The Truth About the Lesser Key of Solomon

The Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as Clavicula Salomonis Regis or Lemegeton, is a classic grimoire compiled in the mid-17th century, mainly from a few centuries older materials. It claims to contain the names, orders, and offices of all the spirits Solomon ever encountered, along with their Seals and Sigils, and how to evoke them. In addition, this grimoire contains outlandish descriptions of each Demon, which have no basis in reality. Today, most modern publishings have formatted this grimoire into one book. However, initially, The Lesser Key of Solomon was divided into five separate books:

1. Ars Goetia - Known as the Book of Evil Spirits, called "Goetia ."This book contains the 72 Demons of The Lesser Key of Solomon.

2. Ars Theurgia-Goetia - Known as the Book of Spirits. The spirits referenced in this book were considered partly good and partly evil.

3. Ars Paulina - a book on governing the Planetary Houses.

4. Ars Almadel - also known as Almadel of Solomon. This book contains twenty Chief Spirits said to govern the Four Altitudes.

5. Ars Notoria - A treatise on magick centered on orations said to have mystical properties which can impart communion with God.

This article will focus strictly on the first book, Ars Goetia, which deals with Demons. This grimoire contains workings for 72 of the 90 Demons in Lucifer's Royal Legion. With that said, understand that The Order does not recognize The Lesser Key of Solomon as a credible source of information on Demons, nor recommend any of the teachings on magick contained therein. The purpose of this article is strictly to inform the reader about this classic grimoire, as it is commonly referred to and referenced by other occultists. As a Luciferian, it is beneficial to understand why we do not use it as a source of study.

The Hierarchy

The 72 Demons are organized in a hierarchical structure with rank and number. The highest level within this hierarchy is the King, followed by the Princes, Marquises, Earls, Knights, and Presidents. Already, this is at odds with The Order's teachings. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, The Ars Goetia only recognizes 72 Demons, while The Order recognizes 90 Demons within the Royal Legion. It is unclear why 18 Demons are missing in the Goetia.

My theory is that there was a desire and attempt to match each Demon with one of the 72 angels of the Shem HaMephorash, considering them an opposite and balancing force. Furthermore, The Order disagrees with the ranking of each Demon and the level of position within the Goetia. With that said, I will not detail the proper Hierarchy of the Royal Legion in this article, which is an entirely different rank system. Those interested can find this in Introduction to Demonic Magick. However, I will say that The Order recognizes seven Princes as the top of the Hierarchy under Lucifer.

The Ritual

Upon reviewing the ritual process set out in The Lesser Key of Solomon's Ars Goetia, you will find that this grimoire's approach to Magick is offensive to Demons and dangerous for the practitioner. Because it considers Demons "evil spirits," it involves using Angelic names and seals to restrain Demons and bring them under the practitioner's command. Do not do this. Not only will you fail in your evocation attempts, but you will also earn yourself a mighty enemy who will wreak havoc in your life. But all this aside, the entire system of Magick found within Ars Goetia is ineffective, unreliable, and highly impractical. Moreover, with all the magickal requisites required, it's a wonder that anyone had the time to attempt this ritual.

To begin, you would need to gather all these supplies.

• Wand
• Sword
• Mitre
• Long white robe
• Girdle of lion's skin three inches broad
• Perfume
• Chafing-dish of charcoal
• Anointing oil for your temples and eyes.

Let's say you got all these things together and are ready to do some magick. Not so fast. Before doing the ritual, you must consider moon phases and schedule your work when the Moon is 2,4,6,8,10,12 or 14 days old. Solomon himself stated that attempting to perform this Magick on any other day would not be successful. If that wasn't complicated enough, you also need to consider the time of day.

The Demons, which the Goetia lists as Kings, can only be bound from 9 AM to noon and from 3 AM till sunset.

Marquises may be bound from 3 PM - 9 PM and from 9 PM till Sunrise.

Dukes may be bound from Sunrise to Noon, but only if the weather is clear.

Knights may be bound any hour of the day.

Finally, presidents may be bound anytime, except during Twilight at night.

Fortunately, Demonic Magick does not have to be this complicated. Why not learn from The Order and use straightforward Magick that works anytime, day or night, regardless of moon phases? For those reading this article, because of interest in performing the Lesser Key of Solomon, I urge you to avoid wasting money on swords or ritual props and invest in real magick instead.