Angels and Demons
The Ouroboros and the Dragon of Chaos
In this piece, we bridge mythology, psychology, and spirituality to elaborate on our metaphysical Theory of Archetypes., exploring the archetypal forces — angels and demons — that influence our psyche and behavior.
This framework offers a powerful metaphor for understanding how archetypes shape human consciousness and behavior, while emphasizing the role of individual agency1 in engaging with these forces. These entities are far more than symbols; both are essential for spiritual development.
By framing these forces as angels and demons, we imbue them with symbolic meaning that resonates across cultural and spiritual traditions, providing a lens through which we can appreciate their influence on personal and collective transformation.
Recently, I wrote of Rudolf Steiner’s cosmology in a comment attached to last week’s post.
Between Ahriman and Lucifer exists a state of equilibrium, represented by Christ as the ideal balance of love and humanity’s integration of spiritual and earthly dimensions. Lucifer is associated with the supersensible realm, while Ahriman is linked to the subsensible realm. Lucifer represents the spiritual aspects of human nature, pulling humanity away from earthly existence and rendering human intelligence automatic, thus repressing individual will.
However, Lucifer paradoxically fosters individual free will by granting independence and self-consciousness, while simultaneously risking detachment from earthly evolution. In contrast, Ahriman embodies the material aspects of human nature, seeking to bind humanity to Earth and quash our spiritual dimensions.
Lucifer's core motivation lies in separating humanity from its earthly evolution, enticing it into a purely spiritual domain where his influence prevails. While this grants freedoms and heightened awareness, it ultimately seeks to divert humanity from its intended developmental path — one that integrates spiritual and material dimensions under divine guidance.
I can think of no scenario that better describes our current dilemma. The Christ figure, representing humanity, symbolizes the ideal balance of spiritual and earthly existence. Steiner emphasized the goal of integrating both aspects harmoniously rather than succumbing to either extreme.
Angelology
In the above schema, Lucifer remains frozen in his ‘unfallen’ state. Traditional angelology portrays Lucifer as a magnificent angelic being, originally created as one of the highest-ranking angels. His name, meaning "light-bearer" or "morning star," highlights his exalted status in the heavenly hierarchy.
In Masonic symbolism, the Rainbow appears as the sacred depiction of Lucifer, the Light Bearer [or Morning Star], and it indicates his Brightness.
Eustace Mullins2
Lucifer, in his exalted position, enjoyed direct access to God and a prominent role in the heavenly court. However, his splendor became the catalyst for his downfall. Consumed by pride and a desire for self-exaltation, he rebelled against God, seeking to elevate himself above his creator.
This defiance led to his expulsion from heaven, along with a third of the angelic host who joined his rebellion. These fallen angels, who became known as traditional demons, followed Lucifer, whose name was changed to Satan. His new name means "adversary," signifying his role as an enemy of God and humanity. This transformation marked the emergence of evil in the spiritual realm and laid the foundation for spiritual warfare between good and evil.
In theological terms, this duality aligns with Manichaeism, which frames existence as a perpetual struggle between opposing forces of light and darkness. Lucifer’s narrative embodies both magnificence and rebellion, paralleling humanity’s struggle between transcendence and hubris. It presents a useful approach to understanding the tension between spiritual aspiration and moral accountability.
Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy
Shifting to an anthroposophical perspective, Rudolf Steiner's cosmology reinterprets Lucifer as a complex spiritual force essential to human evolution.3 Lucifer fosters intellectual and spiritual freedom, creativity, and self-awareness, yet risks engendering spiritual delusion, pride, and egotism if unbalanced.
In Steiner's cosmic triad, Lucifer complements Ahriman, representing material forces, and Christ, embodying harmony. Steiner underscores the importance of integrating these forces for spiritual development, warning that Lucifer’s influence, while fostering freedom, can derail humanity from its proper evolutionary path.
This detachment hinders the integration of spiritual and material dimensions, which is essential for balanced development. Instead of viewing Lucifer as purely evil, Steiner presents him as a necessary force that must be balanced with Ahrimanic dark influences and integrated through Christ consciousness.
This perspective deepens the traditional angelological view, emphasizing Lucifer's role in consciousness and spiritual evolution rather than simply as a fallen angel.
