Rank: King · Legions: 22 · Element: Air · Direction: East · Enn: Qua'non tasa jaden Purson
Purson, written also Curson in some of the old books, is the twentieth spirit of the Ars Goetia — a great King who governs twenty-two legions of spirits, drawn partly from the angelic Order of the Virtues and partly from the Order of the Thrones. He appears as a man with the face of a lion, carrying a cruel viper in his hand and riding upon a bear, and before him always go trumpets sounding, in the manner of a king's procession. His gifts are among the highest and deepest of the whole catalogue: he knows all things hidden and can discover treasure, he tells all things past, present, and to come, and — most remarkably — he answers truly of all earthly things both secret and divine, and of the very creation of the world. He can take a body either human or aerial, and he brings forth good familiars. In Purson the seeker meets a great and majestic King, the Goetia's lord of hidden and divine knowledge — one who answers not only of secret earthly matters but of the deepest questions of existence, the nature of the divine, and the origin of all things. He is approached, in the reverent tradition, with the reverence due a king, for the uncovering of what is hidden and above all for the profound knowledge of the secret and the divine.
He descends to the modern practitioner through the long chain of grimoires, his name written as Purson or Curson. He appears among the kings of the infernal hierarchy in Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum of 1577, and was carried over as the twentieth 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 and full: the great King with the lion's face, the viper, and the bear, heralded by trumpets, who knows all hidden things and discovers treasure, tells past, present, and future, answers of earthly and divine things and of the creation of the world, and brings forth good familiars, ruling over twenty-two legions of the Virtues and the Thrones. He is remembered, wherever he appears, as a majestic king of hidden and divine knowledge.
The grimoires are precise and vivid about how Purson comes, and every part of the image speaks of majesty and power. He appears as a man with the face of a lion — the lion being the ancient beast of kingship, of the sun, and of sovereign strength — carrying a cruel viper in his hand, the serpent of hidden wisdom and of a power not to be trifled with, and riding upon a bear, a mount of great and primal might. And before him always go trumpets sounding, the heralds of a king's coming, announcing his approach in royal state. Together they draw the portrait of a true sovereign among the spirits: lion-faced and crowned in his own strength, bearing the serpent's wisdom, borne upon the bear's power, and heralded by trumpets as befits a king. To picture Purson rightly is to see this majestic procession — the lion-faced King upon his bear, the viper in his hand, the trumpets sounding before him.
Purson holds the rank of King — the highest office in the Goetic hierarchy — and though his legions number only twenty-two, a smaller host than many lesser spirits command, his dignity is among the very greatest, for those legions are drawn from two of the highest choirs of the angelic host: the Order of the Virtues and the Order of the Thrones. The Virtues, in the old angelology, are the order of grace, of miracles, and of the governance of the natural world and the heavens; the Thrones are higher still, the order of divine justice and contemplation, said to stand nearest the very throne of the Most High. That Purson should be of both is a mark of extraordinary dignity, and it is the key to his deepest gift: a king who carries within him something of the throne-room of heaven, and who therefore knows of divine as well as earthly things. His is a kingship not of numbers but of nearness to the highest wisdom.
The Knower of All Hidden Things and Discoverer of Treasure
The first of Purson's great gifts is the knowledge of the hidden. The grimoires say that he knows all things hidden and can discover treasure — that no secret is closed to him, and that he can reveal where hidden wealth lies. This is the sight of a king who sees into every concealed corner of his realm, and practitioners have long sought him for the uncovering of what is hidden: the buried fact, the kept secret, the lost or concealed thing, and the treasure — whether the literal hidden wealth of the old accounts or the deeper treasure of hidden knowledge. His is a royal and comprehensive sight, and little is said to escape it.
Bound up with his knowledge of the hidden is his sight across time. The grimoires say that Purson tells all things past, present, and to come — the whole span of what has been, what is, and what will be. This is the full prophetic sight, and it makes him a king to whom the seeker may turn for the understanding of a matter across its whole reach of time: its roots in the past, its true state in the present, and its course into the future. As with all such gifts in the tradition, his telling is understood as insight and counsel to guide wise action, offered from a sight that ranges freely across the whole of time.
The gift for which Purson is most distinctive, and most remarkable, reaches beyond even the hidden and the prophetic into the deepest questions of all. The grimoires say that he answers truly of all earthly things both secret and divine, and of the creation of the world. This is knowledge of a rare and exalted kind: not merely the secrets of the earth but the divine truths behind them, and the very origin and making of all things. Purson is, in this, the Goetia's king of the great questions — the spirit to whom the seeker may bring not only "what is hidden?" but "what is the nature of the divine?" and "how did the world come to be?" It is a gift fitting to a king of the Order of the Thrones, who carries something of the contemplation of the highest heaven, and it sets Purson among the most profound of all the spirits: one who answers truly not only of the secret but of the sacred, and of the foundation of reality itself.
