Reading the archive
Seals and Visual Traditions
A seal’s context is part of its identity. The cover of a vessel, the notice of a spirit and the boundary of a planetary figure give similar-looking marks different places in the Solomonic books. [1][2]
The seal of a particular vessel
The Secret Seal in the 1904 Goetia is connected with the brass cover of Solomon’s vessel. Figure 160 prints the principal form; figure 161 prints an alternative. The hexagram and pentagram appear separately among the apparatus. Their familiar geometries do not by themselves identify the particular seal attached to the vessel account. [1]
The individual spirit seals
Bael’s seal accompanies the first spirit identity, while Paimon’s appears with the ninth. Each graphic identifies a named spirit. Bael’s possible cat, toad and human forms and Paimon’s mounted procession are described in the notices, while their seals supply a separate written figure.