A Review and History of the “Goetia” (Mathers and Crowley’s Edition)

Solomonic magick has interested me since I first learned about it in middle school. I was obsessed with the promise of performing a “simple” ritual and seeing the phenomenal results promised. While the world and even the occult may not work like that, the mystery itself was enough to keep me interested.

Copies of grimoires were extremely hard to get where I lived (and even harder to keep hidden) when I was younger. Thanks to reprints of older editions, they’re cheaper now than ever. The Goetia of Solomon the King is the most well-known work in the Lemegeton (or the Lesser Keys of Solomon). There are many editions, but this one is a classic.

The specific edition I’m reviewing is a translation by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and edited by Aleister Crowley published by Strigoi Publishing (originally published in 1904, this specific reprinted edition is from 2019). With the quality of this work, I’ll definitely be buying and reviewing more of their works in the future. When shopping for reprints, you need to be careful of publishers since there are some which will print low quality scans. Let’s see how the work is laid out, what it covers, its history, what makes it good, and what to be aware of.

Structure and Layout

The Goetia (or Ars Goetia) is the first book in The Lesser Key of Solomon, or the Lemegeton or Salomonis Regis. While it sounds like we’re skipping ahead to the history, this context is important to understand the structure of the work. The Goetia covers the 72 demons or spirits Solomon was supposed to have controlled.

I’m going to skip all the pomp and ceremony of most works of this period and focus on the meat of the work. The edition by Mathers and Crowley starts off with a prefatory note and a preliminary invocation. It then goes into an introduction to magic and an explanation of The Goetia and differences between versions (known at the time).

We then hit the actual Goetia as translated and annotated. The Goetia is split into a categorization of the 72 infernal spirits or demons, then the requisite magical background information. We’ll get into the specifics in the content. The book ends with a section of Enochian invocations.

Content

The whole work totals around 100 pages of actual content, but the actual Goetia is only about 60 pages. Crowley and Mathers have added many pieces to make this work more accessible. I wouldn’t say it’s a self-contained system, but it’s at least approachable (with an in-depth understanding of a ceremonial magic system).

The Goetia is the first book, but there are others which provide more details and methodologies to approaching Solomonic magic (we’ll hit this more in the history). My takeaway here is that you get the basics to the background of the work, then you get into the meat of the work, and then an explanation of the pieces. You don’t get a full system from this work on its own, but you get a lot of pieces which just need to be assembled.

The introduction to the spirits or demons themselves is laid out in a way which introduces their sigil, their ranking, and their function. After this detailed classification is a classified list with the metal to use, and a chart based on the work of Dr. Rudd. The Goetia then goes into the tools necessary for the work such as the seal for the ring of Solomon and the other magical implements necessary.

A rough order of what to do is implied but never really spelled out here. The content works out a bit like a cookbook which covers techniques to use, ingredients for recipes, processes that are in a rough order, and what you end up with, but without the actual instructions to put everything together (we’ll get into this more with the pros and cons). At the very end we have a glossary of terms (and corrections). The work ends with Enochian invocations.

Legend of Solomon

King Solomon (990 BCE – 931 BCE) is a well-known figure from the Old Testament. He is considered a prophet in both the Talmud and in the Quran. He is purported to have created the First Temple and been exceedingly wealthy. Legends say that he accomplished this with magic.

Magical tools have been found from the Hellenistic Period (321 BCE – 256 CE, though the exact range is disputed) which reference Solomon. Some of the more esoteric literature claims he was able to build the First Temple by the subjugation of demons (enabled by God) and/or aid of angels. Suffice it to say, this isn’t the official narrative in any major Abrahamic religion, but it has been floating around as an idea for millennia now.

There are legends used as religious teachings about Solomon and his magic ring, known as the Seal of Solomon. This ring was supposed to grant him control over demons and bestowed on him by either God via an angelic messenger, or by one of the archangels depending on which variation you read. There are countless legends about the magical powers of Solomon and how he constructed the First Temple, how he reigned over his kingdom, and similar.

These legends are what gave life to the cultural ideas which led to the Ars Goetia (though not directly). Many works have been published which claim lineage to the magic of Solomon. While they may be fakes, that isn’t to say that ideas or mythologies don’t lend their own powers to the practice. At the very least, they’ve shaped both occult traditions and Near Eastern and Western culture.

