Ars Theurgia
of Solomon the King
translated, edited and introduced by Paul Summers Young
(Volume II of the Lesser Keys series)
Ars Theurgia reveals a hidden strand of early modern magic rooted in the mysterious work of Johannes Trithemius, and illustrates how enthusiasts in the seventeenth century took Trithemius' enigmatic Steganographia, and drew out a method of spirit communication and experimentation that appears to possess a reach today far wider than the more famous Ars Goetia. What began as a covert system of coded communication in Steganographia evolved into a full magical tradition in the seventeenth century, where spirits of the winds, elements, and familiar places were summoned not through grand ritual, but through intention, direction, and subtle practice.
This volume traces that transformation. Through rare manuscripts by Peter Smart, Dr. Thomas Rudd, John Harries, and others, we see how Trithemius’ elegant, discreet method became part of the Solomonic tradition, complete with seals, conjurations, and crystal shewstones. The result is a magical system that is surprisingly modern. It is quiet, personal, and focused on direct contact with spirits rather than elaborate ceremony.
The book includes high quality transcriptions of key manuscripts, original diagrams of the spirit compass, seals of the princes of the winds, and contextual materials that illuminate how these methods were used by figures such as John Dee and Nicholas Culpeper. It also explores the lingering fascination with spirit contact, from early modern crystal visions to contemporary experiments with altered states and anomalous communication.
Ars Theurgia presents Trithemius’ legacy as something far more than a historical curiosity. It is a living method, subtle and powerful, rooted in intention, orientation, and attention. A glass through which we glimpse strange matters.
About the Series
The Lemegeton - The Little Key of Solomon - is the name of a family of seventeenth and eighteenth-century manuscripts inspired by Johannes Weyer's Pseudomonarchia on the one hand, and Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft on the other, drawing upon Agrippa and Peter of Abano along the way. Some of these texts were compiled into the subsequent The Lesser Key of Solomon by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, one of the touchstone texts for magical thought and practice in the Western occult tradition.
This series draws upon various Early Modern sources and related texts, not to establish a definitive text - there is just no such thing - but to explore it as a canon of magical literature made by a subculture relating to the religious radicalism and controversy of the time, and the 'Hermetic Enlightenment'.
Subsequent volumes will explore the Ars Paulina, Ars Almadel and Ars Notoria (vols. III-V not yet released).
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Hardcover Edition
405 pages. Printed and bound in Italy. Hardcover bound in Red Buckram. 160 gram black Endpapers. Printed on 115 gsm wood-free, age-resistant Arena Ivory Rough paper. Sewn book block, black ribbon bookmark and black Headbands. Gilding on front cover and spine.
