No. 17 — President and Earl

Botis

A president and earl of the air who perceives past and future simultaneously, reconciles what was broken, and bridges all temporal divisions.

Manifestation

Botis manifests as a figure existing simultaneously in multiple moments—appearing old and young, alive and spectral, present and distant. Some witnesses describe seeing several slightly-offset versions of Botis occupying the same space, their forms overlapping like photographs exposed multiple times. The demon's voice carries echoes of conversations not yet spoken and words already forgotten. The air around them smells of old libraries, rust, and the peculiar ozone scent that precedes both thunderstorms and temporal shifts.

Those in Botis' presence experience disorientation regarding causality—events seem to occur before their causes manifest, consequences arrive before their origins. Yet paradoxically, perfect clarity often accompanies this disorientation; the temporal confusion somehow grants insight into how past, present, and future interconnect and influence one another.

Powers

HISTORY

Reveals what has been hidden, forgotten, or deliberately concealed

PROPHECY

Perceives likely futures and probable outcomes of present choices

HARMONY

Reconciles opposites; bridges conflicts and heals separations

INSIGHT

Grants perspective transcending normal temporal perception

Rank

President and Earl

Legions

Sphere

Mercury

☿

Element

Air

East / Dawn

Seal

See Grimoire

Notation Below

Powers & Dominion 3 recorded abilities

01 Temporal Perception

Botis perceives past, present, and future as a unified field, seeing how present circumstances arose from past choices and will determine future outcomes. This perception grants clarity regarding causality, consequence, and the hidden patterns that shape events.

time perception causality

02 Reconciliation Through Understanding

By revealing the true history underlying conflicts, Botis facilitates reconciliation between estranged parties. The demon does not force agreement but rather grants each party understanding of how the conflict arose and what misunderstandings perpetuate it.

healing understanding peace

03 Legion Command

Botis commands sixty legions of air-spirits, each capable of carrying information across time, communicating with those long dead, and accessing knowledge from moments past and future. These spirits serve as messengers, historians, and prophets.

legion knowledge communication

Deep Lore

Historical Origins

The emergence of Botis within the Western grimoire tradition.

Botis appears in the major European grimoire compilations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, cataloged as the President and Earl of the Goetia's infernal hierarchy. The spirit commands 60 legions and holds dominion over matters of reconciles enemies and reveals hidden things.

The name Botis does not appear in pre-medieval sources with certainty, suggesting this spirit may represent a later codification of older folk beliefs about elemental air spirits, planetary mercury intelligences, or localized spirits of place that were systematized during the great period of grimoire compilation.

What is certain is that by the time Johann Weyer published the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum in 1577, Botis had been assigned a fixed position in the hierarchy, specific powers, and a defined method of conjuration — details that would be refined but largely preserved in the later Ars Goetia.

c. 1500s

Early Grimoire Appearances

Botis appears in manuscript traditions circulating among European magical practitioners, though exact dates of first inclusion remain debated.

1577

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Johann Weyer includes Botis in his systematic catalog of infernal spirits, establishing the demon's rank, legions, and primary powers.

c. 1600s

The Ars Goetia

The anonymous compilation that becomes the canonical source fixes Botis's position as number 17 in the hierarchy of seventy-two, with refined descriptions of appearance and powers.

1818–1863

Dictionnaire Infernal

Collin de Plancy's encyclopedia brings Botis to a wider audience, though with varying degrees of embellishment and artistic interpretation.

II.

Grimoire Variations

How different sources describe Botis across centuries of compilation.

Ars Goetia

Lesser Key of Solomon · c. 1600s

Botis is the President and Earl of the Goetia, commanding 60 legions of spirits. Botis perceives both past and future with equal clarity, revealing what was and what shall be, reading the threads of temporal destiny. He grants the ability to lie convincingly while also perceiving .

The canonical source. Establishes Botis's position as number 17 in the hierarchy and defines the primary powers that subsequent sources would reference.

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Johann Weyer · 1577

Weyer's earlier catalog describes Botis with similar attributes but often provides additional practical details about the spirit's temperament and the conditions required for successful conjuration.

Weyer's text predates the Ars Goetia and served as one of its primary sources. Differences between the two versions reveal how the tradition evolved over decades of transmission.

Dictionnaire Infernal

Collin de Plancy · 1818 / 1863

De Plancy's encyclopedia entry for Botis draws primarily from the Ars Goetia but adds editorial commentary and, in the 1863 edition, an accompanying illustration by Louis Le Breton.

De Plancy's contribution is primarily visual and editorial — his encyclopedia brought these spirits to a general audience for the first time, framed as objects of scholarly curiosity rather than practical conjuration.

III.

Cultural Legacy

Botis in art, literature, and the modern imagination.

Grimoire Tradition

The President in the Western Magical Canon

Botis occupies a specific niche in the Western magical tradition as a spirit of air, governed by Mercury and associated with mercury. These correspondences place Botis within a coherent cosmological framework that practitioners have used for centuries to understand and engage with the spirit world.

SIGHT

TRUCE

Modern Practice

Contemporary Engagement

In modern occult practice, Botis is approached through multiple frameworks — from traditional Solomonic ceremonial magick to psychological models that treat the demon as an archetype of reconciles enemies and reveals hidden things. The spirit's domain over air and connection to Mercury inform the timing and methods practitioners use.

Games & Media

Digital Afterlife

Like many spirits of the Goetia, Botis appears across video games, tabletop RPGs, and fantasy literature — the Ars Goetia serving as one of gaming's most reliable bestiaries. Each adaptation preserves the core attributes while recontextualizing them for new audiences and media.

FOES

IV.

Ritual Traditions

Historical and modern approaches to working with Botis.

Solomonic Ceremonial

The classical method requires a circle of protection, Botis's seal inscribed on a lamen worn over the heart, and conjuration through graduated orations. The magician commands by divine authority, and Botis appears within a brass triangle. Timing: Wednesday, during the planetary hour of Mercury.

Grimoire Purist

Strict adherence to original manuscript instructions — hand-crafted tools, specific materials, precise ritual timing. The argument is that the grimoire's specific procedures create a coherent symbolic language. For Botis, this means working with mercury implements and air correspondences.

Psychological Model

Following the chaos magick tradition, Botis is approached as an archetype — a personification of the practitioner's own capacity for reconciles enemies and reveals hidden things. The seal becomes a meditation focus; invocation becomes active imagination. The circle is a psychological boundary.

Modern Devotional

A relational approach treating Botis as an autonomous entity worthy of respect. Practitioners build ongoing relationships through offerings — typically incense, candles, or libations associated with Mercury — and regular communication. The seal is displayed on an altar. Botis is petitioned, not commanded.

Regardless of method, the irreducible correspondences remain: the seal is central, the element is Air, the planet is Mercury, the metal is mercury, and the day is Wednesday. These form the signal beneath the noise of varying approaches.

Classification

RankPresident — dual authority

Legions60 — spirits under direct command

PlanetMercury — ☿

MetalMercury — Hg

ElementAir

SummoningWednesday

SealRequired — inscribed on lamen or parchment

Invocation

O Botis, who sees all times as one,
The future's end and history's begun,
I call thee forth from yesterday's old throne,
Grant me the sight to reap what I have sown.

Botis responds most readily to those seeking genuine understanding rather than mere information, and to invocations made during twilight when day transitions to night.