Paimon's History
Paimon is one of the Kings of Hell. Of all kings, Paimon is the most obedient to Lucifer, and has two hundred legions of demons under his rule. He is said to rule legions of spirits, some of which are of the order of Angels and the rest Powers.
His worshipers want him to manifest in the mortal world, so he can make them wealthy and knowledgeable. He suffers from albinism, but for the most part has managed to find work-around for the challenges that brings about.
He has a great, booming voice, and roars as he arrives. He speaks in this manner for a while, until the conjurer compels him, then will give clear answers to whatever questions he is asked. When a conjurer invokes this demon, he must look towards the northwest. For there is where his house is located. When Paimon appears, he must be free to ask what he wishes, and be answered. Only after this exchange, can the same be expected from him.
It is suggested that his abode is in the northwest where he controls no fewer than two hundred legions of spirits. Some from the Order of Angels, while others hail from the Order of Powers. Some say Paimon belongs to the Order of Dominions, while others claim the Order of Cherubim. He expects consecrations and liberation, and acts favorably when receiving them. In his Discovery of Witchcraft Scot, he uses the word ‘libations’ instead of sacrifices, giving a slight nefarious air to any operations involving Paimon. Such a substitution of words is accepted by most Witch traditions, including Luciferians, who claim they avoid sacrifices.
Appearance
Paimon is depicted as a man with an effeminate face (a strong man with a woman's face according to other scholars), wearing a precious crown, and riding a dromedary. Before him often goes a host of demons and ghouls with the shape of men, playing trumpets, cymbals, and any other sort of musical instruments.
Personality
Paimon is an extremely unrelenting opponent, in both his manipulation and hostility towards the Humanity. He maliciously inflicts severe psychological, physical and spiritual torment upon his victims, including reconstruction of traumatic events, as well as horrifying visions and nightmares. Paimon is full of energy. Loud noises and bright lights tend to make him more active. He is can also be surprisingly very colorful and very friendly.
In All of the Goetia demons, Paimon has some of the strongest loyalties to Lucifer. He has an unnaturally loud voice and when continuing speaking at such ear-splitting volume the summoner has to command Paimon to alter his speech in order to understand him
He has a strong preference for inhabiting male bodies. He was in good terms with Zagan and Aamon as he is the one who stops Zagan and Aamon bickering.
Power and Abilities
Paimon teaches all arts, philosophy and sciences, and secret things; he can reveal all mysteries of the Earth, wind and water, what the mind is, and everything the conjurer wants to know, gives good familiars, dignities and confirms them, binds men to the conjurer's will.
If Paimon is cited alone, some offering or sacrifice must be done, and he will accept it; then two kings called Beball and Abalam will go to him together with other spirits, often twenty-five legions; but these other spirits do not always come unless the conjurer call upon them. Great caution must be taken in the conjuration of Paimon as he is able to bring undesirable and dangerous spirits as well as the chaste and honorable.
He can reveal answers to such mysteries as the nature of the Earth, the location of the Abyss, and the origin of the wind. He can bestow dignitaries and provide familiars against enemies while binding anyone resisting him in his own chains.
He also possess the vast demonic powers of:
Knowledge: has a vast knowledge of all creation and the universe.
Wisdom: he proved very wise on various occasions in the council of the stygian in goetia and the order of the fly.
Wealth: It has a vast wealth of precious gems and gold that rival the riches of mammon.
Manipulation: Paimon is able to manipulate human beings without mind control but with only his voice for his own purposes or for the council of stygia, goetia or the order of the fly, very often he prefers to use this ability for Lucifer.
Immortality
Possession: it may decide not to manifest itself in its real form and possess human bodies for various reasons.
Mind control: he can mentally control humans and use them to his advantage or sow discord among humans.
Invisibility: he can make himself invisible and stealth kill with daggers or small swords.
Summoning: may summon lesser demons for example: nightmares, succubi, lilim, ifrit, cambion.
Pyrokinesis: Paimon can generate a special type of fire inside his body and it manifests it from the hands and through combustion. This fire is even more powerful and dangerous than the infamous hellfire of the Infernal Realm, and incinerates anything in it’s path.
Levitation: he can levitate anything and use it as an offensive by throwing the opponent on any surface or make him levitate and hold him still and use combustion.
Illusions: can manifest illusions as a way of defense or to reveal hidden truths to friends and allies can use this ability to torture humans. use this skill for lucifer to show opponent's plans or truth.
All-powerful of Lucifer: he is the pupil of Lucifer and as such he is granted by lucifer himself the power (weaker than the original owner) to summon demonic cherubs capable of firing laser-like rays from the wings that kill the target. he can use other abilities of lucifer.
History
Fall from Heaven
He was on Lucifer's side during the War in Heaven, and was cast down to Hell alongside all other rebel-angels. He was present at Pandemonium during Lucifer's Rally, officially declaring himself as the most loyal servant of Lucifer.
