The Dictionary of Demons, page 48
Oreoth: A particularly malevolent being described as a demon malignus in the Munich Handbook. He is invoked as part of a curse designed to strike one’s enemies senseless. He binds people’s minds and addles their senses. See also MUNICH HANDBOOK.
Orgosil: According to the Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, the name of this demon means “tumultuous.” Orgosil is one of several demons said to serve the arch-fiend Beelzebub. See also BEELZEBUB, MATHERS.
Orias: The fifty-ninth demon named in the Goetia. In Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft, Orias is named as a great marquis with thirty legions under his command. He reportedly appears in the form of a lion with a serpent’s tail. He comes riding a strong horse, and he carries two great, hissing serpents in his right hand. From this description, one can only assume that his leonine form has some anthropomorphic qualities. Perhaps appropriately, he is credited with the ability to transform people. He has perfect knowledge of astronomy, teaching the mansions of the planets. He also teaches the virtues of the stars. He is reputed to be able to confer dignities and inspire the favor of both friends and foes. His name appears in both Wierus’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Welsh Book of Incantations. The name of this demon may stretch back to the Testament of Solomon, as it is only one letter off from Ornias, a demon who features strongly in that text. In the Goetia of Dr. Rudd, he is said to rule over only thirty legions of infernal spirits. This text names the angel Hazahel as the being set over the demon to constrain him. See also BOOK OF INCANTATIONS, GOETIA, ORNIAS, RUDD, SCOT, SOLOMON, WIERUS.
Oriel: A spirit whose name appears in several different places, variously described as a demon, an angel, and sometimes even an archangel (where the spelling of his name is interpreted as a variant of Uriel). In the second book of Trithemius’s Steganographia, he appears as an angel. But Oriel also appears in the court of the demon Malgaras in the first book of the Steganographia. The spirits here are generally taken to be demons, and they are presented as such in the Ars Theurgia. According to this later text, Oriel serves Malgaras as a chief duke of the day. He has thirty lesser spirits beneath him and he is tied to the court of the west. Elsewhere in the same text, Oriel is named as one of twelve dukes who serve the demon-king Caspiel, Emperor of the South. He is reputedly stubborn and difficult in nature and commands a total of two thousand two hundred and sixty lesser spirits. See also ARS THEURGIA, CASPIEL, MALGARAS, TRITHEMIUS, URIEL.
Seal of Oriel from the Ars Theurgia. Accorded heavenly rank elsewhere, in this text he is identified as a demon. Ink on parchment by M. Belanger.
Oriens: In the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Oriens is one of four demons who preside over the cardinal directions. As the Latin root of his name suggests, Oriens is the infernal king of the east. Mathers equates him with the fallen angel Samael, further suggesting that a variation of his name is responsible for “Sir Uriens.” According to Mathers, this was a title of the Devil popular in medieval times. According to the Abramelin material, Oriens is one of eight demonic sub-princes whose names are scribed upon paper on the second day of the Holy Guardian Angel working. These demons are supposed to appear to the magician on the third day, at which time he must make them swear their loyalty to him—first on his wand and then on his book. The purpose of acquiring the loyalty of these demons is to have them lend their powers to magickal tasks. Oriens is attributed with the ability to provide wealth for the magician in the form of endless amounts of gold and silver. He can cause visions, and he can answer any questions about matters pertaining to the past, the present, or the future. He can give the magician the power to fly, and he is also excellent at providing familiar spirits. He can conjure servants for the magician, and he can bring the dead back to life. Oriens oversees a sizable number of other demons, all of whom share his powers and can lend these to the magician upon command. Oriens is a popular figure in the grimoiric tradition. His name appears in numerous works, including the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, the Book of Oberon, and the Book of Incantations. In the French Livre des esperitz, his name is spelled Orient. In Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Oriens appears under the spelling Urieus. Other variations include Orience and Oraeus. In the Clavis Inferni, his name appears as Urieus. He is associated with the element of fire and is depicted with a winged serpent biting its own tail. The angel Michael holds power over him. See also AGRIPPA, BOOK OF OBERON, BOOK OF INCANTATIONS, CLAVIS INFERNI, LIVRE DES ESPERITZ, MATHERS, SAMAEL, SCOT, RUDD.
