The Dictionary of Demons, page 36
Ilarax: “The Cheerful One.” Ilarax appears in a list of demons said to serve the infernal ruler Magoth. In the Mathers edition of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Ilarax is jointly ruled by Magoth and Kore. Another spelling of this name is Ilerak. See also KORE, MAGOTH, MATHERS.
The Devil’s Work
During the Middle Ages, the Devil seemed to be everywhere in Europe. If one credits the Witchcraze, Satan himself spent a great deal of time touring the countryside and seducing hapless old women into flying off with him to have wild orgies in the woods. Through a liberal application of torture, witch-finders would pull colorful, elaborate, and wholly incredible confessions from suspected witches, and many of these detailed the varied and devious ways in which the Devil and his many demons sought to corrupt and obtain human souls.
Saint Cado giving the Devil a cat for the safe completion of a bridge. From the collection of Grillot de Givry, courtesy of Dover Publications.
According to some folklore, however, demons weren’t always a nuisance to humanity. Occasionally, the Devil, or one of his cohorts, could be put to productive use. Grillot de Givry, in his lavishly illustrated collection Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy, recounts a number of tales that attribute feats of great industry to demonic beings. A variety of bridges and other building projects were supposedly constructed with the help of the Devil, including sacred structures such as chapels and cathedrals. His traditional payment? Old Nick would request the soul of the first living being to make use of his work. Wily villagers would apparently take the Devil’s help, but then find a way to trick him out of the agreed-upon price. This gave rise to the tale of the Wolf’s Door at the cathedral in Aachen, Germany, where a wolf was supposedly driven into the new cathedral upon its inauguration, so that this wild beast could fall prey to the Devil in place of some righteous soul. A similar folk belief is recorded in the stained glass at the old church in Saint-Cado, France. Here, the Devil reportedly finished construction on a local bridge. Accordingly, he requested the soul of the first living being to walk across as payment for his efforts. Saint Cado showed up the day that the bridge was finished with a cat from the village. The terrified feline crossed the bridge first, thus cheating the Devil of his due.
Ileson: A demon said to serve the infernal ruler Astaroth. He is named in the Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In all other versions of this work, this demon’s name is spelled Iloson. See also ASTAROTH, MATHERS.
Illirikim: A demon under the governance of the infernal ruler Amaimon, Illirikim is named in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In the Mathers translation of this work, his name is said to mean “they who shriek with a long and drawn-out cry.” See also AMAIMON, MATHERS.
Imink: A demon said to serve beneath Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon, the four infernal princes of the cardinal directions. Imink appears in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, translated by S. L. MacGregor Mathers from a fifteenth-century French manuscript. Although the etymology of this demon’s name is dubious, Mathers suggests that Imink’s name may mean “devourer.” See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Inachiel: An infernal duke serving the demon Soleviel, a mighty and potent prince who wanders the air with his retinue. One thousand eight hundred and forty lesser spirits carry out Inachiel’s will. He is one of twelve chief dukes who answer to Soleviel, and he serves his master every other year. According to the Ars Theurgia, he is not bound by any specific time to appear but may manifest during the hours of either the day or the night. See also ARS THEURGIA, SOLEVIEL.
Innyhal: An infernal spirit of Mars. He serves as a minister to the demon Iammax, the king of the spirits of Mars. According to the Peterson edition of the Sworn Book of Honorius, Innyhal wields power over death, destruction, warfare, and slaughter. This cheery fellow is one of five under the rule of Iammax described as subject to the east wind. The angels Samahel, Satihel, Ylurahihel, and Amabiel, who govern the sphere of Mars, hold power over this demon. See also IAMMAX, SWORN BOOK.
Inokos: One of several demons said to serve the infernal kings Asmodeus and Magoth. The manuscript translated by Mathers is only one of two versions of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage to contain either the name of this demon or its hierarchy. In the other, a 1608 manuscript originally in cipher, kept at the Wolfenbüttel library in Germany, the name of the demon is spelled Unochos. See also ASMODEUS, MAGOTH, MATHERS.
