59. Orias: 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 59 of the Ars Goetia is Orias. 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: Orias teaches the virtues of the stars.

He teaches the stars and the mansions of the planets, and holds two hissing serpents. 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:

Oriax, or Orias. The Fifty-ninth Spirit is Oriax, or Orias. He is a Great Marquis, and appeareth in the Form of a Lion, riding upon a Horse Mighty and Strong, with a Serpent’s Tail; and he holdeth in his Right Hand two Great Serpents hissing. His Office is to teach the Virtues of the Stars, and to know the Mansions of the Planets, and how to understand their Virtues. He also transformeth Men, and he giveth Dignities, Prelacies, and Confirmation thereof; also Favour with Friends and with Foes. He doth govern 30 Legions of Spirits; and his Seal is this, etc.

Oriax or Orias appears “in the Form of a Lion, riding upon a Horse Mighty and Strong, with a Serpent’s Tail”, holding “two Great Serpents hissing”. Crowley’s footnote asks whether the serpent’s tail belongs to the horse or the marquis. The teaching is “the Virtues of the Stars” and “the Mansions of the Planets, and how to understand their Virtues”. He also “transformeth Men” and gives “Dignities, Prelacies, and Confirmation thereof”.

Appearance

Historical Orias appears “in the Form of a Lion, riding upon a Horse Mighty and Strong, with a Serpent’s Tail; and he holdeth in his Right Hand two Great Serpents hissing.” Mathers notes some codices have “with the Face of a Lion,” and Crowley asks whether the serpent’s tail belongs to the horse or to the marquis.

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Teaches the virtues of the stars.
• Teaches the mansions of the planets and how to understand their virtues.
• Transforms men. Reported as history; not taught here.
• Gives dignities, prelacies, and confirmation of them, and favor with friends and foes.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s translation of Weyer gives “Orias” as “a great marquesse,” “seene as a lion riding on a strong horsse, with a serpents taile,” with two hissing serpents in his right hand. He “knoweth the mansion of planets, and perfectlie teacheth the vertues of the starres.” Both give 30 legions.

Historical Weyer’s Latin says he “Callet planetarum mansiones, & vires sidereas perfectè docet”, he is skilled in the mansions of the planets and teaches the powers of the stars perfectly. The serpents are “etiam exibilantes”, hissing as well. “Transmutat homines” is stated without explanation, as in the Goetia. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical Weyer and Scot write Orias; the 1904 text puts Oriax first. No meaning is known.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Orias’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 “mansions of the planets” in the seventeenth century could mean the houses of a horoscope or the lunar mansions, a system of 28 divisions of the Moon’s path.

Modern Modern writers often present Orias as a spirit of astrology.

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

Practical notes

Orias fits the beginner criteria well. He is a marquis, and his main offices concern astrology. His office of transforming men is not one I teach. A question about how to learn the planets and their meanings would suit a first contact.

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

Try this: one question to study

Read the facts about the lunar mansions under later tradition, then decide which kind of mansion Weyer’s “planetarum mansiones” most likely meant.

What next

To compare Orias with other spirits of his rank, read Andras and Andrealphus.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Orias is the night spirit of the second decan of Scorpio, which belongs to the Six of Cups; the day spirit of the same decan is Aim (spirit 23).