Lucifuge Rofocale

Prime Minister of Hell

The Grand Grimoire

The Book of Sitra Achra

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Invoking Lucifuge Rofocale

Source: https://betweenthepillars.com/2018/06/14/invoking-lucifuge-rofocale/ 

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Who is Lucifuge Rofocale

Unlike Lucifer or other demons, Lucifuge isn’t actually someone who appears in any prominent religious scripture or even mythology. In fact, it doesn’t look like he is even mentioned anywhere before the 18th Century.

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He also has basically no presence or influence on pop culture (although at the same time one might say he has influenced all modern demonic fantasy in existence. We’ll get to that).

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This makes him a much more obscure being. In fact, the literature on him is so specific, that either you know exactly who he is, or you have literally no clue. He’s one of those rare figures that appears exclusively in occult literature, with no overlap in mythology, folklore, fantasy, pop culture, or anything outside of practical magick.

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The Grand Grimoire

He is a figure mentioned in the infamous Grand Grimoire (also known as the Red Dragon), which you may or may not have heard of. It is a book from the 19th Century (though allegedly based on material dating back to the 16th Century) and contains all sorts of information, ranging from herbal alchemy to full fledged evocation. It also has a strong political importance.

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The contents themselves are quite interesting. For example, much of the herbal alchemy instructions mention exact chemicals, like copper sulfate and arsenic etc, instead of just plants, or, as is more often, symbolic allegory. This is probably because by this time chemistry had become significantly more developed and organized. It’s got a literal chemical recipe for the “Philosopher’s Stone”, which I found very amusing.

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But other than that, the more interesting aspect is the list of demons. It diverges from the traditional systems, and has several demons that are not typically mentioned in older works. The most important of this is Lucifuge Rofocale, the Prime Minister of Hell.

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The inclusion of modern democratic titles like Prime Minister, instead of usual aristocratic titles like Earl, Count, Duke etc. insinuates that Lucifuge as the Prime Minister is more important to the practitioner than the Emperor, which is Lucifer (in my opinion, an obvious allegory to democracy taking over monarchy, which would have been a growing opinion at the time. The Victorian Era, the beginning of our modern, industrialized world of Nation States.)

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The method of evocation itself is very similar to the Ars Goetia (the usual skin-an-animal, draw Jesus’ names, cut a wand from a specific tree at a specific hour and use incense etc.). However, it is a lot more elaborate and instead of letting the magician experiment, it is very specific, and mentions the exact sequence of events that will take place. This of course, can never be true, but I appreciate that they went to the trouble.

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Basically, you evoke Lucifuge, ask him to lead you to hidden treasure, and then promise to repay him with very complicated and time consuming rituals for the rest of your life or he comes and takes away your soul, or all your treasure.

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This is yet another departure from traditional Grimoires. It greatly simplifies Infernal hierarchy, greatly over-complicates the rituals, filling them with many pointless actions, and instead of offering several things that the magician might want, it basically boils everything down to “treasure”, received from a single “devil”, and in exchange for eternal allegiance/soul. No wonder it caught on.

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After more examination, I’m convinced that many “pointless” parts of the book that aren’t pointless at all. Rather, the one who wrote it probably wanted to keep “unworthy” or uninitiated people away from it, and has knowingly filled the book with empty promises of power and false techniques. This is probably also the truth behind the Philosopher’s Stone.

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In fact, one of the Spells for Invisibility is down right dangerous and will most likely end with the person being seriously poisoned and possibly dying. The final sentence for the spell is “…and all of this must be taken very seriously. After all, it’s not included here as a joke!” So yeah. The Grand Grimoire was written by an edge lord.

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I think you must be starting to see why this grimoire is important. This is the first grimoire that brought many of these concepts into notoriety, and inspired the modern Hollywood depiction of any and all Occult practices. If you ever wondered why all the satanic horror films in the 20th Century have some guy sacrificing animals, calling the Devil, and foolishly making a pact selling his soul for something he desires, then this is literally the source.

