Praise for Solomonic Pentacles
“At long last, a modern approach to Solomonic pentacles is presented in a digestible, realistic, and practical format. To say this book is impressive is a major understatement. For serious magickal practitioners seeking next-level material, this thorough and highly specialized esoteric contribution is a must-have for your bookshelf!”
Raven Digitalis , author of Esoteric Empathy
“Emrys offers in Solomonic Pentacles an intimate, living relationship with a set of tools often seen but not so often understood. Introducing each pentacle within individual and collective context, Solomonic Pentacles is a thorough, well-researched, and fascinating guide to some of the most important tools of the Key of Solomon. A welcome reference book breaking down these ancient evocation tools.”
— Benjamin Stimpson , author of Ancestral Whispers
“Emrys Abner provides a brilliant analysis, retrospective, and profoundly practical guide to working with Solomonic pentacles. He introduces cutting-edge techniques and practices for working with the outer planets, expanding and challenging the conventional wisdom behind this form of magic. Whether you are new to working with pentacles or have experience, this book will help you level up your magical workings.”
— Taylor Ellwood , author of Walking with Daemonic Spirits
“A fantastic resource that clarifies often difficult-to-understand Solomonic magic, making it practical and meaningful for today’s practitioners. By connecting historical context with practical application, Abner offers clear explanations for each pentacle’s purpose and use. Complex magical concepts are made accessible through Abner’s conversational style and real-world examples while maintaining impressive depth and authenticity.”
Baal Kadmon , author of The Magickal Talismans of King Solomon
“Emrys provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and working with Solomonic pentacles. In addition to celebrating their history and usage, he elucidates their form and function in great detail. He also expands our current knowledge base by presenting novel trans-Saturnian pentacles. If you seek to forge a deeper relationship with the pentacles, this is the book for you!”
—Soror Velchanes, author of The Planetary Magic Workbook
Solomonic Pentacles
About the Author
Emrys Abner has spent his life chasing the Divine through history, theology, music, and art. He was a middle school music teacher for fifteen years, and this helped him learn to deconstruct complex magical concepts and present them in an accessible way. He currently runs a sacred workshop business called the Acoustic Alchemist and hosts the Random Illusions podcast. Learn more at Linktr.ee/AcousticAlchemist.
Solomonic Pentacles
WISDOM AND MAGIC FOR THE MODERN AGE
Emrys Abner
Solomonic Pentacles: Wisdom and Magic for the Modern Age Copyright © 2025 by Emrys Abner. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd., except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.
First Edition
First Printing, 2025
Book design by Donna Burch-Brown
Cover design by Kevin R. Brown
Interior art by Emrys Abner
The Bornless Rite/Stele of Jeu text used with permission of the University of Chicago Press, from The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells by Hans Dieter Betz © 1986; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Llewellyn Publications is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
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ISBN: 978-0-7387-8002-3
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Disclaimer
This book is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of advice and treatment from your primary care provider. Readers are advised to consult their doctors or other qualified healthcare professionals regarding the treatment of their medical or mental health problems and before undergoing any kind of fast or dietary change. Neither the publisher nor the author takes any responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment to any person reading or following the information in this book.
Contents
Pentacles in Order of Appearance xi
Pentacles by Need xv
Rituals in Order of Appearance xxi
Introduction 1
SECTION I: BACKGROUND
Chapter 1: The Story of Solomon 13
Chapter 2: Solomonic Concepts 23
Chapter 3: The Magical Process of Intention 43
Chapter 4: Crafting Pentacles 53
Chapter 5: Working with the Pentacles 63
SECTION II: THE RITUALS
Chapter 6: The Rituals Explained 75
Chapter 7: The Rituals 83
SECTION III: THE PENTACLES
Chapter 8: The Pentacles Explained 133
Chapter 9: The Classical Pentacles 139
Chapter 10: The Trans-Saturnian Pentacles 285
Appendix 1: The Psalms 347
Appendix 2: The Bornless Rite/Stele of Jeu 381
Bibliography 385
Pentacles in Order of Appearance
The Classical Pentacles
First Pentacle of Jupiter 140
Second Pentacle of Jupiter 144
Third Pentacle of Jupiter 148
Fourth Pentacle of Jupiter 151
Fifth Pentacle of Jupiter 154
Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter 158
Seventh Pentacle of Jupiter 162
First Pentacle of Mars 165
Second Pentacle of Mars 169
Third Pentacle of Mars 173
Fourth Pentacle of Mars 176
Fifth Pentacle of Mars 179
Sixth Pentacle of Mars 182
Seventh Pentacle of Mars 186
First Pentacle of Mercury 189
Second Pentacle of Mercury 192
Third Pentacle of Mercury 195
Fourth Pentacle of Mercury 199
Fifth Pentacle of Mercury 202
First Pentacle of the Moon 204
Second Pentacle of the Moon 210
Third Pentacle of the Moon 212
Fourth Pentacle of the Moon 214
Fifth Pentacle of the Moon 218
Sixth Pentacle of the Moon 221
xii Pentacles in Order of Appearance
First Pentacle of Saturn 224
Second Pentacle of Saturn 226
Third Pentacle of Saturn 229
Fourth Pentacle of Saturn 232
Fifth Pentacle of Saturn 235
Sixth Pentacle of Saturn 238
Seventh Pentacle of Saturn 241
First Pentacle of the Sun 244
Second Pentacle of the Sun 247
Third Pentacle of the Sun 251
Fourth Pentacle of the Sun 254
