TheConjurorsToolkit14001800:Ciphers,Images,andMagical

CulturesofPowerWithintheSolomonicGrimoires

AThesis

SubmittedtotheFaculty

inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthe

degreeof

MasterofArts

in

LiberalStudies

by

TravisW.Shores

DartmouthCollege

Hanover,NewHampshire

May,2014

____________________________________ DonaldE.Pease

DepartmentChair

ThesisAdvisors:

____________________________________

RichardL.Kremer

____________________________________

DennisWashburn

____________________________________

DonaldE.Pease

_______________________________

F.JonKull,PhD

DeanofGraduateStudies

ii

Abstract

ThisthesisexaminestheSolomonicgrimoiremanuscriptsbetween14001800.

Grimoires,asbooksofmagicmaterials,claimanancientlineagefromthetimeof

KingSolomonofIsrael.Modernscholarshiphasattemptedtoargueeitherforor

againstsuchaclaim,buthasnotadequatelyaddressedthemeaningsofimagery

andalphabeticsymbolscontainedwithineachgrimoireasanindicatoroforigin.

Throughcomparisonsofseveralmanuscriptcollections,thebasicgeometric

shapesofcirclesandsquares,thatrepeatedlyformthetemplatesforseveral

objectstobeconstructedbythemagus,arehereexamined,theirvariousscripts

deciphered,andtheirpurposecontextualizedfortheearlymodernmagicianand

conjuror.ThisthesissuggeststhatthegenreoftheSolomonicgrimoires,in

manuscriptorprintedform,possiblyoriginatedonlyfromthe16thcentury

worksofHeinrichCorneliusAgrippa,aconclusionbasedonuseoftheMalachim

alphabet.Furthermore,thethesisquestionsgrimoireusebeyondlibrary

transcriptions,theexistenceofanypracticerelatedtothem,andthepossible

originsofthescientificexperiment.

iii

Acknowledgements

IwouldliketobeginbythankingalltheprofessorsIhavehadthehonor

ofworkingwithatDartmouthCollege.AwarmthankstoProfessorsEhud

Benor,ElizabethPerez,andCarlEstabrookforsettingthebarveryhigh.

ThankyoutomySecondReader,ProfessorDennisWashburnforbeinga

calmwellspringofknowledge;andtomyThirdReader,DirectoroftheM.A.L.S.

program,ProfessorDonaldPease,forconsistentadviceandbelievinginmefrom

theverybeginning.

IgiveaspecialthankstomyIndependentStudyandThesisAdvisor,

ProfessorRichardKremer,foreverystitchofthisthesisandbeyond,forletting

metaphisextensiveknowledgeofmaterialcultures,forputtingmeincontact

withtheworldsbestandchallengingmetostandamongthem.Iamblessedto

haveworkedwithsuchapatientandintelligentprofessor.

ThankstoDartmouthsRaunerSpecialCollectionsLibraryandOxfords

BodleianLibraryforallowingmetopourthroughtheircollections.

ThankyouJosephPetersonforpioneeringthenewexaminationinto

theseoldgrimoiresandforbeinganaccessibleresourceduringthisstudy.

Thankstomyextendedfamilyfortheircontinualsupportandlove.

FinallyThankyoumostofalltoHannah,TheloniousandFionna.They

aremyabsoluteinspiration.Withthelonghoursofresearch,lifeatDartmouth,

andtripsabroad,yourloveandpatiencehassustainedthiswork.Allofthisis

foryou.

iv

Contents

Abstract. ii

Preface (acknowledgements)... iii

List of Illustrations... v

Introduction.. 1

Chapter One

Of Magic Science and Religion..... 12

Chapter Two

Grimoire Texts, Geometric Symbols, Ciphers and Use..... 24

I. Manuscripts.... 25

II. The Magic Circle and Square..... 33

III. Comparing Alphabetic Images Within Texts..... 46

IV. Genealogical Deviations and Alterations... 60

V. Chapter Two Conclusion 71

Chapter Three

High Renaissance Hermetic Imagery..... 74

I. Commission Dispute.. 76

II. La Tempestas Imagery.. 78

III. Interpretations..... 81

Conclusion..... 99

Bibliography. 108

v

ListofIllustrations

Fig.2.1HermannGollanczMagicCircle37

Fig.2.2HeptameronMagicCircle.37

Fig.2.3ReginaldScotsMagicCircle39

Fig.2.4CoclesChiromanticJupiterCharacters..42

Fig.2.5Agrippas1533JupiterCharacters....42

Fig.2.6Agrippas1550JupiterCharacters.43

Fig.2.7JupiterCharactersfromBnFMSFrancais25314..43

Fig.2.8CoclesChiromanticVenusCharacters........44

Fig.2.9CoclesChiromanticSunCharacters......44

Fig.2.10CoclesChiromanticMoonCharacters..45

Fig.2.11CoclesChiromanticSaturnCharacters.45

Fig.2.12AgrippaAstrologicMoonCharacter....45

Fig.2.13AgrippasChiromanticSymbols.45

Fig.2.14SixthMarsPentaclefromAub24...49

Fig.2.15LeipzigMSPentacle...50

Fig.2.16Mathers6thMarsPentacle....50

Fig.2.17PetersonsAub24,FourthSunPentacle....55

Fig.2.18MathersFourthSunPentacle.....55

Fig.2.19AgrippasMalachimAlphabet.....57

Fig.2.20AgrippasCelestialAlphabet....57

Fig.2.21MiknehAvram1523PassingoftheRiverAlphabet..59

Fig.2.22SepherRazielCharacters...59

Fig.2.23Agrippas1533PassingoftheRiverAlphabet.....60

Fig.2.24GollanczsShelomoSigils....63

Fig.2.25GollanczsAlmadel.66

Fig.2.26DeesHolyTable......70

Fig.2.27SigilDeiAmethfromSloane3188....70

Fig.3.1AgrippasTetragrammatonTriangle.....91

Fig.3.2DodalsMarseilleStarTarot....93

Fig.3.3GiorgionesLaTempesta....97

Fig.3.4GiorgionesThreePhilosophers....98

1

Introduction

TheHermeticaxiomAsabove,sobelowimpliesanunderstandingofa

mirroredrelationshipbetweenthemacroandmicrocosmicworlds;thatwhichis

withoutisalsowithin,orsimply:thenaturesofsubjectiveoppositesultimatelylead

toaunityorsameunderstandingofexistence.1InEurope,between1400and1800,

toengageaviewoftheoutwarduniversewastofinditsmirrororsimilaritywithin

thehumanbodyorwithintherepresentedobjectsinmansmaterialsphereof

experience.2Reducingthewholeoftheuniversetotwodimensionalfocalpoints

wasanexercisefoundrepeatedthroughcombineduseofsacredtextandsymbolic

images.Writtencompilationsofmagicalrecipesandconjurations,knownas

grimoires,3wereproducedinmanuscriptsandearlyprintfromoccultistsofthe

earlymodernperiod.Alloftheseearlymoderntextscontainsimilarpiecesof

instructiveinformationthatcanactasaguidetoearlyphysicians,astrologers,and

philosophersTheywerealsocovetedbymagicalconjurorswhomayhavecreated

objectsdesignedforspiritual,religious,orpracticaluse,tomirrorwhatwas

understoodtothemastheknownouteruniverse.

1 Florian Ebeling, The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times,

Cornell University Press, 2007, p. 50. 2 The medieval and early modern Zodiac Man was one example that depicted astrological associations of

various parts of the human body. See: Joscelyn Godwin. Robert Fludd: Hermetic philosopher and

surveyor of two worlds. Red Wheel/Weiser, 1991, pp. 72, 69; as well as: Sophie Page, Astrology in

medieval manuscripts, University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. 56, 57. 3 Oxford English Dictionary defines grimoire as a book of magic spells and invocations; mid 19

th century

alteration of grammaire (grammar); See: Oxford English Dictionary, (2006) p. 771.

2

OwenDavies2010Grimoires,AHistoryofMagicBooks,4although

comprehensiveinlistingthecontentsofvariousearlymodernSolomonicgrimoires,

doesnotspecificallydealwithanyearlyinfluencesinasmuchdetailastheresultant

modernpopcultureproduct.5Daviesisntprimarilyconcernedwithanyearlier

IslamicandJewishtextsandfocuseshisthebulkofhistoricalanalysisonthe16th

and17thcenturies.Daviesassumesthatmagicwasdrainedbyprintcultureand

onlyreactivatedbytranscription,animportantdistinctionwhenconsideringthe

breadthofprintedgrimoirematerial.AdamJortners2011reviewchallengesDavies

arguingthattheincreaseofprintculturesdrewgreaterattentiontothemanuscript

andtherebyincreasedthenumberofmanuscripts.6Thisdifferentiationleadsto

confusionaboutwhatconstitutesawrittenworktobecalledagrimoire.Davies

claimsthatagrimoirehastobecreatedbyhandandthataprintedworkwould

thereforenotbeagrimoire.Jortner,althoughindicatinganeedtoexplorewhether

manuscriptproductiondidindeedincreaseafterprinting,leadsmetoquestionifthe

printedworkswereunderstoodasgrimoiresorasinformativeresourcesto

reproducemanuscriptcopies.Daviesunderstandingofthedisseminationof

manuscriptandprintculturesamonganesotericaudienceisfurthercomplicatedby

hisassertionthatmoremenwereliteratethanwomeninthe16thcentury,thus

leavingwomenoutsideofanygrimoireproliferationandhistoriographical

4 Owen Davies. Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, Oxford University Press, 2010.

5 Aaron Leitch published a fairly comprehensive outline of the modern day use of medieval and early

modern grimoires. Although not recognized as a scholarly piece, his book stands as one of the only

works to thoroughly address the whole of the genre of Solomonic manuscripts in a single volume. See:

Leitch Aaron, Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires: The Classical Texts of Magick Deciphered, Llewellyn

Publications, First Edition, (2005). 6 Adam Jortner, Review of Owen Davies, Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, H-Albion, H-Net

Reviews, June 2011.

3

importance,butthencontradictorilydiscusseshowwomenownedgrimoiresand

usedthem.7

PamelaAllenBrowninher2003BetteraShrewthanaSheeparguesthe

scholarshiponearlymodernliteracy8andstatesthatwomen,whendiscussingthe

methodsoflearningwithinthehousehold,mayhavebeenmoreliteratethanmen.9

Thereadership,authorshipanduseofgrimoiresthencomeintoquestion,asdoes

theproliferationandunderstandingofthecontentsofeachprintedbookor

manuscript.Duetoanonymityofvarioustextsinbothgrimoireandprintform,

modernscholarshipremainsillequippedtoconclusivelyargueadefinitiveoriginby

citationalone,favoringadetachedglossatthesocialunderstandingofthetextsover

aspecificgenealogyofreadershiporauthorship.

AlthoughIdonotendeavortodeterminetrueauthorshipofallearlymodern

grimoires,themultitudeofscholarshiponwitchcraft,cunningfolk,spellwork,the

appearanceofcorruptedHebrew,andreproductionsofgrimoiresattemptingtofake

orguessattheproperinscriptionsontoolsandtalismansisinneedofatleastan

attemptatcomparativesources.

Specifically,themodernscholarlypresentationofmagicaltexts,suchasDavies

doesnotscrutinizetheinformationinawaythateitherchallengesitorforcesoneto

takeacloserlookattheoriginsandproliferationofthewrittenformscontained

withingrimoiresbetween1400and1800.Furthermore,thesescholarsfailto

discernorcommentonwhatinformationistobetakenonfaithandwhatisleftfor

7 Davies, Grimoires: A History of Magic Books pp. 2, 82.

8 Pamela Allen Brown. Better a Shrew than a Sheep: Women, Drama, and the Culture of Jest in Early

Modern England, Cornell University Press, 2003. 9 Brown, p. 103. In contrast with Davies, p. 41.

