Working with Orias: stars, transformation, dignities, and a seal worn close
Orias, and three kinds of work that are not the same
In the Grimoire Companion entry, Orias is a Marquis who teaches the virtues of the stars and mansions of the planets, transforms men, and grants dignities. Those three points give this article its shape, and they should not be blurred together. Teaching the virtues of stars and planetary mansions is learned knowledge: what each star and mansion is said to do, how it is recognised, and how it is properly worked with, studied in order rather than guessed at. Transformation of men is a change in a person: in bearing, conduct, or capacity, not a vague wish to be different. Granting dignities is a change in standing: a position, honour, or recognition in the ordinary world, with duties attached to it, not only a title to display. Start by naming which of the three this working is about. Write it in one clear sentence. If you cannot write that sentence, you are not ready to begin, and that pause is part of the work, not a delay in it.
It is worth being honest about which kind of work you actually need. Some practitioners study stars endlessly and never change their conduct. Some seek a dignity without the study or transformation that would make them fit to hold it. Some seek transformation without naming what, precisely, is to change. Orias work, as described here, covers all three, but a single working should aim at one of them clearly, with the others as background, not as three simultaneous wishes. Be specific about the star or mansion, the change in conduct or capacity, or the dignity and its duties. If you work in the Goetia system, work from the instructions and teaching you already follow in that system. A general article like this one is not a substitute for proper teaching, and it should not be used to invent a purpose for a spirit you have not studied.
Why a seal, and why wear it
A seal is not a picture of a spirit. In this kind of work it is a working object: something you hold, carry, and return to, so that the purpose of the working stays present in ordinary life and not only on the night you first take it up. A pendant seal has a particular use here. A seal kept in a drawer is easy to forget. A seal worn around the neck is with you when you study the stars, when you meet the people whose opinion bears on a dignity, and when you face the ordinary situations where a change in conduct is actually tested. That closeness is the point. The seal does not study for you, transform you by itself, or grant a position on its own. It keeps you in mind of what you set out to learn and to become, at the moments when old habit, distraction, or the temptation to cut corners would otherwise take over.
There are several plain ways to work with a seal, and they suit different days. You can hold it in your hands while you think through the star, the change, or the dignity you are working on, letting the weight slow you down before you reach for an easy answer. You can put it under a candle during a working, so that the working has a clear centre and a clear time. You can put oil on it, if your practice calls for anointing, marking it for the purpose you have named. You can carry it with you through the day, or wear it as a pendant, so that it is present for the ordinary encounters where transformation and standing are actually tested. Each of these is a way of keeping the same purpose in view, not a different working each time.
How this seal is made
The seals offered here are lost wax cast seals of the Daemon Demons of the various grimoires. They are pure metal which is actually cast, starting with a wax version, which is much higher quality than the three-dimensional printed versions, using metal powder and plastic, that you find around the internet. That distinction matters in practice, not as a luxury, but as a matter of attention. A cast seal has weight, a clean edge, and a surface that takes handling. It is made to be held and worn, not only looked at. They are pictured as just discs here, and you can get them like this if you prefer, but a bail is either cast onto them or soldered on, depending on the metal used, so you can use the seal as a pendant. This pendant is two inches across, a size you can hold comfortably and read at a glance, large enough to work with directly and still practical to wear.
Listed options take approximately two to three weeks, and the ones which are not listed but are under the other option take eight weeks. That waiting time is worth planning around. Use the weeks to choose the star or mansion, the change in conduct, or the dignity this working is actually about, to gather the books and notes you will need, and to decide what you will count as progress. When the seal arrives, you will already know what it is for, and you will not be starting from a blank page.
Preparation: the star, the change, or the dignity
Preparation in this kind of work is not decoration. It is how you get yourself into a state where you can study carefully, act deliberately, and notice what changes. Start with the matter itself. Write it in one sentence, and write what progress would look like in one sentence as well: a virtue of a star you can now explain, a conduct you will now hold in a named situation, or a dignity with duties you are prepared to carry. Leave them overnight. Come back and see if they still read true. If they have changed, that change is information, and the new version is the one to work with. Then prepare the place where you will study or work: a desk cleared for books and notes, a spot outside where the sky is actually visible, or a working place used consistently, so the place itself starts to carry the association.
