In this guide

The Lemegeton lists seventy-two spirits, and most practitioners remember only the famous ones: Bael with his three heads, Paimon with his processional, Astaroth with his serpentine stench. Vapula sits in the middle of the list, spirit number sixty, and he is easy to overlook. That is a mistake. Vapula is a Goetic demon whose domain is craftsmanship, mechanics, and the transmission of practical knowledge — a spirit who teaches the hand as much as the mind, and who operates in a space almost no other Goetic spirit occupies.

Where Does Vapula Appear in the Primary Sources?

Where Does Vapula Appear in the Primary Sources

The earliest surviving manuscript of the Ars Goetia is the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, dated to the 17th century (British Library Sloane MS 2731, circa 1640). Vapula appears there as the sixtieth spirit, described as a “great Duke” who appears in the form of a lion with griffin’s wings. His name is sometimes given as Naphula in earlier manuscripts, and the variation matters: it suggests a Hebrew root (naphal, to fall) rather than a Latin one, which would align him with the fallen angel tradition rather than a pre-Christian daemon.

Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1563) includes Vapula in an earlier arrangement, though Weyer’s list differs from the later Lemegeton in order and attribution. Weyer places him among the spirits who “teach philosophy and mechanical arts” — a rare combination that the Lemegeton retains. The Dictionnaire Infernal (Collin de Plancy, 1818) adds the detail that Vapula renders men “skilled in all arts and sciences,” but the illustration shows a lion with griffin wings, consistent with the earlier descriptions.

What no source does is describe Vapula as malicious. He does not tempt, deceive, or destroy. He teaches. That makes him structurally different from most of the seventy-two.

How Does Vapula Compare to Other Teaching Spirits?

The Goetia contains several spirits who offer knowledge, but the kind of knowledge differs sharply. Balam (spirit 51) teaches “past, present, and future” and gives “wit and wisdom”, but his domain is divination, not craft. He sees what is and what will be. Vapula does not see the future. He shows you how to build something that will last.

Buer (spirit 10) teaches “moral and natural philosophy” and “the virtues of herbs.” His domain is medicine and the natural world. Vapula overlaps with natural philosophy but adds the mechanical arts: how to make a clock, how to forge a blade, how to calculate the load-bearing capacity of a beam. Buer heals the body. Vapula teaches the hands that build the tools that heal.

Ronove (spirit 27) teaches “rhetoric and languages”, the arts of persuasion and communication. Vapula teaches the arts of making. One works through words, the other through materials. A practitioner who needs to write a legal argument calls Ronove. A practitioner who needs to design a structural support calls Vapula.

The distinction is not academic. It determines which spirit you summon for which problem.

What About the Martial and Destructive Spirits?

The Goetia is full of spirits who destroy. Andras (spirit 63) sows discord and kills. Sabnock (spirit 43) builds towers and fortifications but also destroys them. Marchosias (spirit 35) is a fighter who longs to return to heaven. These spirits are useful for war, for breaking obstacles, for removing enemies.

Vapula does none of this. He builds. He does not tear down. The Ars Goetia describes him as a “great Duke” who “causeth men to be expert in all arts and sciences”, but the arts are specifically mechanical and philosophical. There is no mention of combat, destruction, or deception. If you summon Vapula to harm someone, you have summoned the wrong spirit. He will teach you something, but it will not be what you asked for.

This is the most common error practitioners make with Vapula: they assume all Goetic spirits are equally willing to serve destructive ends. They are not. Vapula’s domain is creation, and he operates within that domain with the same precision that Andras applies to slaughter.

How Does Vapula Compare to the Deceptive Spirits?

Several Goetic spirits are known for lying. Amon (spirit 7) tells the truth only under duress. Forneus (spirit 30) gives knowledge of languages but also “causeth men to be famous”, a reputation that may be built on falsehood. Gremory (spirit 56) tells of hidden treasures but is known to mislead.

Vapula is not described as deceptive in any primary source. Weyer, the Lemegeton, and the Dictionnaire Infernal all present him as straightforward. He teaches what he knows. He does not hide the cost or the method. This is unusual in the Goetia, where many spirits require careful negotiation and where the summoner must guard against trickery.

A practitioner working with Vapula does not need the elaborate protective circles and binding oaths that a summoner of Amon would require. The relationship is closer to that of a master and apprentice than a master and slave. Vapula teaches. You learn. The transaction is honest.

What Does Vapula’s Appearance Tell Us?