Orinel: A demon who functions as a servant to the greater fiends Astaroth and Asmodeus, Orinel appears in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. According to the 1898 Mathers translation of that work, his name means “ornament” or “tree of God.” This would seem to suggest that Orinel was once an angel, even though he is now classed among the unclean spirits of the Abramelin working. See also ASTAROTH, ASMODEUS, MATHERS.
Ormenu: A demon in the service of Pamersiel, the first and chief spirit under the Emperor of the East. Ormenu holds the rank of duke and is reportedly an unpleasant spirit to deal with, as he is arrogant, evil, and given to deceit. According to the Ars Theurgia, Ormenu and his fellows can be called upon to drive other spirits from haunted houses, should anyone be desperate enough to fight fire with fire in the realm of otherworldly beings. See also ARS THEURGIA, PAMERSIEL.
Ormion: In the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Ormion is said to serve the demon-king Asmodeus. During the Holy Guardian Angel working central to this text, Ormion and a series of other demons are called up and forced to swear their allegiance to the summoner, thus increasing his power. See also ASMODEUS, MATHERS.
Ormonas: A servitor of the arch-fiend Magoth, Ormonas appears in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. In the Mathers version of this work, the name is spelled Horminos. See also MAGOTH, MATHERS.
The Children of Smokeless Flame
In Jewish and Christian lore, King Solomon was the wisest of rulers, gifted by God with powers to control and bind demons. The part of his story involving demons is told outside of biblical canon, yet it is intricately intertwined with his mythic legacy. But what about Islam? Judaism and Christianity are not the only religions connected to the biblical tradition. Islam, founded by Muhammad in the seventh century of the Common Era, stems from the same sources and one of the figures—both religious and mythic—that it shares with Christianity and Judaism is King Solomon.
Muslims have rich lore revolving around Solomon, whose name in their tradition is typically rendered Suleiman. Suleiman (the Magnificent) is the same wise king, and he is similarly a powerful sorcerer possessing the ability to summon, bind, and compel supernatural beings. In Islam, however, the supernatural beings closely associated with Solomon aren’t demons. They’re Jinn.
Sometimes also spelled Djinn, these are a class of being created from smokeless fire (as opposed to Adam’s clay). They exist side by side with humanity in a realm largely imperceptible to us. They are long-lived but ultimately mortal. They marry, they have children, they lead rich lives. In the English-speaking world, our most significant exposure to the idea of Jinn typically comes through The Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Lore of the Jinn is the source of our trope of the genie in a bottle, but for Muslims, they are so much more. Belief in Jinn is a fundamental and unavoidable aspect of Islam, because the Quran is in part addressed to them. The seventy-second chapter of the Quran is the Sūrat al-Jinn. It runs for twenty-eight verses and does not treat the Jinn merely as objectively real beings, but presents them as the one other species, in addition to humanity, capable of hearing the Prophet’s words and being redeemed.
For this reason, belief in Jinn is canon to Muslims (although notably, it is not included among the six articles of Islamic faith). The Jinn are not the only supernatural beings that exist in the Muslim creation, of course. Islam has lore on angels and demons as well, but, significantly, the Muslim version of Satan is neither a demon nor a fallen angel. He is Ibliss, and he is a Jinn.
Ornias: The half-eater. This demon is pivotal to the Testament of Solomon. In this extra-biblical text, King Solomon is reputedly given the power to compel and control demons by the Lord God. Solomon prayed for this ability because a young laborer working on Solomon’s temple was being victimized by a demon who ate half of his share of food every day. Ornias is that demon. He is the first demon who Solomon gains power over, and he subsequently leads Solomon to all the other demons named in this ancient text. Ornias is said to appear as an incubus to women and as a succubus to men. An adept shapeshifter, he can also take the form of a lion. When he appeared to the young laborer, he was said to manifest in the form of a burning fire. Ornias is a demon of ambiguous intentions, as he also claims to strangle men who lust after noble virgins, demonstrating a protective, if violent, side. In his first interview with Solomon in the Testament of Solomon, Ornias states, “I am the offspring of the archangel Uriel, the power of God.”54 In this statement, Ornias links himself—as well as the Solomonic tradition—with the Watcher Angel myth that appears in the Book of Enoch. Possibly because of their blood relation, the name of the archangel Uriel is said to hold power over Ornias, and this name is used to command the demon to give up the names and whereabouts of his fellows. He may appear in later editions of the Goetia as the demon Orias, sometimes also rendered Oriax. See also ORIAS, SOLOMON, WATCHER ANGELS.
