A Message from Foras

“…is a powerful President of Hell, being obeyed by twenty-nine legions of demons. He teaches logic and ethics in all their branches, the virtues of all herbs and stones, can make a man witty, eloquent, invisible (invincible according to some authors), and live long, and can discover treasures and recover lost things. He is depicted as a strong man…”

Source: Wikipedia

In my personal deck of cards, I have given Foras the 9 of Pentacles. This is because of the demon’s association with wealth seeing as he is able to recover lost items and retrieve treasures. However, I will stay consistent with the Occult Tarot deck here and give him the 9 of Cups. As always the hope for this thread is to select one card daily to provide inspiration. I also hope to get a response from one of the demons.

The suit of Cups is tied to the element of water. The Cups are associated with overwhelming emotional influence. The subjects struggle with strong emotions of all kinds. The suit is also tied to relationships and the way that human beings interact with each other. This has to do with the emotional level of consciousness which influences how one “feels” towards another person in their circle.

As previously mentioned, Cup Archetypes are some very emotional people. They struggle to control their emotions and will often erupt in emotional outbursts. They often use their emotional influences to make decisions as opposed to thorough logic. Among the emotions that they experience include love, hatred, hope, and anger. In the 9 of Cups, they have to control their emotions if they are to have favorable outcomes of any sort.

The 9 of Cups can be found in the Minor Arcana deck. When it is upright in a reading it can mean the realization of a goal, satisfaction, contentment, or thankfulness. When it is reversed it is interpreted as materialism, dissatisfaction, indulgence, or hidden happiness. I call this card the “Gratitude Card” because of its most positive outcome of realizing an objective. This is also consistent with Foras’ office of revealing valuable items.

The 9 of Cups shows a man sitting on a bench in a posture that can be described as contentment. His arms are crossed across his chest and he has a satisfied facial expression – he is actually smiling in the card! There are nine cups arranged in a semi-circular manner behind him in a way that is arching around the man. These cups are placed on a curved structure which is draped by a blue material. These cups show his different emotions to be stable and in check.

Read more on Foras

The Demon

Foras is another of the fallen angels that were summoned by King Solomon and bound to a brass vessel. He is described as a Great President of Hell who has dominion over 29 legions of lesser demons. He is listed as the 31^st of the 72 demons in the Ars Goetia.

His name is thought to translate to “outside” when said in the Latin language which uses the same term for that purpose. Not much is known about his history prior to rebelling against heaven.

It is difficult to trace the origins of this demon because of the dearth of information about him. This is however a consistent running theme with these demons given their mysterious nature. You will not find anything about him in ancient Graeco-Roman mythology or early Middle Eastern accounts. He can however be found listed in renowned grimoires such as the Dictionnaire Infernal, the Ars Goetia, the Luciferian Goetia, and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.

There are two common depictions of Foras in the majority of credible accounts. The most common portrayal of this demon is that of a strong muscle-bound man. The other form which he is usually portrayed as is that of a chavelier. In both forms, there is nothing monstrous about his appearance. There is however no mention of whether this demon assumes a human shape or remains as he is.

Note – there are no mentions of whether this demon is benevolent, malevolent, or indifferent towards human beings. Inexperienced conjurors should therefore give him a wide berth in favor of more experienced personnel.

The Message

Should I look forward to something good? Am I being materialistic?

Foras is a powerful demon who can be a valuable asset to anyone who is able to summon him successfully. This is because all of his offices are bound to bring a competitive advantage to the lucky person. For example, he is capable of making one intelligent and witty – this will obviously help anyone to get ahead in life because the demon imparts a superlative intelligence unlike the majority of human capabilities.

Alternatively, the demon can reveal valuable treasures and recover lost items. For the former, this can be especially useful in financing your dreams and living out your life. When it comes to the recovery of lost items, there is also an advantage where one becomes incapable of taking losses because the demon simply retrieves it! It is therefore obvious that Foras can prove a useful ally for just about anyone.

When the 9 of Cups appears in a reading, I become optimistic yet cautious at the same time. If it appears upright, the implication is always that some favorable outcome is bound to come to me resulting in gratitude and contentment. Alternatively, it can mean that my emotions are bound to remain stable for the foreseeable future. Such a reading usually causes me to become happy albeit cautiously.

If it appeared reversed, however, I will take steps to be cautious. For example, I will avoid going out as much as often in order to ward off any potential materialistic urges that can cause negative outcomes. I also try to avoid become overly indulgent in the things I usually engage in. For instance, I will focus on more whole foods instead of cheat meals such as McDonald’s. In this way I avoid any problems that would occur otherwise.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foras

https://occult-world.com/foras-forcas/

https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-cups/nine-of-cups/