“ | Yes, I have fallen. I fell to the sunless and cinder-choked land below and was stripped of my boons of agriculture, but I gained more in exchange. I could, say, teach you an alternative to a thermonuclear weapon that doesn't bathe the blast site with radiation or teach you the true solution to reversing the warming of the air of the mortal world. But I require a gift in return. Choose what you desire wisely, mortal. | „ |
~ Bael. |
Bael is ranked as the first of the Ars Goetia and principal king of Hell, ruling over the East along with being the head of the infernal powers. Bael is the first of the 72 Spirits of King Solomon and governs 66 to 250 legions of demons and spirits.
Description[]
While his Semitic predecessor was depicted as a man or a bull, the demon Bael was in grimoire tradition said to appear in the forms of a man, cat, toad, or combinations thereof with the appearance of a king or soldier or with the heads of the three creatures onto a set of spider legs. He is able to make his conjurer invisible.
History[]
Fall from Grace[]
Bael was amongst the order of high angels that joined the ranks of Lucifer during the War in Heaven only to be cast out alongside his fallen cohorts into the abyss which was then formed into and established as Hell. His activities in Heaven were unknown but according to the Zohar, Baal was equal in rank to the archangel Raphael.
After the governing system was set, Bael became a Duke of Hell, with 66 legions of demons under his command. Bael was originally prominent Seven Kings of Hell before being overtaken by Belial. In the Livre des Esperitz, Bael is described as a king ruled by Orient (Oriens), still possessing the power of invisibility, as well as the power to garner the favor of others, but ruling over only six legions of demons.
Sloane MS 3824 mentions Baal, in "Of the Demon Rulers," as a king ruled by Oriens, attributed with teaching science, granting invisibility, and controlling 250 legions of spirits. Bael appears in later editions of the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, under Astaroth, as a prince whose powers include (again) invisibility and popularity. According to Rudd, Bael is opposed by the Shemhamphorasch angel Vehuiah. It is also believed in the Grand Grimoire that he is a direct subordinate of Lucifuge.
Worship on Earth[]
He was an agricultural and fertility deity of Canaan. Many minor deities of ancient Syria and Persia carried the name Baal, which means “the lord.”
According to the Canaanites, Baal was the son of El, the High God of Canaan. He was the lord of life and ruled the death-rebirth cycle. He engaged in a battle with Mot (death) and was slain and sent to the underworld. The crops withered, until Baal’s sister, Anat, the maiden goddess of love, found his body and gave it proper burial. The Canaanites worshipped Baal by sacrificing children by burning.
The term "Baal" is used in various ways in the Old Testament, with the usual meaning of master, or owner. It came to sometimes mean the local pagan god of a particular people, and at the same time all of the idols of the land. The name is drawn from the Canaanite deity Baal mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the primary god of the Phoenicians.
Power and Abilities[]
Sloane MS 3824 mentions Baal, in "Of the Demon Rulers," as a king ruled by Oriens, attributed with teaching science, granting invisibility, and controlling 250 legions of spirits. According to Francis Barrett, he has the power to make those who invoke him invisible, and to some other demonologists his power is stronger in October. According to some sources, he can make people wise, speaks with a hoarse voice, and carries ashes in his pocket along with necromancy.