10. Buer: a president 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.

Buer is number 10 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 president ruling 50 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Buer teaches philosophy, both moral and natural.

He is one of the clearest teaching spirits in the catalog, with offices in philosophy, logic and the study of plants. 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:

Buer. The Tenth Spirit is Buer, a Great President. He appeareth in Sagittary, and that is his shape when the Sun is there. He teaches Philosophy, both Moral and Natural, and the Logic Art, and also the Virtues of all Herbs and Plants. He healeth all distempers in man, and giveth good Familiars. He governeth 50 Legions of Spirits, and his Character of obedience is this, which thou must wear when thou callest him forth unto appearance.

Buer “appeareth in Sagittary, and that is his shape when the Sun is there”, a confusing sentence that only makes sense when Weyer is read beside it. His offices are teaching philosophy “both Moral and Natural”, logic and “the Virtues of all Herbs and Plants”, healing “all distempers in man” and giving good familiars. “Distempers” meant illnesses thought to arise from an imbalance of the bodily humours.

Appearance

Historical Buer “appeareth in Sagittary, and that is his shape when the Sun is there.” The text seems to mean the shape of the sign, the centaur archer, though it does not say so.

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Teaches philosophy, both moral and natural.
• Teaches the art of logic.
• Teaches the virtues of all herbs and plants.
• Heals all distempers in man.
• Gives good familiars.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s Weyer says Buer “is seene in this signe,” referring back to Sagittarius in the previous entry for Barbatos. He “absolutelie teacheth philosophie morall and naturall, and also logicke, and the vertue of herbes,” gives “the best familiars,” and “can heale all diseases, speciallie of men.” The Goetia is a close copy.

Historical Weyer’s Latin says he is seen “in signo” followed by a star symbol in the printed text, probably a sign that was lost. Scot wrote “in this signe”, and the Goetia filled the gap with Sagittarius, probably borrowed from Barbatos just above. Weyer also lists “philosophiam, practicam, ethica item et logica” and says he restores the sick to health, “maxime homines”, especially people. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical No meaning is known for Buer, and the spelling is the same in Weyer, Scot and the 1904 text.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Buer’s as printed in 1904, and by the rules of the Observations it would be made in mercury, the metal of his rank. Mercury is toxic, so a modern copy belongs on paper. Why seals were worn, why editions draw them differently and how to study one are explained in seals, circle and triangle.

Later tradition and modern practice

Later tradition Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal shows Buer as a lion’s head surrounded by five goat legs, arranged like a wheel. This striking image is the illustrator’s invention, not the Goetia’s description.

Modern Modern practitioners often approach Buer for help with herbal study and health. Remember that his “healing” office is a claim in a seventeenth-century text. It is not medicine.

Lore about Buer’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 Buer, read incense, plants and offerings.

Practical notes

Buer fits the beginner criteria well. He is a president, not a king, and his offices center on philosophy, logic, and the study of plants. A question about how to approach the study of ethics, logic, or botany would suit a first contact.

Do not use contact work in place of medical care, and never take an herb internally on the basis of an “answer” from practice. Check any plant with reliable sources and, where health is concerned, a doctor or pharmacist.

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

Try this: one question to study

Read Buer’s 1904 line about Sagittary next to Weyer’s “in signo” and explain to yourself how a missing symbol became a zodiac sign.

What next

To compare Buer with other spirits of his rank, read Marbas and Botis.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Buer is the day spirit of the first decan of Cancer, which belongs to the Two of Cups; the night spirit of the same decan is Bifrons (spirit 46).