Rank: Marquis · Legions: 19 · Element: Air · Direction: North · Enn: Elan tepar secore on ca Naberius
Naberius, written also Naberus and identified in a long tradition with Cerberus, is the twenty-fourth spirit of the Ars Goetia — a most valiant Marquis who governs nineteen legions of spirits. He shows himself, the grimoires say, in the form of a black crane, fluttering about the circle, and when he speaks it is with a hoarse voice. He makes those who seek him cunning in all arts and sciences, but above all in the art of rhetoric — the craft of speaking well and moving others by words. And he holds one office that is his alone among the seventy-two: he restores lost dignities and honours. In Naberius the seeker meets the Goetia's master of eloquence and its great restorer — the spirit who gives back what was taken, who lifts the fallen reputation and returns the standing that was lost. He is approached, in the reverent tradition, for the art of persuasion and the mastery of speech, and above all for the honest restoration of a dignity that has been lost.
He descends to the modern practitioner through the long chain of grimoires, his name written as Naberius or Naberus. He appears among the marquises of the infernal hierarchy in Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum of 1577, and was carried over as the twenty-fourth spirit when that material was gathered into the Ars Goetia, the first book of the Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon in the seventeenth century. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley fixed the modern English text in their edition of the Goetia in 1904, and Jacques Collin de Plancy kept his memory among the spirits of his Dictionnaire Infernal. Across all of these the account holds firm: the most valiant Marquis of the black crane's form and the hoarse voice, who makes men cunning in all arts and sciences and especially in rhetoric, and who restores lost dignities and honours, ruling over nineteen legions of spirits. He is remembered, wherever he appears, as the eloquent restorer.
The grimoires describe Naberius in a form unlike the grand beasts and crowned kings of his fellows: he comes as a black crane, fluttering about the circle. It is a restless and unsettling image — not a throned lord but a dark bird in constant motion, circling and stirring the air. The crane is a bird of long watchfulness and of the high air, and its blackness gives it the colour of ink and of night. And when he speaks, the texts add, it is with a hoarse voice. This last detail is one of the quiet ironies of the Goetia, and it has not gone unremarked: the great master of rhetoric, the teacher of eloquence itself, speaks with a rough and hoarse voice. Reflective readers have found a teaching in it — that eloquence is not the beauty of the voice but the power of what is said and how it is shaped, and that the master of persuasion need not have a fine instrument to wield a fine art. To picture Naberius rightly is to see this restless black bird circling, and to hear the hoarse voice out of which the finest art of speech is taught.
Alongside the black crane there runs a second and persistent identification: Naberius has long been associated with Cerberus, the three-headed hound of the classical underworld, and in some accounts he is said to appear in that shape — a black three-headed dog. It should be said honestly that this is an identification laid upon him by tradition rather than the plain word of the Goetia, which speaks of the crane; but it is old and widespread enough to belong to his character. The Cerberus reading gives him another dimension: the guardian of a threshold, the hound who watches the passage between one state and another — an apt figure, in its way, for a spirit whose office is to bring a person back across the threshold from disgrace into restored honour. Both images are carried in the tradition, and the reflective practitioner may hold them together: the restless dark bird and the watching hound of the gate.
Naberius holds the rank of Marquis — in the Goetic hierarchy a high office of nobility and command — and the grimoires give him a particular epithet: he is a most valiant one, ruling over nineteen legions of spirits. Valiance is a curious virtue to name in a spirit of speech and restoration, and yet it fits: it takes valour to speak well before those who would not hear, and valour to seek back an honour that has been lost. His is a courage bent toward the word and the reclaiming of standing rather than the battlefield.
The first of Naberius's named gifts is learning: he makes those who seek him cunning in all arts and sciences. But the grimoires single out one art above the rest — he makes them cunning especially in the art of rhetoric. Rhetoric, in the old learning, was among the highest of the liberal arts: not mere talk but the disciplined craft of persuasion, the art of arranging words so that they move, convince, and carry an argument. To be made cunning in rhetoric is to be given the power of the well-shaped word — the ability to plead a case, to make an argument that lands, to speak so that others are moved. Naberius is its great patron among the spirits, sought by all who must persuade: the advocate, the speaker, the writer, and everyone who must state their case and be believed. His is the mastery of speech as a craft and a power.
