Written August 17th, 2016 | Edited: 11th March 2019

I’ve been into Magick and occult for a long time now. I’ve learnt a lot, and I’ve encountered all sorts of stuff. One recurring thing was, evocations of the Ninth Goetic King, Paimon. For some reason I had an affinity for this particular Spirit over all others in the Goetia. The very first ritual I ever performed, was in fact an evocation of this King.

I’ve called on him many times, but there was always a fairly big gap in between, meaning every time I summoned him, I was always much more knowledgeable, experienced, and more mature than the previous time.

I want to share a brief description of the events that transpired each time, and what results I got. Evocations of this Spirit give me a timeline, a way to chart my growth as a magician.

I’m not sure what purpose this serves, but eh, who cares. I feel like writing this.

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Background of Spirit

“The Ninth Spirt in this Order is Paimon, a Great King, and very obedient unto LUCIFER. He appeareth in the form of a Man with a feminine face sitting upon a Dromedary with a Crown most glorious upon his head. There goeth before him also an Host of Spirits, like Men with Trumpets and well sounding Cymbals, and all other sorts of Musical Instruments. He hath a great Voice, and roareth at his first coming, and his speech is such that the Magician cannot well understand it unless he can compel him. This Spirit can teach all Arts and Science, and other secret things. He can discover unto thee what the Earth is, and what holdeth it up in the Waters; and what Mind is, and where it is; or any other thing thou mayest desire to know. He giveth Dignity, and confirmeth the same. He bindeth or maketh any man subject to the Magician if he so desire it. He giveth good Familiars, and such as can teach all Arts. He is to be observed towards the West. He is of the Order of Dominations. He hath under him 200 Legions of Spirits, and part of them are of the Order of Angels, and the other part of Potentates. Now if thou callest this Spirit Paimon alone, thou must make him some offering; and there will attend him two Kings called LABAL and ABALIM, and also other Spirits who be of the Order of Potentates in his Host, and 25 Legions. And those Spirits which be subject unto them are not always with them unless the Magician do compel them. His Character is this which must be worn as a Lamen before thee, etc.”
~Ars Goetia, Lesser Key of Solomon

Stop staring at it now, move along.

Paimon is a Goetic King. I have been unable to determine what his name means. It may be derived from Peyman, which in Persian means Oath or Promise, although personally I feel it has a European origin. “Mon” is a suffix that may be added to the name of a Daemon (spirit). In Prakrit, Pai mean’s “Lord”. In Chinese, it’s a variation of Bai, meaning white.

He does not really appear in any religion mythology. There was an Arabic God called Arsu, or Ruda, who rode a Dromedary, and protected travelers and caravans. Supposedly this was Paimon. He never told me this specifically, but this is the impression I get.

He is chiefly a Spirit of Knowledge, and also rules over money (not wealth, but money in particular). Thus, one could say he also represents the gaining of money, and the status and influence that brings, as well as infatuation with money that binds and enslaves people. I often make spiritual art that can be used for channeling (none of it is on this blog…at the moment). I’ve had an energy worker look at my art of Paimon and say that “binding” was a sensation they got. Others have had Paimon tell them about the true nature of money and what it represents.

An interesting thing to note is that the wording of the Goetia seems to imply that he is the most powerful Spirit, who has a huge number of functions. He rules over 200 legions, meaning of all the Goetic Spirits, he rules the highest number.

Paimon is a popular spirit to work with for many Magicians, probably because he covers a lot of ground, and seems to be particularly wise and friendly in nature.

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Nature of the Spirit

Name: Paimon
Rank: King (Sun)
Number: 9

Zodiac: Mercury in Taurus, First Decan
Angelic Counterpart: Haziel
Element: Earth
King: Ziminar
Archangel: Uriel
Colours: Gold (Sun), Orange (Mercury), Green (Taurus), Greenish-Blue (Personally channeled)
Direction: West, North West

Sphere: Tiphareth
Incense: Frankincense
Stones: Any stone associated with the Sun, Lapis Lazuli
Metal: Gold

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Experiences

1. The Noob and the King

The first actual ritual I ever performed in my life was an Evocation of Paimon (ambitious I know). I basically had no idea what I was doing. I had spent the week making a wand (not a proper symbolic wand, just a wand), and my circle, as well as a rough Triangle on white paper. I put my wand, and a dagger on the altar, along with a rough seal i’d drawn with pencil on black paper. Back then i didn’t know about incense, so I just used an incense stick. I could not find an incense holder, so I held up the stick with a bit of clay. I put it in the centre of the Triangle.

