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Sorcery (goetia) 13 languages

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History of grimoires
"Goetia" redirects here. For the video game, see Goetia (video game). Small
Magic and goetia in the
Greco-Roman world Goetia (goh-eh-TEE-ah[1]) is a type of Standard

ON
AN
European sorcery, often referred to as

AT
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Large
Н

M
Greece

HA

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witchcraft, that has been transmitted through

XET

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Roman Empire

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Width

EL

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grimoires—books containing instructions for

T
NOLVWnaNINd
LSVS

Defixiones and performing magical practices. The term "goetia" Standard

sorcery in Roman
Britain finds its origins in the Greek word "goes", which
Wide
originally denoted diviners, magicians, healers,
In Medieval Europe
and seers.[2] Initially, it held a connotation of Color (beta)
Role of the Matter of
low magic, implying fraudulent or deceptive
Britain in the Automatic
mageia as opposed to theurgy, which was

;
'S
condemnation of goetia

SN
IR
Light
Goetia viewed as regarded as divine magic. Grimoires, also
maleficium, sorcery and known as "books of spells" or "spellbooks", WEST
Dark
witchcraft serve as instructional manuals for various The magical circle and triangle,
European witch-hunts magical endeavors. They cover crafting magical magical objects/symbols used in
and witch-trials the evocation of the seventy-two
objects, casting spells, performing divination,
spirits of the Ars Goetia
Magical revival and summoning supernatural entities, such as
See also angels, spirits, deities, and demons.
Although the term "grimoire" Part of a series on
References
originates from Europe, similar Magic
Notes
magical texts have been found in
Citations
diverse cultures across the world.
Works cited
The history of grimoires can be
Further reading
traced back to ancient Mesopotamia,
where magical incantations were Background [show]
inscribed on cuneiform clay tablets. Forms [hide]
Ancient Egyptians also employed Apotropaic magic · Black magic ·
magical practices, including Ceremonial magic · Chaos magic · Divination ·
Evocation · Goetia · Gray magic · Invocation ·
incantations inscribed on amulets. Natural magic · Necromancy · Sex magic ·
The magical system of ancient Egypt, Shamanism · Sigils · Sympathetic magic ·
deified in the form of the god Heka, Thaumaturgy · Theurgy · White magic ·
Witchcraft
underwent changes after the
Religion [show]
Macedonian invasion led by
Alexander the Great. The rise of the Related topics [show]

Coptic writing system and the Library V·T·E

of Alexandria further influenced the

development of magical texts, which Part of a series on
evolved from simple charms to Witchcraft
encompass various aspects of life,
including financial success and
fulfillment. Legendary figures like
Hermes Trismegistus emerged,
associated with writing and magic,
contributing to the creation of magical
Neopagan (Wicca) · Feminist (Dianic)
books.
By region [hide]

Throughout history, various cultures Africa · Asia · Europe (Goetia · Roma) ·

Latin America · Middle East · North America ·
have contributed to magical Oceania
practices. Early Christianity saw the [show]
Related topics
use of grimoires by certain Gnostic
V·T·E
sects, with texts like the Book of
Enoch containing astrological and
angelic information. King Solomon of Israel was linked with magic and sorcery,
attributed to a book with incantations for summoning demons. The pseudepigraphic
Testament of Solomon, one of the oldest magical texts, narrates Solomon's use of a
magical ring to command demons. With the ascent of Christianity, books on magic
were frowned upon, and the spread of magical practices was often associated with
paganism. This sentiment led to book burnings and the association of magical
practitioners with heresy and witchcraft.

The magical revival of Goetia gained momentum in the 19th century, spearheaded
by figures like Eliphas Levi and Aleister Crowley. They interpreted and popularized
magical traditions, incorporating elements from Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and
ceremonial magic. Levi emphasized personal transformation and ethical
implications, while Crowley's works were written in support of his new religious
movement, Thelema. Contemporary practitioners of occultism and esotericism
continue to engage with Goetia, drawing from historical texts while adapting rituals
to align with personal beliefs. Ethical debates surround Goetia, with some
approaching it cautiously due to the potential risks of interacting with powerful
entities. Others view it as a means of inner transformation and self-empowerment.

