Goetia refers to a specific practice of ceremonial magic focused on the evocation, or summoning, of seventy-two spirits, commonly identified as demons. This system is detailed in the first book of the 17th-century grimoire known as the Lemegeton, or The Lesser Key of Solomon. The practice involves intricate rituals, specific tools, and the use of unique symbols or seals associated with each spirit.
Here are key takeaways regarding Goetia:
- It is a system of spirit evocation, not worship.
- Its primary source text is the Ars Goetia, part of the Lemegeton.
- It lists 72 specific spirits with their ranks, descriptions, powers, and seals (sigils).
- Tradition links its origins to the biblical King Solomon.
- The practice is highly ritualized, requiring specific tools and procedures for safety and success.
- Interpretations vary, viewing spirits as external entities or psychological constructs.
Contents
Definition and Etymology
Goetia defines a branch of Western ceremonial magic centered on commanding spirits, often termed demons, to achieve tangible results or gain knowledge. The term originates from the Greek goēteía (γοητεία), meaning sorcery, charming, or even juggling, historically carrying connotations of lower, perhaps deceptive, magic compared to theurgia (divine works). Its practical application involves precise ritual actions intended to compel these non-corporeal entities into appearance and service within a controlled environment.
The Ars Goetia and Lemegeton
The Ars Goetia constitutes the foundational text for this practice, existing as the first section within a larger work, the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (The Lesser Key of Solomon). This placement is crucial for understanding its context within a broader Solomonic magical framework compiled likely in the mid-17th century from older source materials.
Place within the Lemegeton (Lesser Key of Solomon)
The Lemegeton is a composite grimoire, a manual of magic, divided into five distinct books, each detailing different classes of spirits or magical operations:
- Ars Goetia: Details the 72 spirits, their seals, and methods of evocation.
- Ars Theurgia-Goetia: Describes spirits of a mixed nature and their invocation, often associated with cardinal directions.
- Ars Paulina: Concerns spirits ruling the hours of the day and night, and the signs of the zodiac, attributed to the Apostle Paul.
- Ars Almadel: Outlines communication with angelic beings residing in different ‘Altitudes’ using a specific wax tablet.
- Ars Notoria: A collection of prayers and orations believed to grant memory, eloquence, and understanding of sciences, likely the oldest section.
The Ars Goetia is arguably the most infamous part of the Lemegeton.
Core Content: Spirits, Sigils, Procedures
The Ars Goetia provides a structured catalogue of 72 spirits. For each entity, the text typically furnishes:
- Its name and rank within a specific hierarchy.
- Its unique seal or sigil, necessary for the evocation process. Think of the sigil as a specific contact point or identifier for the spirit.
- A description of its appearance upon manifestation.
- The powers or knowledge it commands and can offer the operator.
- The number of legions of lesser spirits it rules.
- The specific conjurations and constraints used to summon, command, and dismiss it safely.
Historical Origins and Development
The roots of Goetia intertwine legend, earlier texts, and the grimoire tradition of Renaissance Europe. While attributed to Solomon, its textual form solidified much later, drawing upon existing demonological catalogues and magical practices.
Legendary Attribution: King Solomon
Tradition credits King Solomon, renowned in scripture for wisdom, with the power to command demons and spirits, supposedly granted by divine agency. Legends, particularly elaborated in works like the Testament of Solomon, claim he used these spirits, including many listed in the Ars Goetia, to construct his Temple. He purportedly bound them within a Brass Vessel, sealed with a potent symbol, preventing their mischief until the vessel was later discovered and opened, releasing them back into the world. This narrative provides a powerful mythological charter for the practice.
Textual Precursors: Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
A direct antecedent to the Ars Goetia‘s list of spirits is found in Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (“False Hierarchy of Demons”), published in 1577 as an appendix to his De Praestigiis Daemonum. Weyer, a physician and student of Cornelius Agrippa, catalogued 69 demons, providing descriptions and some operational details, though he expressed skepticism about the practice itself. The Ars Goetia heavily borrows from Weyer’s list, rearranging the order, adding four spirits (Vassago, Seere, Dantalion, Andromalius), omitting one (Pruflas), and modifying certain details and seals.