4

scholarlydebate.Aswecanunderstandthatgrimoiresareinpartapersonal

communicationwiththevariouslisteddeities,theempiricalandprovableaspectsof

thegrimoiresdirectivesareintimatelywrappedwithintheologicallyprescribed

truthsthatrequirediscernment.Nowhereinscholarshipdoweseethe

acknowledgementoftheelementsofgrimoiresthatarefamiliartotheinitiated

believer,drivenbyanunderstoodrelationshipbetweenthepractitionerandthe

deitysummoned,combinedwiththeperspectiveofthepracticalorscientific

method,engagedwithtoolsdescribedfortheusewithinsuchprocesses.Sofarthe

twoperspectivesaredivided,leavingthespiritualuseandbeliefsofgrimoires

outsidethehistoricalorscientificscholarlydiscussion,bannedtothestudyof

esotericismorreligion,atasmallnumberofuniversities.10Therecurrentlyexists

anexhaustivescholarlycollectionongrimoireandwitchcraftimageexamples,

depictingasafecircleforoperatingwithinwhilethetemptationsofmortalsinor

demonicforcesiswithout.11Isthisagenerallyunderstoodconceptofamagiccircle?

WeretheSolomoniccirclesanindicationofanesotericbutcolloquiallyknown

practiceinEurope?

TheworksofWouterHanegraaffandNicholasGoodrickClarkremaininthe

contextofimpressivehistoricalesoterictheoryaloneratherthanfurtheringthe

discussionandcommentaryonpracticalityandanalyticaluseofmaterialsortheir

construction,andproliferation.Althoughthesescholarshaveaddedmuchtoour

10

To my knowledge the Universities of Amsterdam, Exeter, Sorbonne, and Rice offer the only academic

degree programs in Western Esotericism. 11

Each Solomonic MS containing a magic circle indicates that they are for protection of the magus from

outside demonic forces. See also: E.M. Butler, Ritual Magic, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press,1949.

5

understandingofthesocialuseoftheintellectualpropertiesofgrimoires,theyhave

notparticipatedmuchinthediscussionofmaterialsorimagesasbothreligiously

andscientificallyvaluable.Theirexpertiseremainsprimarilywithinsocial

institutionsofpowerratherthanthedetailsofthedepictionsthemselves.12The

knowledgeofhowaccessibleandprolificthisinformationmayhavebeenisstillup

fordebate.

ThecurrentworksthatanalyzethesourcesofAgrippasbookspointtowardthe

AbbotTrithemiusoftheearly1500sbutstopthere.13Theimmensebodyof

knowledgeAgrippaprovidesremainsneglectedbymanyscholars,theydonotseek

sourcesforsuchthoughtbeyondtheAbbotTrithemius.Comparingseveralearly

modernSolomonictextstoearliermedievalsourcesthatpresentsimilarsymbolic

representationsofsigilscanbeafoundationfordeterminingwhatinstitutional

campsofthoughtexistineachgrimoireandbywhichmeanstheywere

disseminated.

Inordertounderstandthehermeticandastrologicalcontributionstoearly

science,itbecomesvitaltoscholarshiptoclearlydiscernwhatwasthoughtofas

uniformamongthepractitionersoftheearlymodernperiodandwhatinformation

mayhavebeencontested.TheitemsfoundwithineachSolomonictextdisplaythe

practicalactionsthatmayparallelotherknownreligionsorreligioussystemsbased

12Wouter Hanegraaff, Esotericism and the Academy, Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012; Nicholas Goodrick-Clark, The Western Esoteric Traditions, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 13Tyson, Donald, and James Freake, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, St. Paul, MN,

U.S.A.: Llewellyn, 1993.

6

inutility.14Withintheseproposedmaterialpiecesanddescribedprocessfortheir

creation,wecanseethepotentialcontinuityofHebraic,Egyptian,Byzantineand

IslamicconceptsofmagicandthesciencepresentedbytheearlymodernEuropean

practitioner.MypreviousresearchconcerningformsofLatinshorthand,astrological

materialculturesandsocialmovementsintheearlymodernperiod,areaprimary

influencetoinformmyqueryinthisstudy.LookingintoChaucersTreatiseonthe

Astrolabemaybethebeginningsofmyevidenceofearlyoccultsciences

transferenceofmanuscriptintomaterialcultures.15

IpositthatthecycleofgrimoiresattributedtoKingSolomon,knownas

Solomonic,werearepositoryforcryptoculturesandclandestinescienceswhose

originsbeganinantiquityandonlysawgreatestdisseminationfromthe16th

centuryonward.Iarguethattheintellectualcontentsofgrimoireswerelessofa

linearcontinuationofstaticthoughtfromantiquityandmoreacumulativeevolution

ofthoughtsthatdemonstratedacompilationofworksfromseveralsuccessive

practitioners.WiththeworksofHeinrichCorneliusAgrippavonNettesheimand

severalfiguresoftheearlymodernperiod,IintendtodemonstratethatAgrippas

corpuswasaprimarysourceformostallSolomonicgrimoiresandthatgrimoires

providedamediumforproliferationofcumulativeknowledgethatwasoutsideany

recognizednarrativesoftheologicalandscientificbehaviorsbetween1400and

1800.Thus,grimoiresprovidedamutableorchangeableprovinggroundfor

14

We see in each grimoire altars to gods, candles for light and prayer, parchment for recording, incense,

talismans for protection, ritual clothing and tools for consecration. 15

Geoffrey Chaucers, Treatise on the Astrolabe, MS currently held by St Johns College Library at the

University of Cambridge, depicts an original design of an astrolabe on vellum, with ciphers for time of

day. See: Geoffrey Chaucer, Walter W. Skeat, and Mshallh. A Treatise on the Astrolabe. London: Pub. for the Early English Text Society, by N. Trbner, 1872.

7

experimentalsciencesthroughmagicalpractices,andkeptrecordoftheworksof

practitionerswhowereintheforefrontofmedicine,scienceandoccultarts.

Thewrittenformsofreligiouspracticesandmaterialcreationfoundinthe

grimoiresareindicativeofembeddingphilosophicalbeliefsofGreek,Egyptian,

Jewish,Islamic,andCatholicorigins.Theseformsofbeliefarereadablemostinthe

prescribedmaterialobjectsanddiagramsdepictedwithinthesetexts.Byclearly

examiningtheevolutionofthesetexts,onecandeterminewhichmaterialswere

viewedaspracticallyorspirituallyvaluabletothecontinualoperationsofthe

practitionerorscientist.Additionally,throughproliferationanduseofthese

diagramswecanlearnwhichideasweredeemedimportantenoughtobe

transmittedintothehandsofthereaderthroughvariousprintandmanuscript

formsorbythepracticesoftheindividualhistoricalfigures.Examiningtextsand

intellectualpursuitsinthismannercanpotentiallyuncoverclandestineandcrypto

socialreligiousgroupsthatmayhaveintendedtoutilizethecultureofoccult

sciencesfortheirownproliferationofbeliefs.

RecognizingthatmanyinearlymodernEuropefearedheresyandpersecution,

thepractitionersoftheseartsmayhavekeptthematerialsoutofphysicalformor

createditemseasilydestroyeduponsuspicions.Thiscomestolightparticularlyin

whatIwillexamineoftheminiature,purebeeswax,evocationaltarsdepictedinthe

AlmadelchapterofthevariousLesserKeyofSolomongrimoires,Enochianwax

sigils,andtheconstructionoftalismansofparchmentinadditiontometals,found

withintheallSolomoniccycleoftexts.

Attempting to compile textual information, or find uniform origins, remains a

8

difficult task. The chief concern lies in determining what material is original to its

proposed time period and what may have been transcribed from older texts no longer in

existence. The remaining texts pertaining to the material cultures that were utilized by

early modern practitioners may indicate the possibility of an anachronistic tendency to

include material that was contemporary to multiple time periods and multiple regions.

Confusing belief with scholarly activity may have also created pseudo-scholarly

accounts of historical applications that we can see among the translations of Samuel

Mathers and Aleister Crowley Between 1888 and 1920. Although Mathers had access to

and translated several manuscripts only available at the British Museum, he reworked

several Solomonic talismans to include Hebrew that conformed to predisposed ideas

about the meaning of corrupted Hebrew he encountered. In the case of the Mars talismans

he reproduced, his may be correct assumptions. However the added Kabbalah sephiroth

written in the Grand Pentacle in the frontispiece of his translation of the Key of Solomon

may not be anything more than his own wishful thinking. No examples at present include

the form of Hebrew Mathers reworked on the grand pentacle.16

This tendency by

transcribers, to add their own assumptions may further obscure actual historical

applications .17

ComparingtheknownEnglish,HebrewandLatintextsthatdepicttheelements

ofHermetic,evocationalandfolkmagicartsfoundwithintheworksofH.C.Agrippa,

JohnDeeandEdwardKelly,RobertFludd,aswellastheanonymousauthorsofthe

16

See Mathers 1889 Key of Solomon and compare with Franais MS 14783, and the facsimile version of

the anonymous Les Clavicules De Salomon: Ou, Le Veritable Grimoire, Secretum Secretorum, [Paris]:

Belfond, 1972. 17

Mathers reworked several Solomonic talismans to include Hebrew that conformed to predisposed ideas

about the meaning of corrupted Hebrew. In the case of the Mars Talismans he reproduced, this may be a

correct assumption. However the added Kabbalah sephiroth written in the Grand Pentacle in the

frontispiece of his translation of the Key of Solomon may not be anything more than his wishful

thinking. No e

9

grimoiresoftheSolomoniccycle,describesmuchabouttheearlymodernallegiance

withvariousbeliefsofantiquity.Howthosethoughtsmanifestinsocialbehaviors

caninformusastowhatmaybefoundbeyondthepageanddeeplyrootedinto

intellectualpursuitsinearlymodernEurope.

Theprimarysourcemanuscripts,andprintedtexts,aswellassecondaryprint

sourcesfromhistoricalfiguresintheearlymodernperiod,discusstheoutward

universedepictedthroughdepictedmaterialobjects.ExaminationofOwenDavies

workalongwiththeannotatedcomparisonsofsomeoftheSolomonictexts

providedbyJosephPetersonfurtherassistsinunderstandingtheuseofthecontent

andpotentialtimelinemoreeffectively.

Comparingtheinformationofvarioustexts,andconnectionstoknown

organizedreligiouspractices,aswellassettingtheinformationwithinthescope

appropriatetoitstimeperiod,leadstofurtherknowledgeofwhythedepicted

materialswerecreated.Parchmentandmetalsusedfortalismanicpurpose,their

symbolicsignificanceaswellasvestmentsandpersonalbehavioralandrituals

observed,servetocontextualizethedepictionsinthetexts.Explicatingthe

importanceofeachdepictedobjectformsanargumentastotheoriginsofeach,

informsthehistoriographyastowhethertheseimageswereparticulartoPagan

Europe,ChristianizedEurope,orthroughtheinfluencesofJewishandMuslim

migrations.Furthermorecloseexaminationremainsimportantindeterminingthe

significanceofeachdeviceanditsproposedproperties.Jewishmysticismand

Kabbalisticnamesexistingwithinseveralgrimoiresalsodemandanexaminationof

10

magicalthoughtandpractices,thedifferencesbetweenascientificapproachand

thatofamysticalone.

Workingthroughthevariousconflictsofthedefinitionofmagicasopposedto

mysticism,isnecessaryasIfindconflictsinthetermpresentedbymultiplenoted

scholars.SinceE.M.Butler,inher1949RitualMagichassaidatdifferentpointsin

thesamebook,thatSolomonicmagicwasaportionofreligionandrelatedtothe

godsandthatitalsowasawayformantoalterthephysicaluniverse,some

terminologyexplicationisnecessaryaswell.Thetwomaincampsofthought

remain:thatmagicisaproductofthemagusactivity,allowingthemagustoalter

thephysicalworld,oritisaprocessofperspectivethought,enteredintoby

attemptingtoexistandinteractharmoniouslywithintheuniversebyaninformed

andeducatedengagementbythemagus.Thereforedifferentiationbetweenmystical

orreligioustraditionsandmagicalartsisadditionallynecessaryinthisstudy.

