Vapula is the sixtieth spirit in the Ars Goetia, a duke commanding thirty-six legions. The appearance is a lion with griffin's wings. His office concerns handicrafts or mechanical arts, philosophy, and other sciences.[1][2]

Craft within learned magic#

The wording places skilled making alongside intellectual inquiry. Mechanical arts in older classifications could include practical crafts and techniques. Peterson's notes compare the Latin and English terms behind the description, which helps prevent the phrase from being narrowed to modern machinery alone.[1]

Marbas receives a similar craft-related office but begins as an unwinged lion and later takes human form. Vapula's brief account retains the winged lion as its stated appearance. The two descriptions show how animal imagery and educational offices can recur without producing identical entries.

The limits of the short account#

The catalogue does not name a workshop, a particular craft curriculum, or a set of tools belonging to Vapula. Artwork that places instruments around the lion is interpreting the office. Those additions can be useful visually while remaining the artist's contribution.[2]

The seal identifies the spirit within the numbered list. Contemporary religious use may select Vapula as a patron of making or technical study, but that interpretation should be attributed to the relevant practitioner. The historical source establishes the lion form, rank, legions, and broad field of instruction.

See also#

References

  1. Lemegeton, Goetia: Vapula, 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 60 · Public-domain edition. Offices and appearances are statements in this catalogue. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
goetiagrimoiresdemonologyvapula

This encyclopedia covers traditions beyond the High Satanic Church. Church doctrine is identified as such when it appears.