Alloces
Alloces is the 52nd of the 72 spirits catalogued in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton. He is described with the title of Duke according to the text. In different manuscripts and editions his name also appears spelled Alocer.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
In Mathers' edition (1904), Alloces is described as appearing in the form of a soldier riding upon a great horse, his face like a lion's, very red, and having flaming eyes. His speech is described as hoarse and very deep. The text attributes to him the teaching of the art of Astronomy and all the liberal sciences, along with bringing good familiar spirits to the operator, as described in the manuscript.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, published with commentary by Aleister Crowley, Alloces holds the catalog's 52nd position and is described as a Duke great, mighty, and strong, commanding 36 legions of spirits according to the text. He is listed with the attributes of teaching Astronomy and the liberal sciences, and of bringing good familiar spirits, as described in the manuscript.
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 related but distinct version of the catalog — in it, each of the 72 spirits, including Alloces, is paired with a corresponding angel drawn from the Kabbalistic Shem HaMephorash system (72 divine names), a restraining/governing structural element absent from Mathers' edition. No reliable record of the specific angel name Rudd's manuscript assigns to Alloces was found among the sources consulted for this entry; the general pairing practice is documented by researchers such as Joseph Peterson.
Interpretation — Luciferian Tradition (modern interpretation)
Modern Luciferian authors, chiefly Michael W. Ford (in works such as The Luciferian Goetia), read the Ars Goetia's 72 spirits not as external powers subordinate to a divine authority but as archetypes of the practitioner's inner faculties, integrated in service of self-deification. In this key, Alloces' mounted-soldier form and his lion-like, red, flaming-eyed face are reinterpreted as the archetype of warrior will and the sovereign courage of an individual who takes command of himself; his mastery of Astronomy and the liberal sciences symbolizes the expansion of consciousness toward an understanding of cosmic order, while the good familiar spirits the text attributes to him as gifts are read as the practitioner's own psychic faculties, recognized and cultivated as inner allies.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Alloces and Alocer the same spirit?
- Yes. Alloces and Alocer are variant spellings of the same name, found in different manuscripts and printed editions of the Ars Goetia — a spelling variation common to several of the catalog's 72 spirits.
- What appearance and attributes does the text give Alloces?
- According to Mathers' edition, Alloces appears as a soldier riding upon a great horse, with a lion-like, very red face and flaming eyes, teaching Astronomy and the liberal sciences and bringing good familiar spirits.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Alloces 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).