Odd Jobs: A Note on the Goetia
I love how the Goetia’s 72 sigils summon demons with such oddly specific powers. Almost all of them have some really awesome sounding power like finding you treasure, turning lead to gold, calling down lightning, telling you everything that has ever happened or ever will happen, or making people love you. But most of them also have these other little things they do.
Like Valac fetches serpents. Paimon is something of a philosopher and can tell you “what Mind is, and where it is.” Buer will teach you logic. Leraije causes wounds to putrefy (but only those caused by arrows). Maraz is “very knowing” in Astronomy. Phenex is not just a poet, but an excellent one. Vapula teaches handicrafts. Several of them teach grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, or other liberal arts and sciences.
My personal favorite of these “odd jobs” is that belonging to Amadusias who can cause “Trumpets and all manner of musical instruments to be heard, but not soon or immediately.” :
A- It’s 5 o’clock and the band hasn’t shown up!
B- But they’re going on in just over two hours.
A- Wait, I know a way to make delayed music…
I guess my (rambling) point is that most of these demons have awesome top-line powers, and then these little side jobs they do in their spare time. Most of those odd jobs relate to creative or “impractical” fields like language, music, art, or philosophy. So I guess what I’m saying is that it seems like all of these demons majored in liberal arts in demon college, and they’re just granting absurd wishes as a day job to make ends meet while they pursue their real passions in their spare time.
“ I mean, I guess I could make a naked woman appear, but wouldn’t you rather hear some poetry or learn a second language or something? Please?”