The quill scratches across the virgin parchment at the hour of Mercury. Two crosses, a circle, and a single connecting line — that is the glyph that locks a Great President into contact. The Seal of Malphas is the unique sigil of the thirty-ninth spirit of the Ars Goetia, used to summon, compel, and dismiss him. Compared to other Goetic seals, it follows a sparse, axial grammar: a double-cross structure arranged on a vertical line, whereas spirits of lower rank often use denser geometric fields or encircled letter arrays.
What the Seal of Malphas Actually Looks Like
The seal as it appears in the standard Mathers-Crowley edition (1904) is drawn with four main elements. Two equal-armed crosses sit one above the other on a vertical axis. The upper cross is enclosed in a circle; the lower cross is not. A straight line connects the bottom arc of the circle to the top arm of the lower cross. No Hebrew letters, no astrological glyphs, no enclosing border.
That simplicity is not accidental. The seal encodes the spirit’s rank — Great President — and his planetary attribution (Mercury) through the number of crosses and their arrangement. The circle represents the bound domain of the spirit; the open lower cross signals his ability to act outside that circle when commanded. The connecting line is the path of the magician’s will.
Compare this to the Seal of Bune (twenty-sixth spirit, a Duke). Bune’s seal uses three crosses arranged in a triangle, each cross enclosed in its own circle, with a longer line linking the top circle to a fourth cross below. Three crosses for the lunar placement; the triangle for stability and wealth, Bune’s domains include treasure and eloquence.
The Seal of Paimont (ninth spirit, a King) is radically different: an outer circle ringed with planetary letters, an inverted pentagram at center, and a series of smaller crosses arranged in a crown pattern. Paimon is a King, so his seal carries royal symbolism, the crown, the pentagram as authority over the elements, and astrological markers for his rule over the hours of Venus.
Malphas’ seal lacks all of that. It is almost ascetic. That spareness fits his office: Malphas builds and destroys, erects houses and tears them down, sets towers and keeps, all with minimal ceremony. His seal reflects the efficiency of an architect.
Where the Seals Come From
The seals of the Ars Goetia first appear in print in Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1577), but without illustrations. The earliest illustrated manuscript of the complete Goetic seals is the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis from the late seventeenth century (British Library Sloane MS 2731). In that manuscript, Malphas’ seal is drawn with the same two-cross structure but with the upper cross enclosed in a circle that has a small hook at the top, a detail omitted in later editions.
The Mathers-Crowley edition (published as The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King, 1904) standardized the seals for modern practice. Crowley claimed to have reconstructed the seals from manuscript sources, but some (including the seal of Malphas) he may have redesigned based on his own ceremonial interpretations. The hook from Sloane MS 2731 is gone; the lines are cleaner.
That editorial history matters because it means the seal you find in one edition may not match the seal in another. Weyer’s text gives the seal as a verbal description that leaves room for error. The 1904 edition became the de facto standard because it was the one most widely reproduced, but practitioners who compare the Sloane manuscript will find a subtlety in the hook that Crowley removed. There is no single authoritative Seal of Malphas, only the one you trace based on your chosen source.
How Malphas’ Seal Compares to Other Presidents
The hierarchy of the Goetia assigns specific visual forms to different ranks. Kings and Dukes often have crowns, pentagrams, or planetary letters. Marquises and Earls commonly use multiple crosses or stars. Presidents, including Malphas, follow a distinctive pattern: a central vertical axis with one or two crosses, rarely more than three elements.
Malphas is one of four Great Presidents (with Gamigin, Marbas, and Foras). Compare his seal to that of Marbas, the fifth spirit. Marbas’ seal also uses two crosses on a line, but the upper cross is not enclosed in a circle. Instead, a small crescent sits above the upper cross. That crescent signals Marbas’ attribute as a revealer of hidden things (lunar, secrets). Malphas, who oversees buildings and armies, has no crescent. The circle is a closed chamber, a tower, a storehouse, not a veil.
Foras, the thirty-first spirit, has a President’s seal with three crosses on a vertical line, no circles, and a short horizontal line at the top. The third cross may indicate his additional office of teaching arts and sciences, a third element for a third domain.
