The Legends of History

So far in our journey through the fascinating and often unsettling grimoire of Ars Goetia, we’ve been introduced to a varied mix of demons who not only excel in sciences, languages, philosophy and divination, but also those who are willing to teach and aid mankind should they dare to ask for it. Whilst each demon differs quite drastically in appearance, there is something formulaic about each enco...

Compared to the Biblical Proverbs, William Blake’s Proverbs of Hell reads like fire in the blood—raw, biting, and utterly without mercy. These proverbs don’t offer comfort or guidance; they sneer at the very idea. Each line is a weapon, aimed squarely at the smug certainty of polite society, daring us to question every rule we’ve ever been told to follow. Blake doesn’t hand over the answers; but r...

The mythology and superstitions surrounding red hair have spanned centuries and cultures, shaping how people have perceived redheads through both fear and fascination. From the divine to the dangerous, red hair has often been associated with intense characteristics such as having a fiery attitude or even possessing some kind of supernatural power. In cultures like ancient Greece and Egypt, red hai...

The story of Noah's Ark is one of the most well-known biblical narratives, originating in the Book of Genesis (Chapters 6–9). According to the account, God, disheartened by the wickedness of humanity, decides to cleanse the Earth with a great flood, sparing only Noah, his family, and a select number of animals who were to be saved aboard a massive ark. After the floodwaters recede, the ark is...

There is a theory that the descendants of Cain from the Bible are inherently evil. Such an idea is rooted in various religious interpretations, folklore, and cultural narratives. Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, is a central figure in the early chapters of Genesis. According to the story, Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother Abel, an act that set him apart as a symbol of...

The concept of the "Hellmouth", once considered to be the ‘Jaws of Hell’, is a striking and terrifying image from mediaeval Christian art and theology, representing the entrance to Hell. It is typically depicted as a monstrous, gaping mouth, often belonging to that of a dragon or a beast, through which the damned are consumed. This powerful image resonated deeply with mediaeval audiences...

Biblical texts, particularly those from the Old and New Testaments found in the bible, contain various references to colossal and malignant creatures. These "biblical monsters" can often be depicted as symbols of chaos, divine judgement, or supernatural power, but to some believers, these terrible creatures may have once actually existed upon the earth and might very well exist again acc...

The idea that demons are fallen angels is never specifically told to us in the bible and yet, this is a tradition that’s more or less accepted as being true, particularly within the Abrahamic faiths. These theories have evolved over time, but the core of it is that God created the angels (and thus, the angels had to be good) but that at some point, Lucifer rebelled and fell from heaven, taking a t...

The fate of the Garden of Eden, the paradise where Adam and Eve lived before their expulsion, has been a topic of theological debate and speculation for centuries. According to the biblical narrative in Genesis, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they were expelled from Eden, and the garden was guarded by a cherub wielding a flaming sword to...

In the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, readers might find more than just a creation story, or the ‘fall of man’ or the somewhat more ‘trigger happy’ deity that isn’t afraid to drop bombs on entire cities. There’s a treasure trove of characters that are often overlooked, there are complex narratives that fall into the periphery when compared to some of the more popular stories and of...

Most people know of Cain - arguably, the world’s very first murderer, at least according to the biblical story. This was a character who through jealousy and resentment of his younger brother Abel, would lure him out into the fields and strike him dead. This narrative leads us to believe that with Abel dead, there were only three people left living on the earth - Cain, his father Adam and his moth...

Angels would become known for being the messengers of god, often described as carrying out his divine will. In the bible, there are many examples of angels actually interacting with men and women, either intervening to stop them from doing something they’ll regret, or to provide guidance and support. In that sense, it’s easy to see why so many have come to praise the angels and to feel a sense of...

To start off, to say the Book of Enoch was ‘banned’ from the bible isn’t entirely accurate. It wasn’t so much banned as it was never really considered for inclusion in the recognised canon of the Hebrew bible. You see, one of the most standout things about the Book of Enoch is its namesake - Enoch - and how the book is attributed to a character that isn’t widely recognised. In order to really cano...