Then prepare yourself in the ordinary ways that mark a time as set apart: wash, change into clothes you do not wear for ordinary errands, and avoid starting a working when you are exhausted, drunk, or already agitated. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as a seal is, and for star study and for dignities it is the main tool, because a tired mind confuses names, and a dignity sought in haste is rarely held well. Know what you are going to say in a petition, in your own words, and know what you are not going to say. A petition that tries to cover every star, every change, and every honour at once usually covers none of them well. Keep it direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand.
A simple working order, to adapt to your own practice
The following is a general order, not a fixed script. Adapt it to the system you already work in, and to the instructions you already follow for Goetia work. First, prepare the matter and the mark of progress, each in one sentence, and set out your books and notes. Second, hold the seal, or put it under a candle if your practice calls for that, and read those sentences back to yourself, slowly. Third, anoint the seal with oil if your practice calls for anointing, naming the purpose in your own words. Fourth, study, act, or prepare for a set time, with the seal worn or carried, doing the ordinary work that belongs to the matter: reading the star lore properly, holding the new conduct in a real situation, or preparing the work that a dignity would require. Fifth, write down what you did, in plain language, separating what you studied, what you did, and what you merely intended to do. Sixth, close the working properly, in whatever way your practice requires, and put the materials away in their proper place.
Afterwards, write down what you did, when you did it, and what you noticed. Not what you hoped would happen, but what actually happened, in plain language. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work. For transformation, the record should be of conduct: what you actually did differently, in which situation, and what followed. For dignities, the record should be of standing: what was actually offered, asked, or recognised, and what duties came with it. A record made only of feelings is hard to check against later. A record of study, conduct, and standing can be checked, and it is that record that makes this working useful.
Stars, transformation, dignities, and honest limits
All three of Orias's subjects reward the same habit: naming precisely, and accepting the duties that come with the name. A star virtue named precisely can be studied, tested against the books, and used properly. A transformation named precisely can be practised, observed, and corrected when it slips. A dignity named precisely comes with duties that can be named in advance, and a person who will not name those duties is not ready to hold it. A working for Orias should be judged by those ordinary marks: a virtue you can now explain, a conduct you now hold more steadily, or a standing you now carry with its duties in view, rather than by a feeling of importance alone. If, after weeks of work, you can explain the star matter better, hold the conduct more steadily, or state the duties of the dignity clearly, that is progress worth recording, even if the subject is not mastered and the dignity is not yet granted.
Sometimes the right answer is not a spirit working at all. If the difficulty is a lack of study, a skill you have not been taught, or a position you are not yet fit to hold, deal with that difficulty in the ordinary world first, or at the same time: study the lore, practise the conduct, do the work that the position requires. Ritual work is not a substitute for study, conduct, or preparation, and it should not be used to seek a dignity as a shortcut around them. If you are unsure whether a working is appropriate, wait, ask a teacher you trust, or choose a simpler practice of regular study and steady conduct first and see how that sits.
Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop
Keep a short record for each working: date, matter in one sentence, mark of progress in one sentence, study or conduct done, and what you noticed afterwards, over days and weeks, not just on the night itself. If nothing changes, that is also information. It may mean the matter was too broad, the timing was wrong, the work was not appropriate, or simply that the situation needs a different approach, including a different book, a narrower change, or a different dignity sought. Do not repeat the same working endlessly in the hope that repetition alone will force a result. Do the work properly, once, observe, and then decide, calmly, whether a second working, a different approach, or no further working is the right next step. Repetition without reflection is not persistence. It is noise.
Orias seal pendant, two inches
A seal worn close keeps the purpose present where study, conduct, and standing are actually tested, in ordinary life, not only on the night of a working.
This is a lost wax cast seal of Orias, pure metal cast starting with a wax version, with a bail cast or soldered on so it can be worn as a pendant. It is two inches across. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is cast by hand, for traditional Goetia work with Orias, and not printed from metal powder and plastic.
If you want the seal for that work, this is the one I offer: Orias cast Daemon Demon seal pendant 2 inches, $216 CAD. View the product
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