Angels and Psychoids
Rational Spirituality regards communication with angels as divine guidance, a means of accessing insights and support from a higher power. The word ‘angel,’ from the Greek angelos, means "divine messenger." Angels and demons symbolize opposing aspects of the psyche while serving as higher-conscious intermediaries (psychoids) bridging human consciousness with divine reality.
Jung introduced the term 'psychoid' to describe a realm connecting psyche (soul) and matter that lies deeper than the personal unconscious. He believed that angels and demons, acting as psychoids rather than as archetypes, represent unconscious forces that shape our behavior. Jung saw these psychoids as bridges between the conscious and unconscious realms, facilitating access to deeper levels of wisdom and insight.
Practices such as meditation, prayer, tarot, dreamwork, and art interpretation can facilitate this connection with the psychoid realm.
Synchronicity
Synchronicity, a term coined by Jung, refers to meaningful coincidences that seem to defy chance, suggesting a deeper connection between our inner world and external events. These are experiences that arise from the psychoid realm, where psyche and matter converge.
This psychoid dimension, described by Jung as "soul-like" and "irrepresentable," operates beyond the confines of space and time, allowing for the acausal connections that create synchronistic events.
Jung linked synchronicity to the unus mundus (‘one world’), a unified reality where psyche and matter reflect complementary aspects of existence. Jung's famous "scarab beetle incident" illustrates this concept, where the symbolic resonance between a patient’s dream and an actual event facilitated a breakthrough in therapy. Such moments demonstrate how inner and outer worlds are bridged, offering insights into interconnectedness.
In spiritual practice, synchronicity can often serve as a confirmation that guides individuals spiritually and affirms they are on the right path. Or that a random thought just occurred is important. Unfortunately, many souls pay scant attention to “meaningful coincidence.”
Jung's famous "scarab beetle incident" illustrates this concept. During a therapy session with a particularly rational patient, she described a dream about receiving a golden scarab.
At that moment, a scarabaeid beetle slammed to the window of Jung's office. He caught the beetle and presented it to the patient, saying, "Here is your scarab."
This striking coincidence, precisely mirroring the dream imagery, helped break through the patient's resistance to treatment and facilitated a deeper connection to her unconscious. This synchronicity exemplifies the psychoid realm's ability to manifest unconscious patterns in external reality, bridging inner and outer worlds.
In the next section we connect Jung’s “particularly rational patient” to demonic influences that arrested her spiritual development.
Demonology
Demonology, the study of demons, encompasses a wide range of malevolent spiritual entities. In Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy, the ancient archetype of Ahriman embodies this concept. We wrote about this archdemon last week [here].
Steiner presents Ahriman as a powerful force representing the extreme of materialism, intellectualism, and mechanistic thinking — a necessary counterforce in human evolution, pushing humanity towards the material pole.
Ahriman's influence is most evident in modern times, characterized by an overemphasis on rationalism, technology, and scientific reductionism, potentially disconnecting humanity from its spiritual essence. This influence can be seen in the rise of transhumanism, which seeks to transcend human limitations through technology, often with little or no regard for ethical considerations or the potential consequences for the human soul.
Steiner's demonology differs from traditional views by suggesting that Ahriman's influence, while potentially harmful, also plays a crucial role in human development.
The challenge lies in balancing Ahrimanic forces with other spiritual influences, particularly those represented by Lucifer and Christ or “cosmic consciousness.” This perspective encourages us to consider the multifaceted nature of "demonic" forces, recognizing both the risks and the evolutionary impetus they provide.
In contemporary contexts, Ahriman extends beyond myth into the mechanized systems of modern society, revealing the dehumanizing effects of technology while striving for spiritual reintegration.
Possession
In Rational Spirituality’s Theory of Archetypes, we do not become possessed by ‘demons’ but by Ahrimanic demonic forces. An example is Heinrich Himmler’s possession by the Black Sun Archetype, which we theorized about [here].
The connection between archetypal possession and the psychoid realm can be understood in several ways.
Unconscious influence — The psychoid operates beyond conscious awareness, shaping behavior and perception. It bridges psyche and matter, allowing psychological phenomena to manifest in the physical world.
