Baal (demon)

When Christianity turned ancient gods into demons and demonology divided the demonic population of Hell in several hierarchies, Baal, the Semitic god, did not escape, becoming a separate entity from Beelzebub.

According to demonology Baal was ranked as the first and principal King in Hell, ruling over the East, and to other authors as a Duke, with sixty-six legions of demons under his command. During the English Puritan period Baal, as a demon, was either compared to Satan or considered his main assistant. According to Francis Barrett he has the power to make those who invoke him invisible, and to some other demonologists his power is stronger in October. He can also, according to other sources, make people wise, and speaks hoarsely.

Far from being depicted as a human or a bull, as his Semitic predecessor, in demonology Baal is usually depicted with three heads, the first of a man wearing a ducal crown, the second of a toad and the third of a cat, human chest, and the rest of the body as a spider. Other demonologists depict him as a man with three heads (cat, toad and man), or as a man with the head of a cat, a man with the head of a toad, or rarely as a man. Other depictions say he can also appear in the shape of a cat or a toad.

Other spellings: Bael, Baël (French), Baell.

See also The Lesser Key of Solomon, Ars Goetia.