Blog, Occult Tarot
Forneus
Apr
Forneus
“In demonology, Forneus is a Great Marquis of Hell, and has twenty-nine legions of demons under his rule. He teaches Rhetoric and languages, gives men a good name, and makes them be loved by their friends and foes. He is depicted as a great sea monster. He causes men to have a good name and to have the knowledge and understanding of tongues. He makes one beloved by his foes as well as of his friends. He is partly of the Order of Thrones, and partly of that of Angels. His name seems to come from “fornus” (oven). He can take many different forms but mainly prefers his human form.”
Forneus: The Thirtieth Goetia Demon
In my personal deck of cards, I have given Forneus the 6 of Wands due to its association with recognition – this implies currying favor with other people. However, to stay consistent with the Occult Tarot deck I will give him the 6 of Cups. As per usual, the objective of this thread is to select one card daily to provide direction and guidance. I also hope that one of our beloved demons will respond to me.
The suit of Cups is tied to the element of water. The suit of Cups is usually associated with being overly influenced by emotions. The element of water is regarded as a feminine one. The suit of Cups implies that the individual is making decisions based on their gut feeling instead of sound logic. There is a danger of making the wrong decisions as the individual jumps to conclusions before examining all of the factors surrounding an issue.
Water Archetypes are said to struggle greatly with emotions. They usually experience strong emotions such as anger, hope, love, hate, et cetera. These strong emotions influence every aspect of their behavior and can make them act irrationally. Therefore, there is need for the Archetypes to overcome their emotions lest they are led astray. When it comes to the 6 of Cups they have to repress these emotions if they are to realize success.
The 6 of Cups that is associated with Forneus is another tarot card which belongs to the Minor Arcana. If this card appears upright during a reading, it usually means revisiting the past, childhood memories, innocence, and joy. If it is reversed, it means forgiveness, lacking playfulness, or even living in the past. I refer to this card as the “Youth Card” because of its association with innocence and childhood.
The 6 of Cups depicts a young boy leaning down and passing a cup full of flowers to a young girl. The girl looks up at the gift offering from the boy with reverence and admiration. It is the depiction of children in this card which causes its association with youth. This image indicates the harmony, love, and cooperation which are typical of childhood. In the background, an older man walks away perhaps indicating that there is no need for worrying about adult issues.
The Demon
Like the rest of the 72 spirits of King Solomon, Forneus is a fallen angel who rebelled against the heavenly authorities. He is listed as the 30th of the 72 spirits found in the Ars Goetia. Forneus is ranked as a Great Marquis of the hellish realm. He has control over 29 legions of lesser demons who serve under his command constantly doing his bidding.
Before his fall from grace, Forneus belonged to the order of angels as well as the order of thrones. There is no information about this demon from ancient mythologies of the early Middle Eastern or ancient Graeco-Roman cultures. Forneus can however be found in several grimoires such as the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Dictionnaire Infernal.
It is difficult to determine the origins of this demon because of the shortage of information about him within ancient texts. Even the grimoires that make mention of him only do it cursorily. Perhaps his origins are Jewish or Abrahamic because of his inclusion among the 72 spirits of King Solomon who was a prominent founder of this culture.
Forneus appears as a great sea monster. He is however stated to favor his humanoid appearance and will assume this shape upon manifestation. Not much else is known regarding the demon’s predisposition towards human beings or other mortal beings – however, this is consistent for most demons given their association with hidden knowledge.
Note – there is no way of knowing whether this demon is evil, benign, or indifferent towards human beings. He should therefore be left to experienced conjurors to deal with lest he deceives the magician and brings them to danger.
The Message
Should I expect something to remind me of my childhood? Am I living in the past too much?
I believe that Forneus is a potent demon who can be a useful ally to the conjuror. Particularly his office of incurring favor among enemies and friends can help one to get ahead in life. Similarly, his office of granting one a good reputation can also help to progress within any field of interest. Even his teachings of rhetoric can be beneficial because he obviously has superlative knowledge that is incomparable with anything human beings are capable of.
If the 6 of Cups appeared upright in my readings, I would be happy because it implies that something will remind me of the positive memories of childhood. If it was reversed however, I will assess myself to see if I am living in the past too much – this obviously bodes a risk because it would prevent progression. Therefore, I expect Forneus to respond within a few days to a week’s time. If I do not experience any of these anticipated outcomes then I usually assume that the opportunity has passed or the danger is gone.
The tarot readings and symbolism stated here are all subjective and open to interpretation. We would love to know what you think of the 6 of Cups and Forneus. Leave us a comment in the section below!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forneus
https://occult-world.com/forneus/
https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-cups/six-of-cups/
