Goetia For the various editions of the book, The Goetia, see The Lesser Key of Solomon.

Aleister Crowley's variant of the circle and triangle, used in the evocation of the seventy-two spirits of the Ars Goetia. Goetia (Medieval Latin, anglicised goety /'go?.?ti/, from Greek ???te?a goeteia "sorcery") refers to a practice which includes the invocation of angels or the e vocation of demons, and usage of the term in English largely derives from the 17 th-century grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon, which features an Ars Goetia as i ts first section. It contains descriptions of the evocation of seventy-two demon s, famously edited by Aleister Crowley in 1904 as The Book of the Goetia of Solo mon the King. Goetic Theurgy, another practice described in the Lesser Key of Solomon, is simi lar to the book's description of Goetia, but is used to invoke aerial spirits. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Renaissance magic 3 The Ars Goetia 4 The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage 5 In popular culture 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Etymology[edit] Ancient Greek ???te?a (goeteia) means "charm, jugglery"[1] from ???? "sorcerer, wizard".[2] The meaning of "sorcerer" is attested in a scholion, referring to th e Dactyli, stating that according to Pherecydes[disambiguation needed] and Hella nicus, those to the left are goetes, while those to the right are deliverers fro m sorcery.[3] The word may be ultimately derived from the verb ???? "groan, bewa il". Derived terms are ???te?a "a charm" and ???te?? "to bewitch, beguile". ???te?a was a term for witchcraft in Hellenistic magic. Latinized goetia via Fre nch gotie was adopted into English as goecie, goety in the 16th century. Renaissance magic[edit] During the Renaissance goeteia (Latinized goetia, French gotie, English goety) wa s sometimes contrasted with magia as black (evil) vs. white magic, or with theur gy as "low" vs. "high" magic. James Sanford in his 1569 translation of Agrippa's Of the vanitie and uncertaint ie of artes and sciences has The partes of ceremoniall Magicke be Geocie, and Theurgie. Georg Pictorius in 1562 uses goetie synonymously with "ceremonial magic". The Ars Goetia[edit] Main article: The Lesser Key of Solomon Ars Goetia is the title of the first section of The Lesser Key of Solomon, conta ining descriptions of the seventy-two demons that King Solomon is said to have e voked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he oblig ed to work for him. The Ars Goetia assigns a rank and a title of nobility to eac h 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 (t o high but varying degree, often according to edition) with those in Johann Weye r's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum an appendix appearing in later editions of his De P raestigiis Daemonum, of 1563. A revised English edition of the Ars Goetia was published in 1904 by Samuel Lidd ell Mathers and Aleister Crowley as The Goetia. based on manuscripts from the Br itish Museum, with additions by Crowley, including a Preliminary Invocation draw n from Goodwin's Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic, and the essay Th

e Initiated Interpretation of Ceremonial Magic. It is not a faithful edition of the source manuscripts but contains several innovations,[4] including some evoca tions in Enochian written by Crowley. In his introduction, Crowley argues that t he 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 fea tured in places like the graphic novel Promethea by Alan Moore and James Blish's novel Black Easter. The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage[edit] Main article: The Book of Abramelin The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage[5] is considered both a theurgic and goet ic book of magic, mostly used in a religious context. Contrary to the other Goet ia Grimoires, this book does not denote the evocation of demons to do one's bidd ing or involuntary handywork, but describes how one might summon these infernal forces, solely for the purpose of excommunicating them from the life of the Magu s.[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 o f 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 aft er 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. T his 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 Sac red Wisdom" in the form of magic squares.