Hi there, BALG forum. Long time lurker, first time topic-creator.
The title says it all, really.
(This is an absolute wall of text, I apologize)
About two years ago, I learned about the Lesser Key of Solomon. At this point in my life (and for many years previous to this) I considered myself a pretty no-nonsense atheist. I refused to believe in, or even entertain the idea of, the existence of spirits or anything of the like. Due to this, it was odd when I felt compelled to give the Lesser Key a thorough read one morning.
When I got to the Ars Goetia, I had to pause when I read the entry for King Paimon. Something about it really jumped out at me and made me feel a bit funny. Good-funny. Happy-funny? Funny-funny. It was enough to encourage me to read more on the subject of goetic spirits.
I went absolutely hog wild for a little while- I wanted to read everything about the Lesser Key (and related texts) that I could. The way I saw it, it was just research. I write stories, and I wanted to write a story based on the Lemegeton. I stuck with that for a while, and I did my best to write the best damn story I could.
However, as I read more and more about these spirits, the more I started to respect them. I, in my mind, was still a no-nonsense atheist, so I refused to accept that.
Despite this, King Paimon still stuck out as a comforting figure. One night, right after someone close to me died, I caught myself praying to him during my fits of grief. That changed something in me- I’ve always told others that if you want to learn what your true spiritual beliefs are, wait and see what you turn to for comfort in your darkest moment.
My sadness passed, my interest in demonolatry waned a little, and my life continued on. Until a few months ago.
I have no idea what happened- but out of nowhere, everything started pointing me back towards the king. The skeptic in me tried to dismiss it as coincidence (dozens upon dozens of coincidences). It wasn’t until a game of Movie Roulette* blindly led me into a screening of Hereditary that I broke down and started wondering what was up.
*(Movie Roulette- a fun game where you go to your local cinema, close your eyes, spin around wildly and point at a random movie poster. Then, you go see whichever film you’re pointing at. It’s a great way to discover new movies- and also a great way to look like a fool in public)
A couple days later, I decided to take up my goetic ‘researching’ again… And was immediately hit with the realization that it was June 11th (a few sources claim that June 11th - 21st is the best time to evoke King Paimon… But that appears to be contested).
Flash forward to a couple weeks ago. I’ve stopped dismissing coincidences. I have fully jumped on the demonolatry train. I decide I want to try an actual evocation. I had tried small, half-assed evocations in the past (and I hope Duke Dantalion was at least amused by my terrible efforts), but I had always been too nervous to try and call up a king. I wasn’t afraid of King Paimon per se, but I was nervous about what would happen if he showed up and hated me (for whatever reason). I was worried about what he would think of me. Most of all, I was worried about what I would do if he didn’t show (I would be so sad, and I’d probably feel really silly!). I was like a 12 year old who was nervous about approaching their crush for the first time, lol.
Last weekend, I spent an entire night preparing for this momentous occasion. I think I spent an hour and half getting dressed and making sure I looked presentable. Then I gathered some offerings, burned some incense, drew up the king’s sigil, and disappeared into the woods. I went further into the woods than I’d ever gone before. I made sure I was alone. Then I set out the offerings and began.
It took 3 hours. I gazed at the king’s sigil, repeated his enn, and probably begged a little bit.
I was about to give up when the birds started doing something strange. Some kind of finch, one of the beautiful, red ones, flew right up next to me and landed on a branch. Then, all the sparrows that were in the trees flew down to the ground (these birds are usually terrified of humans- especially in the woods). Then, finally, a black-chinned hummingbird flew right up to me and hovered about a foot away from my face for at least a minute. I thought it was checking out my shirt (which was very, very purple) but no, it was looking me right in the face. I figured that was weird bird behavior (birdhavior, if you will) and was a bit shaken. Once the hummingbird flew off, I gazed into the sigil more, and was finally able to clear my thoughts.
I thought I heard something in the distance. It sounded sort of like… Music? Distant drums, specifically. Then the cicadas stopped screaming. I figured I should start talking.
I proposed a deal. It wasn’t a very creative deal- I wanted to have more opportunities to prove myself at work, and in return I would offer art, tell others about what the king can do, etc. As soon as I started talking, I felt cozy and light. It’s hard to explain- the morning light around me felt a little more golden than it had previously, and it felt like I was surrounded by millions of tiny gold stars. If ‘glimmery’ was a physical sensation, it would be this. I caught myself smiling for no reason.
We parted ways. I didn’t know if the whole thing was just in my head or not. I figured the only thing I could do was wait and see what happened at work.
Oh boy, things happened at work.
Immediately, I got new opportunities left and right. Chances to speak with people above me, offers to work with other departments for a day, people asking for my opinions and advice. This was in harsh contrast to my usual days, where I would be stuck in my office doing the same mundane tasks alone. I’m trying to take advantage of this as much as I can, and I think it’s paying off.
If you’ve read this massive wall of text so far, thank you. I guess this is just my idea of spreading the word about King Paimon’s abilities. I really adore him and everything he’s done for me so far- both as part of this deal and for things outside of it. Just having him there as a comforting figure in my life has done wonders for me. I feel so much less alone now.
If you’re considering working with King Paimon, I’d say go for it. I have no complaints so far.
Hail the king!