The Lesser Key of Solomon
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- Create Date：2021-06-11 09:57:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Aleister Crowley
- ISBN：0998136409
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Summary
This trade paperback edition is a fully illustrated reprint of the 1904 publication by Aleister Crowley and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers。 This edition of The Lesser Key of Solomon the King contains all of the over 150 seals， sigils， and charts of the original lesser book of Solomon。 Beware of other editions that do not contain the Lesser Key of Solomon seals; they were painstakingly researched by Mathers and Crowley， and Solomon's lesser key is enhanced by their inclusion。 This edition also contains Crowley's original comments located in over 35 annotations to help the reader understand the lesser keys of Solomon the king。
In this work， Crowley and Mathers assemble descriptions and directions for the invocation of over 72 demons or spirits。 Included are: illustrations of Solomon's Magic Circle & Triangle， Enochian translations of the Goetia book， step by step guides for invocation， as well as definitions and explanations for the ancient terms seen throughout the Lesser Key of Solomon book。
The Lesser Key of Solomon， or the Clavicula Salomonis Regis， or Lemegeton， is a compilation of materials and writings from ancient sources making up a text book of magic or "grimoire。" Portions of this book can be traced back to the mid-16th to 17th centuries， when occult researchers such as Cornelius Agrippa and Johannes Trithemisus assembled what they discovered during their investigations into their own great works。
As a modern grimoire， the Lesser Key of Solomon has seen several editions with various authors and editors taking liberty to edit and translate the ancient writings and source material。 In 1898， Arthur Edward Waite published his The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts， which contained large portions of the Lemegeton。 He was followed by Mathers and Crowley in 1904 who published The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon。 Many others have assembled their own version of this ancient material since， and it is important to realize that it is the contents rather than the book itself that make up the Lesser Key。 Traditionally， the source material is divided into five books: Ars Goetia， Ars Theurgia Goetia， Ars Paulina， Ars Almadel， and Ars Notoria。 Mathers and Crowley indicate their edition is a translation only of the first book: Goetia。
In the preface to this edition， it is explained that a "Secret Chief" of the Rosicrucian Order directed the completion of the book。 The original editor was a G。 H。 Fra。 D。D。C。F。 who translated ancient texts from French， Hebrew， and Latin， but was unable to complete his labors because of the martial assaults of the Four Great Princes。 Crowley was then asked to step in and finish what the previous author had begun。 Traditionally， S。 L。 MacGregor Mathers is credited as the translator of this edition， and Crowley is given the title of editor。 Although impossible to verify， it is often claimed that Mathers did not want to publish this work， but Crowley did so anyway without his permission。
In this work， Crowley and Mathers assemble descriptions and directions for the invocation of over 72 demons or spirits。 Included are: illustrations of Solomon's Magic Circle & Triangle， Enochian translations of the Goetia book， step by step guides for invocation， as well as definitions and explanations for the ancient terms seen throughout the Lesser Key of Solomon book。
The Lesser Key of Solomon， or the Clavicula Salomonis Regis， or Lemegeton， is a compilation of materials and writings from ancient sources making up a text book of magic or "grimoire。" Portions of this book can be traced back to the mid-16th to 17th centuries， when occult researchers such as Cornelius Agrippa and Johannes Trithemisus assembled what they discovered during their investigations into their own great works。
As a modern grimoire， the Lesser Key of Solomon has seen several editions with various authors and editors taking liberty to edit and translate the ancient writings and source material。 In 1898， Arthur Edward Waite published his The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts， which contained large portions of the Lemegeton。 He was followed by Mathers and Crowley in 1904 who published The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon。 Many others have assembled their own version of this ancient material since， and it is important to realize that it is the contents rather than the book itself that make up the Lesser Key。 Traditionally， the source material is divided into five books: Ars Goetia， Ars Theurgia Goetia， Ars Paulina， Ars Almadel， and Ars Notoria。 Mathers and Crowley indicate their edition is a translation only of the first book: Goetia。
In the preface to this edition， it is explained that a "Secret Chief" of the Rosicrucian Order directed the completion of the book。 The original editor was a G。 H。 Fra。 D。D。C。F。 who translated ancient texts from French， Hebrew， and Latin， but was unable to complete his labors because of the martial assaults of the Four Great Princes。 Crowley was then asked to step in and finish what the previous author had begun。 Traditionally， S。 L。 MacGregor Mathers is credited as the translator of this edition， and Crowley is given the title of editor。 Although impossible to verify， it is often claimed that Mathers did not want to publish this work， but Crowley did so anyway without his permission。