Fifth Pentacle of the Sun 258
Sixth Pentacle of the Sun 262
Seventh Pentacle of the Sun 265
First Pentacle of Venus 268
Second Pentacle of Venus 272
Third Pentacle of Venus 276
Fourth Pentacle of Venus 279
Fifth Pentacle of Venus 282
The Trans-Saturnian Pentacles
First Pentacle of Uranus 286
Second Pentacle of Uranus 290
Third Pentacle of Uranus 293
Fourth Pentacle of Uranus 296
Fifth Pentacle of Uranus 298
Sixth Pentacle of Uranus 301
Seventh Pentacle of Uranus 304
First Pentacle of Neptune 307
Second Pentacle of Neptune 311
Third Pentacle of Neptune 314
Fourth Pentacle of Neptune 317
Fifth Pentacle of Neptune 320
Sixth Pentacle of Neptune 323
Seventh Pentacle of Neptune 326
First Pentacle of Pluto 329
Second Pentacle of Pluto 333
Third Pentacle of Pluto 336
Fourth Pentacle of Pluto 339
Fifth Pentacle of Pluto 342
Sixth Pentacle of Pluto 345
Attack
Pentacles by Need
Third Pentacle of Mars 173
Fifth Pentacle of the Moon 218
Fourth Pentacle of Saturn 232
Sixth Pentacle of Saturn 238
Authority
Fifth Pentacle of Mars 179
First Pentacle of the Sun 244
Second Pentacle of the Sun 247
Business, Success in Endeavors
First Pentacle of Jupiter 140
Second Pentacle of Jupiter 144
Third Pentacle of Jupiter 148
Fourth Pentacle of Mars 176
First Pentacle of the Sun 244
Third Pentacle of the Sun 251
Chaos, Discord
Third Pentacle of Mars 173
Seventh Pentacle of Mars 186
Third Pentacle of Neptune 314
Clearing, Road-Opener
Fifth Pentacle of Mercury 202
First Pentacle of the Moon 204
Seventh Pentacle of the Sun 265
Second Pentacle of Neptune 311
Fourth Pentacle of Pluto 339
Communication, Necromancy
Third Pentacle of Mercury 195
Fifth Pentacle of the Moon 218
First Pentacle of Saturn 224
Sixth Pentacle of Saturn 238
Fourth Pentacle of the Sun 254
Second Pentacle of Pluto 333
Healing, Restoration
Seventh Pentacle of Jupiter 162
Second Pentacle of Mars 169
Sixth Pentacle of Uranus 301
Second Pentacle of Neptune 311
Fourth Pentacle of Pluto 339
Influence
First Pentacle of Saturn 224
First Pentacle of the Sun 244
Second Pentacle of Venus 272
Knowledge, Skill
First Pentacle of Mercury 189
Third Pentacle of Mercury 195
Fourth Pentacle of Mercury 199
Third Pentacle of Uranus 293
Fourth Pentacle of Neptune 317
Fifth Pentacle of Neptune 320
Love
First Pentacle of Venus 268
Second Pentacle of Venus 272
Third Pentacle of Venus 276
Fourth Pentacle of Venus 279
Fifth Pentacle of Venus 282
Natural Phenomena
Sixth Pentacle of the Moon 221
Seventh Pentacle of Saturn 241
Seventh Pentacle of Uranus 304
Second Pentacle of Neptune 311
Power
Seventh Pentacle of Mars 186
Second Pentacle of Mercury 192
Seventh Pentacle of Saturn 241
Third Pentacle of Neptune 314
Protection, Defense
Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter 158
Fifth Pentacle of Mars 179
Sixth Pentacle of Mars 182
Second Pentacle of the Moon 210
Third Pentacle of the Moon 212
Fourth Pentacle of the Moon 214
Fifth Pentacle of the Moon 218
Third Pentacle of Saturn 229
Fifth Pentacle of Saturn 235
Fifth Pentacle of the Sun 258
Sixth Pentacle of Uranus 301
First Pentacle of Neptune 307
Fourth Pentacle of Neptune 317
Sixth Pentacle of Neptune 323
Second Pentacle of Pluto 333
Psychic, Magic, Divination
Fifth Pentacle of Jupiter 154
Fourth Pentacle of the Sun 254
Sixth Pentacle of the Sun 262
Fifth Pentacle of Uranus 298
First Pentacle of Neptune 307
Seventh Pentacle of Neptune 326
Reputation, Honor, Dignities
Second Pentacle of Jupiter 144
First Pentacle of Mercury 189
Third Pentacle of the Sun 251
First Pentacle of Venus 268
Second Pentacle of Venus 272
Second Pentacle of Uranus 290
Third Pentacle of Pluto 336
Self-Betterment
First Pentacle of Mars 165
First Pentacle of Mercury 189
Third Pentacle of Mercury 195
First Pentacle of the Moon 204
First Pentacle of the Sun 244
First Pentacle of Venus 268
Second Pentacle of Venus 272
First Pentacle of Uranus 286
Second Pentacle of Uranus 290
Third Pentacle of Uranus 293
Fourth Pentacle of Uranus 296
Seventh Pentacle of Uranus 304
Fifth Pentacle of Neptune 320
Pentacles by Need
First Pentacle of Pluto 329
Third Pentacle of Pluto 336
Fourth Pentacle of Pluto 339
Fifth Pentacle of Pluto 342
Sixth Pentacle of Pluto 345
Shadow Work
Fourth Pentacle of Saturn 232
Third Pentacle of Uranus 293
First Pentacle of Pluto 329
Second Pentacle of Pluto 333
Third Pentacle of Pluto 336
Fourth Pentacle of Pluto 339
Victory
Fourth Pentacle of Mars 176
Second Pentacle of Saturn 226
Wealth, Abundance
First Pentacle of Jupiter 140
Second Pentacle of Jupiter 144
Third Pentacle of Jupiter 148
Fourth Pentacle of Jupiter 151
Seventh Pentacle of Jupiter 162
Third Pentacle of the Sun 251
Fifth Pentacle of Pluto 342
Rituals in Order of Appearance
Ritual Baths, Exorcism of Water, Benediction of Salt (GKS book 2, chapter 5) 91
Preparatory Conjuration (GKS book 2, chapter 4) 94
Preparation of Ritual Space (GKS book 2, chapter 7) 96
Preparatory Prayer (GKS book 2, chapter 2) 98
Preparation for Companions (GKS book 2, chapter 3) 100
Exorcism of Incense and Fire (GKS book 2, chapter 10) 101
Preparations for Candles (GKS book 2, chapter 12) 103
Construction of the Circle (GKS book 1, chapter 3) 105
The Confession (GKS book 1, chapter 4) 113
Primary Conjuration (GKS book 1, chapter 5) 118
License to Depart (GKS book 1, chapter 7) 123
Pentacle Consecration (GKS book 1, chapter 8) 124
Introduction
If you’re holding this book and wondering whether the world really needs another book on the Solomonic pentacles, believe me when I say that I have asked myself that question hundreds of times while putting this together. The answer always came back as a resounding yes, because what’s currently available is either incomplete or incredibly dense and written by academics for fellow academics. There’s nothing wrong with those books. In fact, I admire the works of these other authors, but there’s a middle ground that’s largely undeveloped, and it is this middle ground that is of greatest interest to the greatest number of people.
