A ceremonialist opens the Lemegeton to the thirty-fifth spirit and finds Marchosias, a wolf-winged marquis who speaks of war. Another page in the Heptameron lists Harael, an angel of the first hour of Sunday, whose name appears in the circle of the day. Both are spirits. Both require preparation. But they belong to different orders of being. Marchosias is a Goetic marquis of Hell, described in the Lemegeton as a wolf with griffin wings who transforms into a human under the magician’s command. Harael is an angel of the hours from the Heptameron, a spirit of the first hour of Sunday, associated with the Sun and the direction of the day. The comparison reveals how two grimoire traditions – Solomonic demonology and Christian angelic magic – treat spirits that share a name but little else.
Where Each Spirit Comes From
Marchosias appears in the earliest surviving lists of Goetic spirits. Johann Weyer included him in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1563) as a great marquis who appears as a wolf with griffin’s wings and a serpent’s tail. By the time the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis was compiled in the 17th century, Marchosias was number 35 of the 72 spirits, ruling thirty legions. Weyer wrote that Marchosias “teaches all arts” and gives true answers about war and battle. The Lemegeton adds that he will assume human form at the magician’s request. The text warns that he is a “strong and powerful” spirit who will not be deceived.
Harael comes from a different lineage. The Heptameron, attributed to the 13th-century scholar Peter of Abano and first printed in 1496, gives a system of planetary hours and their presiding angels. For the first hour of the day on Sunday, the angel is Harael. The Heptameron does not describe his appearance. It gives his name among the angels of the hours, each with a specific seal and a prayer for invocation. The text is explicitly Christian: the magician calls on God through these angels, not on demons. Harael’s role is to govern the flow of time during that hour, to open the way for the magician’s petitions, and to protect the circle.
The difference in origin is not trivial. Marchosias belongs to the Solomonic tradition of binding and compelling spirits through seals, triangles, and threats. Harael belongs to the tradition of angelic invocation that relies on prayer, purity, and the correct alignment of celestial hours. One is a spirit of Hell; the other is a spirit of Heaven.
What They Symbolize
Marchosias carries the imagery of the wolf and the griffin. The wolf in medieval bestiaries represents ferocity, cunning, and the wild. The griffin, part lion and part eagle, symbolizes guardianship and divine power. Together they create a spirit that is both predatory and noble. In practice, Marchosias is called for matters of war, strategy, and protection. Some modern practitioners associate him with the element of fire and the planet Mars, though the Lemegeton does not assign planetary rulership to him.
Harael’s symbolism is solar. The first hour of Sunday is the hour of the Sun. In the Heptameron, the angel of that hour carries the light of the day’s beginning. His name is sometimes interpreted as “the light of God” or “the fire of God,” though no medieval source gives a precise etymology. In the circle, Harael is invoked to bring clarity, authority, and success in undertakings that require visibility and recognition. Where Marchosias is a spirit of conflict, Harael is a spirit of order.
We light a candle for each. For Marchosias, a black candle with a red flame, set in a fireproof bowl on the balcony, because the wolf does not like enclosed spaces. For Harael, a white candle on the eastern side of the circle, lit at the exact moment of the first hour of Sunday, because the angel answers only to the correct time.
How You Spoke to Each
The methods of invocation could not be more different. Marchosias is summoned using the standard Goetic procedure. The magician draws a circle, a triangle of art, and the spirit’s seal. The conjurations from the Lemegeton are spoken with authority, commanding the spirit to appear and answer. The tone is imperative. If Marchosias does not come, the magician repeats the conjuration with increasing force, sometimes adding threats from the Sworn Book of Honorius or the Key of Solomon. The spirit is bound to the triangle and cannot leave until dismissed.
Harael is invoked with prayer. The Heptameron provides a specific oration for the first hour of Sunday, addressed to God through the angel. The magician stands inside a consecrated circle, facing east, and recites the prayer while holding the seal of the hour. There is no triangle, no threat. The angel is asked to assist, not commanded. The Heptameron insists on three days of fasting and confession before the operation. The magician must be in a state of grace.
The difference in approach reflects the difference in the spirits’ natures. Marchosias is a fallen angel who must be compelled. Harael is a celestial angel who must be invited. We have seen practitioners try to use the Goetic method on Harael and fail. The angel simply does not appear. And we have seen the opposite: a magician who tried to pray to Marchosias and received nothing but silence. The spirits know which language they speak.
Similarities That Matter
Despite their differences, Marchosias and Harael share three practical similarities.
First, both require precise timing. Marchosias is not bound to a specific hour, but the Lemegeton recommends invoking Goetic spirits during the planetary hour of the day that matches their nature. For Marchosias, that is often the hour of Mars or the Sun. Harael is defined by his hour. Miss the first hour of Sunday, and you wait a week.
Second, both spirits demand a clean space. The Heptameron requires a circle free of impurity. The Lemegeton requires the same. In both traditions, the magician washes, fasts, and avoids contact with the dead or with menstruating women (the language of the texts is specific). The physical preparation is nearly identical.
Third, both spirits can provide knowledge. Marchosias teaches arts and gives true answers about war. Harael, as an angel of the Sun, can illuminate hidden matters and grant understanding of celestial things. The content of the knowledge differs, but the function is the same: the spirit becomes a source of information that the magician cannot obtain alone.
These similarities suggest that the two traditions, though theologically opposed, share a common ritual grammar. The circle, the seal, the timing, the purity – these are the bones of ceremonial magic. The flesh is the spirit’s name and the words used to call it.
Common Misconceptions
The most persistent error is that Harael is a demon. He is not. The Heptameron is a Christian grimoire that explicitly names its spirits as angels. Harael appears in a list of angels of the hours, alongside Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. To treat him as a demon is to misread the text. Some modern occultists have conflated him with the Goetic spirit Hauras (Flauros) because of the similar sound, but there is no textual basis for that.
Another misconception is that Marchosias is purely evil. The Lemegeton does not assign moral categories. Marchosias is a spirit of war, but war is not inherently evil in the Solomonic framework. He is a tool. The magician’s intention determines the ethics.
A third error is that both spirits can be invoked in the same operation. The Heptameron warns against mixing angelic and demonic magic. The prayers are addressed to God, and the presence of a Goetic spirit would break the consecration. We have seen attempts to combine them, and they end in confusion or failure. The spirits do not share a circle.
FAQ
Are Marchosias and Harael from the same grimoire?
No. Marchosias appears in the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (the Goetia). Harael appears in the Heptameron attributed to Peter of Abano.
Can Marchosias and Harael be invoked together?
Not safely. The methods are incompatible: one requires compulsion, the other prayer. Mixing them risks spiritual contamination.
What are their sigils?
Marchosias has a seal described in the Lemegeton, a geometric figure with crosses and lines. Harael’s seal is given in the Heptameron for the first hour of Sunday, usually a circle with a cross and the angel’s name.
Which spirit is more powerful?
Power is contextual. Marchosias commands thirty legions and can affect physical battles. Harael governs an hour of the day and operates through celestial order. They are not comparable.
The fire is not decoration. It is the altar. Marchosias and Harael represent two poles of the same art: the spirit that must be bound and the spirit that must be invited. Understanding the difference is what separates a competent ceremonialist from a confused one. For deeper study, explore our guide to the Goetia, the glossary of angelic hierarchies, and our practical guide to the Heptameron. The spirits are waiting. The circle is drawn.