Goetia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the various editions of the book, The Goetia, see The Lesser Key of Solomon.
Goetic Theurgy, another practice described in the Lesser Key of Solomon, is similar to the book's description of Goetia, but is used to invoke aerial spirits.
Contents
Etymology
Ancient Greek γοητεία (goitia) means "charm, jugglery"[1] from γόης "sorcerer, wizard".[2] The meaning of "sorcerer" is attested in a scholion, referring to the Dactyli, stating that according to Pherecydes[disambiguation needed] and Hellanicus, those to the left are goētes, while those to the right are deliverers from sorcery.[3] The word may be ultimately derived from the verb γοάω "groan, bewail". Derived terms are γοήτευμα "a charm" and γοητεύω "to bewitch, beguile".Γοητεία was a term for witchcraft in Hellenistic magic. Latinized goetia via French goétie was adopted into English as goecie, goety in the 16th century.
Renaissance magic
During the Renaissance goeteia (Latinized goetia, French goétie, English goety) was sometimes contrasted with magia as black (evil) vs. white magic, or with theurgy as "low" vs. "high" magic.James Sanford in his 1569 translation of Agrippa's Of the vanitie and uncertaintie of artes and sciences has
- The partes of ceremoniall Magicke be Geocie, and Theurgie.
The Ars Goetia
Main article: The Lesser Key of Solomon
Ars Goetia is the title of the first section of The Lesser Key of Solomon, containing descriptions of the seventy-two demons that King Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he obliged to work for him. The Ars Goetia
assigns a rank and a title of nobility to each member of the infernal
hierarchy, and gives the demons "signs they have to pay allegiance to",
or seals. The lists of entities in the Ars Goetia correspond (to high but varying degree, often according to edition) with those in Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum an appendix appearing in later editions of his De Praestigiis Daemonum, of 1563.A revised English edition of the Ars Goetia was published in 1904 by Samuel Liddell Mathers and Aleister Crowley as The Goetia. based on manuscripts from the British Museum, with additions by Crowley, including a Preliminary Invocation drawn from Goodwin's Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic, and the essay The Initiated Interpretation of Ceremonial Magic. It is not a faithful edition of the source manuscripts but contains several innovations,[4] including some evocations in Enochian written by Crowley. In his introduction, Crowley argues that the work of demonic evocation is merely a form of psychological self-exploration. It has since become a relatively well-known book of magic and has even been featured in places like the graphic novel Promethea by Alan Moore and James Blish's novel Black Easter.
The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage
Main article: The Book of Abramelin
The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage[5]
is considered both a theurgic and goetic book of magic, mostly used in a
religious context. Contrary to the other Goetia Grimoires, this book
does not denote the evocation of demons to do one's bidding or
involuntary handywork, but describes how one might summon these infernal
forces, solely for the purpose of excommunicating them from the life of
the Magus.[6] This book was considered a system that led the aspirant closer to the goal of henosis,
or spiritual reunion with God. Describing how to summon the dukes of
Hell, even Lucifer, for the purpose of resisting the temptation of their
vices, and binding their influence in the aspirant's life.This book told a system of holy magic through a six-month purification, then after the conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, one would summon the four Great Kings of Hell (Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan, Belial), and make them sign an oath. This Oath (after gaining the power of the supernal realm), would grant the Adept power over the Infernal Realm and aid the Adept in discovering the "True and Sacred Wisdom" in the form of magic squares.
In popular culture
Main article: Goetic demons in popular culture
See also
Notes
- "LSJ". Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
- "LSJ". Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
- K. Müller, Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum Paris: Didot, 1841-1870, fr. 7, Ἀριστεροὶ μὲν, ὥς φησι Φερεκύδης, οἱ γόητες αὐτῶν· οἱ δὲ ἀναλύοντες, δεξιοὶ, ὡς Ἑλλάνικος.
- Stephen Skinner & David Rankine, The Goetia of Dr. Rudd Golden Hoard Press, 2007, pp. 47-50
- The Secrets of the Magical Grimoires, By: Aaron Leitch Chapter 1
- "Sacred Magic of Abramelin: The Second Book: The Seventeenth Chapter. What We Should Answer Unto the Interrogations of the Spirits, and How We Should Resist Their Demands". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
References
- E. J. Langford Garstin, Theurgy or The Hermetic Practice: A Treatise on Spiritual Alchemy. Berwick: Ibis Press, 2004. (Published posthumously)
- Aleister Crowley (ed.), Samuel Liddell Mathers (trans.), The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King. York Beach, ME : Samuel Weiser (1995) ISBN 0-87728-847-X.
- Stephen Skinner, & David Rankine, The Goetia of Dr Rudd: The Angels and Demons of Liber Malorum Spirituum Seu Goetia (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic). Golden Hoard Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9547639-2-3
