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”.
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.
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. 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.