Vine
Vine is the 45th of the 72 spirits catalogued in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton. He is one of the few spirits in the catalog described with a dual title, King and Earl, according to the text. In some editions and manuscripts his name also appears spelled Vinea.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
In Mathers' edition (1904), Vine is described as appearing in the form of a lion, riding upon a black horse, holding a viper in his hand. The text attributes to him knowledge of things past, present, and to come, the ability to discover witches and reveal hidden things, as well as building towers, throwing down walls, and making the waters rough with storms — documentary descriptions of the traits narrated for the spirit in the manuscript.
Interpretation — Solomonic Tradition (Mathers/Crowley, 1904)
In Mathers' edition, published with commentary by Aleister Crowley, Vine holds the catalog's 45th position and is described with the dual title of King and Earl, commanding 36 legions of spirits according to the text. He is listed with the attributes of declaring things past, present, and to come, discovering witches and hidden things, building towers, throwing down walls, and making the waters of the sea rough with storms.
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 Vine, 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 Vine 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), offer a reading of the catalog's 72 spirits not as external powers invoked under a higher divine authority — the Solomonic model — but as archetypes mirroring internal processes of the practitioner, to be understood and assimilated in service of self-deification. In this key, Vine's dual title of King and Earl is read as a symbol of sovereignty over one's own psyche across multiple registers, while his contrasting attributes — building towers while also throwing down walls, roughening the waters with storms — are reinterpreted as the necessary construction and demolition of outdated psychic structures, a cycle of inner rupture and rebuilding; the viper he holds symbolizes a dangerous yet necessary knowledge to be mastered.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does Vine hold two titles, King and Earl?
- Mathers' text attributes this dual hierarchical classification to Vine, unusual among the catalog's 72 spirits — most receive only a single title (King, Duke, Prince, Marquis, Earl, or Knight). The manuscript does not detail the specific reason for this dual attribution.
- What form does the text attribute to Vine?
- According to Mathers' edition, Vine appears in the form of a lion, riding upon a black horse, holding a viper in his hand.
- Is the Luciferian reading of Vine 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).