Answer-first introduction: The seal of Furfur is the engraved brass sigil of a Goetic great earl, recorded in the Ars Goetia of the Lemegeton around the mid-17th century. It serves as both a call-sign and a binding tool during evocation, grounding the spirit’s presence into a single tangible point the magician can work with.
What the seal of Furfur actually is
The seal is a disk of engraved brass, roughly the size of a palm. The design is geometric: concentric circles surround a central star or cross-like figure, with lines and angular marks radiating outward. It is not a decorative emblem. It is a functional component of the evocation apparatus.
The Lemegeton instructs that the magician holds the seal before a triangle of art or places it on a table at the ritual’s center. The spirit cannot fully manifest without it. The brass disk acts as a grounding anchor. It fixes Furfur’s presence in a form the magician can address, command, and dismiss.
Where the seal comes from: the Ars Goetia and its manuscript history
The oldest surviving manuscript of the Ars Goetia is Harley MS 6483, housed in the British Library, dated to around 1660. It contains the first known illustrations of the 72 seals. Furfur appears at number 34, between Furcas and Marchosias.
Earlier source material comes from the Steganographia of Johannes Trithemius (1499) and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum by Johann Weyer (1563). Weyer lists Furfur but does not include the seal. The visual tradition attaches to the Lemegeton compilers. Weyer’s text gave the name and rank. The seal tradition gave the method.
Harley MS 6483 shows Furfur’s seal as a circle divided by lines into wedges, with a four-pointed star at the center. Later editions, including Mathers and Crowley’s 1904 translation, reproduce this design with minor variation. The brass disk is the prescribed material because it conducts and contains the spirit’s force within the ritual space.
Symbolism and meaning: what the seal’s geometry tells us
The seal of Furfur is not abstract. Every line has a function in the spirit’s hierarchy.
The concentric circles define boundaries. The outer ring separates Furfur’s force from the ambient space. The inner ring narrows that force to a point the magician can address. In Renaissance magic, circles contained and constrained spirits. The seal repeats this logic in miniature.
The central star is Furfur’s anchor. Four points, four corners of the triangle of art, the four directions the spirit controls. Furfur is said to create storms and strike enemies with lightning. The star’s points echo that directional power.
The radiating lines are channels. They connect the center to the edge. The magician traces these lines with the finger or wand during the evocation, drawing the spirit outward from the center into the triangle.
We should note that the seal does not contain Furfur himself. It contains his signature, the unique pattern that distinguishes him from the other 71 Goetic spirits. Without it, the evocation may call the wrong entity or none at all.
How the seal is used in ritual practice
The seal has three distinct functions in Goetic evocation. Each one changes how the magician handles the disk.
1. The focal point during evocation
The magician places the seal inside a triangle of art drawn on the floor, usually in black on white or red. The triangle is positioned outside the magician’s circle. The spirit is commanded to appear within that triangle. The seal is its landing point.
The conjuration is read facing the triangle. The magician holds a wand or dagger pointed at the seal. Some traditions require the magician to trace the seal’s lines in the air above the triangle while reciting the spirit’s enn or office.
2. The binding tool for command
Once Furfur appears within the triangle, the seal is used to fix him in place. The magician touches or covers the seal with the left hand while issuing instructions. Manuals warn that the spirit may attempt to shift the seal or cause the magician to lose focus on it.
The binding works both ways. If the seal is damaged or removed, the spirit disperses. The magician loses control. The evocation must be abandoned and the space closed.
3. The dismissal device
To dismiss Furfur, the magician lifts the seal from the triangle and turns it face down. Some texts say the spirit leaves the triangle the moment the seal is no longer visible. Others say the magician must physically remove the seal from the ritual space and wrap it in black silk.
The seal is never reused for a different spirit. Each seal is consecrated for its specific entity and stored separately.
What the seal of Furfur is not
Three common misconceptions need clearing.
The seal is not a talisman. A talisman attracts or stores a force for the bearer. The seal of Furfur is an evocation tool. It calls the spirit to a specific location and binds it there. You do not carry it for protection or luck.
The seal is not a summoning circle. The circle belongs to the magician and defines the boundary of safety. The seal belongs to the spirit and sits inside the triangle. Confusing the two is the most common error in beginner Goetic work.
The seal is not a decorative symbol. It does not appear in grimoires as a standalone image for meditation or altar placement. It is a working instrument, designed for a single purpose. Using it outside that context drains it of function.
Furfur ranks as a great earl. His seal reflects that rank. Compare it with the seal of Bael, the first king of the Goetia. Bael’s seal is a circle with three points, referencing his three heads. Furfur’s seal has four points, referencing his form as a stag or hart. The geometry encodes the spirit’s appearance.
Compare it with the seal of Vassago, a prince. Vassago’s seal is a circle with a cross, referencing his role as a revealer of past and future. Furfur’s seal is more angular and aggressive, matching his office: to cause love between men and women and to gather storms.
The differences are not arbitrary. They belong to a coherent symbolic language that spans the 72 seals of the Ars Goetia.
Consecration is the step that changes a blank brass disk into an active seal. The process follows the pattern in the Ars Goetia and is echoed in later works like the Greater Key of Solomon.
- Clean the disk. Wash it in salt water and dry it with a white cloth.
- Engrave or draw the seal. The disk must be inscribed with the exact lines from the manuscript. Hand-drawing with a brass stylus is traditional. Printing and gluing paper is not.
- Exorcise the disk. Pass it through incense smoke and sprinkle it with holy water. This removes any residual spiritual contamination from the metal’s previous state.
- Consecrate by formula. Recite the conjuration of Furfur directly onto the seal, naming the spirit and stating the seal’s purpose. The energy of the name impregnates the metal.
- Store the seal. Wrap it in black silk, white silk, or linen. Keep it separate from other ritual tools.
Some practitioners add a period of charging: placing the seal on a black altar cloth under a crescent moon for one night. The Harley manuscript does not require this. It is a later innovation from the Golden Dawn current.
FAQ
Can I use a paper printout of Furfur’s seal instead of brass? Yes, for preliminary work. Paper lacks the conductive properties of brass. It may produce a weaker result. For serious evocation, brass or copper is preferred.
Do I need to consecrate the seal every time I use it? No. Consecration is a one-time event. The seal retains its charge as long as it is stored properly and not damaged.
What happens if I lose the seal during a ritual? The evocation should be terminated immediately. The spirit cannot be dismissed without the seal. Cover the triangle with a black cloth and close the circle with a banishing ritual.
Can I reuse Furfur’s seal for another spirit? No. Each seal is bound to its specific spirit. Reusing it for another entity will create confusion or outright failure.
The seal of Furfur is not a talisman or a decoration. It is a precision instrument in the Goetic magician’s toolbox, one that fixes a spirit’s presence into a single tangible point. Understanding its geometry, its material, and its consecration is the difference between controlled evocation and a room full of smoke. For further study, read our guide to Goetic demonology and the Ars Goetia, visit the glossary of ceremonial magic seals, or explore the complete profile of Furfur.