ABSTRACT
We have now arrived at the last stage of our investigation, the rituals whereby the powers of both the ascetic and the medium are used to deal with the lower spiritual entities which cause the symptoms of demoniacal possession. Already we have observed two or three examples of the manner in which a professional ascetic healer, alone and unaided, casts out the foxes and ghosts which cause possession. We now examine those older methods of exorcism whereby the exorcist does not confront the sufferer directly, but forces the spirit to transfer itself into the body of a medium, through whose mouth it must name itself and hold dialogue with him. Once more, therefore, we are concerned with the ritual of yorigitō, but it is directed now not towards prayer and petition to a superior spiritual being, but to the banishment and restitution of an inferior one.