Barbatos, described as the seventh demon in Ars Goetia, is a ‘Great Duke’ who commands thirty of the ‘hellish legions’. At a glance, Barbatos maintains quite a stark appearance compared to the demons who have preceded him in Ars Goetia, specifically the fact that Barbatos is much more humanoid in appearance. He is an archer as far as we can tell, he wears human clothes and his characteristics make...

Beauty is an essential part of any culture throughout human history. The aesthetic appeal of someone or something could not only increase the value of this person or object, but could denote power, prestige or in some cases perfection. Beauty, from an aesthetic and very visual point of view, can be defined by its ability to be pleasing to the eye, one that can inspire admiration and satisfaction....

The Book of Enoch, also referred to as 1 Enoch, is an ancient religious text that treats readers to some rather creative, dynamic and often bizarre sequences that are not found in the traditional bible. We find fallen angels interbreeding with mortals, we have vengeful monsters known as Nephilim devouring the world and we have an angelic civil war that sees the likes of Archangels engaging in batt...

Zoroastrianism spans back approximately 3500 years, all the way to ancient Persia, making it one of the oldest organised faiths in history and arguably the world’s first monotheistic religion. It was the state religion of ancient Persia up until around the 7th century when it was dropped in favour of Islam during the Muslim conquest. There, Zoroastrian refugees, known as Parsis, fled from Persia t...

For believers, angels are usually seen within scripture as divine beings that protect, help and even teach humans. We see many examples of this throughout the bible, such as when an angel gives wisdom to Hagar, telling her to return to Sarai, her master or when the angels instruct Lot to leave Sodom and Gomorrah and never look back. For the most part, angels can be seen in the bible as delivering...

According to ancient Greek writer Apollonius of Rhodes, another version of Euronyme exists that hints at a more conflicting origin story. Here, Here Apollonius tells us that Eurynome had been married to the Titan Ophion and that together, they ruled the world over the other Titans in a time before Chronus and Rhea.

Throughout the Middle Ages, theological discourse regarding the angelic hierarchy was all over the place. Scholars were presenting diverse perspectives that either expanded upon the existing framework by authors such Pseudo-Dionysius or Saint Thomas Aquinas, or proposed entirely new classifications - those that have since made a bit of a muddle for us, the modern audience, to really understand the...

In the previous chapter, we saw the underdog Joseph finally set free from his wrongful imprisonment and not only restored to society, but in fact, elevated to a status that he would not have otherwise found himself in had he not gone through such tremendous hardship. Indeed, Joseph was now essentially the second in command in the hierarchy of the Egyptian kingdom, but considering the actual Pharao...

The question of extraterrestrial life has lived in the minds of men and women for centuries. The question ‘Are we alone?’ - is one that many have desperately sought the answer to and though, whilst the jury is still out when it comes to definitive confirmation, many believe that we as a species are ‘just around the corner’ from discovering the truth. Indeed, many do believe that the government or...

The noble aristocracy of Europe did indeed develop something of an appetite (at least, from a medicinal point of view) for the flesh of Egyptian mummies. And nibbling on the deceased body parts of some ancient Egyptian whose name they probably couldn’t even pronounce was indeed something all the cool kids were doing. Well, assuming you had a headache, or an infection, or a life threatening disease...

The last time we saw Joseph, he’d been thrown down a well by his jealous brothers, before being beaten up and sold off to Egyptian merchants as a slave. The Genesis account allows for some suspense because subsequent to this, the story deviates to focus on Judah and Tamar, and how Judah, who’d suggested selling Joseph to the Egyptians in the first place, ends up with a bit of the classic karma tre...

When we think of exorcisms, it’s pretty natural for us to think about some poor soul strapped to a bed as they speak in tongues or give off a maniacal threat to those in attendance. We likely imagine a priest throwing holy water at the incapacitated man or woman who’s been ‘possessed’ by some demonic force and we can probably expect to hear that priest rolling off a dozen prayers as he aims a cruc...