Customer Reviews

Lemegeton - The Complete Lesser Key of Solomon

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I give this book five stars because it is THE Lemegeton at it's most complete: all four books ('Ars Notoria' is not included), with every seal, spirit, conjuration, etc. included. As such it's an invaluable reference for any magician interested in Goetic evokation.

However, it is not a book I'd recommend for persons just getting started with Goetic magick. For that, I would recommend Weiser's _Goetia_. Persons interested in a more 'modernized' method might want to try _The Illustrated Goetia_. I don't recommend Savedow's books on the subject, as I didn't find them very useful.

Lemegeton is divided into four parts. The first part is the Goetia, and this is what modern magicians are most interested in. The Goetia is a book detailing the method of conjuring each of 72 demons. Much work has been done in the last century drawing correspondences between these demons and the tarot, astrology, and the 72 names of God, among other things. In each case, these demons (and the vices they represent) are the leftovers of the process necessary to create a virtue (think of leftover coffee grounds for coffee). One evokes these demons in order to learn how to control the vice, in order that one may fully embrace the virtue.

The second part is Theurgia Goetia, which deals with spirits of the directions of the compass and with "wandering dukes" that have no direction. These would be spirits of the living world, in the Elizabethan system neither demonic nor angelic, although in modern terms definitely stuck somewhere between Malkuth and Yesod.

The third part is the Pauline Art, which deals with *celestial* angels that command specific hours of the day and to the zodiac. There is also an evokation of the Holy Guardian Angel. The instructions of this section are rather detailed, although the HGA working is not as detailed as in Abramelin.

The fourth part is the Almadel, which explains the process by which Solomon gained the wisdom to rule. I'm not sure what these entities are supposed to represent, but I know there's a correspondence between them and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

I actually own three versions of The Lesser Key of Solomon, including this one so, I thought I'd give my opinions of them all. It might save some poor demonologist out there a few bucks.

The Henson "Lemegeton" by Metatron Books is my favorite. All of the magical symbols have been reworked and they are by far the best done of the three versions. The down side is that the fifth book, The Ars Notoria, has been left out. The editor states: "Both the content and the context of Ars Notoria show no affinity for the listings of spirits that mark the bulk of the material contained in The Lesser Key of Solomon. For this reason I have refrained from including it in this new edition." He is correct in this statement and I have not found its omission to be detrimental to the book in any way but; would it have really been that difficult for him to have included it and let us decide for ourselves if it would have been useful?

The Peterson "The Lesser Key of Solomon" by Weiser Books does include the "Ars Notoria", making it the most complete version. It is also the only one available in hard cover. Its downside is that the magical symbols have been photocopied from original texts and some of them are illegible. If they had taken the time to rework the magical symbols, as in the Henson version, this would have been the best of the three. As it is, it comes in second.

The Mathers/Crowley "The Goetia" also by Weiser Books, is actually only the first book of The Lesser Key of Solomon. It is only worth mentioning because of the fascinating illustrations by Louis Breton. The inept drawings by Aleister Crowley detract somewhat, however. If you are one of the lucky ones that picked up Trident's "Demonographia" when it was available or actually own a nineteenth century copy of the "Dictionnaire Infernal" then this book will be of no interest to you. Otherwise, It's worth getting just for the engravings.

Definitely one of the better translations of this important grimoire. The sygils have been acuurately reproduced without the artificial and damaging adaptations that occur in the Mathers/Crowley edition. Also a much better editing job than the White transcription of the Sloane documents. If you're really interested in the Lemegeton, I strongly recommend getting all three so you can see where the transcribers agree and disagree. The White version is especially useful since it includes a photocopy (albeit a poor one) of the original Sloane manuscript. The illustrations in this (Henson) edition are FAR superior to any other edition I've seen and make it a welcome addition to the genre.

I'm very pleased to have and read the book, the sigils are complete and accurate, I compared it with the materials that I already have, Mitch Henson did a great job in editing it and also the illustrations made by jeff wellman, it is comparable and accurate with the ones translated by other magicians who have seen the actual text and did their own thesis on this work based from the british museum's own MS, I cant say enough how good this edition is but i am quite sure that anyone interested in the occult especially the solomonic magic will find this to be truly valuble for less( instead of paying alot ),I bet that if you miss out on this one you'll be kicking yourself silly...!

I was happy to check on my "old magick books" to find out that I had a brand new copy of this tiny book paid around 10 years ago for around 22$...
What? its now worth 150$ now...? loll

Oh well.... priceless....!

This is a much needed book for any occult scholar. While the Goetia(the first book of the legemeton) is ieas to find, the following sections are rarely published. this book is an important addition to any serious scholars library.

this book is a must for any sorcerer's library you won't be sorry that you spent the money

This is a good book to own if one is involved with Geotia and
other forms of conjurations. The Sigils are clearly drawn, and very useful for the working occultist. I used my first copy so many times that I had to order a second one because I wore out the first one from use.

This book is loaded with alot of ancient ways to summon demons
and devils. I found it hard to understand until I read it a couple of times before it sank in. I dont summon demons because its to risky and I dont want a poltergeist in my home, but for someone brave enough, I say go for it. I highly recommened this book for the one who dare uses it.