#hell hierarchy

It is supposed to be like this, right?

1. Lucifer

2. Charlie/Lilith

3. 7 sins

4. Ars Goetica

5. Overlords

6. Sinners

7. Hellborn

8. Imps/Hellhounds

So questions:

a) Satan's obvi a different entity, where does he fit? Right beneath Charlie would be my guess?

b) Overlords are former sinners, right? How does that happen? How does one become an overlord and is able to make deals with other demons?

c) Demons: Isn't technically almost everyone a 'demon'? Sinners turn to demons upon entering, hellborns are demons, ars goetica are high level demons and so on?

d) what seperates hellborn and imps? Do they need to have one higher level parent? Isn't an imp/imp child technically hellborn?

e) why does nobody bat an eye about Sins having close relationships with imps/hellhounds, but an ars goetica/imp is frowned upon? (Thinking Bee/Tex here, Asmodeus/Fizz where closeted at first, at least feelings-wise, sex is obvi different.)

f) shouldn't Charlie/Lucifer wield way more power? They don't most of the time due to theur character, I'm aware, but I expect a bit more.

Upper Class

Lucifer, the Morning Star, and his four wives: Lilith, Eisheth Zenunim, Agrat, and Naamah

Princes of vice/sins: Beelzebub, Mammon, Satan, Belphegor, Asmodeus, and Leviathan

Ars Goetia: seventy-two highest ranking younger dieties(some of sins are included in this list)

Firstborn creatures: spirits, demons, and fallen angels born during the week of creation

Middle Class

Creatures of the first generation: creatures born during the first epoch/after the week of creation

Creatures of the second generation: creatures born after the flood/deluge

Creatures of the third generation: creatures born after the birth of Christ

Lower Class

Imps: descendants of spirits and demons who ate or mated with animals

Unintelligent demons: creatures like Azlan and Itan that born through parthenogenesis

I like how you can find specific hierarchies fitting your needs depending on what you want. Heck Agrippa even did a whole "Let's be Tolkien but for demons" and gave a demonic hierarchy based on numbers.

You have the traditional seven deadly sins group as everybody uses it - plus the many variations of. Indeed, while today everybody knows what is commonly referred today as the "Binsfeld list", historically there has been various connections drawn between the sins and demons - Beelzebub was not always gluttony, sometimes it was Behemoth or Belphegor ; Satan was not always wrath, sometimes it was Amon or Moloch ; sometimes lust is rather Lilith than Asmodeus, etc...

You also have the famous quatuor - mainly brought up-to-date through LaVey's Satanic Bible, but dating back as early as the Book of Abramelin. Satan, Lucifer, Belial, Leviathan. Plus the assorted eight "sub-princes" (see Abramelin's). You also have various alternates "four kings/princes" of Hell that you can have based on either the four elements or the cardinal directions (or both, thanks to Agrippa!). Agrippa also gave us a set of nine princes ruling over Bible-based demon types (you can also find nine kings of Hell in the Ars Goetia).

If you want a hierarchy imitating the "Nine Choirs" hierarchy of angels, you just have to see into Michaelis' books.

Of course you also have various "trinities" because what's not to like in an Unholy Trinity? In Agrippa it would be Lucifer as the anti-God and Behemoth and Leviathan as the actual proper leaders of devils. In Michaelis' system it would be the three fallen Seraphim - Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan. You have the three greater demons of the Le Dragon Rouge (Lucifer, Beelzebub, Astaroth).

Another recurring idea in the demonic hiearchies, similar to the concept of the “seven princes of Hell”, is the idea of the “four kings of Hell”.

 This idea actually comes from one defined and clear sources. While other hierarchies (such as the one of Agrippa I detailed before) talk often of four demon “princes” correspond to the four cardinal directions and/or the four elements, the true origin of the concept of the “four kings” comes from The Book of Abramelin.

The Book of Abramelin is an occult book whose “official” roots can be dated back to the 17th century – from where the earliest manuscripts can be found, though the first printed version of the book dates from 1725 (printed in Cologne). While there are several Hebrew, Italian and French versions of the book, all of the earliest manuscripts and prints, and what seems to be the original version of the text, are in German. This grimoire is quite interesting because it is organized in four books, and the first one is actually an autobiography, or an epistolary novel depending on who you ask – claiming to be told in 1458 this first book is the story of Abraham of Worms, a Jewish man from the German town of Worms: he explains how he made a journey from Germany to Egypt to see there a certain Abramelin, an Egyptian mage that revealed to him an entire system of Kabbalistic magic – and Abraham of Worms himself reveals in turn those secrets to his own son Lamech.

