Practice · Tools · Ars Goetia
Goetic seal
The individual graphic character attached to one spirit in the catalogue and used to identify that spirit in the ritual apparatus.
What the source describes
The Sloane 3825 catalogue places a character or seal beside each of seventy-two entries. It repeatedly directs that figure to be made, shown, or worn. Peterson notes that these sigils are absent from the earlier Offices of Spirits manuscripts known to him, even though much of the catalogue's prose descends from that tradition; the seal series is therefore a feature of the Lemegeton's compilation history, not timeless evidence for Solomon's authorship.
Historical setting
The Ars Goetia is the first part of the seventeenth-century Lemegeton compilation. Its diagrams and implements belong to that textual setting; attribution to Solomon is part of the work's traditional frame, not a historical authorship claim.
Common uses
The seal identifies which spirit is being addressed and is often worn as a lamen. The text assigns slightly different conditions to particular entries—constant wear for one familiarity, display during an action for another—so 'use the seal' is not one uniform instruction across all seventy-two.
Form, materials and reconstruction
Exact line-work matters, but the witnesses do not always agree. The site's seal catalogue follows documented public-domain manuscript images rather than generating plausible occult marks. Material instructions should likewise be attached to the relevant passage: a seal may appear on a breast figure, wearable lamen, or other prepared support depending on the text.
Element: No fixed element
This source does not assign this particular instrument a fixed element. Its materials or effects should not be turned into an elemental correspondence without a named source.
Sources and variations
A spirit's character can function as a lamen, but 'seal' also names the separate Secret Seal of Solomon used on the vessel. Similar terminology is not proof that the objects are interchangeable.
Primary account used here
Lemegeton, Ars Goetia, Catalogue of the seventy-two spirits ↗
Further references
- Lemegeton: manuscript introduction ↗Places the Goetia within the larger five-part compilation and identifies the manuscripts used.
- Key of Knowledge, Add. MS. 36674 ↗A related Solomonic witness for comparing circles, instruments and ritual layout without treating the texts as identical.