The gift that most distinguishes Naberius, and that is his alone in the whole catalogue, is restoration. The grimoires say that he restores lost dignities and honours — and the word lost is the heart of it. Other spirits grant honour to those who seek it, or win the favour of the powerful; Naberius gives back what was taken. His is the office of the fallen reputation, the stripped title, the standing lost to disgrace or misfortune or the malice of others. To the one who has been brought low, who has lost their good name or their place, Naberius offers the return of what was theirs. This is a rare and precious office, for the recovery of a lost honour is among the hardest of human labours — far harder than the winning of a new one — and there is no other spirit in the seventy-two whose particular work it is. And his two gifts join naturally here, for rhetoric is precisely how a lost honour is regained: by the well-made case, the argument that persuades, the word that clears a name.
What gathers Naberius's gifts into one is the deep connection between the word and the restoration of standing. He teaches the art by which a case is made, and he gives back the honour that was lost — and the one serves the other. A name is cleared by argument; a standing is regained by the persuading of those who took it; a reputation is rebuilt by the well-shaped word spoken at the right moment. In him the tongue that persuades and the hand that restores are one, and this is why the tradition prizes him: he does not merely comfort the fallen but equips them to argue their way back. It is the most practical of restorations — not a gift dropped from above but a power placed in the seeker's own mouth.
Within demonolatry and the modern left-hand path, Naberius is honoured as the eloquent restorer — a spirit of rhetoric and of the giving-back of lost standing, approached with respect and an honest cause. The reverent practitioner does not regard him as a slave to be coerced by threats, as the older exorcists' rites would have it, but as a valiant and skilled being to be met with sincerity. He is widely held to be capable and willing with those who come to him honestly, and especially close to those who must persuade, who must plead a case, or who have lost a good name or a standing and would have it back. To work with Naberius in this spirit is to gain a master of the word and an ally in the hard labour of reclaiming what was lost.
The journey from the medieval and renaissance grimoires to the modern altar has changed how Naberius is approached without much changing who he is said to be. The old rites framed every Goetic spirit as a danger to be bound within a triangle and compelled by divine names. The modern reverent practitioner, by contrast, comes to Naberius with the seal, the Enn, and an honest cause — most often for eloquence and the power to persuade, for mastery in the arts and sciences, or for the restoration of a reputation, a standing, or a dignity that has been lost. His black crane and hoarse voice are met as they are described, and his restoring office is sought in the spirit of honest reclamation rather than of deceit. The forms have softened; the spirit described is the same valiant Marquis who has taught eloquence and given back lost honour for four centuries and more.
In contemporary demonolatry Naberius is approached through his seal and his Enn — the chanted phrase Elan tepar secore on ca Naberius — by which practitioners open the way to him and hold his presence near. He is called upon for eloquence and the art of persuasion, for skill in the arts and sciences, for the making of a case that must be believed, and above all for the restoration of lost dignities, honours, reputations, and standing. Those who keep company with him describe a presence that is restless, keen, and articulate — a sense of a dark bird circling, of a rough voice shaping fine words, of a valiant and skilful attention turned toward the case at hand. He rewards honesty and a just cause, and he is, by the long testimony of the tradition, a capable and willing ally to those who would speak well and reclaim what was rightly theirs.
What endures across every telling is the restoring word of him. Naberius is eloquence made a Marquis: the black crane circling with its hoarse voice, the master of rhetoric, and — alone among the seventy-two — the restorer of lost dignities and honours. He is articulate where many spirits are obscure, valiant in a quiet way, and close to one of the most painful and hopeful of human needs: to have back the good name, the place, the standing that was taken. He asks for honesty and a just cause, and to those who bring them he is, by the steady witness of the grimoires and of those who work with him still, a most valiant Marquis: the hoarse voice that teaches the finest art of speech, and the hand that gives back what was lost.
The grimoires describe Naberius in a form unlike the grand beasts and crowned kings of his fellows: he comes as a black crane, fluttering about the circle — a restless dark bird in constant motion, circling and stirring the air — and when he speaks it is with a hoarse voice, one of the quiet ironies of the Goetia, that the great master of rhetoric should have so rough an instrument. Alongside this a long tradition identifies him with Cerberus and gives him the shape of a black three-headed hound; this is an identification laid upon him by tradition rather than the plain word of the Goetia, but it is old and widespread, and it suits a spirit who brings people back across the threshold from disgrace to restored honour. Those who work with him today describe a presence that is restless, keen, and articulate — a dark bird circling, a rough voice shaping fine words.
Enn: Elan tepar secore on ca Naberius
Working with Naberius is the meeting of a master of the word and the great restorer of lost standing. His gifts are the art of rhetoric — the disciplined craft of persuasion — and the giving-back of dignities and honours that have been lost, and the two belong together, for a lost honour is regained by the well-made case. He comes as a restless black crane with a hoarse voice, and he answers those who come to him honestly and with a just cause. What follows is a guide to that relationship: how to approach the Marquis, how to learn eloquence from him, and how to seek the restoration of what was taken.