But let me back up a minute. What are Solomonic pentacles?
Solomonic pentacles are magical seals that use a variety of symbols, divine names, sacred symbols, angelic names, Hebrew letters, and esoteric designs to bring about desired effects in the life of the user. Though created by the hands and minds of humans, they were divinely inspired as a gift to humanity. The needs and wants they address are common to all of us: protection, love, sex, abundance, success, enhanced abilities, and angelic assistance with difficult situations. They’re designed to help us with the challenges we face as part of this mortal life. They’re accessible to all, regardless of religious or sociocultural background.
These seals are etched into metal talismans that are commonly worn by their users to produce the desired effects, though wearing them is not a requirement. They can be stored in a special place, affixed to items of personal significance, displayed for all to see, or hidden somewhere secret. The energy and ability to produce these effects comes from
the angels associated with each pentacle. Pentacles are a method for calling upon celestial entities and divine energies to assist us. I can attest that they manifest miracles and can assure you that they work.
Personal History
My relationship with pentacles came at a crucial juncture in my life where I was questioning everything and was spiritually adrift. I come from a Catholic family, went to a Catholic college, and spent time living at St. Stanislaus, a monastery for Brothers of the Sacred Heart. I have always been a spiritual person, but I was at odds with how that spirituality was expressed. I had found a local Unitarian Universalist community that was much more aligned with my values and concepts of divinity, but it was too theoretical. I wanted a visceral experience. As a musician, I yearned to connect that transcendent feeling of playing music to a process of spiritual ascent. Like Doubting Thomas, the apostle who didn’t believe Jesus had risen from the dead until he felt the holes in his hands and feet, I had to feel my spirituality for it to be real. That’s when I found the world of esoterica. It fostered individuality and personal responsibility. It focused on the experience of working directly with gods, goddesses, angels, demons, and so on. Those experiences are testable, are repeatable, and do not require the services of a spiritual expert or religious middleman. These things are important to me as a rational human being, but they also played nice with my professional training in education research, statistics, and demographics. It was a mode of spirituality that aligned with the observable universe, and the more I dug into the source materials, the more interesting the subject became.
In 2021 I took a leap of faith, with support from my wife, to leave my day job in the world of education and pursue esoteric studies full time. I was blessed with an opportunity few have to dedicate myself fully to reading, practicing, and experimenting, which sped up my familiarity with the material considerably. I opened an online shop called the Acoustic Alchemist, selling pentacles, altar plates, and other tools for mages and adepts. It is largely through this work that I became specifically enamored with Solomonic pentacles. I admired their power and their simplicity. I appreciated their grace and the cleverness of their design. Most of all, I respected their reliability in producing desired effects for myself and my clients. I tested their efficacy and recorded results in
my journals. I spent time conversing with spirits about what they’re for, how they work, and their potential. Acting on what I learned, I devised experiments to see if the pentacles could be used in ways that were different, but related, to their stated purpose in the grimoires. I have made thousands of them using varied methods of construction, and while my hands were occupied with the task of creating them, my mind was meditating on their meaning and my soul was searching out their mysteries. All the while, I made notes on what I discovered that eventually coalesced into the volume you’re reading now. I was personally at a point where I identified as agnostic until I started practicing magic. The sheer amount of experiences I have had since then have completely changed my perspective on, well, everything. The existence of these spirits and of the Divine was impossible to ignore or explain away. Magic changed me—for the better, I would like to think—and it will change you too. That’s what it does.
I continue to look to the pentacles for guidance and change in my life. I’m always learning new things about them or new aspects to their abilities. I hope that this is the start of your own lifelong-learning affair with Solomonic pentacles.
What to Expect
Instead of going into great detail about the research efforts, methodologies employed, and the like, I want to give you a brief overview of what this book is and what it isn’t.
It is meant to be a practical reference resource. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a bookshelf full of reproductions of old tomes, manuscripts, and grimoires, and while they all contain great information, it’s pretty scattered and hard to find when you need it. I will give you all the information you need on each pentacle to work with them, make them, and use them in your life. Each pentacle has a section that will allow you to access all the crucial information at a glance so you’re not juggling a dozen books and trying to do your work amid a flurry of pages.
