Belial

Belial
Belial in "Aleister Crowley's Illustrated Goetia"
King of Hell
Aliases	Baalial Balial Belhor Beliall Beliar Berial Bylyl Beliya'al
Ranking	King
Commander	80 Legions
General Information
Species	Fallen Angel
Form	Angel A pair of angels
Mount	Fiery chariot

Belial is also called Balhor or Beliel. His name according to some authors means "corrupt gains." In the Middle Ages he was considered one of the princes of Hell and therefore one of the potential heirs to great throne of hell.

It was once an angel who followed Lucifer in his rebellion and finally fell with him and the rest of his followers, transmutating themselves into a demon.

Belial represents the earth element and carnal impulses, its strongest month is January and it is believed that the Latin term for war, "bellum" is believed to be directly derived from the name Belial.

Belial in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

The Pseudomonarchia daemonum, or False Monarchy of Demons, by the Dutch occultist Johann Weyer, was published as an appendix to his book titled De praestigiis daemonum, or On the Tricks of Demons, in 1577. The description of Belial from the Pseudomonarchia daemonum is as follows:

“

Some saie that the king Beliall was created immediatlie after Lucifer, and therefore they thinke that he was father and seducer of them which fell being of the orders. For he fell first among the worthier and wiser sort, which went before Michael and other heavenlie angels, which were lacking. Although Beliall went before all them that were throwne downe to the earth, yet he went not before them that tarried in heaven. This Beliall is constrained by divine vertue, when he taketh sacrifices, gifts, and [burnt] offerings, that he againe may give unto the offerers true answers. But he tarrieth not one houre in the truth, except he be constrained by the divine power, as is said. He taketh the forme of a beautifull angell, sitting in a firie chariot; he speaketh faire, he distributeth preferments of senatorship, and the favour of friends, and excellent familiars: he hath rule over eightie legions, partlie of the order of vertues, partlie of angels; he is found in the forme of an exorcist in the bonds of spirits. The exorcist must consider, that this Beliall doth in everie thing assist his subjects. If he will not submit himselfe, let the bond of spirits be read: the spirits chaine is sent for him, wherewith wise Salomon gathered them togither with their legions in a brasen vessell [*glass vessel], where were inclosed among all the legions seventie two kings, of whome the cheefe was Biletfh, the second was Beliall, the third Asmoday, and above a thousand thousand legions. Without doubt (I must confesse) I learned this of my maister Salomon; but he told me not why he gathered them together, and shut them up so: but I beleeve it was for the pride of this Beliall. Certeine nigromancers doo saie, that Salomon, being on a certeine daie seduced by the craft of a certeine woman, inclined himselfe to praie before the same idoll, Beliall by name: which is not credible. And therefore we must rather thinke (as it is said) that they were gathered together in that great <brasen> vessell for pride and arrogancie, and throwne into a deepe lake or hole in Babylon. For wise Salomon did accomplish his workes by the divine power, which never forsooke him. And therefore we must thinke he worshipped not the image Beliall; for then he could not have constrained the spirits by divine vertue: for this Beliall, with three kings were in the lake. But the Babylonians woondering at the matter, supposed that they should find therein a great quantitie of treasure, and therefore with one consent went downe into the lake, and uncovered and brake the vessell, out of the which immediatlie flew the capteine divels, and were delivered to their former and proper places. But this Beliall entred into a certeine image, and there gave answer to them that offered and sacrificed unto him: as Tocz. in his sentences reporteth, and the Babylonians did worship and sacrifice thereunto..

”

Belial in the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (Ars Goetia)

The Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis or Lesser Key of Solomon is an anonymously written book of demonology that is believed to have been complied sometime during the 17th century CE. The work is divided into five books, the first of which, known as the Ars Goetia, lists 72 demons. The Ars Goetia is heavily based off of Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia daemonum.

In 1904, the British occultist and founder of the religion of Thelema, Aleister Crowley, published a version of the Lesser Key of Solomon which was translated by another British occultist, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, and contained additional invocations added by Crowley. The Ars Goetia's passage on Belial from the 1904 version is as follows:

“

The Sixty-eighth Spirit is Belial. He is a Mighty and a Powerful King, and was created next after LUCIFER. He appeareth in the Form of Two Beautiful Angels sitting in a Chariot of Fire. He speaketh with a Comely Voice, and declareth that he fell first from among the worthier sort, that were before Michael, and other Heavenly Angels. His Office is to distribute Presentations and Senatorships, etc.; and to cause favour of Friends and of Foes. He giveth excellent Familiars, and governeth 50 Legions of Spirits. Note well that this King Belial must have Offerings, Sacrifices and Gifts presented unto him by the Exorcist, or else he will not give True Answers unto his Demands. But then he tarrieth not one hour in the Truth, unless he be constrained by Divine Power. And his Seal is this, which is to be worn as aforesaid, etc.

”

Belial in the Dictionnaire Infernal

The Infernal Dictionary is a book of demonology written in 1818 by the French occultist Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy. The entry for Asmodeus is as follows:

“

Belial , demon adored by the Sidonians. Hell has not received a spirit more dissolute, more villainous, more in love with vice for vice's sake. If his soul is hideous and vile, his exterior is seductive. His bearing is full of grace and dignity. He had a cult in Sodom and in other cities; but no one ever dared to erect too many altars to him. Delancre says that his name means rebel or disobedient. — Wiérus, in his inventory of the monarchy of Satan, devotes a large article to him. "It is believed," he says, "that Belial, one of the kings of hell, was created immediately after Lucifer, and that he led most of the angels into revolt: so he was one of the first to be overthrown from heaven. When he is evoked, he is forced by offerings to answer sincerely the questions that are asked of him. But he soon tells lies, if he is not adjured, in the name of God, to tell only the truth. He sometimes shows himself in the form of an angel full of beauty,seated in a chariot of fire; he speaks with amenity; he procures dignities and favors, makes friends live in good understanding, gives able servants. He commands eighty legions of the order of Virtues and of the order of Angels. He is punctual in helping those who submit to him; if he failed, it is easy to punish him, as did Solomon, who shut him up in a bottle with all his legions, which make an army of five hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and eighty demons. The bottle had to be large.. But Solomon was so powerful that, on another occasion, he similarly imprisoned six thousand six hundred and sixty—six million devils who could not resist him. — Learned men also relate that Solomon put the bottle in which Belial was in a great well, which he closed with a stone, near Babylon; that the Babylonians went down into this well, believing to find a treasure there; that they broke the bottle, that all the devils escaped, and that Belial, who was afraid of being recaptured, camped in an idol which he found empty, and began to give oracles; which made the Babylonians worship him.

”

Gallery

Image gallery of Belial