The so-called Goetia* demons**, a catalog of spirits found in many Western grimoires, represent a blend of influences from Judeo-Christian and Arabic traditions to European folklore. 

The range of powers attributed to these spirits is diverse and extensive. It covers healing, transformation, alchemical knowledge, wisdom, influence, protection, and much more. Far from being “evil entities”, their powers can bring insight and assistance to those who understand their nature and approach them with respect.

Over time, perceptions of these entities have shifted—early practitioners viewed them as angelic or morally neutral, sometimes calling them “spirits” and sometimes calling them “intelligences”. Later cultural shifts in Europe would see them grouped into firm categories of either “beneficial” or “malevolent”; and even later cultural shifts would see them all recast as the ruling nobility of Hell. Pop culture representations of them still bear the marks of this 16th-century invention. Yet in contemporary occult practice, many have continued to see them as potential guides, offering lessons in self-empowerment and understanding.

The Goetia demons are typically ordered in a hierarchy of medieval nobility, with titles such as Kings, Dukes, and Marquises. Here, they are additionally divided into four courts, each corresponding to a cardinal direction and led by one of the four "cardinal rulers": 

The Eastern court is led by ORIENS

The Southern court is led by AMAYMON

The Western court is led by PAYMON

The Northern court is led by EGIN

This classification is inspired by "The Book of the Offices of Spirits" (written in the 16th-17th century in Italy or Germany). However, "Offices" groups the demons by their ability to perform certain tasks or provide types of knowledge, apparently without regard for their astrological or elemental signifiers. This site hopes to group the demons according to astrological correspondences, derived from:

1. Planetary correspondences in "The Greater Key of Solomon"

2. Attributions of decans and lunar mansions in the "Picatrix" and Agrippa's "Three Books of Occult Philosophy"

3. Correspondences of fixed stars attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, found in Marsilio Ficino's "Three Books on Life", Agrippa's "Three Books", and the medieval document BM Bodleian MS 52.***

I've continued the convention from "Offices" of calling the directional courts the "courts of the four winds", and have called the cardinal rulers the "King (or Queen) of the X wind".****

If you’re familiar with the demons from "Pseudomonarchia Daemonum" or from "The Lesser Key of Solomon", you’ll notice a few other changes here as well: 

1. You won’t find any Princes or Marquises of Hell on this site, because I don’t believe in Hell, and therefore don’t believe it has much to do with these “demons”, who are more precisely identified as elemental entities, tutelary deities, and the occasional ancient god or goddess.

2. I have chosen to use female pronouns for demons with female appearances, a departure from Renaissance texts where all Goetia demons were traditionally identified as male.***** Luckily, it’s no longer the Renaissance, and I have no such constraints.

3. I’ve removed subjective adjectives like "mighty" or "monstrous" from the demons' descriptions, opting instead for straightforward characterizations based on their forms.

 4. I’ve excluded certain descriptors that signify planetary correspondences******: these descriptors are useful for the demons’ organization, but don’t necessarily help to illustrate them clearly. 

5. I’ve translated the power of “invisibility” to mean “the subtlety to survive in dangerous situations,” as my reading suggests that it refers more to this concept than to literal acts of vanishing.

6. I’ve translated the rank of “President” as the rank of “Headmaster”, since “President” in the original texts refers more precisely to the president of a university. This could also have been translated as “Rector”, but I preferred a title that emphasized their tutelary qualities. 

Finally, to make the demons easier to find, I’ve used the same names for them as in "The Lesser Key of Solomon" (except for demons like Egin, which don’t appear in "Lesser Key".)

By making these changes, I aim to offer a fresh perspective that makes the Goetia catalog easier to remember, navigate, and work with. Whether you’re a newcomer or an experienced practitioner, I hope this site can serve as a helpful resource along your infernal journey. 

— Cleo Varra

*”Goetia” in the middle ages came to mean “the opposite of magic deemed acceptable by the Church— the opposite of theurgy”. It may derive from a Greek word meaning “to groan, to weep”, signifying the burial rites which could either send a spirit away— or bring it back. "The Lesser Key of Solomon" (16th-17th century) was the first to popularize the term "Goetia" within demonological/ceremonial magic. 

**Whom I call demons only for the SEO.

***All credit to David Crowhurst for exploring this ordering system in his excellent book "Stellas Daimonum". 

****Referring to the cardinal rulers as the "King or Queen of the X wind" may be influenced by the "Shams al-Ma'arif" (circa 1200), which describes four djinn "Kings of the air." 

*****The reason why Goetia demons are depicted as male in the grimoires may be linked to several societal influences:

- European demonology during this period was heavily shaped by patriarchal views, with demons often modeled as figures of power and authority, reflecting traits traditionally associated with masculinity.

- Male spirits were seen as more fitting for commanding roles, aligning with the hierarchical structure of “nobility” found in texts like the "Ars Goetia" and "Pseudomonarchia Daemonum".

- Gender in these grimoires also follows older mythological and mystical traditions, where divine or supernatural beings are often gendered based on roles. Male spirits are usually aligned with action, conflict, or command—qualities relevant for sorcerers invoking them for control or manipulation. This trend is also visible in earlier magical traditions and medieval angelology, where hierarchical beings were predominantly male-coded.

******Ex. when someone “speaks in a hoarse voice”, that signifies saturnal qualities.