22. Ipos: an earl and prince 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.

Ipos is number 22 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 an earl and prince ruling 36 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Ipos knows all things past, present, and to come.

Here I go through his entry layer by layer: the old text first, then what later centuries added, then modern practice, each part labeled so you can see how old it is.

If you came here wondering whether Ipos 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: 22 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Ipos in 1904; other spellings: Ipes, Ayporos (Weyer, Scot), Ayperos.
• Rank and legions: Earl and Prince, 36 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): copper and silver (as earl) or tin (as prince); two ranks.
• Hours for earls (Observations): “Any hour of the Day, so it be in Woods, or in any other places whither men resort not, or where no noise is.”
• Hours for princes (Observations): “Any hour of the Day.”
• 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. Ipos holds two ranks, and the text does not say which rule applies to him. 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 Ipos’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 Ipos means copper and silver or tin. 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.

Seals are not identical from one source to the next. The 1904 versions follow the manuscripts Mathers used, and later books and websites sometimes redraw, simplify or mix them. If two seals for the same spirit disagree, ask which edition each one follows.

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 Ipos’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Ipos “appeareth in the form of an Angel with a Lion’s Head, and a Goose’s Foot, and Hare’s Tail.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Knows all things past, present, and to come.
• Makes men witty and bold.

He governs 36 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 Scot’s Weyer has “Ipos, alias Ayporos,” “a great earle and a prince,” in the shape of an angel, “and yet indeed more obscure and filthie than a lion,” with a lion’s head, goose’s feet, and a hare’s tail. Weyer’s added description is less flattering. The offices and legions match.

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 Nothing of note was added to this spirit between the grimoires and the twentieth century.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Ipos’s office of making people “witty and bold” has made him a modern favorite for confidence and quick thinking. His composite form, angel with lion’s head and animal parts, is a frequent subject in modern art.

Some things said about Ipos online are not in any grimoire at all: personalities, favorite foods, signs that a spirit has “picked” someone, or birth demons. They come from modern writing and social media. Treat them as one person’s experience, not as facts about the old text.

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): As earl: copper and silver; any hour of the day, in woods or other quiet places. As prince: tin; any hour of the day. The text does not say which rule applies.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Mars. This differs from 777’s usual pattern for an earl and prince, which would give Mars and Jupiter. This is how the 1909 printing gives it.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Scorpio, first decan (0 to 10 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: opoponax.
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color blue (sometimes with red); incense cedar; plant sandalwood.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: an angel with a lion’s head, a goose’s feet, and a hare’s tail. 777 Magical Image: the same, but with a horse’s tail. Le Breton engraving (1863): a long-necked bird’s head on a shaggy body, with claws and bird’s feet. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, cedar and sandalwood.

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

Ipos is an earl and prince, not a king. His offices are divination and wit, with no harm. He fits the beginner criteria reasonably well for a question about your own learning or confidence. Boldness is best built through practice in ordinary life.

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, Ipos is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Ipos with other spirits of his rank, read Marax and Furfur. Earls, or counts, are a group of ten in the 1904 Classified List, and most of them hold a second rank as well. The Observations give them two metals, copper and silver, “alike equal,” and ask that they be worked in woods or quiet places where no one goes.

How to study this entry

Studying Ipos needs only the texts, a notebook and some patience. This is the method I suggest for every entry.

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.