A grimoire keeper once drew both seals on the same sheet of parchment, then spent three nights trying to remember which was which. The mistake nearly cost him. The Seal of Blood (Seal of the Demon Bune) and the Seal of Vengeance (Seal of the Demon Andras) are two distinct sigils from the Ars Goetia, one governing wealth and eloquence, the other commanding destruction and discord. They share a visual language of intersecting circles and angular strokes, but their purposes could not be more opposite. Mixing them is not a stylistic error. It is a practical danger.
What Each Seal Actually Is
The Seal of Blood belongs to Bune, the twenty-sixth spirit of the Ars Goetia, the first book of the Lesser Key of Solomon (compiled circa 1640 from earlier manuscripts, published by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in 1904). Bune is a duke of the infernal hierarchy who appears as a three-headed dragon, one head human, one serpentine, one canine. His seal is drawn as a central circle with three radiating points, flanked by angular lines that resemble open jaws or a crown.
The Seal of Vengeance belongs to Andras, the sixty-third spirit, a marquis who appears with the body of an angel and the head of an owl, riding a black wolf and carrying a sharp sword. Andras sows discord, kills enemies, and breaks marriages. His seal is a circle bisected by a vertical line, with two sharp hooks curving inward at the top, often described as a “broken heart” or “severed bond” motif.
Both seals are drawn on parchment or virgin paper using specific inks: Bune’s seal traditionally in black ink mixed with the practitioner’s blood, Andras’s seal in red ink or the blood of a sacrificed animal. The materials are not decoration. They are the contract.
Where the Seals Come From
The Ars Goetia lists seventy-two spirits, each with a unique seal, rank, and function. The manuscript tradition begins with the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, a seventeenth-century compilation of earlier Solomonic texts. The seals themselves are older than the book. Medieval magicians drew sigils based on planetary squares, angelic names, and the magical alphabets of Agrippa and Trithemius, then assigned them to spirits after the fact.
Bune appears in the Goetia as a spirit who “makes a man wise and eloquent, gives riches, and answers questions.” His seal governs accumulation: wealth, knowledge, the dead’s secrets. Practitioners in the Renaissance called him for treasure divination and necromantic counsel. The blood in his seal is not a threat. It is a binding agent, a payment for knowledge.
Andras appears as a spirit who “kills the magician and his servants if not careful.” His seal governs destruction: enemies, arguments, separations. The Goetia warns that Andras must be summoned with a protective circle and a triangle of art, and the magician must stand outside the triangle. The vengeance in his seal is not poetic justice. It is directed violence.
The two seals appear in the same manuscript, sometimes on facing pages, which is how the confusion begins. A practitioner copying the Goetia by candlelight might misread a line, invert a curve, and summon the wrong spirit.
What the Symbols Actually Mean
The Seal of Blood uses a central circle with three equidistant points, a variation of the triquetra or the threefold knot. In Solomonic magic, the circle represents containment and the points represent the three worlds: the divine, the human, and the infernal. Bune sits at the intersection of all three. The angular lines extending from the circle are sometimes read as dragon jaws, sometimes as a crown. Both readings are correct. Bune is a duke. He rules the dead and the earth’s treasures.
The Seal of Vengeance uses a vertical line cutting through a circle, with two inward hooks at the top. The line is the sword of Andras. The hooks are the owl’s talons or the broken ends of a marriage bond. In the Goetia, the vertical line also represents the magician’s will, and the hooks represent the resistance it meets. Andras breaks that resistance by breaking the bonds that hold things together.
A practitioner who draws the Seal of Blood with a vertical line instead of a triquetra has drawn a seal of destruction, not accumulation. A practitioner who draws the Seal of Vengeance with three points instead of hooks has drawn a seal of wealth, not violence. The difference is one stroke.
