Valefor (or Valefor), described as the sixth demon in Ars Goetia, is introduced as a mighty duke who
commands ten legions of demons. This demon is traditionally depicted with the head of a donkey
or a man that bellows fire, or something of a hybrid between a donkey and a lion.
With the amalgamation of one animal that’s quite calm and otherwise friendly with another animal
that’s beastly and can tear us to shreds, it does beg the question as to what kind of
demon Valefor was - one we could feel at ease with, or one that could chew us up…
Perhaps it’s a bit both, which gives the demon not only a complex personality
capable of providing safety and harm, but also makes him highly unpredictable.
Historically, the concept of demons, spirits, and supernatural entities was deeply rooted in
various cultures and religions. The medieval and Renaissance periods were marked by a fascination
with the esoteric and occult, often driven by a thirst for forbidden knowledge and power. Ars
Goetia, part of the larger grimoire "The Lesser Key of Solomon," sought to provide practitioners
with a means to control and command these demons for personal gain, protection, or various arcane
purposes and it’s from such a book do we get exposure to one such as the dreaded Valefor.
We are told of him in the passage,
‘The Sixth Spirit is Valefor. He is a mighty Duke, and appeareth in the shape of a Lion with
an Ass’s Head, bellowing. He is a good Familiar, but tempteth them he is a familiar of stealing.
He governeth 10 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, which is to be worn,
whether thou wilt have him for a Familiar or not.’ - Ars Goetia
At first look, we understand Valefor to be a mighty Duke, much like the second demon
Agares who is described as a ‘great Duke’. It’s difficult to determine which one of these two
ranked higher than the other, but considering Agares commanded thirty one legions of demons,
whereas Valefor only commanded ten, it leads us to believe that Agares as a ‘Great Duke’ had more
sway over hell and thus more power than Valefor, who was only a ‘Mighty Duke’. Indeed, so far,
Valefor appears to be the demon who commands the least legions of the demons we’ve covered,
though that’s not to say he was ‘weak’, by any means, but merely provided the
summoner with power that was a little more subtle and perhaps mischievous.
As we see in the text, Valefor is identified as a familiar of stealing - he was summoned so that
people might be bestowed with the courage, tact or ability to steal from someone else.
In regards to his power to encourage stealing, the text in Ars Goetia doesn’t really give us
much more to go on. However, if we consult texts outside of Ars Goetia including The
Book of Ceremonial Magic by occult writer Arthur Edward Waite, a book that explores
famous grimoires including Ars Goetia, Waite tells us that Valefor tempted people to steal
and that he was something of a patron deity for thieves. Furthermore, Valefor was considered to
be a ‘good’ familiar - owning to his donkey side perhaps, but that this only lasted until
his followers were ‘caught in the trap’ - perhaps caught in the maw of his lion head. This may very
well be a metaphor for he who steals being caught, and that whilst Valefor gave people the knowledge
and skill to steal, if they were caught, they were on their own and thus, would be cut off from him.
Going back to Ars Goetia, the text also tells us that this is his seal
and that those who summon him (as with all the demons thus
far) must be worn by the summoner - whether they want his help or not.
Interestingly, Valefor is one of the demons that does not seem to appear in French
occultist’s Colin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal - or ‘The Infernal Dictionary’,
which similarly gives an account of demons and their hierarchy.
However, when we consult the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, another grimoire that’s similar in
nature by Dutch physician Johann Weyer, we learn that Valefor - spelled as Valefar or Malephar is;
‘Valefar, alias Malephar [*Malaphar], is a strong duke, coming forth in the shape of a lion,
and the head of a thief [or “barking”], he is very familiar with them to whom maketh
themselves acquainted, till he hath brought them to the gallows and ruleth ten legions.’
Similarly to Ars Goetia, Valefor - or Valefar is described as a strong duke that possesses
the body of a lion, though here, Weyer makes no reference to Valefar possessing
any characteristics of the donkey. Instead, he presents Valefor as a hybrid between man
and lion - or more specifically, man and thief. Furthermore, in accordance with Waite’s account
of Valefor in The Book of Ceremonial Magic, Valefor will aid the thief in his bidding
until the thief is caught, where after he will leave them to hang at the gallows.
So, indeed Valefor appears to be the sort of demon that one might’ve been able to trust only so far.
It seems probable that those who summoned him for help in thievery may very well have
been successful on the first few attempts, but that as greed got the better of them,
they continued to summon him for riskier and riskier jobs. Like Iccarus, those summoning
Valefor might have eventually flown too close to the sun and after attempting to steal something
that not even the demon could guarantee, would suffer the consequences after being caught - and
would suffer them alone. It’s very clear from these texts that Valefor was not the sort of
demon to stick his neck out for his followers. Once they were caught, Valefor forsook them and
doesn’t appear to be too keen to vouch or rescue those who had put their trust in him. The moral
here would be, ‘don’t steal’ - and perhaps more pressingly, ‘don’t trust a demon to steal’.
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