Blog, Occult Tarot
Murmur: Occult Tarot Message
Apr
Murmur
“In demonology, Murmur is a Great Duke and Earl of Hell, and has thirty legions of demons under his command. He teaches Philosophy, and can oblige the souls of the deceased to appear before the conjuror to answer every desired question. Before his rebellion against God, Murmur held the name “Matthias.” Murmur is depicted as a soldier riding a vulture or a griffin, and wearing a ducal crown. Two of his ministers go before him making the sound of trumpets. ‘Murmur’ in Latin means noise, whisper, murmur, and the sound of the trumpet. Some authors portray him simply as a vulture.”
Source: Wikipedia
Murmur: The 54th Spirit of The Ars Goetia
Demons of the Goetia
In my own deck of cards, I have given Murmur the 4 of Swords due to its association with rest – the demon is associated with necromancy. However, to stay true to the Occult Tarot deck I will give him the 6 of Wands. Like the rest of the items on this thread, the goal is to choose one card daily to provide inspiration and direction. Hopefully, I can also get a response from one of the demons we adore here at the coven.
The Wands are usually associated with the element of fire. Fire is universally acknowledged as a potent phenomenon. The wands are therefore associated with force, energy, recklessness, unpredictability, wildness, passion, virility, or strength. Fire is accepted as a masculine element because of its association with strength and power. There is need for this unbridled energy to be controlled if one is to realize success in their endeavors.
Wand Archetypes are thought to be impetuous, reckless, ambitious, energetic, unpredictable, or even impulsive. The majority of the decisions which they choose to undertake are usually not well thought out in advance. Their tendencies and habits also usually occur in the heat of the moment even without precedent. As a result, they struggle to control themselves and often find that they meet undesirable outcomes.
The 6 of Wands is a tarot card that can be found in the Minor Arcana. If this card appears upright in a tarot reading, it is usually interpreted to mean progress, success, self-confidence, or even public recognition. When it is reversed however, it is taken to mean egotism, private accomplishments, or falling from grace. I call this card the “Success Card” because of its favorable interpretation.
This card portrays a man wearing a victory wreath at the top of his head. He rides a decorated white horse through a crowd of people who appear to be cheering for him. The man holds a staff which also has a wreath at its top perhaps to show the accomplishment he has achieved. The horse is representative of strength and successful accomplishment of a mission. The cheering crowd indicates public recognition for the victor.
The Demon
Murmur is one of the fallen angels that were trapped by King Solomon in ancient times. He is listed in the Ars Goetia as the 54th of the 72 spirits of King Solomon. He is ranked as a Great Duke of Hell although some authors report him as being an earl. This demon is potent with an estimated 30 legions of lesser demons serving under his command.
Prior to his fall, this demon partly belonged to the angelic order of thrones and the order of Angels. Mentions of this demon cannot be found in early Middle Eastern mythologies or even ancient Graeco-Roman accounts. He can however be found in several grimoires such as the Dictionnaire Infernal and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.
Despite the difficulty in tracing the origins of this demon, his name has Latin connotations – there can be no telling the correlation here. Its translation in the English language is noise or a disturbance. It is possible that he has Jewish or Abrahamic origins because of his association with King Solomon who is a founding father of this cultural heritage.
Murmur appears as a soldier wearing a crown. He rides atop a griffin or vulture-like bird. Some depictions portray him as a vulture. There are no mentions of whether he assumes the shape of a human being in the accounts which portray him as a vulture – there are no accounts which report this anywhere by the way. Otherwise, there is nothing monstrous about his appearance.
Note – there are no mentions of whether he is benign, evil, or indifferent towards human mortals. This is perhaps indicative that he should be left to experienced conjurors exclusively.
The Message
Should I celebrate my achievements? Am I in danger of failure?
I believe that Murmur is a powerful demon who can be of great use to the conjuror. His office of teaching philosophy is especially useful today with the subject gaining continued prominence in society. His other office of summoning the spirits of the dead to answer questions can however only benefit necromancers. Therefore, you can harness his power to teach philosophy as he obviously possesses superlative knowledge when compared to any human being.
If the 6 of Wands appeared in my tarot readings upright then I would immediately be filled with a sense of optimism. This is because it portends positively for the likelihood of accomplishing something within my field of interest. If it was reversed however, I would be cautious as the implication would be the risk of failure. Alternatively, I will also curb any egotistical urges that I may experience as a result.
When working with Murmur, his office of teaching philosophy will be of most benefit. His scope of knowledge on the subject would make his learner perhaps the most versed philosopher since there is no human knowledge that can compare. As consistent with his associated tarot card, the demon can help with such accomplishments. In fact, having superior knowledge to other people in the same field of interest can result in gaining public recognition.
These tarot readings and symbolism are relative and open to interpretation. Let us know what you think of the 6 of Wands and Murmur in the comment section below!
References
https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-wands/six-of-wands/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmur_(demon)
https://occult-world.com/murmur/
