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The Lesser Key of Solomon

The Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis[1] or simply
Lemegeton, is an anonymously authored grimoire on sorcery. It was compiled in the mid-17th
century, mostly from materials several centuries older.[2][3] It is divided into five books: the Ars
Goetia, Ars Theurgia-Goetia, Ars Paulina, Ars Almadel, and Ars Notoria.[2] It is based on the
Testament of Solomon and the ring mentioned within it that he used to seal demons.

Ars Goetia

Etymology

The text is more properly called Lemegeton Clavicula

Salomonis, or, The little Key of Solomon. The title most
commonly used, The Lesser Key of Solomon, does not in fact
occur in the manuscripts. A. E. Waite, in his 1898 Book of
Black Magic and of Pacts does use the terms "so-called Greater
Key" and "Lesser Key" to distinguish between the Clavicula
Salomonis and Lemegeton, so he may have been the first one to
coin it. The Latin term goetia refers to the evocation of demons
or evil spirits.[4][5] It is derived from the Ancient Greek word
γοητεία (goēteía) meaning "charm", "witchcraft", or "jugglery".
[6]

In medieval and Renaissance Europe, goetia was generally

The magical circle and triangle,
considered evil and heretical, in contrast to theurgia (theurgy)
magical objects/symbols used in the
and magia naturalis (natural magic), which were sometimes evocation of the seventy-two spirits
considered more noble.[7][8] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, in his of the Ars Goetia
Three Books of Occult Philosophy, writes "Now the parts of
ceremonial magic are goetia and theurgia. Goetia is
unfortunate, by the commerces of unclean spirits made up of
the rites of wicked curiosities, unlawful charms, and
deprecations, and is abandoned and execrated by all laws."[5]

Sources

The most obvious source for the Ars Goetia is Johann Weyer's
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum in his De praestigiis
daemonum. Weyer does not cite, and is unaware of, any other
books in the Lemegeton, suggesting that the Lemegeton was
derived from his work, not the other way around.[2][9] The
order of the spirits changed between the two, four additional The Secret Seal of Solomon
spirits were added to the later work, and one spirit (Pruflas)
was omitted. The omission of Pruflas, a mistake that also
occurs in an edition of Pseudomonarchia Daemonum cited in Reginald Scot's The Discovery of
Witchcraft, indicates that the Ars Goetia could not have been compiled before 1570. Indeed, it
appears that the Ars Goetia is more dependent upon Scott's translation of Weyer than on Weyer's

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work in itself. Additionally, some material came from Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of
Occult Philosophy, the Heptameron by pseudo-Pietro d'Abano,[note 1][2][10] and the Magical
Calendar.[11]

Weyer's Officium Spirituum, which is likely related to a 1583 manuscript titled The Office of
Spirits,[12] appears to have ultimately been an elaboration on a 15th-century manuscript titled
Livre des Esperitz (30 of the 47 spirits are nearly identical to spirits in the Ars Goetia).[3][10]

In a slightly later copy made by Thomas Rudd (1583?–1656), this portion was labelled Liber
Malorum Spirituum seu Goetia, and the seals and demons were paired with those of the 72 angels
of the Shem HaMephorash[13] which were intended to protect the conjurer and to control the
demons he summoned.[14] The angelic names and seals derived from a manuscript by Blaise de
Vigenère, whose papers were also used by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854–1918) in his
works for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn[10] (1887–1903). Rudd may have derived his
copy of Liber Malorum Spirituum from a now-lost work by Johannes Trithemius,[10] who taught
Agrippa, who in turn taught Weyer.

This portion of the work was later translated by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and published
by Aleister Crowley in 1904 under the title The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King. Crowley
added some additional invocations previously unrelated to the original work (including some
evocations in the Enochian language), as well as essays describing the rituals as psychological
exploration instead of demon summoning.[15][16]

The seventy-two demons

The demons' names (given below) are taken from the Ars
Goetia, which differs in terms of number and ranking from the
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum of Weyer. As a result of multiple
translations, there are multiple spellings for some of the
names, which are given in the articles concerning them. The
demons Vassago, Seere, Dantalion, and Andromalius are new
additions in Ars Goetia that are not present in the
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum that it is based upon, whereas
the demon Pruflas appears in the Pseudomonarchia The 72 sigils
Daemonum but not in Ars Goetia.

