18. Bathin: 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.

Bathin is spirit 18 of the 72 in the Ars Goetia, the first book of the Lesser Key of Solomon. 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: Bathin knows the virtues of herbs and precious stones.

On this page I read his entry the way I read every spirit, layer by layer. First comes what the old texts say, then what later writers added, then what modern practitioners do, each with a label so you can always tell which is which.

If you came here wondering whether Bathin 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: 18 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Bathin in 1904; other spellings: Bathym (1904 list), Mathim (Weyer, Scot), Marthim.
• 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 Bathin’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 Bathin 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.

Seals differ between manuscripts and editions. The 1904 drawings follow the manuscripts as Mathers read them, and other editions, websites, jewelry and tattoos often show different versions. When you compare two seals, note which edition each comes from before deciding which is “right.”

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 Bathin’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Bathin “appeareth like a Strong Man with the tail of a Serpent, sitting upon a Pale-coloured [Horse?].” Mathers added “horse” in brackets because the word is missing or unclear in the manuscripts; Crowley notes that “the Quartos have ‘ass.’”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Knows the virtues of herbs and precious stones.
• Can transport men suddenly from one country to another.

He 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 Weyer, in Scot’s English, gives “Bathin, sometimes called Mathim,” “a great duke and a strong,” a very strong man with a serpent’s tail on a pale horse, who understands “the vertues of hearbs and pretious stones” and transfers “men suddenlie from countrie to countrie.” There are no significant differences. The 1904 rank list spells him Bathim.

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 The entry passed into later books largely unchanged.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Bathin’s office of transporting people has made him popular in modern writing about travel, astral projection, and safe journeys. These are modern applications. His knowledge of herbs and stones links him, in modern practice, with crystal and herbal study.

What you will not find in any grimoire: a personality, a favorite color or food, signs that he has “chosen” you, or a birth chart that makes him your spirit. Those ideas come from modern books, forums and social media. They can be meaningful to the people who use them, but they are not history, and none of them is something you have to believe.

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): Virgo, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: “Mastick.”
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color green; incense sandalwood; plant mistletoe (reported in some sources; toxic: do not burn, ingest, or handle).
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a strong man with a serpent’s tail, on a pale horse. 777 Magical Image: the same image. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, sandalwood; one source adds frankincense and a little soil.

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

Bathin is a duke whose offices are knowledge of herbs and stones and transport. He fits the beginner criteria for a question about the study of plants or minerals. Do not take herbs or handle stones in unsafe ways on the basis of anything received in practice. Some minerals are toxic, and some “crystal elixirs” are dangerous to drink.

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, Bathin is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Bathin with other spirits of his rank, read Sallos and Zepar. 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

You can learn a great deal about Bathin without any ritual at all. These are the steps I suggest for any spirit.

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.