The Demon — Being in the Grip of the Split
“We are in the hand of the demon when we are split. For example: I drink this beer, but I don’t want to. I shouldn’t get into this relationship — but one, two. This is being in the grip of the demon.” — Philippe Jacquet
In the clinical context used by Philippe Jacquet, the demon refers to the experience of internal division — the state in which a person does what they do not want to do, and cannot do what they want. The etymology confirms this: the Greek daimon derives from the root meaning “to divide.”
What the word actually means
The original Greek daimon carried no negative connotation — it described a guiding spirit. Its root — the Proto-Indo-European da-, meaning to divide — points to something psychologically precise. To be in the grip of the demon is to be divided within yourself. Not evil. Split.
“We are in the hand of the demon when we are split. For example: I drink this beer, but I don’t want to. I shouldn’t get into this relationship — but one, two. This is being in the grip of the demon.” — Philippe Jacquet
Resolution — integration, not exorcism
The resolution is not willpower. It is integration — meeting what lives in the Shadow consciously enough that it no longer needs to seize control. You do not destroy the demon. You find out what it is carrying — and why.
Book a consultation with Philippe Jacquet — psychotherapist and Jungian analyst, London.