It is a product of research, testing, and personal revelation. You don’t need another regurgitation of previously translated, widely available, and free versions of the primary manuscripts. Acclaimed translator and scholar Joseph Peterson graciously maintains a website called the Esoteric Archives, which provides free access
to his translations of historically important esoteric texts. It’s a gold mine of information, and I encourage you to read voraciously. What I’m presenting is a bit different. While I respect the original sources and use them for reference, the heart of esoteric practice cannot only be found within the pages of books, no matter how well crafted. It is an ecstatic mystical tradition that must be experienced. I combine the historical with what I’ve learned from using the pentacles in my life and will be sharing information that I have received through angelic revelation.
It isn’t going to reveal any ancient secrets to you.
Most books claiming to reveal ancient secrets of the sages aren’t really doing that either, but it’s a nice marketing tactic. What this book will do is help you discover esoteric secrets of your own through the use of the pentacles. One of my favorite turns of phrase is “Revelation is not sealed.” People seem to think that the Divine used to speak to, or through, prophets and holy figures thousands of years ago and just stopped for some unknown reason. I contend that we are all just as capable of communing with the Divine and celestial beings as King Solomon, Enoch, Moses, or Jacob were. They were just people like us. We have the same divine spark within us and the same ability to mold our reality into a more pleasing form.
It is not exhaustive.
While this text is an attempt to demystify certain aspects of the tradition and provide a wealth of context to operate from, it is not striving to be the end-all-be-all of books on Solomonic magic. I hope to introduce concepts, illumine symbolism, and present some new ways of looking at things without denying the credibility of others’ contributions and opinions. There are so many good books out there on this subject, and they all deal with different aspects of it. This is an enormous field of study, and one volume could not hope to do it justice. As always, there’s more to learn, but that’s one of the things that makes magic so powerful and intriguing. You could spend lifetimes studying it, and you wouldn’t be able to learn it all. Read as much as you can, take what’s helpful, and leave what isn’t.
It is going to question tradition. I have nothing against tradition. I do have something against the veneration of tradition just because it’s old. Many people in the esoteric field scramble to find the oldest texts possible, believing that age is synonymous with truth. It isn’t. The older a version of the text is, the less likely it is to have been tampered with by scribes, translators, or political or religious figures with an axe to grind, but it is also possible that the original author had their own, nonspiritual motives as well. The tradition of Solomonic magic is particularly troublesome in this respect due to the colorful history of the authors, the content, and the societal/cultural standards that necessitated these texts be hidden, intentionally obscured, and in some cases destroyed. The transmission of Solomonic manuscripts and their predecessors like the Hygromanteia and the Sepher ha-Otot are equally difficult to pin down. While scholars like Dr. Stephen Skinner have done a fantastic job of detailing the likely course of the transmission and development of these documents, it’s still a long and winding road that is often unclear. Knowing the history of Solomonic manuscripts is helpful for understanding the timeline of ideas, the cultural context in which those ideas were forged or modified, and the likely influences that were acting upon their authors and copyists. However, the focus of this work is to help the average person who’s just trying to figure this stuff out for improving their situation.
The best way we can adapt the pentacles to work with our modern life is to strip down the rituals to their essence, keep what works, modify or eliminate what’s superfluous, learn what each pentacle is trying to teach us, and apply it to our lives in a way that makes sense. Here’s a good example: The Greater Key of Solomon specifies the manner in which pentacles should be constructed. Nowhere in there does it mention the use of a CNC machine, a rotary tool, or a laser engraver. Does that mean they’re prohibited? No! The authors simply hadn’t heard of, or even dreamt of, those innovations yet. I guarantee you that if they had the technology we have now, they would have used it. To them, using a laser would be magical in itself; you’re carving divine designs into metal using only light! They would think you had found a way to harness the eternal light of heaven itself.
It’s silly to think that we should be bound by the limitations of authors living in the Middle Ages. They didn’t even all have running water then. You aren’t going to rush out and buy a bucket to get your water from the town well (assuming your town has a well)
just for the sake of authenticity, are you? Not to mention that most traditionalists don’t even follow all the instructions themselves. They might be careful to use the right metals on the right planetary hours when the right astrological signs are in the sky, but the Greater Key of Solomon is way more specific than that. There’s a nine-day fasting period that must be observed with numerous prayers, scriptural recitations, and orations to perform. There are special robes, shoes, belts, and so on that are supposed to be worn, each made of a specific material and prepared in a specific manner. There are huge, complicated magical circles that must be drawn on the ground with the point of a specially prepared blade. There are wands, swords, staves, urns, ritual baths, fasting, purification rituals, and the list goes on. There are very few people who have the time, patience, money, skill, and knowledge to accumulate all these doodads and truly perform the rituals outlined in Solomonic texts as prescribed. If most practitioners are cherry-picking which parts to follow and which to ignore, then where is the line between an authentic Solomonic magician and someone who’s doing it wrong?
No such line exists, and magic, being an experiential practice, is unique to the magus. You need not follow grimoires to the letter. Magic does not need to be difficult to be effective. For magic to be effective, it must make sense to you; you must believe it. Angels will meet you where you’re at and will do their best to conform to your expectations. There is some effective psychology hiding within the complicated orations and preparations; most will only believe in their results if they are hard-won. The angels we are working with understand this, and they play to our expectations. If you believe that magical operations must be difficult, then difficult is what you’re going to get. What would happen if you surrendered to their greater wisdom and let it be simple? You guessed right—they’ll make it easy. This stuff wasn’t meant to be a static relic of a bygone age of spiritual attainment. It was meant to be a living tradition that allows each and every human to reach their full spiritual potential, which segues nicely to the next point
It is going to encourage experimentation.
