Astaroth (Ars Goetia #29) — Seal of Astaroth / Astaroth Sigil for "Knowledge & Secrets" (Traditional & Symbolic)

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The Ars Goetia is a 17th-century grimoire cataloguing 72 spirits. Astaroth is the 29th spirit, ranked as a Great Duke commanding 40 legions. He is one of the most prominent figures in the catalogue, traditionally associated with knowledge of past and future, liberal sciences, and revealing secrets—a complex figure with ancient Near Eastern roots.

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Astaroth at a Glance: Knowledge, Sciences & Secrets

Past & Future (Astaroth) — Temporal Knowledge Theme (Traditional Claim)

Described as revealing knowledge of past and future—a figure for prophecy, memory, and understanding causality.

Liberal Sciences (Astaroth) — Education Theme (Historical Description)

Attributed with teaching the liberal sciences—grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

Secrets (Astaroth) — Hidden Knowledge Theme (Grimoire Tradition)

Linked to revealing secrets and hidden information—reflecting the Renaissance fascination with occult knowledge.

§ Introduction

Astaroth is traditionally listed as the 29th spirit, described as a powerful Duke commanding a large host. He's one of the Goetic names that blends older cultural memory (Near Eastern goddess traditions reinterpreted through later polemics) with early modern anxieties about knowledge that seduces—not through chaos, but through convincing explanations.

§ Grimoire Profile

Rank: Duke
Legions: 40
Attributed office: teaching sciences/handicrafts, revealing secrets, answering questions

§ Appearance (Traditional Description)

In later demonological art (notably 19th-century compendia), Astaroth is depicted as a winged figure, crowned, holding a serpent, riding a dragon-like beast—imagery that screams "knowledge with consequences."

§ Powers and Attributions

Traditional summaries associate Astaroth with:

Teaching mathematical sciences and crafts
Revealing hidden knowledge and secrets
Answering questions put to him (a repeated motif in Goetic catalogues)

§ Practical Use (Historical / Educational)

Astaroth is a perfect case study in how "temptation" can be framed as intellectual: laziness, vanity, and self-justifying logic show up in later moralized demonology around his name.

Symbolically (non-ritual), he maps to: seductive ideologies and rationalizations, "smart-sounding" excuses, the ethical responsibilities of knowledge.

§ Pop Culture Footprints

Astaroth is heavily reused in modern fiction and games precisely because the name signals "ancient power + intelligence."

§ Short Sources

Johann Weyer — Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1577)
Reginald Scot — The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584)
Jacques Collin de Plancy — Dictionnaire Infernal (1863 illustrated edition)

ASTAROTH