Reviews
Susan Hokuzai
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It was alright， extremely difficult language and I felt like I was entering an unknown occult world。 Think religious and Latin Shakespeare。 Of course， the book is centuries old but I had fun reading about the 72 demons/spirits and their sigil。 I really liked Paimon and Amon。 A good friend of mine lent it to me because I was doing research for a school project and it was overall educational！
Noaidi
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It wasn't a book for me。 It wasn't a book for me。 。。。more
Matthew Semernezski
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Great read to manifest your energy。 This is not to be taken literally of course because they are archetypes of the brain。 I must also add that this book is specific to the authors and each individual must find their own archetype。
MATT OLIVER
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A welcome introduction to the DARK SIDE， for those of Jewish heritage！ 😄
Theo
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Apart from having to slew through Crowley's ramblings， it was a decent translation。 I do believe this was also a translation of Crowley's version， which made it easier to decipher fact from whatever the hell Crowley was supposed to have been doing。The information was what I expected， though， being wide-eyed as I am， I balked a time or two at the heavy， HEAVY Christian influence （I know， I know， typical）。 I'll continue slogging through them in the vein of finishing it and researching， but I can't Apart from having to slew through Crowley's ramblings， it was a decent translation。 I do believe this was also a translation of Crowley's version， which made it easier to decipher fact from whatever the hell Crowley was supposed to have been doing。The information was what I expected， though， being wide-eyed as I am， I balked a time or two at the heavy， HEAVY Christian influence （I know， I know， typical）。 I'll continue slogging through them in the vein of finishing it and researching， but I can't wait to find un-Christain-tainted demon works。 。。。more
Christina Hannan
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Though this was a tough book to get through， I found the information in it useful， despite the fact that I am not going to be practicing anything in it until I’m a more competent witch。 It was interesting to read about the different demons and how one would summon them using a very Judeo-Christian framework to do so。 I found a few parts confusing but they might make more sense in time。
Natalie
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How does one rate a book on occultist Magick？ Is it by effectiveness， readability， or usefulness？ This is a dense read， and while I have enjoyed the narrative works of Aleister Crowley and other works of S。L。 Marthers， this is a technical manual that I have very little use for in my day to day life， making it that much harder to enjoy。 Nonetheless， it is and interesting book and at the very least and provides insight into the names and imagery of other works by these two。
Israel Reed
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Very fascinating and intriguing to read， this legendary encyclopedia of demonic entities and how to work with them really does give a sense of tapping into some profound occult knowledge。 Like much of ceremonial magick， particularly anything to do with Crowley， it all seems fairly convoluted and difficult to decipher without companion guides to help you out; although most who practice demonolatry would say that's for very good reason， so that ideally only the most dedicated and responsible pract Very fascinating and intriguing to read， this legendary encyclopedia of demonic entities and how to work with them really does give a sense of tapping into some profound occult knowledge。 Like much of ceremonial magick， particularly anything to do with Crowley， it all seems fairly convoluted and difficult to decipher without companion guides to help you out; although most who practice demonolatry would say that's for very good reason， so that ideally only the most dedicated and responsible practitioners undertake this work。 Anyone interested in magick and the occult is bound to find this interesting， and in recent years it seems to have become mandatory reading within these circles。 Enjoy， but proceed with caution。 。。。more
Baal Of
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There are hundreds of D&D / RPG supplements out there to choose from， and in general I don't buy third-party supplements anymore， especially since my campaigns have been on hold for a while now。 I bought this on a whim during the campaign of one of my long-term gaming partners in which my character intended to create a fake demonology book to give to the asshole necromancer who had raised us as various forms of undead and was keeping us in his thrall。This supplemental is actually not D&D or D20 There are hundreds of D&D / RPG supplements out there to choose from， and in general I don't buy third-party supplements anymore， especially since my campaigns have been on hold for a while now。 I bought this on a whim during the campaign of one of my long-term gaming partners in which my character intended to create a fake demonology book to give to the asshole necromancer who had raised us as various forms of undead and was keeping us in his thrall。