Valefor
Valefor is the sixth 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.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
In Mathers' edition (1904), Valefor is described with the hybrid appearance of a lion with an ass's head, roaring. The text describes him as a familiar spirit often associated, in the manuscript's narrative, with those inclined toward theft — a documentary characterization of the text regarding the nature attributed to the spirit, not an indication of use.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, published with commentary by Aleister Crowley, Valefor holds the catalog's sixth position and is described as a Duke, commanding 10 legions of spirits according to the text. He is characterized in the manuscript as a good familiar spirit to those he bonds with, though the text notes he tends to incite his companions toward theft.
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 Valefor, 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 Valefor 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 Ars Goetia's 72 spirits be understood not as external entities obedient to a divine hierarchy but as symbolic masks for impulses and potentials latent within the practitioner. In this reading, Valefor's hybrid form — a lion with an ass's head — is reinterpreted as the archetype of the tension between noble strength and stubborn or instinctual impulse within the individual, two natures coexisting in a single figure. His characterization as a familiar spirit inclined to incite theft is read, in this symbolic key, not as an endorsement of crime but as the archetype of the transgressive impulse that breaks with imposed external conventions and norms, in service of the initiate's self-assertion.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- What appearance does the text attribute to Valefor?
- According to Mathers' edition, Valefor appears with the hybrid form of a lion with an ass's head, roaring.
- How does the text characterize Valefor's nature?
- The manuscript describes him as a familiar spirit, noting that he tends to incite those he associates with toward theft — a documentary description of the text regarding the nature attributed to the spirit, not usage guidance.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Valefor 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).