Vassago
Vassago is the third of the 72 spirits catalogued in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton. He is described with the title of Prince, of a nature similar to the previous spirit in the catalog, Agares, according to the text.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
In Mathers' edition (1904), Vassago is described, in the text's own words, as 'of a good nature' — an unusual characterization among the catalog's 72 spirits, most of whom are described in neutral or threatening terms. The text does not specify a fixed form of appearance for Vassago, unlike several other spirits in the catalog.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, Vassago holds the catalog's third position and is described as a Prince, of a nature similar to Agares, commanding 26 legions of spirits according to the text. He is listed with the attribute of declaring things past, present, and to come, as well as discovering things hidden or lost.
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 Vassago, 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 Vassago 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 summoned under a divine hierarchy but as symbolic currents of self-knowledge to be awakened within the practitioner. In this reading, Vassago's attributed 'good nature' is reinterpreted as the archetype of a more harmonious, less conflicted relationship with oneself, and his office of declaring things past, present, and to come, as well as revealing what is hidden or lost, is read as the introspective capacity to access memories, motivations, and potentials not yet recognized by consciousness.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is Vassago described as 'of a good nature' in the Ars Goetia?
- Mathers' text uses this phrase to distinguish his temperament from that of other spirits in the catalog, without further detailing the reason for this classification. It is one of the few explicitly favorable characterizations among the 72 listed spirits.
- What knowledge does Mathers' edition attribute to Vassago?
- According to the text, his office is to declare things past, present, and to come, and to discover things hidden or lost.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Vassago 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).