Gaap: Fallen Angel, Prince of Hell and Teacher of Hidden Knowledge
Gaap is one of the most mysterious and powerful spirits in the Goetic tradition. Known as the 33rd of the 72 Spirits of Solomon, he is described as both a Fallen Angel and a mighty infernal prince. His presence in demonological texts places him among those spirits who bridge angelic memory, forbidden wisdom, magical authority and the dangerous art of command.
According to traditional grimoires, Gaap was once connected to the angelic order of Powers. This detail is significant. The Powers are often associated with spiritual warfare, cosmic order, protection and the control of hostile forces. To describe Gaap as a fallen member of this order suggests that his nature is not merely chaotic or demonic, but deeply tied to authority, discipline and supernatural command.
In Hell, Gaap is said to hold the rank of president and mighty prince. He rules over 66 legions of demons, making him one of the more powerful figures among the spirits of Solomon.
The Appearance of Gaap
Traditional descriptions say that Gaap appears when the Sun is in the southern signs. He manifests in human form, but with enormous bat-like wings, a striking image that combines intelligence, darkness, mobility and nocturnal power.
He is also said to be preceded by four powerful kings. This detail gives his appearance a ceremonial and royal quality. Gaap does not arrive as a minor spirit or wandering presence. He comes with rank, courtly force and infernal authority.
The image of the bat wings is especially symbolic. Bats belong to twilight, caves, darkness and the unseen world. They move through hidden spaces and rely on senses beyond ordinary sight. In this way, Gaap’s wings may symbolise perception beyond the visible, the ability to move through shadow, and knowledge that cannot be reached through ordinary reason alone.
Gaap as a Teacher of Philosophy and the Liberal Sciences
One of Gaap’s most important powers is his ability to teach liberal sciences and philosophy. This places him among those spirits associated not only with influence and command, but with intellectual illumination.
The liberal sciences traditionally include disciplines connected to language, logic, mathematics, music, astronomy and the structure of knowledge itself. To seek teaching from a spirit like Gaap, in the context of old ceremonial magic, was not simply to ask for information. It was to approach the hidden architecture of wisdom.
Philosophy, in this sense, is not merely academic thinking. It is the search for causes, principles, truth and power. Gaap’s association with philosophy makes him a spirit of deep inquiry, intellectual force and hidden understanding.
He is not a demon of shallow curiosity. He belongs to the darker current of knowledge: the kind that asks what lies beneath the surface of reality.
Love, Hatred and Emotional Influence
Gaap is also said to excite both love and hatred. This dual power reveals his connection to emotional manipulation, attraction, repulsion and human attachment.
In occult symbolism, love and hatred are not always opposites. They are both intense forms of energetic connection. Both bind attention. Both can dominate the heart. Both can become forces of obsession, loyalty, rejection or transformation.
The magician approaching Gaap would therefore need great caution and self-knowledge. A spirit associated with love and hatred can expose the hidden forces behind desire, conflict and emotional control. Such a spirit may reveal not only how people influence one another, but also how easily human beings are ruled by passion.
Making People Insensible
One of the more disturbing powers attributed to Gaap is that he can make men insensible. This may be interpreted in several ways. On one level, it may suggest the ability to dull the senses, cloud judgement or create confusion. On another, it may refer to emotional numbness, trance, spiritual disconnection or the temporary suspension of ordinary awareness.
In ceremonial magic, such powers were not always viewed symbolically. They were treated as real forces that could affect perception, consciousness and behaviour.
This is why the old grimoires repeatedly emphasise authority, preparation and command. Spirits like Gaap were not approached casually. They were considered potent, complex and potentially dangerous.
True Answers About Past, Present and Future
Gaap is also known for giving true answers about the past, present and future. This makes him a spirit of divination, revelation and hidden knowledge.
The past reveals origins. The present reveals the forces currently at work. The future reveals possibility, consequence and direction. To ask Gaap for answers would be to seek vision across time.
