When we first drew Decarabia’s seal, the ink bled into the paper in a way that felt deliberate. The central circle, the seven-pointed star, the cross at the top: it did not look like the others. The seals of Paimon and Bune bristle with pentagrams and crowns. Decarabia’s seal is spare. That spareness is not a lack. It is a statement about what this spirit is and how it should be approached.
Decarabia’s seal is the diagram used in Solomonic evocation to bind and command the 69th spirit of the Ars Goetia. It consists of a circle enclosing a seven-pointed star with a tau cross at the top, and it classifies Decarabia as a marquis who appears as a five-pointed star, then transforms into a human. The seal is the instrument of that transformation.
Where the Seals of the Goetia Come From
The seventy-two seals of the Ars Goetia first appeared in Latin manuscripts around the 17th century, drawing on earlier works by Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516) and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535). The most direct source for the images we use today is the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, compiled in the 1640s. The grimoire includes a specific set of instructions: each seal must be drawn on virgin parchment with a consecrated tool, either during a planetary hour of the spirit’s ruler or at the time of the moon’s increase.
The seals themselves are not invented symbols. They are combinations of planetary and zodiacal signs, magical squares, and angles that derive from the Kabbalistic tradition of angelic names. Decarabia’s seal, for example, contains a seven-pointed star because the spirit is associated with the seven traditional planets. The tau cross at the top is a threshold marker, a symbol of transformation found in Jewish and Gnostic mysticism.
What the Elements of Decarabia’s Seal Mean
The seal is built from three parts: the bounding circle, the seven-pointed star, and the tau cross. Each part answers a different question about the spirit.
The circle is the seal’s outer limit. It contains the spirit’s power and defines the boundary of the operator’s authority. In the Ars Goetia, the magician places the seal inside the triangle of art, and the spirit must appear within that triangle. The circle says: you are here, not there.
The seven-pointed star is the seal’s core. Each point corresponds to a planetary sphere: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Decarabia is said to give knowledge of the virtues of herbs and stones, and to teach transformation. The seven points tie that knowledge to the cosmos. The star is not evenly drawn in all manuscripts. In the 1640 Sloane manuscript, the points are longer and thinner. In the later 18th-century versions, they are more rounded. The variation suggests that the geometry was intended to be made by the practitioner, not copied mechanically.
The tau cross at the top is the element that sets Decarabia’s seal apart from most others. The tau cross is a T-shaped cross, distinct from the Latin cross. In the Solomonic tradition, it represents the wand of the magician and the staff of power. It also marks Decarabia as a spirit of passage: he appears first as a star, then as a human. The cross is the pivot point where the transformation happens.
How Decarabia’s Seal Compares to Other Goetic Seals
No two Goetic seals are identical, but they follow patterns. The seals of kings (Paimon, Bael, Asmoday, Zagan) often include a crown or a triple circle. The seals of dukes (Agares, Vassago, Valefor) tend to use hexagrams or complex interlocking lines. The seals of marquisse—Decarabia’s rank—are simpler but still contain planetary references.
Compare Decarabia’s seal to that of Vassago (3rd spirit). Vassago also reveals past and future and knows hidden things. His seal uses a hexagram with a central point and two crescent moons. It is more symmetrical than Decarabia’s. The hexagram is a symbol of the macrocosm; the seven-pointed star is a symbol of the microcosm and the planets. Decarabia’s seal is therefore more individual, less cosmic. It points to the spirit’s role as a transformer of the individual practitioner.
Compare it to Bune’s seal (26th spirit). Bune is a duke who appears as a dragon with three heads. His seal contains three pentagrams arranged in a triangle. The pentagram is a protective symbol, enclosing the spirit in a five-pointed star. Bune’s seal is aggressive geometry. Decarabia’s seal has no pentagram. It does not call for protection in the same way. It calls for ascent.
The seal of Orobas (55th spirit) is the closest to Decarabia’s in structure. Orobas appears as a horse and transforms into a man. His seal is a circle containing a six-pointed star with a cross at the top. The cross is a solar cross, not a tau. The six-pointed star is pure planetary. The similarity suggests that both spirits share a transformation function, but the different number of star points changes the tone. Six is the number of balance. Seven is the number of motion.
How Practitioners Use the Seal in Evocation
The seal is not a decoration. It is a tool with a specific function. In the traditional method, the seal is drawn on a piece of virgin parchment (often goat or lamb skin) using a consecrated pen and ink. The ink is usually iron gall, made from oak galls and ferrous sulfate, as prescribed in the Key of Solomon. The seal is then placed on the altar, inside the triangle of art, or worn as a lamen on the chest.
When we work with Decarabia, we draw the seal at sunrise on a Sunday, the planetary hour of the Sun. The seven-pointed star aligns with the day’s solar energy. We face east, the direction of the rising sun, and we recite the spirit’s name and conjuration. The seal is held in the left hand, the wand in the right. The spirit is said to appear as a star in the triangle, then shift into a human form.
The seal is not used alone. It must be accompanied by the correct conjuration, the circle of art, and the proper timing. The Ars Goetia warns that if the seal is missing or incorrectly drawn, the spirit will not appear or will appear hostile. The seal is the contract. The geometry is the terms.
Common Misconceptions About Decarabia’s Seal
That the seal works independently. Some websites sell the seal as a talisman or amulet, implying it can be worn for protection or knowledge. In the Solomonic tradition, the seal has no power outside the ritual context. It is a means, not a lock. Without the proper conjuration and circle, the seal is just a piece of parchment.
That the seal is standardized across manuscripts. It is not. The seal in the 1640 Sloane manuscript differs from the seal in the 1680 Harley manuscript. The tau cross is sometimes replaced with a whorl or a simple line. The points of the star vary in length. The practitioner must choose a source and stick to it.
That Decarabia is a demon of destruction. His seal suggests otherwise. The seven-pointed star and the tau cross are symbols of transformation and knowledge. He is a marquis who “gives knowledge of the virtues of herbs and stones.” His seal is one of the few that contains no aggressive elements (no pentagrams, no swords, no chains). It is a seal of teaching, not of war.
That the seal is the same as the spirit’s sigil. In the Ars Goetia, the seal is distinct from the sigil. The seal is the diagram used in evocation. The sigil is the spirit’s identifying mark, often drawn on the floor or on the lamen. Decarabia’s sigil is a five-pointed star, which the spirit appears as before transforming. The seal is the circle with the seven-pointed star. Confusing the two is a common error.
FAQ
Can I use Decarabia’s seal outside of evocation?
The traditional sources do not describe any use for the seal outside the ritual context. Without the conjuration and circle, the seal is inert.
Why does Decarabia’s seal have a cross?
The cross is a tau cross, a symbol of transformation and threshold. It marks the spirit’s ability to shift between forms and to guide the practitioner’s own transformation.
Is Decarabia’s seal the same in all grimoires?
No. Variations exist between the Lemegeton manuscripts, the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum of Johann Weyer (1563), and later editions. The seven-pointed star and tau cross are consistent, but the proportions differ.
The seal of Decarabia is not the most famous in the Goetia, but it is one of the most precisely structured. Its seven points and its tau cross set it apart from the pentagrams and hexagrams of other spirits. To understand the seal is to understand the spirit’s function: transformation, not combat. For a deeper look at how the seals of the Goetia operate, see our guide to the Ars Goetia and its symbols. For the meaning of the seven-pointed star in other traditions, see the glossary entry on the heptagram. And for the full list of the seventy-two spirits, visit the demonology and Goetia hub.