History of grimoires [ edit ]

Main article: Grimoire

A grimoire (also known as a "book of spells",

"magic book", or a "spellbook") is a textbook of
magic, typically including instructions on how to
create magical objects like talismans and
amulets, how to perform magical spells,
charms, and divination, and how to summon or
invoke supernatural entities such as angels,
spirits, deities, and demons.[3] While the term
grimoire is originally European—and many
Page from the Greek Magical
Europeans throughout history, particularly Papyri, a grimoire of antiquity
ceremonial magicians and cunning folk, have
used grimoires—the historian Owen Davies has
noted that similar books can be found all around the world, ranging from Jamaica to
Sumatra.[4] He also noted that in this sense, the world's first grimoires were created
in Europe and the ancient Near East.[5]

The earliest known written magical incantations come from ancient Mesopotamia
(modern Iraq), where they have been found inscribed on cuneiform clay tablets that
archaeologists excavated from the city of Uruk and dated to between the 5th and
4th centuries BC.[6] The ancient Egyptians also employed magical incantations,
which have been found inscribed on amulets and other items. The Egyptian
magical system, known as heka, was greatly altered and expanded after the
Macedonians, led by Alexander the Great, invaded Egypt in 332 BC.[7]

Under the next three centuries of Hellenistic Egypt, the Coptic writing system
evolved, and the Library of Alexandria was opened. This likely had an influence
upon books of magic, with the trend on known incantations switching from simple
health and protection charms to more specific things, such as financial success and
sexual fulfillment.[7] Around this time the legendary figure of Hermes Trismegistus
developed as a conflation of the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek Hermes; this
figure was associated with writing and magic and, therefore, of books on magic.[8]

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that books on magic were invented by
the Persians. The 1st-century AD writer Pliny the Elder stated that magic had been
first discovered by the ancient philosopher Zoroaster around the year 647 BC but
that it was only written down in the 5th century BC by the magician Osthanes. His
claims are not, however, supported by modern historians.[9] The Greek Magical
Papyri, nearly a millennium after the fall of Mesopotamia, preserve the name of the
Sumerian goddess Ereshkigal.[10]

The ancient Jewish people were often viewed as being knowledgeable in magic,
which, according to legend, they had learned from Moses, who had learned it in
Egypt. Among many ancient writers, Moses was seen as an Egyptian rather than a
Jew. Two manuscripts likely dating to the 4th century, both of which purport to be
the legendary eighth Book of Moses (the first five being the initial books in the
Biblical Old Testament), present him as a polytheist who explained how to conjure
gods and subdue demons.[8]

Meanwhile, there is definite evidence of grimoires being used by certain—

particularly Gnostic—sects of early Christianity. In the Book of Enoch found within
the Dead Sea Scrolls, for instance, there is information on astrology and the
angels. In possible connection with the Book of Enoch, the idea of Enoch and his
great-grandson Noah having some involvement with books of magic given to them
by angels continued through to the medieval period.[9]

Israelite King Solomon was a Biblical figure associated with magic and sorcery in
the ancient world. The 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian Josephus mentioned a
book circulating under the name of Solomon that contained incantations for
summoning demons and described how a Jew called Eleazar used it to cure cases
of possession.[11]

The pseudepigraphic Testament of Solomon is one of the oldest magical texts. It is

a Greek manuscript attributed to Solomon and was likely written in either Babylonia
or Egypt sometime in the first five centuries AD, over 1,000 years after Solomon's
death. The work tells of the building of The Temple and relates that construction
was hampered by demons until the archangel Michael gave the King a magical
ring. The ring, engraved with the Seal of Solomon, had the power to bind demons
from doing harm. Solomon used it to lock demons in jars and commanded others to
do his bidding, although eventually, according to the Testament, he was tempted
into worshiping the gods Moloch and Ashtoreth. Subsequently, after losing favour
with the god of Israel, King Solomon wrote the work as a warning and a guide to
the reader.[12]