However, true answers are not always comforting answers. In many occult traditions, spirits who reveal truth may do so without softness. They may expose what the magician does not want to see. They may bring clarity, but also discomfort.
Gaap’s knowledge should therefore be understood as powerful, but not necessarily gentle.
Gaap and Familiars
One of Gaap’s more unusual powers is his ability to take familiars away from magicians. A familiar is a spirit ally, assistant or energetic companion traditionally believed to aid the practitioner in magical work.
The ability to remove familiars suggests that Gaap has authority over spirit relationships and magical bonds. He can disrupt, reclaim, sever or redirect spiritual connections. This makes him especially important in the study of magical hierarchy, spirit alliances and the dangers of careless occult practice.
A magician who works with spirits must understand that not every bond is permanent, and not every alliance is safe. Gaap’s role in taking familiars away reminds us that spirit work is built on power, boundaries and command.
Movement and Magical Transportation
Gaap is also said to move people quickly from place to place upon command. In older magical texts, this may be understood as supernatural transportation, the rapid relocation of individuals, or the ability to influence movement, travel and displacement.
On a symbolic level, this power can represent sudden change, swift transition and the ability to shift a person from one state of life to another. Gaap is not a stagnant spirit. He moves, redirects, unsettles and transforms.
He belongs to the current of forceful transition.
Gaap and Amaymon
Gaap is connected to the powerful infernal ruler Amaymon. Traditional sources say that Gaap gives instruction in the consecration of things belonging to the divination of his master, Amaymon.
This is an important detail because it places Gaap within a larger infernal hierarchy. He is not merely an isolated spirit. He serves, teaches and operates within a structured system of command.
The reference to consecration is also significant. Consecration means setting something apart for sacred or magical use. It is the act of transforming an object, tool or space from ordinary matter into something ritually charged.
Gaap’s connection to consecrated divinatory tools suggests that his powers are tied to ritual preparation, spiritual authority and the correct handling of magical instruments.
The Deeper Meaning of Gaap
Gaap is a spirit of knowledge, movement, emotional power, divination and spiritual command. He teaches, reveals, influences and disrupts. He can illuminate the mind, stir the heart, unsettle perception and interfere with magical alliances.
His nature is not simple. He is neither merely a teacher nor merely a tempter. Like many Goetic spirits, he represents a complex force within the occult imagination: the dangerous teacher, the dark philosopher, the winged prince who knows how to move between worlds.
To study Gaap is to study the relationship between knowledge and power.
What do we do with hidden knowledge once we receive it?
Can the human mind handle truth without distortion?
Can desire be mastered, or does it always master us first?
These are the kinds of questions Gaap brings to the surface.
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Gaap is not a spirit to be reduced to a short description or a frightening image. His symbolism connects to fallen angels, Goetic hierarchy, forbidden knowledge, spirit communication, divination, philosophy, magical authority and the deeper structure of ceremonial magic.
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From “Demonologia” ( August 2003 )
This Demon is also sometimes known as Tap. The text of the Lemegeton reads:
“he is a President; and a mighty Prince; he appeareth when the Sun is in some of theSouthern Signs in a humane shape; Going before him 4 Great and Mighty Kings knowing Philosophy; and all the Liberal Sciences; he can cause love or hatred, and make men insensible; he cann teach you how to Consecrate those things that belong to the Dominion of Amaymon his King, and cann deliver familiars out of the Custidy of other Magicians; and men most speddly an Kingdom to Another at the will and pleasure of the Exorcist; he ruleth 66 Legions of Spirits; he was of the Order of Potentates;” (Sloane 2731).
