The Key of Solomon The King

Rating:
Summary: Book is not so important, but man (practicer)
Review: I did not read all book yet, but I did not have to read the book, because and without a book, in ussuasly life, any person who is in truth and justice,...after and in gods order,...is able to do many of these experiments without these texts,...completely free, with own being, throw the air,...because it is most important what kind of man you are, and are you as Gods like you,...jesus doned by this way
Book is not anymore important. But it has most high value, of own approvements.
5 stars, nor 4 or less, but five as five corners of pentalpha

Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Work
Review: I had heard of the Key of Solomon online in my solitary practice of the art. I transformed from juvenile satanic wannabe to O.T.O. Associate and low ranking Golden Dawn member, a self initiated Z-5, aka mid carder. Like said here, this does not contain any spells, but information on magickal theory and practice. Mathers is anything but a quack. I had heard of Mathers from my studying of Crowley; he expelled Crowley from the Golden Dawn on grounds of moral depravity, and then Crowley ended up overshadowing him and got known in pop culture. If you are looking for spells, etc., seek elsewhere, but if you are looking for insights into the practice of the art, this book is essential. I was delighted at the affordable price I found it at in a bookstore. For serious, mature students of the occult.

Rating:
Summary: Book is not so important, but man (practicer)
Review: I only give it 4 stars because it is so dry at times but it is more of a notebook than a book. Its pretty much the standard tooth cutting material for anyone wanting to learn evocational magic.

~Marz~

Rating:
Summary: An esoteric view of structures
Review: It's a shame I couldn't give this book more than 5 stars as it very informative and provides the reader with a better understanding of Solomon the son of King David and his beliefs and values. Reputedly written by Solomon himself for his son. Anyone not intersted in Ancient Hebrew culture will find this of next to no value.

Rating:
Summary: Call Me Arrogant
Review: Perhaps it is hubris when I say that I didn't like this manuscript as much as I thought I would. It wasn't through any fault of the information within, but rather the boring and obtuse writing style. Now, perhaps I am arrogant to challenge S.L. Mathers, and perhaps King Solomon himself, when I say that it was long, slow and, at times, unnecessarily vague. When contemplating purchasing this book, however, you must remember that it wasn't intended as a quiet read. This is a Grimoire, and as such does not belabor the point much with storytelling. If you are looking for expoundation on occult philosophy, then I would not recommend this book. If, however, you are already versed in the Esoteric Occult system and ready to closely examine ritual work on your own, I suggest that you peruse this manual and incorporate its ideas.

Rating:
Summary: The First and Best
Review: This is perhaps the greatest and most important grimoire ever written, the book which all other grimoires were based on. Mathers' edition is spectacular due to his understanding of Hebrew and the vast amount of research put into this edition. This book should be in the library of every student of magic and the occult, whether your interest is pureley academic or if it extends to practice of magic.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite grimoire of all time.
Review: This is the original. Most of the other grimoires comes from this source. It has inspired many of the most famous magicians since it was first released and is critical to understanding much of todays magic.

Rating:
Summary: This edition has stood the test of time
Review: This Red Wheel/Weiser edition sets a standard for high quality and low cost. It faithfully reproduces Mathers' original text, and includes a new introduction by modern author R.A. Gilbert.

The Key of Solomon is the most famous and important of all Grimoires, or handbooks of Magic. As A.E. Waite has stated (BCM 58) "At the head of all, and, within certain limits, the inspiration and the source of all, stands the Key of Solomon. ... Mr. Mathers' presentation of the Key of Solomon, which is still in print, though the work of an uncritical hand, must be held to remove the necessity for entering into a detailed account of the contents of that curious work. ... The Key of Solomon can scarcely be judged accurately in the light of its English version, for the translator, preternaturally regarding it as a highly honourable memorial of lawful magic, has excised as much as possible the Goëtic portions, on the ground that they are interpolations, which is of course arbitrary."

Mr. Waite's harsh criticism is hardly justified. In fact, Mathers excised very little. Actually, three of the four significant excisions are operations dealing with love magic (Colorno, chapters 11-13: The experiment of Love, and how it should be performed; The experiment or operation of the Apple; Of the operation of love by her dreams, and how one must practice it. The fourth large excision is chapter 14: Operations and experiments regarding hate and destruction of enemies.) He also omitted one paragraph from the chapter dealing with the use of blood. Mathers also substituted Hebrew for the Latin biblical passages on the pentacles.

It is true that the Mathers edition would not be considered critical by modern standards of scholarship (but Waite's editions of various esoteric texts leave far more to be desired than Mathers'). Especially wanting are a proper critical apparatus, an analysis of the relation between manuscripts, and better utilization of the Latin and Italian manuscripts. Nevertheless, this edition has stood the test of time.

Mathers' translation is almost entirely dependant on French Colorno manuscript exemplars dating 18th century. Abraham Colorno, a Jewish engineer of Mantua (fl. 1578-1598) apparently translated it from the Italian. Mathers was well qualified to translate French texts, but it is not clear how proficient he was in the other languages represented. In the introduction he acknowledged Westcott's help with the Hebrew.

Also heavily used by Mathers was LES VÉRITABLES CLAVICULES DE SALOMON, Traduites de l'Hebreux en langue Latine Par le Rabin ABOGNAZAR (Lansdowne MSS 1203.) Its inclusion by Mathers is puzzling because it is utterly different in content from the other manuscripts (aside from a few of the pentacles at the end of the manuscript) and really should stand alone as a separate text.

Since Mathers' edition was published, many more manuscripts have been uncovered, including several English manuscripts, three Hebrew manuscripts (including one published by Gollancz, 1914), and a Greek manuscript which may be the prototype of the entire genre. The English ones represent a very different manuscript tradition, and have strong Christian elements not found in the Colorno class of manuscripts. I doubt Mathers would have made much use of them even if he had been aware of them. Of course, none of the manuscripts used by Mathers qualify as "ancient" or even "medieval"; the oldest is probably 16th century. There are however precedents going back further, on which see Richard Greenfield's Traditions of Belief in Late Byzantine Demonology.

I cannot begin to convey my contempt for L.W. de Laurence and his bootleg edition of this work, which he retitled The Greater Key of Solomon (Chicago, 1914). Besides taking credit for Mathers' work, he has made many alterations to the texts in order to promote his mail-order business. Beware of it!

Rating:
Summary: Obviously, without a doubt , the TRUE origin of magick . . .
Review: Upon receiving my edition of this work . . .it became apparent to me that (comparing it to most all other magick related subjects) . . that this book is , in fact , the true origin of witchcraft as we know it today. I have recognized the manner in which most arts are formulated , and ALL that Ive studied seems to be derived from nonother than this SPECTACULAR grimoire , containing many helpful MAGICKAL SEALS which can be (I believe) directly used even with the simplicity of modern wicca . . .which(witch) . . obviously is a simplified form of this great work. This book is a MUST HAVE for ALL serious "to-be practitioners". This book gives the real understanding of what witchcraft REALLY is all about.