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The Grand Grimoire, probably because of how simply it puts everything, without any allegory or mystical commitment, is very attractive to the average layman who wants to dabble in the occult, much more so than the Goetia. Of course, it has a strong monastic component, especially in the preparation, like fasting, praying, taking astrological times into consideration and biblical symbolism, but all this basically gets ignored when it’s depicted, or the monastic practices take on a negative element, like having to kill someone you love, cause permanent damage to yourself or “leave your humanity behind” (not the humanity!)

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Religion

So that’s who Lucifuge Rofocale is. A spirit from the Grand Grimoire, who can be thought of as the Archetypal pop culture devil, as it is his characteristics you see in most mass media, because he HAS no deeper meta narrative, or any strong mythological basis. You only ever see the Luciferian archetype of a cosmic rebel in deeper storie,s which are more strongly rooted in theology. Lucifuge Rofocale is the antithesis of Lucifer. This makes sense because the modern perspective of the Devil is linked to Saturn (as it should), which is the planet associated with Lucifuge, while Lucifer is the reverse force, associated with the Sun.

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After all, illumination, knowledge and rebellion aren’t seen as negative things in the 21st century. But wealth, discipline, obscurity and secrecy are. If Lucifer is interpreted as a fallen Angel, the cosmic rebel, and the one who brings the light of forbidden knowledge (like Prometheus), Lucifuge is the darkness, the being that flees from God’s light and feeds into indulgence. The one who hides knowledge, protects wealth, and guards gates.

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If you take the traditional “Devil” from the Bible and split his two aspects, the Rebellious aspect from the Fall becomes Lucifer and the dark, apathetic aspect that corrupts men is Lucifuge (this is of course, ignoring all other occult significance).

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As for his name, it’s a play on the name Lucifer. I imagine that by the 19th Century, it had become abundantly clear that Lucifer means Bringer of Light (I don’t know why New Agers keep bringing it up like it’s some new revelation). Lucifuge, on the other hand, is the literal opposite, meaning “he who seeks refuge from Light” or “the one who flees from the Light”. This also makes more sense when you think of the traditional Christian Devil, and is much less mystical and complex than Lucifer.

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The meaning of the second name, Rofocale, is unknown, but there are various interpretations of it. My personal favorite is the theory the Rofocale is an ambigram. If you read Lucifer backwards, it becomes Reficul, which can be further Latinised as Rofocale. It’s a play on the very nature of Lucifuge as the reverse of Lucifer.

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If Lucifer can be symbolized by a burning torch, then Lucifuge is the hidden wealth under the Earth, in perpetual darkness until dug up. And isn’t it ironic how the methods that will make you rich are often kept from you, and never taught to us in our lives, unless we seek them out ourselves? These days Knowledge is easy, but wealth has become hard. In the old days it was both these things that were denied to the masses, so who knows maybe in the future both knowledge and wealth will be in great abundance.

Knowledge is Power, Time is Money. Sun and Saturn, the correspondence could not be more clear.

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Occult

Lucifuge does not play any prominent role in occult mysticism, such as Hermetic Kabbalah, and does not traditionally fall on the Tree of Life, which is the method of classification I follow. However, on the Qliphoth he is placed on the third sphere, Satariel (meaning the Dawn of God), which is the shadow/shell of the Sephiroth Binah.

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This cements his Saturnine symbolism. One may say that the Vision of Sorrow is ruled by Lucifuge Rofocale, for he is said to dwell in a maze. This experience, upon being crossed, gives one a clear vision of the supernal light. Binah/Satariel rules the third eye. The Vision of Sorrow turns to the Vision of Light, Mater Dolores turns to Virgin Mary, Kaali turns to Shakti, the Crone reveals the Divine Mother. Perhaps one might say Lucifuge reveals Lucifer? I’m not sure about that one yet.

Read More Sathariel Angel of Deception Fallen Angel Lunar Mysteries click

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From the point of view of archetypes and astrology, I have spent a lot of time thinking about where Lucifuge would fit in. In fact, in my invocation of Lucifer, I said that he was an entity with multiple aspects corresponding to multiple planets. If that was the Solar/Venusian aspect, then this is the Saturnian/Plutonian aspect. It is heavily associated with money, indulgence, and severity. Perhaps, while Lucifer rebelled against authority, Lucifuge might be associated more WITH authority, and the wealth and power that comes with such authority and power.