1. King Bael
2. Duke Agares
3. Prince Vassago
4. Marquis Samigina
5. President Marbas
6. Duke Valefor
7. Marquis Amon
8. Duke Barbatos
9. King Paimon
10. President Buer
11. Duke Gusion
12. Prince Sitri
13. King Beleth
14. Marquis Leraje
15. Duke Eligos

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16. Duke Zepar 45. King/Count Viné

17. Count/President Botis 46. Count Bifrons
18. Duke Bathin 47. Duke Vual
19. Duke Sallos 48. President Haagenti
20. King Purson 49. Duke Crocell
21. Count/President Morax 50. Knight Furcas
22. Count/Prince Ipos 51. King Balam
23. Duke Aim 52. Duke Alloces
24. Marquis Naberius 53. President Caim
25. Count/President Glasya-Labolas 54. Duke/Count Murmur
26. Duke Buné 55. Prince Orobas
27. Marquis/Count Ronové 56. Duke Gremory
28. Duke Berith 57. President Ose
29. Duke Astaroth 58. President Amy
30. Marquis Forneus 59. Marquis Orias
31. President Foras 60. Duke Vapula
32. King Asmodeus 61. King/President Zagan
33. Prince/President Gäap 62. President Valac
34. Count Furfur 63. Marquis Andras
35. Marquis Marchosias 64. Duke Flauros
36. Prince Stolas 65. Marquis Andrealphus
37. Marquis Phenex 66. Marquis Kimaris
38. Count Halphas 67. Duke Amdusias
39. President Malphas 68. King Belial
40. Count Räum 69. Marquis Decarabia
41. Duke Focalor 70. Prince Seere
42. Duke Vepar 71. Duke Dantalion
43. Marquis Sabnock 72. Count Andromalius
44. Marquis Shax

A footnote in one variant edition lists the kings of the cardinal directions as Oriens or Uriens,
Paymon or Paymonia, Ariton or Egyn, and Amaymon or Amaimon, alternatively known as Samael,
Azazel, Azael, and Mahazael (purportedly their preferred rabbinic names).[17] Agrippa's Occult
Philosophy lists the kings of the cardinal directions as Urieus (east), Amaymon (south), Paymon
(west), and Egin (north); again providing the alternate names Samuel (i.e. Samael), Azazel, Azael,
and Mahazuel. The Magical Calendar lists them as Bael, Moymon, Poymon, and Egin,[18][19]
though Peterson notes that some variant editions instead list: "Asmodel in the east, Amaymon in
the south, Paymon in the west, and Aegym in the north"; "Oriens, Paymon, Egyn, and Amaymon";
or "Amodeo [sic] (king of the east), Paymon (king of the west), Egion (king of the north), and
Maimon."[18]

Ars Theurgia Goetia

The Ars Theurgia Goetia mostly derives from Trithemius's Steganographia, though the seals and
order of the spirits are different due to corrupted transmission via manuscript.[10][20] Rituals not
found in Steganographia were added, in some ways conflicting with similar rituals found in the
Ars Goetia and Ars Paulina. Most of the spirits summoned are tied to compass points: four
emperors are tied to the cardinal points (Carnesiel in the east, Amenadiel in the west, Demoriel in

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the north and Caspiel in the south); and sixteen dukes are tied to cardinal points, inter-cardinal
points, and additional directions between those. There are in addition eleven "wandering princes",
so that a total of thirty-one spirit leaders each rule several spirits, up to a few dozen.[21]

Ars Paulina
Derived from book three of Trithemius's Steganographia and from portions of the Heptameron,
but purportedly delivered by Paul the Apostle instead of (as claimed by Trithemius) Raziel.
Elements from The Magical Calendar, astrological seals by Robert Turner's 1656 translation of
Paracelsus's Archidoxes of Magic, and repeated mentions of guns and the year 1641 indicate that
this portion was written in the later half of the seventeenth century.[22][23] Traditions of Paul
communicating with heavenly powers are almost as old as Christianity itself, as seen in some
interpretations of 2 Corinthians 12:2–4 and the apocryphal Apocalypse of Paul. The Ars Paulina is
in turn divided into two books, the first detailing twenty-four angels aligned with the twenty-four
hours of the day, the second (derived more from the Heptameron) detailing the 360 spirits of the
degrees of the zodiac.[23]

Ars Almadel
Mentioned by Trithemius and Weyer, the latter of whom claimed an Arabic origin for the work. A
15th-century copy is attested to by Robert H.Turner, and Hebrew copies were discovered in the
20th century. The Ars Almadel instructs the magician on how to create a wax tablet with specific
designs intended to contact angels via scrying.[24][25]

