw of the glutton is never satiated,and he or she is never satisfied.
the glutton lives to eat,a state that soon escaltes to forgetting gratitude.the pursuit goes on and leads to specific damnation
the glutton in hell will dine on needs and be forced to drink putrid water.the opposing virtue is sobriety.
6.ANGER-SATAN-
anger is another sin of the devil and one of immense importantnce and fiery power. it is usually ambodied by a sharp-toothed animal such as leopard with bard fangs,or a wild boar
raging,attacking ready to commit bloodshed.the consequence of this inflaming indwelling passion is to feel vengeance in one's heart.this escaltes to rage,obliterating all but negativity within,result is murder and war.
often seen in icons,anger is a creature stabbing himself in the heart with a knife.the opposing virtue is patience.
7.SLOTH-BELPHEGOR-
BELPHEGOR is depicted as sloth incarnate.this sin is considered one of the flesh.usually it is represented by scenes of falling asleep on the job,especially if the job is done by a monk.when in a state of sloth,
negligence and apathy soon set in.the donkey is a slow moving, lazy creature,sloth's representative animal.
thomas aquinas wrote that all sins that are due to ignorance are due to sloth.one needs to be awake and alert to even begin to set out on and maintain
a spritual practice,thus the opposing virtue is diligence.
these seven evil spirits are the vampires who feed on the innocence of humanity
they suck out all the goodness within and replace them with hatred,pain and isolation.
the VAMPYRES use all of these sins to attract humans,to gain power
to satisfy their hunger just like the father and mother of all vampire and demons
LUCIFER and the ANGEL OF BLOOD .
