A student of the Ars Goetia opens the list of seventy-two spirits and finds two entries that read almost identically. Fors. Foras. Both presidents. Both teachers of arts and sciences. Both restorers of lost things. The question is not whether they are similar. The question is whether they are the same. Fors and Foras are two distinct spirits named in the Lesser Key of Solomon, though their attributes overlap so heavily that many practitioners treat them as one. The difference lies not in what they do, but in where they come from and how they are marked.
What the Goetia Actually Says
The Ars Goetia, the first book of the Lemegeton (the Lesser Key of Solomon), names seventy-two spirits. Foras appears as the thirty-first spirit. Fors appears as the thirty-sixth. Both are presidents. Both command forty legions of spirits. Both teach the arts and sciences, make a person invisible, and restore lost possessions. The only difference in the standard Mathers and Crowley edition (1904) is that Fors also “giveth good familiars.” That is a single line. Everything else matches.
The descriptions of their appearance are nearly identical. Foras is “a strong man in human shape.” Fors is “a man in human shape.” Some manuscripts add that Fors appears with a serpent’s tail, but that detail is inconsistent. The sigils are different. That is the only reliable way to tell them apart.
Where the Confusion Began
The earliest printed list of Goetic spirits comes from Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1583). Weyer listed sixty-nine spirits, not seventy-two. His thirty-first spirit is “Foras” (spelled Foras, Forras, or Forax in different editions). There is no Fors. The three additional spirits that bring the total to seventy-two appear in the Lemegeton manuscripts of the seventeenth century. Fors is one of those three.
The Lemegeton survives in several handwritten copies, the oldest dating to around 1640 (British Library Sloane MS 3824). In that manuscript, Foras and Fors are both present, but the scribe appears to have copied the same entry twice with slight variations. The name “Fors” may be a misspelling of “Foras” that was then treated as a separate spirit. Or the scribe may have intended to create a new spirit by altering the name and sigil. We cannot know. What we do know is that later editors, including Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, kept both entries as distinct.
That history explains why the confusion persists. A practitioner who opens a modern Goetia sees two spirits that do the same thing. The natural conclusion is that one is a copy.
How You Spoke to Each
Despite the overlap, the grimoires give each spirit its own sigil and its own timing. Foras is ruled by the planet Jupiter. His hours are the planetary hours of Jupiter: Thursday, the first hour after sunrise, or the eighth hour. Fors is also ruled by Jupiter, but some manuscripts assign him to the Sun. The difference matters if you follow the planetary hours strictly.
The sigil of Foras is drawn with three loops and a central cross. The sigil of Fors has a more angular structure, with a single loop and a straight line. A practitioner who draws the wrong sigil may not get a response. The spirit is not offended. The sigil is a key, and the wrong key does not turn the lock.
In practice, many modern conjurors call both names together. They say “Fors and Foras, I call you as one.” That approach is not found in any historical grimoire. It is a contemporary adaptation, born of the belief that the two are the same entity under different names. We do not judge the method. We note that it works for some and fails for others.
What the Names Mean
The name “Foras” may derive from Latin foras (“outside, abroad”), suggesting a spirit who brings hidden things into the open. “Fors” may be a shortening of the same root, or it may come from Latin fors (“chance, luck”). The difference in meaning is subtle. Both point to a spirit who reveals what is lost and teaches what is unknown.
In the hierarchy of the Goetia, presidents are spirits of middling rank. They rule over legions but are not kings or dukes. They are approachable. They answer questions directly. That makes them popular with beginners. Foras and Fors are among the most frequently summoned presidents for that reason.
Foras and Fors vs. Other Goetic Pairs
The Goetia contains several spirits whose names and functions overlap. Buer and Bune are both presidents who teach philosophy. Phenex and Phoenix are the same spirit spelled two ways. But no pair is as close as Fors and Foras. The others differ in appearance or in the number of legions they command. Fors and Foras differ in nothing except the sigil and the single line about familiars.
That near-identity makes them unique in the Goetic corpus. It also makes them a test case for how seriously a practitioner takes the details. If the sigil matters, they are two spirits. If only the function matters, they are one.
Common Misconceptions
They are the same spirit. This is the most common belief. It is not supported by the historical manuscripts, which list them separately with distinct sigils. Whether they are the same in essence is a theological question, not a textual one.
Fors is a misspelling of Foras. That is possible, but the manuscripts treat Fors as a separate entry. If it were a simple scribal error, we would expect later editors to correct it. They did not.
One is more powerful than the other. Neither the grimoires nor the traditional lore assign greater power to either. Both command forty legions. Both are presidents.
You can use the same sigil for both. The sigils are different. Using the sigil of Foras to call Fors may produce no result, or it may call Foras instead. The grimoires are explicit: each spirit has its own seal.
FAQ
Are Fors and Foras the same spirit?
The historical grimoires list them as separate spirits with different sigils, but their powers and descriptions are nearly identical. Many modern practitioners treat them as one.
Which one is more powerful?
Neither. Both command forty legions and hold the rank of president. Their powers are identical in every surviving list.
How do I know which one I am summoning?
Check the sigil. The sigil of Foras has three loops and a central cross. The sigil of Fors has one loop and a straight line. If you use the wrong sigil, you may not get a response.
Can I use the same invocation for both?
You can, but the grimoires give each spirit its own planetary hour and its own seal. If you want historical accuracy, treat them as separate. If you want practical results, try calling them together and see what happens.
Closing
The confusion between Fors and Foras is not a mistake to be corrected. It is a feature of the tradition, a reminder that the Goetia is a living text shaped by scribes, editors, and practitioners. Whether you call one or both, the sigil drawn on the floor is what matters. For a deeper look at how Goetic spirits are classified, see our guide to the hierarchy of the Ars Goetia. For the meaning of the symbols on their seals, visit the glossary entry for sigils. And for the full list of the seventy-two spirits with their attributes, read our complete Goetia reference.