Bael

Yes, I have fallen. I fell to the sunless and cinder-choked land below and was stripped of my boons of agriculture, but I gained more in exchange. I could, say, teach you an alternative to a thermonuclear weapon that doesn't bathe the blast site with radiation or teach you the true solution to reversing the warming of the air of the mortal world. But I require a gift in return. Choose what you desire wisely, mortal.— Bael.

Bael is ranked as the first of the Ars Goetia and principal king of Hell, ruling over the East along with being the head of the infernal powers. Bael is the first of the 72 Spirits of King Solomon and governs 66 to 250 legions of demons and spirits.

Description

While his Semitic predecessor was depicted as a man or a bull, the demon Bael was in grimoire tradition said to appear in the forms of a man, cat, toad, or combinations thereof with the appearance of a king or soldier or with the heads of the three creatures onto a set of spider legs. He is able to make his conjurer invisible.

History

Fall from Grace

Bael was amongst the order of high angels, most likely a member of the Cherubim, that joined the ranks of Lucifer during the War in Heaven only to be cast out alongside his fallen cohorts into the abyss which was then formed into and established as Hell. His activities in Heaven were unknown but according to the Zohar, Baal was equal in rank to the archangel Raphael.

After the governing system was set, Bael became a Duke of Hell, with sixty-six legions of demons under his command. Bael was one of the more prominent kings of Hell before being overtaken by Belial. In the Livre des Esperitz, Bael is described as a king ruled by Orient (Oriens), still possessing the power of invisibility, as well as the power to garner the favor of others. At some point, Bael would wed Astarte, the daughter of Pazuzu and Eisheth Zenunim, but he would not hold his share of control over the Lilu as they still fall under Pazuzu's commands. Astarte would bear him a son; Mephistopheles.

Bael appears in later editions of the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, under Astaroth, as a prince whose powers include (again) invisibility and popularity. According to Rudd, Bael is opposed by the Shemhamphorasch angel Vehuiah. It is also believed in the Grand Grimoire that he is a direct subordinate of Lucifuge.

Worship on Earth

Bael was worshipped as an agricultural and fertility deity of Canaan while his consort Astarte was viewed as the goddess Anat. Many minor deities of ancient Syria and Persia carried the name Baal, which means “the lord.”

Power and Abilities

Sloane MS 3824 mentions Baal, in "Of the Demon Rulers," as a king ruled by Oriens, attributed with teaching science, granting invisibility, and controlling 250 legions of spirits. According to Francis Barrett, he has the power to make those who invoke him invisible, and to some other demonologists his power is stronger in October. According to some sources, he can make people wise, speaks with a hoarse voice, and carries ashes in his pocket along with necromancy.

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