In 1577, Johann Weyer published his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, a catalogue of infernal spirits that would later form the backbone of the Goetia. On that list, Bael appears as the first king, ruling over the East. Beelzebub appears separately as a prince, second only to Satan. But Weyer himself noted the confusion between them. In demonology, Bael and Beelzebub are two distinct spirits with a shared origin in the Canaanite god Baal. Bael is the first spirit of the Goetia, a king with three heads. Beelzebub is a prince of demons, often called the Lord of the Flies. Their relationship is one of divergence from a common root, not identity.
Where Do Bael and Beelzebub Come From?
The story begins not in a grimoire but in the ancient Levant. Baal was the chief deity of the Canaanites, a storm god who brought rain and fertility. The Hebrew Bible records the struggle between Yahweh and Baal in the narrative of Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18, roughly 9th century BCE). There, the prophets of Baal fail to call down fire from heaven, and Elijah slaughters them. That event marks the beginning of Baal’s demonization in Jewish tradition.
The name Beelzebub appears first in 2 Kings 1, where the Philistine god of Ekron is called Baal-Zebub, meaning “Lord of the Flies.” Scholars debate whether this was a deliberate insult (flies as symbols of decay) or a corruption of an original title. By the time of the New Testament, Beelzebub had become a prince of demons. In Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub. The name stuck in Christian demonology.
Bael, by contrast, is a direct transliteration of Baal into Latin. It appears in medieval grimoires as a distinct spirit. The earliest surviving list that includes Bael is the Lemegeton or the Lesser Key of Solomon, compiled in the 17th century but drawing on earlier sources like Weyer’s work. In that text, Bael is the first of 72 spirits, a king who appears with three heads: a toad, a man, and a cat.
The relationship between the two is not a direct evolution. Beelzebub entered Christian theology through the Bible. Bael entered through occult compilations. They share a name but traveled different paths.
How Did Baal Become Two Demons?
The split happened through translation and theological politics. When early Christian writers encountered the Hebrew Bible in Greek (the Septuagint), they rendered Baal as “Baal” and Beelzebub as “Beelzebub.” They treated them as separate entities. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate kept the distinction. By the Middle Ages, theologians had built elaborate hierarchies of demons, and Beelzebub was placed near the top as a prince of hell. Bael, meanwhile, was a lesser-known figure in magical texts.
The key moment of convergence came in the 16th and 17th centuries. Weyer, a physician and demonologist, listed both in his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum. He described Bael as a king who “appeareth with three heads” and Beelzebub as “the prince of demons” who “sitteth on a throne.” Weyer noted that some authorities considered them the same, but he kept them separate. The Goetia followed his lead.
What kept them distinct was the practical need of grimoires. A magician needed specific names for specific operations. Bael was called for invisibility and wisdom. Beelzebub was invoked for destruction and discord. They had different seals, different planetary associations, different ranks. The shared origin in Baal became a footnote.
What Do Their Symbols Tell Us?
Bael’s three heads are not random. The toad represents the earth, the man represents intellect, the cat represents independence and cunning. Together they signify dominion over the three worlds: physical, mental, and spiritual. In the Goetia, Bael is said to make a man invisible, a power that echoes Baal’s role as a hidden storm god.
Beelzebub’s symbol is the fly. The Lord of the Flies is a title that evokes decay, filth, and the swarming of insects. But it also carries a mocking edge: where Baal was a god of life-giving rain, Beelzebub is a god of death and corruption. In some traditions, Beelzebub is depicted with a fly on his forehead or surrounded by buzzing insects. The contrast with Bael’s regal three-headed form is stark.
Yet both are kings. Bael rules the East, the direction of sunrise and new beginnings. Beelzebub is often associated with the West, the direction of sunset and death. They mirror each other as two halves of a fallen deity: one retains the aspect of sovereignty, the other the aspect of decay.
How Are They Used in Practice?
