Sigil of Caim
At a glance
- Entry
- 53 of 72
- Rank
- President
- Legions
- 30 in the text
- Also written
- Camio
Description in the text
Caim is presented as a skilled disputant who interprets the sounds of birds, cattle, dogs, other creatures, and water. The text also attributes to him truthful answers about future events.
Read entry 53 on page 39 of the 1916 edition
Appearance
First a thrush, then a sword-bearing human figure who seems to answer from burning ashes.
Topics attributed to this entry
- Animal voices
- Debate
- Future events
Reading this entry
Caim is named Camio as well in the passage. He first appears as a thrush and later as a man holding a sharp sword. The president is a skilled disputant, but the most memorable office is interpreting voices: birds, cattle, dogs, other creatures, water, and even what appears to be speech in burning ashes or coals. These examples are unusually concrete for an entry about hidden knowledge.
Caim also gives answers about future events. The text says he had belonged to the Order of Angels and now rules 30 legions, linking the change of status to the grimoire’s religious frame. It does not say that literal animals or fire reliably communicate messages in the world. The sword-bearing human form and language of nonhuman sounds distinguish Caim from Barbatos, whose animal-voice office is narrower and introduced differently.
Read entry 53 on page 39 of the 1916 edition or compare the 1904 transcription.
A closer reading of entry 53
What the numbered text says
The heading prints Camio before Caim, while the local index files the same numbered spirit under Caim. The passage moves from a thrush to a sword-bearing human figure and then places the answering voice amid burning ashes or coals. Its unusual subject is a wide range of sounds: birds, cattle, dogs, other creatures, and even water. The text credits Caim with disputation and future answers, but does not explain how a voice heard in fire relates to those other voices.
About the printed seal
Seal 53 belongs to the fifth numbered frontispiece of the 1916 edition. The bird, sword, and glowing coals are verbal details; none is identified as a component of the seal. The plate documents the printed sign assigned to this entry rather than illustrating a particular moment in its changing appearance.
Compare another entry
Compare entry 8: Barbatos. Barbatos also receives an animal-language office, but his entry situates it in a royal procession under Sagittarius and adds enchanted treasure. Caim includes the voice of waters and a scene of answering in ashes, giving the shared label a different texture.