The Keys of Solomonic Magic and Spirit Conjures

Clavicula Salomonis, grimoire in Arabic

Solomonic magic is pretty much the foundation of occultism, modern witchcraft, and ceremonial magic west of India and China, encompassing Europe, the Middle East, and now the Americas.

What you will discover within the pages of this book I’m sharing, you’re going to find to be the keystones of Persian magic and witchcraft, the magical practices of Muslim-influenced Southeast Asian countries, the Golden Dawn (though many of their correspondences differ), hoodoo, Wicca, and maybe even the traditions you’ve inherited and have been wondering where those traditions might have come from.

If you’re serious about your occult studies, then I hope you’ll add this text to your library and read through it cover to cover at least once.

From my vantage point, this book is essential reading, even if for no other reason than to take it apart to realize once and for all this is not for you. That, too, is invaluable. Whether you want to strengthen the connection to these roots or you want to sever ties with the roots altogether and grow anew, either choice calls for an examination of this text.

The images from historically significant grimoires, the essence of the ritual instructions provided, and the methodology behind the crafting of seals, devising the magical scripts, and even how to prepare for ritual can help to inspire your own creativity, offering sparks and revelations for how to do Craft your way.

From the Tractatis de Nigromatia (16th century), A grimoire on necromancy

If you’re a total beginner, then please do not try out any of these rituals or operations on your own. Plus, the instructions are pretty clear that most of these conjurations should never be performed solitary.

At the beginner and intermediate level, a light read of this text is going to be the best introduction to ceremonial magic, witchcraft, and occultism west of the Indies you can get.

This should be your orientation manual into the Craft and the beginner steps for realizing your Great Work. Levi even says as much, which is why in a course I was putting together focused on Levi, I ended up having to back-track and start first with the Key of Solomon.

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SKT Tarot Readings Diary (Free Download)

This is the tarot readings diary keyed specifically to the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot deck that I promised back when I shared the downloads for the tarot journal collab with Scarlet, linked here.

SKT Tarot Readings Diary

This is a Tarot Readings Diary keyed specifically to the SKT. That means the “Classes & Workshops Log of Notes” is a note-taking section for all video courses outlined in the Free Esoteric Tarot Online Course for the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, linked here.

The short form card meanings compiled from both the First Edition LWB and the Vitruvian Edition LWB are provided in the back of the Tarot Readings Diary for your convenience of reference.

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Tarot Card Meanings with Benebell (Study Journal Free Download)

This is the tarot study journal keyed with the SKT that I promised back when I shared the downloads for the tarot journal collab with Scarlet, linked here.

Tarot Study Journal

The Tarot Study Journal is for you to record all your card meanings and correspondences reference material. The structure of this journal is the same as the one previously shared for the tarot journal collab, except this one includes the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot deck. In other words, it’s a study journal for the Tarot de Marseilles, Rider-Waite-Smith, Thoth, and the SKT.

For those who have been following along the Tarot Card Meanings with Benebell video lecture series, this Tarot Study Journal is basically keyed to that video lecture series. So you can print out a copy of this journal and take all your notes from the lecture series in these pages.

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Your Tarot Journal (Collaborating with Scarlet Ravenswood)

Scarlet Ravenswood from Arcane Alchemy and I have teamed up to talk about keeping a tarot journal. Earlier this week I chatted with Scarlet and her co-host Dan on their podcast Cosmic Keys. Be sure to check it out. =)

Subscribe to Scarlet over on YouTube and Follow Her on Instagram.

She and I also teamed up to put together two free downloads for you. The Tarot Study Journal is, in short, where you keep card meanings and your research. The Tarot Readings Diary is where you log readings you’ve been doing for yourself or for others.

I will be creating these two journal versions for those with the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot deck (I’ve got the e-mail addresses for all purchasers) so stay on the look-out for that! I’ll be sending the downloads to your e-mail inbox in the next few weeks.

Scarlet and Benebell’s

Tarot Study Journal

PDF download, 516 interior pages

Psst… If you’re working with the SKT deck, then hold out for a version of these two journals that include sections keyed for the SKT. I’m going to be contacting you all via the SKT Newsletter with a ton of downloads, DOCX and PDF.

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Tarot Correspondences by T. Susan Chang

This book is such a must-have. Those of you who’ve been following along in my orientation video series for Spirit Keeper’s Tarot will have seen that I recommended Tarot Correspondences as the tarot book to get if you want to work with correspondence systems.

Chang’s Tarot Correspondences is tailored to all levels of tarot proficiency, whether you’ve “been reading for decades” or “you just picked up your first deck,” (as noted in the Introduction). “Correspondences,” she writes, “are patterns and connections inherited from esoteric systems. In tarot, correspondences line up with specific cards.”

Working with tarot correspondences is premised on the doctrine of sympathy, a Hermetic principle that the way one system goes with the other is part and parcel to the magic that happens. Correspondences, notes Chang, are the bridge between worlds. And I couldn’t agree with her more.