When Christianity became the dominant faith of the Roman Empire, the early
Church frowned upon the propagation of books on magic, connecting it with
paganism, and burned books of magic. The New Testament records that after the
unsuccessful exorcism by the seven sons of Sceva became known, many converts
decided to burn their own magic and pagan books in the city of Ephesus; this
advice was adopted on a large scale after the Christian ascent to power.[13]

Magic and goetia in the Greco-Roman world [ edit ]

Main article: Magic in the Greco-Roman world

Greece [ edit ]

The English word magic has its origins in ancient

Greece.[14] During the late sixth and early fifth
centuries BC, the Persian maguš was Graecicized and
introduced into the ancient Greek language as μάγος
and μαγεία.[15] In doing so it transformed meaning,
gaining negative connotations, with the magos being
regarded as a charlatan whose ritual practices were
fraudulent, strange, unconventional, and dangerous.
[15] As noted by Davies, for the ancient Greeks—and
subsequently for the ancient Romans—"magic was not
distinct from religion but rather an unwelcome,
Hecate, the ancient
improper expression of it—the religion of the other".[16] Greek goddess of magic
The historian Richard Gordon suggested that for the
ancient Greeks, being accused of practicing magic
was "a form of insult".[17]

Magical operations largely fell into two categories: theurgy (θεουργία) defined as
high magic, and goetia (γοητεία) as low magic or witchcraft. Theurgy in some
contexts appears simply to glorify the kind of magic that is being practiced—usually
a respectable priest-like figure is associated with the ritual.[18] Goetia was a
derogatory term connoting low, specious or fraudulent mageia.[19][20][21]

Curse tablets, curses inscribed on wax or lead tablets and buried underground,
were frequently executed by all strata of Greek society, sometimes to protect the
entire polis.[22] Communal curses carried out in public declined after the Greek
classical period, but private curses remained common throughout antiquity.[23] They
were distinguished as magical by their individualistic, instrumental and sinister
qualities.[24] These qualities, and their perceived deviation from inherently mutable
cultural constructs of normality, most clearly delineate ancient magic from the
religious rituals of which they form a part.[25]

A large number of magical papyri, in Greek, Coptic, and Demotic, have been
recovered and translated.[26] They contain early instances of:

the use of magic words said to have the power to command spirits;[27]
the use of mysterious symbols or sigils which are thought to be useful when
invoking or evoking spirits.[28]

In the first century BC, the Greek concept of the magos was adopted into Latin and
used by a number of ancient Roman writers as magus and magia.[15] The earliest
known Latin use of the term was in Virgil's Eclogue, written around 40 BC, which
makes reference to magicis... sacris (magic rites).[29] The Romans already had
other terms for the negative use of supernatural powers, such as veneficus and
saga.[29] The Roman use of the term was similar to that of the Greeks, but placed
greater emphasis on the judicial application of it.[15]

Roman Empire [ edit ]

In ancient Roman society, magic was associated with societies to the east of the
empire; the first century AD writer Pliny the Elder for instance claimed that magic
had been created by the Iranian philosopher Zoroaster, and that it had then been
brought west into Greece by the magician Osthanes, who accompanied the military
campaigns of the Persian King Xerxes.[30]

Within the Roman Empire, laws would be introduced criminalising things regarded
as magic.[31] The practice of magic was banned in the late Roman world, and the
Codex Theodosianus (438 AD) states:

If any wizard therefore or person imbued with magical contamination who

is called by custom of the people a magician [...] should be apprehended
in my retinue, or in that of the Caesar, he shall not escape punishment and
torture by the protection of his rank.[32]

Defixiones and sorcery in Roman Britain [ edit ]

Christopher A. Faraone writes that "In Late

Antiquity we can see that a goddess invoked as
Hecate Ereshkigal was useful in both protective
magic and in curses. [...] she also appears on a
number of curse tablets [...]"[34] Robin Melrose
writes that "the first clear-cut magic in Britain
was the use of curse tablets, which came with One of the 130 Bath curse
the Romans.[35] tablets. The inscription in British
Latin translates as: "May he who
Potter and Johns wrote that "Some classical carried off Vilbia from me become
liquid as the water. May she who
deities, notably Hecate of the underworld, had
so obscenely devoured her
triple manifestations. In Roman Britain, some become dumb."[33]
fifty dedications to the Mothers are recorded in
stone inscriptions and other objects,
constituting ample evidence of the importance of the cult among native Celts and
others."[36]

