The Three Magical Books of Solomon: The Greater and Lesser Keys & The Testament of Solomon

by Aleister Crowley, S.L. MacGregor Mathers, F. C. Conybeare

Overview

Reprint of Three Grimoires in One Volume. This omnibus edition reprints the three great magical works of King Solomon in one volume. The Key of Solomon the King was originally researched and translated by S.L. MacGregor Mathers from ancient manuscripts in the British museums. The work is traditionally divided into two books detailing the Key of King Solomon. The Lesser Key of Solomon 1904], or the Clavicula Salomonis Regis, or Lemegeton, is a compilation of materials and writings from ancient sources making up a text book of magic or "grimoire." Portions of this book can be traced back to the mid-16th to 17th centuries, when occult researchers such as Cornelius Agrippa and Johannes Trithemisus assembled what they discovered during their investigations into ancient texts. The Greater Key [1914] lists and describes a variety of purifications an exorcist should undergo. Instructions are given on clothing, magical devices, and even animal sacrifices. The Testament of Solomon [1898] is attributed to King Solomon of the Old Testament. Written in the first-person narrative, the book tells the story of the creation of the magical ring of King Solomon and how Solomon's ring was used to bind and control demons, including Beelzebub.

The manuscripts from which this work was discovered date from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. All were written in Greek. This dating makes most experts believe that the work is medieval. But some scholars argue that it is likely that the work comes from the 5th or 6th centuries. Regardless of the dates, these texts provide an immensely interesting description of how King Solomon tamed various demons to build his temple. The text includes predictions of the coming of Christ, as one demon explains to Solomon that while he may be bound, the only thing that can truly take his power away is the man born from a virgin who will be crucified by the Jews.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781946963178
Publisher:	Albatross Publishers
Publication date:	10/08/2018
Pages:	306
Sales rank:	234,778
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Frederick Cornwallis Conybear was born in Coulsdon, Surrey, England, on September 14, 1856. Conybear attended university at Oxford where he studied the humanities, graduating with a BA, and then a MA in 1882.

After school, Conybear began the study of the Armenian and Georgian languages and translated various religious texts from those languages. The texts that occupied Conybear's efforts were mostly Christian in nature and subject, and, after some time, the works began asserting an influence on the scholar and he became interested in church history.

He died on January 9, 1924 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery alongside his father and grandfather. At the time of his death, he had a fortune in ancient Armenian and Georgian texts, which were donated to the London Library.

Aleister Crowley born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 - 1 December 1947, was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century.

After an unsuccessful attempt to climb Kanchenjunga and a visit to India and China, Crowley returned to Britain, where he attracted attention as a prolific author of poetry, novels, and occult literature. In 1907, he and George Cecil Jones co-founded a Thelemite order, the A.A., through which they propagated the religion. After spending time in Algeria, in 1912 he was initiated into another esoteric order, the German-based Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), rising to become the leader of its British branch.

Samuel Liddell (or Liddel) MacGregor Mathers, born Samuel Liddell Mathers, was a British occultist. He is primarily known as one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a ceremonial magic order of which offshoots still exist today.

Mathers was a polyglot; among the languages he had studied were English, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Gaelic and Coptic, though he had a greater command of some languages than of others. His translations of various ancient texts, while probably justly criticized with respect to quality, were responsible for making what had been obscure and inaccessible material widely available to the non-academic English speaking world.

Mathers died in November 1918 aged 64.