17th Century Compilation
The Ars Goetia, as part of the Lemegeton, emerged in its current form in English and Latin manuscripts during the mid-17th century. The compiler(s) remain anonymous but clearly drew upon Weyer, earlier Solomonic grimoires (like the Key of Solomon), and broader European magical and demonological lore circulating since the medieval period. This synthesis created the standardized system known today.
The 72 Goetic Spirits
The core of the Ars Goetia is its detailed listing of 72 distinct spiritual entities, providing the operator with a specific roster to engage. These spirits are presented not as formless evils but as individual beings with unique characteristics, domains of influence, and appearances.
Demonic Hierarchy and Ranks
The spirits are organized within a quasi-feudal or military hierarchy, assigned specific titles indicating their status and, implicitly, their power or sphere of operation. This structure aids the magician in understanding the nature of the spirit being called.
| Rank | Amount in Ars Goetia | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| King | 9 | Bael, Paimon |
| Duke | 23 | Agares, Astaroth |
| Prince | 7 | Vassago, Sitri |
| Marquis | 15 | Gamigin, Andras |
| Count | 12 | Barbatos, Ronove |
| Knight | 1 | Furcas |
| President | 14 | Marbas, Malphas |
| Mixed Ranks | 12 | Glasya-Labolas: Count/President |
Note: Some spirits hold multiple ranks according to the text. The table includes multiple rank spirits in the single rank rows.
Descriptions, Powers, and Sigils
Each entry details what the spirit can do: teach sciences, reveal hidden things, manipulate emotions, find treasures, command nature, inflict or heal ailments, provide familiars, etc. Their described appearances are often composite or zoomorphic (part human, part animal) though they can reportedly appear in human form upon request. Crucially, each spirit possesses a unique sigil. This symbol acts as its signature and is vital for establishing contact during the ritual, often inscribed on a lamen worn by the operator or drawn within the Triangle of Art where the spirit is expected to manifest.
Goetic Ritual Practice
Goetic operations are not casual affairs; they demand rigorous adherence to ceremonial procedure designed to ensure the operator’s authority and protection while compelling the spirit’s manifestation and obedience.
Ceremonial Framework: Evocation
The goal is evocation: calling the spirit to appear externally, typically within a designated space like the Triangle of Art, separate from the operator who remains protected within a Magic Circle. This contrasts with invocation, where a force is drawn into the practitioner. The Goetic method emphasizes command and control, using divine names and hierarchical authority to compel the spirit.
Tools and Symbols
Successful practice, according to the text, requires specific implements, consecrated for the work:
- Magic Circle: A boundary, usually nine feet in diameter, inscribed with divine names, protecting the operator.
- Triangle of Art: Placed outside the circle, where the spirit is commanded to appear. It often contains binding names.
- Spirit’s Seal (Sigil): Used to focus the call and identify the spirit, often made of a metal corresponding to the spirit’s rank or nature.
- Brass Vessel Replica: Symbolic container representing Solomon’s binding act.
- Ring of Solomon: Worn for protection, often bearing a specific design.
- Lamen: A breastplate bearing the spirit’s seal, worn by the operator.
- Other Tools: Wand, sword, robes, incense, candles, often prepared according to specific astrological timings.
Conjurations and Binding
The ritual involves preliminary purifications, banishings (like the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram), and then specific conjurations recited from the Ars Goetia. These orations call upon the spirit by name, state its titles, display its seal, and command it to appear using potent divine and angelic names as sources of authority. If the spirit is recalcitrant, stronger constraints and threats (often of divine punishment or binding) are employed. Once the spirit appears and communication is established, the operator states their demands. Finally, a formal License to Depart is given, ensuring the spirit leaves without causing harm.
Interpretations and Context
The nature of Goetic spirits and the practice itself are subjects of ongoing debate within occultism, ranging from literal belief in external demons to purely psychological models.