Modern History: Hereditary
Ellen Leigh, nicknamed "Queen Leigh", is the matriarch of a secret cult that worships Paimon, one of the eight Kings of Hell. Following texts, Ellen and her followers desire a male body within her bloodline that could play host to Paimon. Ellen has two children, including Annie and a son. Ellen fanatically seeks to have her son possessed by Paimon, which causes him to have detrimental psychological damage, misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. Her son eventually commits suicide at the age of sixteen, driving an emotional wedge between Ellen and Annie.
Annie marries Steve Graham, with whom she becomes pregnant with and gives birth to a son, Peter. Fearful of her mother's influence replicating itself, Annie prevents Ellen from fostering a close relationship with Peter. With the birth of Annie's second child - a daughter, Charlie - Ellen is able to get close and establish an intimate connection immediately. This female body plays host to Paimon, which Ellen begrudgingly concedes as a temporary form, due to the King of Hell's preference for a male figure. During his time in the female body, Paimon, (or "Charlie"), is perpetually confused and uncomfortable—an outcast unaware of his true nature. While growing up, Charlie is frequently told by Ellen that she wishes that she were a male. When Charlie is an adolescent, Ellen dies, confusing the young girl.
One night, Peter wants to go to a supposedly innocent party, prompting Annie to insist that Charlie accompany him to it. At the party, featuring drugs and alcohol, Peter leaves Charlie unattended while he attempts to woo a girl with cannabis. With Peter's back turned, Charlie eats chocolate cake laced with nuts, causing an anaphylactic reaction. While under the influence, Peter attempts to drive Charlie to the hospital. Charlie tries to get fresh air by sticking her head out the window. Meanwhile, a deceased deer appears in the road, prompting Peter to veer right, towards a telephone pole - bearing the sigil of Paimon - decapitating Charlie in the process.
Following Charlie's funeral, Annie attempts to attend her weekly support group—with more grief than ever. Before she can leave, a woman called Joan, who is secretly a member of the cult, approaches the car and befriends her as one who has lost family members of her own. Annie encounters Joan soon after, bearing a story about a séance that allows for the living to communicate with the dead. With hesitation, Annie relents and participates in the séance through her daughter's coloring book, where what is apparently Charlie's soul, answers. Fascinated, Annie repeats the process at home, with Steve and Peter present, which allows Paimon to momentarily possess her, horrifying the men in her family.
Paimon becomes increasingly aggressive and hostile, tormenting Annie and Peter with terrifying nightmares and visions. Annie figures that the coloring book is the conduit between Paimon and the mortal world, so she attempts to burn it, but it causes her arm to catch on fire. Joan tells Peter to leave his body, after which he has a nervous meltdown at school, causing the confused Steve to despair. Annie rummages through Ellen's belongings and discovers that not only was Joan a close friend of her mother's, but that they collectively worshiped King Paimon, who desires a male host to manifest in the mortal world. Annie goes up to the attic to discover her mother's headless and decomposing corpse, lying beneath the sigil of Paimon. Steve brings the unconscious Peter home, where Annie ushers him up to the attic, where he witnesses the body. Having been notified by the authorities that Ellen's grave has been ransacked, Steve is convinced that Annie has suffered a mental breakdown and was responsible for exhuming the body. Annie declares that they must burn Charlie's coloring book, which she figures will immolate her, as well. To her horror, burning the book only succeeds in burning Steve to death.
Peter awakens in his bed, with Annie, now possessed by Paimon, stalking him around the house. Naked cultists appear at the house, before Annie makes her presence known as she chases Peter up to the attic. Locked in, Peter witnesses Annie hovering in the rafters, decapitating herself with razor wire, as more naked cultists close in around him. Terrified, Peter runs and jumps through the window, falling two stories down to the ground.
While lying on the ground, a white, unearthly light enters Peter's body, as he is possessed by Paimon. Annie's decapitated body floats its way over the yard and into Charlie's tree house, as Paimon awakens in Peter's body and confusedly observes. Cultists watch as Paimon walks across the lawn and enters the tree house, to see the brunt of the cult - and the headless corpses of Ellen and Annie - kneeling before a statue with Charlie's severed, rotting and crowned head affixed. Joan takes the crown from Charlie's head and places it on Paimon's head. Joan lovingly says "Oh, hey, hey! It's alright. Charlie? You're alright now. You... are Paimon, one of the eight Kings of Hell. We have looked to the Northwest and called you in. We've corrected your first female body and give you now this healthy male host. We reject the Trinity and pray devoutly to you, great Paimon. Give us your knowledge of all secret things. Bring us honor, wealth and good familiars. Bind all men to our will, as we have bound ourselves for now - and ever - to yours. Hail, Paimon! Hail, Paimon! Hail!".