InChapterOneIwilldiscussthesedefinitionsofmagicandmodern

interpretationsofdifferencesinwhatmagicalthinkingwasamongvariouspeople.

Asameanstodefinewhatisnowandwhatmayhavebeenunderstoodabout

magicalthinkingremainsimperativetounderstandingthepurposeforeachimage

describedwithinthegrimoires.

ChapterTwoexaminesselectedgrimoiresbothinmanuscriptandprintform,

theactualimagestherein,comparisonsoftextualciphers,anduseofdepicted

objectsfoundwithinselectedgrimoires.Iwilldemonstratesimilaritiesand

consistenciesaswellasevidenceastooriginationofeach.Iwillalsoshowimages

thatremainconsistentamonginconsistentsurroundingliteratureofthegrimoires.

11

ChapterThreeisapresentationofsymbolicimageryfoundwithinhermeticart

atthebeginningofthe16thcentury.Iwillcompareseveralusesofimagesanduseof

nontextualdevices.FocusingprimarilyonGiorgione,IwillshowhowoneItalian

painterrepresentedacomplexcorpusofesotericthoughtinwhatwasincorrectly

heraldedasthefirstlandscapepainting.

Iwillexamineevidenceofanyideasthatcametofruitionandusebeyondtextual

representationsingrimoires,anymethodsofusebyfigures,andhowprolificthe

methodswere.Iwillfurtherendeavortodetermineiftheparticularitemsproduced

ordescribedwereeitherlatterproductsoforganizedreligionoriftheythemselves

influencedpracticeswhoseemploymentofsuchitemsmaybeignorantofthe

originsandculturalcomprehensionsforeach(asinthecaseofesotericgroupsor

orders).

Ultimately,mygoalistounderstandwhatwasknownofmacrocosmicand

outwardlyexpansiveuniverseasitwasfoundinthemicrocosmicallyrepresentative

materialandprintculturesofthegrimoires.Thishelpsusunderstandthevalues

andprocessesbywhichtheearlymodernmagusoperated,hisbeliefs,influences,

andhismagicalemploymentofmaterialobjectsmadefollowingtheinstructionsof

thegrimoire.Throughthis,scholarshipcanbeinpositiontocommentmoreclearly

onthehistoryoftheintellectualexchangeofideasthatcontributedtothe

motivationsofpoliticalandsocialinstitutionsoftheearlymodernperiod.

12

ChapterOne

OfMagic,Science,andReligion

Magic,asasimpletermdoesnotnecessarilycommunicatethenuanceduse

understoodinthemedievalorearlymodernperiods.Explicatingsomeconceptsof

magicamongvarioussocialgroupsinformsusastothebreadthofdefinitionsorat

leasttheimpliedreasoningsurroundingmagicaluse.Thischapterwillexamine

magicthroughthelensofapsychologicalorspiritualstateofbeing,aswellasthatof

apracticalprocessaimedatphysicalmeans.Whetherunderstoodasaprocess

grantedthroughsupernaturalforcesorthatofnaturalpowersintrinsically

possessedorgainedbyaperson,readinggrimoiresandunderstandingmagical

thinkingrequiresfurthercommentaryIwillprovidehere.

Naturalmagicisatermthatindicatesthebeliefthatmagicexistsasnatural

orpurelywithintherealmofthephysicalworldforthephysicalbeing,andoperates

byrulesthatgovernnature.Thisconceptisonethatwouldbepotentiallysupported

bypopulistviewsofspellcraftortheconsultationstothewitchdoctorofpopular

lore.Thetreatmentfordisease,garneringoflove,undoingacalamity,gaining

riches,fendingoffenemiesandanythingelsethatmanwouldencounterwithinthe

scopeoftheirmortallives,istheproposeddomainthatmagicresideswithin.Thatit

wasnatural,madefromnatureandofnature,alludedtotheverycoreofthe

practicalmotivationsforutilizingmagicthattheanthropologistBronislaw

Malinowskidescribes.Malinowskiwrites:

Themagicalartisdirectedtowardstheattainmentofpracticalaims.

Liketheotherartsandcrafts,itisalsogovernedbyatheory,bya

13

systemofprinciples,whichdictatethemannerinwhichtheacthasto

beperformedinordertobeeffective.Inanalyzingmagicalspells,

rites,andsubstanceswehavefoundthatthereareanumberof

generalprincipleswhichgovernthem.1

Malinowskilooksatmagicfromtheperspectiveofonedeeplyentrenched

withinthescientificmethodinthatMalinowskimakestheclaimthatmagichastobe

anaction,forpracticalaims.Magicthiswayindicatesrelianceuponadutiful

participationofthepersonandanactionperformedinthephysicalspaceinorderto

achievethedesiredoutcome.Takingtheleadperhapsfromtheearlymodernists,

Malinowskihereequatestheprocessofachievingamagicalactwiththatofscience,

andthendeemsitcomparable:

BothScienceandmagicdevelopaspecialtechnique.Inmagic,asin

theotherartsmancanundowhathehasdoneormendthedamage,

whichhehaswrought.Infact,inmagicthequantitativeequivalentsof

blackandwhiteseemtobemuchmoreexactandtheeffectsof

witchcraftmuchmorecompletelyeradicatedbycounterwitchcraft

thanispossibleinanypracticalartorcraft.2

Malinowskisleapingclaimshereareevident.Thatamagicalprocess,by

virtueofsimplybeinganonmaterialactionandthusnottangible,canmoreeasily

andcompletelybecomeundoneincomparedtoanartorcraft,deniesafew

fundamentalpositionsregardingmagic.Firstonemayconsidermagicanartorcraft

itself.This,althoughtooeasilynegatingthepremisewithoutjustifiedsupport,does

indicatethelackofpersonalinvestitureorexperientialpracticeonthesubjectby

Malinowski.Secondly,becauseMalinowskiaimsatcalculatedperspectivesofmagic

1 Bronislaw Malinowski, Magic, Science and Religion, Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday,1954,p.66 2 Ibid pp. 66-67

14

beingaphysicalact,performedbyapersoninphysicalspaceinthematerialworld,

tomakeasweepingclaimthatallmagiciseasertoundoanderadicatetheeffectsof

witchcraftthanthatofanyartorcraftappearsnaive.Iwillallowforamoreveteran

scholarthanItocommenteffectivelyonthesubject.ClaudeLeviStrauss,though

claimingtohaveagreatrespectfortheworkofMalinowskiproceedstowardhis

ownhypothesisofmeaningbywayofsteppingawayfromthepracticaltheoryof

Malinowski,andindicatingageneralconceptionofmeaningconveyedamong

peoplewithoutwriting.LeviStraussnotesthattheproblemhehaswithdiscussion

ofthemagicandbehaviorsofcivilizationswithamagicalorprimitivemindisthatin

somewayweimmediatelysensethatitislesserorwithoutvalidorscientific

thoughtorreasoning.Inopposition,hestates:

Thefirstwaywastoconsidersuchthinkingasofasomewhatcoarser

quality,andincontemporaryanthropologytheexamplewhichcomes

tomindimmediatelyistheworkofMalinowski....andI'mnotatall

deridinghiscontribution.ButneverthelessthefeelinginMalinowski

wasthatthethoughtofthepeoplehewasstudyingwas,andgenerally

speakingthethoughtofallthepopulationswithoutwritingwhichare

thesubjectmatterofanthropologywasentirely,oris,determinedby

thebasicneedsoflife.

LeviStraussfurtherstates:WhereasMalinowski'sisautilitarianconception,the

otherisanemotionaloreffectiveconception;andwhatIhavetriedtoemphasizeis

thatactuallythethoughtofpeoplewithoutwritingis,orcanbeinmanyinstances,

ontheonehand,disinterestedand,ontheotherhand,intellectual.3Straussmakes

adistinctionthatMagicinsummationneednotbeclassifiedasalesserorcoarser

3Claude Levi-Strauss, Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture,New York: Shocken Books,1995, pp.15-16.

15

constructofcivilization,butaproductofparticularlifenecessity,inherenttoall

societies.

Theaspectofthemindiswhatisbeingdiscussedhere.Thataprimitiveor

coarsermindcanaseffectivelyconceiveamagicalprocessaswhollyspiritualor

intellectualaswellasutilitarianisindirectcontrasttoMalinowski'sPlatonic4and

privilegedperspectivethatmagicisonlyutilitarianinnature.AlthoughIwould

argueforthevalidityoftheeffectofspeechandathecultureoflanguage,the

writtenwordhereisdeterminedtonotnecessarilyinfluencethepotentialfor

intellectualthoughtonbehalfofthesocalledprimitivesociety.

AlthoughlimitedseeminglybyLeviStrauss'assertionthattheworkingof

magicisinsultingtoseeaspurelyphysicalandutilitarianinuse,thewell

documentedemployofphysicalitemsiswellchronicledbyE.E.EvansPritchards

writingsabouthistimewiththeAzande.5Oraclerubbingboards,chickens,spears

andpoisons,arebutsomeofthetoolsrequiredmyAzandemagicianstomagically

determineaperson'swellbeingthrougharitualdivinationoreradicationofmagical

malevolenceplaceduponthepractitioner.6Theentiretyofthenaturalworldis

consulted,asitthenbecomesamagicalworld,equippednowwithadualmeaning

andpurpose.TheworldoftheAzandethenshiftsbetweentheknownutilityandthe

metaphysicaltranscendencethatitsmagicaluseprovides.Whenthesameconcepts

ofmaterialitemspossessingmagicalpropertiesarethenappliedtofolktalismans

4 Derek Beales, Enlightenment and Reformin Eighteenth-Century Europe,London: I.B.Taurus,2005p.28ThenotionofthePhilosopherKingcomesfromPlato'sRepublic.5 Evans-Pritchard, [1937] Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford University Press.

1976.

6 Evans-Pritchard pp. 120-145.

16

andreligiousamuletsthroughouttheworldwemaypossiblyseewheresomeone

likeMalinowskicanoriginatesuchovergeneralizationofmagicbeingapurely

materialandphysicallyutilitarianinterest.

Useofphysicalitemstoworkmagicandchangetherelationshipofthe

physicalworldtothatofthedivinewouldbemostreadilyavailabletounderstandif

weseereligionasavehicleforthetoolscontainedthereintoworkmagic.The

churchrelicscollectedbyCatholicandGreekOrthodoxchurchesare,forexample,a

testimonialtothephysicalworldhavingdirect,andarguablymagicaleffectonboth

thespiritualworldandtheindividual,theendresultofwhichwastoaidthe

physicalpersonwithsomekindofidentifiablechangeinspiredbytheinherent

capabilitiesoftheindividualobject.Ifahairfromtheheadofasaintwastocome

intocontactwithaperson,oriftheyweretoprayuponit,theindividualwould

expectthatthroughtheinherentdivinenatureofthephysicalobjectitself,one's

ownfaithinthatdivinity,combinedwiththestoredpowerscontainedwithinthe

relic,amiraculousexchangeofpower,ormagicalactaswecouldcallit,wouldbe

enhanced.7Religionhasthisnotionoftransferenceofpowerthatisoutsidethe

purviewofscience,deeplyembeddedinthefabricofhowitmaintainsamythosto

theaspirantthatseeksthatparticulardogmaticculturalinstitution.AsEvans

PritchardsworkwiththeAzandecanattest,itmaybefairtothinkthattheprimitive

understandingofpeopleattemptingtounderstandthecomplexityofthemagical

7SirE.A.WallisBudgeKt,AmuletsandSuperstitions,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1930,p.26;

CharlesR.Beard,LucksandTalismans,London:SampsonLow,MarstonandCo.LTD,1938,pp.28

33.

17

arrangementmayoutweighthefinalassessmentoftheprimitivenotionofthegiven

cultureexamined!

