35. Marchosias: 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 35 of the Ars Goetia is Marchosias. 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: Marchosias is “a strong fighter.”

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 Marchosias suits a beginner, the short answer is in the Practical notes below: he does not meet the three beginner criteria I use, and I explain why.

At a glance

Historical These are the facts of the entry itself, from the 1904 text and its Observations.

• Number: 35 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Marchosias in 1904; other spellings: Marchocias.
• Rank and legions: Marquis, 30 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): silver.
• Hours for marquises (Observations): “From 3 in the afternoon till 9 at Night, and from 9 at Night till Sunrise.”
• 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 Marchosias’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 Marchosias means silver. 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. Copying Marchosias’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Marchosias appears “at first in the Form of a Wolf having Gryphon’s Wings, and a Serpent’s Tail, and Vomiting Fire out of his mouth.” At the magician’s command he takes human shape.

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Is “a strong fighter.” Reported as history; not taught here.

He “was of the Order of Dominations” and governs 30 legions. He told Solomon “that after 1,200 years he had hopes to return unto the Seventh Throne.”

Mathers notes that one badly written codex might read “Ox” for “Wolf.” Crowley added: “For me he appeared always like an ox, and very dazed.”

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 “Marchosias” as “a great marquesse,” in the shape of “a cruell shee woolfe,” with griffin’s wings and a serpent’s tail, “spetting I cannot tell what out of his mouth.” In man’s shape he is “an excellent fighter,” and he “answereth all questions trulie” and “is faithfull in all the conjurors businesse.” The Goetia drops the truthful answers and faithfulness. Weyer’s she-wolf becomes a wolf. Both give 30 legions and the hope of return.

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 Crowley’s joke about the dazed ox is often quoted.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern The hope of return after 1,200 years has made Marchosias a sympathetic figure in modern writing, a spirit who hopes for redemption. Some devotional practitioners stress this.

Many modern claims about Marchosias, 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): Marquis: silver; 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and 9 p.m. to sunrise.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Moon.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Pisces, second decan (10 to 20 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: “Coxium” (unidentified).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color purple; incense jasmine; plant pennyroyal (reported in some sources; toxic: do not burn, ingest, or handle).
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a wolf with a gryphon’s wings and a serpent’s tail, breathing fire; later a man (the 1904 notes add that he appeared as an ox). 777 Magical Image: the same image. Le Breton engraving (1863): a winged wolf breathing flame. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, jasmine; one source adds green tea, strawberries, red silk, loud metal music, and chocolates (toxic to pets: keep out of reach).

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

Marchosias is a marquis whose only office in the Goetia is fighting. He does not fit the teaching criteria. Weyer’s more generous entry, with truthful answers and faithfulness, shows how much the Goetia sometimes cuts.

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, Marchosias is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Marchosias with other spirits of his rank, read Phenex and Forneus. Marquises are the second largest group, 15 in the 1904 Classified List. Their metal is silver, the metal of the Moon, and their hours run from the afternoon through the night to sunrise. Their offices are as mixed as any rank’s: some teach, some find things, some cause harm.

How to study this entry

If Marchosias 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.