Written June 4th, 2016 | Edited: 28th February 2019

Well, so recently I was visited, and given a warning from the first Goetic King, Bael. I had never worked with him before, and a lot of the things he said were not new to me, so this is not a post where I reveal some mind boggling information or teach evocation. No, I want to talk about the way in which Bael contacted me, as I’ve frequently heard of things like this happening.\

This evocation was part of a larger ceremony, but the focus this time is just how powerful synchronicity is, and how a spirit is able to manipulate events far beyond our control, in order to execute their Will, without being told by a magician. Some people believe that Goetic spirits are nothing but demons or servitors, unable to do anything without us in the physical, and inferior to us. Constructs without a Will. I’m open to all ideas, but I lean away from this particular line of thinking. At least in personal experience, it seems to me that Spirits, Gods, Demons, Angels etc do have a Will of their own, and even some servitors do as well. I won’t claim to know how, or say that I understand it fully. But as far as i’m concerned, the correct approach to all magick to treat everything as simultaneously both internal and external.

I will share what the evocation consisted of, and what Bael told me. It was he who sought me out, and we did not to form a contract. One might say it is a bad idea to call a spirit simply to chat, and I would wholeheartedly agree, but this was still something I went ahead and did it anyway. I don’t suggest going ahead and calling any old spirit who wishes to speak with you, but exceptions are made when it comes to great spirits, such as Goetic Kings.

EDIT (2019): On second thought, don’t just go evoking every entity that wants your attention, regardless of who they are. Only do so if you have a strong gut feeling and actually want to go through with it, or hope to learn something. Consult your guides, or gods, or ancestors etc.

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A Background on the Spirit

According to the Hebrew bible, Ba’al was the name of the primary god of the Phoenicians (and of course the monotheists in their paranoia decided that he was “Satan’s assistant”). In some Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during the Late Antiquity, Baal meant “lord”, and so this name was given to the first and principle spirit of the Goetia, the first king. Bael is apparently a french corruption of Baal, and for better or for worse this is the final name which made it into the Grimoire.

According to the Goetia, Bael is a king, who rules over 66 legions. He makes you invisible/invincible, depending on which version you look at. This really just means he can protect you on the astral plane by essentially veiling you from enemies and threats. Since he is a king, his seal is to be made in Gold. In the  Dictionnaire Infernal by Colin de Plancy, he was depicted as having a head of a toad, cat and man, on a set of spider legs. You can easily look it up in the Ars Goetia, Lesser Key of Solomon by S.L Mathers.

There is also, the fact one of the Asura Kings in Hindu Mythology was named Baal, or Bali. Usually worshiped as Mahabali, he is the ‘benevolent ruler of Asuras”. The word Asura is similar to Goetia, as in it does not mean ‘demons’, but is equated to ‘demon’. Personally, I think Bael is Mahabali.

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How Bael Initiated Contact

So, how did Bael get me to notice him? It’s a weird story actually. I had this evocation planned for a Sunday, and i was thinking about it, while absentmindedly scrolling through a social media site, when, lo and behold, a picture of Bael appeared. My first reaction was to be really confused. Like most magicians, i’m not too open about my practice, so it’s not like I ever follow occult pages.

Then, the post fully registered in my mind, and I was amused. It was not a post about magick at all, but an article by a Gaming magazine about how the game Doom, which released this year, could be made “better”.

In the article, they listed many ways to make the game better, but whats stands out if the section where they said how the demons could be made cooler, and then listed off some Goetia, saying these should be added to the game. I assume the author just googled “list of classical demons” or something in order to find some traditional literature, and stumbled upon the Goetia.

And out of all the things he wrote about the game, he chose the picture of Bael as the thumbnail, even though it had nothing to do with the game, and that’s how I was able to notice it. When things like this happen, it’s good to take notice. Bael had used his power to influence a random author halfway across the world to stumble upon the Goetia, include them in an article (he may have influenced the article itself), make sure Bael’s name and picture was in, and then choose that as the thumbnail to appear on my wall as I think about evocation. Impressive? Yeah, pretty freaking impressive.

I meditated on it, until I heard a distant voice that I recognized as Bael, saying I should evoke him as soon as possible, as he had something to tell me.

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Preparation for Evocation

Bael is a fiery spirit, ruled by the Goetic Ruler of the South, Göap.
Ideally, as a King he should be evoked on Sunday in the Sun’s Hour. Best would be when the Moon’s age is even numbered, as it is said in the grimoire (2,4,6,8,10,12,14).
His Zodiac is Mars is in Aries, element is Fire, and ruling Archangel is Mikhael.

However, this time I went ahead and performed the ceremony during the waning moon, at a random time at night. The only thing I actually did right was the incense, which was a mixture of Frankincense and Martian Incense left over from when i’d done an Invocation of Samael. I also prepared and consecrated his seal. These are two things I never skip, because the seal and incense are easy to prepare, so no point skipping it. For more on timing, click here. 

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The Visit

Bael came quickly, but not as visibly as I wanted. It was a fairly quick ceremony, so I was satisfied with just animal faces in the smoke. It was mostly animals of ferocity, and royalty, constantly morphing. I could make out a lion, dragon, goat, ram, wolf, and at one point a man with a face like a dragon/lion hybrid. Yes, I did see the frog. No spider legs though. There was a sense of grandeur.

This is roughly how it went:

I asked “Are you King Bael?”. this is basically a formality, since you usually know intuitively if the spirit is an impostor. “Yes, I am..”

“Welcome! Great King!”
“Greetings, Magician”
“King Bael, did you call me through an internet article?”
“Yes, I did infact call thee! I have things to say….”
He spoke kinda in a semi formal, archaic manner of English, the kind you’d find in the Goetia. Well, after this he rambled on.

“I am a Powerful King, who can teach divination, and other such great knowledge. I can veil you from danger, and render you invisible to others. I can tell you what your enemies think, and how to use them”

“That’s good and all, but you must have a reason for initiating contact, King”

“You see, human, I wished to work with you, and I wanted to tell you something important: All that you see, sense and feel are lies! Do not think, feel. Trust not your vision, for it can deceive. The external senses can lead people astray. That, is what you call the ‘temptation of Sathan'”

Pretty much knew that already, but then he said some other things that I wont talk about here. It was a warning, that I somewhat understood. Also, in one of the grimoires (Armadel or Goetia, can’t recall which), it does say to be wary of the ‘temptation of sathan’. 

I then asked if he wanted something in return, even though we’d not made a contract. It was more like he’d introduced himself. “You need not make an offering, though you would be kind to do so.” He then said some more thing. When telling me how to protect myself from the threat, he said things like
“Do what you can”
“Pray to the Lord”
“Have faith in the craft”
“Seek out knowledge”
“Work with me”
“Remember Me”
“Honour me”

Sorry, what? Here folks, we have the principle King of Inferno telling me to ‘pray to the lord’. That was new. But Spirits don’t often say everything through words. They speak simply, and don’t use phrases, idioms, gestures etc, the way humans do. They make up for this by showing visions and sending emotions. 

He said some pretty dark, grim things as well, which, again, I wont write. Then, I simply gave the license to depart, and bid him farewell.

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Conclusion

All that stuff about the Goetia being evil and deceitful and whatnot, and yet King Bael helped me out. So far, i’ve only had positive experiences with them. They can be harsh, but then again, so can the Angels.
“As above, so below…” is a well known Axiom in the occult, but the second part is “..as Below, so Above.” Those who fear the Goetia as evil often forget this bit. It’s not just that the Spirits are reflection of you, you are also a reflection of them. If you evoke the Goetia with preconceived notions of them beings demons, then that’s how they’ll come. To a bitter and hateful person, even Angels can appear oppressive and tyrannical (and often they do, to those unwilling to bear responsibility for their actions). Remember, even Christ has an aspect as the harsh Judge and Avenger.

So there we have it, my encounter with Bael. Remember, the spirits are always there, and if you catch their attention, they’ll try to get in touch. Learn to read omens, and you will benefit greatly.

EDIT (2019): I have concluded since then that the warning was sincere. Bael is in fact, the same as Ba’al, the chief fertility Deity of the Canaanite people. He is simply a forgotten, distorted God, the same as Astarte or Amon, and not a true “demon” in the way Belial or Azmodeus are. However, in Goetic evocation, we are perhaps connecting to lower aspects of these Gods, rather than those exalted faces communed with during true Invocation. Thus, my interaction with him was akin to an interaction with a pagan diety, rather than a true Infernal ruler. So the language he used makes a lot of sense. I never ended up working with him, but his warning were of Great help at the time, to protect me against certain influences.
Unlike Demons, the old Hebrew deities simply want to be remembered and honoured. Monotheism has not been kind to the Pagan gods or their people, especially in the Middle East (in stark contrast to say, the influence of Buddhism/Doaism in the East, where it has merged nicely into old polytheistic traditions). I would still say that you should be cautious when dealing with any Goetic spirits who were not former Deities. The ones who are closer to djinn, though helpful, can be tricky to work with. The demons even more so, especially to someone not fully prepared and full of fear. Seek solace in this though: everything, at the end of the day, is according to the Divine Plan of the Ain Soph, the One, the All Mind.

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Well, that’s me done. Be sure to follow the Blog for more content. You can also follow me on Instagram @WhiteRavenMagus.

Until we meet again.
~White Raven