Bridging mind and matter — The psychoid concept suggests a unity between psyche and world, where psychological phenomena can manifest in physical reality. This aligns with archetypal possession, where unconscious forces influence an individual's actions, sometimes manifesting as psychopathic behavior. We wrote about this in “Psychopathy: The Evil Among Us” [here].
Collective effect — Jung described the psychoid as active in the whole environment, not just localized in one person. Archetypal possession emerges when these unconscious forces overwhelm conscious control, manifesting as psychopathic behavior or mass formation psychosis.4
Archetypal emergence — The psychoid is the bedrock from which archetypes emerge. When these archetypes strongly constellate in the psyche, it can be experienced as possession.
Undifferentiated state — The psychoid relates to a primordial, undifferentiated state of being, similar to the "dragon of chaos." When an individual is overwhelmed by this chaotic energy, it frequently manifest as archetypal possession.
The dragon of chaos represents not just destruction, but also the potential for renewal and creation, as seen in Norse mythology with Jormungandr, a massive serpent that encircles the world and whose release triggers Ragnarok, initiating a new cycle of creation. A similar mythos is found in the Christian apocalypse described in the Book of Revelation.5
By understanding the psychoid as a bridge between the conscious and unconscious, personal and collective, psychological and physical, we are able to understand archetypal possession as a powerful activation of unconscious content.
This possession plays a role in birthing the new Aquarian Paradigm, like the shift in consciousness the world is now experiencing. By engaging with these forces, we reclaim autonomy and contribute to the evolution of collective consciousness, transforming chaos into creative renewal.
The Dragon of Chaos
The concept of the "dragon of chaos" serves as an apt metaphor for the current geopolitical landscape, where the established unipolar world order is giving way to a more complex, multipolar system. This 'dragon of chaos' embodies the raw, untamed energy of the psychoid realm in order to effect change.
This transition is marked by uncertainty, conflict, and a reshuffling of global power dynamics. Emerging multipolarity is defined by the rise of new power centers, particularly in the East and South, challenging the long-standing global influence of the Anglo-American Empire.
China has emerged as a major pole alongside the US, with other middle powers like India, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Nigeria gaining significant influence.
This shift is not merely a redistribution of economic and military power, but also a surge in demand for sovereignty and identity, especially in the Global South. The BRICS summit in 2024, which saw participation from 35 developing countries, exemplifies this trend towards a more diverse and inclusive global order.
Today, the "dragon of chaos" is manifesting in various forms:
Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Red Sea
Increasing militarization and cyber warfare
Growing economic decoupling and technological competition
Rising populism and democratic deficits in Western nations
These morbid symptoms, as the Italian Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci might have described them, are characteristic of the interregnum — that period of instability between the decline of one dominant social order and rise of another.6
Interregnum
This interregnum, reminiscent of the periods of societal breakdown and transition described by Arnold Toynbee in his monumental work, A Study of History, is marked by a resurgence of conflict and competition on a global scale, the erosion of traditional power structures, and a growing sense of uncertainty about the future.
Often criticized as a tool of Western hegemony, the Rules-Based International Order is being aggressively challenged by alternative visions of global governance, particularly from Russia and China who advocate for a fairer multipolar world.
As this transition unfolds, middle powers are positioned to play a crucial role in shaping the new world order, such as India. They offer a vision for the global economy that is not dependent on either American or Chinese dominance.
This shift towards multipolarity holds the potential to create a more balanced and cooperative international system, albeit one that is more complex and potentially more volatile in normal times. However, we do not live in normal times — the global financial system is in great peril.
Conclusion
In bridging mythology, psychology, and spirituality, we reveal the interconnectedness of archetypes that shape our inner lives and the world around us. Angels and demons, as agents of archetypal forces, challenge us to consciously engage these dualities, choosing creation over destruction, order amidst chaos, and freedom tempered by restraint.
Above all, we must stay informed and make significant strides in increasing individual self-awareness. As Paul reminds us, “we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
This message of informed hope resonates in our era, where the 'dragon of chaos' forces us to face our fears and accept both the necessity of positive change and the path to achieving it — the road and the road map.
