Engraving depicting hell from Das Welttheater, oder die allgemeine Weltgeschichte von der Schöpfung bis zum Jahr, C. Strahlheim, 1834. Source: The British Library
Tuberculosis, syphilis, breast cancer, and diphtheria from Richard Tennant Cooper’s series of symbolic paintings depicting death and disease, 1920s. A official war artist, Cooper painted these after returning from World War I before moving to commercial work.
A Mngwa or Nunda is massive legendary cat of Tanzanian folklore that’s fiercer than a lion and more agile than a leopard. The Mngwa is said to be human during the day, and turns into a ferocious beast at nightfall with grey, striped fur. Image: mngamojemo
“Your head’s like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the weight of oceans and the turning stars. Whole universes fit in there! But what do we choose to keep in this miraculous cabinet? Little broken things, sad trinkets that we play with over and over. The world turns our key and we play the same little tune again and again and we think that tune’s all we are.”
– GRANT MORRISON, THE INVISIBLES
Haagenti, one of the 72 Spirits of Solomon, is an alchemical demon with the power to turn metals into gold and water into wine. He’s an infernal president who commands 33 legions of lesser demons. He can be bound with the angel Mihael’s name. Beyond his bestial form, he can also appear as a man. Image: 72goetia.com
Autothith is a demon of strife who causes fighting and grudges between friends. He’s the 34th demon of the 36 decans of the zodiac described in the Testament of Solomon. To cast him off, write down the words Alpha and Omega.
Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum, 1620. Created by the alchemist and esoteric author Johann Baptist Grossschedel von Aicha, this chart acts as a grimoire and reference. The three sheets together measure to four feet long and two feet wide.
Indonesian Shadow Puppetry (Wayang Kulit) is one of the oldest storytelling traditions around the world. Oil lamps project the shadows of the intricately designed puppets on to cloth as the puppeteer narrates the story, often from a Hindu epic like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Images: 1-2 Tropenmuseum, Anggita Gloria, Rebecca Marshall.
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Emblems from Sammlung Alchymistischer Schriften (Collection of Alchemical Writings), 18th Century. The different colors and symbolic images represent stages of the alchemical process, and the composition acts as a guide for the process as a whole. Source: John Rylands Library
Maitor is a demon of deception and illusion who can be called upon in a spell to make one invisible. He serves under the demon Almiras and their minister Cheros. Image: Eve Harms
Gartiraf is a flying demon of disease described in the Liber de Angelis who serves under Bilet. Summoners can invoke his name for a curse or send him, and his flying underlings, to afflict their enemies with illness, fever, trembling & weakness. Digital collage by Eve Harms, licensed under CC-BY-SA