Reginald Scot has some curious lore to record in connection with this Demon. He states that Gaap is equal in might to Bileth, and writes of the latter spirit:
“there were certaine necromancers that offered sacrifices and burnt offerings unto him; and to call him up, they exercised an art, saieng that Salomon the wise made it. Which is false: for it was rather Cham, the sonne of Noah, who after the floud began first to invocate wicked spirits. He invocated Bileth, and made an art in his name, and a booke which is knowne to manie mathematicians. There were burnt offerings and sacrifices made, and gifts given, and much wickednes wrought by the exorcists, whomingled there with all the holie names of God, the which in that art are everie where expressed. Marie there is an epistle of those names written by Saloman, as also write Helias, Hierosolymitanus and Helisaeus. It is to be noted, that if anie exorcist have the art of Bileth, and cannot make him stand before him, nor see him, I may not bewaie you and declare the meanes to containe him, bicause it is abhomination, and for that I have learned nothing from Salomon of his dignitie and office.”
What the abominations used to command Bileth may be, Scot does not divulge. They may have involved the spilling of human blood. Bileth is evidently the same as the Demon Beleth, also known as Bileth or Bilet. Scot’s text is confusing, and it is difficult to know with certainty at any given point whether he is writing about Gaap or Bileth,but I believe Bileth to be intended in the section quoted above. Gaap and Bileth are two of the four chief Demons that rule over the 72 commanded by Solomon into the vessel of brass. The other two rulers are Belial and Asmoday.
Collin de Plancy has caused Gaap to be illustrated as a winged giant with horns and a tail, who carries a man through the air on his shoulders.
From “The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King” (1904) Written by S.L. MacGregor Mathers
GAAP. – The Thirty-third Spirit is Gaap.
He is a Great President and a Mighty Prince. He appeareth when the Sun is in some of the Southern Signs, in a Human Shape, going before Four Greatand Mighty Kings, as if lie were a Guide to conduct them along on their way. His Office is to make men Insensible or Ignorant; as also in Philosophy tomake them Knowing, and in all the Liberal Sciences. He can cause Love or Hatred, also he can teach thee to consecrate those things that belong tothe Dominion of AMAYMON his King. He can deliver Familiars out of the Custody of other Magicians, and answereth truly and perfectly of things Past, Present, and to Come. He can carry and re-carry men very speedily from one Kingdom to another, at the Will and Pleasure of the Exorcist.
He ruleth over 66 Legions of Spirits, and he was of the Order of Potentates. His Seal is this to be made and to be worn as aforesaid, etc.
From the “Pseudomonarchia Daemonum” ( 1583 )written by Johann Weyer (Johann Wier)
Gaap, alias Tap, a great president and a prince, he appeareth in a meridionall signe, and when he taketh humane shape [Clm 849 reads: He appears in the form of a doctor when he takes on a human form. He is the most excellent doctor of women, and he makes them burn with love for men.] he is the guide of the foure principall kings, as mightie as Bileth. There were certeine necromancers that offered sacrifices and burnt offerings unto him; and to call him up, they exercised an art, saieng that Salomon the wise made it. Which is false: for it was rather Cham, the sonne of Noah, who after the floud began first to invocate wicked spirits. He invocated Bileth, and made an art in his name, and a booke which is knowne to manie mathematicians. There were burnt offerings and sacrifices made, and gifts given, and much wickednes wrought by the exorcists, who mingled therewithall the holie names of God, the which in that art are everie where expressed. Marie [Certainly] there is an epistle of those names written by Salomon, as also write Helias Hierosolymitanus and Helisæus. It is to be noted, that if anie exorcist have the art of Bileth, and cannot make him stand before him, nor see him, I may not bewraie how and declare the meanes to conteine him, bicause it is abhomination, and for that I have learned nothing from Salomon of his dignitie and office. But yet I will not hide this; to wit, that he maketh a man woonderfull in philosophie and all the liberall sciences: he maketh love, hatred, insensibilitie, invisibilitie, consecration, and consecration of those things that are belonging unto the domination of Amaymon, and delivereth familiars out of the possession of other conjurors, answering truly and perfectly of things present, past, and to come, and transferreth men most speedilie into other nations, he ruleth sixtie six legions, and was of the order of potestats.