After that, I just did the LBRP, and the called out to The Spirit in various ways. I had not memorized any invocations (heck I barely remembered the LBRP), so I read out the Bornless Invocation, and then just called out in a language resembling that of the Goetia, but not quite so harsh and Abrahamic. I believed, and believe to this day, that “As Above, So Below” also means that if you call out to a Spirit/Deity/Demon/Angel expecting it to have evil and malice, you will certainly bring forth those emotions.

“Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself”, was said by the Buddha.

After about 30 mins, I’d begun to feel strange, but, being so new, i was expecting PHYSICAL manifestation (as in I expected a physical demon to appear in the tiny room. (In hindsight, if that had happened, I’d be scarred for life). So I kept calling.

To be honest, I think I wanted it to work, but really didn’t expect it to work. By this time I’d kind of lost faith. I was beginning to think it wouldn’t work since I’d not done everything according to the book. Despair and faithlessness began to take hold, and in my frustration, I shut my eyes in frustration and chant even more….

…and then I saw him, and nearly jumped out of my skin.

Or rather, I suddenly saw the vague shape of a man, robed, holding some kind of scepter in one hand, and a sword in another, with a face that looked like it was pale and elderly, but at the same time I had the sense of a more grand, beautiful figure adorned with jewelry. I was pretty terrified, since it only now dawned on me what I was truly doing. I hadn’t really thought this through, so I just asked for the first thing that came to mind, and promised to venerate him in art, in return.

I then closed gave the license to depart, and closed the ritual.

Over the next few days, I kept waiting for the request to be fulfilled, actively looking around me and being alert at all times. Naturally, it did not happen, and now I began to doubt magick itself. Eventually, I decided that it must not have worked, and then forgot about it. The moment I did, my request had been fulfilled within a few hours!

I was pretty amused, and excited at the same time. It did not manifest exactly as i’d wanted, and that’s when I realised that it was important to be very specific when you ask for stuff. Also, being so doubtful and paying attention is like admitting you don’t have faith in it, and so it won’t work. But I didn’t care, since this was my first practical success.

UPDATE (2019): I find it interesting that in the 2018 horror film “Hereditary”, they ended up depicting Paimon with a scepter too. Even though none of the public artwork of him has that. Then again, those guys used real Occult chants (and so probably called upon various energies, and probably poured their fear and horror into it, due to ignorance).

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2. By the Book

The next time I evoked him, it had been some time since the first ritual. In this time I’d learnt a bit more about Magick, and had done some Planetary and Candle stuff, and made some oils, incenses and such. I’d also made a better Triangle, this time as a Black Mirror.

Now that I knew about associations, I burnt proper incense in a censer (Frankincense and Myrrh). I had a proper seal, drawn in Gold ink upon black paper (I have an article about seals, check it out!). I’d also made the Seal of Solomon, the one with Tetragrammaton on it. I did this invocation on the 4th moon Day, on a Sunday in the Hour of Sun.

On my altar i’d put a candle, the Seal, some Lapiz Lazuli and a Sun stone. Outside the circle was the Triangle, propped up and with the Incense in front of it. I had candles outside all four corners of the circle. As you can see, I went more by the Grimoire.

I did the LBRP, once again read the Bornless Invocation, and then did my calls, this time reading it from the Ars Goetia (meaning it was far more Abrahamic than I feel comfortable doing). At one point, from the corner of my eye I saw a little ball of light shoot across the room into the Triangle. Needless to say, it startled me and broke my trance, but I continued. In those days I had to struggle and be very still in order to maintain anything resembling a real trance.

Eventually he appeared, sort of, but not in the mirror, but a vague face reflected in the glass holder of the candle. I made the declaration that he should come when I call upon him in the future. I was under the assumption that such contact needed to be made before further interactions with a Spirit, not even realising that I’d already called him before and that counted as first contact. Medieval Grimoires truly are a poor resource for beginners, because they’re so muddled and confused themselves.

