Catholic exorcists consistently emphasize that full demonic possession is rare. Far more common are lesser forms of demonic influence, what the Church calls degrees of demonic attack. According to experts like Fr. Gabriele Amorth and Fr. Chad Ripperger, these stages are typically identified as:
- Temptation (ordinary spiritual warfare)
- Infestation (demonic presence in a place or object)
- Oppression (external hardships caused by a demon)
- Obsession (mental or emotional torment)
- Possession (a demon controls the body, but not the soul)
- Perfect Possession (the soul itself has given full consent to the demonic)
What Is Perfect Possession?
Fr. Malachi Martin, Jesuit priest, Vatican insider, and exorcist, famously warned of the phenomenon he called perfect possession. This occurs not when a demon forces its way into a person, but when a human being voluntarily invites and cooperates with a demonic entity over time until the human will is no longer in conflict with the demon’s presence. In such cases, the individual may appear calm, successful, and even spiritual, but has wholly aligned his or her soul with darkness.
Martin described this as the most terrifying form of possession because there is no resistance and often, no exorcism possible. The person has handed over consent of the will, and the demon resides not only in the body but in the soul.
This is not the ugly, contorted possession made famous by Hollywood. This is a quieter form of coexistence.
Possession Among the Occult Elite
Catholic exorcists often connect perfect possession to satanic priests, high-level occultists, or individuals who have undergone ritual consecration to Lucifer. It is the end point of a spiritual trajectory, not a single moment of sin. It involves years of voluntary cooperation with evil using ritual invocation, blood pacts, and blasphemous imitation of the sacraments.
But there is more discrete path that leads to the same end. It is cloaked in lotus flower imagery, Sanskrit mantras, and spiritual “blessings,” and is propagated by tantric adepts, yogis, and mahasiddhas who have spent years practicing yoga and ritual invocation of beings they consider to be deities.
Is Perfect Possession the Hidden Goal of Tantra?
In the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, called “the quick path to enlightenment,” tantric practitioners visualize themselves as the deity. They merge consciousness with the god, goddess, or guru, often through esoteric or sexual ritual, in pursuit of realization.
But what if these “deities” are not who they claim to be?
What if they are counterfeit spirits or demonic intelligences disguised as beneficent beings of light?
In that case, the tantric adept is inviting an entity to live within him, again and again, through ritual, offerings, and mental surrender. Over time, the boundary between the self and the invoked being dissolves.
This is a form of spiritual possession.
And if the person no longer resists, if they call this possession “enlightenment,” then it seems to meet the classical definition of perfect possession or possession of the soul.
Signs of Perfect Possession in the Tantric World
Unlike Hollywood portrayals, the perfectly possessed do not foam at the mouth or speak in guttural Latin. Instead, they:
- Radiate serenity, even as they worship gods of wrath and destruction
- Exhibit supernatural knowledge or powers (siddhis), which are praised, not feared
- Express total identification with the spirit/s they invoke
- Are untouchable by traditional exorcism, because they do not want to be freed
In Catholic understanding, this is the most dangerous state of all because it involves no inner conflict, and therefore no pathway to repentance. The soul lives in union with a demon, often under the delusion that it is serving the good.
Satan Appears as an Angel of Light
Scripture warns us:
“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” – 2 Corinthians 11:14
What better disguise than that of a esoteric deity offering long life, healing, spiritual bliss, and enlightenment?
Exorcists like Fr. Amorth and Fr. Martin remind us that total possession doesn’t happen by accident. Satan must be invited in. And perfect possession is the result of spiritual consent, repeated and ritualized over time.
Tantric practitioners may never use the language of possession. They may call it “liberation,” “non-duality,” or “union with the deity.”
But from the standpoint of Christian spiritual warfare, it is not liberation but captivity, sanctified and made beautiful. It is a demonic entity, ethereally robed and seated on lotus thrones, perfectly at home in the human soul. And it leaves the adept deeply indebted to demons.
Tantric Deception 