In 1979–80, the Bath curse tablets were found at the site of Aquae Sulis (now Bath
in England).[37] All but one of the 130 tablets concerned the restitution of stolen
goods.[38] Over 80 similar tablets have been discovered in and about the remains
of a temple to Mercury nearby, at West Hill, Uley,[39] making south-western Britain
one of the major centres for finds of Latin defixiones.

Most of the inscriptions are in colloquial Latin,[40] and specifically in the Vulgar Latin
of the Romano-British population, known as "British Latin".[41][42] Two of the
inscriptions are in a language which is not Latin, although they use Roman
lettering, and may be in a British Celtic language.[43] If this should be the case, they
would be the only examples of a written ancient British Celtic language; however,
there is not yet scholarly consensus on their decipherment.[44]

There is also a medieval-era Templar Magic

Square in the Rivington Church in Lancashire,
England.[45] Scholars have found medieval
Sator-based charms, remedies, and cures, for a
diverse range of applications from childbirth, to
toothaches, to love potions, to ways of warding
off evil spells, and even to determine whether
someone was a witch.[46] Richard Cavendish
notes a medieval manuscript in the Bodleian
says: "Write these [five sator] words on in A Sator Square (laid out in the
parchment with the blood of a Culver [pigeon] SATOR-format), etched onto a
and bear it in thy left hand and ask what thou wall in the medieval fortress town
of Oppède-le-Vieux, France
wilt and thou shalt have it. fiat."[47]

In medieval times, the Roman temple at Bath would be incorporated into the Matter
of Britain. The thermal springs at Bath were said to have been dedicated to Minerva
by the legendary King Bladud and the temple there endowed with an eternal flame.
[48]

In Medieval Europe [ edit ]

Role of the Matter of Britain in the condemnation of goetia [ edit ]

Main articles: Merlin, Matter of Britain, and Magic in Anglo-Saxon England

Godfrid Storms argued that animism played a

significant role in the worldview of Anglo-Saxon
magic, noting that in the recorded charms, "All
sorts of phenomenon are ascribed to the visible
or invisible intervention of good or evil spirits."
[49] The primary creature of the spirit world that
appear in the Anglo-Saxon charms is the ælf
(nominative plural ylfe, "elf"), an entity who was
believed to cause sickness in humans.[50]
Another type of spirit creature, a demonic one,
believed to cause physical harm in the Anglo-
Saxon world was the dweorg or dƿeorg/dwerg
("dwarf"), whom Storms characterised as a
"disease-spirit".[51] A number of charms imply A facsimile page of Bald's
Leechbook
the belief that malevolent "disease-spirits" were
causing sickness by inhabiting a person's
blood. Such charms offer remedies to remove these spirits, calling for blood to be
drawn out to drive the disease-spirit out with it.[52]

The adoption of Christianity saw some of these pre-Christian mythological

creatures reinterpreted as devils, who are also referenced in the surviving charms.
[51] In late Anglo-Saxon England, nigromancy ('black magic', sometimes confused
with necromancy) was among the witchcraft practices condemned by Ælfric of
Eynsham (c. 955 – c. 1010):[53][54][55]

Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive

magic and call to the devil; and he comes to them in the likeness of the
man that is buried there, as if he arises from death.[56]

Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395) had said

that demons had children with women called
cambions, which added to the children they had
between them, contributed to increase the
number of demons. However, the first popular
account of such a union and offspring does not
occur in Western literature until around 1136,
when Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the story of
Merlin in his pseudohistorical account of British
history, Historia Regum Britanniae (History of
Merlin is said to have been the Kings of Britain), in which he reported that
born from the relationship of an Merlin's father was an incubus.[57]
incubus with a mortal (illumination
from a 13th century French Anne Lawrence-Mathers writes that at that time
manuscript).
"views on demons and spirits were still
relatively flexible. There was still a possibility
that the daemons of classical tradition were different from the demons of the Bible."
[57] Accounts of sexual relations with demons in literature continues with The Life of
Saint Bernard by Geoffrey of Auxerre (c. 1160) and the Life and Miracles of St.
William of Norwich by Thomas of Monmouth (c. 1173). The theme of sexual
relations with demons became a matter of increasing interest for late 12th-century
writers.[57]

Prophetiae Merlini (The Prophecies of Merlin), a Latin work of Geoffrey of

Monmouth in circulation by 1135,[58][59] perhaps as a libellus or short work,[60] was
the first work about the prophet Myrddin in a language other than Welsh. The
Prophetiae was widely read—and believed—throughout Europe, much as the
prophecies of Nostradamus would be centuries later; John Jay Parry and Robert
Caldwell note that the Prophetiae Merlini "were taken most seriously, even by the
learned and worldly wise, in many nations", and list examples of this credulity as
late as 1445.[61]

It was only beginning in the 1150s that the Church turned its attention to defining
the possible roles of spirits and demons, especially with respect to their sexuality
and in connection with the various forms of magic which were then believed to
exist.[57] Christian demonologists eventually came to agree that sexual
relationships between demons and humans happen, but they disagreed on why
and how.[57] A common point of view is that demons induce men and women to the
sin of lust, and adultery is often considered as an associated sin.

Goetia viewed as maleficium, sorcery and witchcraft [ edit ]

Main articles: Black magic and Medieval European magic

Goetia and some (though not all) medieval

grimoires became associated with demonolatry.
These grimoires contain magical words of
power and instructions for the evocation of
spirits derived from older pagan traditions.
Sources include Assyrian, Egyptian, Persian,
Greek, Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon paganism and
include demons or devils mentioned in the
Bible, such as Asmodeus, Astaroth, and
Beelzebub.[2]

During the 14th century, sorcerers were feared

and respected throughout many societies and
used many practices to achieve their goals.
Illustration by Martin van Maële,
"Witches or sorcerers were usually feared as of a Witches' Sabbath, in the 1911
well as respected, and they used a variety of edition of La Sorciere, by Jules
means to attempt to achieve their goals, Michelet

including incantations (formulas or chants

invoking evil spirits), divination and oracles (to predict the future), amulets and
charms (to ward off hostile spirits and harmful events), potions or salves, and dolls
or other figures (to represent their enemies)".[62]

Medieval Europe saw the Latin legal term maleficium[63] applied to forms of
sorcery or witchcraft that were conducted with the intention of causing harm.[64]
Early in the 14th century, maleficium was one of the charges leveled against the
Knights Templar.[65][66]

Maleficium was defined as "the practice of malevolent magic, derived from casting
lots as a means of divining the future in the ancient Mediterranean world",[67] or as
"an act of witchcraft performed with the intention of causing damage or injury; the
resultant harm."[68] In general, the term applies to any magical act intended to
cause harm or death to people or property.[68] Lewis and Russell stated,
"Maleficium was a threat not only to individuals but also to public order, for a
community wracked by suspicions about witches could split asunder".[62] Those
accused of maleficium were punished by being imprisoned or even executed.[69]

Sorcery came to be associated with the Old Testament figure of Solomon; various
grimoires, or books outlining magical practices, were written that claimed to have
been written by Solomon.[70] One well-known goetic grimoire is the Ars Goetia,
included in the 16th-century text known as The Lesser Key of Solomon,[2] which
was likely compiled from materials several centuries older.[71][72]

One of the most obvious sources for the Ars Goetia is Johann Weyer's
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum in his De praestigiis daemonum (1577). Weyer
relates that his source for this intelligence was a book called Liber officiorum
spirituum, seu liber dictus Empto Salomonis, de principibus et regibus demoniorum
("The book of the offices of spirits, or the book called Empto, by Solomon, about the
princes and kings of demons").[73] 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.[73][74] Additionally, some material came from
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1533), and the
Heptameron by pseudo-Pietro d'Abano.[a][73][75]