Again, the lack of manifestation disappointed me. I think at the time I was too concerned external things like signs of physical manifestation, the incantations, the incense and such.

I should mention now, even here,  I did not use curse, constraints and such. Demons don’t like to be tied up and forced to listen to our problems. No one does really, least of all human beings.

And fair enough. Life is suffering for all, and no one has time to hear you whine.

I ended the ritual soon, having figured out many issues with it, and disappointed at the lack of proper contact.

I decided to ditch formal invocation and go with my heart, put out offerings, ditch the Bornless Invocation (for the time being), and not have so many candles. This was the middle of Indian summer, and I was sweating so much due to the heat I couldn’t have continued even if I wanted to.

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3. An Experiment

The following Tuesday, hour of Sun, I decided to do an impromptu invocation. I wanted to see just how much I could strip away from the Grimoire ritual and still have it work.

This time I had no incense, just a candle, the Seal of Paimon, my wand and that’s it. I didn’t even use my physical circle, just cast one myself. I did this facing East too.

I did the LBRP, and then informally called out, saying what came to mind. It worked..well, sort of. I encountered two of the King’s princes, and got some questions answered. These were the ones mentioned in the Goetia: Labal and Abalim. I asked them a lot of questions, including questions of how to correctly perform rituals like this.

This experiment yielded some strange results, But that’s a story for another day. I was told not to do too much unplanned work for real results, as in try to do it on a Sunday, have incense and offerings, and at least my circle. At that point I was still new to magick, and I think I still needed all the external aid I could get. I was also told not to become to obsessed with formalities, and focus more on the Evocation itself than on the ritual.

After this I stayed off rituals for some time and focus on study. The next ritual I’d do would be the Samael Invocation, which is the first post I made on this blog!

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 4. Great…no, Grand Success!

I finally got success, and performed the ritual as I would like to.

This was done on Sunday, hour of Sun, Waxing Moon. I don’t remember which phase, but as a general rule of thumb I try to do it on the days mentioned in the Grimoire, so it must have been the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th or 14th day.

I had the incense, the candle, the stones, both Seals of the Spirit and of Solomon, the circle and the mirror, and an offering of Milk and Honey.

Before this ritual I listened too some Binaural beats corresponding to the Sun Frequency, to get into the corresponding trance.

After casting my circle and doing some initial declarations, I began to chant, calling the spirit. I kept calling, and chanting, slipping into trance.

After a bit, everything in the room suddenly creaked, as if the air pressure had dropped suddenly. I’d heard this was supposed to happen, so it was a good sign. I also felt kind of heavy. I took this as a sign that the spirit had arrived, so I reached out mentally, and could get a response.

Since it is a Spirit of Knowledge, I had some questions prepared that I asked him. This was the first time I used pen and paper to communicate, and that’s what I usually do these days, channeling the voice of the Spirit onto paper, and then projecting my conscious thoughts back to it.

I can’t write all of it here, but some of it would eventually help me prepare my anointing oil, and in my Invocation of Lucifer, and lots of other insight would come later. I’m reading through it as I write this, and I can see in hindsight there was some stuff I didn’t understand back then.

He did tell me about the supposed “ranking”, saying it was more complicated that just rank and number of legions a spirit ruled. As Kings, both Bael and Paimon were kind of equal, and the number simply referred to correspondences. They both had their functions, and though it may seem like it to us, he wasn’t “superior” to the other King simply due to having more legions. 

UPDATE (2019): Bael is the same being as the Cannanite deity Ba’al.
The Bael of the Goetia is simply a lower aspect of the deity, that is reached through evocation. Ba’al is also important because he rules the Qliphoth called Harab Serapel (which is also a lower aspect of the God). Through proper Sumerian rites of Invocation, his higher cosmic form as the God of Fertility can be reached. For my evocation of Ba’al/Bael, click here.

It was then that I perceived that the shadows in the room were reflecting in such a way that it appeared as if a hooded figure was sitting cross legged from me. It was very vague, but still there.

