Zagan: The Demon of Wit, Transformation and Alchemical Power
Zagan is a Fallen Angel and the 61st of the 72 Spirits of Solomon. In the Goetic tradition, he holds the rank of both King and President, giving him an unusual dual authority among the infernal spirits. He commands 33 legions of demons and is known for his powers of transformation, intelligence, wit and strange forms of alchemical change.
Zagan first appears in the form of a bull with griffin wings, a striking image that combines earthly strength with supernatural ascent. The bull suggests force, fertility, stubborn power and command over the material world, while the griffin wings connect him to nobility, guardianship and the liminal space between beast and divine creature. When commanded, Zagan takes on the shape of a man, becoming more approachable to the magician who seeks his knowledge.
His powers are especially connected with cleverness and transformation. Zagan is said to make people witty, intelligent and persuasive. He can turn fools into wise men, suggesting not only intellectual improvement but also the ability to awaken hidden understanding in those who seem spiritually or mentally asleep. In this sense, Zagan is not merely a demon of tricks, but a spirit of sharp perception, strategy and mental refinement.
Zagan is also famous for his ability to transform substances. He can turn water into wine, blood into oil, oil into water, and wine into water or blood. These powers place him close to the symbolic world of alchemy, where matter is never fixed and every substance holds the possibility of becoming something else. His transformations are disturbing, miraculous and deeply symbolic: water becomes intoxication, blood becomes oil, oil becomes water, and wine becomes either purity or sacrifice.
He is also said to turn any metal into money, which connects him to wealth, material conversion and the occult dream of transmutation. This power echoes the alchemical search for turning base metals into gold, but in Zagan’s case the transformation is directed toward currency, value and worldly power. He does not simply alter matter; he alters meaning, worth and usefulness.
Zagan’s gift of making fools wise should not be overlooked. In demonology, wisdom often comes through dangerous contact with forces that challenge ordinary understanding. Zagan’s intelligence is not soft or gentle. It is sharp, unsettling and transformative. He represents the moment when ignorance is broken open, when perception changes, and when the magician realises that reality itself may be more fluid than it appears.
As a spirit of wit, alchemy and hidden knowledge, Zagan stands at the crossroads between intellect and matter. He teaches that transformation is not only physical, but mental and spiritual. To work with the symbolism of Zagan is to contemplate the power of change: the change of substances, the change of fortune, the change of foolishness into wisdom, and the change of ordinary perception into magical sight.
From “The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King” (1904) Written by S.L. MacGregor Mathers
ZAGAN. – The Sixty-first Spirit is Zagan.
He is a Great King and President, appearing at first in the Form of a Bull with Gryphon’s Wings; but after a while he putteth on Human Shape. He maketh Men Witty. He can turn Wine into Water, and Blood into Wine, alsoWater into Wine. He can turn all Metals into Coin of the Dominion that Metal is of. He can even make Fools wise. He governeth 33 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is this, etc.
From the “Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures ” Written by Theresa Bane
Zagam ( sic ) is a king and president, the demon of counterfeiting, deceit, and lies. Commanding thirty legions (or thirty-three, sources vary), he appears before his summoner as a bull with griffon wings. Witty by nature, he is summoned for his ability to change blood into oil, copper into gold, lead into silver, metals into coins, and water into wine. He can also make a fool into a wise man and make any man witty. He is listed as one of the Spirits of Solomon.
From the “Pseudomonarchia Daemonum” ( 1583 ) Written by Johann Weyer (Johann Wier)
Zagan [Zagam] is a great king and a president, he commeth abroad like a bull, with griphens wings, but when he taketh humane shape, he maketh men wittie, he turneth all mettals into the coine of that dominion, and turneth water into wine, and wine into water, he also turneth bloud into [oil], and [oil] into bloud, and a foole into a wise man, he is head of thirtie and three legions.
Original Text:
Zagam magnus Rex and Præses: ut taurus prodit cum alis ad modum gryphi: sed assumpta hominis forma, reddit hominem ingeniosum: transmutat cuncta metallorum genera in monetas illius ditionis, and aquam in vinum, and è diverso: sanguinem quoque in oleum, and contra: and stultum in sapientem. Præest triginta tribus legionibus.
From the “Dictionnaire Infernal” (edition of 1863 ) Written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy
Original Text :
Zagam, grand roi et président de l’enfer. Il a l’apparence d’un taureau aux ailes de griffon. Il change l’eau en vin, le sang en huile, l’insensé en homme sage, le plomb en argent et le cuivre en or. Trente légions lui obéissent.
Note from Occult World :
In the Dictionnaire Infernal Zagan only rules 30 Legions of Demons instead of the 33 that Wier and S.L. MacGregor Mathers mention.
Enter the Transforming Power of Zagan
Zagan is not a demon of simple destruction. He is a force of transformation, wit, alchemy and hidden intelligence. His mysteries belong to the deeper currents of demonology, where spirits are studied not only as frightening beings, but as symbols of power, knowledge, temptation and change.
Inside the Occult World Skool Community, we explore demons like Zagan in depth: their origins in the grimoires, their ranks, their powers, their symbolism, their magical associations and their place within the wider world of demonology, black magick and occult practice.
This is where you can go beyond short descriptions and begin studying with fellow occultists who share your fascination with demons, spirits, grimoires, ritual magic and forbidden knowledge.
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