A sixteenth-century magician, standing inside a consecrated circle of wax and salt, would trace the seal of Sitri onto a fresh sheet of parchment. The grimoire told him to face east, to recite the conjuration in a low steady voice, and to keep the triangle of art outside the circle as a containment zone. If the spirit appeared as promised—with the face of a leopard and wings like a bat—the magician would be looking at one of the most enigmatic princes of Hell.
Sitri is the twelfth spirit of the Ars Goetia, a great prince who commands sixty legions of demons. His powers include compelling love between men and women, revealing the secret thoughts of women, and changing human minds when a magician commands it.
Where did the description of Sitri originate?
The earliest known written account of Sitri appears in Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum of 1563. Weyer, a Dutch physician and demonologist, compiled a catalog of infernal spirits from earlier Solomonic manuscripts. In his pages, Sitri is described as a great prince who appears with a leopard’s face and bat-like wings, wearing a crown of silver. The same description carries into the Lemegeton, a collection of grimoires assembled in the seventeenth century, where Sitri occupies the twelfth position among the seventy-two Goetic spirits.
The Ars Goetia, the first book of the Lemegeton, gives the spirit an alternate name: Sytry. Some manuscripts also record the name Bitru, though modern scholarship treats Bitru as a separate spirit that became conflated. The confusion stems from scribal error and translation drift. Weyer himself spelled the name “Sytri,” and later editions of the Lesser Key of Solomon standardized it as “Sitri.”
What does the leopard’s face symbolize?
The leopard in European heraldry and bestiary tradition carried dual meaning: ferocity and stealth. A beast that stalks and pounces. But the leopard also appears in medieval representations of the sins. The leopard’s spotted coat was sometimes read as a sign of deceit, of a creature that cannot be trusted. Sitri’s face, then, suggests a spirit who approaches with intelligence and unpredictability.
The bat wings compound the symbolism. Bats are liminal creatures, neither fully bird nor beast, and in demonic iconography they signify a being that moves between realms. The crown of silver marks Sitri’s rank. Silver is the metal of the moon, associated with intuition, secrets, and the feminine. That connection maps directly onto Sitri’s purview: love, revelation, and the hidden thoughts of women.
How has Sitri been invoked in practice?
In the Solomonic tradition, the summoning of any Goetic spirit followed a rigid protocol. The magician prepared a circle inscribed with divine names, a triangle of art (a containment triangle outside the circle where the spirit must appear), and a lamen or seal representing the spirit. Sitri’s seal is a specific geometric figure: a hexagram inside a circle, with smaller symbols arranged around it. The seal would be drawn on virgin parchment, usually on a Monday (the day of the moon) or a Friday (day of Venus, for love workings).
The conjuration itself, as preserved in the seventeenth-century Lemegeton, calls Sitri by name and by his infernal titles, binding him through the authority of three high kings: Bael, Paimon, and Asmodai. The magician repeats the prayer until the spirit appears, often described as a rushing wind or a shimmering form. Sitri is counted among the spirits who will “speak willingly” of things past present and future, provided the magician does not break the circle.
Aleister Crowley included Sitri in his 1904 edition of the Goetia, adding new astrological correspondences. For Crowley, Sitri was linked to the planet Venus and the path of Samekh on the Tree of Life. Crowley’s commentary reframes the spirit as an aspect of the unconscious, a psychological force rather than an entity external to the magician. That reinterpretation remains influential among modern practitioners who work within the occult revival.
Sitri and the art of love
The practical role of Sitri in love magic is worth examining closely. The grimoires say that Sitri “causeth men and women to love one another” and also “causeth women to show their secrets.” The second clause is often overlooked. Sitri does not merely kindle affection; he also compels disclosure. A magician using Sitri could theoretically learn the hidden intentions of a potential partner, or force a rival to reveal their schemes.
This power placed Sitri in a grey area even within demonology. Love spells have always provoked debate among practitioners. Some Solomonic manuals warn against coercing love, arguing that forced affection corrupts the soul. Others treat it as a legitimate function of the art. The medieval Church condemned all forms of love magic as demonic, but the grimoires themselves seldom moralize. They simply record the method.
In practice, a ritual with Sitri might involve the magician burning incense suited to Venus (rose, sandalwood, or benzoin), dressing a candle in colors of red or pink, and reciting the conjuration while holding the seal. The goal is not to summon Sitri into full appearance but to direct his influence toward a specific person. The spirit is then dismissed with a license to depart, a closing formula that thanks the spirit and commands it to return to its habitation.
What common errors surround Sitri?
One persistent misconception is that Sitri is a demon of pure malice. The Goetic spirits are not necessarily evil in the Christian sense. They are fallen, yes, but in Solomonic magic they act as servants of the magician when bound by divine authority. Sitri can be used for destructive purposes, but the grimoires do not frame him that way by default.
Another error is confusing Sitri with Beleth, another Goetic spirit who also commands love. Beleth is a king of equal rank, but his description is different: he appears on a pale horse, preceded by trumpets. His power over love is broader, covering all genders, while Sitri’s realm is specifically between men and women. The distinction matters for the magician selecting the right spirit.
The conflation with Bitru is common in online sources. Some modern demonologists treat Sitri and Bitru as the same entity, but the original manuscripts list them separately. Bitru (or Bifrons) is the forty-sixth spirit in some versions, appearing in the shape of a monster and teaching astrology. The similarity of names may have caused a scribal merging, but historical accuracy requires keeping them distinct.
FAQ
What is Sitri’s rank in the Goetic hierarchy?
Sitri is a Great Prince, commanding sixty legions of spirits. He serves under the three infernal kings Bael, Paimon, and Asmodai.
How is Sitri depicted in grimoires?
He appears with a leopard’s face, bat-like wings, and wears a silver crown. Some sources add a human body clothed in white, but the face and wings are constant.
Can Sitri be summoned safely?
In the Solomonic tradition, any spirit can be summoned safely if the magician follows the ritual protections: a properly inscribed circle, the triangle of art, and the use of divine names for binding. Without those safeguards, no spirit is safe.
Is Sitri the same as Bitru?
No. Sitri is the twelfth spirit; Bitru (Bifrons) is the forty-sixth. The names are close but the functions and descriptions differ.
Closing
The figure of Sitri stands at the intersection of love magic, revelation, and the intricate protocol of Solomonic summoning. His leopard face and silver crown are not decorative. They encode a specific set of powers that the magician learns to navigate. For a deeper look at the other seventy-one Goetic spirits and the structure that binds them, see our demonology and Goetia hub. To understand how his seal works in ritual, read our guide to sigils in ceremonial magic. And for the full method of summoning any Goetic spirit, including the necessary prayers and bans, consult our step-by-step Ars Goetia invocation guide.