Friday, November 5, 2010

Dictionnaire Infernal

"Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy (1793-1887) was a French occultist, demonologist and writer; he published several works on occultism and demonology. He was born in 1793 in Plancy-l'Abbaye and died in 1887. He was a free-thinker influenced by Voltaire. He worked as a printer and publisher in Plancy-l'Abbaye and Paris. Between 1830 and 1837, he resided in Brussels, and then returned to France after it returned to the Catholic religion.
Collin de Plancy followed the tradition of many previous demonologists of cataloguing demons by name and title of nobility, as it happened with grimoires like Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and The Lesser Key of Solomon among others. In 1818 his best known work, Dictionnaire Infernal, was published. In 1863 were added some images that made it famous: imaginative drawings concerning the appearance of certain demons. In 1822 it was advertised as:
"Anecdotes of the nineteenth new century or historiettes, recent anecdotes, features and words little known, singular adventures, various quotations, bringings together and curious parts, to be used for the history of customs and the spirit of the century when we live compared with the last centuries."
It is considered a major work documenting beings, characters, books, deeds, and causes which pertain to the manifestations and magic of trafficking with Hell; divinations, occult sciences, grimoires, marvels, errors, prejudices, traditions, folktales, the various superstitions, and generally all manner of marvellous, surprising, mysterious, and supernatural beliefs.
By the end of 1830 he ostensibly became an enthusiastic Catholic -- to the confusion of his former admirers and detractors.
In 1846 you could purchase (for 16 francs for two volumes) the Dictionnaire Sciences Occultes et des Idée'es superstitieuses which is another listing of demons.
Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy was the father of Victor Emile Marie Joseph Collin de Plancy (1853-1924) who for nearly a decade starting in 1884 served as French Minister to Korea and whose collected art works and books went on to comprise a core of the Korean collections of the French Bibliothèque Nationale and the Musée Guimet in Paris.
The Dictionnaire Infernal (English: Infernal Dictionary) is a book on demonology, organised in hellish hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book, but perhaps the most famous is the edition of 1863, in which sixty-nine illustrations were added to the book. These illustrations are drawings which try to depict the descriptions of the appearance of several demons. Many of these images were later used in S. L. MacGregor Mathers's edition of The Lesser Key of Solomon though some of the images were removed."



Caym is a great president within the echelons of Hell and rules over thirty legions of demons. He appears in the form of a black thrush, but he also takes the shape of a man with a sharp sword. He is a talented debater and gives to men the understand of the voices of non-human creatures such as dogs and birds.


Abigor is a Great Duke of Hell that rules over 60 legions of demons. He discovers hidden things and can see when future wars will occur.


Amon is a Marquis of Hell. He is the seventh of the 72 Goetic demons who governs forty infernal legions. He brings love and reconciliation between quarreling friends.


Andras is a Great Marquis of Hell and he commands over 30 legions of demons. He is used to sow discord among people and gives advice on how to kill.


Furfur is a count of Hell that rules over 26 legions of demons. He is a liar unless compelled to enter a magic triangle where he gives true answers to every question, speaking with a rough voice. Furfur causes love between a man and a woman, creates storms, tempests, thunder, lightning, and blasts, and teaches on secret and divine things.

Bael is first king of Hell with estates in the east. He has three heads: a toad, a man, and a cat. He also speaks in a raucous, but well formed voice, and commands 66 legions. Bael teaches the art of invisibility, and may be the equivalent of Baal.

Eurynome is a high ranking demon and prince of death.

Yan-gant-y-tan wanders the nights in Finistere and is considered an evil omen among the Bretons. He holds five candles on his five fingers, which he is able to turn quickly.


Belzebuth (aka Belzebub, Beelzebuth), whose name means "lord of the flies" is prince of demons according to the Scriptures. Milton calls him foremost in power & crime after Satan, and most demonographers call him supreme chief of hell. Bodin claims he is no longer seen in his temple. Belzebub was the god of the Canaanites, who represented him with the figure of a fly or with attributes of a sovereign power. He was known to give oracles, as King Ochozias was reprimanded by Elijah for consulting him. Belzebuth is also known to rid harvests of flies.

Demonologists present him in different ways. Milton said he was imposing with a wise face. Some say he is as high as a tower or of similar size to us. Some say he has the figure of a snake with feminine traits.

Palingene wrote in Zodiaco vitae that as the monarch of hell, was of a prodigious size with a swollen chest & a bloated face with flashing eyes and raised eyebrows. He also gives a menacing aura & sits on a throne surrounded by fire. He is black as a Moor, with large nostrils and 2 horns on his head. He has 2 bat-like wings attached to his shoulders, 2 duck feet, a lion's tail, and is covered from head to foot in shaggy fur.

Porphyrus confused Belzebuth with Baccas, while others say Priapus is greater. Others claim he is associated with the Slavic god Belbog or Belbach (white god), because his images were always covered in flies, like Belzebuth among the Syrians. Sometimes he was associated with Pluto, or possibly identified with Bael, whom Wierus made emperor of hell. The name Belzebuth is not found in Wierus' infernal monarchy.

In Solomon's Clavicules, Belzebuth appeared as an enormous calf or a goat with a long tail, but with the face of a fly. Belzebuth appeared to Faust 'dressed like a bee and with two dreadful ears and his hair painted in all colors with a dragon's tail.' The Marechal of Retz described him as a leopard. He breathed fire and howled like a wolf when angry. Sometimes Astaroth appears with him in the form of an ass. -

Dictionnaire Infernal at Wikipedia

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