The lesser Key of Solomon, Goetia, the book of evil spirits: Contains Two Hundred Diagrams and Seals for Invocation and Convocation of Spirits, Necromancy, Witchcraft and Black Art

About this book

The Lesser Key of Solomon presents itself as a scholarly translation of the first book of the Lemegeton, a medieval grimoire of talismanic magic. The preface explains that the editor, G. H. Fra., collated Hebrew, Latin, and French manuscripts at the behest of a Rosicrucian chief, and after Fra.’s untimely death the work was finished with the assistance of Aleister Crowley. The opening pages then launch into a dense “Preliminary Invocation,” calling upon the “Bornless One” and a litany of divine names, before moving into a systematic definition of magic as a natural philosophy that can be harnessed through sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mind. The text proceeds to outline the five parts of the Lemegeton, beginning with the Goetia, the catalogue of 200 demons, their seals and the rituals for summoning them.

The voice is that of an early‑twentieth‑century occult scholar, steeped in the language of hermeticism, Kabbalah and classical philosophy, and peppered with references to contemporary figures such as Crowley and to older authorities like Apollonius and Origen. Its style is formal, elaborate, and at times polemical, treating magic as both a serious science and a contested art. Readers who enjoy dense historical translations, the ritualistic language of ceremonial magic, or the intellectual backdrop of Rosicrucian and Thelemic thought will find this work compelling, while those seeking a light narrative or modern exposition may prefer a more accessible treatment.

Opening lines

Preface. This translation of the First Book of the “ Lemegeton ” which is now for the first time made accessible to students of Talismanic Magic was done, after careful collation and edition, from numerous Ancient Manuscripts in Hebrew , Latin , and French , by G. H. Fra. D.D.C.F., by the order of the Secret Chief of the Rosicrucian Order . [1] The G. H. Fra. , having succumbed unhappily to the assaults of the Four Great Princes (acting notably under Martial influences), it seemed expedient that the work should be brought to its conclusion by another hand. The investigation of a competent Skryer into the house of our unhappy Fra. , confirmed this divination; neither our Fra. nor his Hermetic Mul. were there seen; but only the terrible shapes of the evil Adepts S.V.A. [2] and H., whose original bodies having been sequestered by Justice, were no longer of use to them. …

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