How the Seals Are Used
Bune’s seal is drawn on a Tuesday during the hour of Jupiter, when the moon is waxing and the sky is clear. The practitioner pricks a finger, mixes the blood into the ink, and traces the seal from the center outward. The seal is placed on a black cloth with a single coin, a piece of parchment with a question written in Latin, and a candle of green or gold. Bune answers questions about the dead, the location of hidden objects, and the means of acquiring wealth. The seal is burned after the ritual, or kept in a silk pouch for ongoing prosperity work.
Andras’s seal is drawn on a Saturday during the hour of Saturn, when the moon is waning and the sky is overcast. The practitioner uses red ink or animal blood, traces the seal from the top downward, and places it inside a triangle of art drawn on the floor. Andras is summoned only for specific acts of vengeance: a legal enemy, a violent rival, a broken oath. The seal is burned immediately after the ritual, and the ashes are scattered at a crossroads. The Goetia warns that Andras will turn on the magician if the ritual is not performed with absolute precision.
The two rituals share a structure but oppose each other in timing, materials, and intent. Bune is called during growth. Andras is called during decay.
Why the Confusion Happens
The seals look similar to an untrained eye. Both use circles, straight lines, and sharp angles. Both appear in the same manuscript, sometimes on the same page. A modern practitioner searching online for “Seal of Blood” might find an image labeled “Seal of Vengeance” and never know the difference.
The confusion is compounded by modern grimoire publishers who reprint the seals from corrupted manuscripts. The Goetia of Dr. Rudd (a seventeenth-century manuscript) contains variant seals that differ from the standard Mathers edition. A practitioner using Rudd’s version might draw a seal that looks like Bune but functions like Andras, or vice versa.
The safest method is to compare the seal to the spirit’s description in the Goetia itself. Bune’s seal has three points. Andras’s seal has two hooks. If the seal has three points, it is Bune. If it has two hooks, it is Andras. There is no overlap.
Common Misconceptions
“The Seal of Blood is called that because it requires a blood sacrifice.” No. The seal is called the Seal of Blood because the ink is traditionally mixed with the practitioner’s blood. The sacrifice is symbolic, not lethal. Andras’s seal sometimes requires animal blood, but the term “Seal of Vengeance” refers to the spirit’s function, not the material.
“The Seal of Vengeance can be used for justice.” No. Andras does not distinguish between just vengeance and petty revenge. He breaks bonds indiscriminately. A practitioner who calls Andras for a justified grievance will still face the spirit’s violence. The Goetia warns that Andras kills the magician if the circle breaks.
“The two seals can be combined for a more powerful effect.” No. Combining the seals creates a contradiction. Bune accumulates. Andras destroys. A seal that tries to do both does neither, and may attract both spirits simultaneously.
“The seals are interchangeable in modern practice.” No. Modern ceremonial magic treats the seals as fixed entities. Changing a seal changes the spirit. The Goetia is not a suggestion. It is a manual.
FAQ
Can I draw the Seal of Blood without blood? Yes, but the binding is weaker. Traditional Solomonic magic requires blood as a personal signature. Modern practitioners often substitute red ink or a drop of saliva.
Is the Seal of Vengeance dangerous to keep in the house? Yes. Andras’s seal is a focus for destructive energy. Keeping it in the home invites discord, arguments, and accidents. Burn it after use or store it in a sealed container away from living spaces.
Which seal is more powerful? Power is contextual. Bune’s seal is more useful for daily work. Andras’s seal is more dangerous but more effective for specific acts of destruction. Neither is “stronger” in an absolute sense.
Can I use the Seal of Blood for necromancy? Yes. Bune governs the dead and answers questions about spirits, ancestors, and hidden knowledge. His seal is one of the few Goetic seals suitable for necromantic work.
Closing
The difference between the Seal of Blood and the Seal of Vengeance is not academic. It is the difference between calling a duke and calling a marquis, between asking for wealth and asking for war. One stroke of the pen changes everything. For a deeper understanding of the Goetic hierarchy and its sigils, explore our guide to demonology and the Goetia, the glossary of Solomonic seals and sigils, and the ritual protocols for summoning Goetic spirits. The seals are not decorations. They are the keys.