12. Sitri: 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.

Sitri is spirit 12 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 prince ruling 60 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Sitri inflames men with women’s love, and women with men’s love.

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 Sitri 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: 12 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Sitri in 1904; other spellings: Bitru (Weyer, Scot), Sytry.
• Rank and legions: Prince, 60 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 Sitri’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 Sitri 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 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 Sitri’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Sitri appears “at first with a Leopard’s head and the Wings of a Gryphon,” but after the command of the magician puts on human shape, “and that very beautiful.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Inflames men with women’s love, and women with men’s love. Reported as history; not taught here.
• Causes people to show themselves naked “if it be desired.” Reported as history; not taught here.

He governs 60 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 “Sitri, alias Bitru,” “a great prince,” with a leopard’s face and griffin’s wings, very beautiful in human form. Weyer’s version is coarser: he reveals the secrets of women, “laughing at them and mocking them,” and makes them “luxuriouslie naked.” Scot’s margin calls him “a bawdie divell.” Both give 60 legions.

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 Modern writers often present Sitri as a spirit of attraction, beauty, and self-confidence, and some as a spirit of sexuality in a positive sense. These are modern reframings of an entry that, in its original, describes compelling desire and exposing people against their will.

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): 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): Cancer, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: anise.
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color blue; incense cedar; plant hyacinth (toxic to cats).
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a leopard’s head and a gryphon’s wings; later a beautiful human form. 777 Magical Image: the same image. 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, allspice, and rose hips.

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

Sitri’s offices center on compelled desire and exposure. I do not teach any practice to inflame another person’s love or desire, or to expose anyone. Both are violations of consent. Not a choice for a first contact under the beginner criteria. If your interest is in your own confidence or self-image, those are worth exploring through ordinary means, including, when helpful, a counselor.

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, Sitri is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Sitri with other spirits of his rank, read Vassago 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

You can learn a great deal about Sitri 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.