Glasya-Labolas
Glasya-Labolas is the twenty-fifth of the 72 spirits catalogued in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton. He is described with the dual title of President and Earl, an unusual combination among the catalog's spirits.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
The name Glasya-Labolas also appears spelled Caacrinolaas (and, in some editions, Caassimolar or Classyalabolas) in related manuscripts, a common orthographic variation among the catalog's spirits, whose names were transmitted through successive manuscript copies across centuries. In Mathers' edition (1904), Glasya-Labolas is described with the appearance of a dog with the wings of a griffin, a hybrid image combining canine and winged elements.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, Glasya-Labolas holds the catalog's twenty-fifth position and is described with the dual title of President and Earl, commanding a number of legions of spirits according to the text. He is listed with the attribute of teaching all arts and sciences instantly, and is further described as able to make men invisible and to incite or calm quarrels and conflicts between people, per the attributes recorded in the text.
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 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. The precise identification of the angel corresponding to Glasya-Labolas in Rudd's documentary practice is discussed in Joseph Peterson's research on the Rudd manuscripts, which systematized this angel-spirit pairing across the whole catalog.
Interpretation — Luciferian Tradition (modern interpretation)
Modern Luciferian authors, chiefly Michael W. Ford (in works such as The Luciferian Goetia), propose that the catalog's 72 spirits be read not as external powers subjugated under a higher angelic hierarchy but as internal psychological forces within the practitioner, consciously integrated in service of self-deification. In this reading, Glasya-Labolas' hybrid form — a dog with griffin wings — is interpreted as the symbolic fusion of instinct and elevated vision, while his instantaneous mastery of all arts and sciences and his ability to render men invisible are read as archetypes of unbounded intelligence and the strategic discretion cultivated by the initiate.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does Glasya-Labolas hold two titles, President and Earl?
- Mathers' text assigns Glasya-Labolas the dual title of President and Earl, a combination of ranks found in a handful of spirits in the goetic catalog, without the original text explaining the exact reason for this dual hierarchical classification.
- Is Glasya-Labolas the same name as Caacrinolaas?
- Yes. Caacrinolaas is one of the documented orthographic variants of the same spirit in related manuscripts and editions, reflecting the textual instability common in the manuscript transmission of the catalog's names across the centuries.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Glasya-Labolas 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).