Original Text:
Gaap, alias Tap, Præses magnus and Princeps: in signo Meridiei apparet: sed quum humanam assumit faciem [Clm 849, fol 66r: Apparet in signo medici cum suscipit figuram humanam; [est] doctor opti[m]us mulierum, et facit ardere in amorem virorum], ductor est præcipuorum quatuor regum, tam potens ut Byleth. Extiterunt autem quidam necromantici, qui huic libamina and holocausta obtulere, and ut eundem evocarent, artem exercuere, dicentes sapientissimum Salomonem eam composuisse, quod falsum est: imo fuit Cham filius Noë, qui primus post diluvium cœpit malignos invocare spiritus, invocavit autem Byleth, and composuit artem in suo nomine, and librum, qui multis mathematicis est cognitus. Fiebant autem holocausta, libamina, munera, and multa nefaria, quæ operabantur exorcistæ admistis sanctissimis Dei nominibus, quæ in eadem arte sparsim exprimuntur. Epistola vero de iis nominibus est conscripta à Salomone, uti and scribunt Helias Hierosolymitanus and Heliseus. Notandum, si aliquis exorcista habuerit artem Beleth, nec ipsum coram se sistere possit aut videre, nisi per artem: Quomodo autem eundem continere oporteat, non est explicandum, quum sit nefandum, and nihil à Salomone de ejus dignitate and officio didicerim, hoc tamen non silebo, ipsum reddere hominem admirabilem in philosophia and artibus omnibus liberalibus. Facit ad amorem, odium, invisibilitatem and consecrationem eorum quæ sunt de dominatione Amaymonis: Et de potestate alterius exorcistæ tradit familiares, and vera perfecte responsa de præsentibus, præteritis and futuris. Velocissimo transcursu in varias regiones traducit hominem. Sexagintasex præest legionibus, and fuit de Potestatum ordine.
From the “Dictionnaire Infernal” (edition of 1863 ) Written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy
Tap/Gaap is a high president and prince of hell, commanding 4 of the principal kings and 60 legions, and as powerful as Byleth. He also has an empire over thoseDemonsAmaymon commands. He appears in human form at noon, and is said to intensify the passions of love and hatred, and can transport men to different countries. Earlier necromancers invoked Tap by spells composed by King Solomon, but that is not true, as it was Noah’s son, Cham, who first began evoking evil spirits. The necromancers also offered him libations and holocausts. Tap was made to serve Byleth by composing a book of mathematics. If the exorcist knows of the art of Byleth, Gaap will not cooperate. Another book attributed to the prophets Eli and Elijah states that Gaap can be conjured by virtue of the saints’ names of God listed in the Key of Solomon.
Original Text :
Tap ou Gaap, grand président et grand princeaux enfers. Il se montre à midi lorsqu’il prendla forme humaine. Il commande à quatre desprincipaux rois de l’empire infernal. Il est aussipuissant que Byleth. Il y eut autrefois des nécromanciensqui lui offrirent des libations et desholocaustes ; ils l’évoquaient au moyen d’artificesmagiques qu’ils disaient composés par le tressageroi Salomon ; ce qui est faux, car ce fut Cham, fils de Noé; qui le premier commença àévoquer les esprits malins. Il se fit servir parByleth el composa un art en son nom, et unlivre qui est apprécié de beaucoup de mathématiciens.
On cite un autre livre attribué aux prophètesÉlie et Elisée, par lequel on conjure Gaap en vertu des saints noms de Dieu renfermés dansles Clavicules de Salomon.Si quelque exorciste connaît l’art de Byleth,Gaap ou Tap ne pourra supporter la présencedudit exorciste. Gaap ou Tap excite à l’amour, àla haine. Il a l’empire sur les démons soumis àla puissance d’Amaymon. Il transporte trèspromplementles hommes dans les différentescontrées qu’ils veulent parcourir; Il commandeà soixante légions.
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