57. Ose: a 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.

Ose is spirit 57 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 a president ruling 3 (Mathers: “should probably be 30”) legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Ose makes one cunning in the 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 Ose 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: 57 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Ose in 1904; other spellings: Oso, Voso, Yoso (1904).
• Rank and legions: President, 3 (Mathers: “should probably be 30”) legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): mercury.
• 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. 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 Ose’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 Ose means 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 Ose’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Ose appears “like a Leopard at the first, but after a little time he putteth on the Shape 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.

• Makes one cunning in the liberal sciences.
• Gives true answers of divine and secret things.
• Changes a man into any shape the magician pleases, “so that he that is so changed will not think any other thing than that he is in verity that Creature or Thing he is changed into.”

The 1904 text gives 3 legions, with Mathers’ note: “Should probably be 30. For these 72 Great Spirits of the Book Goetia are all Princes and Leaders of numbers.”

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 gives “Ose” as “a great president,” like a leopard, who, “counterfeting to be a man,” makes one cunning in the liberal sciences, answers truly of divine and secret things, and “bringeth a man to that madnes, that he thinketh himselfe to be that which he is not; as that he is a king or a pope, or that he weareth a crowne on his head.” Scot adds a Latin phrase, “Duratque id regnum ad horam,” meaning that this “kingdom” lasts an hour. The Goetia generalizes the office and drops the time limit. Scot’s English, like Weyer’s Latin, gives no number of legions. The figure of 3 comes from the English manuscripts (Sloane 3825 reads 3).

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 No later tradition beyond the sources above is attached to this spirit.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Ose’s office of making people believe they are something they are not reads, to a modern eye, like a description of a delusion. Some modern writers connect Ose with identity, transformation, and role play. These are modern readings.

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): President: mercury (toxic; never handle it); any time except twilight or night, unless his king is invoked (the wording is unclear).
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Mercury.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Libra, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); night spirit. 777 decan incense: “Mortum” (unidentified).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color orange; incense storax; plant horsetail.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a leopard; later a man. 777 Magical Image: a leopard. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, storax and horsetail; one source adds leather and smoky quartz. Raw meat, bones, and cannabis, also listed online, are not used here. One source also lists wine and fruity alcoholic drinks: alcohol is toxic to pets and for adults only.

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

Ose has a teaching office, but his transformation office describes a delusion. I do not teach that office. Because of it, Ose is not recommended for a first contact. If you ever find yourself convinced you are someone else, or that you have a special identity no one else recognizes, see Goetia safety, ethics and mental health and seek help.

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, Ose is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Ose with other spirits of his rank, read Amy and Camio. Presidents are a group of 14 in the 1904 Classified List, several of whom hold a second rank. Their metal in the Observations is mercury, and their hour rule is the most confusing sentence in that section. Many presidents have teaching offices: arts and sciences, herbs, logic or astronomy.

How to study this entry

You can learn a great deal about Ose 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.