Bifrons is the forty-sixth spirit in the Ars Goetia, an earl with six legions. His first appearance is called a monster, followed by a human shape. The entry connects learned subjects with a pronounced interest in the places of the dead.[1][2]
Learning and materials#
Bifrons teaches astrology, geometry, and other arts or sciences. He also discloses the properties of herbs, precious stones, and woods. The inclusion of woods gives the material list a detail that many short summaries omit.[1]
Such subjects belong to the grimoire's arrangement of natural knowledge. They place useful substances beside mathematical and celestial study without separating them into the modern disciplines a reader might expect.
Bodies and grave lights#
The catalogue says that Bifrons changes the positions of dead bodies and produces lights resembling candles at graves. The description concerns visible places of burial as well as spirits. It differs from Murmur's office of bringing deceased souls to answer questions.[2]
Bune is the closer comparison because his entry also concerns the dead and their sepulchers. The figures nevertheless have separate ranks, appearances, and signs. For Bifrons the text does not specify the anatomy of the first monster. A later illustration that supplies two faces or a particular animal body must therefore be identified by its own source rather than attributed automatically to this entry.
See also#
References
- Lemegeton, Goetia: Bifrons, 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 46 · Public-domain edition. Offices and appearances are statements in this catalogue. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