- What Actually Separates These Two Grimoires
- History and Origins: Two Very Different Births
- Structure and Content: What Each Book Actually Contains
- Symbolism and Meaning: Two Different Worldviews
- Practices and Traditions: How Each Book Is Used
- Comparisons: The Closest Adjacent Grimoires
- Common Misconceptions: What People Get Wrong
- Closing
A French grimoire from 1795 and an English manuscript from 1572 share a name, a legendary author, and almost nothing else. The Clavicules de Salomon is not a translation of the Key of Solomon. It is a separate work that borrows the Solomon branding for a system of angelic evocation, planetary talismans, and treasure-finding rites that the English grimoire never touches. One book commands spirits. The other negotiates with angels.
What Actually Separates These Two Grimoires
The English Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis) descends from 15th and 16th century Italian manuscripts. It is a book of operative magic: pentacles, conjurations, and the purification rituals required to command demons without being harmed. The Clavicules de Salomon, published in French in 1795 by Pierre-Jacques Duchanteau, is a 19th century compilation that borrows the name but follows a different logic entirely. Duchanteau’s book deals with planetary angels, not infernal spirits, and includes material from the Arbatel of Magic, the Heptameron, and the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage.
The English Key is a manual of command. The French Clavicules is a manual of petition.
History and Origins: Two Very Different Births
The earliest surviving manuscripts of the Key of Solomon date to the late 16th century. The British Library manuscript Sloane 3847, written in 1572, is one of the oldest English copies. It circulated among scholars and clergy who practiced what they called “natural magic” — the art of working with planetary influences and spirit hierarchies within a Christian framework. The grimoire was attributed to King Solomon, but no medieval or Renaissance scholar believed that literally. It was a convention, like attributing a medical text to Hippocrates.
The Clavicules de Salomon appeared much later. Pierre-Jacques Duchanteau, a French occultist and bibliophile, published it in 1795 under the title Clavicules de Salomon, ou le véritable grimoire. Duchanteau was part of the late Enlightenment occult revival, a movement that tried to reconcile magic with reason and natural philosophy. His book was not a rediscovered ancient text. It was a deliberate synthesis of earlier grimoire traditions, reorganized for a reader who wanted angelic magic without the elaborate purification rites of the English Key.
The English Key was copied by hand for centuries before reaching print. The French Clavicules was born in print, assembled from multiple sources by a single editor.
Structure and Content: What Each Book Actually Contains
The English Key of Solomon is organized around five books in its fullest form. The first book covers the tools: the knife, the wand, the pentacles, the circle. The second book describes the conjurations and the times to perform them. The third and fourth books deal with the planetary hours and the names of power. The fifth book, sometimes omitted, contains additional operations for love, invisibility, and treasure.
Every operation in the English Key requires ritual purity: fasting, abstinence, white garments, and a consecrated space. The magician commands spirits by the authority of divine names. The spirits are almost always demons. The magician does not ask. He threatens.
The Clavicules de Salomon is organized differently. It contains seven parts, each corresponding to a planet. The operations involve angels, not demons. The magician prays, fasts, and burns incense, but the tone is supplicatory. The goal is often practical: finding treasure, gaining favor, healing illness. The planetary talismans in the Clavicules are derived from the Arbatel, a 16th century grimoire that teaches the “Olympic spirits” — a hierarchy of planetary intelligences that the magician befriends rather than binds.
The Clavicules also includes material from the Heptameron (a short grimoire attributed to Peter of Abano) and the Sacred Magic of Abramelin, particularly in its use of angelic names and the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel. The English Key has no angelic system. It has spirits, seals, and threats.
Symbolism and Meaning: Two Different Worldviews
The English Key of Solomon operates within a hierarchical cosmology. Above the magician is God, then the angels, then the planetary intelligences, then the spirits of the elements. Below the magician are the demons, who must obey the divine names inscribed on the pentacles. The magician stands at the center, holding the names of power like keys. The circle is not a suggestion. It is a boundary that the spirits cannot cross.
The symbolism is Solomonic in the biblical sense: the king who built the Temple, who commanded demons to build the Temple, who knew the names of all things. The pentacles of the English Key are complex geometric figures filled with Hebrew letters, divine names, and angelic sigils. Each pentacle is a lock. The conjuration is the key.
The Clavicules de Salomon operates within a planetary and angelic cosmology. The magician does not command. He petitions. The angels are not bound by divine names. They are invoked by prayer, incense, and the correct planetary hour. The talismans are simpler: planetary squares, angelic names, and the seals of the Olympic spirits. The goal is not to force a spirit to appear. It is to align oneself with the planetary influence so that the angel acts on the magician’s behalf.
