Goetia

:"see The Goetia for the 1904 book by Crowley and Mathers."

" _la. Goetia" (Middle Latin, anglicized (IPAEng|ˈgəʊɨti), from Greek _gr. γοητεία "goēteia" "sorcery") refers to a practice which includes the invocation of angels or the evocation of demons, and usage of the term in English largely derives from the 17th century grimoire "The Lesser Key of Solomon", which features an "Ars Goetia" as its first section. It contains descriptions of the evocation of seventy-two demons, famously edited by Aleister Crowley in 1904 as "The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King".

Etymology

Ancient Greek _gr. γοητεία ("goēteia") means "charm, jugglery" [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?layout.reflang=greek;layout.refembed=2;layout.refwordcount=1;layout.reflookup=gohtei%2Fas;doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2322589 LSJ] ] from _gr. γόης "sorcerer, wizard" [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2322587 LSJ] ] . The meaning of "sorcerer" is attested in a scholion, referring to the Dactyli, stating that according to Pherecydes and Hellanicus, those to the left are "goētes", while those to the right are deliverers from sorcery. [K. Müller, "Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum" Paris: Didot, 1841-1870, fr. 7, _gr. Ἀριστεροὶ μὲν, ὥς φησι Φερεκύδης, οἱ γόητες αὐτῶν· οἱ δὲ ἀναλύοντες, δεξιοὶ, ὡς Ἑλλάνικος.] The word may be ultimately derived from the verb _gr. γοάω "groan, bewail". Derived terms are _gr. γοήτευμα "a charm" and _gr. γοητεύω "to bewitch, beguile".

_gr. γοητεία was a term for witchcraft in Hellenistic magic. Latinized " _la. goetia" via French " _fr. goétie" was adopted into English as "goecie", "goety" in the 16th century.

Renaissance magic

During the Renaissance "goeteia" (Latinized "goetia", French "goétie", English "goety") was sometimes contrasted with "magia" as black (evil) vs. white magic, or with theurgy as "low" vs. "high" magic.

James Sanford in his 1569 translation of Agrippa's "Of the vanitie and uncertaintie 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

"Ars Goetia" is the title of the first section of "The Lesser Key of Solomon", containing descriptions of the seventy-two demons that King Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he obliged to work for him. The "Ars Goetia" assigns a rank and a title of nobility to each 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 (to high but varying degree, often according to edition) with those in the "Steganographia of Trithemius", circa 1500, and Johann Weyer's "Pseudomonarchia Daemonum" an appendix appearing in later editions of his "De Praestigiis Daemonum", of 1563.

A revised English edition of the "Ars Goetia" was published in 1904 by Samuel Liddell and Aleister Crowley as "The Goetia", and it serves as a key component of Crowley's popular and highly influential system of magick.

Notes

References

*Garstin, E. J. Langford. "Theurgy" or "The Hermetic Practice: A Treatise on Spiritual Alchemy". Berwick: Ibis Press, 2004. (Published posthumously)
*S. L. MacGregor Mathers (ed.), Samuel Liddell (trans.), "The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King". York Beach, ME : Samuel Weiser (1995) ISBN 0-87728-847-X.

See also

*List of magical terms and traditions
*Grimoire
*The Lesser Key of Solomon

External links

* [http://www.enochian.org/daemons.shtml Demon list with descriptions]