Comparing Amdusias and other demons in the Ars Goetia

A seventeenth-century magician copying the Lemegeton by candlelight would have paused at the name Amdusias. The list of seventy-two spirits was already crowded with dukes, presidents, and kings. Yet this particular duke carried a detail that set him apart: he could be heard before he was seen. That detail, buried in a grimoire that copied older grimoires, tells us something about how the Goetic hierarchy actually worked. It was not a flat list of demons. It was a court with ranks, specialties, and relationships.

Amdusias is a Great Duke of Hell in the Ars Goetia, commanding twenty-nine legions of spirits, who appears as a unicorn and speaks through music. The comparison between Amdusias and other Goetic spirits reveals a system built on function, not just power. Every spirit had a job. Amdusias made music. Others gave answers. Some commanded armies. Understanding where he sits in that structure changes how you read the Lemegeton itself.

What the Ars Goetia Actually Lists

The Ars Goetia is the first book of the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, a grimoire compiled no later than the mid-seventeenth century. The oldest known manuscript, Sloane MS 3825 in the British Library, dates to around 1640. It lists seventy-two spirits organized by rank: kings, dukes, princes, marquises, counts, presidents, and knights. Each entry gives the spirit’s name, rank, number of legions, appearance, and powers.

Amdusias appears as the sixty-seventh spirit. The text describes him as a Great Duke who appears “in the likeness of a unicorn” but can take human form at the magician’s request. His voice carries. He causes trees to bend and bow. He gives “excellent familiars.” And he is the only spirit in the entire list whose primary association is music.

That last point matters. No other spirit in the seventy-two is described as producing music. Some give knowledge. Some teach arts. Some reveal hidden things. Only Amdusias is credited with making trumpets, harps, and other instruments audible to the magician. The Ars Goetia does not say he teaches music. He is music.

How the Ranks Actually Worked

The Goetic hierarchy borrowed heavily from European court structures of the late medieval and Renaissance periods. Kings ruled. Dukes served under them. Presidents presided over councils. The ranks were not arbitrary. They reflected how the magician was expected to interact with each spirit.

Kings like Bael, Paimon, and Asmodeus commanded the largest legions and required the most elaborate conjurations. Dukes like Amdusias, Agreas, and Vapula commanded fewer legions but were considered more approachable. The Ars Goetia specifies that Amdusias commands twenty-nine legions. Compare that to Bael, who commands sixty-six, or Paimon, who commands two hundred. By legion count, Amdusias sits in the middle tier of the hierarchy.

But legion count is not the only measure. The number of legions in the Ars Goetia varies between manuscripts. Sloane MS 3825 gives Amdusias twenty-nine. Later printed editions, including the 1904 Mathers-Crowley edition, repeat that number. What remains consistent across all versions is his rank. He is a Duke, not a King. That means he answers to higher authority. The magician who calls Amdusias is calling a courtier, not a sovereign.

What Amdusias Does That Others Do Not

The Ars Goetia gives each spirit a set of powers. Some overlap. Many spirits teach arts and sciences. Many reveal secrets. Many give familiars. But the specific combination of powers assigned to Amdusias is unique.

He makes trees bend. That is a power shared with only a few other spirits, notably the President Foras, who can make men invisible and restore lost things, and the Duke Gusion, who can reconcile enemies. The bending of trees is a physical manifestation of authority over nature. It is not symbolic. The grimoire says he “causeth trees to bend and bow according to his will.”

He gives excellent familiars. That power is shared with many spirits, including the Duke Bune and the President Marbas. But the phrase “excellent familiars” appears in only a handful of entries. It suggests that Amdusias’s familiars are of higher quality than those given by lesser spirits.

He makes music audible. That is his alone. The Ars Goetia says he “hath a trumpet-like voice” and that when he appears in human form, he makes “the sounds of trumpets, harps, and other instruments” heard. No other spirit in the seventy-two has this power. It is the detail that makes him memorable and the detail that separates him from every other duke.

Comparing Amdusias to Other Dukes

The Ars Goetia lists nineteen dukes. They form the largest single rank in the hierarchy. Comparing Amdusias to a few of them shows how the system assigned different domains to the same rank.

Agreas (second spirit) appears as a duke riding a crocodile. He teaches languages, causes earthquakes, and makes men run. His domain is motion and communication. Amdusias’s domain is sound and nature. Both are dukes. Both command similar numbers of legions. But their functions do not overlap.

Vapula (sixtieth spirit) appears as a lion with griffin wings. He teaches handicrafts, philosophy, and sciences. His domain is practical knowledge. Amdusias teaches nothing. He does not give knowledge. He produces phenomena. The distinction is critical. Vapula instructs. Amdusias performs.

Bune (twenty-sixth spirit) appears as a three-headed dragon. He changes the dead, enriches the poor, and gives familiars. His domain is transformation and fortune. Amdusias does not change anything. He bends trees and makes music. He is a spirit of display, not of alteration.

The pattern is clear. The dukes were not interchangeable. Each had a specific function that did not duplicate the others. Amdusias’s function was to demonstrate the power of sound and the authority of the magician who could command it.