Ars Notoria, quam Creator Altissimus Salomoni

revelavit
The Ars Notoria, quam Creator Altissimus Salomoni revelavit, or The Notory Art, which the
Almighty Creator Revealed to Solomon, is a seventeenth century composite text consisting of two
separate and imperfect magical texts, the fourteenth century Ars Notoria, or the Notory Art
(glossed version), and the mid-fourteenth century Ars Brevis, or the Short Art. From the original
Ars Notoria (glossed version), the compiler of the Ars Notoria, quam Creator Altissimus Salomoni
revelavit presents a new rearrangement of a series of mysteriously formulated prayers (which are
also found in the London manuscript of The Sworn Book of Honorius) intended to enhance the
mental faculties, such as memory, eloquence, and understanding, of the magician. Some editions
of the Lemegeton contain the 1657 English translation of The Notory Art, which the Almighty
Creator Revealed to Solomon being published and retitled by Robert Turner of Holshott as Ars
Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon, Shewing the Cabalistical Key of Magical Operations, The
liberal Sciences, Divine Revelation, and The Art of Memory. Other editions of the Lemegeton omit
this work entirely;[26][27][28] A. E. Waite ignores it completely when describing the Lemegeton.[9]

Editions
Crowley, Aleister (ed.), S. L. MacGregor Mathers (transcribed) The Book of the Goetia of
Solomon the King. Translated into the English tongue by a dead hand (Foyers, Inverness:
Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth, 1904) 1995 reprint: ISBN 0-87728-847-X.
Greenup, A. W., "The Almadel of Solomon, according to the text of the Sloane MS. 2731" The
Occult Review vol. 22 no. 2, August 1915, 96–102.
Henson, Mitch (ed.) Lemegeton. The Complete Lesser Key of Solomon (Jacksonville: Metatron
Books, 1999) ISBN 978-0-9672797-0-1. Noted by Peterson to be "uncritical and indiscriminate
in its use of source material".[15]
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de Laurence, L. W. (ed.), The Lesser Key of Solomon, Goetia, The Book of Evil Spirits
(Chicago: de Laurence, Scott & Co., 1916) 1942 reprint: ISBN 978-0-7661-0776-2; 2006
reprint: ISBN 978-1-59462-200-7. A plagiarism of the Mathers/Crowley edition.[29]
Peterson, Joseph H. (ed.), The Lesser Key of Solomon: Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (York
Beach, Maine: Weiser Books, 2001). Considered "the definitive version"[30] and "the standard
edition".[31]
Runyon, Carroll, The Book of Solomon's Magick (Silverado, California: C.H.S. Inc., 1996).
Targeted more toward practicing magicians than academics, claims that the demons were
originally derived from Mesopotamian mythology.[32]
Shah, Idries, The Secret Lore of Magic (London: Abacus, 1972). Contains portions of Ars
Almandel and split sections the Goetia, missing large portions of the rituals involved.[15]
Skinner, Stephen & Rankine, David (eds.), The Goetia of Dr Rudd: The Angels and Demons of
Liber Malorum Spirituum Seu Goetia (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic) (London and
Singapore: The Golden Hoard Press 2007) ISBN 978-0-9547639-2-3
Thorogood, Alan (ed.), Frederick Hockley (transcribed), The Pauline Art of Solomon (York
Beach, Maine: The Teitan Press, 2016)
Veenstra, Jan R. "The Holy Almandal. Angels and the intellectual aims of magic" in Jan N.
Bremmer and Jan R. Veenstra (eds.), The Metamorphosis of Magic from Late Antiguity to the
Early Modern Period (Leuven: Peeters, 2002), pp. 189–229. The Almadel is transcribed at pp.
217–229.
Waite, Arthur Edward, The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. Including the rites and mysteries
of goëtic theurgy, sorcery, and infernal necromancy, also the rituals of black magic (Edinburgh:
1898). Reprinted as The Secret Tradition in Goëtia. The Book of Ceremonial Magic, including
the rites and mysteries of Goëtic theurgy, sorcery, and infernal necromancy (London: William
Rider & Son, 1911). Includes the Goetia, Pauline Art and Almadel.[15]
White, Nelson & Anne (eds.) Lemegeton: Clavicula Salomonis: or, The complete lesser key of
Solomon the King (Pasadena, California: Technology Group, 1979). Noted by Peterson to be
"almost totally unreadable".[15]
Wilby, Kevin (ed.) The Lemegetton. A Medieval Manual of Solomonic Magic (Silian, Lampeter:
Hermetic Research Series, 1985)

See also
Aleister Crowley bibliography
The Book of Abramelin
List of occult terms
Magical Treatise of Solomon

References

Notes
1. The Heptameron was republished spuriously as a purported Fourth Book of Agrippa.