History of the Ars Goetia

The term Goetia is derived from Ancient Greek (γοητεία, pronounced goēteía) and means something along the lines of “sorcery” or “charm”. This form of magic became regarded as heretical during the Renaissance and is mentioned in Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Goetic magic was seen as demonic or evil, while theurgia was seen as acceptable. The actual Ars Goetia was most likely written after 1570 and was most likely heavily inspired by a later edition of the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum which omitted the demon Pruflas (which also happens in Scots’ The Discoverie of Witchcraft). Material was drawn from multiple sources including Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy (which would explain the name), and other contemporary works.

Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Ars Goetia are heavily influenced by the Livere des Esperitz from the 15th or 16th century. The material draws on older traditions and ideas from much earlier though. This work is a basic listing of the hierarchy of hell, and like most Solomonic works, is attributed to Solomon.

The Liber Officiorum Spirituum is another demonic grimoire which both Weyer and the Ars Goetia derived inspiration from. There are multiple books bearing the title, but the “original” is lost to time. There is an English translation (which is one of the most complete versions), but it’s considered to be of poor quality.

The Ars Goetia should not be confused with other works in the Solomonic tradition such as the Key of Solomon. This work is substantially older, most likely dating from the 14th or 15th centuries, but the traditions are based on older Kabbalistic or Arabic practices (whether these were potentially Islamic or not is something I’m not qualified enough to assess).

What Makes It Good

This is a reprint, but the publisher has put a lot of care into making it competitive with modern works. They didn’t change the text necessarily, but they spent the time converting the work to digital text and reproduced the sigils (or at least heavily cleaned them up). This eliminates the common artifacting found in many reprints. It’s not a scan; it’s a recreation.

I’ve previously stumbled on editions of the Ars Goetia which are missing the extra bits this edition has. Some just list the 72 spirits and the magic implements. Other older editions may add in the invocations, but not all do.

Crowley adds an initial invocation to make this start to make sense if you have some understanding of the Golden Dawn or Crowley’s own Thelema (among other systems). Classifications of the demonic hierarchy are included with the relevant metals and a name chart from Dr. Rudd as well. There are invocations to use during a ritual (though what ritual isn’t explained). The very end includes the invocations in Enochian which should give more adept practitioners an obvious way forward. It doesn’t coddle or hinder you, but it also doesn’t spell things out entirely.

I mentioned that the Goetia is a bit like a cookbook with techniques, ingredients, what you’re making, but without the actual recipes. There’s an implication of what to do, but no exact directions. If you’re working with a crockpot, you don’t expect to need someone to tell you how to put ingredients into the crockpot and turn it on. Once you learn the recipe, you can do the rest yourself with different ingredients. While it is also a negative if you don’t know where to start, it feels like an attempt to keep the uninitiated from diving in too far too fast.

What to be Aware of

On the other hand, this approach can be limiting if you don’t know where to start. Some other editions have practical methods to directly employ a magical system to work with Solomonic magic. This specific edition (and in fairness, most editions of the Goetia proper) work best as a reference. I feel the original writer(s) omitted the actual rituals to avoid censorship and persecution from the church, or else the rituals were removed at a later date.

If we want to nitpick enough, we can also complain about the pedigree of this work. This isn’t some ancient text passed down through the ages from biblical times, but a more modern work in the Solomonic tradition. I wouldn’t argue that this necessarily weakens the work, but it’s not as old as it purports to be.

This specific edition also suffers from overly old sounding English. This was a stylistic choice in the original translation, but it can get grating and confusing if you aren’t into linguistics. For instance, “y” is used in place of a “th” sound to replace the anachronistic reintroduction of the letter Thorn. It’s not really old English, but more “Ye Olde English”.

Further Considerations

There isn’t just one version of the Goetia; there are many. Each version has different interpretations and instructions. Some are sparse, others include full magical systems. You just have to know what to look for. This edition is relatively sparse, but it’s made to be used as a work for a practicing magician rather than an introduction. It’s a great reference and a great edition, especially for the price.

Most ceremonial magic systems can work the Goetia in with the right experience and understanding. There are also systems like that of Poke Runyon which build on the Goetia. Dr. Rudd’s Goetia has more practical instructions in the use of the Legemeton as it was used at the time of writing.

You can shop around and wind up with a “better” edition, but this edition is the cheapest, most efficient version I could find which serves as a reference. It does what it sets out to do in reproducing the specific edition and it does it without just printing a terrible scan like some works. Even if you already have a copy of the Lemegeton or the Ars Goetia, this is a great addition to your library (if for nothing else than the Enochian invocations and the small form factor). I love this book and strongly recommend you get a copy for your bookshelf.

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