Agares Demon Sigil Meaning: Ars Goetia Duke of Languages and Solomonic Seal Guide
Agares Demon Sigil Meaning: Ars Goetia Duke of Languages and Solomonic Seal Guide
The second spirit listed in the Ars Goetia carries an unusual profile: a Duke who rides a crocodile and holds a hawk, teaching all languages, bringing back those who have fled, and granting the courage to move forward without hesitation. His name is Agares (also written Agreas or Aguares), and his sigil is among the most studied in the Lesser Key of Solomon. This post traces his origins in the Solomonic manuscripts, examines what his sigil represents, and explains the tradition in which this coin was made.
Who Is Agares in the Ars Goetia?
The Ars Goetia is the first section of the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, the Lesser Key of Solomon, a 17th-century grimoire that catalogues 72 spirits allegedly bound by King Solomon himself. Agares is the second spirit listed, holding the rank of Duke and commanding 31 legions. He is described as appearing in the form of a kind old man riding a crocodile and carrying a goshawk on his fist.
The imagery is deliberately composite: the old man suggests wisdom accumulated over great time, the crocodile represents the ancient and the primordial (crocodiles appear in Egyptian and Mesopotamian symbolism as creatures straddling worlds), and the hawk signals swiftness, elevation, and perception. Together these attributes paint a picture not of violence but of mastery over language, movement, and return.
Agares is one of the Goetia's most intellectually oriented spirits. His attributed powers are linguistic and directional: the ability to teach all languages and dialects, to cause deserters and runaways to return, to grant courage to those who lack it, and in some manuscript versions, to cause earthquakes. Medieval scholars who engaged seriously with the grimoire tradition were particularly interested in the language-teaching capacity, which connects Agares to a broader tradition of spirits and angels associated with the transmission of knowledge across barriers.
The Sigil of Agares: Origins and Manuscript History
Every spirit in the Ars Goetia is assigned a unique sigil: a geometric symbol that functions as that spirit's signature and identifier. These sigils were not invented arbitrarily. They were derived through systematic methods, most likely using a magical alphabet or cipher applied to the letters of the spirit's name, then rendered as a connected line figure.
The sigil of Agares appears with remarkable consistency across the major manuscript traditions of the Ars Goetia, including the Sloane manuscripts held at the British Library and later printed versions. This consistency is meaningful: it suggests that the sigil was treated as a precise technical mark, not an artistic flourish that could be changed at will. When a practitioner in the 17th century used the Agares sigil, they were working from the same visual vocabulary as their predecessors.
The broader context is important here. The Solomonic tradition from which the Ars Goetia descends is rooted in Jewish, Arabic, and later Christian magical practice spanning more than a millennium. The idea that Solomon possessed a ring and a seal that gave him authority over spirits appears in the Testament of Solomon, a Greek text possibly as old as the 2nd or 3rd century CE, and winds through Arabic texts, medieval Jewish mysticism, and European grimoires before arriving in the Lemegeton. The Agares sigil is one node in that long chain of transmission.
Agares and the Power of Language
The most distinctive quality attributed to Agares in the Solomonic manuscripts is the ability to teach all languages. This places him alongside a group of spirits and angels associated with linguistic knowledge, including the angel Metatron, who in Kabbalistic tradition is said to speak all 70 languages of the nations, and the angel of the 72 Names whose Hebrew letters are themselves said to contain the root of all speech.
In the historical context of the grimoires, this was a practical power of enormous value. A merchant who could negotiate in any language, a diplomat who could communicate across courts, a scholar who could read texts in their original tongues: these were real advantages in a world where language barriers were not merely inconvenient but genuinely dangerous. The sigil of Agares was sought by those who needed to cross linguistic and cultural divides.
In a contemporary reading, the language-teaching quality of Agares translates into something broader: the ability to communicate clearly, to find the right words in difficult conversations, to understand and be understood. People who carry the Agares sigil coin often describe a quality of clarity in expression, a reduced friction in making themselves known to others.
The Power to Bring Back What Has Gone
The second major power attributed to Agares is the ability to cause runaways and deserters to return. This was a militarily specific power in the manuscript tradition: generals and commanders sought this quality to prevent desertion. But it has always carried a wider meaning as well.
In talisman practice, the return quality of Agares is applied to situations where something has been lost or has moved away: relationships that have drifted, opportunities that seem to have passed, momentum that has stalled. The sigil is used as a focus for drawing things back into alignment, for reversing the drift that accumulates in any life or project.
The pairing of language and return is not accidental. Many things are lost because of a failure of communication: relationships end because words were not found, opportunities pass because requests were not made clearly. Agares addresses both sides of this problem.
How the Agares Sigil Coin Is Made
This coin is struck in solid brass and carries the sigil of Agares on the front face, drawn from the historical Ars Goetia manuscript tradition. The reverse carries the 72 Names of God in Hebrew. In the Solomonic worldview, these are the names that gave Solomon his authority over the 72 spirits, and their presence on the reverse of the coin places the sigil within a bounded and authorized framework.
The 72 Names are engraved only on the first day of the Hebrew month calendar, following the traditional requirement that has been part of this practice since the beginning. The coin is not a casual object but a deliberately made one, intended to connect you to a practice with deep historical roots.
Frequently Asked Questions About Agares
What does the Agares sigil protect against?
In the Solomonic tradition, Agares is not primarily a protective spirit. His powers are oriented toward language, communication, and the return of what has gone. In talisman practice, the Agares sigil is carried to support clear communication, linguistic ability, and the recovery of lost connections or momentum.
What rank does Agares hold in the Ars Goetia?
Agares holds the rank of Duke, the second rank in the Goetic hierarchy after King. He commands 31 legions of spirits and rules the Eastern direction, like Bael before him in the list.
Can anyone carry the Agares sigil coin?
The coin is a talisman object rooted in the Solomonic manuscript tradition. It is not tied to a specific religion or practice. People from many backgrounds carry these coins as focal points for intention, as connections to historical Western esoteric practice, or as collector's items with deep cultural and historical significance.
What language is the 72 Names of God on the reverse?
The 72 Names of God on the reverse of every coin in this series are in Hebrew. These are 72 three-letter combinations derived from Exodus 14:19-21, each carrying a specific divine quality in Kabbalistic tradition. They are engraved only on the first day of the Hebrew month, following the tradition of the maker of these coins.
Carry the Seal of Agares
The Agares sigil coin is struck in solid brass with the 72 Names of God on the reverse, engraved on the first day of the Hebrew month in keeping with the Solomonic tradition.
→ Agares Demon Sigil Coin - Solid Brass with 72 Names of God