This supplemental is actually not D&D or D20 specific， and is more descriptive， potentially useful for providing flavor to the campaign。 The only real strength of this book is in the illustrations of the seals and the magic circles， which could easily be dropped into a broad range of settings， with or without modifications。 Additionally the names of the various spirits could be lifted - some will be familiar， and other not as much。 It would have been nice if the authors had chosen to fit more of these entities into the various pantheons of D&D， but they stuck with a Judeo-Christian background making this of limited value in most D&D settings。The presentation of the material is poorly organized， repetitive， and surprisingly unimaginative。 The 72 "Mighty Kings and Princes" are each described in paragraph form giving name and variations， typical and alternate form of appearance and other descriptions， realms of knowledge and influence， and number of legions over which each governs。 Most of this could have been presented much more efficiently and effectively using stat tables， but it's almost as if the authors were padding out their very thin gruel of ideas to make it fill enough pages to be worth publishing。 Over half of these descriptions literally end with "etc。" indicating that maybe even the authors recognized the repetitiveness of their material。 And therein lies another weakness of this supplement - the complete lack of stats。 We get no hit points， challenge ratings， attribute stats， or abilities。 Nothing to make any of these entities unique and interesting。 Even the realm of knowledge each specializes in are so general and broad， and repeated among so many of them that there is no real hook to tie any particular spirit into a campaign。 All the real work will be left to the DM。 And there are not even any illustrations， but then again， most of these demons appear as pretty bland and boring creatures with the most creative being something like Volac who appears "like a child with Angel's Wings， riding on a Two-headed Dragon" which barley rises to a level mild intrigue。 The Fourth Edition Demonomicon， for example， will provide you and players with far more interesting denizens of the other planes than this fairly tedious book。Another aspect in which the authors fail to deliver is the descriptions of the rituals themselves。 For the most part， these are a series of pleading and threats， in which the summoner basically says "Do what I say or I'mma get god to banish you to the lake of fire forever"。 Which of course makes one wonder how that work in a setting where multiple sorcerers are attempting to invoke the same spirit - at some point Bael is going to say， yeah you're the 18th bloody person who has made that threat to me today， so what the hell do you expect？Continuing the established themes， there are a few other illustrations of symbols that are nicely designed， and could be adapted for flavor - the magical triangles， hexagram， rings， etc。， but again there aren't good tables to define the stats， rarities or costs of making or obtaining the items necessary to handle the rituals。 Maybe useful for adding a bit of mystical verisimilitude to the game， but little more than that。And one more final criticism before I close this out， the completely unnecessary dose of sexism in the section on the secret seal of Solomon， which is to be made by "one that 。。。 hath not defiled himself by any woman"。Overall I can't recommend this gaming supplement， even though it was quite cheap。 If these authors want to produce high-quality， useful rule books， they have a lot to learn， and would do well to expand their creativity beyond their current pedestrian boundaries。 。。。more
ASHISH
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This is very interested book
Alexa Wayne
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This is a great reference book for research while writing a horror， paranormal or demonic book。 It has what is needed to understand the basics of demonology and what needs to be known to write about specific demons。What is great about this book in particular is the little drawings of each demon and its representations。 It makes it so much easier to look through than searching on the web。 You have them all at your disposition and I like having a physical copy of my research books。 This one is a g This is a great reference book for research while writing a horror， paranormal or demonic book。 It has what is needed to understand the basics of demonology and what needs to be known to write about specific demons。What is great about this book in particular is the little drawings of each demon and its representations。 It makes it so much easier to look through than searching on the web。 You have them all at your disposition and I like having a physical copy of my research books。 This one is a good book to have。 。。。more
M。A。 Stern
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The content of this book is interesting but the particular edition I read appears to be missing some key information regarding specific seals that seems important to the overall information。
Tom
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Interesting book which claims to allow the reader to summon various demons etc。 Some short history in the beginning of the book to contextalise it a bit more and some good illustrations。