Iogion: According to nineteenth-century occultist S. L. MacGregor Mathers, the name of this demon is connected with a Greek root meaning “the noise of battle.” Mathers got this demon’s name from an extensive list of demons in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. According to the Abramelin material, Iogion is one of a vast array of demons who serve beneath the four demonic princes of the cardinal directions: Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon. See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Ipakol: A demon whose name may be derived from a Hebrew root meaning “breathing forth,” Ipakol appears in S. L. MacGregor Mathers’s translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. According to this text, Ipakol is governed by the demons Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon, the four infernal princes of the cardinal directions. See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Iparkas: According to Mathers, the name of this demon is derived from a word meaning “commander of cavalry.” In the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Iparkas serves the four princes of the cardinal directions: Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon, and thus he shares their power to confer knowledge, familiars, and visions to the magician who boldly summons him. See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
The seal of the demon Ipos varies little between different versions of the Goetia. Ink on parchment by M. Belanger.
Ipos: The twenty-second demon named in the Goetia, Ipos is a great earl and prince. The Pseudomonarchia Daemonum gives the name of this demon as Ipes, with an additional variation of Ayporos. In both Wierus’s Pseudomonarchia and Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft, this demon is reputed to know the past and future. He also possesses the power to make men audacious and witty. Ipos manifests in the curious form of an angel with a lion’s head, goose’s feet, and the tail of a hare. Scot describes him as “more obscure and filthy than a lion.”49 He commands thirty-six legions. In the Goetia of Dr. Rudd, he is said to be constrained with the name of the angel Jajael. See also GOETIA, RUDD, SCOT, WIERUS.
Irix: A name that possibly means “hawk” or “falcon,” at least according to occultist S. L. MacGregor Mathers. In his 1898 translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Irix is said to serve under the joint leadership of the demons Magoth and Kore. In other versions of the Abramelin material, the name of this demon is spelled Hyris. See also KORE, MAGOTH, MATHERS.
Irmasial: A demon named in the True Keys of Solomon. According to this text, Irmasial is one of four principal spirits under the direction of chief Satanachi, and an agent of Lucifer. Under the variant spelling Irmasliel, this demon appears in the seventeenth-century Venetian grimoire Secrets of Solomon. In this text, Irmasliel governs both alchemy and chemistry. He can teach the transmutation of metals and he also knows the secret to making something called “projection powder.” Irmasliel, whose name is alternately given as Trmael in this text, is one of four high-ranking demons in the court of Duke Satanachi. See also LUCIFER, SECRETS OF SOLOMON, SATANACHI, TRUE KEYS.
Irmenos: A name that occultist S. L. MacGregor Mathers relates to a Greek root meaning “the expounder.” Irmenos is named in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In this text, he is said to serve the infernal king Ariton, one of the rulers of the four cardinal directions. See also ARITON, MATHERS.
Biblical Species of Demons
The ancient Israelites believed in a vast and colorful array of demons. Some of them, like Ashteroth, were once worshipped as Semitic gods, but they were eventually demoted to demonic status after the conversion to monotheism. Others, like the Lilin (sometimes rendered Lilim), were adopted from the traditions of other countries that the Israelites came into contact with. The Lilin originated in Sumer and Babylon, but they ultimately evolved into uniquely Jewish monsters. The Lilin are associated with Lilith, the Jewish night-demon par excellence. Often depicted as the first wife of Adam, Lilith was greatly feared for her supposed attacks on women in childbirth. She was also blamed for crib-death, and a wide variety of Hebrew talismans were constructed in an attempt to protect infants from her attacks. In the Jewish tradition, she is associated with the night because her name bears strong similarities to the word for night, layelah. However, she is more properly a demon of tempests, since the Sumerian root of her name, lil, means “storm.”
Popular Hebrew amulet to protect mother and child from Lilit during childbirth. Medieval period. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection, London.
