Beleth, also written Bileth, is the thirteenth spirit in the Ars Goetia. He is a king commanding eighty-five legions, arriving on a pale horse with trumpets and other instruments sounding before him. The entry describes his first appearance as furious.[1][2]
A king's reception#
Beleth's entry is unusually concerned with how the operator receives the spirit. It combines demands for obedience with the courtesy considered appropriate to a king. The mixture makes rank consequential within the imagined encounter: the operator claims authority but must still acknowledge the visitor's dignity.[2]
The text includes a triangle, a wand, and a ring among the ceremonial details. These objects belong to the work's historical ritual apparatus. They are part of what distinguishes Beleth's description from a short catalogue summary that supplies only a name and number.
Office and angelic ancestry#
The office concerns love between people. Like other erotic offices in the grimoire, its wording reflects the operator's desired control over another person's feelings. A modern religious interpretation can handle that inheritance differently, but the change should be stated openly.
The catalogue places Beleth among the former order of Powers and gives him a seal. His musical arrival can be compared with Paimon's procession, which also gives sound a prominent place. The two kings share that ceremonial feature while retaining different offices and textual descriptions.[1][2]
See also#
References
- Lemegeton, Goetia: Beleth, Sloane 3825 transcription · Joseph H. Peterson edition of the historical grimoire, with manuscript readings. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, The Goetia (1904), spirit 13 · Public-domain edition. Offices and appearances are statements in this catalogue. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