One of the reasons Solomonic magic has withstood the test of time is that it is a robust system with vast latitude for personalization. As celebrated magician and author Dion Fortune writes in The Mystical Qabalah, “For although the roots of our system are in
tradition, there is no reason why we should be hidebound by tradition. A technique that is being actually practised is a growing thing, for the experience of each enriches it and becomes part of the common heritage.”1 Do you think that people would pass a system down through the ages if it brought ruin upon the head of anyone who misspelled a word or mispronounced a name? Of course not. They passed it on, adding what they’ve learned, because it worked for them.
When we look at Solomonic literature, we aren’t seeing one author’s perspective or some unalterable set of instructions. We are seeing the culmination of many writers, practitioners, copyists, and critics who contributed to this ever-evolving spiritual practice. When you see the wide variation of pentacles made throughout history, you will realize that artistic prowess is not a prerequisite for creating pentacles, because looking pretty isn’t the point of a pentacle; divine communication and communion is. Angels don’t care if you’re a good artist or a scribbler. They don’t care if you have atrocious penmanship. They care that you’re reaching out to them for help. They care that your heart is pure and your motives are honorable. They care that you’re trying to be a better person and are more than happy to help you do that. So all this is to say, be not afraid. Pentacles aren’t going to harm you. Try things. Experiment. Make them your own. You may discover a whole lot more than you were looking for.
It is going to introduce new pentacles. When the pentacles were initially constructed, knowledge of the solar system was sketchy at best. Our earliest evidence of their existence was around 1300 CE. That’s still at least a hundred years away from Copernican heliocentric theory. You might notice that several planetary sets are missing, all the trans-Saturnian planets to be precise. The reason is simple: The telescope hadn’t been invented yet. They had no idea those planets were out there. Now that we do, I think it’s high time to include them in the Solomonic tradition and create some new pentacles for the new age. These are going to be of my own design, following the principles set forth by the other pentacles and created to address concerns that may be more relevant to modern spiritual seekers. Additionally, I’m going to show you how to make your own pentacles. The time-honored pentacles
1. Dion Fortune, The Mystical Qabalah (Weiser Books, 2022), 4.
do cover a wide range of topics, but you may have a new or more specific situation that requires something different.
A Note on the Use of Hebrew
Western esoteric tradition has established Hebrew as the language of choice for magical operations. This stems from the Kabbalistic belief that the entirety of the universe was created using these letters. They have inherent power, and each represents a spiritual force. Their combination to form divine names is seen as exceedingly potent.
Hebrew is an interesting language in that it doesn’t treat vowels the same way English does. Early Hebrew was written in blocks of text using only consonants and without punctuation. Vowel sounds were implied, and it was up to the reader to determine how words were supposed to be pronounced. As an example, the sentence “Pentacles are the greatest magic known” would be rendered “PNTCLS R TH GRTST MGC KNWN.” It is believed that the entirety of the Torah is a divine name and that it should never be altered. To honor that belief while increasing the accuracy of scriptural interpretation, a system of dots and dashes called nikkud was created (plural: nikkudot). Nikkudot could be placed around the existing letters, effectively inserting vowel sounds into sacred texts and giving the reader precise pronunciations for words without changing the base text at all. Modern Hebrew is generally written without nikkud. Its use fell out of favor because it can make typing quite cumbersome, and it doesn’t reflect the way words are pronounced in different dialects around the world, reducing its utility.
In this text I have opted to preserve the nikkudot when referencing a pentacle or a passage from the Bible for the sake of accuracy and to align with the historical use of nikkudot in these contexts. However, where possible I have followed the modern practice of writing Hebrew without nikkudot to make it easier for non-Hebrew speaking readers to understand the concepts being presented and make connections between Hebrew letters and their English equivalents. The divine name YHVH is never spelled with nikkudot, because the true pronunciation of that name is unknown, lost to time, or one of the best-kept secrets in human history.
Conclusion
Ceremonial and Renaissance magic, in general, need to be closely examined through the lens of modern life to determine what is still helpful and what is no longer needed. After all, the purpose of magic is to connect with the Divine in a real, tangible way and work with those beings/energies to make your life better. In the case of the mystic, the goal is to transcend material life altogether. The real gold of Solomonic magic is sometimes overshadowed by the elaborate rituals and complicated crafting required by the source texts: the transformational effect it can have on you as a person.
I hope you enjoy the process of getting to know the pentacles as much as I did and that you choose to use them for guidance in your life. Don’t be dissuaded by fear or naysayers. Discover their extraordinary qualities for yourself. Try new things. You may just have some revelations of your own and improve your life in the process. There’s so little to lose and so much to gain by trying.
Section I Background
Chapter 1
The Story of Solomon
Before looking at the pentacles, rites, and practices of Solomonic magic, it will be helpful to briefly review the historical context of their central figure: Solomon the King-Magician. He was an enigmatic figure who captured the imaginations of generations upon generations of religious and magical seekers. Like many iconic persons of history, the story of King Solomon is a mixed bag of truth and myth. There is an image of him as a supremely wise, powerful, wealthy, and pious king who commanded demons and used them to build the First Temple in Jerusalem through the use of his magical ring and brass vessel. As with any celebrity, there is also a very human, mortal man, flawed like the rest of us, behind the fantastic story.
The History of the Man
We actually know very little of King Solomon of Israel as a historical figure. Some scholars suggest that all details of his reign have been imagined or aggrandized; other scholars believe there is enough evidence to support the biblical account. No matter which side of the fence they’re on in terms of believability, scholars do agree that he probably did exist. The hypothesized era of his reign was 970 to 931 BCE. We have Babylonian and Assyrian records from that time mentioning various regional kings, David and Solomon among them, that have been used to approximate a timeline of the Davidian lineage. King David was Solomon’s father, and his mother was Bathsheba, possibly a daughter to the Queen of Sheba, since bat in Hebrew means “daughter.”
