- Magical and Mystical Symbols from the Greater Key of Solomon
- Mystical Characters of the Sun
In the Key of Solomon the King, also called the Greater Key o Solomon, you will find 44 “pentacles” or disc-shaped talismans to be created from various materials, usually metal. These talismans are adorned with a plethora of planetary and angelic symbols in addition to divine names and bible verses written in various scripts.
Let’s Untangle the Keys
Let me take a quick aside here to avoid confusion. The Key of Solomon the King should not be confused with the Lesser Key of Solomon, or Lemegeton, which famously details the 72 Goetic demons and provides operations for summoning them. The former, or Greater Key of Solomon, is concerned with ritual and ceremonial magic, providing in-depth instruction on everything from preparing garments and tools to casting circles and calling spirits, with the 44 pentacles mentioned above as the centerpiece or main set of operations.
I don’t practice the school of magic prescribed in either of the Keys, but there are absolutely some valuable takeaways from these materials. For instance, the 44 planetary-angelic pentacles of the Greater Key provide insights to angelic names and planetary symbols that, in some cases, are found in no other grimoires from the same or earlier periods.
Back to the Pentacles of the Greater Key
Each of the classical planets is assigned a group of pentacles:
- Seven pentacles for Saturn
- Seven pentacles for Jupiter
- Seven pentacles for Mars
- Seven pentacles for Sol/Sun
- Five pentacles for Venus
- Five pentacles for Mercury
- Six pentacles for Luna/Moon
As mentioned these pentacles are marked with, among other things, various planetary symbols. There are two types of planetary symbols, beyond the standard sigils and hexagrams, named in the text of the Greater Key by its editor S. Liddle Mcgreggor Mathers.
Magic and Mysticism Together Again
These are magical characters and mystical characters for the planet being discussed. We can (or should be able to) take this plain language to mean exactly what it states.
The magical symbols are conducive to the movement of magical forces or generally beneficial in the presence of magical energies. These can be drawn or focused upon in a magical operation to channel the currents of the planet they represent. As magical devices they allow the operator to summon or “draw down” the influence and power of their respective planet.
The mystical symbols are of such an inherent frequency or are magically enchanted to create a frequency the mystic or magician can use to connect to the corresponding planetary energies. They assist the operator in elevating his or her consciousness or vibrational state and attuning to a channel or emanation produced by the represented planet.
Whereas the magical symbol conjures or brings planetary energy into the work area, a mystical symbol allows the user to reach out, if you will, and contact/experience the planet on a higher plane of reality.
A critic of my interpretation of the symbols on the pentacles might say the editor was simply using the terms magical and mystical interchangeably, but I see no reason to believe that given the pains taken to set out and clarify complicated requirements and ideas throughout the text being discussed.
The symbols specifically referred to as one of these two characters are found on certain pentacles and are always encircling the spirit wheel, or 8-spoked wheel Mathers calls the “Mystical Wheel”. Each character appears at the end of one of the spokes. I have so far never seen these characters in any other grimoire.
This consideration, using the distinction of magic and mysticism and applying it to the symbols provided in the Greater Key, opens the door for some interesting and in my opinion exciting experimentation.
While only Saturn is assigned a pentacle with magical characters, all of the seven classical planets have pentacles featuring mystical characters. In this series we will explore some of these characters and I’ll provide notes from operations wherein I have deployed them.
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