Demons and Occult Practices

Demons and demonology occupies a strange space in the history of witchcraft. Many demons were often associated with specific crimes or curses. Asmodeus, for example, was a demon one invoked when trying to curse or cure someone of something sexual (having someone seduce someone else, for example). These demons were often times allusions and references to biblical figures that directly put witches in line with other 'treasonous' figures, all of whom were, in eyes of the monarchy, dedicated to not only overthrowing the kingdom but completely changing the way civil society operated. 

This is not to say that Demonology or the study of the occult was entirely tied to women, however. As a greater emphasis was put on scientific scholarship, many male historians and scholars often turned to spirits as a way to explain events in a pseduo-scientific way. Depression, for example, could be the result of both a humor imbalance as well as a demonic curse. As the study of science continued, demonology divorced itself from an association with withces and resulted in the creation of texts like The Magus. Books like these attempt to document demons in an ecyclopedia-like fashion. These texts actively encourage the exploration and study of demonology as an important field for advancing early 17th century scientific understandings. Keith Huchinson, however, importantly points to the hostility with which magic was still treated. While study was encouraged, it was done as a means to counteract and control uses who were associated with magic