48. Haagenti: 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.

Haagenti is spirit 48 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 president ruling 33 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Haagenti makes men wise and instructs them in divers things.

He is the catalog’s alchemist, and his entry shares its offices almost word for word with a king’s. 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:

Haagenti. The Forty-eighth Spirit is Haagenti. He is a President, appearing in the Form of a Mighty Bull with Gryphon’s Wings. This is at first, but after, at the Command of the Exorcist he putteth on Human Shape. His Office is to make Men wise, and to instruct them in divers things; also to Transmute all Metals into Gold; and to change Wine into Water, and Water into Wine. He governeth 33 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is this, etc.

Haagenti appears as “a Mighty Bull with Gryphon’s Wings” and then as a man. His offices move from the mind to matter: “to make Men wise, and to instruct them in divers things; also to Transmute all Metals into Gold; and to change Wine into Water, and Water into Wine.” “Divers” means various. The same bull with gryphon’s wings, and the same changes of wine and water, appear in the entry of Zagan (61), a king.

Appearance

Historical Haagenti appears “in the Form of a Mighty Bull with Gryphon’s Wings,” and later, at the magician’s command, in human shape.

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Makes men wise and instructs them in divers things.
• Transmutes all metals into gold.
• Changes wine into water, and water into wine.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Weyer, in Scot’s English, gives “Haagenti” as “a great president, appearing like a great bull, having the wings of a griphen,” who in human shape “maketh a man wise in everie thing,” changes metals into gold, and changes “wine and water the one into the other.”

He “commandeth as manie legions as Zagan,” which is 33. There are no significant differences.

Historical Weyer’s Latin says he makes a man “ingeniosum in quibuslibet”, clever in anything at all, and turns “cuncta metalla in aurum”, all metals into gold. For his legions Weyer gives no number, only “Tot legionibus imperat, quot Zagan”, he commands as many legions as Zagan. The Goetia turns this cross-reference into 33. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical Weyer and Scot spell the name Haagenti, as the 1904 text does. No meaning is known.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Haagenti’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 Some see the water and wine office as a reversal or parody of the miracle at Cana. That interpretation is modern.

Modern Haagenti’s offices recall the alchemical tradition of transmutation, and modern writers often present him as a spirit of alchemy, both literal and spiritual.

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

Practical notes

Haagenti is a president whose first office is making people wise. He fits the beginner criteria for a question about study and learning. His alchemical offices are best explored as history. Never drink anything prepared on the basis of a ritual “answer.”

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

Try this: one question to study

Lay Haagenti’s entry beside Zagan’s and mark every phrase they share. Then decide whether one was copied from the other.

What next

To compare Haagenti with other spirits of his rank, read Camio and Malphas.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Haagenti is the night spirit of the third decan of Cancer, which belongs to the Four of Cups; the day spirit of the same decan is Sitri (spirit 12).