Turningtothefamedworkoffilmmakerandanthropologist,MayaDerenin

the1940s,wehaveauniquedepictionofthepeopleofHaitiabletoexperiencea

portionofthismagicalprocesswithinthevenerationandconstantinteractionwith

theirgods.Vodou,asDerennotes,consistsofacomplex,andeverchanging

relationshipwiththeLoa,orGods,astheyunderstandthemtobe.Eachhousehold,

person,communityandcongregationofvarioussects,hastheirownassociated

groupingofdeityinwhichtoconsultfordivination,ormagicalpurpose.Curingof

thesick,mitigationofrelationships,forecastingweather,ormakingwar,each

participantofthatsectisdeeplyimmersedinthemythandphysicalpracticeofthe

transferenceofmagicalpowerfromtheLoatotheindividual.DerenWrites:

TheLoa,whosefunctionistodirecttheenormousprimalmassofthe

materialuniverseintopatternsofintelligenceandbenevolence,areinvolved

inagreatandendlesslabor.Itistheirmoralenergythatanimatesthishuge

hulkofmatter,andso,sincethatenergyisconstantlyexpendeditmust

constantlybereplenished.Andthisisman'sduty:tofeedtheLoa,toinsure

theconstantflowofthepsychicenergy,toassurethemoralmovementofthe

universe.8

RitualssuchasthefeedingoftheLoaplayavitalroleinestablishinga

community'ssenseofconnectionwitheachotheraswellastheirrepresentationof

theirrelationshiptothedivine.Toengageinritualwastotakepartinthedivinity

itself.Itservestofurthersolidifytheboundsofthesocietyandprovideanexpected,

perhapsscientific,understandingoftheparametersoftheknownuniverse.Life

8Maya Deren, Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, New York: MacPherson, 1953, p. 209.

18

becomesdefinedbythelimitsofone'sownrelationshipwiththeknownworldas

wellasthedivine.Theprocessbywhichmanrelatestoeachother,theworldand

thedivine,asaregularlyexpectedanddesiredoutcome,isacommunally

understoodconstant,generallyacceptedasaprovablescienceamongthem.The

beliefthattheirdeityexistsandhasanotiontocareabouttheirwellbeingformsthe

cruxoftheirreligiousunderstanding.Theactionsthatmovetheperson's

consciousnessthroughthenaturalworldtothatofthedivineismagic.

OutsideofVodoualonetherehavebeenmanyattemptstoreconcilethe

relationshipofmagictosciencebywayofphysicianswhohavemadestridesto

comprehendthehealingarts.Forexample,WouterHanegraaffwritesaboutthe18th

centuryastrologerphysician,EbenezerSibly:

...SiblywasaverylateheirofRenaissancepolymathslikeAthanasius

KircherandRobertFludd,but,interestingly,hewasentirelyfamiliar

withthenewscientificliteratureaswell,andwasseriouslytryingto

combinetheirperspectives.Inhispersonallifeheworkedasa

physicianandwasinvolvedinSwedenorgianismandFreemasonry,

andwhilehisemphasiswasveryclearlyonastrology,hislarge

compilationsgavehisreadersaccesstothemuchwidercontextof

RenaissancePhilosophiaOcculta.9

NicholasGoodrickClarkattestedthatthematerialworldisessentiallya

vehicleinwhichtheunseenforcesreside;thattheaspectsthatarefiniteand

measurablearecoexistentwiththose,whichareinherentlyunknowableor

incomprehensible,yetfeltorunderstoodinsomeway.

9 Hanegraaff p. 237, 8

19

Whatcanwegleanaboutunderstandingtheconvolutedandoftenconfusing

notionsoftherelationshipofmagicscienceandreligion?Howdoesthatleavethe

modernstudentintermsofanyapplicationofsuchthoughts?Understanding

aspectsofthephysicalworldthataremeasurable,predictive,andfiniteallows

Sciencetocommunicatetruthtousinthatparticularperspective.Sciencethough

thoroughandquantitativewontanswerotherquestionsnorcanitpositthe

possibilityofanyunderstandingoutsidetheknownuniverse.Inturntheaspectsof

MagicwithinreligioncomeintoplayinthatasParacelsusstatesconcerningthe

originofman:

Godcreatedmandirectlyfromthematrix.Hetookhimfromthe

matrixandmadeamanofhim...Andthenhegavehimamatrixofhis

ownwoman...Totheendthathenceforththeremaybetwoofthem,

andyetonlyone;twokindsofflesh,andyetonlyone,nottwo.This

meansthatneitherofthemisperfectalone,thatonlybothtogether

arethewholeman...10

Thismatrixisthefieldthatisimaginedthatmakestheuniversepossible.Itis

thereligiousnotionthatananthropomorphicGodpullsmanfromauniversethatis

alreadyofhim.Thatmanalready'is'andisthenbroughtforthfromauniverseof

possibleandcreatedlife.Manandwomanareessentiallyunderstoodoneand

thereforeareinseparableasaspiritual,andthenasParacelsusasserts,andphysical

entity.Howarewetoviewsuchamatrix?Howcanweaccessit?Thesearethe

domainsofmagicandinjectedintoatheologicallyunderstoodscienceofrational

proportions.Thatweattempttounderstandauniversebeyondorbeforecreated

10

Jolande Jacobi (Ed.), Paracelsus: Selected Writings, Princeton University Press, 1951, p. 23.

20

spacecomplicatesourthoughtsonwhatthematrixwouldthenbeaccordingto

Paracelsus.Wemayneverknowhowtoseethematrixbutthatithasasuggested

creativepropertyamongmenandwomenandthatmangetshisownmatrixupon

creationofwoman,hasParacelsusinformingusthattherearepotentialknowable

andunknowableoraspectstotheunseenuniverse.Thepracticeofmagicthen

becometheengagementinattemptingtobothknowandtakepartinprocessesof

theunseenandinvisibleuniversedirectedatadesiredoutcome.

Ritualsandpractices,asexhibitedthroughtheAzandeoraclesandthe

HaitianVodoupractitioner,giveuspracticeinviewingtheutilitarianaspectofthe

magicalorscientificworkbeingsought,asMalinowskiwouldconclude.The

HermeticphilosophyofFluddandhiscontemporariesascomparedtomodern

sciencecanaddresssomeofthelargestconceptsofdeterminingrealityandthe

comprehensionofmagic,scienceandreligionbyaddressingtheverymatrix

discussedabove.Thematrixisthentheverysame'all'spokenofintheKybalionby

ThreeInitiates.'TheAll'asdescribedbytheHermeticsisunknowablebutmerely

'is'.TheKybalionstates:Soyousee,thematterisunthinkable,justasTheAllis

unknowable.JustaswesayTheAllmerely'Is',wearecompelledtosay,TheAllacts

becauseitacts.11

Hermeticphilosophystatesthatthefabricoftheuniverseisacollective

convergenceofthoughtthatformsmatterandiscompelledtocreate.Thereforeif

wearetrulyapartofoneandtheverysamepointoftimespaceandifweare

repeatedlyandconceptuallyoverlayereduponourselves,inthat;everyoneand

11Three Initiates, The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy, Chicago: Yogi Publishing, 1940, p.108.

21

everythingthatexistsintheknownworldisthenseenasone,orunderstoodasone.

Wecouldthenbegintoconceivewhatacollectiveconsciousnesswouldbe.Theidea

thatwecansharethesametimespaceasanotherisconfusingandoutsidethe

purviewofthisbriefanalysis.Asafixedpointonatheoreticaltwodimensional

planeweareinsignificant.Yetiftheplaneormatrixissomehoweverywhereat

everytimeorevenifbentinasphere,itwouldthenbepossiblefortheoroborusto

beadepictionofalinear,temporalsliceworldinathreedimensionalworld

existence.Theoroboruswouldthenhavethepotentialofslippingthroughthe

conventionsofthefiniteworldandpresentitselffinallyasexistenceandasa

renewalandregrowthoftheknownuniverse.Itiswithintheworkingareaofthe

magusinasdepictedinthegrimoiresthemselvesthatwewillseetheuseofthis

circularlyemphasizedworld.Itwillbehereinthistemporallyisolatedpositionthat

welearnofmeasurestoaffectphysicaloutcomesinseveralarenas.

Thepurpose,andunderstandingofdiagnosticandtreatmentprocedures

withinwellnessandmedicine,forinstance,maylenditselftoconfusiononwhat

actuallyisbeingtreatedandhow.Thescienceandphilosophysupportingeach

perspectiveisattimesdrasticallyatoddswiththeother,existentwithcompletely

separatedefinitionsofphysiologyaswellaspurposeandfunctionoftheindividual's

bodyitself.Whiletherearedisparateandseeminglyincongruentunderstandings

betweeneachphilosophicalcamp,itremainsaquestionofwhethertheyareeach

adaptableorcomprehensibletoeachotherandwhethertheyarecommunicative

acrosstheparametersoftheirfunctions.

22

TakingamomenttoconsidertherelativeperspectivesofNearEastern

practicesofthetothatofthemedicineoftheearlymodernEuropean,wemaysee

thepossibilityofanunderstandingwithinthescientificprocessoftheearlymodern

physicianthatmayexhibitthepotentialforeachperspectivetobeharmoniously

presentinasingularpractice.Holisticthoughtwasjustthat:ofthewhole;thatthe

entirecosmologicaluniversewaspresentwithinthebodyofthepersonandequally

without,whilstsimultaneouslycomprisedoftheknownenvironmental

relationshipsoftheworld.12WhiletheEgyptianHermeticwellnessphilosophy

generallyconcernsitselfwithanunderstoodrelationshipofthebodytoallegorical,

andperhapsmagicallyliteralunderstandingofappeasingtheirconceptofholistic

approachtowellness,andcertainlydiagnostics,thewesternbodyofknowledgewas

justthat:relatedtothehumanbody.GiventhattheearlymodernEuropean

Humanistwasconcernedprimarilywiththeselfasitwasseenasadivine

emanation,thephysicianortheologiansawthepotentialforforcesgreaterthanthat

ofthephysicalselftobepresentandinfluentialtothecollectivewellnessofthe

person.Itwaswiththisinmindthatthematerialsandexchangeofdevicestobring

aboutmagicaloperationsweredisseminatedamongthemostlearnedandmost

powerful.

Whetherthroughmedicalorspiritualmotivations,Magicassumesthe

propertiesofthatwhicharenotascribedtosciencebutstillneedtobeconsidered

withintheconsciousnessoftheaspirant.Ifmagicisaprocesstoridoneof

12 Hermetic Philosophy as described within the Kybalion by Three Initiates, an exposition of the earlier

tracts of hermetic philosophy ascribed to the Emerald Tablet of Hermes in Trithemius 1514 Annales Hirsaugienses and the 1616 anonymous print of the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rozenkreutz, a

hermetic and alchemical text from Germany.

23

symptomaticresponsestoillnessthenwecouldseeittobewhollyutilitarian.

Howeverifweunderstandmagicalthinkingastheunderstoodrelationshiptothe

medicalsymptoms,andthentherelationshipofthepersontoagivenailment

changingthroughtheprocess,wethenhavetoacknowledgeachangethatisnot

entirelyrelatedtothesicknessorthephysicallyascribedtreatment.Iftheresult

theniswellnessmorethanwhatisempiricallypossiblehastobeconsidered.

Reducedtoonespersonalperspectiveorevenpurelyimaginative,magics

conceptualinteractionswithsupernaturalforces,deitiesandintangibleornon

physicalaspectsoftheuniverseallowatleastanunderstandingofhowtoclassify

thatwhichisunknowable.Thatonecanengageinmanipulationsoftheknown

physicalworldthroughprocessesoftheinvisibleorintangible,allowsforapower

dynamicwherebythepractitioneroftheparticularmagichascontrolovercreation.

Thatmagicisacraftwherebytheprocessisitselftheart,speaksmoretothehuman

investitureoftheactmorethantheresult.Herewethenseemagicasapotential

evolutionofactionsorthoughtsratherthanastaticoutcome.Inthissensethe

magicianthenassumesgodlikepowerstransforminghimintoanagentofthe

supernaturalandcreativeprocesswithintheuniverse.