Come to Naberius as you would come to a skilled and valiant advocate whose help you genuinely need — with respect, sincerity, and an honest cause. He is not a spirit to be summoned idly, for his gifts touch the power of speech and the reclaiming of standing, and he answers best to those who come with a real need and a just case rather than a wish to deceive. Approach him with respect for his skill and his valour, steady and honest, neither grovelling nor presuming, and be clear about the eloquence you would gain or the honour you would have back. The relationship with him is built upon honesty and a just cause, and the earnest seeker he tends to meet with a skilled and willing aid.
Prepare a clean and quiet place where you will not be disturbed, and prepare yourself with a clear and articulate mind. Many practitioners cleanse themselves and the space beforehand and set out his seal as the single focus of the working. Some bring the tools of the word into the working — a written statement of the case, the speech or argument to be shaped, a token of the standing to be reclaimed. Settle your breathing and your thoughts, and bring with you a clear statement of what you seek: the eloquence to be gained, the art to be mastered, or the dignity, honour, or good name to be restored.
Open the way to Naberius by setting your attention upon his seal and reciting his Enn — Elan tepar secore on ca Naberius — slowly and steadily, letting the chanted words carry your intent and call his presence near. Repeat the Enn until you feel the air of the working change: a gathering of restless, keen presence, a sense of a dark bird circling, perhaps an impression of a rough voice shaping words. Do not rush this; let his articulate presence gather and settle before you bring your case before him.
To seek Naberius as a master of rhetoric, name the art of speech you would gain — the persuasion, the eloquence, the power to shape an argument that moves and convinces — and ask him to make you cunning in it. His is the craft rather than the mere gift of a fine voice, and it is well sought by advocates, speakers, writers, and all who must state a case and be believed. Bring the speech or argument you must make into the working, and ask for the shaping of it. Then do the work of the craft: write, revise, and speak, for rhetoric is a discipline and his teaching takes root in one who practises the art. Remember the lesson of his hoarse voice — that eloquence lies in what is said and how it is shaped, not in the beauty of the instrument.
The office that is his alone is the restoring of lost dignities and honours, and to seek it, name plainly and honestly what was taken from you — the good name, the standing, the title, the reputation lost to disgrace, misfortune, or the malice of others — and ask him to help you have it back. Understand what he offers: not a gift dropped from above but a power placed in your own mouth, the ability to argue your way back. Ask honestly, and be honest with yourself about the loss: where the honour was lost by your own fault, the restoration begins with an honest reckoning and real amends, for a name is not cleared by pretending. Then do your part — make the case, speak to those who must hear it, present yourself and your cause well — and he lends his rhetoric and his restoring power to the labour. His aid is for the honest reclaiming of what was rightly yours, not for the fabrication of a standing you never held nor the false clearing of a true fault.
Beyond rhetoric, Naberius makes those who seek him cunning in all arts and sciences, and to seek this wider learning, name the art or science you would master and ask him to make you cunning in it. As with his rhetoric, his teaching is a craft-teaching, best received by one already doing the work of study and practice. Bring your study before him, ask for skill and understanding, and then labour at it, for he sharpens the one who practises.
Practitioners describe the signs of Naberius's presence and favour in restless and articulate terms fitting to a circling crane. There may be a gathering sense of restless, keen presence, a feeling of a dark bird near at hand, an impression of a rough voice or a stirring of the air. In the days that follow some report a new readiness and shape in their speech, an argument suddenly falling into place, a case made better than expected, or — in the work of restoration — an unexpected turn toward the returning of a standing, a name beginning to be cleared, a door reopening that had closed. Keep a written record of what comes during and after the working — the sharpenings of speech, the turns of a case, the steps of a restoration — for his work unfolds through the making of the case over time.
Work with Naberius honestly and with a just cause. Seek his rhetoric to persuade truly and to plead a real case rather than to deceive or manipulate, for the art of persuasion turned to lies is the corruption of his best gift. Seek his restoration for the honest reclaiming of what was rightly yours, not for the fabrication of a standing you never held nor the false clearing of a fault that is genuinely yours; where the loss was your own doing, begin with an honest reckoning and real amends. Do your own part in every case he helps you make, for he lends the craft and the power but does not speak for you. Come to him always in good faith, honest in your cause and willing to labour at the word — for he is a most valiant Marquis who answers honesty and a just cause with eloquence and restoration, and deceit with silence.