A 17th-century engraver sat at his desk in Amsterdam, cutting copper plate by candlelight. He had never seen a demon. He had never spoken to a spirit. But he had a description, and he had a commission. The seal he produced for the Duke Agares would become the standard image for three centuries, copied by hand, reprinted, and eventually digitized. We know his name: Robert van den Berghe, an engraver for the publisher Johannes van der Lijn. And we know he worked from text alone. The seal of Agares is a specific geometric diagram used in ceremonial magic to summon and control the Duke Agares, the second spirit listed in the Ars Goetia. It consists of a central cross with four smaller crosses at the cardinal points, enclosed in a double circle inscribed with characters. No two surviving manuscripts show it identically, and that variation tells us more about how Goetic magic actually worked than any single “correct” version ever could. ---
What Makes a Goetic Seal a Seal?
A seal in the Goetic tradition is not a logo. It is not a decorative emblem. It is a binding instrument, a compressed signature of the spirit’s authority and rank. The magician draws it on virgin parchment or engraves it on metal, then places it within the triangle of art during the operation. The seal is what compels the spirit to appear, to speak truth, and to depart when dismissed. The Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (The Lesser Key of Solomon), compiled in the mid-17th century from earlier manuscripts, contains 72 seals for 72 spirits. Each seal is unique. Each follows a logic that modern readers often miss: the seals are not arbitrary symbols but encoded statements of the spirit’s nature, its planetary correspondence, and its place in the hierarchy. The seal of Agares occupies the second position. This is not trivial. The order of the 72 spirits follows a specific ranking system: the first spirit, Bael, is a king who rules the east. Agares is a duke who rules the east under Bael. The seal reflects that subordination in ways we will examine. ---
Where the Seal of Agares First Appears
The earliest known manuscript of the Ars Goetia is Sloane MS 3825, held at the British Library, dated to approximately 1640. In this manuscript, the seal of Agares appears as a simple cross with four dots at the terminals, enclosed in a circle. No elaborate characters. No double ring. Just a cross and four points. By the time of the printed edition of 1665, published by Johannes van der Lijn in Amsterdam, the seal had grown more complex. The cross remained, but now it carried four smaller crosses at its ends, and the surrounding circle had become a double ring filled with Hebrew-like characters. Van den Berghe had added details that the manuscript lacked. Why the difference? The manuscript tradition was practical. A magician drawing a seal for a working needed clarity, not ornament. The printed edition was a commercial product. Buyers expected something that looked ancient, mysterious, and powerful. Van den Berghe gave them what they paid for. Later editions compounded the variation. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, in his 1904 translation for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, standardized the seal based on the Sloane manuscript but added his own interpretations. Aleister Crowley, who published the Goetia in the same year, used Mathers’s version with minor modifications. The seal you find on the internet today is likely a composite of all these sources. ---
The Geometry of Agares: What the Lines Say
The seal of Agares is built on a cross. This is not the Christian cross, though the resemblance is unavoidable. It is the cross of the four cardinal directions, the same cross that appears on the first pentacle of Mars in the Key of Solomon. It declares that Agares holds dominion over the four quarters of the earth under his king. The four smaller crosses at the terminals are not decorative. They are diminutives, subordinate signs that echo the central cross. They say: this spirit rules, but he is ruled in turn. He commands legions, but he answers to a higher authority. The seal encodes hierarchy in geometry. The double circle is the boundary of the spirit’s power. In ceremonial magic, the circle defines the space where the magician operates and the spirit appears. The double ring on the seal mirrors the double circle drawn on the floor of the temple. The characters inscribed between the rings are not a known alphabet. They are constructed from Hebrew, Latin, and invented glyphs, a deliberate obscurity meant to prevent casual reading. The seal is not symmetrical in all versions. In some manuscripts, the upper arm of the cross is longer than the lower. In others, the left and right arms differ in length. These are not errors. They are intentional asymmetries that correspond to the spirit’s specific attributes: Agares is said to make those who run stand still, and to bring back runaways. The imbalance in the cross may represent this power to disrupt motion. ---
How the Seal of Agares Compares to Other Goetic Seals
