21. Marax: an earl and 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.

Marax is spirit 21 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 an earl and president ruling 30 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Marax makes men “very knowing in Astronomy, and all other Liberal Sciences.”

On this page I read his entry the way I read every spirit, layer by layer. First comes what the old texts say, then what later writers added, then what modern practitioners do, each with a label so you can always tell which is which.

If you came here wondering whether Marax 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: 21 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Marax in 1904; other spellings: Morax (Weyer, Scot, some codices), Foraii (Weyer, Scot).
• Rank and legions: Earl and President, 30 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): copper and silver (as earl) or mercury (as president); 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 presidents (Observations): “At any time, excepting Twilight, at Night, unless the King whom they are under be Invocated.”
• 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. Marax 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 Marax’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 Marax means copper and silver or mercury. 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 differ between manuscripts and editions. The 1904 drawings follow the manuscripts as Mathers read them, and other editions, websites, jewelry and tattoos often show different versions. When you compare two seals, note which edition each comes from before deciding which is “right.”

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. Mercury, the metal of presidents, is a toxic liquid metal: never handle it or try to make anything from it. Copying Marax’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Marax “appeareth like a great Bull with a Man’s face.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Makes men “very knowing in Astronomy, and all other Liberal Sciences.”
• Gives good and wise familiars, “knowing the virtues of Herbs and Stones which be precious.”

He governs 30 legions. Mathers notes: “In some Codices written Morax, but I consider the above the correct orthography.”

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 “Morax, alias Foraii,” “a great earle and a president,” seen like a bull, who “if he take unto him a mans face” makes men “wonderfull cunning in astronomie, & in all the liberall sciences.” Weyer gives 36 legions, the Goetia 30.

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 The later demonologies add little to this entry.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Marax is often named in modern lists as a good spirit for students of astronomy and astrology. Some modern sources spell him Morax, following Weyer.

What you will not find in any grimoire: a personality, a favorite color or food, signs that he has “chosen” you, or a birth chart that makes him your spirit. Those ideas come from modern books, forums and social media. They can be meaningful to the people who use them, but they are not history, and none of them is something you have to believe.

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 president: mercury (toxic; never handle it); any time except twilight or night, unless his king is invoked (the wording is unclear). The text does not say which rule applies.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Mars and Mercury, one planet for each rank. For earls, 777 gives Mars, following the 1904 editor’s note, rather than the Venus and Moon of their copper and silver.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Libra, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: “Mortum” (unidentified).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color red (sometimes with orange); incense dragon’s blood; plant elder.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a great bull with a man’s face. 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, dragon’s blood resin; one source adds amber, honeysuckle, jasmine, and storax.

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

Marax fits the beginner criteria well. He is an earl and president, and his offices are astronomy, the liberal sciences, and knowledge of herbs and stones. A question about how to begin studying the night sky would suit a first contact. Practical astronomy needs no spirit: a star chart, a dark sky, and patience are enough.

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, Marax is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Marax with other spirits of his rank, read Ipos 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

You can learn a great deal about Marax without any ritual at all. These are the steps I suggest for any spirit.

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.