Relation to Demonology and Theurgia
Within traditional Western esotericism, Goetia is often classified under demonology due to the nature of the spirits involved. It is frequently contrasted with Theurgia, which aims for union with the divine or communication with angelic beings for spiritual ascent. Goetia’s aims are often perceived as more worldly or practical. However, some practitioners argue the Goetic spirits represent chthonic or elemental forces, not necessarily “evil” in the purely Christian sense, and that the practice can have transformative potential if approached correctly.
Literal vs. Psychological Perspectives
Interpretations diverge significantly:
- Literal/Objective: Views the 72 spirits as distinct, non-corporeal entities existing independently of the magician. The rituals are techniques to interact with these external beings. This aligns with the traditional grimoire worldview.
- Psychological/Subjective: Interprets the spirits as personified complexes or aspects of the magician’s own subconscious mind. Evocation becomes a psychodramatic technique for confronting, integrating, or utilizing these hidden parts of the self. Aleister Crowley notably leaned towards this view, suggesting the spirits represented parts of the human brain.
- Mixed Views: Many modern practitioners hold views combining these, seeing the spirits as having both objective and subjective reality, or acting as archetypal forces accessible through the psyche.
Modern Revival and Influence
Goetia experienced a significant resurgence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and continues to be practiced and studied today.
Role of Crowley and the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a highly influential magical society of the late 19th/early 20th century, incorporated elements of Solomonic magic, including Goetia, into its curriculum. S.L. MacGregor Mathers, a founder, prepared an English translation of parts of the Lemegeton. However, it was Aleister Crowley, a former Golden Dawn member, who truly popularized the Ars Goetia. His 1904 publication, The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King (co-edited with Mathers’ translation but with Crowley’s additions, introduction, and annotations), became the standard English edition for decades and introduced his psychological interpretations alongside the traditional framework. Crowley documented his own extensive work with Goetic spirits.
Contemporary Practice and Views
Today, Goetia is practiced by ceremonial magicians, Thelemites, Chaos magicians, and various other occultists. Approaches range from strict adherence to the 17th-century text to more syncretic or psychological methods. Online communities and published works continue to explore Goetic theory and practice. While some maintain the traditional view of commanding spirits through divine authority, others adopt approaches emphasizing partnership or understanding these forces, sometimes diverging significantly from the coercive methods outlined in the original Ars Goetia. The practice remains a potent, complex, and often controversial part of the Western esoteric landscape.
People Also Ask…
Is Goetia dangerous?
Yes, Goetic practice is traditionally considered dangerous if performed incorrectly, without proper protection, or with ill intent, potentially leading to psychological distress or unwanted spiritual influence.
Is it morally wrong to command Goetic spirits?
The ethics are debated; traditional Goetia uses divine authority to compel service, which some modern practitioners find ethically questionable, preferring partnership over coercion.
Are the Goetic spirits the same as Christian demons?
While often called demons, Goetic spirits originate from a complex mix of sources, including pre-Christian deities and spirits, later categorized as demonic within a Judeo-Christian framework; their nature is interpreted differently across traditions.
Where does the magician’s authority come from in Goetia?
The magician’s authority traditionally derives not from personal power, but from invoking higher divine names and powers (God, Archangels) to compel the spirits hierarchically lower than those divine forces.
Do you have to use all the specific tools mentioned?
Traditional practice requires the tools for structure and safety, but some modern approaches adapt or minimize tool use, often relying more heavily on visualization and mental techniques.
What’s the difference between Goetia and Demonolatry?
Goetia focuses on evoking and commanding spirits for specific tasks using ritual compulsion, whereas Demonolatry involves worship or respectful partnership with demonic entities, often without coercion.
What are the 72 angels sometimes mentioned with Goetia?
Some later traditions, notably associated with Dr. Rudd, paired the 72 Goetic spirits with the 72 angels of the Kabbalistic Shem HaMephorash, suggesting the angels could be invoked to control their corresponding demon safely.
What do people use Goetia for today?
Contemporary uses vary widely, including seeking knowledge, personal development (psychological interpretation), obtaining assistance in worldly matters (wealth, relationships), artistic inspiration, or exploring consciousness.
Is success guaranteed in Goetia?
No, success depends on the operator’s skill, preparation, focus, the correctness of the ritual execution, and potentially the disposition of the spirit itself; failures or partial results are possible.
