A woman in Lyon lights a single black candle at midnight, places a copper disc inscribed with a seal at the center of her working space, and reads the first verse of the Ars Goetia aloud. The Seal of Asmoday is the engraved or drawn symbol associated with the seventy-second spirit of the Goetic grimoires, used as a focal point for summoning and commanding the entity Asmoday. The seal is not decorative; it is the lock and key of the operation.
What Is the Seal of Asmoday?
The seal appears in the Ars Goetia, the first section of The Lesser Key of Solomon (compiled in the mid-17th century, though its source material dates to the 14th–15th centuries). On that disc, a pattern of intersecting lines and characters ties the practitioner’s will to a specific spirit. Use it wrong and nothing happens. Use it right and the door opens.
What Exactly Is the Seal of Asmoday?
The seal is a geometric diagram attributed to Asmoday (also spelled Ashmedai, Asmodeus, Asmodi), the eighth spirit listed in the Ars Goetia. In the grimoire tradition, each of the seventy-two spirits receives a unique seal that must be reproduced exactly — errors in line placement or proportion break the binding.
The seal for Asmoday consists of a central cross-like figure surrounded by six pointed petals and a border of Hebrew or pseudo-Hebrew characters. The central element resembles a stylized keyhole or compass rose, depending on the manuscript. The 1651 edition of The Lesser Key of Solomon (published by John Allen in London) shows a version with two concentric circles and angular lines that modern practitioners often describe as “shattered geometry” — lines that stop abruptly rather than completing their curves.
The seal is traditionally inscribed on virgin parchment (parchment from an animal that has not been used for writing) or engraved on a metal disc. The Ars Goetia specifies that the seal must be made of the “metal of the spirit” — for Asmoday, this is copper or gold. Silver is not used for Asmoday; that metal belongs to spirits of the lunar hierarchy.
Where Does the Seal Come From? A History of the Source
The seals in the Ars Goetia did not spring from Solomon’s hand alone. They are the product of centuries of textual layering.
The Historical Origins of the Seal
The earliest known version of a Goetic spirit list appears in the 14th-century manuscript The Sworn Book of Honorius (compiled circa 1300 by Honorius of Thebes, a shadowy figure whose identity is disputed). That manuscript contains a list of spirits and their sigils, but the seals differ significantly from the later Lesser Key versions.
The breakthrough came in 1572, when a German scholar named Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516, abbot of the monastery of Sponheim) compiled a series of works on angelic and demonic magic. His pupil Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535) published Three Books of Occult Philosophy in 1533, which provided a theoretical framework for how seals worked, as “characters” that expressed the essence of a spirit through the geometry of the celestial spheres.
The seals as we know them appear in their definitive form in 1641, when a Dutch publisher produced a manuscript later known as the Harley MS 6483 (now in the British Library). This manuscript was the direct source for the 1651 English edition of The Lesser Key of Solomon, translated by an unknown editor working for the London publisher John Allen.
A key figure in this transmission was Arthur Edward Waite (1857–1942), who republished the Ars Goetia in 1898 in his Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. Waite’s edition made the seal widely available to the English-speaking occult world, though he considered the spirits “gods of the dead” rather than literal demons.
Crowley’s edition of 1904 (published as The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon by the Ordo Templi Orientis) provided new English translations and included the seal. Crowley claimed the spirits were “portions of the human brain” and that the seal was a tool for psychological integration, not spirit binding.
Geometry and Symbolism of the Seal
The seal’s geometry tells a specific story. The six petals echo the hexagram, the symbol of the macrocosm, the union of fire and water, the reconciliation of opposites. Asmoday presides over gambling houses, hidden treasures, and carnal knowledge according to the goetic text. The hexagram-like form binds these chaotic domains to order.
The truncated lines in the seal are not mistakes. They represent incomplete circuits, pathways that the ritualist must close through the act of summoning. The spirit, once called, completes the pattern. This is why drawing the seal incorrectly produces no result: the incomplete lines stay incomplete, and the door never opens.
The Hebrew characters surrounding the seal are a mixture of authentic lettering (names of God related to the sephirah Binah on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life) and ornamental pseudo-Hebrew added by manuscript copyists who did not read Hebrew. The Harley MS 6483 contains three variants of the Asmoday seal, each with different border characters. Modern scholars agree that the variations stem from copying errors, but some ceremonial magicians argue that each variant contacts a different “aspect” of Asmoday.
How to Use the Seal of Asmoday
We use the seal in a specific sequence drawn from the Ars Goetia combined with the evocation system of the Golden Dawn. What follows is the method we use at Le Grand Grimoire when we work the goetic system. It is not the only method, but it is the one that matches the primary source.
The Material Preparation
The seal must be made fresh for each working, or at least re-consecrated. We inscribe ours on a copper disc (3 inches in diameter) using an etching tool or a sharp-pointed iron stylus. The metal must be clean, and the work must be done in a single session without interruption. If you break the line, you must start again.
