3. Vassago: 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.

Vassago is spirit 3 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: Vassago declares things past and to come.

He is also the first spirit in the list with no counterpart in Weyer, so his entry has no older printed model to compare. 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:

Vassago. The Third Spirit is a Mighty Prince, being of the same nature as Agares. He is called Vassago. This Spirit is of a Good Nature, and his office is to declare things Past and to Come, and to discover all things Hid or Lost. And he governeth 26 Legions of Spirits, and this is his Seal.

The entry is short and almost entirely about character and office. “Being of the same nature as Agares” is the only description of his appearance, which is why he has no image of his own. “Of a Good Nature” is rare in the catalog; very few entries comment on temperament at all. His two offices are paired the way divination offices often are in the Goetia: declaring “things Past and to Come” and discovering “all things Hid or Lost”.

Appearance

Historical The Goetia gives no appearance for Vassago. It says only that he is “a Mighty Prince, being of the same nature as Agares.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

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

• Declares things past and to come.
• Discovers all things hidden or lost.

The text adds that he is “of a Good Nature,” one of the few remarks on temperament in the whole catalog. He governs 26 legions.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Vassago does not appear in Weyer’s catalog or in Scot’s translation. He is one of four Goetic spirits with no Weyer entry, the others being Seere (70), Dantalion (71), and Andromalius (72). The phrase “of the same nature as Agares” suggests the compiler placed him beside Agares on purpose, but the source of his entry is unknown.

Historical With no Weyer entry, there is no Latin to compare. The lack matters for dating: the Goetia’s compiler took most entries from Scot’s English, so a spirit missing from Weyer must come from another source, now unknown. Vassago’s position, right after Agares and described by reference to him, suggests the compiler inserted him there deliberately. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical No etymology for Vassago is known, and the name has no clear parallel in earlier demon lists that I can confirm. Modern guesses that link it to Latin or to place names are speculation.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Vassago’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 and modern practice

Later tradition The text itself treats Vassago like every other spirit in the catalog; nothing later attaches to him beyond his modern reputation.

Modern Because the text calls Vassago good-natured, many modern writers recommend him as a first spirit for beginners. This is a modern reading of one line. The Goetia gives no reason to think he is safer than any other spirit, and it treats all 72 as “evil spirits.”

His office of finding lost things has made him popular in modern divination practice, especially scrying. Online sources often give him favorite offerings or a particular temperament. These are modern claims with no source in the Goetia.

Lore about Vassago’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 Vassago, read incense, plants and offerings.

Practical notes

Vassago is a prince, not a king. His offices are divination and finding lost things, not teaching in the narrow sense, but they involve no harm.

He is a reasonable first study if your question concerns your own study or your own lost belongings. Do not use divination to look into other people’s private lives. Remember that the text’s “good nature” is one phrase, not a guarantee.

In the directory, Vassago is not among the 30 spirits that fit the beginner criteria.

Try this: one question to study

Write down what you would know about Vassago if you had only the phrase “of the same nature as Agares”, then reread Agares’s entry.

What next

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

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Vassago is the day spirit of the third decan of Aries, which belongs to the Four of Wands; the night spirit of the same decan is Malphas (spirit 39).