Mazzikin

In Jewish mythology, mazzikin (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: מַזִּיקִין, romanized: mazzikin, borrowed as Hebrew: מַזִּיקִים) are invisible demons that can create minor annoyances or greater dangers. This Aramaic term, which is found in the Talmud, means "damagers" or "those who harm". It is generally understood to mean harmful invisible demons that a person could encounter in daily life.^[1] While Judaism today does not often directly discuss evil spirits, as late as the Geonic period, incantation bowls made by Aramaic-speaking inhabitants of Mesopotamia and the Levant (including both practicing Jews and rabbis) were a method of protecting individuals from a large array of demons and similar spirits, such as disease spirits, mazzikin, lilin, and shedim.