The Ars Goetia specifies that the seal should be drawn with the blood of a goose and the ink of a virgin, meaning the ink must be made by a person who has never used it for writing before. We use a mix of lampblack and gum arabic, which is historically accurate and avoids the animal sacrifice.
The Ritual Sequence
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Purification (30 minutes before the working): We bathe in water mixed with sea salt and hyssop. No metal jewelry is worn. The working space is cleansed with a mixture of frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon.
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The Circle: A circle is drawn nine feet in diameter using a consecrated sword or staff. The seal is placed inside a triangle of art (a triangle drawn outside the circle) at the north point. The triangle is the traditional position for the spirit to manifest.
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The Call: Standing within the circle, we hold the seal in our left hand and read the 12th evocation from the Ars Goetia:
“I do invocate and conjure thee, O Spirit Asmoday, by the name of the great living God, by the name of the Tetragrammaton, and by all the holy names of God, that thou appear here before this circle, in this triangle, in a fair and human form.”
The seal is placed on the ground at the edge of the triangle after the call. It acts as a governor, it limits the spirit’s manifestation to the triangle and prevents it from entering the circle.
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The Binding: If Asmoday appears in a “fair and human form” (the text specifies they may appear with “three heads, the first like a bull, the second like a man, the third like a ram”), we show the seal and repeat the binding oath. The spirit then answers questions or performs tasks.
What Actually Happens
Most practitioners report a sense of pressure in the north of the circle, a change in air temperature, and a visual shimmer in the triangle. Manifestation is rarely the fully corporeal form the grimoire describes. The seal seems to act as an amplifier for the psychic faculty of the operator.
Crowley, in his 1904 edition, wrote that he used the seal but “obtained no result, nor did I expect any”, a statement that some later occultists believe was deliberately misleading to discourage casual practitioners.
How the Seal Compares to Other Goetic Seals
The seal of Asmoday bears comparison to the seal of Beleth, the 37th spirit, which also uses a hexagram-like pattern. But Beleth’s seal has five points, not six. Asmoday’s six petals align with the planetary number of the Sun (6), not the number of Venus (7) or Mars (5). This suggests Asmoday’s nature is solar in its hierarchy, appropriate for a spirit who commands 72 legions (a solar number in the goetic system).
The seal of Astaroth (the 29th spirit) uses a circular pattern with a central cross, similar to Asmoday’s keyhole motif. But Astaroth’s seal is inscribed on lead, not copper. The metal choice is not arbitrary. Copper corresponds to Venus, and Asmoday’s domain includes carnal knowledge and pleasure. The seal material reinforces the spirit’s sphere of influence.
Common Misconceptions About the Seal
The seal is not a talisman. A talisman is worn or carried for protection. The seal of Asmoday is a tool of evocation, it calls the spirit to a specific place for a specific time. Wearing it as a pendant is a modern invention with no basis in the grimoires.
You cannot photocopy the seal. The Ars Goetia is explicit: the seal must be inscribed by hand. A printed or photocopied seal is “dead”, it lacks the intentional energy of the inscription. We have seen practitioners argue this point online, but the primary sources are clear.
Asmoday is not a demon of the Christian hell. The Goetic spirits are pre-Christian entities absorbed into the grimoire tradition. Asmoday appears in the Book of Tobit (circa 200 BCE) as a Persian prince-spirit who kills the seven husbands of Sarah. Persian sources link Asmoday to the daeva Aeshma, a spirit of wrath in Zoroastrian cosmology. The Christian demonization came later.
You do not need to be a magician to use the seal. But you do need to follow the instructions exactly. The seal works because the spirits respond to correct procedure, not to personal power. A well-read amateur who follows the ritual precisely is more likely to succeed than an experienced magician who improvises.
FAQ
Can I draw the seal on paper instead of metal? Yes, but it must be virgin parchment or high-quality paper that has not been used for writing before. The metal disc is stronger for repeated use.
What if I make a mistake while drawing the seal? You must start over. Any broken line or incorrect angle voids the seal. This is not superstition; it is the rule of the grimoire.
How long does it take for Asmoday to appear after using the seal? The text says “immediately” after the call is completed. Modern practitioners report a few seconds to several minutes. If nothing happens within 15 minutes, the seal is likely incorrect.
Is it dangerous to use the seal without a teacher? The grimoire tradition is designed for solitary practice. The danger is not demonic possession; it is psychological destabilization from forcing an altered state without proper grounding. Use the banishing ritual of the pentagram afterward.
The seal of Asmoday is not a decoration or a collector’s item. It is a tool that works when it is made correctly, placed correctly, and used with the correct words. The old manuscripts say that Asmoday answers those who approach with courage and precision. The seal does not provide either of those things. It only provides a door. The rest belongs to the one who knocks.
For deeper study, see our guide on evocation in the Goetic tradition and the signs and seals of the seventy-two spirits. If you plan to practice, the article on the triangle of art and its construction is the logical next step.