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This makes him a much more tricky figure to deal with, as is the case with ALL Saturnian Gods/Spirits, and it’s probably easy to piss him off. Nonetheless, I don’t feel wary as I write this, nor feel the need to whisper his name. This is the Age of Information, and the longer we speak in whispers, the more we put everyone at risk. Given the sheer amount of dubious information on such topics, I think it’s only fair I give some genuine information, since I have nothing to gain from lying.

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Ritual

Alright. Now that we’re past theory, we can get to the meat and bones of this post. This is my personal experience. I will say though, that it has been a fairly long time since this happened, and though I have the actual ritual well recorded, I have to rely on memory for some things.

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I haven’t really had much reason to invoke Lucifuge, and the fact that he does not fit into any traditional framework made me think he was probably just an urban myth created by that YouTuber to make money, probably having little merit.

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It was only last year, when I was reading through the Grand Grimoire, which for some reason I’d ignored so far, that I came upon this name. And I was immediately hit with equal parts of amusement, curiosity and surprise. So, he was a real occult figure after all, even if only in one Grimoire. I was about to start something important, and felt that it would be good to raise the monetary gains from it, and maybe get some extra as well.

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Let’s begin with preparation. In the Grand Grimoire, there is a seal and characters for Lucifuge. I put the seal in red ink on one side of circular parchment, and the characters on the other. I transcribed the name L-U-C-I-F-U-G-E in a circle around the perimeter.

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I made the circle from stones, since I’m preparing to discard my old fabric circle, and also because this ritual is traditionally done outdoors (which I’d do if I didn’t live in the middle of a massive Metropolitan city). On the outside, I suggest putting two candles on either side, similar to how it is recommended in the book, though I did not do this. I did the ritual facing North, corresponding to Saturn and the Earth. On my altar outside the circle, I made a smaller circle of polished stone and placed a black candle in the middle.

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I did the Invocation of a Saturday, in the Hour of Saturn (which is always fun), while the Moon was waxing. To further get into the Saturnian spirit, I spent a big chunk of the day cleaning my room, discarding useless stuff, and clearing out the clutter. It’s usually not a good idea to do anything in this sort of timing, only something exceptional.

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Anyway, I chose to do it at night, when all was quiet and I’d not be disturbed. I darkened the room, as I always do, and began. I performed all the preliminary banishings, and invoked the Sphere of Saturn. To do so, you must trace the invoking hexagram of Saturn (google it) in black, and vibrate ARARITA, and then trace the Sigil of Saturn in the center in indigo, vibrating YHVH ELOHIM.

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Remember to banish at the end of the ritual, with the same procedure but with the banishing hexagram of Saturn instead of the invoking one.

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After that, I began the ritual. I first called to Lucifer, and petitioned him to send Lucifuge, his Minister. This was a slightly modified version of what is already given in the Grand Grimoire, and staring at the seal, I slipped into deeper meditation. I then continued to call to Lucifuge via different names, and most epithets came to me naturally. The most key thing is to be genuine and authentic. Don’t be pretentious, don’t be afraid (very important), and don’t treat it like a joke.

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It didn’t take long for something to happen. Maybe about 15 minutes. My vision became tinged with red. But then I realized that the space around me physically appeared to be bathed in red light. It got very, very warm, almost uncomfortably so, as my breathing became fast and shallow and heartbeat increased. It kept increasing, and it felt almost like I’d just finished a long run. Then, all of a sudden, it subdued, and I felt a very heavy, over-bearing presence.

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It was Lucifuge Rofocale, Prime Minister of Hell. He had come. It felt cold, yet warm. Or rather, it was SO cold, it felt hot. Like a humid chill. Saturn is associated with scales and balance as well. I remained calm and dealt with whatever had come. At first, I asked it what it was, and it confirmed it was Lucifuge, though I knew that intuitively.

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I felt this presence loom over me, but I tried to remain firm and unwavering. Through meditating, my mind had gone blank, like an empty cup. Slowly, I allowed Spirit’s essence to pour into my mind. Now I know what you’re thinking, “oh my god, you’re supposed to evoke demons, not invoke them”. That’s true for “demons”, as in incomplete beings. Lucifuge falls more into the category of a deity. All biblical demons and darker pagan/eastern gods do. Goetia, fay, ayakashi etc.

