9. Paimon: a king 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.

Paimon is spirit 9 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 king ruling 200 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Paimon teaches all arts and sciences and other secret things.

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 Paimon 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: 9 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Paimon in 1904; other spellings: Paymon, Paimonia (as a king of the quarters, in some texts).
• Rank and legions: King, 200 legions.
• Direction: the text places him in the West.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): gold.
• Hours for kings (Observations): “From 9 till 12 o’clock at Noon, and from 3 till Sunset.”
• 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 Paimon’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 Paimon means gold. 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. Copying Paimon’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Paimon is “a Great King, and very obedient unto Lucifer.” He appears “in the form of a Man sitting upon a Dromedary with a Crown most glorious upon his head.” Before him goes “an Host of Spirits, like Men with Trumpets and well sounding Cymbals, and all other sorts of Musical Instruments.” He “roareth at his first coming,” and his speech is hard to understand “unless he can compel him.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Teaches all arts and sciences and other secret things.
• Can reveal “what the Earth is, and what holdeth it up in the Waters; and what Mind is, and where it is.”
• Gives dignity and confirms it.
• Binds any man and makes him subject to the magician.
• Gives good familiars who can teach all arts.

He is “of the Order of Dominations” and has 200 legions, part angels and part Potentates. If called alone, “thou must make him some offering,” and two kings, Labal and Abalim, attend him.

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 translation of Weyer gives a much longer entry. It adds that Paimon has “an effeminate countenance,” that the magician should not be dismayed if he cannot understand him, and that he will explain “what is Abyssus, or where the wind is.” Weyer also gives the binding of resisters and the good familiars. Scot tells the magician to face northwest, “bicause there is his house”; Weyer’s Latin says north; the 1904 text says west. Weyer also gives Paimon 200 legions and 25 more in his train.

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 In some grimoires Paimon is one of the four kings of the quarters, ruling the West or another direction.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Paimon is one of the most famous Goetic spirits today, largely because of the horror film Hereditary (2018), in which a cult seeks to give him a human host. The film’s Paimon is a fictional creation drawing on the Goetia. Paimon also appears as a companion character in the video game Genshin Impact (2020), with no link to the Goetia beyond the name. Modern devotional practitioners often describe him as a teacher.

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): King: gold; 9 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to sunset.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Sun.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Gemini, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: cypress.
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color yellow; incense frankincense; plant bindweed.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a crowned man on a dromedary, led by musicians with trumpets and cymbals; a roaring voice. 777 Magical Image: the same image. Le Breton engraving (1863): a crowned rider on a dromedary. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: The Goetia says that if Paimon is called alone, “thou must make him some offering,” but does not say what. Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, frankincense, then gum arabic and balm of Gilead.

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

Paimon is a king with 200 legions and a special requirement for offerings. His teaching office is broad, but the text treats him as among the most powerful and most demanding spirits, and his offices include subjecting others to the magician’s will. This spirit falls outside the beginner criteria. His film fame is a reason for caution, not a reason to start with him.

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, Paimon is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Paimon with other spirits of his rank, read Beleth and Bael. Kings are the highest rank among the 72. The 1904 Classified List names nine of them, from Bael to Belial, and they tend to rule the largest numbers of legions. Above them, in the Goetia’s wider world, stand the four kings of the quarters, such as Amaymon, who are not among the 72. The beginner criteria I use leave kings out of a first study, whatever their offices, simply because the text places them at the top of its court.

How to study this entry

You can learn a great deal about Paimon 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.