36. Stolas: 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.

Stolas is spirit 36 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 26 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Stolas teaches the art of astronomy.

He closes the first half of the catalog and is, with Foras and Marax, one of its clearest teachers of the natural world. Each part below carries a label for its layer, explained in how to read a spirit page.

At a glance

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:

Stolas, or Stolos. The Thirty-sixth Spirit is Stolas, or Stolos. He is a Great and Powerful Prince, appearing in the Shape of a Mighty Raven at first before the Exorcist; but after he taketh the image of a Man. He teacheth the Art of Astronomy, and the Virtues of Herbs and Precious Stones. He governeth 26 Legions of Spirits; and his Seal is this, which is, etc.

This is one of the shortest entries in the book, and nothing in it is threatening. The pattern of a first animal form followed by a human one, “at first before the Exorcist; but after”, is the same one the Goetia uses for Marbas, Amon and many others. The two teaching offices go together naturally in early modern learning, where the “Virtues” of herbs and stones were often linked to the stars that were thought to rule them. The closing formula “which is, etc.” shows the compiler abbreviating the usual words about wearing the seal.

Appearance

Historical Stolas appears “in the Shape of a Mighty Raven at first before the Exorcist; but after he taketh the image of a Man.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Teaches the art of astronomy.
• Teaches the virtues of herbs and precious stones.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical The Weyer catalog, as Scot renders it, gives “Stolas” as “a great prince, appearing in the forme of a nightraven,” who takes the shape of a man and “teacheth astronomie, absolutelie understanding the vertues of herbes and pretious stones.”

The night raven, a bird of ill omen in early modern writing, becomes a raven in the Goetia. Both give 26 legions.

Historical Weyer’s Latin is “forma nycticoracis”, in the form of a night raven, a nocturnal bird usually identified as a night heron or an owl. Weyer says he teaches astronomy “absolutè”, completely. In Weyer’s order Stolas is the last spirit of the catalog. Scot follows him with a note that a legion is 6,666 and that the list was written out by one “T. R.” in 1570. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical Stolas resembles Greek stolē, a robe, but no source makes the link. Treat it as speculation.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Stolas’s as printed in 1904, and by the rules of the Observations it would be made in tin, the metal of his rank. 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 shows a crowned owl on long legs. It is the source of the owl image that modern art repeats.

Later tradition and modern practice

Modern Modern illustrations nearly always show Stolas as an owl with a crown, sometimes with long legs. They follow Le Breton’s 1863 plate, and the owl itself probably comes from the night raven, which some early modern writers identified with the owl or the night heron.

In popular culture, Stolas is an owl prince in the animated web series Helluva Boss (from 2019). That character is a modern fiction. Stolas is one of the spirits most often recommended to beginners in modern books and online.

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

Beginner’s quick reference

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

Practical notes

Stolas fits the beginner criteria. He is a prince, not a king, and his offices are astronomy and the study of herbs and stones, with no office of harm.

A question about how to begin studying the stars or plants would suit a first contact. As always, check any practical information about plants or minerals with reliable sources before you handle or use them.

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

Try this: one question to study

Read Scot’s closing note about the legion of 6,666 and work out what 26 legions would mean by that reckoning.

What next

To compare Stolas with other spirits of his rank, read Orobas and Sitri.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Stolas is the day spirit of the third decan of Pisces, which belongs to the Ten of Cups; the night spirit of the same decan is Andromalius (spirit 72).