Myth and Legends
Practicing occultist Carroll "Poke" Runyon suggests that the name ultimately derives from "a Middle Eastern Pagan Goddess", on the grounds that some manuscripts depict King Paimon as a young man riding a camel, and that the name "Paimon" purportedly meant "a tinkling sound" in an unspecified language, in turn a claimed reference to Isis. This is part of an overall claim that the Lesser Key of Solomon was by King Solomon and rooted in Mesopotamian mythology.
The Livre des Esperitz, on the other hand, credits him with just 25 legions of spirits. Sloane MS 3824 mentions him as commanding a "bishop" named Sperion, among other spirits.
Paimon in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
Paimon is more obedient in Lucifer than other kings are. Lucifer is heere to be understood he that was drowned in the depth of his knowledge: he would needs be like God, and for his arrogancie was throwne out into destruction, of whome it is said; Everie pretious stone is thy covering.
Paimon is constrained by divine vertue to stand before the exorcist; where he putteth on the likenesse of a man: he sitteth on a beast called a dromedarie, which is a swift runner, and weareth a glorious crowne, and hath an effeminate countenance. There goeth before him an host of men with trumpets and well sounding cymbals, and all musicall instruments.
At the first he appeereth with a great crie and roring, as in Circulo Salomonis, and in the art is declared. And if this Paimon speake sometime that the conjuror understand him not, let him not therefore be dismaied. But when he hath delivered him the first obligation to observe his desire, he must bid him also answer him distinctlie and plainelie to the questions he shall aske you, of all philosophie, wisedome, and science, and of all other secret things.
And if you will knowe the disposition of the world, and what the earth is, or what holdeth it up in the water, or any other thing, or what is Abyssus, or where the wind is, or from whence it commeth, he will teach you aboundantlie. Consecrations also as well of sacrifices as otherwise may be reckoned. He giveth dignities and confirmations; he bindeth them that resist him in his owne chaines, and subjecteth them to the conjuror; he prepareth good familiars, and hath the understanding of all arts.
Note, that at the calling up of him, the exorcist must looke towards the northwest, bicause there is his house. When he is called up, let the exorcist receive him constantlie without feare, let him aske what questions or demands he list, and no doubt he shall obteine the same of him. And the exorcist must beware he forget not the creator, for those things, which have beene rehearsed before of Paimon, some saie he is of the order of dominations; others saie, of the order of cherubim. There follow him two hundred legions, partlie of the order of angels, and partlie of potestates.
Note that if Paimon be cited alone by an offering or sacrifice, two kings followe him; to wit, Beball & Abalam, & other potentates: in his host are twentie five legions, bicause the spirits subject to them are not alwaies with them, except they be compelled to appeere by divine vertue.
Paimon in the Goetia
The Ninth Spirit in this Order is Paimon, a Great King, and very obedient unto LUCIFER. He appeareth in the form of a Man sitting upon a Dromedary with a Crown most glorious upon his head. There goeth before him also an Host of Spirits, like Men with Trumpets and well sounding Cymbals, and all other sorts of Musical Instruments. He hath a great Voice, and roareth at his first coming, and his speech is such that the Magician cannot well understand unless he can compel him. This Spirit can teach all Arts and Sciences, and other secret things. He can discover unto thee what the Earth is, and what holdeth it up in the Waters; and what Mind is, and where it is; or any other thing thou mayest desire to know. He giveth Dignity, and confirmeth the same. He bindeth or maketh any man subject unto the Magician if he so desire it. He giveth good Familiars, and such as can teach all Arts. He is to be observed towards the West. He is of the Order of Dominations. He hath under him 200 Legions of Spirits, and part of them are of the Order of Angels, and the other part of Potentates. Now if thou callest this Spirit Paimon alone, thou must make him some offering; and there will attend him two Kings called LABAL and ABALI , and also other Spirits who be of the Order of Potentates in his Host, and 25 Legions. And those Spirits which be subject unto them are not always with them unless the Magician do compel them. His Character is this which must be worn as a Lamen before thee, etc
Paimon in the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage
Paimon: Is also frequently written “Paymon’, and sometimes “Paimonia’. Probably from Hebrew, POMN, = a tinkling sound or small bell. This is again derived from the Hebrew root POM, = to agitate, impel, or strike forward. The word POMN is employed in Exodus 28, 34; 28, 33; and 39, 25. Paimon is also called by the Rabbins by the title of OZAZL, Azazel, which is a name used in Leviticus with reference to the Scape-Goat. Its derivation is from OZ, = a Goat; and AZL, = to go away. It has frequently been warmly discussed whether the word in question means simply the Scape-Goat, or whether it signifies a Demon to whom that animal was dedicated. But in Rabbinic Demonology it is always used to mean one of the Chief Demons.