The seal of Bael, the first spirit, is the most complex in the entire Goetia. It contains three distinct symbols arranged in a triangle, surrounded by a circle with elaborate characters. Bael is a king. His seal must reflect supreme authority. Agares, as a duke, has a simpler seal. The hierarchy is encoded in complexity. Compare the seal of Agares to the seal of Vassago, the third spirit. Vassago’s seal is a single line that loops and returns to itself, forming a figure that resembles a stylized serpent. No cross. No cardinal points. Vassago is a prince, not a duke, and his seal reflects a different kind of authority: one that moves, that coils, that penetrates hidden things. Agares’s seal is fixed, static, directional. The seal of Marbas, the fifth spirit, shows a lion’s head within a circle. The seal of Buer, the tenth spirit, is a five-pointed star. Each seal uses a different geometric vocabulary. There is no single template. The magician who worked with multiple spirits had to learn each seal individually, not as variations on a theme but as distinct keys. The planetary correspondences also differ. Agares is associated with the Sun, according to some sources, and with Mars according to others. The cross in his seal could support either reading: the Sun’s cross of the four seasons, or Mars’s cross of action and war. The ambiguity is deliberate. The seal works regardless of which system the magician uses. ---
What Practitioners Actually Do With the Seal
The seal is not worn as jewelry. It is not framed and hung on a wall. It is drawn fresh for each operation, on virgin parchment or on a metal lamella, using specific inks and tools. The Ars Goetia specifies that the seal must be made “in the day and hour of the spirit,” meaning the planetary day and hour that correspond to the spirit’s nature. For Agares, the traditional day is Sunday (Sun) or Tuesday (Mars), depending on the source. The hour is calculated from sunrise. The magician draws the seal while reciting the appropriate psalm or conjuration, focusing on the spirit’s name and attributes. The seal is then placed inside the triangle of art, a triangular space drawn outside the protective circle. The spirit is summoned to appear within the triangle, and the seal is what holds it there. If the seal is incorrect or incomplete, the spirit may not appear, or may appear in a hostile form. After the operation, the seal is destroyed. It is not reused. Each working requires a new seal, drawn with the same care as the first. This is why the variations between manuscripts matter less than one might think: no two seals were ever identical anyway, because no two drawings by hand are identical. ---
Common Misconceptions About the Seal of Agares
The seal is not a demonic signature. It is not something Agares himself designed or approved. It is a human construction, a tool for the magician’s use. The spirit responds to it because the magician’s will and knowledge give it power, not because the spirit recognizes it as his own. The seal is not a protective amulet. Wearing or carrying the seal of Agares without performing the full conjuration is not protective. It is the opposite. The seal is a summoning device. Carrying it unprepared is like carrying a loaded gun with the safety off. The variations are not errors. The seal of Agares in Sloane MS 3825 differs from the seal in the 1665 printed edition. Neither is wrong. Both are functional within their respective traditions. The idea of a single “correct” seal is a modern invention, driven by the internet’s need for definitive images. The seal does not contain hidden messages. The characters between the double circles are not a code to be deciphered. They are sigils, constructed according to the rules of astrological magic, but they do not spell out words in any language. Attempts to read them as Hebrew or Latin are misdirected. ---
FAQ
Is the seal of Agares the same in every grimoire? No. The seal varies between manuscripts and printed editions. The Sloane MS 3825 version is the simplest, while later printed editions add more detail. Practitioners typically use the version from their chosen source. Can I draw the seal of Agares with a regular pen? The traditional requirement is virgin parchment and consecrated ink. Modern practitioners sometimes use parchment paper and India ink, but the seal should be drawn with intention and focus, not casually. Does the seal of Agares have protective properties? No. The seal is a summoning tool, not a protective amulet. Wearing it without performing the full conjuration is not recommended. Why does the seal of Agares look like a cross? The cross in the seal represents the four cardinal directions and Agares’s dominion over them. It is not a Christian symbol but a geometric statement of authority and hierarchy. ---
The seal of Agares is not a single image. It is a family of images, each adapted to its time, its source, and its practitioner. The variation is not a flaw. It is the mark of a living tradition, one that has been copied, modified, and used for nearly four centuries. The seal that works is the seal that is drawn with knowledge, intention, and respect for the source. For a deeper understanding of the hierarchy these seals encode, see our guide to Goetic demonology and the 72 spirits. The relationship between seal and spirit is explored in our article on sigil construction in the Solomonic tradition. And for the broader system of ceremonial magic that governs their use, visit the demonology and Goetia hub.