Seasons Of The Witch

Abaddon, (Also known as Apollyon, Appolyon and Appolion) is a Biblical Hebrew word that translates into "Destruction" or "Place of Destruction". It comes from the term "Abad" which means "To Perish".

In Job 26:6 and Psalms 88:11, it is associated with Sheol (hell) and is described as a place of destruction, or as later translated, into the realm of the dead. It is sometimes referred to as the second of the seven names of the underworld in the Babylonian Talmud.

He/it is also mentioned as being a part of Gehenna.

In Revelation 9:11, it is first given a demonic imagery. Labeled the Angel of the Abyss, in Greek it becomes Apollyon. In demonology he is the chief of the seventh hierarchy of demons. He is given names such as the destroyer and The King Of Grasshoppers. In Job 28:22, Abaddon is also read to speak and hear.

Abaddon and Death say,
'With our ears we have heard a report of it.'

In Satanism, it means the destroyer and comes first alphabetically on the list of infernal names.

But is it a place?

In the The Biblical Antiquities of Philo and the Thanksgiving Hymns which were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Abaddon becomes a place more than an entity. It is mentioned as "the Sheol of Abaddon" which leads some philosophers to conclude Abaddon is a synonym for Hell. Also the line "torrents of Belial [that] burst into Abaddon" further draws many to this conclusion. Indeed in these scripts Abaddon is Sheol, and not just an inhabitant of such a place. Later Milton wrote Paradise Regained in which he also claimed Abaddon was a place instead of a demonic/angelic being. In his works he refers to Abaddon as "The Pit", in which it stands as a place of corruption and is bottomless in it's depth and depravities.

Or is it a demon?

The role of Abaddon in biblical references is ambiguous, sometimes being described as a good angel who serves God, and sometimes also being described as a fallen angel who succumbed to evil. In demonology, Abaddon falls as the head of the seventh circle of demon hierarchy. He became known as the King of Grasshoppers (or demon locusts described as having the bodies of winged war-horses, the faces of humans, and the poisonous curved tails of scorpions) as was written by St. John in the Book of Revelation. He is also almost always known as the destroyer by whatever group refers to him. Still, usually it is credited to St. John where we first get his mention as something besides a term for hell. In Revelations we get "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon". In the Acts of Thomas, Abaddon becomes a demon, perhaps even Satan himself depending upon your point of view. Other uses of his name include Bunyan comparing him to the Devil in Pilgrim's Progress, The Greater Key of Solomon using his name as in invocation made by Moses to bring deadly rain and an angelic ruler of the furies in "The Magus". Anton LaVey listed him as one of the infernal demons in the Satanic Bible when he founded the Church of Satan. He also used the name extensively in the performance of his Black Mass in the Satanic Rituals. In the magical system of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Abaddon is one of seven infernal abodes mentioned in the initiation of the Theoricus grade. In alchemic texts he became the Angel of the Apocalypse, an evil demon set to bring about the end of the world. Later Abaddon was associated with the Greek god Apollyon. Cornelius Agrippa was the one that equated Abaddon with Apollyon, and positioned him as the monarch in the lower shadow of the sphere of the planet Venus, which is the Sephirah of Netzach on the Kabbalistic Tree:

"The seventh mansion the Furies possess, which are powers of evil, discords, war and devastations, whose prince in the Revelations is called in Greek Apollyon, in Hebrew Abaddon, that is destroying and wasting" ~ Occult Philosophy, Book 3, Chapter 18 ~

As described in Revelation, Apollyon opens the gates of the abyss and unleashes upon the earth his swarms of demon locusts, who then proceed to torture those of mankind who do not bear the seal of God upon their forehead. After that, he is supposed to seize Satan himself, bind him and toss him into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. In the Diabolicon, Abaddon is the daimon of temporal death and life in death.

Abaddon is one of the kings that has ruled over the nations of the earth. The scriptures indicate that he ruled over both Egypt and Sodom at some point in history, and will endeavour to rule over Jerusalem in the final days. Jerusalem will figuratively be called Sodom and Egypt at that time. At the end of times he is given the key to the abyss and releases these demon hordes on the people of the earth. Not long after Judeo-Christian teachings taught the name of this demon, Abaddon referred to the pit or cave that was used in mystery religions and schools as a rite of passage into the greater mysteries. Often the experience would entail the use of ritual substances that put the aspirant into an altered state in which he or she could receive divine revelation. Because the experience was sometimes unpleasant, this rite came to be viewed as being "hellish." However, it was considered absolutely necessary so that the seeker may become pure enough to encounter the "mind of God", as an angel is described as the "Angel of the bottomless pit who binds Satan for a thousand years". Abaddon is an enigma. At times, he is an angel of judgment, not of satan but of God, destroying at God's bidding. Both Heaven and Hell claim him as an ally, other times as an enemy. It is clear that he is the angel who will command the monstrous horde from the Abyss that will rampage over the earth in the tribulation period as Judgment approaches. What is not clear is whose orders he will be following at what time. To hear him described by Daniel, he would be the Anti-christ, but many disagree.

Other things Abaddon is related to include:

• Blood Red
• Insects
• Brown & Green Colors
• Winter
• January
• Saturday
• Intuition
• Sacrifice & Challenge
• The Ruby
• The Sword
• The Tarot Symbol of Judgment

But The big question after all this is... is Abaddon a place or a being?

Further Links

DeliriumsRealm
The Biblical Antiquities of Philo
Key of Solomon
Wikipedia Entry 1
Wikipedia Entry 2
Who Is The Destroyer?

Helpful Reading

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible by Karel van der Toorn
Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Ones by Gustav Davidson
Essentials of Demonology: A Study of Jewish and Christian Doctrine by Edward Langston
Paradise Regained by John Milton
The Magus a Complete System of Occult Philosophy by Francis Barrett
The Biblical Antiquities of Philo by Philo
The Goetia the Lesser Key of Solomon the King: Lemegeton, Book 1 Clavicula Salomonis Regis by S. L. MacGregor Mathers & Samuel Liddell
Demonology: The Hierarchies of Hell by Michealk Szul