26. Bune: 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 26 of the Ars Goetia is Bune. 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: Bune changes the place of the dead.

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 Bune suits a beginner, the short answer is in the Practical notes below: he does not meet the three beginner criteria I use, and I explain why.

At a glance

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

• Number: 26 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Bune in 1904; other spellings: Bime, Bim (1904).
• 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 Bune’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 Bune 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 Bune’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Bune appears “in the form of a Dragon with three heads, one like a Dog, one like a Gryphon, and one like a Man.” He speaks “with a high and comely Voice.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Changes the place of the dead. Reported as history; not taught here.
• Causes the spirits under him to gather on graves (“your Sepulchres”). Reported as history; not taught here.
• Gives riches to a man and makes him wise and eloquent.
• Gives true answers to demands.

He governs 30 legions.

The 1904 edition prints two seals for Bune and notes that “the last is the best.” Mathers’ text says: “He hath another Seal (which is the first of these, but the last is the best).”

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 also has Bune as a duke with a dragon’s form and three heads, who moves the dead and gives riches, wisdom, and eloquence. The offices match closely. Both give 30 legions. On the two seals, Sloane 3825 says the opposite of the 1904 text: “the first is best as Salomon saith.”

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 text gives riches as one office among several, and it places it beside offices concerning the dead and graves.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Bune is one of the most popular Goetic spirits in modern practice, because of the office of giving riches. Many online sources present him as a spirit of wealth and financial success. That emphasis is modern. The two seals have produced debate among modern practitioners about which to use. The 1904 note favors the second.

Many modern claims about Bune, 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): Sagittarius, second decan (10 to 20 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: “Foi Lori” (unidentified).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color green; incense sandalwood; plant orange (toxic to cats).
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a dragon with three heads (a dog’s, a gryphon’s, and a man’s); a high, pleasing voice. 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 and angelica; one writer keeps a small handmade doll on the altar.

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

Bune is a duke, and his offices of wisdom and eloquence match the teaching part of the beginner criteria. His office concerning the dead and graves is not one I teach. Do not disturb graves or cemeteries in any way. His wealth office is the reason for his online fame, but I do not promise or teach financial results. If you choose Bune, frame your question around wisdom or clear speech, not money. Financial worries belong with practical help, and debt advice services exist in most countries.

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, Bune is not among the 31 spirits that fit, because the entry as a whole goes beyond teaching.

To compare Bune with other spirits of his rank, read Berith and Aim. 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 Bune 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.