The later Middle Ages saw words for these practitioners of harmful magical acts
appear in various European languages: sorcière in French, Hexe in German, strega
in Italian, and bruja in Spanish.[76] The English term for malevolent practitioners of
magic, witch, derived from the earlier Old English term wicce.[76] A person that
performs sorcery is referred to as a sorcerer or a witch, conceived as someone who
tries to reshape the world through the occult. The word witch is over a thousand
years old: Old English formed the compound wiccecræft from wicce ('witch') and
cræft ('craft').[77] The masculine form was wicca ('male sorcerer').[78] In early
modern Scots, the word warlock came to be used as the male equivalent of witch
(which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females).[79][80][81]

Probably the best-known characteristic of a sorcerer or witch is their ability to cast a

spell—a set of words, a formula or verse, a ritual, or a combination of these,
employed to do magic.[82] Spells traditionally were cast by many methods, such as
by the inscription of glyphs or sigils on an object to give that object magical powers;
by the immolation or binding of a wax or clay image (poppet) of a person to affect
them magically; by the recitation of incantations; by the performance of physical
rituals; by the employment of magical herbs as amulets or potions; by gazing at
mirrors, swords or other specula (scrying) for purposes of divination; and by many
other means.[83][84][85]

During the Renaissance, the many magical practices and rituals of goetia were
considered evil or irreligious and by extension, black magic in the broad sense.
Witchcraft and non-mainstream esoteric study were prohibited and targeted by the
Inquisition.[86]

European witch-hunts and witch-trials [ edit ]

Main articles: Witchcraft, Witch-hunt, and Witch trials in the early modern period

In Christianity, sorcery came to be associated

with heresy and apostasy and to be viewed as
evil. Among the Catholics, Protestants, and
secular leadership of the European Early
Modern period, fears about sorcery and
witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led
to large-scale witch-hunts. The key century was
the fifteenth, which saw a dramatic rise in
awareness and terror of witchcraft, culminating
in the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum
but prepared by such fanatical popular
preachers as Bernardino of Siena.[87]

A 1613 English pamphlet

The Malleus Maleficarum, (Latin for 'Hammer of
showing "Witches apprehended,
The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual examined and executed"
written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich
Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by
both Catholics and Protestants[88] for several hundred years, outlining how to
identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to
put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and
typically female. The book became the handbook for secular courts throughout
Renaissance Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned
against relying on the work.[b] In total, tens or hundreds of thousands of people
were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and
possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in
some regions the majority were men.[89][90]

Johann Weyer (1515–1588) was a Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist,

and a disciple and follower of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. He was among the first to
publish against the persecution of witches. His most influential work is De
Praestigiis Daemonum et Incantationibus ac Venificiis ('On the Illusions of the
Demons and on Spells and Poisons'; 1563).

In 1584, the English writer Reginald Scot published The Discoverie of Witchcraft, a
book intended as an exposé of early modern witchcraft. Scot believed that the
prosecution of those accused of witchcraft was irrational and not Christian, and he
held the Roman Church responsible. Popular belief held that all obtainable copies
were burned on the accession of James I in 1603.[91]

In 1597, King James VI and I published a treatise, Daemonologie, a philosophical

dissertation on contemporary necromancy and the historical relationships between
the various methods of divination used from ancient black magic. It was reprinted
again in 1603 when James took the throne of England. The widespread consensus
is that King James wrote Daemonologie in response to sceptical publications such
as Scot's book.[92]

European witch-trials reached their peak in the early 17th century, after which
popular sentiment began to turn against the practice. Friedrich Spee's book Cautio
Criminalis, published in 1631, argued that witch-trials were largely unreliable and
immoral.[93] In 1682, King Louis XIV prohibited further witch-trials in France. In
1736, Great Britain formally ended witch-trials with passage of the Witchcraft Act.
[94]

Magical revival [ edit ]

