Glasya-Labolas is the twenty-fifth spirit in the Ars Goetia, with the titles president and earl and thirty-six legions. The text describes a dog with griffin's wings. It assigns him knowledge of arts and sciences, foreknowledge, invisibility, and the making of love between friends or enemies.[1][2]
Violence in the entry#
The catalogue also names Glasya-Labolas as an author of bloodshed and manslaughter. That description gives the entry a sharply different character from a benign spirit of scholarship. It is part of the historical text's representation and should remain visible in an account of the figure.[2]
The mixture of instruction and danger recurs in demonological literature. Here it is concentrated in a single creature: the winged dog can teach, reveal, conceal, influence relationships, and destroy. Reducing the office to only one of these removes the tensions present in the entry.
Name and identifying features#
The name has several spellings across editions, sometimes accompanied by alternative names in earlier catalogues. Peterson's transcription places those variants alongside the manuscript reading.[1]
The dog and griffin wings make the appearance recognizable in later illustration. The seal gives a separate identifying sign. Malphas supplies a useful comparison because his entry also combines practical assistance with a warning about deception, while Andras is given a more exclusively discordant and threatening role. These differences explain why the Goetic list cannot be read as seventy-two versions of the same helpful teacher.
See also#
References
- Lemegeton, Goetia: Glasya-Labolas, 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 25 · Public-domain edition. Offices and appearances are statements in this catalogue. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