Comparing Amdusias to Kings and Presidents

The kings of the Ars Goetia operate at a different scale. Bael (first spirit) appears with three heads and commands sixty-six legions. Paimon (ninth spirit) appears with a great crown and commands two hundred legions. These spirits require more elaborate conjurations and are considered more dangerous. The magician who calls a king is making a major request. The magician who calls a duke is making a lesser one.

The presidents occupy a middle ground. Marbas (fifth spirit) appears as a lion and teaches mechanical arts. Foras (thirty-first spirit) appears as a strong man and teaches invisibility and long life. Presidents command fewer legions than dukes but are considered more cooperative. The Ars Goetia says presidents are “easily persuaded.”

Amdusias sits between these ranks. He is a duke, which means he is neither the most powerful nor the most cooperative. He is a specialist. The magician who calls him is not seeking wisdom or transformation. He is seeking a demonstration of power through sound.

Where the Music Tradition Comes From

The association between demons and music predates the Ars Goetia by centuries. Medieval grimoires and folklore often described demons as producing music, sometimes beautiful, sometimes discordant. The Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1577) by Johann Weyer, which served as a source for the Ars Goetia, lists many spirits with musical associations. But Weyer’s list does not include Amdusias by that name.

The name itself may derive from the Latin amandus (lovable) or from a corruption of an older name. The Ars Goetia gives his name as Amdusias, but some manuscripts spell it Amducius or Amduscias. The variation suggests a textual transmission that passed through multiple hands, each copying and sometimes altering the name.

The unicorn form is also significant. Unicorns in medieval bestiaries were symbols of purity and Christ. A demon appearing as a unicorn is a deliberate inversion. The Ars Goetia does not explain why Amdusias takes this form, but the choice is not random. It signals that this spirit operates through paradox: a pure form containing an impure essence, a silent animal that produces sound.

How the Magician Actually Used Him

The Ars Goetia gives instructions for conjuring each spirit. The magician draws a circle, wears specific vestments, and uses the appropriate seals. For Amdusias, the seal is a specific symbol that must be drawn on parchment. The conjuration follows a standard formula, but the magician must address the spirit by name and rank.

The practical use of Amdusias in historical magic was limited. He was not a spirit of knowledge or transformation. He was a spirit of display. The magician who called him was making a statement: I can command the music of hell. I can make trees bow. I have authority over nature and sound.

That display function is why Amdusias appears in modern Goetic practice more often than his rank might suggest. Contemporary practitioners who work with the Ars Goetia often call Amdusias for creative inspiration, for musical ability, or for the simple experience of hearing the spirit’s voice. The historical texts do not support these uses directly, but they do not contradict them either.

What People Get Wrong About Amdusias

The most common misconception is that Amdusias teaches music. The Ars Goetia does not say that. It says he makes music audible. The distinction matters. A spirit who teaches music gives knowledge. A spirit who makes music performs it. The magician who calls Amdusias expecting instruction will be disappointed. The magician who calls him expecting a concert will not.

Another misconception is that Amdusias is a king. He is a duke. The difference in rank affects how the spirit is addressed and what can be expected. Kings command more legions and require more elaborate conjurations. Dukes are lower in the hierarchy but are not necessarily weaker. They are simply different.

A third misconception is that the unicorn form is purely symbolic. The Ars Goetia says Amdusias appears “in the likeness of a unicorn.” That is not a metaphor. The spirit takes that form. The magician who sees him sees a unicorn. The sound comes from that form. The trees bend at that form’s command. The image is literal.

FAQ

Is Amdusias dangerous to summon? The Ars Goetia treats all Goetic spirits as potentially dangerous if not properly constrained. Amdusias is not considered among the most dangerous, but the standard precautions of circle, seal, and proper address apply.

Can Amdusias help with musical ability? The historical texts do not say that Amdusias teaches music. He produces music. Some modern practitioners report that working with him enhances their creative inspiration, but this is not supported by the original grimoire.

What does Amdusias look like? The Ars Goetia says he appears as a unicorn. He can take human form at the magician’s request. In human form, he makes musical sounds audible.

How many legions does Amdusias command? Twenty-nine legions, according to the Ars Goetia. This places him in the middle tier of the Goetic hierarchy, below the kings but above the presidents.

The Place of Amdusias in the Goetic System

The Ars Goetia is not a random list. It is a structured hierarchy with ranks, functions, and relationships. Amdusias occupies a specific place in that structure: a duke who demonstrates power through sound. Comparing him to other spirits reveals the logic of the system. Every spirit has a job. His job is to make the invisible audible.

That is why the seventeenth-century magician would have paused at his name. Not because Amdusias was the most powerful spirit on the list. He was not. But because he was the only one who could be heard before he was seen. In a system built on names, seals, and visible forms, that detail stood out. It still does.

For more on the structure of the Goetic hierarchy, see our guide to demonology and the Ars Goetia. You may also want to read about the seals and sigils of the Goetic spirits and our comparison of the seventy-two spirits by rank and function.