Goetic Demons

From the Lesser Key of Solomon and beyond a who’s-who of demons developed into a standardized catalog. The number varies but it’s usually 72 (the same number as cards in the tarot and nodes in the Kabbala’s Tree of Life). There’s some minor differences in the lists…different inclusions, different names, different powers and details, but there’s enough similarity in the lists that a reasonably standard list of goetic demons exists today. 

Unless you’re into ritual magic, reading through the Goetia isn’t much fun. It’s a long list of “this demon is associated with this astrological sign, can be conjured either at this place or this time, and offers these abilities.” Rather than a list of colorful personalities like the Greek Gods, most of the Goetia are just magic spells wrapped in some basic descriptive text that could have been procedurally generated by an app. There are a few exceptions! But in general while the Goetia contains some of the better-known demons, it’s also got a lot of filler. 

One concept to look for: ghosts. Because of scribal error, intentional duplication, or legends that separated or grew together, there’s some duplication within the Goetia and in less name-brand demons (Stratton-Kent, Pandemonium.) 

Most of the weird and colorful depictions of the Goetic demons come from the 19th century Dictionniare Infernal and are more informed by the whimsy of its artist, Le Breton, than 16th century source material. 

We won’t be listing all the Goetia here, that’s what the internet is for, but will touch on a few highlights.