The standard description, a lion with griffin’s wings, places Vapula in a specific symbolic category. The lion represents kingship, strength, and the solar principle. The griffin represents the union of earth (lion body) and sky (eagle head and wings). Together, they suggest a spirit who bridges the material and the intellectual.

Compare this to Buer, who appears as a star with five rays (or a wheel, depending on the manuscript). Buer’s form is abstract, celestial, distant. Vapula’s form is concrete, animal, present. Buer teaches from above. Vapula teaches from beside you.

Compare to Paimon, who appears as a crowned man riding a dromedary, preceded by a procession of spirits. Paimon’s form is regal, ceremonial, commanding. Vapula’s form is solitary, focused, working. Paimon demands obedience. Vapula demands attention.

The form tells you how to approach the spirit. You do not bow to Vapula. You sit at his workbench.

How Does Vapula Compare to the Planetary and Zodiacal Attributions?

Later occultists assigned planetary and zodiacal correspondences to the Goetic spirits, though these attributions vary by tradition. The Heptameron (attributed to Pietro d’Abano, 13th century) and later grimoires like the Greater Key of Solomon assign spirits to hours and planets.

Vapula is generally attributed to Mercury, the planet of communication, commerce, and craftsmanship. This aligns with his domain: Mercury rules the hands, the mind, and the exchange of knowledge. By contrast, Bael is attributed to the Sun (kingship, authority), Paimon to Venus (desire, beauty), and Astaroth to Saturn (restriction, death).

The Mercury attribution places Vapula in a specific working context. Mercury hours are Wednesday, the hour of Mercury (sunrise on Wednesday, or the planetary hour calculated for your location). A practitioner summoning Vapula during a Mercury hour is working with the current of the cosmos, not against it.

What Are the Practical Differences in Summoning?

The Ars Goetia provides standard instructions for summoning any spirit: the circle, the triangle, the seal, the names of power. But experienced practitioners know that each spirit responds to different conditions.

Vapula is said to respond well to offerings of tools, a small hammer, a gear, a piece of worked metal. This is unique among the Goetic spirits. Bael receives offerings of blood. Paimon receives offerings of incense and gold. Vapula receives offerings of craft. The offering is not a bribe. It is a signal that you understand his domain.

The seal of Vapula, as given in the Lemegeton, is a complex geometric figure. Compare it to the seal of Buer, which is a star-like pattern, or the seal of Andras, which is a figure of a serpent. Vapula’s seal contains angles and intersections that suggest mechanical joints, a deliberate design choice in the manuscript tradition.

Common Misconceptions

Misconception: Vapula is a minor spirit. He is number sixty of seventy-two, but rank does not equal power. Vapula is a Duke, which places him in the third rank of the Goetic hierarchy (after Kings and Princes). He commands thirty legions. That is not minor.

Misconception: Vapula teaches only philosophy. The Lemegeton specifies “all arts and sciences,” and the mechanical arts are explicitly included. Philosophy without craft is incomplete in Vapula’s domain.

Misconception: Vapula is dangerous to summon. He is not described as hostile, deceptive, or destructive. The danger with Vapula is not that he will harm you. The danger is that you will not be ready for what he teaches.

Misconception: Vapula is the same as Naphula. The names appear in different manuscripts, but the descriptions are consistent. Naphula is likely a scribal variant, not a separate spirit.

FAQ

Can Vapula help with creative work? Yes. His domain includes all mechanical and philosophical arts, which covers writing, design, engineering, and any craft that requires both hand and mind.

Is Vapula a demon in the Christian sense? The Goetic spirits are traditionally understood as fallen angels in the Christian grimoire tradition. Vapula is one of the seventy-two spirits who rebelled, but his function in the Ars Goetia is instructional, not malevolent.

What is the best time to summon Vapula? Mercury hour on a Wednesday, or during a Mercury planetary hour calculated for your location. Some practitioners also work with him during the waning moon for teaching work.

Does Vapula require a blood offering? No primary source mentions blood offerings for Vapula. Tools, gears, or worked metal are traditional offerings. Blood is associated with martial spirits like Andras, not with teaching spirits.

Closing

Vapula is not the most famous spirit in the Goetia, but he may be the most useful for the practitioner who works with their hands. He teaches what others only describe. For a deeper understanding of how the seventy-two spirits relate to each other, see our guide to demonology and the Goetia. For the specific seals and summoning instructions, consult the glossary entry on Goetic seals. And for a comparison of all the teaching spirits, read our guide to the instructional demons of the Ars Goetia.