In the Goetia, Bael is the first spirit summoned. The magician draws his seal on virgin parchment with a needle, places it inside a circle, and recites the conjuration. Bael appears as a king with three heads, and the magician commands him to grant invisibility or wisdom. The ritual is precise, the tone commanding.
Beelzebub appears in the Goetia as a supreme demon but is not among the 72 spirits directly summoned. He is listed in the preliminary hierarchy, a prince who oversees other demons. In some later grimoires, such as the Grimorium Verum, Beelzebub is invoked as a chief spirit who can grant wealth and power. The seal of Beelzebub, when it appears, often includes a cross or a star, reflecting his high rank.
We have handled both seals in our own work. The difference in energy is palpable. Bael arrives with a sense of ancient authority, a calm presence that demands respect. Beelzebub carries a heavier weight, a buzzing tension that presses on the air. They are not interchangeable.
How Do They Compare to Other Demon Pairs?
The relationship between Bael and Beelzebub echoes other pairs in demonology. Lucifer and Satan are often confused, but Lucifer is a fallen angel of light, while Satan is the adversary. Similarly, Bael and Beelzebub share a root but diverge in function.
A closer parallel is the pair of Asmodeus and Astaroth. Both derive from Persian and Phoenician deities (Aeshma and Astarte), but they became distinct demons in the Goetia. Asmodeus is a king of wrath, Astaroth a duke of knowledge. The pattern is consistent: Christian demonology took a pantheon of foreign gods, split them into multiple figures, and assigned them different roles.
What makes Bael and Beelzebub unique is the direct textual confusion. Some medieval writers explicitly state that Beelzebub is the same as Baal. The 15th-century Lanterne of Light lists Beelzebub as “the prince of this world” and equates him with Baal. Others, like Weyer, resisted the conflation. The result is a relationship that remains ambiguous even today.
What Do People Get Wrong?
The most common misconception is that Bael and Beelzebub are the same demon. They are not. They are distinct spirits in every major grimoire, with separate seals, ranks, and functions. The confusion arises from their shared etymology, but in practice, they are treated as different entities.
Another error is that Beelzebub is a fallen angel named in the Bible. The Bible never describes Beelzebub as a fallen angel. That identification comes from later Christian tradition, particularly from John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667), where Beelzebub is Satan’s second-in-command. The biblical Beelzebub is simply a Philistine god.
Some assume that Bael is the demon of flies. That is Beelzebub’s title. Bael has no association with flies. His symbols are the three heads and the crown.
Finally, there is the belief that Baal worship was a single religion. Baal was a title meaning “lord,” applied to multiple local deities across Canaan. The Baal of Ugarit was different from the Baal of Tyre. The demonization of Baal in the Bible collapsed these variations into one enemy, which later demonology split again into Bael and Beelzebub.
FAQ
Are Bael and Beelzebub the same demon?
No. They are distinct spirits in the Goetia and other grimoires, with separate seals, ranks, and functions. They share an origin in the Canaanite god Baal but diverged in Christian demonology.
Where does the name Beelzebub come from?
It comes from the Philistine god Baal-Zebub, meaning “Lord of the Flies,” mentioned in 2 Kings 1. The name was adopted into the New Testament as a prince of demons.
Is Bael in the Bible?
No. Bael is a Latin transliteration of Baal, but the specific spirit named Bael appears only in medieval grimoires like the Goetia. The Bible uses “Baal” for the Canaanite god.
How are Bael and Beelzebub summoned in the Goetia?
Bael is the first spirit of the 72, summoned with his seal for invisibility and wisdom. Beelzebub is not among the 72 but appears in the hierarchy as a prince; he is invoked in other grimoires for wealth and power.
The relationship between Bael and Beelzebub is a case study in how demonology transforms gods into demons. One name became two, each carrying a fragment of the original. For a deeper look at the Goetic hierarchy, see our guide to the 72 spirits of the Goetia. To understand the broader category of demon kings, visit our demonology hub. And for the etymology of other demon names, consult our glossary of infernal terms.