8. Barbatos: 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.

Spirit 8 of the Ars Goetia is Barbatos. The 1904 edition by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley calls him a duke ruling 30 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Barbatos gives understanding of the singing of birds and the voices of other creatures, “such as the barking of Dogs.”

I read his entry in layers. The old texts come first, later additions second and modern practice last, and every part carries a label so the layers never blur.

If you came here wondering whether Barbatos suits a beginner, the short answer is in the Practical notes below: he meets the three beginner criteria I use, though his entry, like most, is mixed.

At a glance

Historical These are the facts of the entry itself, from the 1904 text and its Observations.

• Number: 8 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Barbatos in 1904; other spellings: none common.
• Rank and legions: Duke, 30 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): copper.
• Hours for dukes (Observations): “From Sunrise till Noonday in Clear Weather.”
• In Weyer’s catalog (1577): yes, as the source comparison below shows.

The Observations also say to work only when the Moon is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 days old. These rules show how the Goetia imagined its spirits, as officials with office hours. You do not need them to read the entry, and the facts table above gives the short version.

The seal (1904)

Historical The seal shown above is Barbatos’s seal as printed in the 1904 edition, in a faithful vector drawing of that public-domain printing. The Observations ask for each seal to be made in the metal of the spirit’s rank, which for Barbatos means copper. In the text’s world the seal identifies the spirit and protects the magician; several entries say it is worn on the breast as a lamen.

No two editions draw every seal the same way. The 1904 seals reflect Mathers’s reading of the manuscripts, and many modern versions online are copies of copies. If you compare, keep track of where each drawing comes from.

Modern Looking at a seal does nothing on its own; it is a drawing in an old book. Modern practitioners almost always draw seals on paper rather than casting them in metal. Copying Barbatos’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Barbatos “appeareth when the Sun is in Sagittary, with four noble Kings and their companies of great troops.” The text gives no description of his own form.

Offices in the Ars Goetia

Historical These are all the offices the 1904 text gives him, in the order it gives them.

• Gives understanding of the singing of birds and the voices of other creatures, “such as the barking of Dogs.”
• Breaks open hidden treasures laid by magicians’ enchantments.
• Knows all things past and to come.
• Reconciles friends and those in power.

He is “of the Order of Virtues, of which some part he retaineth still,” and rules 30 legions.

Offices of harm or compulsion are part of the historical record, and reporting them is not endorsing them. For how offices work across the 72, see ranks and offices.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s Weyer calls Barbatos “a great countie or earle, and also a duke,” who appears “in Signo sagittarii sylvestris,” in the sign of the woodland archer, with four kings. Weyer adds “the lowings of bullocks” to the animal voices. The remark that he keeps part of his angelic nature is in both.

Weyer’s catalog appeared in 1577 and Reginald Scot translated it into English in 1584. Comparing the two with the 1904 text shows how much the Goetia owes to them, and where it changed or added things. More in Weyer and Scot.

Later tradition

Later tradition His treasure office belongs to the early modern world of buried hoards, a real concern then.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern The line that Barbatos still retains “some part” of the order of Virtues has made him popular in modern writing as a spirit “between” angel and demon. That is a modern reading. His office of understanding animal voices is linked by some modern practitioners with nature study and work with animals.

Many modern claims about Barbatos, such as his personality, his likes and dislikes, or the idea that he chooses certain people, appear in no grimoire. They grew in modern books and online. You can read them with interest, and you can also leave them aside.

Beginner’s quick reference

Each line below is labeled by layer, so you can see how old each piece is.

• Rank metal and hours (Goetia): Duke: copper; sunrise to noon, in clear weather.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Venus.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Gemini, second decan (10 to 20 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: cinnamon.
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color green; incense sandalwood; plant ground ivy.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: he comes when the Sun is in Sagittarius, with four noble kings and their troops; birdsong and animal voices belong to his office. 777 Magical Image: the four kings and their troops. Le Breton engraving (1863): a hunter with a long gun, hunting horns sounding around him. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, sandalwood and ground ivy; one source adds catnip.

Incense means smoke. If you burn any, use a stick or cone with a window open, no charcoal indoors, and none at all in a home with pet birds or anyone with asthma. A plant listed here is a correspondence, not something to eat or burn, and a plant without a warning is not automatically safe. Modern offering lists copy one another, so “most often listed” means widely copied, not confirmed. Water, light, time or a note of thanks is always enough.

Practical notes

Barbatos is a duke, and his offices include understanding the voices of animals and reconciling friends, neither of them harmful. He fits the beginner criteria reasonably well. A question about learning to observe birds or nature would suit him. I do not teach treasure-finding, and his office of gaining favor with “those that be in Power” should not be used to influence particular people.

The beginner criteria I use have three parts: the spirit is not a king, at least one office is teaching, and the entry does not center on harm, deception or compulsion. In the directory, Barbatos is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Barbatos with other spirits of his rank, read Valefor and Gusion. Dukes are the largest group in the Goetia. The 1904 Classified List counts 23 of them, and their offices range from teaching languages to causing storms. A duke sits below kings and princes in the court the text imagines, and in the Observations dukes have the shortest hours: from sunrise to noon, in clear weather.

How to study this entry

If Barbatos interests you, start with study. These steps work for any of the 72.

1. Read the offices above in order and write each one in your own words.
2. Compare the 1904 wording with Scot’s English in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (Book 15, chapter 2), which is free to read online.
3. Copy the seal by hand, slowly, and note anything you missed at first glance.
4. Keep a two-column log: what the text says on the left, and what you have read online or feel about it on the right.

Then go back to all 72 spirits and read a neighbor or two. The entries make more sense side by side than alone.