Solomon’s life was complicated before it even began. Uriah the Hittite was a soldier in King David’s army, and Bathsheba was his wife. David and Bathsheba had at least one adulterous meeting while Uriah was off fighting in a war at David’s command. David avoided facing his wrongdoing by sending Uriah again and again into the front lines of the battle, hoping that he would be killed. Eventually, David ordered Joab, the commander of his forces, to withdraw support for Uriah, causing him to be killed by the enemy, and David wasted no time in marrying the newly widowed Bathsheba. Their first child, conceived in that adulterous meeting, died as an infant. Solomon, the first child conceived in wedlock, was born healthy, and this was considered a sign that David was forgiven for his transgressions. Therefore, the child was named Shlomo (Solomon), which means “peaceful” in Hebrew.
Solomon was to inherit a unified kingdom of Israel and Judah with Jerusalem as the capital city. Again, scholars debate whether such a unified kingdom existed. The only written record of a unified kingdom comes from the book of Kings in the Bible. It is said that Solomon built the fortified cities of Megiddo, Gezer, and Hazor.2 Tel Aviv University’s Professor Israel Finkelstein did radiocarbon dating on material from these sites as well as analysis of pottery found within them and concluded that they were actually built in the ninth century BCE, long after Solomon’s reign. This added weight to the evidence that the early Iron Age technology and buildings uncovered at tenth century BCE sites and the lack of royal inscriptions from a united monarchy anywhere in Canaan point to the likelihood that Solomon was more of a tribal king than king of a unified state.3 Professor Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University provides contrary evidence from excavations at Gezer and Khirbat Qeiyafa. Though cautious due to small sample size and placement of specimens within the area’s stratum, their radiocarbon dating leads to the conclusion that these sites were developed in the tenth century BCE, which puts Solomon and the theory of a unified kingdom back on the table. Findings suggest that urban development began in Judah around this time, and there is sufficient data to support the assertion that large-scale construction of walls and buildings was already well underway
2. 1 Kings 9:15.
3. Eric H. Cline, “Did David and Solomon Exist?” the George Washington University, the Bible and Interpretation, October 2009, https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/cline35709.
by the ninth century BCE.4 We have evidence that the people of Israel and Judah were building things (homes, castles, fortifications, etc.), but we have no idea what their government looked like, whether it was unified as a kingdom or divided as city-states with their own local kings. Just because we have radiocarbon dating for when a particular city or building was constructed doesn’t mean we know who constructed it. There is good evidence on both sides of the issue, and the intellectually honest answer is that we don’t yet know for sure whether the historical account matches the biblical account. Perhaps time will shed light on the subject, but for now we have the luxury of not knowing the truth, which preserves the story of Solomon, factual or not.
As that story goes, Solomon began his reign at the tender age of fifteen. He engaged in large military operations and colonization to establish trade routes, which would bring culture and riches to the kingdom, increasing Solomon’s wealth and power. This would continue throughout his forty-year reign as Israel became a commercial center for Tarshish, Ophir, and India to the east and Egypt, Tyre, and Arabia to the west. During this time of prosperity and peace, Solomon was able to write the Song of Songs, the book of Proverbs, and the book of Ecclesiastes. He also undertook large-scale civic improvement projects, building palaces, large gates, and defenses. The existence of these projects is supported by archaeological evidence even if we aren’t sure it was Solomon who built them. The peace was not to last, however.
Solomon died at around sixty years old. Since no cause was reported or recorded, it is assumed that he died of natural causes. His son, Rehoboam, took the throne, but ten of the twelve tribes would not accept him as their king, so Israel was again divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. This provides valuable background for the mythical story of Solomon, where the line between fact and fiction gets really muddy.
The Wisdom of Solomon
The origin for Solomon’s legendary wisdom comes from a biblical account, in the book of 1 Kings, of a dream in which God offered to give him anything he wished, and he asked for the wisdom to rule justly. God was impressed that Solomon didn’t ask for
4. Yosef Garfinkel, “The Tenth Century BCE in Judah: Archaeology and the Biblical Tradition,” Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology 1 (2021): 126–54, doi:/10.52486/01.00001.5.
a long life or riches, as most men would have done, and rewarded him with wisdom, throwing in riches and a long life as a bonus. Some contend this to be the truth, proving he was as wise as legend tells. Others look to it as a parable to teach us two lessons: first, that God is the source of all wisdom who bestows it upon us as a gift (even Solomon’s), and second, that by asking God to improve our inner reality, improvements in our material reality are to follow. The really fantastic parts of Solomon’s story, where he binds demons and forces them to build the First Temple with the aid of his magic ring and brass vessel are from the Testament of Solomon, a text that has been attributed to King Solomon. In it we see obviously Jewish themes, but also Christian and Greek.
Solomon is visited by the demon Ozibuth, who sports a head of wild hair and is likened to the Greek Medusa. He confronts seven demon sisters who represent the Pleiades, both mythologically and astrologically. We also see him come face to face with a demon called Ephippas, who tells King Solomon that he can only be defeated by “a man born of a virgin and put to death on a cross by the Jews.” 5 It’s doubtful this detail would have made it into the text except by the hand of a Christian editor. It is highly likely that this account was written over great spans of time and space, including the perspectives of authors from multiple cultural backgrounds.
