55. Orobas: a 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.

Orobas is number 55 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 a prince ruling 20 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Orobas discovers 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 Orobas 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: 55 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Orobas in 1904; other spellings: none common.
• Rank and legions: Prince, 20 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): tin.
• 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. 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 Orobas’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 Orobas means 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 Orobas’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Orobas appears “at first like a Horse; but after the command of the Exorcist he putteth on the Image of a Man.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Discovers all things past, present, and to come.
• Gives dignities, prelacies, and the favor of friends and foes.
• Gives true answers of divinity and of the creation of the world.
• “Is very faithful unto the Exorcist, and will not suffer him to be tempted of any Spirit.”

He governs 20 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 In Scot’s English, Weyer gives “Orobas” as “a great prince,” like a horse, who in man’s “idol” (image) “talketh of divine vertue,” gives true answers, “deceiveth none, nor suffereth anie to be tempted,” and gives dignities and favor. Both give 20 legions. The close match includes the promise of faithfulness.

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 Later demonologies add nothing of note to Orobas’s entry.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Because the text says Orobas is faithful and protects the magician from other spirits’ temptation, modern writers often recommend him as a trustworthy spirit for beginners. Like Vassago’s “good nature,” this is a modern reading of one line.

Some things said about Orobas 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): Prince: tin; any hour of the day.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Jupiter.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Libra, first decan (0 to 10 degrees); night spirit. 777 decan incense: galbanum.
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color blue; incense cedar; plant broom.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a horse; later a man. 777 Magical Image: a horse. Le Breton engraving (1863): an upright figure with a horse’s head. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, cedar; one source adds cinnamon and white 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

Orobas is a prince, not a king, and his offices include divination and answers about theology and creation, with no harm. He fits the beginner criteria reasonably well, especially for questions about religious or philosophical history. The text’s claim of faithfulness is not a guarantee. Keep Goetia safety, ethics and mental health in mind.

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, Orobas is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Orobas with other spirits of his rank, read Seere and Stolas. Princes, which the 1904 list treats as the same rank as prelates, are a small group of seven. The Observations give them tin, the metal of Jupiter, and the easiest rule of all: any hour of the day. Several of them, such as Vassago and Stolas, have offices of knowledge and teaching, which is one reason they appear so often in modern beginner lists.

How to study this entry

Studying Orobas 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.