This report item is a catalogue, not a working: the grimoire tradition that files spirits by planetary and zodiacal rulership, and the thirty-six decan demons named in the Testament of Solomon. A reading names the spirits a chart's placements fall under and treats the qliphoth as the shadow side of the Tree, described, not invoked.

History

The Testament of Solomon, a Greek pseudepigraphal text generally placed somewhere between the first and fourth centuries CE, its exact date and place of composition genuinely disputed by scholars, describes King Solomon binding thirty-six decan demons, one for each ten degree span of the zodiac, and questioning them about their own nature and what compels them, an early instance of demons catalogued and classified rather than merely feared. Centuries later, the Ars Goetia, the first of five sections making up the seventeenth century English compilation grimoire known as the Lesser Key of Solomon, catalogues seventy two named spirits, each recorded with a rank, a sigil and other identifying detail, continuing a wider grimoire tradition of filing spirits by rank, planetary rulership and zodiacal association that runs across a large body of medieval and early modern European magical manuscripts.

The qliphoth, "shells" or "husks", is a distinct and separate Kabbalistic concept, with roots in Zoharic literature and substantial further development in Isaac Luria's sixteenth century Safed school, the same lineage the Kabbalah report item describes for the sephiroth themselves. Reading the qliphoth as ten shells sitting in direct, mirrored opposition to the Tree's ten sephiroth, one shell shadowing each sphere, is a later Western Hermetic systematization built on top of that older Kabbalistic material, again the same Golden Dawn era layer the Kabbalah page names for its own Tree correspondences.

A Sample Of The Ars Goetia

Bael, Agares, Vassago and Samigina are among the seventy two spirits the Ars Goetia catalogues by rank; this atlas records the catalogue's classification, not any working associated with it.

The Ten Qliphoth

Thaumiel, Ghagiel, Satariel, Gha'agsheblah, Golachab, Thagirion, A'arab Zaraq, Samael, Gamaliel and Lilith: ten shells, each read in the Golden Dawn era system as shadowing one of the ten sephiroth the Kabbalah page describes, from Thaumiel opposite Kether down to Lilith opposite Malkuth.

How A Reading Is Constructed

A reading names the spirits a chart's placements fall under by the same planetary and zodiacal rulership the grimoire catalogues use, and reads the qliphoth as the shadow side of the Tree of Life, the shell shadowing whichever sephirah a chart's placements emphasize. This is presented throughout as description and classification, matching the report item's own stated framing exactly: described, never invoked.

Where To Read More

• BaelKingsBael, first of the seventy-two spirits the Ars Goetia catalogues.
• AgaresDukesAgares.
• VassagoPrincesVassago.
• SamiginaMarquisesSamigina.
• ThaumielThaumiel, shadowing Kether.
• GhagielGhagiel, shadowing Chokmah.
• SatarielSatariel, shadowing Binah.
• Gha'agsheblahGha'agsheblah, shadowing Chesed.
• GolachabGolachab, shadowing Gevurah.
• ThagirionThagirion, shadowing Tiferet.
• A'arab ZaraqA'arab Zaraq, shadowing Netzach.
• SamaelSamael, shadowing Hod.
• GamalielGamaliel, shadowing Yesod.
• LilithLilith, shadowing Malkuth, the tenth and last qliphah.