The Solomonic Grimoire Path
The ritual books attributed to Solomon, read as history.
The Solomonic grimoires assume a whole cosmology of planets, angels and names. This path supplies that background first, then reads the principal texts, then widens to their relatives and descendants.
Who This Path Is For
Students of the history of magic who want to read the grimoires carefully and in context.
The Syllabus
Introductory text
Agrippa’s encyclopaedia of Renaissance magic explains the cosmology the grimoires take for granted.
Foundational text
The Clavicula Salomonis in Mathers’ composite edition. Notice how much is prayer and purification.
The Greater Key of Solomon: Including a Clear and Precise Exposition of King Solomon's Secret Procedure, Its Mysteries and Magic Rites; Original Plates, Seals, Charms and Talismans; Translated from Ancient Manuscripts in the British Museum, London
De Laurence Mathers
Major development
The Lemegeton’s catalogue of spirits, the best-known grimoire in English.
Related ritual books
The planetary Heptameron, the Christian Neoplatonic Arbatel and the popular Grimorium Verum.
Advanced and interpretive
The Arabic-derived Picatrix and the Abramelin system widen the frame beyond Solomon.
Optional related reading
Barrett’s Magus (1801) and Waite’s survey show how the grimoires were received in the modern era.
The Book of the Magi. Unabridged Reprint of Barrett's Magus, London, 1801. A Complete System of Occult Philosophy Consisting of Natural, Celestial, Cabalistic, and Ceremonial Magic; Invocations; Conjurations of Spirits, &c., &c.; Biographical Sketch of Seventeen Great Philosophers and Adepts
Francis Barrett
The Book of the Magi. Unabridged Reprint of Barrett's Magus, London, 1801. A Complete System of Occult Philosophy Consisting of Natural, Celestial, Cabalistic, and Ceremonial Magic; Invocations; Conjurations of Spirits, &c., &c.; Biographical Sketch of Seventeen Great Philosophers and Adepts
Francis Barrett
1801 · English · Grimoires
