6. Valefor: a duke 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.

Valefor is spirit 6 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 duke ruling 10 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Valefor is “a good Familiar.”

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 Valefor 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: 6 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Valefor in 1904; other spellings: Valefar, Malaphar, Malephar (Weyer, Scot).
• Rank and legions: Duke, 10 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): copper.
• Hours for dukes (Observations): “From Sunrise till Noonday in Clear Weather.”
• 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 Valefor’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 Valefor means copper. 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 Valefor’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Valefor appears “in the shape of a Lion with an Ass’s Head, bellowing.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Is “a good Familiar.”
• Tempts those he is familiar with to steal.

He governs 10 legions. The text says his seal is to be worn “whether thou wilt have him for a Familiar, or not.”

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 Weyer’s Valefar, “alias Malephar,” is “a strong duke, comming foorth in the shape of a lion, and the head of a theefe.” The Goetia has “an Ass’s Head” instead. Weyer adds a grim line: he is “verie familiar with them to whom he maketh himselfe acquainted, till he hath brought them to the gallowes.” The Goetia softens this to tempting them to steal. Both give 10 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 change from “the head of a thief” to “an Ass’s Head” may be a copying or translation error.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Modern writers sometimes read Valefor as a spirit of cunning or of those who live on the edges of the law, and some present him as a protector of possessions. These are modern interpretations, and the last reverses the text.

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): Duke: copper; sunrise to noon, in clear weather.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Venus.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Taurus, third decan (20 to 30 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: cassia.
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color green; incense sandalwood; plant dandelion.
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a lion with a donkey’s head, bellowing. 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, sandalwood and dandelion.

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

Valefor’s only offices concern familiarity and theft, and Weyer says he leads his companions to the gallows. The beginner criteria would not suggest this spirit for a first contact. I do not teach any practice involving theft. Read his entry as a reminder that the Goetia’s “familiars” were not always presented as friends.

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, Valefor is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Valefor with other spirits of his rank, read Barbatos and Agares. Dukes are the largest group in the Goetia. The 1904 Classified List counts 23 of them, and their offices range from teaching languages to causing storms. A duke sits below kings and princes in the court the text imagines, and in the Observations dukes have the shortest hours: from sunrise to noon, in clear weather.

How to study this entry

You can learn a great deal about Valefor 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.