Where do I even start? Demonology has always interested me, but my relationship with religion keeps me closing the book on it.
Hey and thank you so much for your ask and your trust coming with this matter.
Generally I always advise to start with a dictionary of demons. If you like and prefer old-school get a second hand copy to scribble in it, fold pages, mark things and actually work with it. Practice should never be too expensive and be practical in a literal sense, but of course that also works with digital copies, which are often cheaper, to scribble on your tablet, you decide, your preference. Once you have it you can simply flip through it almost like a catalogue of spirits you want to learn from or maybe eventually work with.
With bibliomancy, the practice of intuitively opening book pages for guidance or messages, you can choose a demon in a playful and natural way. Maybe you directly stumble upon a page with a demon from a domain that already interests you. The description of the demon leads you further to connected spirits and literature. Decide for yourself what feels authentic and what doesn’t.
Known ancient grimoires are honestly hard to read for beginners and even newer literature is often written with some kind of agenda attached to it. Personally I still haven’t found any literature that represents demons and demonic realms fully authentic for me either.
The next step would be moving from theory into practice, once you feel 100% ready of course, never pressure yourself, and choosing your demon guide, and honestly this may also end up being a guide you never even found in any book at all with a higher chance for an invested guide that genuinely likes you and can be as good as a famous demon.
If you haven’t trained your clairs yet, I advise to work with a fair priced neutral psychic medium who mainly does ordinary readings, especially if you don’t already have someone experienced around you. Explain that you need guidance for your spiritual journey involving demons and usually genuine mediums are actually happy to help for the beginning of your journey, without any judgement.
I wouldn’t necessarily advise going directly to a demonolater, because unfortunately I’ve seen too many disoriented practitioners causing their clients more harm than help. A neutral psychic medium usually gives you a much safer and more grounded start until you feel ready practicing on your own.
As for the second part, I personally see all current world religions originally rooted in the idea of humans living together in harmony. Religion should never restrict freedom, freedom of thought or curiosity. Whatever your research and experiences in demonology may eventually lead you toward will not and never lessen your worth within your community.
Usually it’s people weaponizing religion against its own followers to influence them long-term, and not because you are wrong. It’s because you are willing to expand your horizon into things they themselves would never dare to touch, and that scares people.
I hope I could give you a bit of an idea how to start and maybe also some courage to start your own practice. I truly wish you all the best on your journey.