The other three books lack this story-telling aspect, the second one being a compilation of material taken from the “practical Kabbalah” (understand the usual, regular form of Kabbalah) to help complete what the reader will discover here ; and the two last books being presumably the two books of magic/grimoires that Abramelin himself gave to Abraham of Words to teach him the “Divine Science” and the “True Magic”.

You must understand that The Book of Abramelin was a huge thing. As I mentioned before it was a big German occult book, with translations in Italian, Hebrew and French – but then it had a second popularity in 1897 when Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers, a British occultist, translated the book in English. It was a huge success and this translation, known as “The Book of Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage” was extremely influential on the early 20th century: it became one of the main references for both the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the Thelema created by famous occultist Alesteir Crowley. HOWEVER this first and very popular has since then been revealed as faulty – MacGregor Mathers did not translate the text from its original German, but he rather used a French translation/copy of the text, which already had several flaws and translation weirdness. Notably the French copy only had three of the four books, and so for the longest time people thought that The Book of Abramelin had only three volumes. As a result a new English translation, much more scholarly, much more precise and based on the original German texts, was published in 2006 by George Dehn and Steven Guth: Book of Abramelin: A New Translation.

  Anyway, all that aside, it is in this book that we find for the first time the system of demonic hierarchy that will evolve to become the typical “four kings of Hell”.

In this book, Abramelin and Abraham explain that the demons are ruled by four Princes, also called Superior Spirits: Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan and Belial. In turn those four princes ruled over/are helped by eight Sub-Princes of the Evil Spirits, named Astaroth, Maggot, Asmodee, Beelzebub, Oriens, Paimon, Ariton (also called Egyn) and Amaymon. And under these major figures are all the lesser demons.

Of the Eight Sub-Princes, Oriens, Paimon, Ariton/Egyn and Amaymon are very often mentioned together in the grimoire, sharing together common ministries and common spirit servants – this is because as MacGregor reminds, those four are often identified as the four demon princes corresponding to the “four corners of the world”. They are also sort of presented as the easiest demons to access, summon and talk to – being advised for protection and getting familiars. When it comes to the four other Sub-Princes, immediately there are more warnings, bindings, seals and other conjuring to do. However do not believe that the Sub-Princes are easy to manage – the grimoire reminds us that if the exorcist that attempts to summon the Sub-Princes, be them Amaymon, Egyn or Beelzebub, does not protect itself with a magical circle, the demon will easily cause the exorcist’s death (usually by “epilepsy, apoplexy or strangulation, varying with the conditions at the time”).

As for the Four Superior Princes… Lucifer is mentioned only as a warning figure – if, by learning the secrets of mysteries of the Qabalah and the Law and the Divine Will you attempt to “fly” higher than the One True God himself, higher than Lucifer did, then you are bound to have a shameful and fatal fall. Leviathan is mentioned when encountering a wicked man named Antony in Prague who made a deal with the demon Prince: Antony gave himself body and soul to Leviathan, renouncing God and all His Saints, in exchange for forty entire years of pure pleasure – with an additional need to guide and convince other people to do the same and sign pacts/make deals with demons. Satan is once described as “hideous” and as the master of seals, conjurations, pentacles and superstitions used by “diabolical enchanters”. But the most developed one of the four is the “perfidious” Belial, who is said to have only one goal: to hide and obscure the True Divine Wisdom, to block and lead away from the Way to the True Wisdom, so that humanity can stay blind and ignorant, full of “simplicity” and “errors”. In such a setting, Belial can easily guide and control humans, and this is why he gave himself the title “Prince of this World” – but if mankind would discover the Scared Wisdom taught here, it would stop being Belial’s slave.

In general there is a warning about invoking the Four Princes, because when invoked they will psychology torture the conjuror: questioning what is the source and origin of their metaphysical authority and magical power, accusing of presumption and recklessness, threatening with their immense powers and the fragility of the human condition, listing the sins you committed, and questioning your religion (it is especially mentioned that no matter your religion, be it Hebrew, Christian, Pagan, the Princes will always find a way to make you doubt it and criticize it as not being the “true” way of doing things).

  If you are interested, MacGregors Mathers included a series of notes about the translation and etymology of the demon names:

Seal of Purson

“The Twentieth Spirit is Purson, a Great King. His appearance is comely, like a Man with a Lion’s face, carrying a cruel Viper in his hand, and riding upon a Bear. Going before him are many Trumpets sounding. He knoweth all things hidden, and can discover Treasure, and tell all things Past, Present, and to Come. He can take a Body either Human or Aërial, and answereth truly of all Earthly things both Secret and Divine, and of the Creation of the World. He bringeth forth good Familiars, and under his Government there be 22 Legions of Spirits, partly of the Order of Virtues and partly of the Order of Thrones. His Mark, Seal, or Character is this, unto the which he oweth obedience, and which thou shalt wear in time of action, etc.”