14. Leraje: a marquis 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 14 of the Ars Goetia is Leraje. The 1904 edition by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley calls him a marquis ruling 30 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Leraje causes all great battles and contests.

His entry is short, martial and tied to a sign of the zodiac in a way that has puzzled readers for a long time. 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:

Leraje, or Leraikha. The Fourteenth Spirit is called Leraje (or Leraie). He is a Marquis Great in Power, showing himself in the likeness of an Archer clad in Green, and carrying a Bow and Quiver. He causeth all great Battles and Contests; and maketh wounds to putrefy that are made with Arrows by Archers. This belongeth unto Sagittary. He governeth 30 Legions of Spirits, and this is his Seal, etc.

The heading offers three spellings, “Leraje, or Leraikha” and Leraie. He appears as “an Archer clad in Green” with bow and quiver. His offices are causing “all great Battles and Contests” and making arrow wounds putrefy, that is, fester. The sentence “This belongeth unto Sagittary” stands alone and seems to be a reader’s note that entered the text, linking the archer to the zodiac archer.

Appearance

Historical Leraje shows himself “in the likeness of an Archer clad in Green, and carrying a Bow and Quiver.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Causes all great battles and contests.
• Makes wounds made with arrows by archers putrefy. Reported as history; not taught here.

The entry says, “This belongeth unto Sagittary.” He governs 30 legions.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s Weyer has “Leraie, alias Oray,” “a great marquesse,” a “galant archer” with bow and quiver, “author of all battels,” who putrefies arrow wounds. Weyer adds a Latin phrase, “Quos optimos objicit tribus diebus,” which seems to mean he inflicts the worst of them for three days. The green clothing is not in Scot. Both give 30 legions.

Historical Weyer calls him “Loray, aliàs Oray” and describes “sagittarii pulcherrimi”, a most handsome archer, with no mention of green. The Latin then has a phrase that even Scot left untranslated, “quos optimos obijcit tribus diebus”, roughly “whom he throws out as the best within three days”. The Goetia drops it and adds the green clothing and the Sagittarius note. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical The spellings Loray, Oray, Leraie and Leraikha have no agreed meaning. The ending -ikha looks like a later scribal form.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Leraje’s as printed in 1904, and by the rules of the Observations it would be made in silver, the metal of his rank. 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 The archer image links Leraje to Sagittarius, the archer sign, and the text itself makes that link.

Modern Some modern writers connect him with competition, sport, and conflict resolution, a modern softening of “causeth all great Battles.”

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

Practical notes

Leraje’s offices are battle and festering wounds. He falls outside the beginner criteria, and I do not teach any practice concerning conflict or injury.

In the directory, Leraje is not among the 30 spirits that fit the beginner criteria.

Try this: one question to study

Read the untranslated Latin phrase about “three days” and write two possible meanings, marking both as guesses.

What next

To compare Leraje with other spirits of his rank, read Amon and Samigina.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Leraje is the day spirit of the second decan of Leo, which belongs to the Six of Wands; the night spirit of the same decan is Furcas (spirit 50).