The grimoires add two further gifts. Purson can take a body either human or aerial — appearing in a human shape or in an airy, subtle form — a mark of his power and his freedom of manifestation. And he brings forth good familiars: he gives faithful spirit-companions to those who earn his favour, a gift of lasting worth, for a good familiar is an ongoing ally in the long work of knowledge and understanding. These gifts round out his royal character, marking him as a king both mighty in his manifestation and generous in the granting of enduring aid.
What gathers Purson's gifts into one is the nearness to the highest wisdom that his origin implies. He is a king of the Virtues and the Thrones, and the Thrones are the order of divine contemplation, closest to the throne of the Most High — and so Purson, though fallen, is said to carry within him something of that exalted knowledge. This is why his gift reaches past the hidden and the prophetic into the divine and the very creation of the world: he knows these things because a part of him still stands, in memory, near the throne from which all knowledge flows. To seek Purson for the deepest questions is to seek a king who has not wholly forgotten the throne-room of heaven, and who can therefore answer, from that memory, of things that lie beyond the reach of lesser spirits.
Within demonolatry and the modern left-hand path, Purson is honoured as one of the great kings of the Goetia — a majestic spirit of hidden and divine knowledge, approached with the reverence and courtesy due a sovereign. 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 great and noble King to be met with respect, sincerity, and a genuine wish for the knowledge he holds. He is widely held to be capable and truthful with those who come to him honestly, and especially close to those who seek the uncovering of what is hidden, the understanding of a matter across time, or — above all — the profound knowledge of the secret and the divine. To work with Purson in this spirit is to come before a king of deep wisdom — one who uncovers the hidden, tells the span of time, and answers truly of the sacred and the origin of all things.
The journey from the medieval and renaissance grimoires to the modern altar has changed how Purson 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, and treated even a king as a power to be constrained. The modern reverent practitioner, by contrast, comes to Purson with the seal, the Enn, and the courtesy due a sovereign — most often for the uncovering of a hidden matter, for the understanding of a thing across its span of time, or for the profound questions of the divine and the nature and origin of reality. His trumpets and lion's face are understood as the signs of his royal majesty; his knowledge of the divine as the mark of his high angelic origin. The forms have softened; the spirit described is the same great King of hidden and divine wisdom who has answered seekers for four centuries and more.
In contemporary demonolatry Purson is approached through his seal and his Enn — the chanted phrase Qua'non tasa jaden Purson — by which practitioners open the way to him and hold his presence near. He is called upon for the uncovering of hidden things and the discovery of treasure, for knowledge of things past, present, and to come, for the profound understanding of secret and divine matters and the nature and origin of the world, and for the gift of a good familiar. Those who keep company with him describe a presence that is majestic, powerful, and profound — a sense of a great king in royal state, of trumpets and a lion's strength, of a deep and truthful knowing that reaches from the hidden things of earth to the divine. He rewards reverence, sincerity, and a genuine wish for the knowledge he holds, and he is, by the long testimony of the tradition, a truthful and generous king to those who come to him with the respect due a sovereign.
What endures across every telling is the majestic depth of him. Purson is knowledge made a King: the lion-faced sovereign upon his bear, heralded by trumpets, the knower of all hidden things, the discoverer of treasure, the teller of the whole span of time, and — rarest and highest — the answerer of the secret and the divine and of the creation of the world. He is majestic where many spirits are subtle, profound where many are merely knowing, and close to the deepest of human hopes — to understand what is hidden, to know the shape of time, and to touch the great questions of the divine and the origin of all. He asks for the reverence due a king, for sincerity, and for a genuine wish for wisdom, and to those who bring them he is, by the steady witness of the grimoires and of those who work with him still, a great and noble King: the lion-faced lord who uncovers the hidden and answers truly of the sacred and the making of the world.
The grimoires describe Purson with the full majesty of a king: he appears as a man with the face of a lion — the beast of kingship, the sun, and sovereign strength — carrying a cruel viper in his hand, the serpent of hidden wisdom and of power not to be trifled with, and riding upon a bear, a mount of great and primal might. Before him always go trumpets sounding, the heralds of a king's coming, announcing his approach in royal state. He can take a body either human or aerial. Those who work with him today describe a presence that is majestic, powerful, and profound — a sense of a great king in royal state, of trumpets and a lion's strength, of a deep and truthful knowing that reaches from the hidden things of earth to the divine.
Enn: Qua'non tasa jaden Purson
Working with Purson is the coming before a great King — a majestic spirit of hidden and divine knowledge whose gifts are the uncovering of the hidden, the telling of the whole span of time, and, above all, the answering of the secret and the divine and of the creation of the world. His is a royal and profound wisdom, drawn from his origin in the high angelic Orders of the Virtues and the Thrones, and it is rightly sought with the reverence due a sovereign and a genuine wish for the knowledge he holds. He comes in royal state, lion-faced and heralded by trumpets, and he answers those who approach him with respect and sincerity. What follows is a guide to that relationship: how to approach the King, how to seek the hidden and the prophetic, and how to bring to him the deepest questions of the secret and the divine.
