The communion with angels and demons is a core trait in modern esoteric magic but how
does it really feature in these traditions and why?
We're here to figure this out.
[Music]
Hello everyone I’m Angela and welcome back to my channel. Your online resource for the
academic study of magic and magic practising religions and traditions.
Today's video is part of a special collaboration with my friend and fellow scholar Justin Sledge
who has a YouTube channel called Esoterica. He will tackle the Goetia in ancient and medieval
history while I will cover [the] Goetia and theurgy in the contemporary world. So go check
out his video first, along with his fascinating channel. Dr. Sledge has studied the history
of hermetic philosophy at the university of Amsterdam and holds a Ph.D. in philosophy
he specializes in the intersection of esotericism and philosophy and his current research is
on the influence of philosophy on early Kabbalah. So now let's move on to our topic shall we.
As I addressed in a previous video on the etymology of magic, the anglicised word Goetia
comes from the Greek góēs, ‘sorcerer’, goēteía, ‘sorcery’, the Greek word for
magic which got eventually overthrown by mageía, ‘magic’ as the root for the English ‘Magic’.
During the renaissance, Cornelius Agrippa used magic as an umbrella term for all the
occult arts while endorsing a subdivision between Goetia as the branch more related
to the superstitious and popular beliefs and theurgy, which in Greek would be theourgía
meaning work or deed of god, which would be the branch of magic engaging with the religious.
Samuel Liddell ‘McGregor’ Mathers, one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn, cornerstone of modern esoteric magic, gave a significant contribution to
western esotericism through the publication and translation of several texts; one of which
was the Key of Solomon, the Clavicula Salomonis. Another important text edited by Mathers was
the Goetia, the Lesser Key of Solomon. Unfortunately it wasn't published by him at the time, as
apparently it was stolen and published by Aleister Crowley as part of a longer text
called Lemegaton. The original versions of these two grimoires are attributed to King
Solomon and appeared in numerous different versions and in different languages since
the middle ages.
The Greater Key and the Lesser Key of Solomon epitomize the aforementioned distinction between
theurgy as a religious magic connected to the divine versus Goetia as a magic more related
to the mundane and earthly needs. in the Greater Key of Solomon we find, in fact, sigils, pentacles
and rituals to call upon planetary and divine entities, whereas in the Lesser Key of Solomon
we find the legion of the 72 demons and how to summon them. What emerges here is a dichotomy
between a magic deemed more religious or spiritual in nature and another kind of magic, more
connected to achieving tangible changes in the daily life. But let's now see how contemporary
ritual magic has been affected by these two grimoires.
As Egil Asprem highlights, facts such as the Greater and the Lesser Key of Solomon along
with others, like hearts Almadel and the Heptameron constitute an influential set of sources for
ritual magic. The way these older sources were received by 19th century occultism was
shaped by a post-enlightenment, rationalistic worldview which needed a sound framework for
practitioners to build upon.
As I always say, esotericism – as an outlier as it may seem – is still embedded in the
wider cultural milieu and it is affected by the changes that occur in the society at large.
In this case, the re-collection and compilation of old texts in a coherent and sound apparatus
were nicely matched by the rise of the rational mind prompted by the new scientific discoveries,
which were entering the popular discourse and, somehow, moulding what then progressively
became the contemporary understanding of ritual magic
Scientific novelties such as Mesmerism, Electromagnetism, the Ether in Physics and the discoveries of
the subconscious, the archetypes and the collective consciousness in Psychology – all factor
in to provide that cultural framework and, to a certain extent, to offer a sensible foothold
to rationalise magical workings.
As Asprem writes, “In a sense, Doctor Faustus meets Doctor
Frankenstein, and the result is a modern synthesis of magic understood a practice inbetween science
and religion, equal parts ‘technology’ and ‘ritual’”.
This has definitely shaped how the Goetia was received and interpreted. For instance,
in the introduction to his 1903 edition of the Goetia, Crowley argues that the spirits
found in the Goetia are portions of the human brain. And, later, in the “Liber O Vel Manus
et Sagittae”, an instruction manual for the A.A.: Crowley says it’s irrelevant whether
gods and spirits exist or not as they are immaterial either way. He then adds that what
matters is that people will get a certain results by following a set of practices. The
more contemporary Lon Milo DuQuette, on the same line, states in the very title of his
book that everything is just in your head, you just don’t know how big your head is.