In addition to the Lilin, there are several references to the Shedim in both the Old Testament and the Jewish Midrash (official commentary on the Hebrew Bible). The Shedim can refer to a general species of demons, although the name is sometimes translated “the violent ones.” Like the Lilin, the Shedim almost certainly came to the ancient Israelites through the people of Babylon. In Babylonian mythology, the Shedu are spirits—some good, some bad—often referenced in conjunction with the Lamassu, or “colossal forms.” The Ruchin, another class of Jewish demons, were probably demons of the storm. Their name is derived from the Hebrew word ruach, or “wind.” The Lilin, the Ruchin, and the Shedim could all be lumped together under the general category of the Mazzikin, a collective term translated as “harmful spirits.” The Mazzikin have been popularized in recent years by author Neil Gaiman, who turned this plural species of demon into a compelling single demoness, Mazikeen, whose face is whole and beautiful on one side and rotten and corrupted on the other. Mazikeen appears in the fictional work The Sandman and in a spin-off series about the fallen angel Lucifer.
Irminon: Working from a fifteenth-century French manuscript on the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, occultist Mathers lists this demon among the many servants of Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon, the four infernal princes of the cardinal directions. According to Mathers, Irminon’s name is derived from a Greek word meaning “supporting.” See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Iromes: A demon governed by the infernal lord Beelzebub, Iromes appears in several versions of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In the Mathers edition of this work, the name of this demon is rendered Tromes. Accordingly, Mathers takes it to mean “trauma.” He is likely wrong. See also BEELZEBUB, MATHERS.
Irroron: According to nineteenth-century occultist S. L. MacGregor Mathers, the name of this demon may be derived from a Latin root meaning “sprinkling with dew.” Mathers records the name of Irroron in an extensive list of demonic servants who function beneath the four infernal princes of the cardinal directions: Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon. All of these demons, as well as a vast array of other infernal entities, are named in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Ischigas: A servant of the arch-demon Astaroth, Ischigas appears in the Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In another version of the Abramelin material kept at the Wolfenbüttel library in Germany, this demon’s name is given as Ychigas. See also ASTAROTH, MATHERS.
Ischiron: “The Mighty One.” Ischiron, with the variant spelling Ysquiron, is said to serve the infernal ruler Magoth. He appears in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In the Mathers translation of this material, Ischiron is said also to be ruled by Kore. See also KORE, MAGOTH, MATHERS.
Isekel: In the Mathers edition of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Isekel is a demon who acts as a servant to the four infernal princes of the cardinal directions: Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon. See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Isiamon: A demon whose name may come from a Hebrew root meaning “desolation.” In the Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Isiamon is said to serve the infernal ruler Astaroth. Another version of this demon’s name is spelled Asianon. See also ASTAROTH, MATHERS.
Isigi: According to occultist Mathers, the name of this demon means “to err.” In the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Isigi is said to serve the arch-fiends Astaroth and Asmodeus. All other surviving manuscripts of the Abramelin working give this demon’s name as Igigi. See also ASTAROTH, ASMODEUS, MATHERS.
Itamall: A demon of death and destruction, Itamall serves King Iammas, ruler of the spirits of Mars. Itamall can appear as a shield maiden or as an armed king riding a wolf. He wears garments of red to show his allegiance to the planet of battle, and his skin has a similar tone. He has the power to catch things on fire, to kill people, and to incite fighting and murder. He appears along with three fellow ministers in the Book of Oberon, an Elizabethan grimoire. See also BOOK OF OBERON, CARMAS, IAMMAS, PALFRAME, PALFRAMEN.
Itrasbiel: A demon used to clear other spirits out of haunted houses. Itrasbiel is named in the Ars Theurgia, where he is said to serve Pamersiel as a duke in the hierarchy of the east. Itrasbiel is an evil and deceitful spirit: arrogant, aggressive, and hard to control. Nevertheless, the Ars Theurgia maintains that he can be useful when pitted against other spirits of darkness to drive them away. See also ARS THEURGIA, PAMERSIEL.
