Furcas

Furcas
Knight of Hell
Ranking	Knight
Commander	20 Legions
General Information
Species	Humanoid

In demonology, Furcas (also spelled Forcas) is a Knight of Hell (the rank of Knight is unique to him), and rules 20 legions of demons.

He teaches Philosophy, Astronomy, Rhetoric, Logic, Chiromancy and Pyromancy.

The etymology of his name may be derived from the Latin word furca, meaning fork, or from Greco-Roman also meaning a sepulchre (tomb).

Furcas 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 Furcas from the Pseudomonarchia daemonum is as follows:

“

Furcas is a knight and commeth foorth in the similitude of a cruell man, with a long beard and a hoarie head, he sitteth on a pale horsse, carrieng in his hand a sharpe weapon [*dart or spear], he perfectlie teacheth practike philosophie, rhetorike, logike, astronomie, chiromancie, pyromancie, and their parts: there obeie him twentie legions.

”

Furcas 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 Furcas from the 1904 version is as follows:

“

FURCAS. - The Fiftieth Spirit is Furcas. He is a Knight, and appeareth in the Form of a Cruel Old Man with a long Beard and a hoary Head, riding upon a pale-coloured Horse, with a Sharp Weapon in his hand. His Office is to teach the Arts of Philosophy, Astrology, Rhetoric, Logic, Cheiromancy, and Pyromancy, in all their parts, and perfectly. He hath under his Power 20 Legions of Spirits. His Seal, or Mark, is thus made, etc.

”

Furcas 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 Furcas is as follows:

“

Furcas (the same as Forcas). See that name.

”

“

Forças, Forras, or Furcas, knight, high president of hell; he appears in the form of a vigorous man, with a long beard and white hair; he is mounted on a large horse and holds a sharp dart. He knows the virtues of herbs and precious stones; he teaches logic, aesthetics, palmistry, pyromancy, and rhetoric. He makes man invisible, ingenious, and eloquent. He recovers lost things; he discovers treasures, and he has twenty-nine legions of demons under his command.

”

Gallery

Seal of Furcas

Artwork of Furcas by IzFACT

Artwork of Furcas by Yuki Fujisawa

Furcas in Aleister Crowley's Illustrated Goetia

Furcas in Kings of Hell