This journey of transformation is embodied in the ancient symbol of the ouroboros (above). It depicts the serpent consuming its own tail, reminding us that endings and beginnings alike are intertwined in an endless cycle of renewal.
Just as the ouroboros symbolizes this cyclical process of creation and destruction, certain figures in Norse mythology likewise embody the chaotic forces that both dismantle and regenerate.
‘Chaos beings’ called Fenrir and Jörmungandr break the bonds of the old order to forge a new paradigm. Similarly, in our own lives and collective consciousness, we confront forces that dismantle outdated systems, challenging us to integrate chaos and order in the pursuit of evolution.
The ouroboros reminds us that within every end lies a new beginning, a timeless cycle that mirrors the deep unity of psyche and cosmos.
Agency may either be classified as unconscious, involuntary behavior, or purposeful, goal directed activity.
AI Overview: Anthroposophy is a spiritual philosophy and science that studies the human being and the relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds. The term comes from the Greek words anthropos meaning "human" and sophia meaning "wisdom." Anthroposophy is based on the idea that the human intellect can connect with spiritual worlds — the ‘numinous,’ a term coined by theologian and philosopher Rudolf Otto (1869-1937).
There are four key components needed for an environment to experience a mass formation psychosis: lack of social bonds or decoupling of societal connections; nothing makes sense any longer; free-floating anxiety, and free-floating psychological discontent. Covid was a mass psychosis event.
Tucker Carlson’s video interview with Mattias Desmet re: Mass Formation Psychosis
In Norse mythology, Fenrir, the great wolf and son of Loki, is bound by the gods to prevent him from fulfilling a prophecy of destruction. At Ragnarök, Fenrir breaks free, marking the "breaking of cosmic bonds" that heralds the end of the old order. This event coincides with the release of Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent, and other apocalyptic upheavals, culminating in the battles that define the twilight of the gods.
Fenrir symbolizes both strength and chaos and represents the destructive and renewing aspects of nature. Jörmungandr embodies the cyclical nature of existence, encircling the world and representing both eternity and inevitable change.
Another wonderful post I had not yet had time to read. Your presentation of demonology and angelology against the Jungian and anthroposophical background paradigms is truly excellent. Most helpful too is your timely reminder of the role synchronicities play in guiding authentic individuation, healing the catastrophic split between matter and psyche. This is what Jung referred when the psychic and physical worlds are "touching and not quite touching." The casting of yarrow stalks in I Ching readings is also based on the recognition of such a phenomenon as Jung encountered with the scarab beetle. In the context of the I Ching reading, the entire surrounding space is permeated by the activated spirit of inquiry. Thus, its material density becomes leavened and permeated by information flow from the psychoid realm. This would be a further example of mass-energy-information equivalence. I am delight3d to learn about the well-lined pathways which define the conceptual architecture of Rational Spirituality. I would only diverge in my point of view from the concluding observations you make about the Dragon of Chaos now giving rise to a new, multipolar world. This emergent growth should occur from chaos and entropy, with the death grip of Western unipolar hegemony loses its internal strength. The problem is further masked deception from the Ahrimanic powers and hubris from Luciferian arrogance and self-delusion. The ouroboros is cyclical, acting as the base spin of upward spirals of evolution. By contrast, the Shapeshifter in its negative aspect, has chameleon like powers. The globalist entities behind predatory hegemony began in earnest 500 years ago with Spain, proceeding to the Netherlands, on to Great Britain and its empire, and finally the USA. This latter, as we know, morphed recently into the Blob aka the Anglo-American-Zionist triad. But the Ahrimanic chameleon force behind this staging (and naming) is also capable of creating the mirage of a new multipolarity that is designed to be the exact opposite of what people pine for. Zionism, in its current efflorescence is designed to represent a flagrant evil. Yet it is merely a device, or a specific tool that will be hung on a peg in an old rotting shed along with American exceptionialism once it has served its purpose. That is, once transfer of hegemony to fake multipolarity has been ensured. For a true Aquarian Age to be potentized, the lurking dangers beneath the facade must be identified. The spell must be broken. The influence of the Black Sun as you have mentioned in reference to Heinrich Himmler is also highly relevant to what is ongoing.