50. Furcas: the knight 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 50 of the Ars Goetia is Furcas. The 1904 edition by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley calls him a knight ruling 20 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Furcas teaches philosophy, astrology, rhetoric, logic, cheiromancy (palmistry), and pyromancy (divination by fire), “in all their parts, and perfectly.”

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 Furcas 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: 50 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Furcas in 1904; other spellings: Forcas (sometimes confused with Foras, 31).
• Rank and legions: Knight, 20 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): lead.
• Hours for knights (Observations): “From Dawning of Day till Sunrise, or from 4 o’clock till Sunset.”
• 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 Furcas’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 Furcas means lead. 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. Lead, the metal of knights, is toxic: do not cast, cut or handle it. Copying Furcas’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Furcas “appeareth in the Form of a Cruel Old Man with a long Beard and a hoary Head, riding upon a pale-coloured Horse, with a Sharp Weapon in his hand.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Teaches philosophy, astrology, rhetoric, logic, cheiromancy (palmistry), and pyromancy (divination by fire), “in all their parts, and perfectly.”

He has 20 legions. He is the only knight among the 72.

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 In Scot’s English, Weyer gives “Furcas” as “a knight,” “in the similitude of a cruell man, with a long beard and a hoarie head,” on a pale horse with a sharp weapon, who “perfectlie teacheth practike philosophie, rhetorike, logike, astronomie, chiromancie, pyromancie, and their parts.” Weyer has astronomy, the Goetia astrology. In the early modern period the two words overlapped. Both give 20 legions.

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 As the only knight, Furcas is the only spirit whose seal the Observations assign to lead (see Rank rules).

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Modern writers often connect him with Saturn and with discipline in study.

Many modern claims about Furcas, 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): Knight: lead (toxic; never handle it); dawn to sunrise, or 4 p.m. to sunset.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Venus. This differs from the rank rule and from 777’s usual pattern for a knight, which would give Saturn, the planet of lead. This is how the 1909 printing gives it.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Leo, second decan (10 to 20 degrees); night spirit. 777 decan incense: “Lyn Balsami” (unidentified).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color black; incense myrrh; plant cinquefoil.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a cruel old man with a long beard and white hair, on a pale horse, with a sharp weapon. 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, cinquefoil and myrrh; one source lists tea, honey, salt, money, chocolate cake, and red wine. Chocolate and alcohol are toxic to pets, and alcohol is for adults only.

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

Furcas fits the beginner criteria well. He is a knight, the lowest rank, and his offices are philosophy, rhetoric, logic, and forms of divination. A question about how to study logic or philosophy would suit a first contact. If you practice pyromancy, watching flames, keep the flame in a safe holder, never leave it alone, and keep children and pets away.

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, Furcas is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Furcas with other spirits of his rank, read Crocell and Haagenti. Furcas is the only knight among the 72, the lowest noble rank in the court the text imagines. The Observations give knights lead, the metal of Saturn, and hours at dawn or late in the afternoon.

How to study this entry

If Furcas 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.