The pattern is consistent: the number of crosses and the presence or absence of enclosures correspond directly to the spirit’s functions. Malphas deals with two primary capacities, building and destruction, so two crosses. A circle for construction (the bounded edifice), none for destruction (the collapse beyond walls).
The Symbolic Grammar of the Goetic Seals
The seals are not random. They operate within a grammar that the magician learns by drawing them. Each element has a fixed meaning derived from Renaissance ceremonial magic:
- Cross: A binding point, a fixation of spirit in matter. The number of crosses can indicate the spirit’s rank or the planetary hour used for the operation.
- Circle: A boundary. Spirits who require containment or who serve within a defined office (like building walls) get circles. Spirits whose power is diffuse (like those who manipulate emotions) often lack them.
- Line: The channel of the summoner’s command. A straight line between elements means direct obedience; a curved line suggests negotiation or indirect influence.
- Astrological glyphs and letters: Present only for spirits whose office requires planetary or zodiacal specificity (Paimon with Venus, Bune with the Moon). Malphas has none, indicating his office is not tied to celestial transits, he can be called at any hour, provided the magician is prepared.
This grammar explains why the Seal of Malphas appears sparse. It is not less powerful for being simple. It is more direct. The seal of a Duke like Valefor (sixth spirit) uses an intricate knot of crossed lines and a central pentagram because Valefor governs a complex domain (thievery and household relations). Malphas builds towers. The seal reflects that clarity.
Common Misconceptions About the Seal
A recurring mistake among newcomers is treating the seal as a standalone talisman, a protective emblem that can be worn or kept without ritual. The seal is not a charm. It is a call sign, an address. Without the correct ritual context (the circle, the triangle, the timing, the conjuration), the seal is inert. Drawing it on a notebook cover does nothing.
Another error is assuming all editions are interchangeable. The seal in the Lemegeton manuscript has the hook; Crowley’s version lacks it. The seal in the 1577 Weyer text is described but not pictured, and later woodcut artists filled in the gaps with their own interpretations. A practitioner who uses the seal from a modern online image may be working with a design that drifted through several transmissions. The safest practice is to copy from the same source as your conjuration text, if you use the Mathers-Crowley edition, draw that seal. Do not mix versions within a ritual.
There is also the belief that the seal must be drawn with the blood of a black hen (as specified for some Goetic operations). That is not universal. The Lemegeton recommends virgin parchment and black ink. The blood of the black hen appears in later ceremonial elaborations from the Grimoire of Armadel and the Grand Grimoire, not in the core Goetic text. The seal itself is the fixed element; the materials around it are variable.
FAQ
Can I use the Seal of Malphas without performing the full summoning ritual? No. The seal only becomes effective when used within the ritual framework of the Lesser Key of Solomon, the circle, the triangle, the timing, and the conjuration. Alone, it is a drawing on paper.
Why are there two different versions of the Seal of Malphas? The seal in the Sloane manuscript (c. 1700) includes a hook above the circle. The Mathers-Crowley edition (1904) omitted it. The difference is editorial; both are considered valid within their respective traditions.
Is the seal meant to protect the summoner? No. Protection comes from the circle, the lamen, and the ritual objects. The seal is a binding tool for the spirit, not a shield for the magician.
What is the difference between a seal and a talisman? A seal is a specific, individual glyph that identifies a spirit within a ritual. A talisman is a general object charged with planetary or elemental forces for ongoing use. Seals are called; talismans are carried.
That grammar of elements is not decoration. It is the language a magician must learn to read before drawing a single line on the parchment. Understanding why Malphas’ seal has two crosses and a circle while Bune’s has three crosses in a triangle tells you as much about the spirit as any description of their troops and offices.
Explore the full hierarchy of the Goetia for a breakdown of each rank’s visual language. For an illustrated glossary of sigil components, see our guide to sigil symbolism. And if you want to compare the seals of every Great President side by side, our comparative guide to Goetic President seals provides the source manuscript variants and structural analysis.