The Continuing Tale of Urban Grandier

As I stated in my last post, the pact of Urban Grandier is a unique and fascinating artifact in the world of demonology, even if it is a fake. It's narrative coherence in regards to both the form and content of the pact is striking, and even if Grandier was not the magician who made this pact, whoever forged it was definitely a magician, or well versed or acquainted with the demonology of the time as well as the means of pact based magic. What convinces me is the presence of the sigils of three spirits unique to the Grimorium Verum and the manuscripts related to it. These sigils are found amongst the signatures of the chief devils we find two of the sigils, that of Frimost and Surgat, both of whom play vital roles in the pacting method of the True Grimoire and being related to their own respected tools.

Seal bearing great similarity to that of Frimost beneath the signature of the devil Leviathan

Seal of Frimost from the Grimorium Verum

In the True Grimoire we find the seal Frimost engraved upon the elder wand, the wand used in conjuring the demons for the making of a pact, as given in the third part of that manual. It is integral to the central work of this manual but is found in other grimoires as well, such as the most famous Key of Solomon as published by Mathers, where we find mention of a "staff made of elderwood, or cane, or rosewood". Frimost's presence, which I elaborated upon previously, is very appropriate to a pact that grants the human party the ability to fornicate three times a day and "the flower of virgins".

The other sigil found amongst the signatures of the chief devil is that of Surgat, a rather interesting choice but not without reason or warrant. In the True Grimoire we read:

"Surgat, also called Surgatha, has the power to open anything that is shut or locked. Also said: opens every kind of lock. Also said: imparts the skill to open all locks and locked places to discover that which be within. Honorius says of him that he will ask for a hair of your head, give him one of a fox instead. Also that he reveals any treasures and surrenders them to the magician. He is dangerous and requires a triple ring circle of evocation, fortified with divine names. He gives him also the additional name of Aquiel or Aquiot." (Kent, 2009)

 The ability to unlock anything that is shut or locked certainly seems to apply to stealing the "flower of virgins" as the good doctor Al Cummins mentioned upon reviewing my previous post, and right he is! It is a strange but very appropriate choice of spirit for such a pact. And aside from this his sigil is also found on the liming pot, which is crucial to creation of the velum needed for the pact, which connects this spirit, like Frimost, both with the act of pact making as well as its stated goal.

The seal of Surgat upon the pact of Urban Grandier

The sigil of Surgat from the Grimorium Verum

The appearances of these sigils amongst the signatures of the chief devils in a pact that would involve the powers of both spirits is a red flag warning that whoever designed this document was magically literate, familiar with spirit catalogs like those found in the Grimorium Verum and elsewhere, such as the Grimoire of Pope Honorius and had the aim of either: a) framing another for diabolic magic in league with the devil; or, b) actually forging an allegiance with the devil. While it seems easy to leap at option a, let's consider a couple of things.

Why go into such detail? If the case of Urban Grandier truly was an "inside job", and the odds are certainly in this favor, what would be the point of making such a coherent and finely detailed fake? Grandier had made enemies with some of the most powerful and vicious clergy in France (Cardinal Richelieu, the fame villain in the Three Musketeers) for penning a pamphlet agains the celibacy of priests and an advocate for priests being able to marry. It makes a lot of sense of a priest of such "lewd values" to be found guilty for pact of such a lecherous nature as the one we are examining. But wouldn't have sufficed to draw up a far simpler forgery. It is impossible to know the truth in this case. We can merely infer, however regardless of the truth, the author of this contract was undoubtedly familiar with if not well versed in demonology and goetic magic, and if it was a forgery it says a hell of a lot about a church, in the midst of its counter-reformation spasms of violence seeking to clamp down on its opponents by means of its own supposed enemy.

The final spirit of the Grimorium Verum whose sigil is found upon the pact is an interesting one, and at first, I was at a loss to understand its presence, however after reconsidering the powers of this spirit as well as the placement of the sigil in relation to the others and content of the pact, I am more thoroughly convinced of the author being a magician.

At the head of the pact we find his sigil:

The seal of Silcharde at the head of the pact

In the Grimorium Verum we read:

"Silcharde, called Sirumel or Selytarel, makes you see all sorts of natural and supernatural animals (things of whatever kind, both sentient and animate). Also said: teaches you all virtues and dispensations of diverse creatures which inhabit the world and the darkness."

It seem obvious to me that the spirits or demons of this grimoire and others would fall under the category of "supernatural animals" and I am reminded of Dr. Stephen Skinner's working definition of magic:

"Magic is the art of causing change through the agency of spiritual creatures rather than via directly observable physical means: such spiritual creatures being compelled or persuaded to assist, by the use of sacred words or names, talismans, symbols, incense, sacrifices and materia magica." (Skinner 2015)

Bearing this working definition in mind it makes a lot of sense as to why the sigil of Silcharde would found at the head of the pact and before the name or sigil of any other demons or spirit appears, because it is by this spirit all others are allowed to be seen.

The Sigil of Silcharde from the Grimorium Verum

Now what is very interesting about this is that we find Silcharde being substituted in this case for the intermediary spirit of the True Grimoire, Scirlin, whose sigil (originally omitted from the texts of the Verum extant but believed to be discovered by Jake Stratton-Kent), is to be placed first upon the paper of the pact. Scirlin is unique to the Verum system of goetia, although intermediaries are common throughout the myriad practices of magic we find on our planet. It is here that we must consider perhaps a relationship between the omitted the sigil of Scirlin and the appearance of the sigil of Silcharde in the case of Urban Grandier. Why was the sigil of this spirit chosen to come first? Was it chosen for more than just aesthetic purposes or to look spooky? Is it just a coincidence that it makes sense? Examining the pact of this poor 17th century priest who would ultimately lose his life at the stake raises far more questions than it answers and unfortunately these are things that may never be known. Dead men tell no tales, however a spirit might be persuaded to share their history. Perhaps that is where the truth lies, outside the circle and just beyond the candle light...