The Witches Devil

[Eeeloxddx]

Hey, how do you view the witches’ devil? I’d like to share my perspective on this concept with you, and I’d like you to tell me whether you agree with me or not, why, and how you see it. In my opinion, the witches’ devil can be viewed in two ways.
1. A single power/entity with many faces, appearing in different parts of the world in various forms, under different names, etc.; it is multidimensional but singular—for example, Bucca, the King of Elfame, the Man in Black, and Cain are its faces, but all these figures are one and the same being. I’ve noticed this approach while reading books on the craft, and I know there are people who view it this way.
2. A title for many distinct spirits; in this case, we view the aforementioned figures as distinct, and we can use the title “devil” to refer to many spirits—for example, in the folklore of my country, witches collaborated with many distinct devils who were fully individual and often acted more like familiars, and during the sabbath, many devils appeared—not just one—and they were mainly derived from ancient Slavic demons.
Personally, I believe that “devil” can be a term for many spirits one can work with, but I also think it’s possible to work with a single multidimensional devil—the Old One—an archetypal being. What do you think about that??? I’m very curious. Actually, if you have extensive knowledge about the devil in traditional witchcraft, could you recommend some books and describe where he came from and who created him in traditional witchcraft? It seems to me that the concept of the devil in this tradition stems from Robert Cochrane.

 

[speculumphilosophi]

The gnostics teach we have it back to front. The serpent in Genesis offered knowledge to be as wise as the gods. Knowledge and virtue are intrinsic to one another. Evil is what we do when we fail to perceive reality and this isn't a willful choice but a distorted view of what we imagine to be good. So, the more true knowledge you have, the better you will make those choices that create inward peace, harmony, oneness with the natural world. Therefore, the serpent is a symbol of knowledge, healing and power. The serpent is represented in occult mythology and was also associated with Moses, who carried a serpent staff.
As to the devil per se, my own philosophy recognises the absolute necessity for positive and negative polarisation to produce one healthy medium. There can't exist any virtue without evil, the same way there is no electrical voltage without negative polarity. It's all in the balance. I guess this sounds a bit sectarian but it goes way back to ancient Greek sages and gnostic thinking.
Just a quick summary really.

 

[Medea]

I think the witch’s devil is a bunch of different things depending on the practitioner and the context. But I think one of those things is basically the egregore of witchcraft.

 

[solxyz]

Spirits are mercurial, and the Devil is especially mercurial. Trying to pin him down in this way is pointless.

 

[diskrete]

This is the question i was pondering on fpr years. Now i am thinking that both A - SIngle Entity with many Faces, and B - countless Crossroads Spirts (local) are called by the same name, but the reality behind them is vastly different. "A Devil" is not "the Devil".