The seal of Itrasbiel, a demon from the Ars Theurgia used to chase other spirits away. Artwork by M. Belanger.
Itules: One of several demons named in the Ars Theurgia in connection with Pamersiel, the first and chief spirit of the east under the infernal emperor Carnesiel. Itules is an ill-tempered spirit, said to be lofty and stubborn as well as evil and deceitful. He holds the rank of duke and can be used to drive spirits out of haunted houses—assuming one wishes to fight fire with fire. See also ARS THEURGIA, CARNESIEL, PAMERSIEL.
Iudal: In the extra-biblical Testament of Solomon, Iudal is described as a demon of affliction and disease. He plagues humanity with deafness and ailments that attack the hearing. If someone wishes to overcome this demon, they have only to invoke the name of the angel that governs him, Uruel. See also SOLOMON.
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49. Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft, p. 219.
Jamaz: In the Driscoll edition of the Sworn Book, Jamaz is identified as the infernal king of the element of fire. As a fire demon, Jamaz is said to be hot-headed and impulsive. He is also energetic and strong, and he can be generous to those he favors. His complexion is like fire, and he wields power over death and decay. Consequently, he can either restore that which has already decayed or he can prevent decay in an item or object. He can cause death with but a word, and he can also raise an army of one thousand soldiers. Driscoll suggests that Jamaz accomplishes this by raising these soldiers from the grave. On top of all of this, he can give familiars. In keeping with his martial qualities, his familiars have a tendency to have the likeness of soldiers. See also SWORN BOOK.
Jambex: The Book of Oberon identifies this demon as a captain, a marquis, and a great governor with command over twenty-five legions of spirits. He is called upon in love magic where he consecrates a specially prepared waxen image. This image is purported to cause any man or woman exposed to it to fall in love with the person it was fashioned for. Jambex prefers to appear as a woman with a pleasant voice. In this form, he is especially gifted at compelling the love of men. Despite appearances, the text uses male pronouns throughout, suggesting that gender, sex, and appearance are quite malleable when it comes to demons. See also BOOK OF OBERON.
Janiel: A mighty duke in the hierarchy of the north. According to the Ars Theurgia, Janiel has thousands of ministering spirits in his retinue. He answers to the infernal king Baruchas, and will only manifest during the seventh portion of the day, when the day is divided into fifteen sections of time. See also ARS THEURGIA, BARUCHAS.
Janua Magica Reserata: A text drawn primarily from a manuscript designated Sloane MS 3825, where it appears along with the Nine Celestial Keys and the Tenth Key, appended in a different hand. The Latin title translates to Keys to the Gateway of Magic. In the British Library system, the document is simply entitled Treatise on Magic. Handwritten, this grimoire was likely produced in the early seventeenth century. It is believed to have been owned at some point in its history by Elias Ashmole (1617–1692), an English politician known to have practiced astrology and alchemy. The book is mainly concerned with angel magic, although it also presents a hierarchy of nine orders of demons that stand as a direct infernal reflection of the nine orders of angels. The book discusses the ranks of spirits and the importance of correspondences and chain of command, and enumerates the various types of spirits that can be summoned and controlled, including infernal, celestial, and terrestrial beings. The hierarchy of infernal princes outlined in the nine orders has later echoes in Francis Barrett’s early nineteenth-century work The Magus, demonstrating a line of descent. See also BARRETT.
Jasziel: A demon described in the Ars Theurgia, Jasziel holds the rank of duke and serves in the north-bound hierarchy of the demon-king Armadiel. Eighty-four lesser spirits serve beneath him. He is bound to appear only during a very specific time of the day. The Ars Theurgia gives the following formula for calculating that time: divide the day into fifteen equal portions. Whatever hours and minutes fall in the tenth of these portions of time will be Jasziel’s. The demon will only appear during this time. See also ARMADIEL, ARS THEURGIA.