The difference is theological. The English Key assumes that spirits are fallen and must be compelled. The Clavicules assumes that angels are benevolent and must be invited.
Practices and Traditions: How Each Book Is Used
A practitioner of the English Key of Solomon begins with weeks of preparation. The tools must be made by hand, at the correct planetary hour, with virgin materials. The knife must never have cut anything else. The wand must be cut from a hazel tree with a single stroke. The pentacles must be drawn on virgin parchment with consecrated ink. The magician must abstain from sex, alcohol, and meat for nine days before the operation.
The operation itself takes place inside a circle drawn on the ground, often nine feet in diameter, with the names of God written around the perimeter. The magician stands inside. The spirit appears outside. The conjuration is read from the grimoire, and the spirit is commanded to obey. If the spirit resists, the magician threatens with greater names.
A practitioner of the Clavicules de Salomon follows a different path. The planetary hour is calculated. The appropriate incense is burned. The magician recites the prayer of the planetary angel, often from the Arbatel, and waits. There is no circle. There is no threat. The magician may see the angel in a dream, or feel its presence, or receive a sign. The talisman is worn or carried, not drawn on the ground.
The Clavicules also includes operations for finding treasure, which the English Key does not. These operations involve invoking the angel of the place and asking for guidance. The treasure is not guarded by a demon. It is hidden by natural causes, and the angel reveals its location.
Comparisons: The Closest Adjacent Grimoires
The English Key of Solomon is closest to the Lemegeton (the Lesser Key of Solomon), which shares its demonology and conjuration structure. The Lemegeton is more detailed in its spirit catalog. The English Key is more detailed in its ritual preparation.
The Clavicules de Salomon is closest to the Arbatel of Magic, from which it borrows its planetary angels and Olympic spirits. The Arbatel is shorter and more philosophical. The Clavicules is more practical and more focused on talismanic magic.
The Heptameron of Peter of Abano also overlaps with the Clavicules, particularly in its planetary hours and angelic invocations. The Heptameron is a grimoire of conjuration, not petition, but its angelic system is similar.
The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage shares the Clavicules’ emphasis on the Holy Guardian Angel, but Abramelin requires a six-month retreat. The Clavicules offers a shorter, more accessible path.
Common Misconceptions: What People Get Wrong
The most common misconception is that the Clavicules de Salomon is a French translation of the English Key of Solomon. It is not. The two books share a title and a legendary author, but they are independent works with different sources, different structures, and different theologies.
A second misconception is that the Clavicules is a corrupted or degraded version of the English Key. It is not. The Clavicules draws from different traditions: the Arbatel, the Heptameron, and Abramelin. It is a synthesis, not a translation or a copy.
A third misconception is that both books are medieval. The English Key is medieval in origin, but the Clavicules is a product of the late 18th century Enlightenment occult revival. It reflects the rationalism and optimism of that period, not the demonology of the Renaissance.
A fourth misconception is that both books are equally dangerous. The English Key warns repeatedly that the spirits will try to deceive or harm the magician. The Clavicules warns of nothing. Its angels are benevolent. Its operations are safe. This difference in tone reflects a difference in worldview, not a difference in power.
FAQ
Is the Clavicules de Salomon a real grimoire or a modern forgery? It is a real grimoire, published in 1795 by Pierre-Jacques Duchanteau. It is not a medieval manuscript, but it is a genuine 18th century occult work.
Can I use the Clavicules de Salomon for demonic evocation? No. The Clavicules deals exclusively with angels and planetary spirits. It has no conjurations for demons.
Which grimoire is more powerful? That depends on your goal. The English Key is designed for commanding spirits. The Clavicules is designed for petitioning angels. Neither is inherently more powerful.
Do I need to know Hebrew to use either grimoire? The English Key uses Hebrew divine names and requires some familiarity with Hebrew letters for its pentacles. The Clavicules uses Latin and French prayers and does not require Hebrew.
Closing
The English Key of Solomon and the Clavicules de Salomon are two books that share a name and almost nothing else. One is a Renaissance manual of demonic command. The other is an Enlightenment synthesis of angelic petition. Understanding the difference is not academic. It determines how you approach the work: as a commander or as a petitioner, as a king or as a supplicant. For a deeper look at how grimoires evolved across centuries, see our guide to grimoires. For the symbols and seals that appear in both traditions, visit our glossary of occult symbols. And for a direct comparison of the Solomonic tradition, read our guide to the Key of Solomon.