In New Age terminology, an energy vampire or psychic vampire is a being said to have the ability to feed off the "life force" (called, variously, ch'i, prana, or vitality) of other living creatures. Alternative terms for these persons are pranic vampire, empathic vampire, energy predator, psy-vamp, energy parasite, and emotional vampire.
Contents
1 Cultural
2 Modern origins
3 Non-mystical interpretations
4 See also
5 Sources
Cultural
The legends and spiritual teachings of some cultures refer to people, often given priestly attributes, who manipulate or remove (feed from) the energy of others. The tiger-women spoken of across Asia (as well as the fox-women of Japan) may be noted, as can the incubus and succubus of Judaeo-Christian mythology.
This concept is purported to be represented in the myths of a number of cultures, just as blood-drinking vampires are.
In the oral tradition of the Hopi, a powaqa is a sorcerer who comes to a victim pretending to help and then feeds off the victim's life force (see Powaqqatsi).
Modern origins
The term, and concept of, "energy vampire" is mostly modern in origin. While there are countless life-force feeding creatures across many cultures (linked more to the mythological vampire), accurate sources referring to the exact creatures described in New-Age books do not exist.
The energy vampire, from a modern standpoint is alternately seen as a predator who attacks its victim or as a symbiotic partner who forms a mutually beneficial relationship with its donor. When the donor is unwilling, it becomes an attack which could be equated with energy-rape. This has given the illusion that the majority of self-proclaimed "energy vampires" are intentionally predating on the unwilling, when the opposite is generally considered to be true.
Non-mystical interpretations
In the philosophical practice of the Church of Satan, a psychic vampire is a spiritually or emotionally weak person who drains vital energy from other people. Such a person does not rely on supernatural powers, but rather the ability to exploit the victim's sense of pity and compassion[1]. According to Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, he introduced the concept of a psychic vampire into the English language.[2] Occult author Dion Fortune wrote of psychic vampirism as early as 1930, considering it a combination of psychic and psychological pathology.
