Home › K › Key of Solomon the King

Key of Solomon the King

A magical treatise of mediæval origin, of which a number of manuscripts are extant. It is supposed to be the work of King Solomon (q.v.), but is manifestly of comparatively modern origin, and was probably written in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. It is permeated with late Jewish ideas, and its chief intention appears to be the finding of treasure, and the making of such experiments as have for their object the interference with the free will of others. The power of the Divine Name is much in evidence, and the entire work is an absurd combination of pomposity and nonsense.

The Lemegeton, or Leeser Key of Solomon, is much more noteworthy. Its earliest examples date from the seventeenth century, and it invokes the hierarchies of the abyss by legions and millions. It is divided into four parts, which control the offices of all spirits at the will of the Kiss operator. The first part, Göetia, contains forms of conjuration for seventy-two demons with an account of their powers and offices. The second part, Theurgia Göetia, deals with the spirits of the cardinal points, who are of mixed nature. The third book is called the Pauline Artthe significance of which name is unaccountable. It deals with the angels of the hours of the day and night, and of the signs of the Zodiac. The fourth part is entitled Almadel, which enumerates four other choirs of spirits. The usual homilies regarding purity of life are insisted upon, as is the circumstance that none of the conjurations shall be applied to the injury of another.