I think V’s source covers most of the usages.
Another more speculative perspective might be to relate some aspects of the cosmology to a specific psychological theory. Julian Jaynes, a psychologist famous for his theory of the “bicameral mind”, might provide such a perspective.
Basically, afaiu it the bicameral mind idea is that a long time ago, the brain was functionally split in half in such a way that one side was experienced as “external” and non-conscious. In other words, one wouldn’t have any sort of metacognition/metaconsciousness over what was happening in the other side of the brain. Something like that anyway.
Very interesting idea, and it could be used to explain the wide prevalence of magical, mystical, and religious experience so many years ago. Basically, what we would call schizophrenia today would have been very commonplace. One would hear a voice in their head, and not knowing where it came from take it for an external god.
As time went on, according to the theory at least, we became more aware of where these mental activities were coming from, we developed metaconsciousness. According to Jaynes, this may have been because of exposure to metaphorical language used in narrative practice — myth.
(As a quick aside, I think if we look at the history and evolution of religious thought we see a general psychologizing, a movement from external to internal. The vedic ritual, externally magical at first was eventually acceptably done internally. Karma moved from an external ritual to an internal ethic. Gods moved from being conceptualized as external to being internal qualities especially in later tantric literature.)
If we try on this perspective, I think there might still be some traces of that mode of thinking in the present day. Obviously, schizophrenia might be an extreme case, but what about so-called “normal” people? I think most would admit they talk to themselves internally, weigh options, point and counterpoint. What is that process? Some people say that when standing near an edge there’s a part of them that imagines jumping or falling. Who is it that imagines that? If we take a normal healthy person into extreme conditions like sleep deprivation, fasting, etc. they would start to develop hallucinations. So at least the potential for schizo-like experience might be there latent, lurking below the surface experience.
So if we relate this to the Buddhist cosmology. Voices heard could be the better angels of our nature, benevolent or at least not-harmful — brahmas, devas. Or they could be destructive, mocking, tricksters — māras. Becoming aware, becoming metaconscious, of these voices or influences is to gain some power over them, to see them for what they are. It’s interesting that what usually happens is upon being seen for what it is, Māra vanishes.
Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Somā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.