Come to Purson as you would come before a great and noble king — with reverence, courtesy, and sincerity. He is a sovereign among the spirits, and he answers best to those who approach him with the respect due a king rather than idly or presumptuously. Come with a genuine wish for the knowledge he holds, whether the uncovering of a hidden matter or the understanding of a deep and divine question, and bring to his presence the dignity and seriousness such knowledge deserves. Neither grovel nor presume; stand before him as one who honours a king. The relationship with him is built upon reverence and sincerity, and the courtesy with which he is met he tends to return with truthful and generous counsel.
Prepare a clean and quiet place where you will not be disturbed, and prepare yourself with the seriousness and reverence fitting to an audience with a king. Many practitioners cleanse themselves and the space beforehand and set out his seal as the single focus of the working. Some mark the working with signs of the honour due a sovereign — a fine candle, an emblem of royalty or of wisdom. Settle your breathing and your mind, and bring with you a clear and honest statement of what you seek: the hidden thing to be uncovered, the treasure to be found, the matter to be understood across time, or the deep and divine question to which you would have a true answer.
Open the way to Purson by setting your attention upon his seal and reciting his Enn — Qua'non tasa jaden Purson — 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 majestic and powerful presence, a sense of a great king drawing near in royal state, perhaps as of trumpets and a lion's strength. Do not rush this, and do not meet his majesty with either fear or presumption; receive the coming of a king with the reverence it deserves, and let his profound presence gather and settle before you bring your matter before him.
To seek Purson as the knower of the hidden, name plainly the concealed matter you would uncover — the secret, the buried fact, the lost or hidden thing, or the treasure you would find — and ask him to bring it to light. His royal sight reaches into every concealed corner, and little is said to escape it. Ask honestly and with real cause, and attend to what comes — an image, a word, a sudden understanding, a turn of attention toward something hidden. Then act upon what is uncovered with wisdom and discretion, using the knowledge rightly, whether it be a hidden truth or a hidden treasure.
Purson tells the whole span of time, and to seek this knowledge, name the matter you would understand and ask him to show you its truth across time — its roots in the past, its true state in the present, and its course into what is coming. Ask without a wished-for answer already fixed in mind, and attend carefully to what he shows. Then treat his telling as counsel for wise action, offered from a sight that ranges freely across the whole of time.
The highest and most remarkable of the works to undertake with Purson is the seeking of profound knowledge — of secret and divine things, and of the nature and origin of the world. To seek this, bring to him, with humility and reverence, the great questions: the nature of the divine, the deep truths behind the appearances of things, the origin and making of reality. Ask sincerely and be prepared to receive answers of a depth and gravity fitting to such questions — for this is the knowledge of a king of the Thrones, who carries something of the contemplation of the highest heaven. Come to this work with genuine reverence and an open and serious mind, hold what is given with the respect it deserves, and let it deepen your understanding rather than feed idle curiosity, for the sacred knowledge is not lightly to be sought nor lightly to be spoken.
Purson brings forth good familiars, and to seek one, come to him having earned some measure of his favour through reverent and sincere relationship, and ask him for a faithful spirit-companion to aid you in your ongoing path of knowledge. This is not a thing to demand at a first audience but to grow toward, as one earns the trust of a king. Ask sincerely, be clear about the aid you seek, and keep faith with the companion you are given, tending the bond with the same reverence you bring to all your work with him.
Practitioners describe the signs of Purson's presence and favour in majestic and profound terms fitting to a king. There may be a gathering sense of majestic and powerful presence, an impression of royal state, of trumpets or a lion's strength, a feeling of a deep and truthful attention turned upon the matter at hand. In the days that follow some report a hidden thing coming to light, a clear understanding of a matter across time, or — in the deeper work — a profound insight into a divine or fundamental question settling over the mind. Keep a written record of what comes during and after the working — the insights, images, and turns of understanding in the following days — for his deepest knowledge often unfolds and deepens over time.
Work with Purson with reverence, sincerity, and the seriousness his knowledge deserves. Approach him always with the courtesy due a king, neither with fear nor with presumption. Use his uncovering of hidden things with discretion and for rightful cause, and treat the treasure he reveals, whether of wealth or of knowledge, with wisdom. Bring the deep and divine questions to him with genuine reverence and an open mind, not as idle curiosity nor as a test, and hold the sacred knowledge he gives with the gravity it deserves. Treat his telling of time as counsel for wise action rather than as fixed fate. Keep faith with any familiar he gives. Come to him always in good faith, reverent in your approach and sincere in your wish for wisdom — for he is a great and noble King who answers reverence and sincerity with truthful and profound counsel, and idle or disrespectful approach with silence.