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As this happened, I temporarily assumed the personality of Lucifuge Rofocale. He spoke through me, and delivered messages. I felt myself being lifted up. I felt huge, and powerful, like a God. At the same time, I felt my arrogance and ego grow tremendously, and I felt as a lord would. He said that in order to have wealth, you must feel like this. You have to feel like a Lord to be a Lord.

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I felt like this is what a stern, traditional state of power would feel like. Firm, earthly, set in stone, without regard to anything. This is what power is. There was no force behind it. It wasn’t assertive or aggressive. It simply was, stern, overbearing, like a monolith in a barren field. Lucifuge stated that that he had no momentum behind him. Under Saturn, he was unmoving, like rock. This is true power. Momentum is not power, momentum is force. Force is like Fire, Power is like a Earth. Lucifuge has no myths or legends, because he doesn’t evolve or change. He stays the same.

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He said that to invoke him, a lamp should be lit, and alcohol of some sort must be poured. Do it in a dark room, and have no light in front of you, but on either side (as I suggested earlier). In front there should be incense. Just as Lucifer’s element is light, for Lucifuge it is smoke, which shrouds light and protects secrets from the uninitiated.

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At this point I was starting to falter, and Lucifuge told me not to be scared even though he was terrifying. He who is scared gets overwhelmed by the darkness. Fear is the enemy. The true enemy, the true hell, the true Devil.

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Fear, the farthermost state from divinity. The black dragon, the poisonous serpent, the typhon and apophis, all are rooted in things we fear, and a fear of the Unknown. But the Occult is literally about confronting the Unknown, to delve bravely into that which is on the edge of civilisation, just as the ancient Occultist, the shaman, would delve into the forest beyond the boundary of the village, in search of medicine, and hunters in search of food. Over time, these acts would become commonplace and standardized, no longer ‘unknown’. The boundary keeps expanding, and at the forefront are the courageous.

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I was speaking very rapidly now. He said the true adversary is within. It is hate, greed, fear, filth, anger, envy, disgust, doubt and fear. He said “we are but unmanifest beings existing at various planes of existence. We have no physical reality, and no power over you. We cannot tempt you, or control you. It is the evil inside you that tempts you to the dark side. We have no control over your surroundings, only you yourself do”

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At this point, my face slowly and unwittingly changed to an intense frown. I instinctively reasserted control. I had the momentary feeling that I would have to force control over my body again, but I didn’t. The moment I consciously attempted to change my expression, I was instantly in total control. As my consciousness came back, the presence evaporated rapidly, like a dream after waking up. “See, I told you we cannot control you”

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It’s interesting. The fear and caution with which we approach these things, with the constant need to be in control and paranoid of loosing it, is an inherent part of the Ego, and I had momentarily given in. You don’t give in to some cosmic being or demon, you give in to yourself. I ended the ritual, as one always should, with proper expressions of gratitude, license to depart and banishings. If you invoked Saturn, now would be the time to banish it.

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Conclusion

I know what you’re thinking: nothing in this invocation was especially revealing. I mean “in order to be rich you must feel rich” ?? That’s not new information. That’s mainstream man. I mean, not just in the occult, but even well within New Agery, and even outside spirituality. By now, there’s probably hundreds of books on it.

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But you see, that’s why armchair occultism is incomplete. Of course, I’ve heard this many times. I knew this too, even before it was revealed in this Invocation.

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But knowing and understanding are totally different. Remember, Chokmah (Wisdom) comes AFTER Binah (Knowledge), and ultimately leads to Kether (Realization). During this invocation, something changed. The understanding didn’t come, but it was as if the idea made sense. It is difficult to describe what happens during any meditation, but I assume if you’re reading this blog, you know, so I don’t need to explain.

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I came to realise what exactly it means to “feel” powerful, or rich. That is the key, to power or wealth, or to manifesting anything. Like attract Like, as Hermeticism would say.

The realisation comes throughout one’s life. It’s not a single moment of realisation, but a multitude of them occurring repeatedly over the course of one’s life.