Barbatos

The 8th of the seventy-two, a duke. Understands the speech of animals. In the language of this path, Barbatos is a shadow pole — worked only with its angel, Cahetel.

Barbatos as engraved by Louis Le Breton — Barbatos — Louis Le Breton engraving, de Plancy’s *Dictionnaire Infernal* (1863). Public domain.

Rank	Duke
Number	8 of the 72
Legions	30
Direction	The historical grimoires assign him no fixed cardinal direction — only that he appears when the Sun is in Sagittarius. Modern correspondence tables vary, with both East and South cited.
Also called	Barbatos · Barbas (occasionally identified with him in later occult writing) · from Latin barbatus, meaning 'bearded'
Angel (light pole)	Cahetel — Shem #8

What the grimoires say

In the 1904 Goetia, Barbatos is a Duke governing 30 legions. Understands the speech of animals; finds treasure hidden by magic.

A great duke who manifests when the Sun is in Sagittarius, arriving in the company of four noble kings and their large bands of troops.

“The Eighth Spirit is Barbatos. He is a Great Duke, and appeareth when the Sun is in Sagittary, with four noble Kings and their companies of great troops. He giveth understanding of the singing of Birds, and of the Voices of other creatures, such as the barking of Dogs. He breaketh the Hidden Treasures open that have been laid by the Enchantments of Magicians. He is of the Order of Virtues, of which some part he retaineth still; and he knoweth all things Past, and to come, and conciliateth Friends and those that be in Power. He ruleth over 30 Legions of Spirits.”— Mathers & Crowley, The Goetia (1904), public domain

The shadow it carries

Stripped to the bone, Barbatos's traditional office turns on understanding the speech of animals, especially the song of birds and the calls of dogs. Read plainly, that is a real human force; in the language of this path its raw, unowned form is a shadow pole. Its shadow is what that force does when it runs you from the dark; its gold is the same force — seen, owned, governed.

You never reach for it alone. Its light pole is the angel Cahetel; met together, behind protection, Barbatos becomes a disowned part of yourself approached while the light is already in the room.

Correspondences

A word of honesty first: almost none of the table below is from the old grimoires. The rank, legions, direction and office are traditional; the planet, day, colour, tarot, incense and the Enn are modern attributions (mostly 20th–21st-century Demonolatry and correspondence compilations), and the sources openly disagree. Use them as a working frame, not as law.

Correspondence	Value	Where it comes from
Astrological timing	Appears when the Sun is in Sagittarius	Primary source — 1904 Goetia / Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum 1577 (public domain)
Zodiac / decan	Gemini 10-20 degrees (second decan)	Modern — Golden Dawn-derived decan tables; attribution varies between sources and conflicts with the grimoire's Sagittarius timing
Tarot	Nine of Swords	Modern — follows the Golden Dawn Gemini second-decan mapping; not in the grimoires
Planet	Venus	Modern — practitioner correspondence tables; varies between sources
Day	Friday	Modern — derived from the Venus attribution; not traditional
Element	Fire (per Agrippa-style schemes) or Air (per Golden Dawn)	Modern — sources disagree
Metal	Copper	Modern — follows the Venus attribution
Candle colour	Green	Modern — contemporary practitioner tradition
Incense	Sandalwood	Modern — contemporary practitioner tradition
Plant	No consistent attribution	Modern sources vary; none traditional
Animal	Birds and dogs	Derived from the 1904 grimoire text (his gift of understanding birdsong and the barking of dogs); the wider 'nature/woodland' animal associations are modern
Date window	Approximately 1-10 June	Modern — calendar span of the Gemini second decan in some correspondence tables

Its modern Enn — a chant from the Demonolatry current, not found in any grimoire:

“Eveta fubin Barbatos”

Making a connection

Gathered from what practitioners report, put plainly — a starting point, not a rule:

Sit with the seal above as the first meeting-place: trace it, hold it in the mind’s eye, and let impressions arrive without grabbing at them.
Set a gentle frame. Keep it simple — a green candle, a friday, a little incense, a moment of quiet. If you work the Demonolatry current, chant the Enn softly — more like settling than commanding.
Bring the real theme. Practitioners associate Barbatos with locating hidden or buried treasure and uncovering what has been concealed, reconciling quarrels and restoring friendships, including with people in authority. Name what you actually want, and ask — don’t demand.
Journal before and after, and treat everything as your own experience, not fixed doctrine.

Never alone — the angel first. This is a shadow pole, and the whole discipline of this path is that you never reach for one by itself. Call its angel, Cahetel (Shem angel #8), first; work behind protection, inside a cast circle; and witness, don't become. If you have not yet read it, start with The Goetic Spirits — Safely. This is advanced work and it is not a substitute for mental-health care.

Rank, legions, direction and office are from the public-domain grimoires (Weyer 1577; Mathers & Crowley, The Goetia, 1904). Images are public domain: the 1904 seal and Louis Le Breton’s Dictionnaire Infernal engraving (1863). The Enn and the planet/day/colour/tarot correspondences are modern attributions (Demonolatry and compilations), flagged as such; sources disagree, and no copyrighted description or artwork is reproduced. Angel pairing per the Rudd tradition. Take the technique, never the tribe.

“Everything alive is already speaking. Go quiet enough and you will hear it.”