Samigina, the Fourth Spirit found in the Lesser Key of Solomon breaks the reptilian trend that
we’ve seen thus far in the previous two entries of Agares and Vassago. However, Samigina - or
‘Gamigin’ as he’s also known, does not break the trend of demons appearing in the form of animals
and like his demonic compatriots, Samigina is also known to appear as a man. As the fourth spirit in
the Lesser Key of Solomon, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Samigina had some grand importance,
given that we’ve seen Bael the King, Agares the Duke and Vassago the Prince in the series so far.
But Samigina appears to be little more than a footnote in demonology
given his realm of influence as a horse and the lack of presence he has in literature.
At best, he is a nobleman - or a marquis,
one who according to some European countries would rank him above a count, but below a duke.
You may be interested to know that Colin De Plancy in his Dictionnaire Infernal
makes no reference of Samigina, whilst Johann Weyer in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
decides to name him as Gamgyn, owing to his secondary name
Gamigin. Nonetheless, Samigina may not have gotten the love that his predecessors did,
but the average occultist and invocator of the time may have found him tremendously useful given
his knowledge of sciences - those that may have been restricted or otherwise frowned upon as being
blasphemous.. At the very least, if anyone needed a horse - Samigina was probably their go to guy.
We are told in the Ars Goetia that “Samigina, or Gamigin - The Fourth Spirit is Samigina,
a great Marquis. He appeareth in the form of a little Horse or Ass, and then into Human shape
doth he change himself at the request of the Master. He speakth with a hoarse voice.
He ruleth over 30 Legions of Inferiors. He teaches all Liberal Sciences,
and giveth account of Dead Souls that died in sin. And his Seal is this,
which is to be worn before the Magician when he is Invocator, etc.”
It’s difficult to say what sort of influence that a demon like Samigina would have had in hell.
Indeed, he was a Maquis, so it’s possible that he did have some clout in the domain
of the underworld - 30 Legions of ‘Inferiors’, no less. But it is this term ‘Inferiors’ which
gives us some pause, for it is not established whether Inferiors are the same as Spirits.
Each other demon in the classification is attributed with ruling over legions of Spirits,
but the term ‘Inferiors’ makes it seems that Samigina’s demonic entourage was lesser in
some capacity when compared to the likes of his contemporaries. Now, considering his rank
as a Marquis when in comparison to a Duke or a Prince and considering his form as little horse
when in comparison to the likes of a crocodile, it’s possible that Samigina did not measure up
and thus was deemed only strong enough or worthy enough to govern over ‘Inferiors’.
However, we can also see that Samigina is able to transform himself into a human shape, giving
us once more this dual-perception of a demon, whereby it is split between rider and mount.
This would give us some semblance that Samigina came and went as he pleased, embodying himself
into both the role of horse and horseman. Yet, we are also told that he does this only at the
command of the Master, which shows us that he only did this if the summoner asked him to.
This may have been so as to serve those who did not know how to ride horses,
or to appear to those who had lost their horse and were in need of a new one. It may have also
conceivably been used by the injured summoner, who would invoke Samigina to come and pick him up.
In essence, you’d be forgiven for thinking of Samigina as the archaic and demonic version of
Uber, except instead of a chatty driver, you got a demon on a horse who talked to you about science.
Of course, speaking to him about science might’ve been harder than it seemed
given that he spoke in a hoarse voice - no pun intended. I suppose it should come as no
surprise that if a horse could speak, it would probably speak hoarsely, and so conversing with
such a demon in an effort to understand science was probably more trouble than it was worth.
But teaching sciences wasn’t the only service that Samigina offered. As the Lesser Key of
Solomon tells us, he could also give an account of the souls who had died in sin, that is to say,
he could tell you if your relatives and loved ones were effectively burning in hell. I imagine
that realistically, any of the demons could tell you this, for if one’s relatives weren’t in hell
then they’d probably made it to a better place. But Samgina seems to make a point of this being
one of his unique selling points and with this, he establishes himself as sort of a stock-taker
of who’s in hell and who isn’t. I suppose, with such an ability, it would be kind of bitter
knowing that someone you loved was now suffering in eternal damnation…. But I suppose it’s also
kind of sweet knowing that someone who’d done you wrong was also getting what they’d deserved.
In the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum by Johann Weyer however, the description of Samigina has some
differences. Weyer tells us, “Gamygyn is a great marquis, and is seen in the form of a little
horse. When he taketh human shape he speaketh with a hoarse voice, disputing of all liberal sciences;
he bringeth also to passe, that the souls, which are drowned in the sea, or which dwell
in purgatory (which is called Cartagra), that is affliction of souls) shall take airy bodies,
and evidently appear and answer to interrogatories at the conjurors commandment; he tarreith with the
exorcist, until he have accomplished his desire and hath thirty legions under him”
Here, we learn that Samigina (under the name Gamygyn) doesn’t just keep an inventory in hell,
but that he raises the souls of those who have drowned and forces them into other bodies so that
they can answer on his behalf. Whether Weyer is referring to men who have drowned at sea,
or men who have been drowned in the lake of fire is not known for sure,
but given that he raises these souls to know if a specific person is in hell,
it’s probably the latter. You may also notice that Samigina’s reach extends into purgatory as well,
which Weyer describes as being named Cartagra, where he does the same thing in an effort to learn
who resides in the space between heaven and hell. Despite being a demon, Gamygyn appears to remain
with the conjuror until the conjuror’s desire has been met and does not abandon his obligation. Like
Vassago, this showcases the more positive traits of a demon, one that unlike traditional depictions
aims to help mankind by sharing knowledge. Of course, to traditional religious belief,
such practices were and are considered taboo and sinful, as well as being something that God
would punish. With that being said, one might argue that despite Samigina’s pleasantness,
there may have been something far more insidious lurking in his offerings.
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