Goetia (magic)

Goetia, sometimes referred to as "low magic" is the practice of invocation and evocation of demons or daimons, lesser spirits that are used to control and attain powers or knowledge. Some interpret these lesser spirits as evil. However, in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian culture these spirits are simply accepted as natural facts of life and were frequently attached to persons as either neutral or evil. These spirits often times both brought destruction and offered protection, in a role similar to tutelary deities (protectors). In ancient Greece, the term goetia was originally used as a derogatory term towards fraudulent and low-class magic, in opposition to the term of theurgy which was used to describe the magic conducted by the priests and philosophers.