Malphas
Malphas is the thirty-ninth of the 72 spirits catalogued in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton. He is described with the title of President, initially appearing in the form of a crow according to the text.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
In Mathers' edition (1904), Malphas is described as initially appearing in the form of a crow, taking human form at the operator's request and speaking with a hoarse voice according to the text. The manuscript attributes to him the building of houses and high towers, as well as the ability to reveal enemies' desires and thoughts. The text also records, as a characterization of his nature, that he deceives whoever offers him a sacrifice — a documentary description in the manuscript of the character attributed to the spirit, not conduct guidance.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, published with commentary by Aleister Crowley, Malphas holds the catalog's thirty-ninth position and is described as a mighty President, commanding 40 legions of spirits according to the text. He is listed with the attributes of building structures, revealing enemies' thoughts and designs, and granting good familiar spirits.
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 Malphas, 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 Malphas 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), propose that the 72 spirits be understood not as external entities summoned under a divine hierarchy but as archetypal masks for faculties present within the practitioner. In this key, Malphas' attributed ability to reveal enemies' thoughts and designs is read as the archetype of self-analysis that exposes one's own self-deceptions and internal resistances, while the manuscript's trait that he deceives whoever offers him sacrifice is reinterpreted as a symbolic warning against blind devotion to external authorities — a call to self-reliance rather than submission.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- What form does the text attribute to Malphas?
- According to Mathers' edition, he initially appears as a crow, able to take human form at the operator's request, and speaks with a hoarse voice.
- How does the text characterize Malphas' nature?
- The manuscript describes him as able to reveal enemies' thoughts and designs and to grant good familiar spirits, but also records that he deceives whoever offers him a sacrifice — a documentary characterization of the primary source, not conduct guidance.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Malphas 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).