52. Alloces: a duke of the Ars Goetia

How to read the labels Historical what the old sources say. Later tradition what later writers added. Modern modern practice and my own notes.

Alloces is number 52 in the catalog of 72 spirits that opens the Lesser Key of Solomon. The 1904 edition by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley calls him a duke ruling 36 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Alloces teaches the art of astronomy and all the liberal sciences.

He looks like a red-faced warrior and teaches astronomy, one of the clearest contrasts of form and office in the book. Each part below carries a label for its layer, explained in how to read a spirit page.

At a glance

The 1904 entry

Historical The full entry from the 1904 edition, with footnote numbers and the dash after the heading left out and the heading set in ordinary type:

Alloces. The Fifty-second Spirit is Alloces, or Alocas. He is a Duke, Great, Mighty, and Strong, appearing in the Form of a Soldier riding upon a Great Horse. His Face is like that of a Lion, very Red, and having Flaming Eyes. His Speech is hoarse and very big. His Office is to teach the Art of Astronomy, and all the Liberal Sciences. He bringeth unto thee Good Familiars; also he ruleth over 36 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, which, etc.

Alloces appears as “a Soldier riding upon a Great Horse”. “His Face is like that of a Lion, very Red, and having Flaming Eyes. His Speech is hoarse and very big.” Mathers marked “very big” with a note that it is “Thus expressed in the Codices”, flagging the odd phrase without changing it. The office follows: “to teach the Art of Astronomy, and all the Liberal Sciences”, and he brings “Good Familiars”.

Appearance

Historical Alloces appears “in the Form of a Soldier riding upon a Great Horse. His Face is like that of a Lion, very Red, and having Flaming Eyes. His Speech is hoarse and very big.” Mathers notes that “very big” is “thus expressed in the Codices.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

Historical The offices of Alloces, in the order the 1904 text gives them:

• Teaches the art of astronomy and all the liberal sciences.
• Brings good familiars.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s Weyer gives “Allocer” as “a strong duke and a great,” like a soldier on a great horse, with a lion’s face, “verie red, and with flaming eies,” who “speaketh with a big voice,” makes a man “woonderfull in astronomie, and in all the liberall sciences,” and brings good familiars. Both give 36 legions.

Historical Weyer’s Latin has “facies eius leonina, rubicunda valde cum oculis flammeis”, his face lion-like, very ruddy, with flaming eyes, and “graviter loquitur”, he speaks heavily or deeply, which may be the origin of “very big”. He makes a man “admirabilem in astronomia & in omnibus artibus liberalibus”, admirable in astronomy and all the liberal arts. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical Weyer writes Alocer, Scot Allocer, and the 1904 text Alloces or Alocas. No meaning is known.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Alloces’s as printed in 1904, and by the rules of the Observations it would be made in copper, the metal of his rank. Why seals were worn, why editions draw them differently and how to study one are explained in seals, circle and triangle.

Later tradition Le Breton’s 1863 plate, titled Alocer, shows a fierce bearded rider in a horned and plumed helmet, swinging a spiked flail on an armoured horse.

Later tradition and modern practice

Modern Modern writers often recommend Alloces to students, following his teaching office. His fierce appearance and scholarly offices make a striking contrast, one that modern writers sometimes use to argue that appearance in the Goetia says little about function.

Lore about Alloces’s personality, likes or chosen people is modern, not grimoire material; modern approaches explains where such claims come from.

Beginner’s quick reference

Before you burn or handle anything listed for Alloces, read incense, plants and offerings.

Practical notes

Alloces fits the beginner criteria well. He is a duke, and his offices center on astronomy and the liberal sciences, with no office of harm. A question about your studies would suit a first contact.

In the directory, Alloces is one of the 30 spirits that fit the beginner criteria.

Try this: one question to study

Weyer’s “graviter loquitur” becomes “hoarse and very big”. Find two other entries where Weyer’s voice and the Goetia’s voice differ, such as Vual (47).

What next

To compare Alloces with other spirits of his rank, read Murmur and Crocell.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Alloces is the night spirit of the first decan of Virgo, which belongs to the Eight of Pentacles; the day spirit of the same decan is Zepar (spirit 16).