In common usage, “to possess” means “to hold as property,” “to own,” “to occupy.” The English word derives from the French posséder and originally from the Latin possidere, from potis meaning “able” and sedere, “to sit.” The metaphoric image which resides behind the concept of possession is perhaps, then, of a being successfully claiming space, perhaps “sitting” in a position of power. Hence, the suffering and distress associated with “possession” we attribute to foreign entities or partial aspects of the personality occupying the seat of selfhood by virtue of a tyrannical overthrow. For example, in the Christian tradition, according to the Synoptic Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, Jesus cures people suffering from various mental and physical ailments caused by occupying demons (daimonia) which he drives out of them (see Demons); in the Gospel of John, while Satan as “adversary” confronts and tempts Jesus, he enters Judas (John 13:27). Inherent in the Christian understanding of...
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Stephenson, C. (2010). Possession. In: Leeming, D.A., Madden, K., Marlan, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_515
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