The Key of Solomon the King
trans. S. L. MacGregor Mathers · 1889
5.0 · 8 ratings
About the book
The most famous grimoire in Europe, assembled by Mathers from seven manuscripts in the British Museum. Circles, hours, pentacles and prayers — less a book of spells than a book of procedure, in which the preparation is nine tenths of the operation.
Try the short course
Part 1 · A grimoire, and why Solomon's name. The first six slides, free.
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The word grimoire comes from the old French for grammar. That is worth holding onto, because a grammar is not a list of wonderful things you can say. It is the set of rules that decides whether anything you say makes sense at all.
Open the Key of Solomon expecting a book of spells and you will be puzzled. Page after page tells you which hour to begin in, how to bathe, what the pen must be cut from, how many days to fast. The wonders, when they come, are short.
That proportion is the point. A grimoire is a grammar, not a wish list: a working manual of procedure, written for someone who intends to do the thing and needs to know the order it happens in.
Inside the course
12 parts- What a grimoire is, and what Solomon has to do with this oneFree above
- Days, hours, and the virtues of the planets
- The confession the operator must make first
- Conjurations, from courteous to extremely powerful
Questions
Is The Key of Solomon the King free to read in Astra Trainer?
Yes. The full book opens free in the app’s reader, in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Russian.
What is the short course?
12 short parts that walk through the book’s key ideas in slides, each with a quick quiz. The first six slides are free to try on this page.
Where do I get the app?
Astra Trainer is free on the App Store and Google Play. The Key of Solomon the King is waiting in the app’s library.