Citations
1. Peterson, Joseph H., ed. (2001). The Lesser Key of Solomon: Lemegeton Clavicula
Salomonis. York Beach, Maine: Weiser Books. ISBN 9781578632206.

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2. Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis: The Lesser Key of Solomon, Detailing the Ceremonial Art of
Commanding Spirits Both Good and Evil; ed. Joseph H. Peterson; Weiser Books Maine; 2001.
pp. xi–xvii.
3. The Goetia of Dr Rudd; Thomas Rudd, Eds. Stephen Skinner & David Rankine; 2007, Golden
Hoard Press. p. 399.
4. Asprem, Egil (2016). "Intermediary Beings". In Partridge, Christopher (ed.). The Occult World.
Routledge. p. 653. ISBN 9781138219250.
5. Agrippa, Henry Cornelius (1651). Three Books of Occult Philosophy (https://archive.lib.msu.ed
u/DMC/Arts%20&%20Humanities/threebooksoccult.pdf) (PDF). Translated by Freake, James.
London. pp. 572–575.
6. "LSJ" (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=gohtei%2Fa&la=greek). Perseus Digital
Library. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
7. Mebane, John S. (1992). Renaissance Magic and the Return of the Golden Age: The Occult
Tradition and Marlowe, Jonson, and Shakespeare. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
pp. 44, 45. ISBN 9780803281790.
8. Thorndike, Lynn (2003). History of Magic and Experimental Science. Whitefish, Montana:
Kessinger. p. 505. ISBN 9780766143135.
9. Arthur Edward Waite (1913). The Book of Ceremonial Magic (http://www.sacred-texts.com/gri
m/bcm/index.htm). Part I, Chapter III, section 2: "The Lesser Key of Solomon" (http://www.sacr
ed-texts.com/grim/bcm/bcm14.htm). London – via The Internet Sacred Text Archive.
10. Rudd, Ed. Skinner & Rankine; pp. 31–43
11. Rudd, Ed. Skinner & Rankine; p.82
12. A Book of the Office of Spirits; John Porter, Trans. Frederick Hockley, Ed. Colin D. Campbelll;
Teitan Press, 2011. p. xiii–xvii
13. Rudd, Ed. Skinner & Rankine; pp. 14–19
14. Rudd, Ed. Skinner & Rankine; p. 71
15. Peterson, 2001, pp. xviii–xx
16. Stephen Skinner & David Rankine, The Goetia of Dr. Rudd, Golden Hoard Press, 2007, pp.
47–50
17. Peterson, 2001, p. 40
18. First footnote by Joseph H. Peterson to Trithemius's The art of drawing spirits into crystals (htt
p://www.esotericarchives.com/tritheim/trchryst.htm)
19. The Magical Calendar; Johann Baptist Grossschedel, trans. and ed. Adam McLean; Phanes
Press, 1994. p. 35.
20. Peterson, 2001, p.xv.
21. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; pp. 53–57
22. Peterson, 2001, p. xv–xvi
23. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; pp. 57–59
24. Peterson, 2001, p. xvi
25. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; pp. 59–60
26. Peterson, 2001, p. xvii
27. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; p.60-63.
28. Castle, Matthias (2023-07-12). "Agrippa's Latin Edition of the Ars Notoria and Robert Turner's
1657 English Translation Thereof" (https://www.matthiascastle.com/post/agrippa-s-latin-edition-
of-the-ars-notoria-and-robert-turner-s-1657-english-translation-thereof). Matthias Castle.
Retrieved 2023-12-03.
29. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; p.50,
30. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; p.8
31. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; p.52

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32. Rudd, ed. Skinner & Rankine; p.51–52

Works cited
Aleister Crowley (ed.), Samuel Liddell Mathers (trans.), The Goetia: The Lesser Key of
Solomon the King. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser (1995) ISBN 0-87728-847-X.
E. J. Langford Garstin, Theurgy or The Hermetic Practice: A Treatise on Spiritual Alchemy.
Berwick: Ibis Press, 2004. (Published posthumously)
Stephen Skinner, & David Rankine, The Goetia of Dr Rudd: The Angels and Demons of Liber
Malorum Spirituum Seu Goetia (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic). Golden Hoard Press,
2007. ISBN 978-0-9547639-2-3

External links
J. B. Hare, online edition (http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/index.htm) (2002, sacred-
texts.com)
Joseph H. Peterson, online edition (http://esotericarchives.com/solomon/lemegeton.htm)
(1999)
Demon list with descriptions (http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/lks05.htm)

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