A visitor once walked into our library and asked whether the Ars Goetia was a book to be read or a door to be opened. The answer is both. The Ars Goetia is the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon, a 17th-century grimoire that catalogs 72 spirits and the seals, incantations, and rituals required to summon and command them. It is not a text for casual reading. It is a working manual, and accessing it means understanding what the book demands of the person who opens it. We keep a copy behind the reference desk, rebound in black calfskin, the pages annotated by three generations of hands. The fire is not decoration. It is the altar. ---
What Is the Ars Goetia, Exactly?
The Ars Goetia (Latin for “the art of witchcraft” or “the art of sorcery”) is the first of five books that make up The Lesser Key of Solomon (also called the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis). It lists 72 spirits — kings, dukes, earls, marquises, presidents, and knights — that the operator (the magician) can summon, bind, and command to perform specific tasks. Each spirit entry includes:
- Its rank and title
- Its appearance (some appear as soldiers, others as lions, serpents, or winged men)
- The number of legions it commands
- Its specific powers (teaching arts, finding treasure, causing love or hatred, revealing the past and future)
- The seal (sigil) to be drawn on parchment or engraved on metal
The book does not describe a pantheon to be worshipped. It describes a hierarchy to be navigated. The spirits are not gods. They are, in the grimoire tradition, fallen angels or intermediary beings that the magician compels through divine authority. ---
History and Origins: Where the Goetia Came From
The earliest known manuscript of the Lemegeton dates to 1641, held at the British Library (Sloane MS 273). But the material it contains is far older. The 72 spirits draw on earlier sources: - The Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1577) by Johann Weyer, a Dutch physician and occultist, listed 69 demons with their seals and powers. Weyer was a student of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, and his work was the first systematic catalog of infernal spirits in print.
- The Liber Officiorum Spirituum (c. 1500s), a manuscript tradition that circulated among European magicians, contained lists of spirits organized by hours of the day and planetary rulers.
- Solomonic magic itself traces to late antique Jewish and Greco-Egyptian texts like the Testament of Solomon (c. 1st–3rd century CE), which describes King Solomon binding demons to build his temple. The Lemegeton was compiled from these sources by anonymous editors, likely in the late 16th or early 17th century. It was never printed in full until 1904, when the occultist S.L. MacGregor Mathers (a founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn) published an edition. Aleister Crowley later produced an edition in the same year, The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King, which remains the most widely used version in English. Crowley’s edition is controversial. He added his own commentary and reinterpreted the spirits as aspects of the human psyche rather than external entities. Traditional practitioners argue this misses the point. The spirits, in the older view, are real. The ritual is not symbolic. It is operational. ---
Symbolism and Meaning: What the 72 Spirits Represent
The number 72 carries weight. It appears in the Kabbalistic tradition as the Shem HaMephorash, the 72-part name of God derived from Exodus 14:19–21. Each of the 72 spirits corresponds, in some systems, to one of these divine names. The spirit is the shadow side of the name. To invoke the spirit is to call upon a force that exists within the divine structure, not outside it. The hierarchy of the spirits mirrors medieval court structure:
- Kings (4 of them: Bael, Purson, Asmoday, and Vine) rule over vast territories and legions. They are summoned with crowns and scepters drawn on their seals.
- Dukes (28) command specific regions and appear in forms that reflect their domain. Duke Agares, for example, rides a crocodile and carries a goshawk.
- Earls (16) govern smaller territories and are often depicted in military dress.
- Marquises (6) are associated with storms and earthquakes.
- Presidents (12) teach arts and sciences. President Marbas, for instance, reveals the properties of herbs and minerals.