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Zoroastrian Magical Protection Charm

The following is an excerpt from The Book of Maps, the companion guidebook to the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, a hand-illustrated black and white tarot deck crafted with practitioners of the mystic arts in mind. The pen and ink drawings were inspired by woodcut prints from the late Renaissance. Symbology called upon is based predominantly on medieval European alchemy, astrology (the Sacred Seven), Hermeticism, Zoroastrianism, Abrahamic angelology, Kabbalah, Catholicism/Christianity, Sufism, and Egyptian mythology.

For more information about the deck, go to:

Excerpt from The Book of Maps

Zoroastrian Magical Protection Charm

In an Avestan text dated to the 9th and 10th centuries, Ahura Mazda reveals to Zoroaster the magical powers of the falcon feather. The Magus who prays over a falcon feather can empower the feather into a charm that will ward off evil, cure and cleanse one of evil possession, and protect whosoever wields the feather against demons.

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Grimoire Inspiration: The Wooden Books Series

By far my favorite source of inspiration for my grimoire comes from the Wooden Books series published by Bloomsbury. I have the four-book set shown above, which I like to keep displayed out on a coffee table in our living room.

I reach for these books often and you’ll see why once you peek inside the page spreads. One of the questions I get asked the most is about my grimoire or personal book of methods/book of shadows.  I’ve given my thoughts into how you might structure and organize your grimoire here (How to Create Your Grimoire: Inspiration From One Approach) and you can check out a three-video series I did for the 2017 YouTube Pagan Challenge where I share the pages of my own private book.

Each one of these four books informs my grimoire work in a different and valuable way. You can click on the photos in this post for the enlarged 1200 pixel-side image file for a closer viewing. I’m hoping these few snapshots already start to generate amazing ideas and inspiration for you.

Designa I use to inspire decorative borders, ornamentation, and just the design elements in my grimoire pages. If you’ve ever seen a flip-through of my book and now see these page spreads from Designa, you’re going to see the influence for sure.

What I most love about using these books for inspiration is not just the design elements, but the explanatory entries as well. That way I’m informed about the design elements I’m using and I can use them with intention and significance. Everything in my grimoire is meaningful to me and symbolic, and much of that capacity comes from consulting these books.

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On Demonology

On an unintentionally related note, the way I did my makeup for the video is reminiscent of how Chinese demons get depicted in film. It was totally unintentional. Hence, interesting. Hmm. Anyway.

Figure I’d expand more on the juicier bits of the subject here in writing rather than in the video because guess how many people are going to watch the video but not read this post. Hidden in plain sight, yada yada. Right?

Demonology and the nearly universal cultural tendency to peg all ills of humanity on the work of demons is fascinating to me. Sick with disease? Acting out of the ordinary? Getting a bit too emotional for people’s comfort? Commit a crime? Oh. Demon possession. Of course. What else could it be?

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Gemstones and Crystals Glossary

gemstones

I love gemstones and crystals. I also like to keep a personal glossary of metaphysical correspondences for the gemstones and crystals I acquire. That’s what this document for free download is. I’m sharing with you my personal glossary in hopes it might be of use to you.

I’m providing both the PDF and DOCX for free download below. Both the DOCX and PDF versions have “smart headings,” so if you open the left-bar navigation pane in either Microsoft Word or your PDF viewer (in Adobe Reader they’re called bookmarks), you should be able to navigate between the alphabetically listed entries with ease. All correspondence reference tables at the back of the document are also enabled as “smart headings.”

glossaryofgemstones-jpg

glossaryofgemstones-pdf

The docx file is given to you so you can edit or redesign the document to suit your own needs.

You can also download a program, like Calibre, and convert one of these files to a PUB or MOBI file for your e-book reader.

Updates

  • First Posted: 2016 Aug 3
  • Updated: 2017 Aug 6
  • Updated: 2017 Sep 27
  • Updated: 2018 Sep 21
  • Last Updated: 2019 Oct 21

Amethyst Crystal: The Healer’s Stone

amethyst

In ancient times, the amethyst was believed to ward off drunkenness and to help its wearer maintain a calm, sober mind. Soldiers often incorporated the amethyst into their armor, or at least that’s what I read. The amethyst was also a stone of the high priests and is referenced in several verses in the Bible, namely Exodus and Revelations. What I find most interesting of all is across many cultures and civilizations, the amethyst has consistently been considered a healer’s stone, one with potent healing properties, for both physical and mental ailments.

The hubby visited Peru recently and brought me back the above amethyst crystal. There were hundreds upon hundreds of crystals at the little shop in Cusco but that one resonated with him as the one I’d like most.

Amethyst is a crystalline quartz that can range from a light pastel purple like the one pictured to a deep, rich purple with blue undertones. Generally I see the light amethysts as conducive of channeling intuition and energies helpful to attaining secret knowledge or wisdom. Dark amethysts are perhaps more practical for the everyday objectives: channeling energies that will help attract power and affluence. The light amethyst crystal is perfect for me, as I’ve been seeking a more spiritual path these days.

When reading tarot for issues that involve healing of some kind, I’ll be keeping this amethyst crystal nearby.