24

ChapterTwo

GrimoireTexts,GeometricSymbols,CiphersandUse

Mygoalhereistoexplorethecontentofgrimoiretextswrittenbetweenthe

14thand18thcenturies.Iwanttoexploreconsistenciesofpracticeamidstdiffering

languagegroupsandregions.Idrewmainlyfromfromsourcesavailabletome

ratherthanthroughtranslation.Howeverinsomecaseseithercertainmanuscripts

wereunavailableorsosimilarastodeterminethemredundant.Ichosemanuscripts

andprintversionsofSolomonicgrimoiresthatshowsimilaritiesacrossseveral

languages.WrittenprimarilyinGreek,Latin,French,English,ItalianandHebrew

thesetextsarecurrentlyfoundmainlybetween13001800.Thebulkofthecurrent

manuscriptsfallwithinthe16thcentury,whilesomedocertainlyoriginatefrom

muchearlyprototypes.

InsomecasesIwilldiscussinscriptionsandcomparethemasPeterson,

CrowleyandMathershavedone,butIapproachsuchdatamorefromanacademic

perspectivethanthatofapractitionerasameanstoclearlydetermine,without

literaryorspiritualbias,thepresentationofeachimageinthetextandhowthey

wereutilized.Thereislittlediscussionofthesocialvalueofspecificobjectsdepicted

withinthegrimoiresortheirculturalimportancetovariousgroups.Wedontknow

thespecificsaboutwhoauthoredcertainmanuscriptsandtheabsenceofclearclaim

ofauthorshipspeakstotheclandestinehistoriesofeach.Ashaslongbeenknownto

scholarship,Iwilladditionallyreinforcethatinformationcontainedwithineach

grimoirepresentedasecretknowledge,trulyoccultandhiddenfromtheeyesofthe

25

masses,authorless,andpotentiallydangeroustoanyonefoundpracticingthe

specificswithin.

Acentralfindingofthischapteristheclaimthatknowledgeofeveryversion

oftheSolomoniccycleisnotasimportantastheunderstandingofthefunctionof

materialsrepeatedlydepictedwithin.Whilethereisaconcernedeffortamongthe

scholarlycommunitytofindaparticulardefinitivetranslationanddetermineifitis

correctornotbasedonorthographyorresourcesavailabletotheeditors,any

attemptatdeterminingthecorrectnessoftheircontentsareoutsidethisstudy.

Availableandutilizedmanuscriptsremainmychiefinterest,astheywould

bethemostprolificandpotentiallythemostwidelyread.Althoughtheaccuracyof

intellectualexchangeremainsofgreatinterestme,Ifindtheproliferationofspecific

practicesasimportantduetotheactionofthesocialgroupsinpossessionofsuch

textualinformation.

Ifalineagecanbedeterminedtoacommonsourcetext,sobeit.However,if

weseethemagicaldirectiveswithinasanactwithpotentialmedical,spiritualor

politicaloutcomesthataresharedbymultipleregions,wehavetheopportunityto

ventureintothemotivationsandperspectivesoftheoneswhowouldhavebeen

mostinterestedintheuseandproliferationofthesetextsandmanuscripts.BelowI

presentthetextsandtheirlanguagesthatIhaveprimarilyusedinthisstudy.

I.Manuscripts

Thefollowingareseveralmanuscriptsbothavailableatthetimeofthis

researchandmostsimilarinstructureandcontents.Somewerepreviouslynotedin

26

translatededitionswhileothershaveremainedinobscurityuntilnow.AlthoughI

havenotdiscoveredanynewmanuscripts,itisworthytoincludethatsomeofthe

previouslyknownmanuscriptsarepoorlyunderstoodorwereleftoutofscholarly

discussionuntilthistime.Similarenoughinformandinthedepictionsofvarious

images,thecomparisonsbetweenthecurrentlyavailabletexts,intranslatedand

editedform,provideapotentiallynewintellectualsourcetotheknowledgeof

certainmaterialculturescontainedwithin(thatIwillexpanduponlater).Fornow,I

presenttheconsultedmanuscriptsintheirvariouslanguageswithbriefsummaries.

Greek

Harleian5596.CurrentlyattheBritishLibrarythisis15thcenturyand

possiblyoneoftheoldestSolomonicmanuscripts.Boundasa58foliovellum

manuscriptcontainingmultipleearlyrenditionsof24pentaclescrudelydrawn.It

containsanearlysquaredmagiccircle,inadditiontoseveralastrologicaltables.This

particularMSsuggestslinkswithmuchoftheSolomoniccycleandcontainsearly

magicalfontsfoundalsoamongthe72scriptsinthe1616VirgaAureabyJames

BonaventureHepburnofRomeandexpoundeduponbyAdamMcLeanintheoutof

print1980editionoftheHermeticJournal1.Thismanuscripthasbeendescribed

theprototypefortheentireSolomonicgenre.2

1 Adam McLean, Hermetic Journal, 1980. Now found as a CD-rom though the alchemy web bookshop

www.levity.com/alchemy. Note that the Virga Aurea may be a latter reproduction and expansion of

Trithemius Polygraphiae from 1518. 2 Peterson, Key of Solomon, p. 2

27

French

1)FrancaisMS14783,BnF:(sic)CLAVICVLEDESALAMON,MISEDELATIN

ANFRANSOISETRANGEESELONLORDERDESMATIERESTIREEDEDEVSLIVRESET

DICEVSMISSETOVTANLHONPOVRPLEVSFACILEINTELIGANCE.Datedto15th

century,thismanuscriptistheearliestFrenchversionIhavefound.Unknowntoany

moderneditionortranslation,andonlyrecentlyavailableasanonlinecopyfrom

theBibliothequenationaldeFrance(BnF),itappearstobeoneoftheearliestofthe

SolomonicmanuscriptstodepictaSigilDeiAmethonthefrontpages.Although

painstakinglyproducedinclearlylegiblescript,theSigilisinconsistentwiththe

followingdepictions,inthesamemanuscript,ofcirclesthatarecrudelydrawn.

AdditionallyaportionoftheSigilextendsbeyondthepageinanalmostdecorative

suggestionratherthanpracticalusage.Variationsinspellings,mistakescrossedout

throughoutthetext,andcombinedLatinandFrenchnarrativessuggestthistobea

probablecopyofanothermanuscript.Nopentaclesbeyondbasicmagiccircle

constructsarefounddepictedwithin.

2)Francais25314,BnF:LesClaviculesdeSalomon;Traduitdelhebreuxen

languelatineparlerabinAbognazaretmisenlanguevulaireparM.Barault,

archevequedAries.1634.This141foliomanuscriptoutlinesthesameformat

depictedbythelatterMathersandCrowleyeditionsandcorrectedbyPeterson,

althoughthismanuscriptappearstobepreviouslyunknowntothemin1888or

wentwithoutcomment,andisonlyknownherethroughrecentdigitaleffortsbythe

BnF.ThemanuscriptbeginswithoneGrandePentacleinthemannerofthe

28

aforementionededitionsandshows45fullyformed,welldrawnandlegible

pentacleswithseveraladditionalemptycirclesnearthefinalpages.

3)LaClaviculedeSalomonA1972facsimileoftheFrenchMSwrittenin

16413.Authorunknown,thistextwasoriginallyfromtheprivatelibraryofthe

famedRosicrucianStanislasdeGuaita(18611897)ofParis.Thisisboundas171

pageswithoutcommentaryorfootnotesanddoesnotincludetheintroductionby

FrancoiseRibadeauDumasfoundinothereditionsmentionedbyJosephPeterson.4

WritteninFrenchcursivethroughout,themanuscriptcontains33welldrawn

pentacles,aswellastooldiagramsandcabbalisticinscriptions.Inseveralplacesthe

HebrewfontusedisbadlyreproducedfromthestandardblockprintHebrewtothat

ofastylizedalmostcursiveHebrew.Hence,manyoftheangelicnamesarebadly

transcribedwithseveralcontainingcompletelycorruptedcharacters,ornon

standardizedspellingsofangelicnames.

4)Francais24244,BnF:LaGrandeClavicledeSalomonFilisDeDavid,

[sic]RoyDesIsraelites,quildonnaAsonfilsRoboamEnHebreuxoriginal,TraduiteDe

[sic]Cahathave,DEgiptien,EnLatinparMescerepereHermitedanslaMontagnedes

olives,lan1040.ThetitledepictionisthatofanHermitstestimonialin1040butwe

knowthismanuscriptnowtobefromthe18thcentury.Althoughpossiblylinkedto

anearliercabbalistictraditionandmucholdermanuscripts,theBnFcatalogsthis

particularmanuscriptasdatingtonoearlierthanthe1700s.OneoftheAbraham

Colornotranslations,itfollowstheFrenchcompositionsutilizedinbybothSamuel

3 Unknown, Les Clavicules De Salomon : Ou, Le Veritable Grimoire, Secretum Secretorum, [Paris]:

Belfond, 1972. 4 Peterson lists in his edition of Mathers translation a 1980 printing of this French manuscript

introduction par Francois Ribadeau Dumas : 16p Reprod..

29

MathersandAleisterCrowley,andcitedfrequentlybyJosephPetersoninnumerous

works.Itisunclearifthisparticularmanuscriptisknownto,orhasbeenpreviously

citedby,anyoftheworksoftheseeditors.Itmaybethatthisisanewlyrevealed

manuscriptrecentlyavailablethroughdigitalpublicdomainoftheBnF.Iincludeit

hereasaremarkablylegibleandneatlyproducedmanuscriptof53foliosbackto

back.ItcontainsadepictionoftheMagicCircleoftheArtaswellasonlyafew

atypicalpentaclesnotfoundintheotherColornotranslations.Theassortmentof

planetarypentaclesfoundinothermanuscriptsisnotpresent.

Italian

1)LaClavicoladelReSalomonAlatterandrare1750printedversion

allegedlybyPeterMorawiththetitleZekerbonibutfoundintheBodleianMSAub

24.5NoauthorshipislistedontheeditionIconsultedbuttheparentAub24wasa

manuscriptknowntoS.L.MathersforhisworkintheEnglishtranslationand

presentationofthegenre.Neatlyprintedwith40astrologicalpentacles,this

containsatableforthenecessarytoolsandisboundin119pageswithhard

cardstockendpages.ThiscopycombinesItalian,Latin,andHebrewinseveral

placesandincorporatesastrologicalsignsasabbreviationsamidsttheprinted

narrative.6Itisclearlyacombinationofvariousinfluencesalthoughthedrawings

areeasiertoreadthanseveralcounterpartsinbothprintandmanuscriptform.This

5 Cited in Petersons, Key of Solomon

6 The practice of astrological abbreviated glyphic representation, in the case of shorthand pictograms, is

commonplace in several later Masonic ritual ciphers printed in the early 1900s but originating from the

older 1800s rituals. See: Ecce Oriente, National Series, 1 W.B., Arranged Strictly in Accordance with

The Standard Formula, Ipsissimus Verbis, The Redding Masonic Supply Co. Inc 200 Fifth Avenue

New York 10, N. Y. 1909.

30

editionclaimsitsownhistoricallineageinthemanneroflistinganassociative,

albeitchronologicallyoutofordertimelineofsimilartextsinthefollowingmanner:

PietrodAbano:Heptameron[SevenDays],1535

IlLibroDelleOmbre[ThebookofShadows],1573

IlDragoRosso[TheRedDragon],1521

LaClavicoladelReSalomone[TheKeyofSolomontheKing]LaVera

MagiaNera[TheRealBlackMagic],1740.