Orobas: The fifty-fifth demon of the Goetia, Orobas is named as a great prince with twenty legions under his command. He also appears in Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft and Wierus’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum. As Goetic demons go, he is one of the nicer ones. It is said that he suffers no one to be tempted and, unlike so many demons, he makes no effort to deceive anyone. When he manifests, he takes the form of a horse, but after a while, he usually transforms into a man. He speaks of divine virtue and answers questions about God and Creation. He can also grant favors and dignities as well as make a person well-liked by both friends and foes. His name is likely derived from the Greek ouroboros, an image depicting a serpent that devours its own tail. It represents eternity. In the Goetia of Dr. Rudd, he has twenty-six legions of spirits under his command. According to this text, the angel Mebahiah has the power to compel and constrain him. In the Book of Oberon, an illustration attempts to depict his human form, which is monstrous. He has a horn like a rhino’s protruding from the middle of his forehead, ass’s ears, and a nose and tongue both as long and sharp as poignards. Among the promotions that he grants, the Book of Oberon states that he can make someone a prelate—an ecclesiastical title unusual for the office of a demon. In this text, he has only twelve legions of lesser spirits under his control. See also BOOK OF OBERON, GOETIA, RUDD, SCOT, WIERUS.
Oroia: A demon whose name appears in the Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. Oroia is one of a vast array of demonic servants who work beneath Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon, the four infernal princes of the cardinal directions. The name of this demon only appears in one of the other known manuscripts of the Abramelin material, where it is given as Oroya. See also AMAIMON, ARITON, MATHERS, ORIENS, PAIMON.
Oropel: A demon named in the Testament of Solomon. Oropel is the fourth demon among those connected with the thirty-six decans of the zodiac. His name is absent from the Conybeare translation of this seminal work but is included in a later translation by McCown. McCown, notably, was working from a more complete collection of manuscripts. According to these texts, Oropel brings a sore throat. The angel Raphael holds power over him. See also SOLOMON.
Oropys: A demon with the power to craft books on virtually any subject overnight. He and several other bookish demons are invoked in a spell recorded in the Book of Oberon, a grimoire from Elizabethan England. There, Oropys, whose name is alternately given as Arypys, is said to be especially useful at making books on the topics of conjuration, alchemy, the magickal arts, and nigromancy (summoning demons and similar spirits). See also BOOK OF OBERON.
Orpemiel: In the Henson translation of the Ars Theurgia, Orpemiel is said to serve in the hierarchy of the east, directly beneath the infernal prince Camuel. In this text, Orpemiel is presented as a mighty duke with ten servants to attend his needs. He belongs to the hours of the day but appears during the hours of the night. When he manifests, he takes a form that is beautiful to behold. See also ARS THEURGIA, CAMUEL.
Orymell: Called upon to make other spirits obedient and docile, Orymell is named in the Book of Oberon. According to that text, he serves Tantavalerion, a demon identified as the supreme emperor of all spirits. Orymell is one of a group of seven demons holding the rank of senator. See also ASMOO, BOELL, BOOK OF OBERON, DANALL, PASCARY, SALARICA, TANTAVALERION, TYGRA.
Oryn: A chief duke governed by the demon-king Armadiel, Oryn has a total of eighty-four lesser spirits to do his bidding. He is part of the demonic hierarchy ultimately answerable to Demoriel, the infernal Emperor of the North. According to the Ars Theurgia, Oryn is tied to time as well as direction. To calculate the time for Oryn, divide the day into fifteen equal portions. The seventh of these sections of time marks the hours and minutes during which Oryn may manifest. See also ARMADIEL, ARS THEURGIA, DEMORIEL.
