This sixty-first infernal king and president is also known by the name Dagon, possibly inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian deity interpreted as a fish-god or merman, but presents as a bull with griffin wings. When invoked, Zagan’s virtue is in making men witty, the alchemy of any base metal into valuable specie and can turn wine into water, blood into wine, wine into blood and also water into wine. Governing from this cusp day through the twenty-fourth of January, Zagan’s position is in the first degrees of Aquarius. Ruling thirty-three legions, Zagan is opposed by the angel Umahel.
Wednesday, 20 January 2021
your daily demon: zagan
Sunday, 17 January 2021
temptation of saint anthony
Venerated on this day, itinerant and chief amongst the Desert Fathers, Saint Anthony of Alexandria, has had his enduring supernatural visitation during his sojourn through the wilderness of eastern Egypt depicted in many forms, giving way to lurid and bizarrely embellished interpretations beginning in medieval times up to the present day with greater emphasis on the mental states of individuals over demonic temptation.
One of the most iconic portrayals, aligned with the fantastic and nightmarish landscapes of Hieronymus Bosch (previously) is the 1650 work by Flemish painter Joos van Craesbeeck of Brabant, who had produced many a quick and circumspect study of the dissolute and down-and-out with his cautionary tavern scenes. A colossal screaming head—that resembles Craesbeecck’s self-portraits, spews forth an allegory of obscenities, the meanings lost to the ages and the symbolism subject to guesswork whilst Anthony calmly is seen on shore trying to keep his sanity.
Saturday, 16 January 2021
your daily demon: vapula
This infernal duke and sixtieth spirit of the demonic calendar occupies the zodiacal position between 25° and 29° of Capricorn—corresponding to this day until 19 January—presents as a fierce lion with the wings of a griffin and specialises in teaching crafts and handiwork. Ruling thirty-six legions, Vapula is countered by the archangel Mitzrael under the leadership of Michael.
catagories: ๐
Monday, 11 January 2021
your daily demon: orias
Ruling from the 20° to 24° of Capricorn—corresponding from this day until 15 January, this infernal marquis presents as a lion a gee with the tail of a dread serpent and clutching two snakes in his paws—this presenting this sigil will compel him, like all the other spirits, to appear as a man.
According to the Ars Goetia and other sources, Orias’ strength is in astrological readings and can forecast the trajectory of an individual’s life and career with precise intelligence on the hour and place of their birth. Able to curry favour with both friend and enemy, he can also transform humans into any shape desired. This fifty-ninth entry on the Demonic Calendar is opposed by the Archangel Harael.Friday, 8 January 2021
7x7
forty winks: this Pokรฉmon Gengar sleeping companion
flair: the outsized legacy of a 1950 graphic design magazineper my previous tweet: Trump silent on continued damage and defacement of federal monuments
nangajo: ushering in the Year of the Metal Ox with this blended Japanese New Year’s tradition—previously
๐: anti-social media removes ‘like’ feature (see also) from public-facing sites—via Slashdot
r/obscuremedia: enjoy this soothing VHS tape from 1984 “Escape to Nature’s Beauty”
witchfinder general: King James’ other book—Demonology
Wednesday, 6 January 2021
your daily demon: amy
Also known as a Hanni, this demon with the rank of President—corroborated and conflicted depending on one’s sources—initially presents as a flame (as seen in the sigil) until called upon by the summoner and knowledge in astronomy and the liberal arts and reveal hidden treasures, ruling the fifth quartile of Capricorn corresponding with this day, Epiphany, through the tenth of the month. Opposed by the angel called Ieialel, this fifty-eighth spirit in the calendar of demonology reportedly harbours the believe that he and his legion can reclaim the throne of the Seventh Heaven after twelve centuries have passed.
catagories: ๐, holidays and observances, religion
Friday, 1 January 2021
your daily demon: ose
This Great President of Hell presents as a leopard who gradually assumes human form controls three legions of spirits and governs the third quartile of Capricorn, the first of the year through the fifth of January. At the summoner’s bidding, Ose can engender delusions of grandeur and believe themselves kings among men and alternately transform people into animals without their knowledge that they have been turned. These spells are temporary and expire after one hour. This fifty-seventh demon is paired with the archangel Nemamiah.
Sunday, 27 December 2020
your daily demon: gemory
catagories: ♏, ๐, holidays and observances
Saturday, 26 December 2020
especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon
Thursday, 24 December 2020
nittel nacht
Observed in some Jewish communities dating back as far as the late seventeen-hundreds with scholastic reinforcement in the following century, the Yiddish term (ื ืืื ื ืַืื) for Christmas Eve likely comes from natalis but may also refer to the hanged one, nitleh, an epithet for Jesus during the Middle Ages. In medieval Europe, non-observers were often forbidden from being seen in public—with Yuletide often signalling the beginning of attacks on Jewish neighbours by Christians—so this was a good excuse to staying in and specifically not studying the Torah and abstaining from enjoyment so as not to give any glory to the day, though for some, reading the Sefer Toledot Yeshu (an alternate hagiography that portrays Jesus as a womanising charlatan though possibly accounts themselves are exaggerated as another excuse to label people as blasphemers—that is, megadef) as an acceptable activity to engage in. Chess and card games became a tradition, in lieu of other pastimes, and children were apprehensive about being snatched away on this night by demon Jesus.
