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A place in the expanded court

Scot’s inventory moves directly from Agares to Marbas. The Goetia inserts Vassago after Agares, as the third spirit, followed by Samigina and Marbas. This mighty prince commands twenty-six legions and occupies a place near the beginning of the later catalogue that the earlier inventory does not give him. [8][2][1][5][6]

Vassago is described as good in nature and of the same nature as Agares. Agares’s own notice names a former place among the Virtues and places his power in the East. Vassago’s description supplies no bodily form; it develops the comparison through nature, then turns to his knowledge of time and concealed things. [2][1]

Time and lost things

Past and future events, hidden things and lost possessions define Vassago’s office. Gusion’s nearby notice also concerns the present and adds the resolution of questions. Vassago’s account is more specifically directed towards discovery: finding what has escaped sight or possession, as well as learning what has happened and what is to come. [1][7]

Other notices distinguish discovery from transport and recovery. Seere reports theft and hidden treasure while carrying things swiftly. Andromalius returns thieves and stolen goods and punishes wrongdoing. Vassago’s office rests on disclosure: finding what has gone missing or remains concealed. [1][3][4]

Sources and editions

The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King — entry 3: Vassago

S. L. MacGregor Mathers, translated; Aleister Crowley, edited, The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King (1904), first-edition facsimile supplied by Keep Silence. Shemhamphorash, numbered catalogue entry 3, Vassago; facsimile PDF page 10 (PDF index includes three preliminary plates)