Beaumont
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a pretty good book， the editor notes help a lot with historical context。 not super in depth on history or meaning but rather just a list of names of goetia。 crowley had some good theories
Luis Durazo Arvizu
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Bunch of astrology-like magic satanical jargon。 Cool illustrations though， might get a tattoo of one of those。
Gegesavard
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Be careful This book is serious and you need an intense bright inner light before you read one page。 Be careful what you do with this book。
Pedro Pascoe
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The one-star rating is for this particular edition of this work， and not the work itself。What this edition should have been is a useful edition of the Crowley/Mathers edition of the Goetia， or the Lesser Key of Solomon， and a window onto Renaissance-era ritual magick， concerned with demon summoning， binding and releasing。What this edition does is present an incomplete version， with many seals and illustrations simply missing。 Fortunately this can be remedied by downloading nearly any pdf of the The one-star rating is for this particular edition of this work， and not the work itself。What this edition should have been is a useful edition of the Crowley/Mathers edition of the Goetia， or the Lesser Key of Solomon， and a window onto Renaissance-era ritual magick， concerned with demon summoning， binding and releasing。What this edition does is present an incomplete version， with many seals and illustrations simply missing。 Fortunately this can be remedied by downloading nearly any pdf of the Goetia， which also add footnotes。 However if I need to resort to downloading a pdf for a complete version， why the hell am I bothering buying a physical copy of this book？ Unforgiveable。And secondly， why are there ads for a fucking online tarot and rune shop every 6th page or so throughout the text？ Seriously？ Don't bother paying money for this edition， it is criminal。 Diabolical even （pun intended）。 。。。more
Thaheera Althaf
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I read this as part of a module on the history of magic， and found it incredibly informative and entertaining， though I do understand that not many would consider this public reading。 But really， if you are curious about magic， necromancy and demons， do give this a read。
Will
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This books worth comes from seeing how many other texts draw from this to create demonic or monstrous nightmares。As anything else it's 80-ish pages of ramblings from a pair of absolute nut jobs。 This books worth comes from seeing how many other texts draw from this to create demonic or monstrous nightmares。As anything else it's 80-ish pages of ramblings from a pair of absolute nut jobs。 。。。more
Zues
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Great boo
Lori C
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I don't recommend reading this unless you have a scholarly interest in very detailed， very esoteric summoning magic。 I don't claim to fully understand it and it makes little effort to explain itself。 However， I am fascinated by it's concept and it's very existence。 I don't recommend reading this unless you have a scholarly interest in very detailed， very esoteric summoning magic。 I don't claim to fully understand it and it makes little effort to explain itself。 However， I am fascinated by it's concept and it's very existence。 。。。more
Nutan Modha
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They say curiosity killed the cat， and ghouls are a phenomanem。 My question to you illusionists and grand players ; how would you like to be disturbed in your natural life。 Not consecutive times， as you really need to finish Game of Thrones。
Natalee
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A light， fun read。 A list of the 70ish demons of hell， their ranks， their abilities， and how to summon them for your own purposes。
Ken Nunyerbeez
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"A fucking classic！" should sum up its impact on modern culture。 Any movie you see or book you read regarding demonology anymore will probably in some way， shape or form rip from or be impacted by it。 Sure， you could try to argue with that point。。。 if you know absolutely nothing about occult history =P "And Jesus cast the demon from so-and-so" doesn't even begin to cover how something so obscure could become so prevalent in modern culture even via vague and watered-down references to the Goetia。 "A fucking classic！" should sum up its impact on modern culture。 Any movie you see or book you read regarding demonology anymore will probably in some way， shape or form rip from or be impacted by it。 Sure， you could try to argue with that point。。。 if you know absolutely nothing about occult history =P "And Jesus cast the demon from so-and-so" doesn't even begin to cover how something so obscure could become so prevalent in modern culture even via vague and watered-down references to the Goetia。 。。。more
Adriel Hartnett
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How do I rate a non-fiction book？ It has to be informative。 And this one， although not so detail for my taste， offers you 72 spirits and how to conjure them。 That stuff is informative enough for me。 I still can't imagine how it is to have Paimon and his 200 legions army going to war with you。 How do I rate a non-fiction book？ It has to be informative。 And this one， although not so detail for my taste， offers you 72 spirits and how to conjure them。 That stuff is informative enough for me。 I still can't imagine how it is to have Paimon and his 200 legions army going to war with you。 。。。more
