It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent beings of all kinds. The original sense of "demon", from the time of Homer onward, was a benevolent being, but in English the name now holds connotations of malevolence.
(In order to keep the distinction, when referring to the word in its original Greek meaning English uses the spelling "Daemon" or "Daimon".)
Practitioners of ceremonial magic sometimes attempt to constrain and command demons to do their bidding, using methods such as the Goetia and The Book of Abramelin. The demons are often those mentioned in Christian demonology. These practitioners do not necessarily worship demons, but seek to deploy them to obtain their goals. Other followers of the occult do worship demons, and some refer to their religion as "demonolatry."
Demonolators consider methods such as the Goetia very disrespectful towards the demons, and possibly dangerous for the operator. They instead use forms of prayer, magic, and ritual which petition the demons, asking for their aid rather than commanding them.
Demonolators are not identical to practitioners of Theistic Satanism. They worship other demons (such as Belial and Leviathan) either alongside, or instead of Satan. Some demonolators say that their form of demonolatry is a tradition, often familial, that is not related to the modern religious and philosophical movements collectively referred to as Satanism. Not all of the occultists who worship demons use the word "demonolator" to describe themselves, nor do all belong to the specific group mentioned above.
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