Magia and the Mansions

 In my studies of the Mansions of the Moon I have come across instances in which they appear in unexpected places, in a variety of contexts. For better or worse these sources become part of the lore and the mythology of the Mansions of the Moon and examining them adds to the full picture of what the Mansions are as they continue to evolve and develop. I will elaborate on some of these as we go along. For this post I want to talk about the Faustian grimoire, Magia Naturalis et Innaturalis. 

Magia Naturalis et Innaturalis is a book of magic focused on spirit summoning based on a Solomonic model; spirits characterized as demons, the formation of written pacts with spirits, sigils representing spirit signatures, magic circles empowered by names of God, and strict spiritual purity of the magician. The copy of Magia that I am working with is published by Enodia Press.

As in other literary works about the magician Johannes Faust, one of the principal spirits is Mephistopheles, a name somewhat culturally familiar to many people. What is facsinating for our study is that 18 of the 28 spirits of the Mansions of the Moon appear with the same names in the spirit list of Magia as in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Of the 10 others I have 7 names penciled in as likely contenders and three that I am as yet unsure about. I suspect all 28 are in there but some are in a form I don't recognize. All in all, there is a rather convoluted hierarchy that consists of more than sixty names and more recognizable names appear in the conjurations throughout the book. 

Here is some of what I have found so far. 

Barbiel figures prominently in Magia as one of the first spirits to have a detailed conjuration. He is described as a Grand Price of Hell and has many spirits under his command. The name Barbiel shows up in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy as the spirit of the ninth Mansion, Atarfa, the Glance of the Lion. In the Latin Picatrix this spirit is named Raubel.

Aciel is another central spirit to the Magia scheme. Aciel is the same name given in both Agrippa and the Latin Picatrix as the spirit of the twenty fifth Mansion, Zaadelahbia.

Dirachiel is a spirit under Aciel with the rank of Count in the Infernal Army and has a lengthy conjuration. This is the name given in Agrippa for the spirit of the 6th Mansion, Alhana. In the Latin Picatrix this spirit is named Nederayhe.  

Jazariel is another Count in the Infernal Army under Aciel. In Agrippa this spirit is listed as Iazerial. In the Picatrix, Azerut. 

Kiriel comes next in Magia and is phonetically the same as Kyriel, spirit of the twentieth Mansion, Alnaym, the Beam. In the Latin Picatrix this spirit is listed as Queyhuc. In Magia Kiriel is a Noble Spirit and a "strong igneous spirit".  

Similarly, Amudiel is described as a Noble Spirit and a strong igneous spirit. In Agrippa this is Amutiel, the spirit of the 19th Mansion, Axaula. In the Latin Picatrix this is Annucel. 

Under Amudiel and Kiriel are five fire spirits all of which are Mansion spirits.

Bethanael is Bethnael in Agrippa and Bectue in the Picatrix, spirit of the 21st Mansion, Albelda.

Geliel, spirit of the twenty second Mansion, Sadahaca, is the same in all three books. 

Requiel is the same in Magia and in Agrippa but is Zequebin in the Picatrix. This is the spirit of the twenty third Mansion, Zaadebola. 

Apringiel is Abrinael in Agrippa and Abrine in the Picatrix and is the spirit of the twenty fourth Mansion, Al S'ad al Su'ud.

Tagriel is the same in all three books and is the name of the spirit of the 26th Mansion, Al Fargh al Awwal.

The next seven are "under the infernal army, 7 commoner spirits". 

Alhemiel is Alheniel in Agrippa and Abliemel in the Picatrix. This is the spirit of the twenty seventh Mansion, Al Fargh al Thani. 

Amnixiel is the same in Agrippa and is Anoxia in the Picatrix, spirit of Arrexhe, the twenty eighth Mansion. 

Egibiel is the spirit of the eighteenth Mansion, Alcalb, in Agrippa. This is the name that appears in Magia. The corresponding name in the Picatrix is Egribel.

Adriel is the same as in Agrippa, and Adrieb in the Picatrix, and is the spirit of the seventeenth Mansion, Aliklil. 

Azeruel is the same as in Agrippa. In the Picatrix this is Azeruch, spirit of the sixteenth Mansion, Azubene. 

Ergediel is the same as in Agrippa but shows up as Erdegal, spirit of the fourteenth Mansion, Azimech, in the Picatrix.

Abdicuel is Ahbdizuel in Agrippa and Abdizu in the Picatix. This is the spirit of the twelfth Mansion, Asarfa. 

And these are the spirit names that show up in Magia that I have suspicion strong enough to pair them with the Mansion spirits from Agrippa and the Picatrix, but not so strong that I am sure it is correct. 

Mephistophiel (Mephistopheles) does not have a one to one connection to the Mansion spirits. This is one of the "penciled in" correspondences for Annuncia, spirit of the third Mansion. In Agrippa this spirit is named Amixiel. In Magia part of Mephistophiel's conjuration says, "...and through your star, which is called Penothot..." which the footnote suggests is a corruption of Succoth Benoth or Benathot, the Hebrew name for the Pleiades. The Pleiades is the traditional indicator stars for the third Mansion. 

Germiciel is phonetically close enough to Geniel, spirit of the first Mansion according to Agrippa, and Geriz, the same spirit in the Latin Picatrix, that I suspect these are equivalent. 

Adiel could equate to the spirit of the second Mansion, Albotayn, which is Enediel in Agrippa and Enedil in the Picatrix.  

Could Assardiel be the same as Azariel, the spirit of the fourth Mansion, Aldebaran, in Agrippa, which is Assarez in the Picatrix?

Perhaps Cafphiel is the name of the spirit of the fifth Mansion, Almices, which is given as Gabiel in Agrippa and Cabil in the Latin Picatrix. 

Kniedadiel has a passing phonetic resemblance to Amnediel, Agrippa's spirit of the eighth Mansion, Annathra. In the Picatrix this spirit is named Annediex. 

Apachtiel could potentially equate to Ataliel, the spirit of the fifteenth Mansion, Algafra, according to Agrippa. This is Achalich in the Latin Picatrix. 

I have yet to identify the corresponding names in Magia for the last three Mansions; Seheliel in the seventh Mansion, Aldira; Ardefiel in the tenth Mansion, Algebha; and Neciel in the eleventh Mansion. 

So, why does this matter? 

The biggest reason for me is that it is a curious occurrence to have strikingly similar lists of spirit names. How did this happen? Could the Mansion spirits and the spirits of Magia have been connected the whole time? I think the possibility that the spirits of Magia are somehow an echo of ancient Mansion spirit magic to be exceedingly remote. It is much more likely that the names of the spirits of the Mansions of the Moon, as a known spirit list, were attached to the spirits of Magia at a much more recent date. 

But, really, it doesn't matter much. The names in Magia Naturalis et Innatualis have come down to us as variations on the names of the spirits of the Mansions of the Moon and for that reason they are linked. Working Magia as a grimoire can be a way to learn about the Mansions of the Moon. The attributes of the spirits of Magia add complexity and depth to the spirits of the Mansions and are part of what a full portrait would be. 

But, also, maybe more importantly, it gives us another way to interact with and approach the spirits of the Mansions. Just as Jake Stratton-Kent attributes the spirits of the Grimorium Verum to the Mansions of the Moon, the spirits of Magia suggest that a Solomonic framework is appropriate for working with these spirits. I think this is an area ripe for exploration.