Once in a time before time, God
breathed life into the universe.
And the light gave birth to Angels, and
the earth gave birth to Man.
And the fire gave birth to the Djinn,
creatures condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds.
One who
wakes the Djinn shall be given three wishes.
Upon the granting of the
third, the unholy legions of the Djinn shall be freed upon the earth.
Fear
one thing only in all that is...
Fear the Djinn.
Djinn (Djinni, Jinn, Genie)
In Islamic mythology, the Djinn are fiery
spirits, one of which was Iblis. From the Arabic junna, "angry, possessed." The Jinn
pre-existed in middle eastern folklore before Islam, and were incorporated into
the religion. The Djinn are creatures who lived on earth before man; they were
made up of 'smokeless fire' whereas men were made from earth.
Djinn are often disruptive, but can sometimes be of service to mankind.
The Djinn shunned daylight and were responsible for disease and insanity. Unlike
other devilish creatures, however, the Djinn are creatures of free will, even
having a chance at redemption through Islam. The three classes of Djinn
are:
- Ghul, mishchievous shape-shifting spirits associated with
graveyards. "Ghul" is the origin of the English word "ghoul."
- Sila, Djinn who can appear in any form
- Ifrit, evil spirits.
In
Middle Eastern magical practice, Djinn are invoked much like the spirits of the
Goetia in Western magick.
The word "genie" is a corruption of Djinn. Both 'Djinn' and 'Genius'
probably share a common root. Djinn are said to avoid salt and steel, and to be
afraid of the sound of singing.
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