Words

Goetia

goh-ESH-uh
The conjuring of spirits, from Greek goeteia, the art of the goes, the howler, sorcery named after the sound of the wail.
Documented

The howler's art

Greek goes (sorcerer) relates to goao, to wail, groan: goeteia as the art of the keening conjurer. Plato already uses it pejoratively; late antique and medieval demonology kept the label, and the Lesser Key of Solomon's first book, the Ars Goetia, catalogs seventy-two spirits under it.

Assessment: Documented: the Platonic usage and the grimoire tradition.
Stories

The demon catalog

The Ars Goetia's afterlife: seventy-two named demons with seals, ranks, and specialties, now the most merchandised demon list in existence, video-game rosters, metal albums, tattoo portfolios. The wailing sorcerer would not recognize his client base.

Assessment: Stories: the catalog is real 17th-century material; the merch is real 21st-century material.
Interesting claims

The sound underneath

The wail root suggests sorcery's origin in sound: the keening, the chant, the vibrated name. Goetia may remember when all ritual was acoustic, the spirit summoned by the noise, and every whispered incantation since is a descendant of the howl.

Assessment: Interesting: sound-based ritual is universal; the root connection is proposed, not certain.
Sources and further reading
  1. Plato, pejorative uses of goeteia
  2. The Lesser Key of Solomon, Ars Goetia (17th century)
  3. Liddell-Scott-Jones, 'goes,' 'goao'
Worth asking

Is some magic evil, or is 'evil magic' just the other class's magic?

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GR8YFILES · competing origin stories, labeled by the strength of their evidence · readers 14+