No. 10 — President

Buer

Master of philosophy and healing, granting knowledge of medicine and natural secrets while elevating consciousness toward wisdom.

Manifestation

Buer manifests as a figure of healing gentleness combined with philosophical depth, often appearing as a centaur or as a wise figure surrounded by healing plants. His presence arrives with the scent of herbs and healing chambers—comforting yet charged with subtle knowledge. When invoked, those nearby experience unusual mental clarity and compassion; confusion dissolves and the causes of suffering become apparent. There exists a quality of understanding that soothes even as it illuminates.

His aura radiates with the cool clarity of intellect combined with the warm acceptance of compassion. There exists a philosophical depth about his presence—the bearing of one who has pondered existence and arrived at deep understanding. The space around him becomes contemplative; agitation stills and the mind becomes naturally drawn toward introspection and wisdom-seeking.

Powers

HEALER

Grants knowledge of medicine, herbs, and all healing arts physical and subtle

PHILOSOPHER

Confers wisdom regarding the nature of existence and the causes of suffering

TEACHER

Enables transmission of complex knowledge with clarity and compassion

CLARIFIER

Dissolves confusion and reveals the underlying order of all things

Rank

President

Legions

Sphere

Mercury

☿

Element

Water

West / Dusk

Seal

See Grimoire

Notation Below

Powers & Dominion 3 recorded abilities

01 Medical & Herbal Mastery

Buer grants comprehensive knowledge of medicine, pharmacology, and healing practices. The practitioner understands not merely which substances cure which conditions but the principles underlying healing itself. Knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants becomes intuitive; the practitioner can identify useful herbs and understand their applications with supernatural accuracy. This power extends to understanding the spiritual and emotional dimensions of physical illness.

healing medicine knowledge

02 Philosophical Wisdom

The spirit confers genuine wisdom regarding existence, suffering, and liberation. Through Buer's teaching, the practitioner comes to understand the deep causes of suffering and the paths toward its mitigation. This is not abstract philosophy but lived understanding that fundamentally alters how one perceives and engages with reality. Practitioners report that work with Buer gradually elevates consciousness toward wisdom.

wisdom philosophy understanding

03 Teaching with Compassion

Buer grants the rare power to teach complex subjects with both clarity and profound compassion. The practitioner becomes able to perceive the specific confusions and barriers preventing understanding in others and to address those barriers directly. Teaching becomes a form of healing; students don't merely learn but experience transformation through the encounter with clear wisdom delivered with genuine care.

teaching compassion clarity

Deep Lore

Historical Origins

The emergence of Buer within the Western grimoire tradition.

Buer appears in the major European grimoire compilations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, cataloged as the President of the Goetia's infernal hierarchy. The spirit commands 15 legions and holds dominion over matters of heals all manner of diseases.

The name Buer does not appear in pre-medieval sources with certainty, suggesting this spirit may represent a later codification of older folk beliefs about elemental water 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, Buer 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

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

1577

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Johann Weyer includes Buer 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 Buer's position as number 10 in the hierarchy of seventy-two, with refined descriptions of appearance and powers.

1818–1863

Dictionnaire Infernal

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

II.

Grimoire Variations

How different sources describe Buer across centuries of compilation.

Ars Goetia

Lesser Key of Solomon · c. 1600s

Buer is the President of the Goetia, commanding 15 legions of spirits. Buer teaches philosophy in all its profound dimensions and grants mastery of the healing arts, from herbalism to surgery to spiritual mending. He reveals the underlying causes of illness and suffering.

The canonical source. Establishes Buer's position as number 10 in the hierarchy and defines the primary powers that subsequent sources would reference.

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Johann Weyer · 1577

Weyer's earlier catalog describes Buer 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 Buer 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

Buer in art, literature, and the modern imagination.

Grimoire Tradition

The President in the Western Magical Canon

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

HEAL

WHEEL

Modern Practice

Contemporary Engagement

In modern occult practice, Buer is approached through multiple frameworks — from traditional Solomonic ceremonial magick to psychological models that treat the demon as an archetype of heals all manner of diseases. The spirit's domain over water and connection to Mercury inform the timing and methods practitioners use.

Games & Media

Digital Afterlife

Like many spirits of the Goetia, Buer 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.

ROOT

IV.

Ritual Traditions

Historical and modern approaches to working with Buer.

Solomonic Ceremonial

The classical method requires a circle of protection, Buer's seal inscribed on a lamen worn over the heart, and conjuration through graduated orations. The magician commands by divine authority, and Buer 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 Buer, this means working with mercury implements and water correspondences.

Psychological Model

Following the chaos magick tradition, Buer is approached as an archetype — a personification of the practitioner's own capacity for heals all manner of diseases. The seal becomes a meditation focus; invocation becomes active imagination. The circle is a psychological boundary.

Modern Devotional

A relational approach treating Buer 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. Buer is petitioned, not commanded.

Regardless of method, the irreducible correspondences remain: the seal is central, the element is Water, 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 — sovereign authority

Legions15 — spirits under direct command

PlanetMercury — ☿

MetalMercury — Hg

ElementWater

SummoningWednesday

SealRequired — inscribed on lamen or parchment

Invocation

Buer, wise one who sees and heals,
Both body and the troubled mind,
Reveal the truth that deeply feels,
And lift the veil that leaves us blind.

Buer responds most readily to those genuinely seeking wisdom and healing rather than power or mere curiosity. He favors practitioners approaching with humility and willingness to be transformed by encounter with truth.