Difference between revisions of "Archdemons of the Zodiac"

The '''Archdemons of the Zodiac''' are twelve [[demon]]s which rule over the signs of the [[zodiac]]. Although often ascribed Hebrew origins, the earliest textual references all state that their names and the lore about them came from Persian [[astrology]].

However, Gaffarel did not mention the Archdemons of the Zodiac in his 1629 astrology book ''Curiositez inouyes'' (“Unheard of Curiosities of the Talismanic Sculpture of the Persians, the Horoscope of the Patriarchs, and Reading the Stars"). This book was essentially his commentary on the Chomer manuscript, and the connections between Hebrew and Persian astrology, so it seems strange if he failed to mention them in any capacity.

Shortly after the publication of Gaffarel's book, [[Athanasius Kircher]] created a chart with the names of the demons into the third volume of ''[[Oedipus Aegyptiacus]]'' (1654). According to Kircher, these zodiac demons are ''genii'' of Arabic origin, although he links them to the [[Kabbalah]]. It is important to note that Kircher spells the spirit names in their original Arabic suggesting he may have had access to the original manuscript and did not rely on Chomer's Hebrew translations. Or that the Chomer manuscript had no information about the demons and Levi was mistaken about his sources.

[[Éliphas Lévi]]'s book ''Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie'' (1854) later translated by [[A.E. Waite]] and published in English as ''Transcendental Magic'' (1923), lists the demon's names and seals, but his versions of the seals are found nowhere else in previous literature. Levi considered these spirits to represent the descending energies of the [[zodiac]] signs, but did not believe them to be explicitly demonic or evil. He also claimed to have found the information about the [[demon]]s in Gaffarel's work, and ignores their appearance in Kircher's book.