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{{Quotation
|title=
|text= '''Sam:''' And these, uh, these protective circles. They really work?<br>'''Bobby:''' Hell, yeah. You get a demon in - they’re trapped. Powerless. It’s like a Satanic roach motel.
|author= [[Sam]] and [[Bobby]]
|source= [[1.22 Devil's Trap]]
}}
==Origin==
The devil’s trap is a mystical symbol used to immobilize and control [[demon]]s. It is similar to a circle of [[salt]] but more powerful and persistent as it is usually etched or painted in place, and can't simply be brushed or blown away. If a demon walks inside the outer circle of a devil's trap, it cannot physically leave it, and is trapped. Devil's traps also inhibit the use of some demonic powers. Devil's traps have been used not only to detain a demon, but are also drawn at entrances as a deterrent to prevent access to a building, room, or container. The devil’s traps seen in Supernatural all originate from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goetia:_The_Lesser_Key_of_Solomon_the_King The Lesser Key of Solomon], which is a grimoire, or magical text, written in the 17th century. It contains rituals and spells for invoking and controlling both demons and angels.
{| border="0" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="5" align="center"
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|[[Image: Grandpentacle.gif|thumb|300px|The Grand Pentacle:"It serves to convene all spirits; when shown to them they will bow and obey you.".]]|[[Image: 5thpentaclemars.gif|thumb|300px|The Fifth Pentacle of Mars:"it It is terrible unto the demons, and at its sight and aspect they will obey thee, for they cannot resist its presence."]]
|}
'''2. The [[Pentagram]]'''
The pentagram devil's trap is the one most commonly seen, and is a simplification of the Grand Pentacle.
[[Image:Devil's_Trap.jpg|left|thumb|Drawn from several shots and scenes.]]
==Abilities & Limitations==
While demons can enter a devil's trap without being aware of its presence, they cannot exit it as long as the trap remains intact. There appears to be no specific medium required for the trap to work; characters have drawn traps in ink, blood, ash, or carved them into stone, expressing no preference for one over the other and simply using what works in their current circumstances. Traps can be drawn on the ground below the demon or the ceiling above it, but traps on small objects must be in direct contact with the demon to be effective, such as the demon having to sit on a chair with a devil's trap on it to be confined, or a bullet with a devil's trap on it only effective when the demon has actually been shot. Traps can remain intact if an object has fallen over the lines drawn on the ground, or if something is concealing the trap from view, such as a carpet, but they cease to be effective if the trap's lines are broken; methods for doing this vary between scoffing the paint and ash that created the trap to driving a knife into the trap. [[Meg|One demon]] was able to use a spell to break the trap from within at one point by causing the ground to shake and crack through the trap, but the ability to do this appears to be rare.
However, it would appear that the trap must be drawn in a visible medium for it to be effective, as Crowley was only aware of a devil's trap Bobby had created in ultraviolet ink when Bobby turned on the appropriate lights.
Devil's traps appear to affect most demons. One kept [[Azazel]], a [[Prince of Hell]] away from the [[Devil's Gate]], though [[Devil's Trap Bullets]] failed to harm [[Ramiel]]. However, he made a point of avoiding an actual devil's trap as did [[Lilith]]. [[Cain]], despite his immense power, was able to be contained within a trap, but stated that it wouldn't hold him for long. Additionally, unlike other demons, a devil's trap didn't render Cain completely powerless, though it did effectively bind most of his powers.
A demon is contained within the trap unless its broken or they are exorcised no matter what form they are in. [[Abraxas]], while in his [[demon smoke]] form, hit a barrier when he tried to leave a devil's trap after being released from an [[Enochian Puzzle Box]] within it.
==Episodes==
__NOTOC__
===[[1.22 Devil's Trap]]===
Before meeting up with [[Bobby]], [[Sam]] and [[Dean]] are initially unaware of the devil's trap concept. They learn Sam reads up about it while looking through the ''[[Key of Solomon]]''. They tested one of these protective circles during the their encounter with [[Meg]] at [[Bobby]]'s house]]. While she is trapped, they interrogate her and later [[exorcise]] her. Sam later draws a version of the symbol on the trunk of the [[Impala]] to protect the [[Colt]] from [[demon]]s.
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===[[12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)]]===
[[DeanSam]] uses devilspray paints a Devil's trap bullets on under the carpet, but the [[Prince of Hell]], [[Ramiel]]just walks over it. [[Dean]] also fires devil's trap bullets at Ramiel, which have no effect on him. ===[[12.23 All Along the Watchtower]]===A devil's trap appears as part of the [[spell]] to close the [[portal]] to [[Apocalypse World]].
===[[13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog]]===
[[Luther Shrike]] leads a demon onto a devil's trap hidden under a rug, as the demon tries to convince him to help [[Asmodeus]] capture [[Barthamus]]. The demon fails to realize this until Luther performs an [[exorcism]] upon him and shows the demon the trap. Later, Sam stumbles across the trap while making his way through Luther's house.
{| border="0" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="5" align=
|-
|[[File:DT1308.png|thumb|350px|left|[[Sam]] finds [[Luther Shrike]]'s devil's trap.]]
|}
===[[14.11 Damaged Goods]]===
In his search for [[Abraxas]], [[Nick]] captures a demon and holds her in a devil's trap. When asked if he's a hunter, Nick tells the demon that he learned a few tricks from the Winchesters and tortures the demon for information with an [[angel blade]] before killing her.
After forcing [[Mary Winchester]] to take him to [[Mary's Lock-Up|her lock-up]] holding the [[Enochian puzzle box]] with Abraxas in it, Nick kidnaps a security guard named Jeff to act as a [[meatsuit]] and places a devil's trap around him to hold Abraxas. After Nick breaks the box with a drill, Abraxas is released into the devil's trap which keeps the [[demon smoke]] contained within and Abraxas promptly possesses Jeff. He is contained by the devil's trap until Nick breaks it with his angel blade to free Abraxas after being confronted by the Winchesters.
==Trivia==
* The devil's trap has a greater prevalence in earlier seasons when [[demons]] were a bigger enemy. In later seasons, the devil's trap's major appearances tend to be as part of [[the Bunker]]'s dungeon or on the Winchesters' handcuffs. When a devil's trap is used to trap demons in season 13 and season 14 as of [[14.11 Damaged Goods]], it is not used by the Winchesters.
* [[Meg]] and [[Crowley]] have both been contained by a devil's trap multiple times over the course of the series as has [[Ruby]], albeit by accident one time in her case.
* In season 9, aside from a brief use against the [[Crossroads Demon]] "[[Snooki]]," Crowley is the only demon a physical devil's trap is used against, though the trap is used in the form of the handcuffs and [[Devil's Trap Bullets]] on other occasions.
==See also==
* [[Angel Trap]]
* [[Reaper Trap]]
* [[Key of Solomon]]
* [[Pentagram]]
* [[Heptagram]]
[[Category:Library]][[Category:Demonology]][[Category:Symbols & Rituals]]
