Supernatural urban legends: Daeva lore explained

Photo Credit: Supernatural/The CW/Sergei Bachlakov Image Acquired from CW TV PR

The daevas were introduced to the Supernatural universe in Season 1’s Shadow. Are they based on real legends or lore?

With so many real supernatural urban legends and lore used on the show, it’s normal for fans to assume everything has some sort of real-life connection. That leads to questions about Supernatural’s daevas. While there are some connections, the show used daevas in a slightly different way to the lore from religions.

Daevas in Supernatural

The daevas are shadow demons, capable of ripping people to shreds very much like a wild animal. Since they live in the shadows, they’re invisible in light and can’t attack when there are no shadows around. Despite only being visible in the shadows, the creatures will mutilate the physical body.

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These creatures are considered a demonic pitbull for demons, so they have a very low hierarchy and are almost similar to hellhounds. The only natural enemy of the creatures in the Supernatural universe are ahuras. These haven’t appeared in the universe to date.

The creatures are summoned through a Zoroastrian symbol that looks like a “Z” with an “o” in the middle. It’s also possible to bind the daeves to ensure they attack your enemies.

Real daeva lore

When it comes to daeva lore, the name comes from the pre-Islamic Iranian religion, Zoroastrianism. This certainly links to the show’s lore. However, the creatures aren’t quite demonic pitbulls. They’re viewed as false gods and those that are to be rejected. Later they were called demons, becoming lesser beings than they once were.

 The creatures cause disorder and chaos. In Persian mythology the creatures are there to spread disease and cause death. They almost have a Horseman of the Apocalypse link. While they are Zoroastrian creatures, they were made to fight all religions.

This is the first Supernatural lore that is only loosely based on real lore. The name and religion is right, but the idea of them being demonic pitbulls that are only visible in the shadows doesn’t quite fit.

Next: Supernatural urban legends: The real Bender family

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