The Key of Solomon

‘I beg and command any one into whose hands this compilation may fall, that he will give it to no man unless he be of a retiring disposition, able to keep a secret, energetic in the performance of this kind of work ; and I adjure him by the Living God, the Creator of the Universe, that in the same manner as he would guard his own soul, he will guard this book, and not reveal it to such as are unfit. And should he not listen (to this admonition) I place my supplication before Him who has graciously imparted this knowledge to me, that He shall not suffer him to prosper in all the actions and desires which he seeks to bring about. Amen, May this be His will.’

The MAGIC CIRCLE A ritual boundary drawn on the ground to protect the magician and contain summoned spirits. which plays so important a part in these operations is described or referred to in various passages, such as folios 3 b and following, 9 a, 14 a–15 a, 23 b, 59 b, 65 b–66 a.

The Experiment original: "ניסיון" (Nisyon). In this context, it refers to a specific magical procedure or ritual trial. or ‘Operation’ (‘Practice’) is dealt with on folios 7a–8b, 9 a, 55 a, 56 b, 70 a–70 b ; and in the Appendix, folios 1 a–2 b, and 3 b and following. It may be of special interest to give in full, with a translation, the ‘Operation’ of Simon Magus A biblical figure (Acts 8:9-24) who became a legendary sorcerer in medieval and Renaissance folklore., contained on folio 55 a:

An experiment of Simon: from him, it is required that it be performed on the day of Jupiter Thursday or Mars Tuesday in the evening. First, you must have a candle of virgin wax Wax from a hive that has never been used for a previous purpose, symbolizing purity. burning. Then, make a circle with a sword as seen below, and mark on the four sides the sign of Solomon and the seals of Jupiter and Venus as you will see further on. Write the names of the sides of the world—that is to say, East, West, North, and South. When this is done, stand in the middle of the circle and say this incantation three times, no more and no less:

"I adjure you, Lucifer, and all your companions, by the Living God, by the angels above and below, by [such and such] and in the name of [P-U-P] likely a placeholder for specific secret names, etc. Furthermore, I adjure you by Babel and Zebuk original: "זבוך"; likely a variant of Beelzebub. your lords. Furthermore, I adjure you by Satan, in whose hand are the keys of Gehenna The Hebrew term for the underworld or Hell.. Upon you I adjure you by Lucifer your king; I adjure you by the tower of the abyss; I adjure you by the Law of God The Torah. that you shall have no permission to remain in the air, nor under the air, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, nor in the water, nor under the water, nor in the heavens, nor under the heavens, nor in any place in the world. Instead, you must come immediately to this place—you, Lucifer, with your companions—or you must send three of your servants who shall tell me the truth of everything I shall ask of them, in the name of Agla, Aglai, Aglata, Aglaot, Aglaton Kabbalistic acronyms for "Atah Gibor Le-olam Adonai" (Thou art mighty forever, O Lord). and in the name of Alpha and Omega The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, written here in Hebrew phonetics., He-Vav-Yod-He The Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God., Mahel, Elihi, Eloah, Sabaoth, Elyon, etc."

And take care that you do not sleep, for immediately Lucifer will come with his companions, or he will send three messengers from among his companions or his servants, and they will say to you: "What do you want, what do you desire, and why have you brought us here?" Then you shall immediately ask of them three things which you desire, and they will tell them to you. After the answer, you shall give them license to depart in the known manner. This is proper to do on the day of Jupiter or Mars when the moon is increasing in light Waxing moon.. It should only be done in the months of February, May, August, or October, when the Sun is in equal number with the Moon if possible; and if not, let it be done when the Moon is at its full. This is a true experiment, tested by many. It is essential that you be very clean and pure in body and soul. Do not ask more than three questions, for if you ask more, they will not answer nor give anything. And know that whatever rank or kind of spirits they may be, they will not answer more than three questions. And I, the writer (so it was written), stood upon this experiment and it is true. You will find his circle at the top of the back of this page, and it is this: