Aim
Aim holds the 23rd position in the catalog of the 72 spirits of the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton. He is described with the title of Duke, and in some editions of the text his name is spelled Haborym.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
This spirit's name is spelled Aim in Mathers' edition (1904), but appears as Haborym in related manuscripts and editions — a documented spelling variation among the different Goetic catalogs. The text describes his form as that of a very handsome man, but with three heads: one of a serpent, another of a man with two stars on his forehead, and another of a calf. He is described riding upon a viper, carrying a lit firebrand in his hand, with which he sets fire to cities, castles, and great places.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, Aim is listed as a Duke, commanding a number of legions of spirits according to the text. He is described as making men witty in all manner of ways, and knowledgeable in private and secret matters. The association with fire is a central element of his textual description, distinguishing him within the catalog.
Interpretation — Dr. Rudd's Tradition (manuscript, c. 1650)
The manuscript attributed to Thomas Rudd, predating Mathers' edition by roughly two and a half centuries, documents a distinct structural practice: each of the 72 spirits in the catalog is paired with a corresponding angel from the Kabbalistic Shem HaMephorash system (72 divine names), functioning as a restraining/governing counterpart. Where the exact identity of the angel paired with a particular spirit is not firmly established in the available sources, it is more accurate to describe this pairing practice in general terms than to attribute a specific angelic name without documentary basis — a caution reinforced by Joseph Peterson's research on the Rudd manuscripts.
Interpretation — Luciferian Tradition (modern interpretation)
Modern Luciferian authors, chiefly Michael W. Ford (in works such as The Luciferian Goetia), reinterpret the Ars Goetia's 72 spirits not as external entities summoned through the authority of a higher divine power — the Solomonic model — but as archetypal masks representing currents of the practitioner's own psyche, integrated in service of self-deification. In this reading, the fire associated with Aim — the lit firebrand with which he sets fire to cities and castles according to the text — is reinterpreted not as literal destruction, but as a symbol of the inner Promethean or Luciferian flame: the fire of illumination and conscious transformation, capable of consuming outdated psychological structures to make way for self-knowledge.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Aim and Haborym the same spirit?
- Yes. Aim, the form used in Mathers' edition, and Haborym are spelling variants of the same name found across different manuscripts and editions of the Goetic catalog.
- How is Aim described in Mathers' edition?
- He is described with three heads — of a serpent, of a man with two stars on his forehead, and of a calf — riding upon a viper and carrying a lit firebrand, according to the 1904 text.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Aim as old as the Mathers and Rudd traditions?
- No. It's a modern interpretation, developed mainly from the 2000s onward by Luciferian authors such as Michael W. Ford, who reframe the Ars Goetia's spirits as psychological archetypes for self-development — a contemporary symbolic reading, not a historical manuscript like Mathers' or Rudd's.
Sources
- S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.), Aleister Crowley (ed.). The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904).
- Joseph H. Peterson (ed.). The Lesser Key of Solomon (2001).
- Thomas Rudd (manuscript), ed. Adam McLean. Dr. Rudd's Treatise on Angel Magic (c. 1650 (2007 ed.)).
- Michael W. Ford. The Luciferian Goetia (2007).