Goetia

The Lesser Key of Solomon

THE INITIATED INTERPRETATION OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC.

It is deeply amusing to the student of Magical literature who is not a complete fool—and such a combination is rare!—to observe the criticism directed by the unlearned original: "Philistine" against the stronghold of his science. Truly, since our childhood has ingrained in us not only a literal belief in the Bible, but also a substantial belief in the Thousand and One Nights original: "Alf Laylah wa Laylah", and only reaching adulthood can cure us of this, we are all too likely, in the rush and energy of early manhood, to roughly and rashly reject both these classics. We tend to view them both on the same level: as interesting documents from the perspective of folklore and anthropology, and as nothing more.

Even when we learn that the Bible—through a profound and minute study of the text—may be forced to reveal Qabalistic The Qabalah is a system of Jewish mysticism used to interpret the hidden meaning of scripture. secrets original: "arcana" of cosmic scope and importance, we are often too slow to apply a similar restorative process to the companion volume, even if we are the lucky owners of Sir Richard Burton’s true edition.