I also asked questions about the nature of the Goetia, about offerings and such, as well as about the existence of the spirit itself, like “are you a demon, or a God” and “are you an independent being, can you go to ‘heaven'” and “is your existence similar to humans, but without a body?”

“I have lived many lives, in many places, as gods, as demons maybe. I cannot recall it chronologically. I am many things at once. You, to whom time is linear, cannot be made to understand this. Reality to me is different than to you. I am more than a mere thought form that exists in your head…”

I inquired further, and tried to make sense of it all. Of course, now I know a little more about it than I did back then, and am now realising how meaningless it is to ask about the “nature of existence” in such linear and physical terms.

It advised that instead on a Q/A session, one could also write out their intent and evoke the spirit, and ask for all the stuff to be answered later as insight or information that one comes across. I prefer to chat though.

He also said that he was most amused by humanity, and liked to converse with them, rather then just fulfill demands. Then again, he IS a Demon, so let’s put a pin on that for now. Remember, they are here to test us, and challenge us. Primarily, to make us pay our karmic dues, and in that process, both we and they evolve.

Update (2019): I now know that these things are more complicated. At the time I was a massive introvert. Paimon was trying to get me to open up, because he knew I was verbally gifted.
I enjoy conversation too, but I was too shy back then to realise that. Now I understand that King Paimon’s nature is very similar to my own personality, which is why I was drawn to him in the first place. Many spirits, deities and angels I’ve evoked and invoked don’t have that affinity for communication. Paimon is unique in this.

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5. Good Business

This ritual was much the same as the previous, in terms of altar and invocation, done a few months after. This time I tried some thicker incense, and no mirror. I also put some anointing oil this time, and had both seals of Solomon (including the one with the Hexagram).

I remember there was a gust of wind and distant thunder when I was doing the ritual calls.

One difference would be that this time, I would keep the Spirit’s seals face down, until he gave sign of arrival, and then turn it, symbolically making the spirit appear. I was also wearing a silver ring, and ritual garb.

The smoke was thick enough for him to appear in it, almost androgynous this time. The vibe you get from him is similar to what you’d get if you met a scholar, appearing as a hooded fgure, with long hair falling around his shoulders. I almost regarded him as a “acquaintance” of sorts, and he did that same. In fact, I think my greeting was “Hello, old Friend” and he said “Hello, Magician”.

Yeah, in hindsight….I suggest not doing that to any old spirit you invoke.

This time I made a simple contract, and gave a more “intense offering”.What i’d wanted manifested quite exponentially, and before the night was up! I was pretty satisfied this time. Finally.

I have done one more evocation since then, and this time the spirit was wearing a traditional Arabic crown, and looked more like a King, with longish hair.

So there you have it. How I went from a novice to doing a successful evocation. It’s been quite some time since then. These days I’ve found far easier and effective ways of controlling my life and reality, without having to barter with the Goetia. Nonetheless, I do have a connection to this particular Spirit.

But I know how Goetic magick is one of the most tempting aspects of Magick, and I was very deeply  interested in it for a long time, so I decided to write this little post. I think it’s safe to say most magicians begin with Goetia, and in the beginning there is a strong obsession with it, before your mind slowly reaches a state of more calm.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, but at the end of the day you have to train the Will to be steady and focused, to achieve your own goals without using magick as a crutch. When that happens, magick becomes integrated into life, and is more than just a tool. The Goetic spirits too, have a much more important role as spirits of knowledge, inspiration and insight. Fulfilling pacts is one of the more minor things they do, as Paimon informed me.

UPDATE (2019): These days, I rely on Goetic spirits mainly for knowledge or information. Guidance too at times. Because of their nature, they are more like humans than many other higher beings, like Gods. Maybe it’s because of their extensive interaction with humanity, but they seem to understand our unique perspective far better than most other Orders. having said that, I rely more on planetary magick than anything else. But Goetia has it’s place, and it is extremely good for magicians who are starting out.

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I hope you enjoyed reading it, as I enjoyed writing it. Be sure to follow the blog. You can also follow me on Instagram @WhiteRavenMagus

EDIT 2020: As of July 2020, I’ve written a new book on the Tree of Life and Kabbalistic theory. I’m quite proud of it, and you can check it by going to the Books tab, or clicking right here.

Until next time.

~White Raven.