Tuesday, 22 December 2020
your daily demon: orobas
Presenting as a horse and infernal patron of all things equine (see also), this spirit with the rank of prince rules the first segment of Capricorn, from today until 26 December and according to the Ars Goetia and other sources can be reliably invoked to suppress gossip and libellous speech and foretell the future. With an etymology possibly from a Latin word, orobias, for a sort of cedarwood incense, the demon makes an appearance in pop-culture properties including several video games and is paired with battle angel called Mehaiah under the archangel Haniel.
catagories: ♏, ๐, myth and monsters
Thursday, 17 December 2020
your daily demon: murmur
Infernal duke and earl with thirty legions under his command, before the rebellion this fifty-fourth spirit had the name Matthias but now presents as a vulture or crowned warrior astride a griffin, and can be compelled to mediumship with the departed by invoking his seal, which looks very much like a host of astrological symbols. A master of philosophy, Murmur rules from today until the twenty-first of December and is paired with the angel Nilhael.
catagories: ♏, ๐, philosophy
Saturday, 12 December 2020
your (nearly) daily demon: caim
Presenting in the form of a thrush—disturbingly with arms and hands, this fifty-third spirit has the rank of infernal president—that is the presiding officer
over a convocation and gives good counsel, dispelling sophistry and reveals the language of the birds, the apparition of glowing coals appearing under his feet if compelled to answer by a rendering of his sigil. Caim’s corresponding battle angel is a Principality called Nanael, called forth by reciting a certain Psalm but no elaboration as to whether or not his feet are held to the fire, however.
catagories: ๐, myth and monsters
Tuesday, 8 December 2020
your daily demon: alloces
The fifty-second spirit in the infernal progression of the year, this lion-visaged soldier on a steed that seems to have hippocamp traits, according to various grimoires and other sources, summons familiars, advises on the liberal arts and can exact revenge in secret. Alloces rules the fifteenth to the nineteenth degree of Sagittarius, corresponding from today until 11 December. Canonical demons are paired with a member of the unfallen angelic host, and this President is twinned with the Prinicipality-ranked Imamiah—who sounds perfectly boring—and is invoked by reciting a verse from Psalms.
Saturday, 5 December 2020
krampusnacht
Later on for this Saint Nicholas Eve, the hirsute, horned devil (see previously) visits the wicked and incorrigible with a thrashing and a lump of coal, assisted by Knecht Rupert. Less discretely and less charitably in some jurisdictions, Krampus is accompanied by Nicholas himself to distribute gifts for the naughty and nice respectively.
Thursday, 3 December 2020
your daily demon: balam
The fifty-first spirit is this infernal king that rules the tenth through fourteenth degree of Sagittarius—from this day through 7 December, and is depicted, according to the Ars Goetia and other sources, as a monstrous entity with three aspects—the faces of a bull, a man and a ram with the tail of a serpent, who sits astride a ferocious bear, with a goshawk born on his forearm.
Giver of good counsel and wit, this figure probably originates (in a less fantastical form) from the magician and diviner called Balaam from Numbers 22, whom the Israelites blame for their difficulties and adjustment issues, characterising him as a charismatic sophist, when they enter into the Promised Land, enticing them into transgressive behaviours, including encouraging sacrifice performed to Baal, and thus the source of a deadly plague visited on the delivered tribes as a result.Saturday, 28 November 2020
your daily demon: furcas
Ruling portion of the infernal progression from today until 2 December and attaining uniquely among his cohort the rank of knight, this wizened man sat agee is the fiftieth in the calendar and can be summoned to dispense knowledge on things pertaining to rhetoric, according to the Ars Goetia, as well as chiromancy and pyromancy. Named after the Greco-Roman term for sepulchre, Furcas’ invocation is said to bring peace of mind and dispels anxiety.
catagories: ๐ , ๐, myth and monsters, religion
Thursday, 26 November 2020
¡no lupita!
Monday, 23 November 2020
your daily demon: crocel
catagories: ♏, ๐ , ๐, myth and monsters
Wednesday, 18 November 2020
your daily demon: haagenti
Great president of the infernal realms, forty-eighth in the calendar of demi-weeks and ruling from this date until the twenty second (the twenty-ninth degree of Scorpio, this demon whom presents as a griffin is well-versed in the alchemical arts, hermetical magic according to the Ars Goetia and other sources, and can aid in and impart wisdom regarding the transmutation of baser metals into more precious ones and water into wine and for whom cats are sacred, preferring a more feline aspect when compelled by an exorcist to assume human form.
catagories: ๐, myth and monsters