The magical revival of Goetia gained

Part of a series on
significant momentum in the 19th
Thelema
century with the contributions of
figures like Eliphas Levi. Levi, a
French occultist and writer, played a
pivotal role in reinterpreting and
popularizing magical traditions, Unicursal hexagram

including Goetia. His works, such as The Rights of Man

The Key of the Mysterie and Holy Books and Stele [show]
Transcendental Magic, synthesized [show]
Key figures
elements of Kabbalah, Hermeticism,
Core concepts [show]
and ceremonial magic. Levi's
Methods [show]
perspective framed Goetia as a
means of harnessing and mastering Thelemic texts [show]
the forces of the spiritual world for Organizations [show]
personal transformation. He [show]
Deities
emphasized the moral and ethical
Places [show]
implications of magical practice,
Related topics [hide]
reflecting the changing intellectual
Abramelin oil · Cake of Light · Choronzon ·
landscape of the time.[95]
Eroto-comatose lucidity · Goetia ·
Liber Pennae Praenumbra · Magical formulae ·
Aleister Crowley, a central figure in Number of the beast · Obeah and wanga ·
20th-century occultism, continued the Qlippoth · Table of magical correspondences
magical revival of Goetia. A member · The Beast and Whore of Babylon ·
Worship of heavenly bodies
of the Hermetic Order of the Golden
V·T·E
Dawn, Crowley was deeply
influenced by its teachings and
rituals. His exploration of Goetia can be seen in his The Book of the Goetia of
Solomon the King, which offered his perspective on working with spirits. Crowley's
approach blended his interpretation of ceremonial magic, Eastern mysticism, and
personal experimentation. He emphasized the magician's willpower and authority in
commanding spirits, reflecting his individualistic and transformative magical
philosophy.[96]

The magical revival of Goetia has persisted into modern times within the realm of
occultism. Contemporary practitioners of ceremonial magic, occult traditions, and
esotericism often incorporate elements of Goetia into their practices. These
individuals draw from historical grimoires, including the classic Lesser Key of
Solomon, while also interpreting and adapting its rituals to align with their personal
beliefs and spiritual goals. While some view Goetia as a path to self-mastery and
spiritual empowerment, others engage with it as a historical curiosity or a means of
connecting with symbolic forces.[97]

See also [ edit ]

Astral cult
Black shamanism
Bornless Ritual
Ceremonial magic
Chaos magic
Classification of demons
Geomancy
Left-hand path and right-hand path
Magical formula
Magical Treatise of Solomon
Neopagan witchcraft
Renaissance magic
Scrying
Sexuality in Christian demonology

References [ edit ]

Notes [ edit ]

a. ^ The latter republished spuriously as a purported Fourth Book of Agrippa.

b. ^ Jolly, Raudvere & Peters (2002), p. 241: "In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its
members not to believe everything the Malleus said, even when it presented apparently
firm evidence."

Citations [ edit ]
[failed verification]
1. ^ Pronunciation of Goetia
2. ^ a b c Drury & Hume (2013), p. 124 .
3. ^ Davies (2009), p. 1.
4. ^ Davies (2009), pp. 2–5.
5. ^ Davies (2009), pp. 6–7.
6. ^ Davies (2009), p. 8.
7. ^ a b Davies (2009), pp. 8–9.
8. ^ a b Davies (2009), p. 10.
9. ^ a b Davies (2009), p. 7.
10. ^ Graf (2011), p. 133.
11. ^ Butler (1979).
12. ^ Davies (2009), pp. 12–13.
13. ^ Davies (2009), pp. 18–20.
14. ^ Bremmer (2002), p. 1.
15. ^ a b c d Otto & Stausberg (2013), p. 16.
16. ^ Davies (2012), p. 41.
17. ^ Gordon (1999), p. 163.
18. ^ Luck (1985), p. 51.
19. ^ Luck (1985), p. [page needed].
20. ^ Luck (1999), pp. 99, 101 .
21. ^ Gordon (1999), p. 164.
22. ^ Kindt (2012), pp. 95–96.
23. ^ Hinnells (2009), p. 313.
24. ^ Kindt (2012), p. 96.
25. ^ Kindt (2012), pp. 102–103.