Ronove: Goetia Spirit 27, Rank, Seal and History

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 facts
Number	27 of 72
Rank	Marquis and Earl
Legions	19
Office (1904)	Teaches the art of rhetoric "very well."
Other spellings	Ronobe, Roneve

Ronove is spirit 27 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 marquis and earl ruling 19 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Ronove teaches the art of rhetoric “very well.”

He is one of the most purely educational spirits in the list, with rhetoric and languages at the centre of his offices. Each part below carries a label for its layer, explained in how to read a spirit page.

At a glance

Fact	In the entry
Number	27 of 72, in the 1904 order.
Name and spellings	Ronove in 1904; other spellings: Ronobe, Roneve.
Rank and legions	Marquis and Earl, 19 legions.
Metal of his rank (Observations)	Silver (as marquis) or copper and silver (as earl); two ranks.
Hours for marquises (Observations)	“From 3 in the afternoon till 9 at Night, and from 9 at Night till Sunrise.”
Hours for earls (Observations)	“Any hour of the Day, so it be in Woods, or in any other places whither men resort not, or where no noise is.”
In Weyer’s catalog (1577)	Yes, as the source comparison below shows.

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:

Ronové. The Twenty-seventh Spirit is Ronové. He appeareth in the Form of a Monster. He teacheth the Art of Rhetoric very well and giveth Good Servants, Knowledge of Tongues, and Favours with Friends or Foes. He is a Marquis and Great Earl; and there be under his command 19 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, etc.

Ronové appears simply “in the Form of a Monster”. He teaches “the Art of Rhetoric very well” and gives “Good Servants, Knowledge of Tongues, and Favours with Friends or Foes”. Rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech and writing, was one of the three language arts of the medieval school, with grammar and logic.

Appearance

Historical Ronove “appeareth in the Form of a Monster.” The text gives no further detail.

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

Teaches the art of rhetoric “very well.”
Gives good servants.
Gives knowledge of tongues.
Gives favor with friends or foes.

He is “a Marquis and Great Earl” and commands 19 legions.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s translation of Weyer gives “Ronove a marquesse and an earle,” “resembled to a monster,” who “bringeth singular understanding in rhetorike, faithfull servants, knowledge of toongs, favour of freends and foes; and nineteene legions obeie him.” There are no significant differences.

Historical Weyer has “Roneve Marchio et Comes, assimilatur monstro”, and gives “famulos item fidos”, faithful servants, where the Goetia says “good”. Otherwise the Latin and the 1904 text agree closely. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical Weyer spells the name Roneve. No etymology is known.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Ronove’s as printed in 1904, and by the rules of the Observations it would be made in silver or copper and silver, the metals of his two ranks. Why seals were worn, why editions draw them differently and how to study one are explained in seals, circle and triangle.

Later tradition Le Breton’s 1863 plate, titled Ronwe, gives the text’s vague “Monster” a body: a hunched, big-eared figure leaning on a staff.

Later tradition and modern practice

Modern Because the text says only “a Monster,” modern artists have given Ronove many forms. Some modern writers describe him with a staff, or as an old man, or in other ways. None of these comes from the Goetia. Ronove is popular in modern practice with students of languages and with writers and speakers.

Lore about Ronove’s personality, likes or chosen people is modern, not grimoire material; modern approaches explains where such claims come from.

Beginner’s quick reference

Item	What the sources say
Rank metal and hours (Goetia)	As marquis: silver; 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and 9 p.m. to sunrise. As earl: copper and silver; any hour of the day, in woods or other quiet places. The text does not say which rule applies.
Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777)	Mars and Moon, one planet for each rank. For earls, 777 gives Mars, following the 1904 editor’s note, rather than the Venus and Moon of their copper and silver.
Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777)	Sagittarius, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: “Gaxisphilium” (unidentified). Tarot card of the decan: Ten of Wands.
Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other)	Color purple (sometimes with red); incense jasmine; plant cinnamon.
Associated symbols	Goetia image: “a Monster,” with no further detail. 777 Magical Image: a monster, “probably a dolphin,” Crowley’s guess. Le Breton engraving (1863): a gaunt, ape-like figure with a staff. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
Associated offerings	Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, cinnamon and jasmine.

Before you burn or handle anything listed for Ronove, read incense, plants and offerings.

Practical notes

Ronove fits the beginner criteria well. He is a marquis and earl, and his offices center on rhetoric and languages. A question about how to approach learning a language or improving your writing would suit a first contact.

His office of giving “favor with friends or foes” should not be used to influence particular people. Note that “good servants” in the seventeenth century meant household servants or spirit helpers. I do not teach work to obtain either.

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

Try this: one question to study

Rewrite Ronove’s offices in modern English, one line each, and mark which ones are about learning.

What next

To compare Ronove with other spirits of his rank, read Naberius and Forneus.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Ronove is the day spirit of the third decan of Sagittarius, which belongs to the Ten of Wands; the night spirit of the same decan is Andras (spirit 63).

Common questions

Is Ronove a good spirit for beginners?

He is counted among the 30 of the 72 that fit the three beginner criteria I use: not a king, at least one teaching office, and no central harm, deception or compulsion. Even so, read his whole entry first, because nearly every entry is mixed.

What does Ronove do in the Ars Goetia?

The 1904 text calls him a marquis and earl ruling 19 legions. Its first office for him is this: Ronove teaches the art of rhetoric "very well." The entry lists 4 offices in all.

Does looking at Ronove's seal call him?

No. Reading a name or looking at a seal does not call a spirit. The seal is a drawing from a 1904 book, and even the grimoire itself required long rituals for its own purposes.