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.

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 Stolas suits a beginner, the short answer is in the Practical notes below: he meets the three beginner criteria I use, though his entry, like most, is mixed.

At a glance

Historical These are the facts of the entry itself, from the 1904 text and its Observations.

• Number: 36 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Stolas in 1904; other spellings: Stolos (1904), Solas.
• Rank and legions: Prince, 26 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 Stolas’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 Stolas 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 Stolas’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

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

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

He governs 26 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 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.

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 The later demonologies add little to this entry.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Modern illustrations nearly always show Stolas as an owl with a crown, sometimes with long legs. The owl image is modern, possibly influenced by 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.

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): Pisces, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: “Santal Alb.”
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color blue; incense cedar; plant flax.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a mighty raven; later a man; herbs, precious stones, and astronomy belong to his office. 777 Magical Image: a raven. Le Breton engraving (1863): a crowned owl on long legs. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, cedar and flax; one source adds celery seed, mustard seed, and mastic.

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

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.

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, Stolas is counted among the 31 spirits that fit.

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