I shall give a sort of evaluation on the Goetia as the header suggests; most occultists, especially beginners or wannabe practitioners think a great deal of the Goetia, but the truth is that there are much more applicable ways of going about achieving one’s desires as a magician; don’t get me wrong, the Goetia has great spirits that one can work with, but there are a number of misconceptions.
1. The Goetia only contains demons; WRONG- more than a few of the spirits mentioned in the Goetia are pagan Gods. e.g. Vassago, Bael.
2. The information in the Goetia is 100% correct; WRONG- more than a few spirits have attributes assigned to them that are incorrect, e.g. Bael’s so called “invisibility”, not to mention being able to see into the past, present & future- this is meant in a metaphorical or better said occult manner– NOT literally. As a matter of fact, a good deal of those attributes or specialties are deliberately incorrect as a means of “testing” the operator- only those that possess the skill, wisdom & insightfulness and can withstand the errors He / She makes through experience and trial and error will see past the misdirection & uncover the truth of things.
3. One must have all the implements as described; WRONG- a number of the items described were mentioned in a metaphorical or figurative sense, but not to be taken literally; besides, implements are necessary primarily within the scope or limits of traditional Magick– practicing Magick in a modern context is more practical, especially to the average person.
4. The spirits mentioned are parts of the brain; WRONG- See here.
These are a few notable points that I addressed, and aside from the Goetic spirits mentioned above, I have worked with Paimon, Agares and Bune too. So plenty of experience in dealing with the Goetia to say the least (see the playlist below). Again, these guys are good for work, but I still generally choose the Archangels over them, and spirits mentioned in other grimoires, like The order of the pentacles, e.g. Bariel or Parasiel. These guys pack quite a punch. But for the last time, don’t write the Goetia off- Belial is one of those that I hold dear to my heart, as well as Lucifer from the Grimorium Verum.
Goetic spirits I’ve covered below
* Let it be noted that the Goetia to my knowledge has no celestial spirits; only infernal & pagan spirits.
See these interesting articles/videos as well regarding the other Magickal systems of the Lesser key of Solomon / Goetia:
- https://morinoravenberg.com/en/2019/04/06/theurgia-goetia-analysis/
- https://morinoravenberg.com/en/2019/05/11/the-bornless-ritual/
- https://morinoravenberg.com/en/2023/04/25/refining-my-levels-of-clairvoyance-with-barbatos/
- https://morinoravenberg.com/en/2024/03/30/the-forgotten-spirits-of-the-goetia/
* A search query on my website for the word “Goetia” also yields interesting results: https://morinoravenberg.com/en/page/4/?s=Goetia
Fixing an error regarding the Goetia
I noticed something when having the Goetia translated into other (non-English) languages; the 69th spirit, Decarbia, has the same seal/sigil as the Goetic spirit Seere- now, before I continue, I need to state that I’m not aware of any other editorial versions of the Goetia being present that might have rectified this issue already (I don’t think so, and honestly don’t care all too much). This article & corresponding video is to provide people with a valid seal for Decarbia that they can use. See here for the seal I got from Decarbia Himself.
Why is the Goetia so popular?
You might ask or wonder the above; why is it so popular? Why do people aim so heavily at this magickal workbook? What’s the near obsession with this grimoire…
Answer(s), plain and simple are ignorance, unintelligency, inexperience and an overall lack of a sound mind, so to speak. People that have an interest in this occult workbook are prone to these flaws. The Goetia is one of the main & first documents occult enthusiasts come into contact with, and the aforementioned factors make it so that they go all celebrity crush on it, and exaggeratedly overglorify it, not to mention the fact that pop media e.g. movies, media and related also succumb to the prior nonsense which only fuels the “crazy mob mentality”. Unsurprisingly, as I can relatively easily sense (but of course don’t guarantee), this trend has been the case for metaphorical ages now. As far back as you look, people have had this attitude towards it.
Needless to say, any serious, real magician that has a decent amount of experience knows that there is much more to occult workbooks present in the world than only the Goetia (no offense meant obv.). Lastly, I do need to point out that one can easily fall into this popularity trap under general conditions- I myself also as a beginner consulted the Goetia as one of my main go-to grimoires but more out of convenience than having to look further for other sources.