2)ThesecondItalianMSistheLeipzigMSCod.mag.71[Sic]Clavicoladi

SalomonetradattidallalinguahebraicadaldotissimoMathematicoMelchiore

dEgypto.This1750MScontainscuriousarrangementsofwhatmaybealchemical

abbreviations.Thepentaclesarefewandonlycontainsimplesymbolswitheither

transliteratedGreekortheappearanceofplanetaryangelicsigils.Insomecaseswe

seetheHebraicacronymAGLA(AttahGiborLeolamAdonai)withvarioussimple

intersectionsoflines.Onepentacledeviatesfromsuchsimplicityandisthelargest

oftheset,containingHebrew,Latin,andMalachimscripts.

Hebrew

FromthelibraryofHermannGollancza1914exactfacsimileofhisHebrew

ManuscriptSepherMaphteahShelomo(BookoftheKeyofSolomon)was

compiledandprintedin300copiesonly.Itdatestoaround1700andisamixof

SephardicHebrewwithtransliteratedLatinandGreek.Althoughlikelyalatercopy,

contentsofthismanuscriptcontaincuriousimagesnotfoundinanyother

manuscriptandareclosesttosomeoftheearlierGreekprototypicalpentacles.No

fulltranslationoftheentiremanuscriptyetexists.StephenSkinnerhadexpounded

onGollanczsoriginalpreliminarycommentsofthismanuscriptalthoughnothing

31

morethanGollanczsminimaltranslationsofselectpassagescurrentlyexist.Ofmost

valuearetherepresentationsofcirclesandpentaclecontents,theirastrological

attributesandextensive,neatlywrittensigilsandcabbalisticscriptsforplanetsand

angelicorders.

Misc.PrintEditions

IhavefoundnoexamplesofearlymodernEnglishlanguagemanuscripts

withintheSolomonicgenre.HereIincludeseveraltextsthatwereknowntomostof

earlymodernandmodernpractitionersandscholars.Widelyavailable,theywould

bethesourcesthatcompiledsuchmanuscriptcontentsandmorewidely

disseminatedthemtovarioussocialgroupsthroughoutEnglandandcontinental

Europe.Includedaswellarelate19thand20thcenturytranslationsandeditionsthat

willservetoilluminatewhichmanuscriptsandmethodsweremostwidelyknown

andaccessibletoboththescholarandlayperson.Forgenealogicalpurposesofeach

texttheywillservetoinformusaboutlibraryresourcesandcontinualawarenessof

theSolomoniccycleofoccultsciencesandpossibleoriginsofvariousoperations.

IhavechosentoconsulttheTheKeyofSolomon(TheKing)andLesserKeyof

SolomontranslationsbyMathersin1889,Crowleyin1903andPetersonin2001.7I

alsoconsultedboththeoriginalLatin1533textDeOccultaPhilosophiaLibriTres

FoundinwithintheinventoryofJohnDeeslibraryatMortlake,beforeanyEnglish

translationwasavailable,8AgrippasworkinformedmuchofDeesownaswellas

7 See Joseph Petersons Key of Solomon, his edition of Mathers Key of Solomon and Aleister Crowleys

1903Lesser Key of Solomon, as well as Mathers own 1889 translation of the Key of Solomon 8 Roberts, Julian, John Dee, and Andrew G. Watson, John Dee's library catalogue. Oxford University

32

thebeginningsofearlysciencesinthe16thcentury.IalsousedtheEnglish

translationbyJamesFreake,editedandannotatedbyDonaldTysonin1993.9

Agrippastextislikelythemostimportantoftheentirewesternesoterictradition,

aswellasbeingthesourceworkforcountlesslatteroperations,manuscriptsand

texts.CitedinnumerousworksfromJohnDeetothemodernera,Agrippas

compilationofnaturalphilosophy,botany,geomancy,astrology,magic,divination,

evocations,etc.,servedasthebenchmarkfortheoccultarts.At596pagesinits

Latinform,TysonstranslatedandannotatedEnglisheditionatover930pages

showstheextentofthebodyofworkcompiledbyAgrippathatwasmadeavailable

inprintformthroughoutEurope.10Imadeuseofbotheditions.IusedtheLatin

versionforcorrectpresentationoffiguresandtheTysonversionfortheneatly

arrangedtables.AdditionallyIveconsultedRobertTurners1655English

translationsattributedtoPeterdeAbanosHeptameron,anearlyaccountofcircle

andlamenuseaswellasangelicscript,11JohnDeesFiveBooksofMysteryfrom

1582,atotalexperimentofangelicevocationutilizingDeesEnochianlanguage,

altarsandwaxmagiccircles,12andfinallytheGuth/DehntranslationofAbraham

VonWomsTheBookofAbramelin(13871427?),anearlyaccountofmagicsquare

useandevocationalarts.13Ratherthanseekingtoanalyzewhatisclearlyawell

researchedseriesoftranslations,annotatedandreferenced,Iwillutilizethese

Press, USA, 1990.

9 See Donald Tyson, Three Books of Occult Philosophy

10 Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy from 1533.

11 Pietro Abano, Heptameron or Magical Elements, 1555 as seen with improvements, 1783.

12 John Dee, Five Books of Mystery, Peterson ed., Weiser Books, 2006.

13 Worms, Dehn, Guth translation of Abramelin, Ibis Press 2001.

33

Englishbookstoshowhowscholarshavetreatedcertainpiecesandhowthat

compareswithmyownfindingsoutsideoftheEnglishtranslations.

II.TheMagicCircleandSquare

Variousmagiccirclesexistineachofthemanuscripts.Someappeartobe

utilizedasaformlamenwornoutsidethegarmentsofthepractitioner,where

othersaretoeitherbeinscribedonvariousmetalsorwrittenonparchment.Ina

fewinstancesIwillshow,wecanseethemappearingastheformationofthespace

inwhichapractitioneristoconducttheoperations.Thesetaketheformofdrawn

flooring,acarpetofsortsoraseparatefocalpointinwhichtogazeuponthe

experiment.14

Oneofthemostprolificitemsdepictedinprintormanuscriptform

throughoutthewholeofthewesternesoterictraditionisthemagiccircle.Usedas

eitheraspaceforthemagustostandwithinoradepictionuponanamuletwornby

orheldbythemagus,thecirclestakeonarelativelyformulaicpresentationinallthe

aforementionedtexts.Importantly,thetextsconsultedinthisstudylookprimarily

atthecirclesthatstemfromaHebraicoriginintextualformbutmaynotbelimited

tosuchethnicity.CombinedwithLatin,Italian,FrenchandevenGreek,thesecircles

functionindifferenttextsappearsmorealikethemoreweunderstandtheir

14

Latter Solomonic texts use the word experiment to describe the constructed processes for evocations

depicted within the grimoires. Experiment may be a corruption of experience rather than

experiment. The word Operation followed experience in 1634 and changed to experiement

with Ebenezer Sibleys 1790s MS of the Key of Solomon as reproduced by Frederick Hockley in Clavis

or Key to the Magic of Solomon, (Sibley, Hockley, Peterson edition, Ibis Press, 2001), and continued as

far as Mathers and translations and editions in 1889. See also: BnF,1400-1500 Francais MS 14783

fols.112-120 as Experience (exprience); 1634 Francais MS 25314 Fol. 40, 41, 60, 75, as operation

(opration); Also as test (experimentum) in the BnF Latin MS 14075 Fol. 103.

34

purposeandwhatinformationisintendedtobedepicted.Althoughcorruptedand

badlyreproducedinseveralmanuscriptsenoughisknownabouttheproposed

writingsoneach,withinafewoftheolderversions,tobeabletogleanatleastthe

intentofthelattercorruptedversions.Inafewcaseswecanseeauthorslicense

withinthetextthatdeviatewhollyfromearlyversions.Ifindithelpfultotracesome

ofthepictorialgenealogyinordertounderstandthesimilarityofusebyvarious

socialgroups.

Lookingthrougheachoftheaforementionedmanuscripts,similarities

betweenseveraltextssuggestacommonancestrywhereasdrasticdifferences

complicatethegenealogyofthevarioustextsdespiteothersimilaritiesthatare

pervasivethroughouttheSolomoniccannonoftexts.Inthissectionvariouscircles

showsimilaritiesinuseandconstructionwhileotherscompletelydifferinform

despitesharingasimilarnameanddepicteduse.

Beginningwiththeearliestofthecirclesexamined,wecanseeinFig2a

simpleformdepictedthatincludesanoutlineofvariouscharactersinarotation

aroundtheoutermostcircumferenceofeachcirclesometimescontainingaLatin

psalmlike,versicleform.Inside,eachcommonlyshowsadepictionsofacurious

symbolsorbasicgeometricshapes.

Visuallythecirclescanbebrokenintopartsthatcanbeseenasfreestanding,

purposefulconstructions.Movingfromtheoutsidecircumferenceinward,wefind

severalformsthatremainwhollyuniquewhileothersareuniformandconsistent

throughouttheconsultedtexts.

35

Simply,thisappearsasacircledrawnonthefurthestperimeterofthe

workingarea.Seencommonlyastheoutsideedgeofthecirclethatisdrawninthe

texts,itcanbetheedgeofthedeviceasprojectedforconstructionbythemagus.

Whetherseenasdrawnuponthegroundtostandwithin,onahandheldmetallic

surface,orasapieceuponanaltarforscryngpurposes,15thesizeandlimitofthe

circleisportrayedhere.Assimpleasthiscircularringmayseem,asperhaps

unremarkableorobvioustoanytwodimensionalconstruction,thiscircular

constructionisvitallyimportanttoboththesafetyofthemagusaswellasthe

completionofthedevice.TheSolomonicgrimoiresallstatethatthemagusmust

createacircleandnotcrossorexitthecircleuntiltheworkingsofthemagicare

completed.Withinthecirclethemagusissafefromthecorruptiveinfluencesand

dangersofthespiritstheyconjure.Additionally,withinthecircletheyassume

authorityoveranyspirit.

ThedepictionsofthemagiccirclefromGollanczandHeptameronwesee

strikingsimilaritiesthatwouldindicateacommonrelationshipoforigin.Eachmagic

circleiscomprisedoffourconcentriccirclesradiatingoutwardfromacenterpoint

dividedintoequalquadrants.Thesefourcirclescreatethreeringsofspaceinwhich

variouswritingpresentsaseitherangelic,orevocationalscriptfordeity,leavinga

fourthcentercircle,quarteredbyperpendicularlinesradiatingfromthecenter

point,inwhicheachquartercontainsfurtherinscriptions.Ifweexaminethe

Gollanczversionbeginningwiththetoprightinnermostquadrantandrotatingthat

innermostsectioncounterclockwiseasweread,weseetheHebrewforALinthe

15

Divination or fortune telling achieved through interaction with material objects or physical processes.

36

toprightandPhainthetopleft.Movingtothebottomrightofthecentercirclewe

thencontinuewith,ETandthentothebottomleftwithON.

TheHeptameronbyAbanofollowsalmostexactlyexceptthatwenowread

thelettersinLatinfromlefttorightandbegininthetopleftoftheinnermostcircle

withALandthentothetoprightwithPHA.Wethenseeinthebottomleftofthe

centercircleofHeptameronthelettersETandthenthebottomrightwiththeGreek

letterforOmega.Wearrivethenataresemblancethenbetweenthetwothatspells

AlphaetOmega,orthefirstandthelast.

InthenextringradiatingoutwardfromthecenteroftheGollanczcircle,in

theupperleftquadrantofthering,aretheHebrewlettersfortheGreek

Tetragrammaton,whichindicatesthefourletterednameofDeityoftenspelled

IHVHorYHVH.Anglicized,thisiscommonlyspelledYahwehorJehovah.Inthe

upperrightquadrantoftheringweseetheHebrewADNIorAdonai,thegeneric

nameforGodinHebrew.InthelowerrightringthereistheHebrewfortheacronym

AGLA.ThelowerleftquadrantoftheringspellsALHIorEloy.Thisexact

arrangementandplacementofthenameswithinquadrantsisfoundinthe

Heptameron.ThefinalpieceisthesigilforMichaelfoundinbothinthesecondring

fromthecenter.ThissigilisclearlypresentinearliestformfromAgrippasworks,

theHeptameron,andearlyKOStexts.