- Knights (6) serve as messengers and enforcers. This is not arbitrary. The hierarchy gives the magician a protocol. You do not address a king the way you address a knight. The seal, the timing, the metal, the incense — each detail is a key that fits one lock. ---
Practices and Traditions: How the Goetia Is Actually Used
Accessing the Ars Goetia is not a matter of reading the text and speaking the words. The grimoire prescribes a complete ritual framework. Here is what a traditional working requires: The Circle and Triangle The magician stands inside a circle drawn on the floor, inscribed with divine names and protective symbols. Outside the circle, a triangle is drawn on the ground. The spirit is compelled to appear within the triangle, where it cannot harm the operator. The circle is not a suggestion. It is the boundary between the operator and the spirit. Without it, the working is dangerous. Timing The Lemegeton specifies planetary hours and lunar phases for each spirit. Some spirits are summoned during the day, others at night. Some require the moon to be waxing, others waning. The timing aligns the working with the spirit’s nature. You do not call a martial spirit during a Venus hour. Tools
- A wand or sword for commanding (the sword is traditional for kings)
- A seal drawn on virgin parchment or engraved on the spirit’s corresponding metal (gold for kings, silver for dukes, copper for presidents)
- Incense specific to the spirit (frankincense for celestial spirits, aloeswood for infernal ones)
- A consecrated circle with the names of God written around its perimeter
The Invocation The magician recites the conjuration from the grimoire, calling the spirit by name and rank. The text is precise. If a word is mispronounced, the working fails. Some practitioners memorize the invocation. Others read from the book. The book itself becomes a ritual object. The Binding Once the spirit appears (often described as a visible form in the triangle or a voice), the magician commands it to swear an oath. The spirit is bound by the names of God and the seals. It must answer truthfully and perform its task. The grimoire includes a license to dismiss, which releases the spirit without anger. We have seen practitioners spend months preparing a single working. The seals must be drawn without error. The timing must be exact. The circle must be consecrated. The Ars Goetia is not a quick path. It is a discipline. ---
Comparisons: How the Goetia Differs from Other Grimoires
The Ars Goetia is often confused with the Ars Theurgia Goetia (the second book of the Lemegeton), which deals with spirits of the air that are less hostile but also less powerful. The Ars Theurgia spirits are not fallen. They are neutral. The Goetia spirits are bound by the operator’s authority. The Theurgia spirits are invited. The Ars Paulina (third book) describes spirits of the hours and planetary angels. The Ars Almadel (fourth book) works with spirits of the four directions. The Ars Notoria (fifth book) is a system of prayers and orations for acquiring knowledge and memory. Each book has its own method. The Goetia is the most direct and the most dangerous. In the broader occult tradition, the Goetia is sometimes contrasted with ceremonial magic of the Golden Dawn, which emphasizes spiritual development over material results. The Goetia is practical. You call a spirit to find treasure, to win a lawsuit, to learn a language. The Golden Dawn system is initiatory. The Goetia is operational. ---
Common Misconceptions About the Ars Goetia
“The Goetia is demon worship.” It is not. The grimoire assumes the operator holds authority over the spirits through divine names. The spirits are compelled, not worshipped. The operator does not bow. The operator commands. “You can read the Goetia and summon a spirit immediately.” You cannot. The preparation takes weeks or months. The seals must be drawn correctly. The timing must align. The circle must be consecrated. Reading the words aloud without preparation is not a summoning. It is a recitation. “The spirits are psychological archetypes.” This is a modern interpretation popularized by Crowley and later by Carl Jung. The older tradition treats the spirits as real beings. Whether you work with them as external entities or internal forces depends on your framework. The grimoire itself assumes they are real. “The Goetia is evil.” The grimoire is a tool. It can be used for harmful purposes or helpful ones. The spirits can heal, teach, and protect. They can also harm. The ethics of the operation depend on the operator. The book does not judge. ---
FAQ
Do I need to be a magician to use the Ars Goetia? Yes. The grimoire assumes you have experience with ritual magic, consecration, and protection. Beginners should study foundational texts first: Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the Key of Solomon, and the Ars Notoria. Can I summon a spirit without the seals? No. The seal is the spirit’s signature. Without it, you have no authority and no connection. Drawing the seal incorrectly is worse than not drawing it at all. What happens if I make a mistake in the ritual? The grimoire includes prayers of protection and dismissal. If the spirit appears angry or the circle is broken, you dismiss it immediately using the license to dismiss. Some practitioners keep a backup circle or a protective talisman. Is the Goetia dangerous? Yes. The spirits are powerful and not inherently friendly. The danger is not possession or damnation. It is miscommunication, broken boundaries, and the psychological strain of sustained ritual work. Do not attempt it without proper preparation. ---
Closing
The closing of the Ars Goetia PDF guide is the closing of the caution. Yes, the spirits are powerful and not inherently friendly, and the danger is real for the unprepared: the tradition warns of the obsession, the imbalance, and the misdirection that follow the careless work. The closing is the balance: the text studied with the respect, the practice approached with the preparation, and the PDF — the accessible edition of the grimoire — used as the beginning of the study, not the whole of it. The book is the door, and the door is opened with the care that the tradition prescribes.
The Ars Goetia is not a book to be read once and shelved. It is a working text, and accessing it means accepting its demands: precision, patience, and the willingness to stand inside a circle and speak a name aloud. If you are ready, begin with the seals and the planetary hours. The spirits are not going anywhere. For further study, explore our guide to the complete hierarchy of the 72 spirits, the symbolism of the seals and their correspondences, and the history of the Lesser Key of Solomon.