Ose: The fifty-seventh demon of the Goetia. Ose is demon of illusion said to often take the form of a leopard. He is not limited to this bestial shape and can also assume the shape of a man. He can drive people mad until they are overcome with delusions. He can also transform people into various forms. He is knowledgeable about the liberal sciences, and he is also privy to both divine and occult secrets. According to Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft, he holds the rank of president and has some power over the passage of time. In Wierus’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, his name is given as Oze. The Goetia of Dr. Rudd credits him with ruling over three legions. This same text gives the name Nemamiah as the angel set over this demon to control him. In the Welsh Book of Incantations, he transforms people and, more than that, makes it so the changed person does not wish to be anything but that new creature or thing. This text states that he rules thirty legions of spirits. In the Book of Oberon, his name can be found with the variant spelling of Oze. He is identified as one of the twelve principal ministers of Amaimon, king of the south. He appears again as Oze in the French Livre des esperitz. See also BOOK OF INCANTATIONS, BOOK OF OBERON, GOETIA, LIVRE DES ESPERITZ, RUDD, SCOT, WIERUS.
Ossidiel: A night-demon who holds the rank of duke, at least according to the Ars Theurgia. In that same text, Ossidiel is said to serve the infernal prince Usiel. He has forty lesser spirits under his command, and he excels at both revealing and concealing precious items. He serves in the court of the west. See also ARS THEURGIA, USIEL.
Othey: When first summoned, Othey has a most remarkable appearance: he shows up looking like a tun of wine. If the prospect of a talking wine barrel seems off-putting, Othey can be compelled to take human form. In that shape, his eyes burn like fire. He is a demon of architecture, instantly building castles, towers, and whole towns. He is named in the Book of Oberon, where it is said that he serves as one of twelve principal demons in the court of Egin, king of the north. Note: No mention is made of the consequence of drinking Othey in his wine-barrel form, but it can’t be good. See also BOOK OF OBERON, EGIN.
A Persian angel with a leopard’s head and three sets of wings. Depictions of supernatural beings from other cultures helped to shape some of the forms attributed to demons. From an illuminated manuscript, 1750. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection, London.
Othiet: A demon in the court of the south under prince Aseliel. Othiet’s name and seal appear in the Ars Theurgia, where he is said to hold the rank of chief duke. He is connected with the hours of the night and will only manifest during this time. He holds dominion over thirty principal spirits and another twenty ministering servants. See also ARS THEURGIA, ASELIEL.
Otim: One of several chief dukes who serve in the hierarchy of the west beneath the demonic prince Cabariel. Otim has fifty lesser spirits who attend him. He is a demon of the night, appearing in the hours between dusk and dawn. He is very evil-natured and will attempt to trick and deceive anyone he comes into contact with. His name, as well as the seal that commands and binds him, both appear in the Ars Theurgia, the second book of a larger work known as the Lesser Key of Solomon. See also ARS THEURGIA, CABARIEL.
Otius: A great count in the hierarchy of Hell, Otius commands thirty-six legions of devils. According to the fifteenth-century grimoire known as the Munich Handbook, when summoned he appears to be human, except that he has three horns and exceptionally large teeth. He also comes bearing an extremely sharp sword. When asked, he can speak of all hidden things, revealing the secret nature of the past, present, or future. He is also able to sway the minds of men, causing friend and foe alike to look favorably upon those who summon him. Given this description of his appearance and powers, Otius may well be a variation on the Goetic demon Botis. See also BOTIS, MUNICH HANDBOOK.
Oylol: This demon is tied to the sphere of the moon. When he manifests, he assumes a body that is large and has the appearance of a whitish, dim crystal or a dark cloud. He is a servant of the demon-king Harthan, who rules over the spirits of the moon. Oylol is named in the Peterson translation of the Sworn Book, where he is said to help prepare for journeys and influence the minds of mortals. The angels Gabriel, Michael, Samyhel, and Atithael have power to compel and control him. See also HARTHAN, SWORN BOOK.
Ozia: A demon who appears as an old man riding an elephant. He is one of the twelve chief spirits serving in the court of the king of the north, Egin. Ozia has powers of transportation and invisibility and can also gain the favor of enemies. He is knowledgeable in all the arts and sciences. His name appears in the Elizabethan grimoire known as the Book of Oberon. See also BOOK OF OBERON, EGIN.