To sum it up, Theurgy is seen as a divine and more spiritual kind of magic whereas the
Goetia is perceived as more earth-bound and linked to the physical world.
The two approaches are well epitomised by the Greater Key of Solomon – for the Theurgy
- and the Lesser Key of Solomon – for the Goetia. The two grimoires were compiled and
re-organised in a more coherent way by MacGregor Mathers in the 19th century, to meet the rising
need for a more structured and rationally-compelling form.
These two grimoires and the way they have been perceived in ritual magic also tell us
how different entities are seen as belonging to different states or realms of existence,
as deities, angels and planetary intelligence are perceived to be linked to the spiritual
realm and religious endeavour whereas demons embody the most carnal and physical desires,
binding their field of action to the material side of our existence.
As I always say, esotericism – as an outlier as it may seem – is still embedded in the
wider cultural milieu and it is affected by the changes that occur in the society at large.
In this case, the re-collection and compilation of old texts in a coherent and sound apparatus
were nicely matched by the rise of the rational mind prompted by the new scientific discoveries
which were entering the popular discourse and – somehow – moulding what then progressively
became the contemporary understanding of ritual magic
Scientific novelties such as Mesmerism, Electromagnetism, the Ether in Physics and the discoveries of
the subconscious, the archetypes and the collective consciousness in Psychology – all factor
in to provide that cultural framework and – to a certain extent – to offer a sensible
foothold to rationalise magical workings.
As Asprem writes, ‘In a sense, doctor Faustus meets Doctor
Frankenstein, and the result is a modern synthesis of magic understood a practice in-between
science and religion, equal parts ‘technology’ and ‘ritual’(Asprem, 2016, p. 383).
This has definitely shaped how the Goetia was received and interpreted.
For instance, in the introduction to his 1903 edition of the Goetia, Crowley argues that
the spirits found in the Goetia are portions of the human brain. And, later, in the Liber
O Vel Manus et Sagittae, an instruction manual for the A.:A.: Crowley says it’s irrelevant
whether gods and spirits exist or not as they are immaterial either way. He then adds that
what matters is that they will get a certain result by following a set of practices (Davis,
2016, p. 334). The more contemporary Lon Milo DuQuette, on the same line, states in the
very title of his book that everything is just in your head, you just don’t know how
big your head is (DuQuette, 2010).
To sum it up, Theurgy is seen as a divine and more spiritual kind of magic whereas the
Goetia is perceived as more earth-bound and linked to the physical world.
The two approaches are well epitomised by the Greater Key of Salomon – for the Theurgy
- and the Lesser Key of Solomon – for the Goetia. The two grimoires were compiled and
re-organised in a more coherent way by MacGregor Mathers in the 19th century, to meet the rising
need for a more structured and rationally-compelling form.
These two grimoires and the way they have been perceived in ritual magic also tell us
how different entities are seen as belonging to different states or realms of existence,
as deities, angels and planetary intelligence are perceived to be linked to the spiritual
realm and religious endeavour whilst demons embody the most carnal and physical desires,
binding their field of action to the material side of our existence.
So these two grimoires have been important not only for the historical impact they had
on ceremonial magic first and then all the other forms of magic which evolved from ceremonial
magic but also because they portray different spirits in different ways, so we have a better
understanding of how people, practitioners perceive different entities.
There you have it, we’re done with Goetia and Theurgy -for now! Don't forget to let
me know in the comment section which part of the video you'd like the most and whether
that's something you'd like me to expand more on in a future video.
Do check out the marvellous channel “Esoterica” and say hi to Justin on my behalf. Also a
shout out to my new patrons Bill Hamm, Andromeda Spark, Sebastian, Prognosis Omega, JT Payne
and Jennie. Thank you so much for pledging to my Patreon guys. I'm really happy to have
you in our Inner Symposium. We're having a lot of academic fun in our Discord community
and just had a fantastic Zoom talk yesterday and I really look forward to each and every
one of our online conversations. So thank you again for those who just pledged and for
those who stay pledged.
This is it for today's video. I hope you liked it and if you did, smash the like button,
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soon as I upload a new video and as always stay tuned for all the academic fun.
Bye for now [Music]