WeconcludethatdespitetheHebrewoftheGollanczversion,duetothe

spellingoftheGreekwordTetragrammatonratherthantheHebrewspellingof

IHVHitundoubtedlyhasaGreekintellectualoriginorassociation.Furthermoreby

37

uncannysimilarityoftheformofconstructionthecircleisthereforerelatedtothe

Heptameron.

Figure2.1:TheMagiccircleaspresentedonfolio40withinthe1914facsimiletranscriptionand

compilationofthe18thcenturymanuscriptSepher Maphteah Shelomo (book of the Key of Solomon)

An exact facsimile of an original book of magic in Hebrew. With illustrations now produced for the first

time by Hermann Gollancz. NotethesimilaritytoAbanosHeptameron.

Figure2.2:A15thcenturymagiccirclefromtheHeptameronbyPeterAbano,asitappearedinthe

pseudoAgrippaFourthBookofOccultPhilosophy.

38

OfnotearethedepictionsoftheHeptameroninfluencedtextswherebythe

circumferenceinsurroundedbyconcentricallyringsandsometimesalarger

encompassingsquare.(seeFig.2.3)Thesquaredouterareaseemssecondaryin

mosttextsandalthoughangelicnamesforprotectionareinsertedwithinthesides,

theboundaryofthecircleisthemoreimportantbarrierobservedbynamealone.

ItalianandFrenchSolomonictextsreferenceaconstructionofthecircleorsimply

statethecircle.16Thesquareinthismannerappearsasasecondaryboundarynot

universalthroughoutthegenre.Thesecirclesrelativelyfollowthesameorderingof

namesastheGollanczandHeptameronmagiccircles.

Alternatelywedoseeexamplesofacombinedmagicsquareandcircle

wherebytheworkingareaisbothstraightandroundedwitheitheracomplete

absenceofcircleatthecenterorisasquarewithwithinacircle,presentforthe

magustooperatewithin.Suchisthecaseofonewithinthe1584publicationofthe

Heptameroninspired,[sic]ADiscouerieofWitchcraftfromReginaldScot.17

16

For examples see the Italian Clavicola del Re Salomone p. 52, as Cerchio (circle), as well as the

clearly and solely circular construction within the 1634 BnF MS Franais 25314, Fol. 85. 17

Ibid.

39

Figure2.3:ReginaldScot'ssquaredMagicCirclefromhis1584DiscouerieofWitchcraft.

E.M.Butlerdiscussestherelationshipofthesquaredcirclesasbeingakinto

thefabledmagiccarpetusedinSolomoniclegend.18Shepositsthatalthough

confusedasameanstobothcontainspiritsandachieveflight,thecarpetlike

depictionsaremorereadilyemphasizedintheGreaterKeyofSolomontexts.Here

themaguscansafelystepupontheconsecratedsurfacedesignatedforthecircle,for

thedurationoftheceremonyconsistingofthemaguscontroloverdemons.19

AlthoughpotentiallyviewedasunfoundedspeculationIamcuriousaboutany

furtherconnectionsoutsidethisstudytothealchemicalnotionofsquaringthe

circle,asavisualdepictionofthephilosophersstone.Sinceweknowoftheearly

18

Retold in the fable One Thousand and One Nights and origins explained in the Jewish Legend of

Solomons Carpet. See: www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13842-solomon. 19

E.M. Butler, pp.60-61, 79 Butler discusses the 1-4 century Testament of Solomon, recognized by Butler,

and others she notes, as one of the earliest texts suggesting Solomons evocation and control over

demons.

40

17thcenturyAtlantaFugiensbyMichaelMaier20inwhichheshowsseveralimagesof

asquaredcircle,theneedtodeterminetheplausibilityofaconnectionmaybe

appropriate.

Insidetheouterboundary,severalexamplesofdivinewritingarecommonly

presentforprotectivemeansprimarily.Insomeinstancestheyarepresentedas

LatinorLatinderivedversiclesusuallyborrowedfromChristianPsalms.Thesource

manuscriptsforMatherscompilationofKeyofSolomontextsshowLatinVersicles

whereasthePetersoneditionsshowbothHebrewandLatinforvariousPsalms.21

Otherwisetheyarefoundcontainingvariousformsofangelicnamesassociated

eitherwiththedayoftheweek,therulingplanet,asinOlympicspirits,22oras

variationsofHebraicangelsandsephirothoftheKabbalah.23Thedesireforthe

magustodepictastrologicalinfluencesbywayofangelicanddeitynamesandto

associatethesetopsalmsofthebibleormorewidelyknownnamesofGod,remains

apparent.

Variouspolygonsexistwithintheinnerareaofthecircles.Ofnotearethe

proportionallyevenpentagrams,hexagrams,andheptagramsthatmayappearat

timestogetherinthesameimageinthetexts.24Thesefiguresholdintrinsicvaluesto

themagusandtheperceivedparticipantsintheoperationsdepicted.The

counterparttotheseisthetriangle.Usuallyonlyseenasadeviceforcontainmentof

20

Michael Maier. "Atalanta Fugiens. Oppenheim: 1617." Trans. and transc. Clay Holden, Hereward Tilden

and Peter Branwin.< http://www. levity. com/alchemy/atalanta. html (1964). 21

Compare the images of Aubrey MS 24, with those of the Sloane and Italian MSS. 22

Olymic spirits are detailed at length within the Arbatel and Heptameron texts. 23

The Tree of Life within Kabbalah contains 10 spheres of existence, associated with or ruled by angelic

orders and god-names, often shown as a stylized tree. 24

The Sigil Dei Aemeth is one such image repeatedly extant with all polygons combined to form a single

pentacle. See: John Dees Sigil, Fig. 16.

41

spiritsortoallowthemtophysicallyappearbeforethemagus,thetriangleremains

bothabindingandcontainmentareaforspiritsandiskeptwithinseparatelocation

fromthatofthecircleorsquare.Foundoutsidetheworkingareaofthemagus,the

trianglethusremainsoutsidethesphereofprotectionofthemagus,providedbythe

angelicnamesandtheedgeoftheworkingarea.

Variouslanguagespresentthemselvesinthecenterasthemostconnected

withtheoperationandthemagus.Inthecaseofahandheldamuletorlamen,the

scriptoftenisofunknownoriginorhighlycorruptedinitssmallsizereproductions.

Somecasespresentascombinationsofseverallanguagesmixedtogetheror

transliteratedlanguagesfromGreektoHebreworLatin.Wecanevenobservethe

createdmagicallanguagesmixedwithotherfontstocreateanewscriptencoded

intothecenterofthecircleorthroughouttheentireimage.25Evidenceofcorrupted

script,backwardletteringsandreversalofsigils,suggeststhatmanyscribesdidnot

understandtheinformationpresentandreproducedthecirclescontentspurely

fromapictorialexamplesratherthanfromknowledgeofthelanguagescontained

within.ComparingtheItalianprintversionofAub24withintheClavicolatext,not

onlywasthetextnotunderstoodatallbycorruptedorsidewaysHebrew,butthe

sigilsarealsoreversedontheBastonefromthatofeveryothergrimoireoflike

manner.26AlsotheletteringintheClavicolasfourthpentacleofMercuryissobadly

reproducedfromthatoftheSloaneandAddMSSpresentationoftheseventh

25

See: Agrippa pp 560-561, Malachim, Celestial, and Passing of the River scripts; also: John Dees

Enochian found within the Sigil Dei Aemeth. 26

Italian translation La Clavicola del re Salomon, printed figure Stumenti neccessari all arte magica.

42

pentacleofMarsthatitappearsasmereguessbythescribe.27Additionally,wesee

variancesinangelicscriptproducedinAgrippasownworksthatleadstoquestions

ofcorrectreproductionswithinanysubsequenttexts.Agrippapresentssigilsfor

planetaryspiritswithinhis1533printingthatdifferfromthe1550print.

Figure2.4:ChiromanticcharactersofJupiterfrom Bartholomeus Cocles, Chyromantie ac Phisionomie

Anastasis (Bononie 1504)

Figure2.5:CharactersofJupiterfromH.C.Agrippasoriginal1533printeditionofDeOccultaPhilosophia

LibriTres,fig.dii.

27

Italian Clavicola first Magic Squares: Written sideways and in badly reproduced Hebrew, French

Facsimile edition with decorative Hebrew misshapen and malformed as to not produce words in

Hebrew.

43

Figure2.6:H.C.Agrippa's1550printeditionofDeOccultaPhilosophiaLibriTres,fig.e3,showinga

reversedandflippedimageoffigureoftheCharactersofJupiter.

Figure2.7:The1634KeyofSolomonmanuscript,BnFMSFrancais25314,fol.55,showingstylized

lettersofJupiterfollowingH.C.Agrippa's1550reversedandflippedorder.

AllofAgrippascharactersareinreversedorderfromanearlierpresentation

byBartholomeusCoclesinhis1504printingof[sic]Chyromantie ac phisionomie

anastasis,28 The planetary sigil characters are thus from a chiromantic origin, or for

use in hand divination of planetary correspondences, as Cocles title indicates. Compared

to Agrippas chiromantic signs in his first book of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy

or De Occulta Philosophia, we can see some discrepancies that may indicate the

28

See H.C. Agrippas 1533 and 1550 editions of De Occulta Philosophia p.170 well as Bartolomeus

Cocles Chiromantie ac physiognomie anastasis (1504) Liber V. Agrippas book reverses his own

Jupiter characters between printings of which all are identical reversals of Cocles.

44

orientation of Agrippas planetary sigils were deliberately reversed or altered and

remained that way in all subsequent print editions I consulted that contain these sigils.29

Reading from left to right, the first and third characters of Venus in the Cocles

print are reversals from the Agrippa sigils adjacent to the Hebrew Letters Zayin and

Ayin, the second and tenth from the top respectively in Fig13. The third character of the

Sun in Cocles is reversed from the Agrippa sigil for Gimel, the fourteenth from the top in

Fig. 13. The first character of the Moon in Cocles is reversed from the common

orientation of the Moon in Agrippas presentation of the astrologic symbol on the same

page.30 Finally, the third character of Saturn in Cocles is reversed from the Agrippa sigil

of the Hebrew Mem, the sixth from the top in Fig 13.

Figure2.8:CharactersofVenusfrom Bartholomeus Cocles, Chyromantie ac Phisionomie Anastasis (Bononie 1504)

Figure2.9:SunCharacters from Bartholomeus Cocles, Chyromantie ac Phisionomie Anastasis

(Bononie 1504)

29

Tyson, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, pp.103, 224; Agrippa, De Occulta Philosophia, Liber Primus,

p.69. 30

See Fig. 2.12

45

Figure2.10:MoonCharactersfrom Bartholomeus Cocles, Chyromantie ac Phisionomie Anastasis

(Bononie 1504)

Figure2.11:SaturnCharactersfrom Bartholomeus Cocles, Chyromantie ac Phisionomie Anastasis

(Bononie 1504)

Figure2.12:AstrologicCharacteroftheMoonfromP.170andaspresentedthroughoutH.C.Agrippas

1533printededitionofDeOccultaPhilosophiaLibriTres.

Figure2.13:ChiromanticsymbolspresentedinH.C.Agrippa's1533DeOccultaPhilosophiaLibriTres,p.

170

46

TheappearanceoftheplanetarysigilsinCocles1504printededition

suggeststhattheypossiblypredateAgrippasmanuscriptworks.Theycertainly

predateAgrippaslatter1533printing.EverysigilpresentedinAgrippas1533

editionwasamirrorimageofCoclespresentationsin1504.Despitethereversalof

theJupitersigilinthe1550Agrippaprintwecanseeaclearsimilaritybetween

CoclesandAgrippaworks.AlthoughitcouldbearguedthatCoclesandAgrippamay

havehadsimilarsources,ratherthanalineagefromCoclestoAgrippa,weseethat

everySolomonicmanuscriptorprintedpresentationafter1550depictedthe

planetarysigilsintheexactordershownbyAgrippassecondeditionoftheDe

OccultaPhilosophiawiththereversalofalltheJupiterCharacters.Thus,any

Solomonicpresentationafter1550,thatincludesplanetarysigils,isdirectlylinked

toAgrippasolely.