Dates for the composition of the Testament of Solomon range all the way from 100 CE to 1350 CE. Brian Johnson, humanities scholar and translator, writes in Testament of Solomon: Recension C, “It is quite probable that pieces of what would become the Testament of Solomon circulated independently for hundreds of years, gradually accreting around a fixed narrative frame delineating King Solomon’s story arc.” 6 So even the most famous parts of Solomon’s story were not written down all at once, the way a historian or biographer would craft the narrative. The story was created in a manner more akin to the Greek epics, in which a long succession of oral and possibly written transmission admitted the entry of the collective unconscious of the storytellers. Instead of looking at this story like a factual biography, we should be reading it like a myth, looking for archetypal themes and messages revealing aspects of the universal human condition. What’s more human than wanting to be rich, powerful, and famous?
5 F. C. Conybeare, trans., “Testament of Solomon,” Jewish Quarterly Review 11, no. 41 (October 1898): 1–45.
6. Brian Johnson, Testament of Solomon: Recension C (Hadean Press, 2019), 19.
In the Testament of Solomon we see King Solomon at the height of his power, and we see him eventually undone by lust and idolatry. At the end of the text, Solomon is forsaken by God because he agreed to worship the god Moloch in exchange for sex. This begs the question “How wise was he really?” If we look at the rest of Solomon’s life, it seems like he spent a good deal of it womanizing, hoarding, and generally going back on the promises he made to God. Having seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines doesn’t seem like something a wise man would do. Also, a wise man who had made a promise to God would honor that promise without fail.
God had several rules specifically aimed at the worship of other gods and idols. A wise man would not have filled God’s temple with the idols of other gods. It’s not like the rules were ambiguous or had wiggle room. The covenant said, “Don’t do it.” Then again, maybe that’s exactly the part of his story that makes him a relatable character. We all find ourselves coming up short in the obedience department. There may be a lesson there that God’s blessings are conditional upon our behavior and the follow-through on our commitments, that there are consequences for departing from our path, but not forever, and that departure can happen to the best of us.
Solomon may have been rich and powerful, but his consequence for abandoning God’s plan is that he lost it all. His reign ended with Israel’s kingdom fragmented into tribal jurisdictions once again. He may have been powerful enough to command demons but not strong enough to conquer his own. He may have had a special relationship with God, but he failed to measure up to what was asked of him. His behavior in this regard is not something that we should seek to emulate.
Some see his downfall as a comfort, that even the wisest among us can act foolishly and that those foolish actions can be forgiven. Others think that it humanizes his character, bringing him off the prophetic pedestal and down with the rest of us. Still others look to it as an inspiration that even if we screw up, we can still be an instrument of the Divine. Another explanation is simply that the accounts of his wisdom, wealth, and piety were exaggerated and this conflict of character between the historical king and the apocryphal magician are the result of centuries of storytelling.
Solomon and Jesus
Christian Gospel writers would be tempted to aggrandize the Davidian line because they thought it exalted Jesus, who was purportedly a descendant. However, there is a contradiction regarding the circumstances of Jesus’s birth. Christians believe Jesus to be the result of a divine conception and Mary to be a virgin, so the Joseph that they use to trace the kingly lineage does not contribute any genetic material. It is interesting to note that in the Gospel of Luke, Solomon doesn’t even appear in the lineage, and Nathan takes his place. It’s almost like the Gospel writers wanted to distance their messiah from Solomon’s improper behavior, either as a magician or more likely as a rival figure to be venerated. They wanted readers to think of their guy as the Son of David.
David Rankine and Stephen Skinner write in their book The Veritable Key of Solomon,
The early Christian church may have even perceived the popularity of the wise magician Solomon as a threat to Jesus. After all, Jesus in a sense usurped the name “Son of David,” while Solomon was literally the son of David. Hence the need for the gospels to emphasize the superiority of Jesus over Solomon, to avoid undue worship of such earlier figures, potentially leading to heresy. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke it states that one “greater than Solomon is here” when describing Jesus, emphasizing his ascendency spiritually and magically. Jesus also claimed power over demons, but mostly to simply drive them out rather than putting them to work as Solomon is reputed to have done. Solomon is also belittled to below the state of a lily in the field when Jesus declares that “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”7
This is nothing new, really. Christianity has a long history of assimilating, eradicating, or demonizing spiritual traditions that are theologically troublesome or that challenge political and spiritual authority of their religious institutions. Empowering people to be in charge of their own spiritual ascent without the need of a mediating body is certainly a threat, hence the near-universal ban on magical practice in regions where the Christian church had established itself as a political and governing body.
7. Stephen Skinner and David Rankine, The Veritable Key of Solomon (Golden Hoard Press, 2008), 19–20.
Solomonic Magic
The majority of texts that make up the body of Solomonic literature cannot be traced to earlier than the thirteenth century, with the exception of the Testament of Solomon, parts of which may date to the first century CE. This places the creation of Solomonic magical texts 1,000 to 2,300 years after King Solomon’s death. For better or worse, then, we know that the historical King Solomon did not contribute to the development of Solomonic magic. Even if the historical Solomon was not involved, the legendary Solomon certainly was. We can learn about the origins of the magic, its philosophy, its theology, and its characters through understanding what we can of the legend, because it is certainly the legend of a powerful king-magician that leads most down the path of exploring the teachings associated with him. His legend embodies those things we desire—wealth, fame, power, admiration, wisdom, intelligence, and so on—even if Solomon the man fell short. It is our task, then, to separate man from legend, accept that these grimoires are the work of unnamed scholars of antiquity, and begin to think of Solomon as a purely mythological paragon of esoteric virtue. In this way, we can build him up to great heights, attributing to him all the positive traits that we hope to find within ourselves through the practice of “his” magic.
