41. Focalor: 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 41 of the Ars Goetia is Focalor. 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: Focalor slays men and drowns them in the waters.

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 Focalor 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: 41 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Focalor in 1904; other spellings: Forcalor, Furcalor (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 Focalor’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 Focalor 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 Focalor’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Focalor “appeareth in the Form of a Man with Gryphon’s Wings.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Slays men and drowns them in the waters. Reported as history; not taught here.
• Overthrows ships of war. Reported as history; not taught here.
• Has power over both winds and seas.

“But he will not hurt any man or thing if he be commanded to the contrary by the Exorcist.” He “hath hopes to return to the Seventh Throne after 1,000 years” and governs 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 The Weyer catalog, as Scot renders it, gives “Focalor” as “a great duke comming foorth as a man, with wings like a griphen,” who “killeth men, and drowneth them in the waters, and overturneth ships of warre.” If bidden to hurt no one, “he willinglie consenteth thereto.” Weyer says he hopes to return after 1,000 years, “but he is deceived,” a sharp remark the Goetia drops. Scot gives 3 legions, a mistranslation of Weyer’s triginta (thirty). Several Goetia manuscripts follow Scot; Mathers prints 30 and notes that “three is given instead of 30 in several Codices.”

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 No later tradition beyond the sources above is attached to this spirit.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Focalor’s entry is often cited in modern writing for its clause about refraining from harm when commanded. Some modern practitioners connect him with the sea and with protection on water.

Many modern claims about Focalor, 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): Taurus, second decan (10 to 20 degrees); night spirit. 777 decan incense: “Codamoms” (unidentified).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color green; incense sandalwood; plant wild rose.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a man with a gryphon’s wings. 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 wild rose.

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

Focalor’s main offices are killing and drowning. He falls outside the beginner criteria, and I do not teach those offices. If you are traveling by water, follow ordinary safety guidance.

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, Focalor is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Focalor with other spirits of his rank, read Vepar and Vual. 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 Focalor 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.