Balam is the fifty-first spirit of the Ars Goetia, a king with forty legions. His three heads resemble a bull, a human, and a ram. The text adds flaming eyes, a serpent's tail, a bear as his mount, and a goshawk on his fist.[1][2]

A crowded royal portrait#

Balam's appearance brings several recurring Goetic motifs into one figure. Asmodeus also has bull, human, and ram heads, while Purson rides a bear. Agares carries a goshawk. Those shared elements do not erase the separate names, ranks, and offices in the catalogue.

The entry describes a hoarse voice. Its speaking figure gives answers about past, present, and future events, makes people witty, and grants invisibility. The offices are briefer than the elaborate physical description.[2]

Name and source#

Balam's spelling may recall the biblical Balaam, but the Goetic entry should be identified through its own textual setting. A resemblance between names does not transfer the whole biblical story into this king's biography.

Peterson's edition records the earlier catalogue witnesses alongside the manuscript text. The associated seal provides another means of following the entry through different spellings and illustrations.[1]

The figure's combination of heads and mounted animals has made Balam especially suitable for visual representation. A source caption remains useful because an engraving can rearrange the stated elements into a composition that the prose itself never fully specifies.

See also#

References

  1. Lemegeton, Goetia: Balam, Sloane 3825 transcription · Joseph H. Peterson edition of the historical grimoire, with manuscript readings. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
  2. S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, The Goetia (1904), spirit 51 · Public-domain edition. Offices and appearances are statements in this catalogue. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
goetiagrimoiresdemonologybalam

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