This body of work is certainly not alone in its questionable authorship. It was written amid a long-standing literary tradition of attributing esoteric works to other authors, mostly famous figures from the Bible. It was one of many books of late medieval and early Renaissance magic that was attributed to Solomon. Others were attributed to Moses, Enoch, Jacob, Elijah, and so on.
Maybe authors did this to obscure their identity. At this point in history, the only literate people were nobles, merchants, and the clergy, none of which were in a position to be seen authoring arcane texts. It would have been a way to preserve one’s reputation— or life, depending on where they lived.
Another reason may be that authors wanted to give their work an air of authority. It’s hard to argue with a book of magic that comes straight from King Solomon himself. The church already viewed Solomon as a respected patriarch, king, and prophet, and it was said that he was also a powerful magician. He is the ideal character to bear the burden of authorship for a book of magic during the Dark Ages.
The Pentacles
If Solomon didn’t create the pentacles, then why do we care about them? Just because a smart, pious person you don’t know created them instead of a smart, pious person you’ve heard about before doesn’t change their nature. They’re no less powerful for having been crafted by an anonymous magician than by a celebrity. It’s like music: Is a good song only good if it’s written by a superstar, or can regular people write good songs as well? In this analogy, the songs (pentacles) were written by a ghost writer and recorded by a superstar. This happens all the time in the world of music. Most of the hits you hear on the radio weren’t written by the person singing them, and it doesn’t bother you a bit. Why should the same principle bother you just because it happened with a historical document? Besides, the pentacles are clearly not the work of one person but a developing tradition of many authors, artists, copyists, redactors, and editors.
The greatest contributing cultural and contextual influence of the pentacles is from the magic of Jewish mystics known as Kabbalah Ma’asit. The most complete extant manuscript containing pentacles known at the time of this writing is the Sepher ha-Otot, or Book of the Signs. However, we also see influences of Greco-Roman, Gnostic, Coptic, Arabic, and Christian folk magic. The sacred geometry of Pythagoras is beautifully blended with esoteric biblical magic, astrology, and alchemy. We see references to Greek gods; names of Jewish angels; invocations to Jesus; verses in Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic; and the use of several magical alphabets, including Malachim, Celestial, and Passing of the River (most of which are substitutionary ciphers for Hebrew). It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. All these religious and scientific traditions were able to coexist, building up their designs layer by layer, and were able to create something of great beauty and power. Those holding differing religious views were informing and inspiring each other, a practice we could learn from today.
We can see their development over time through their use in what few manuscripts survive. There are versions in which the pentacles are crudely drawn, others drawn with mechanical precision. Some versions are in Hebrew, Italian, Latin, French, and English, and none of them is better than the other. The manuscripts are relics of a living tradition, one that is still developing and will continue to do so. There is no one right language to use, or image to use, or methodology to use. The authors and editors agreed generally on
much of the content, but versions differ to greater and lesser degrees on the specifics of the operations (called experiments) and on the content of the talismans.
Conclusion
For centuries the Keys of Solomon have been the quintessential grimoires for Western esoteric ceremonial practice. They were certainly influential during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, since we find copies and fragments of the text all across Europe. Whether Solomon had a hand in creating them or not is a moot point because their influence is so profound that they stand on their own without the need for borrowed authority.
We can look to the story of Solomon to decipher the type of authority authors wanted to lend to their work. The mythological Solomon is wise beyond measure, pious, and powerful, and he receives his gifts from God. He uses his magical abilities to build the First Temple, amass wealth, and safeguard his kingdom from attacks without and within. We can also look at Solomonic magic as a divine gift of wisdom. Through its use, we can better our life’s circumstances, just like Solomon. We can build a temple in our hearts and keep it safe. We can be virtuous and powerful. Solomonic magic gives us the tools and the instructions; it’s up to us to put them to good use.
I encourage you to read the Testament of Solomon in full and draw your own conclusions about the mythological and mystical content of King Solomon’s character. Think about what the writers were attempting to accomplish with their work. Think about what you know of Solomon the man and see if it matches up with the myth of Solomon the magician-king. Look for lessons hidden in the stories being told. Learn as much as you can from them and take it a step further to apply those lessons to your own life. Even if the real Solomon wasn’t possessed of the great wisdom detailed in his stories, that wisdom can be ours if we choose it.
Body, Mind & Spirit/ Magic Studies
“At long last, a modern approach to Solomonic pentacles is presented in a digestible, realistic, and practical format.”
—Raven Digitalis, author of Esoteric Empathy
Solomonic pentacles are gifts to humanity; they guide us and make our lives easier through powerful magic. Yet they are often seen as confusing and intimidating. Emrys Abner changes that, making it easy to understand and use this ancient tradition in your modern practice. He even reveals how to make your own pentacles based on classic principles. Providing more than sixty pentacles—including twenty new ones designed around Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—Emrys shares a fresh perspective on the Key of Solomon that celebrates the old ways while also encouraging experimentation. He also presents detailed explanations of the pentacles in that famous text, including their activation psalms and pathworkings. Representing the next major development in Solomonic magic, this book helps you forge a deeper relationship with all the pentacles and get more of what you want out of life.
“A thorough, well-researched, and fascinating guide to some of the most important tools of the Key of Solomon.”
—Benjamin Stimpson, author of Ancestral Whispers
Emrys Abner has spent his life chasing the Divine through history, theology, music, and art. He was a middle school music teacher for fifteen years, and this helped him learn to deconstruct complex magical concepts and present them in an accessible way. He currently runs a sacred workshop business called the Acoustic Alchemist and hosts the Random Illusions podcast. Learn more at Linktr.ee /AcousticAlchemist.
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