III.ComparingAlphabeticImagesWithinTexts

MostSolomonictextshavesimilaritiesenoughtodeemthemofthesameor

similarbodyofknowledge.Thishowevergetscomplexwhenvariousnuancesinthe

depictedimagesofmaterialsarecomparedwithtextsthatexistinseveral

languages.Moreover,itthenraisesthequestionofwhetherornotthesenumerous

textsdidindeedhaveacommonancestry,orifworkerswithintheirvariouscrafts

embellishedthem,orboth.Thecommonalitiesofthestructuralelements,suchas

thevariousprotectiveandamuletlikecirclesarebyfarthemostreadilyavailable

forscrutiny.Rarelycanonepointtotwotextswithidenticalorderingofmaterials

47

andexactcontentwithineachofthepentaclesdescribed.Whatwecangleanissome

oftheinformationwithinthedepictionsofcirclesthatcanbedecipheredand

comparedtoknownmaterials.Herewehaveseveraldifferencesinseeminglyalike

imagesthatsuggestvariouslevelsofknowledgebythescribeaswellasthe

proposedoriginsofeach31

TheItalianClavicola,32aswellastheMathers/Petersondepictionsofthe

SloaneandAubreyMSS33,showsimilaritieswiththeLeipzigversionoftheClavicola

MS,34inthatthepentaclesofMarsarenearlyidenticalinformandconstruction.

Allarecircularanddepictradialbisectionswithcharactersonthecircumferential

endsofnumerousbisectinglines.AllthreesharesimilarenoughLatinversiclesand

descriptionstomakecleardeterminationsofthesimilaritiesoforigin.Eachversicle,

althoughslightlyalteredineach,essentiallyreads:Theirswordsshallpiercetheir

ownheartsandtheirbowsshallbebroken.35TheMatherseditionplacesangelic

namesinplaceoftheLatin.ItmayhavebeentheprerogativeofMatherstodosoin

thetranslationofmultipleFrenchtexts.Theprotectiveandadversarialnatureofthe

LatinversiclefromPsalm3636isthemostobviouselementindicatinganeducated

westernEuropeanscribe.

31

See Petersons stemma within his Key of Solomon edition. 32

See the Chapter 2 description above, of the print version of the Italian Clavicola, found in Aubrey MS 24. 33

These include the numerous compiled examples of pentacles from several manuscripts mainly from the

Sloane MSS in the British Library dating to the 17th

century as compiled by Samuel Mathers in 1888.

Petersons revision of Mathers text adds additional examples of manuscript images not previously

available to Mathers. See Petersons Key of Solomon. 34

Clavicola di Salomone tradatti dalla lingua hebraica dal dotissimo Mathematico Melchiore dEgypto -

Cod.mag.71, 1750. 35

Leipzig reads Gladius Eorum In Corda Ipsorum Interet Et Arcus Confringatur; Mathers Key of

Solomon shows the 6th

pentacle of Mars and reads: Gladius eorum interet in corda ipsorum et arcus

erorum confrigatur. 36

Appears as Psalm xxxvii (37) in Mathers in Key of Solomon.

48

Thecuriositiesliemainlywiththesymbolscontainedwithin.TheLeipzig

ClavicolaMSshowsonlyonepentacleinthesameformastheothertwotextsnoted

above.TheotherpentaclesappearaswhollyuniquetotheLeipzigMSandoutside

therealmofdiscussionpertainingtocirclesandtheirform.However,theLeipzigs

pentacleforprotectioniswelldrawnandnearlyidenticaltotheItalianClavicola

textthatisapparentlytakenfromtheAub24MS.37

SamuelMathersstatesinhis1889publicationoftheKeyofSolomonthatthe

lettersoftheMalachimscript,thetongueoftheAngelsisformedfromthepositions

ofstarsintheheavens,bydrawingimaginarylinesfromonestartoanothersoasto

obtaintheshapesofthecharactersofthisalphabet.38Hencewecannotea

deliberateassociationbetweenthealphabetandastrologyoratleastandimplied

associationbetweenwhatiswrittenandthedivine.Theorientationfollowsthe

motherscriptofHebrew,asAgrippaintended,bybeingreadrighttoleft.Ifweread

theletters,astheMatherseditionnotes,withtheMalachimAlephasthetoporfirst

letterofthepentacle,incounterclockwiserotation,allthetextsshowageneral

similaritytothesecharacters,asreadfromlefttoright:A L E J M T B W.

Whenrewrittenandtransliteratedwesee(Fig.2.1416)thecharacters:

ELHYMQBRorElohimQbir.IfindeedQbir(orQeber)isthecorrectlyintended

orderofcharactersittranslatestoofthegrave,ortomb.39Elohimarecommonly

associatedwiththehigherangelicordernexttoGod,orGoditself,aswellasa

37

See description of Italian Clavicola. 38

Mathers, Key of Solomon The King, p. 33. 39

My translation.

49

pluralityofcreationdeities.40Thenumerous,conflictingandtranslationsofElohim

thatexistthroughoutscholarshipmaybetooimmensetoattempttocommenton

here.WedoknowthatineveryrenditionoftheattemptedtranslationofElohim,the

coreunderstandingisthatofadeitylikeemanationofspiritualexistence,likethat

ofagodorhigherorderofpluralspirits.Therenaissancehumanistwouldlikely

havethoughtoftheElohimasoneofthehighestangelicorders,similartothe

Cherubim,Seraphim,Auralim,Malachimetc.

Figure2.14ThesixthMarsPentacleasseeninAub24MSfol.58v,presentedintheMathers/Peterson

editionoftheKeyofSolomon.Malachimcharactersarewritteninacircleattheendsofeachradiating

linesegment.

40

Karel Van Der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. Van Der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in

the Bible, Second Edition Extensively Revised, Brill, 1999. Pp 352: The usual word for god in the

Hebrew Bible is Elohim, a plural formation of eloah, the latter being an expanded form of the Common

Semitic noun,360, 372, 387, 562,

50

Figure2.15:Undescribedpentaclefromthe1750LeipzigMSCod.mag.71ClavicoladiSalamoneMalachimcharactersarewritteninacircleattheendsofeachradiatinglinesegment.

Figure2.16:SamuelMathers'presentationofthe6thMarspentaclefromthe1889ClaviculaSalomonis

translationofseveralBritishLibraryKeyofSolomonManuscriptsincludingSloane,Add,andAubrey

MSS.Malachimcharactersarewritteninacircleattheendsofeachradiatinglinesegment.

51

TheindicationofElohimangelicorderscoexistingasnecromanticspiritsof

thedead,orasexistingasashroudedformofRenaissancedemonology,assisting

andboundtotheoperationofthepentacle,wouldnotbemissedbyanyonefamiliar

withHebrewtranslations.Thismaybetheveryimpetusforuseofthecipherin

Malachimscript.TheLeipzigMSshowsapentaclewiththesameMalachimscript

onlywritteninclockwisefashionwithKorKaphsubstitutedforQforQophin

Hebrew.TheAlephintheLeipzigClavicolaisalsoonthebottomofthepentacle

ratherthanthetop.AdditionallyLeipzigpresentsMalachimscriptinstrictlylinear

letterformwherebynocurvesarepresent.Inthis,thefirstletterforYodfollowing

theletterforAlephiswrittenmistakenlyasthecharacterforResh.41Thismayalso

beanattemptatwritingElohimGibor,adirectassociationwiththeKabbalahinthat

Gevurah(Giburah)isaKabbalistTreeofLifesephirothontheleftmostpillarof

severityontheKabbalistTreeoflife,governedbythearchangelMichael.42Francis

BarrettplagiarizedmostofAgrippasThreeBooksinhis1801TheMagusorCelestial

Intelligencer.However,Barrettdidoffersomeinsightastohistranslationand

definitionofElohimGibor:

ThefifthnameisElohimGibor,thatis,themightyGod,punishingthe

sinsofthewicked;andhisnumerationiscalledGeburah,whichisto

say, power, gravity, fortitude, security, judgment, punishing by

slaughterandwar;anditisappliedtothetribunalofGod,thegirdle,

thesword,thelefthandofGod:itisalsocalledPachad,whichisfear;

41Clavicola di Salomone tradatti dalla lingua hebraica dal dotissimo Mathematico Melchiore dEgypto

Cod.mag.71, 1750, Universitatsbibliothek Lepzig, Deutschland, fol. 16.

42 Leonora Leet, Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah, pp. 17,18, 145, 172, 187, 234, 317.

52

and hath his influence through the order of powers, which the

HebrewscallSeraphim,andfromthence through the sphere of Mars, to whom belongs fortitude, war, and affliction.43

InFig.2.15,betweentheradiatinglinesextendingfromthecenterpointof

thepentacleandterminatingwithMalachimcharacters,liesanothersetof

charactersinHebrewReadrighttoleftinacounterclockwisefashion:YodResh

AlephLamed[Heh]Yod[MemFinal],orsimplyYRAL[H]I[M].Ifweassumethatthe

transcriptionwasbadlywrittenorinthehandsofascribeunfamiliarwithHebrew,

wecaneasilyseethattheintendedwordisEralimorAralim,aprotectiveorderof

angelswithintheKabbalistichierarchyofangelicorders.

In1533AgrippaincludedanotherscripthecalledCelestialaswellasan

alphabetcalledPassingoftheRiverwithintheThreeBooksofOccultPhilosophy.44

ItmaybemorelikelythatAgrippawasmerelycompilinginformationratherthan

creatingit.HoweverwehavenoevidenceofanypriornamingofaMalachim

AlphabetuntilAgrippaproducedhismanuscriptintoprintformin1533,withthe

publicationofhisThreeBooksofOccultPhilosophy.(SeeFigures2.20and2.21)

Trithemius,Agrippasteacher,alreadyincludedseveralsimilaralphabetsinhis

1518Polygraphia,45howevernoappearanceofMalachimexistswithinany

TrithemiusworksorwithinanyspecifictranslationsofHebrewbasedalphabets

priortoAgrippasThreeBooks.IhavefoundnoevidencetosuggestthatTrithemius

43

Francis Barrett, The Magus or Celestial Intelligencer, p.37 44

Found in Latin as De Occulta Philosophia Libri Tres. 45

Trithemius, Johannes. Polygraphiae Libri Sex, Ioannis Trithemii ... [Oppenhamii]: impressum aere ac

impensis ... Ioannis Haselbergi de Aia, 1518; Trithemius includes several cipher alphabets that resemble

Malachim as well as resemblance to early church Slavonic, Cyrillic, Glagolitic and purely fanciful

fonts. Trithemius alphabets follow mainly a Latin pronunciation whereas Agrippas alphabets shown

by him are ciphers based on Hebrew letter-names.

53

evercreatedanymalachimlikeorderofalphabetthatcorrespondstoHebrewas

AgrippapresentedinDeOccultaPhilosophiaLibriTres.

The Fourth Sun Pentacle, from several Solomonic manuscripts,46

shows a circular

script not in Malachim but written in the similar Passing of the River alphabet as

named by Agrippa. In this pentacle we see written counterclockwise from the top, the

figures for Yod, Vau, Heh, Heh, Aleph, Daleth, Nun, and Yod. This gives us the

transliterated YVHHADNY. We can split these into two common groupings of known

Hebrew by the first part YVHH as a corrupted reversal of the Heh and Vau letters in

YHVH, seen elsewhere in countless bible translations as Yahweh, or Jehovah or the

Tetragrammatons presentation of the ineffable name of God. The second part is the

common Hebrew God-name of ADNI or Adonai. The versicle Lighten my eyes, lest I

fall asleep forever in death, lest at any time my enemy may say I have prevailed against

him. is the transla