Difference between revisions of "Lesser Key of Solomon"

The most obvious source for the ''Ars Goetia'' is [[Johann Weyer]]'s ''[[Pseudomonarchia Daemonum]]'' in his ''De praestigiis daemonum''. Weyer does not cite, and is unaware of, any other books in the Lemegeton, suggesting that the Lemegeton was derived from his work, not the other way around. The order of the spirits changed between the two, four additional spirits were added to the later work, and one spirit ([[Pruflas]]) was omitted. The omission of Pruflas, a mistake that also occurs in an edition of ''Pseudomonarchia Daemonum'' cited in Reginald Scot's ''[[The Discoverie of Witchcraft]]'', indicates that the ''Ars Goetia'' could not have been compiled before 1570. Indeed, it appears that the ''Ars Goetia'' is more dependent upon Scot's translation of Weyer than on Weyer's work in itself. Additionally, some material came from Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's ''Three Books of Occult Philosophy'', the ''[[Heptameron]]'' by pseudo-Pietro d'Abano, and the [[Magical Calendar]].

The most obvious source for the ''Ars Goetia'' is [[Johann Weyer]]'s ''[[Pseudomonarchia Daemonum]]'' in his ''De praestigiis daemonum''. Weyer does not cite, and is unaware of, any other books in the Lemegeton, suggesting that the Lemegeton was derived from his work, not the other way around. The order of the spirits changed between the two, four additional spirits were added to the later work, and one spirit ([[Pruflas]]) was omitted. The omission of Pruflas, a mistake that also occurs in an edition of ''Pseudomonarchia Daemonum'' cited in Reginald Scot's ''[[The Discoverie of Witchcraft]]'', indicates that the ''Ars Goetia'' could not have been compiled before 1570. Indeed, it appears that the ''Ars Goetia'' is more dependent upon Scot's translation of Weyer than on Weyer's work in itself. Additionally, some material came from Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's ''Three Books of Occult Philosophy'', the ''[[Heptameron]]'' by pseudo-Pietro d'Abano, and the [[Magical Calendar]].

In a slightly later copy made by [[Thomas Rudd]] (1583?–1656), this portion was labelled "''Liber Malorum Spirituum seu Goetia''", and the seals and demons were paired with those of the [[Kabbalistic angel|72 angels]] of the [[Shem HaMephorash]] which were intended to protect the conjurer and to control the demons he summoned. The angelic names and seals derived from a manuscript by Blaise de Vigenère, whose papers were also used by [[Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers]] (1854-1918) in his works for the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]]. Rudd may have derived his copy of ''Liber Malorum Spirituum'' from a now-lost work by [[Johannes Trithemius]], who taught Agrippa, who in turn taught Weyer.

In a slightly later copy made by [[Thomas Rudd]] (1583?–1656), this portion was labelled "''Liber Malorum Spirituum seu Goetia''", and the seals and demons were paired with those of the [[Kabbalistic angel|72 angels]] of the [[Shem HaMephorash]] which were intended to protect the conjurer and to control the demons he summoned. The angelic names and seals derived from a manuscript by Blaise de Vigenère, whose papers were also used by [[Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers]] (1854-1918) in his works for the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]]. Rudd may have derived his copy of ''Liber Malorum Spirituum'' from a now-lost work by [[Johannes Trithemius]], who taught Agrippa, who in turn taught Weyer.