Liam O'nade
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Provides a clear and detailed account of the preparations and precautions necessary for the successful evocation of its 72 spirits， which are described in detail。 Includes Crowley's "An Initiated Interpretation of Ceremonial Magic，" his version of "The Bornless Ritual，" Enochian translations of some of the Goetic invocations， an introduction， and notes。 Illustrated。 Smythe-sewn and printed on acid-free paper。 Provides a clear and detailed account of the preparations and precautions necessary for the successful evocation of its 72 spirits， which are described in detail。 Includes Crowley's "An Initiated Interpretation of Ceremonial Magic，" his version of "The Bornless Ritual，" Enochian translations of some of the Goetic invocations， an introduction， and notes。 Illustrated。 Smythe-sewn and printed on acid-free paper。 。。。more
Adam
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One of my first introductions to Crowley's work。 A tech manual on Goetia Demons and how to summon them。 A very informative work but like all of Crowley's work hard to decipher what to take as reality and what his actually taking the piss out of。 If I was to take this text literally， it's a very informative text and examines how Solomon did what he did。 However， it is my understanding Solomon played both sides against each other， I wonder why there is no angel equivalent text or if there is I hav One of my first introductions to Crowley's work。 A tech manual on Goetia Demons and how to summon them。 A very informative work but like all of Crowley's work hard to decipher what to take as reality and what his actually taking the piss out of。 If I was to take this text literally， it's a very informative text and examines how Solomon did what he did。 However， it is my understanding Solomon played both sides against each other， I wonder why there is no angel equivalent text or if there is I haven't read it yet？ Again like with all of Crowley's work it leaves me with more questions than I had before i read the book， I think I need to read the book of the law next。 。。。more
Tony
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Essentially a grimoire of spirits controlled by Solomon the King。 Also includes detailed descriptions of the incantations， materials and symbols for summoning the spirits。
Belart Wright
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Amazing！ I， like many， purchased this for some insight into demonology in order to make my own stories more--what's the word--authentic。 I expected some bios about the various 72 demons and their abilities， but what I didn't expect was to glimpse what may now be the most imitated work in fiction today。 I think only Lovecraft and Tolkien have single-handedly had more effect on the broad spectrum of fiction overall。 I'm still a novice when it comes to history and even this book is a derivative of Amazing！ I， like many， purchased this for some insight into demonology in order to make my own stories more--what's the word--authentic。 I expected some bios about the various 72 demons and their abilities， but what I didn't expect was to glimpse what may now be the most imitated work in fiction today。 I think only Lovecraft and Tolkien have single-handedly had more effect on the broad spectrum of fiction overall。 I'm still a novice when it comes to history and even this book is a derivative of several religious ideas and texts， but I still see its influence in much of the novels， comics， T。V。 shows， video games， anime， manga， and movies that I consume。It has helped me square several of my own stories in their own unique magic systems。 I was surprised at just how much of what was in this book made it into my books without me even reading this。 I kind of picked up many of the principles inside of this book from my own dissection of science fiction and fantasy tropes， but its funny how boiling all that stuff down led me to many of the same conclusions that were in this book。 Reading this only helped me understand the purpose of magic even more and why things are done the way they are to bring it forth。So besides helping me decide if some of my ideas in my latest book had an authentic occult reasoning to them， it has also helped me tighten the magic systems in my more light-hearted books， and now it has given me an idea for a new occult themed series featuring demons that's much closer to what's presented by Crowley than the other dark superhero/action/detective story I've been working on。 I'd say it was well worth the time and money。This book has descriptions， titles， and bios for 72 demon lords。 It also details some history surrounding the making of the book， including some of the history between Aleister Crowley， S。L。 Mathers， and their groups。 There are several illustrations of the various demons， the magickal objects， and various documents。 There's an explanation of the purpose of magick and its connections to demons。 There's also instructions on how to setup and use the various invocations， but as the kids say "I'm not about that life。" 。。。more
SIAR
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