The Lesser Key of Solomon
Ars
Goetia
The seventy-two demons of Solomon — their seals, ranks, and dominions
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The Lesser Key of Solomon
The seventy-two demons of Solomon — their seals, ranks, and dominions
King Solomon, third king of Israel and son of David, stands as the central figure in demonological tradition. According to the Testament of Solomon—a pseudepigraphical text preserved from the 1st to 5th century AD—the young king faced a crisis when a demon named Ornias tormented a boy favored by the royal court. In Solomon's moment of desperation, the archangel Michael descended from the celestial realms and bestowed upon the king a magical ring, engraved with the Seal of God itself. With this instrument of divine authority, Solomon could bind and command the very demons that had plagued his kingdom.
Solomon's power proved absolute. He first bound Ornias, then compelled that demon to reveal the identity of the prince of all demons—Beelzebul. Through Beelzebul, the king's dominion extended to all seventy-two spirits of Hell. Bound by oath and seal, these entities became enslaved to Solomon's will. He forced them to labor in the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem, tasks beyond mortal strength: they carried great stones, shaped metal, and performed works that transcended human capability. When the temple stood complete, these spirits were sealed within a great brass vessel, inscribed with holy names and divine symbols, and cast into the deep places of the earth—imprisoned until the end of days.
The hexagonal sigil of Solomon, engraved upon a ring of power, became the master key binding all infernal spirits to the will of the king.
The Lesser Key of Solomon, known in its original Latin as the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, is a 17th-century grimoire that draws from much older sources stretching back centuries into antiquity. Its compilation represents a synthesis of multiple occult traditions: Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (published 1563) provided a listing of 69 demons with their characteristics and hierarchies; Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy contributed sophisticated magical theory; the Heptameron offered additional ceremonial knowledge; and a mysterious 15th-century French manuscript known as the Livre des Esperitz supplied further demonological insights.
The modern synthesis crystallized through the work of Thomas Rudd (circa 1583–1656), a scholar who paired each of the 72 demons with corresponding angels drawn from the Shem HaMephorash—the 72-letter name of God in Jewish Kabbalah. This pairing established a balance between infernal and celestial powers. The most famous edition, published in 1904 by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley under the title "The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King," became the standard reference for modern practitioners and scholars of ceremonial magic.
The Lemegeton comprises five distinct books, each addressing different aspects of the magical art:
The 72 spirits are organized according to a feudal hierarchy that mirrors the structure of medieval European courts, with power descending through ranks of nobility from sovereign rulers to lesser nobility and attendant spirits. Each rank is associated with a celestial body and a corresponding metal, establishing connections between the terrestrial and the cosmic:
Sovereign rulers commanding hundreds of legions, wielders of absolute authority over lesser spirits.
Noble spirits of considerable power, rulers of territories and commanders of vast demonic forces.
High-ranking spirits of authority, holding dominion over lesser demons and wielding substantial magical influence.
Border guardians dwelling between the realms, masters of thresholds and transitions between worlds.
Martial spirits embodying discipline, conflict, and the exercise of force and power over others.
Furcas, a singular and patient teacher, the sole knight of the infernal hierarchy, known for wisdom and instruction.
Spirits of knowledge and rhetoric, possessing mastery of language, communication, and hidden wisdom.
A shifting form that defies singular perception — cat, toad, and robed figure flickering simultaneously like candlelight reflected in oil.
