Vapula
Vapula is the sixtieth 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 several editions and manuscripts his name also appears spelled Naphula.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
In Mathers' edition (1904), Vapula/Naphula is described with the hybrid appearance of a lion with griffin's wings. The manuscript attributes to him the teaching of philosophy, both in its mechanical and speculative branches, along with other sciences and crafts, according to the text.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, published with commentary by Aleister Crowley, Vapula holds the catalog's sixtieth position and is described as a Duke, commanding 36 legions of spirits according to the text. He is listed with the attribute of teaching mechanical and speculative philosophy, sciences, and handicrafts, as narrated 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 Vapula, 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 Vapula 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), reinterpret the catalog's 72 spirits not as external powers subordinate to a divine hierarchy but as archetypal masks for faculties latent within the practitioner's own psyche, to be awakened in service of self-deification. In this reading, Vapula's hybrid form — a lion's body with griffin's wings — is read as the archetype of the union between earthly strength and elevated vision, a figure akin to the classic Luciferian image of the light-bearer who combines power and knowledge. His teaching of mechanical and speculative philosophy, sciences, and handicrafts is reframed as the ideal of intellectual and creative self-development pursued through the practitioner's own merit, rather than a gift conferred by an external authority.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Vapula and Naphula the same spirit?
- Yes. Vapula and Naphula 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 knowledge does the text attribute to Vapula?
- According to Mathers' edition, Vapula teaches mechanical and speculative philosophy, along with other sciences and handicrafts.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Vapula 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).