- What exactly is the ?
- Where does the text come from? A history of the manuscript
- How the seals are organized: planetary correspondences
- What the seals actually look like: form and function
- How the seals are used: ritual instructions
- How does this compare to other grimoires?
- What people get wrong about the
A grimoire collector in Prague once opened a 17th-century manuscript and found a seal so dense with symbols that it took three months to transcribe. The Secrets of Magical Seals is that kind of book. It is a late medieval compilation of talismanic seals, planetary sigils, and ritual instructions attributed to the legendary magician Honorius of Thebes, organized by celestial hour and planetary correspondence. The text survives in several manuscript versions, the earliest dated to the 14th century, and it remains one of the most cited sources for practical seal magic in the European grimoire tradition.
The book is not a philosophical treatise. It is a workshop manual. Every page assumes the reader already knows how to consecrate a tool, cast a circle, and read an ephemeris. What it provides is the raw material: the seals themselves, drawn with specific colors, materials, and timing instructions, each one keyed to a specific outcome.
What exactly is the Secrets of Magical Seals?
The Secrets of Magical Seals (Latin: Secretum de Sigillis Magicis) is a practical grimoire that contains instructions for constructing and activating talismanic seals. It belongs to the Solomonic tradition of magical texts, though it is not attributed to Solomon himself. Instead, the authorship is assigned to Honorius of Thebes, a figure about whom almost nothing is known outside the grimoire tradition.
The text is structured around the seven planets of medieval astrology: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. For each planet, the book provides a set of seals, the appropriate planetary hour for their creation, the metal or material to inscribe them on, and the prayers or invocations to recite during the operation.
The seals themselves are geometric compositions of lines, circles, and Hebrew or pseudo-Hebrew lettering. They are not decorative. Each line and angle carries a specific intention, and the instructions are explicit about the consequences of drawing them incorrectly.
Where does the text come from? A history of the manuscript
The earliest known manuscript of the Secrets of Magical Seals is housed in the British Library, catalogued as Sloane MS 3826 and dated to the late 14th century. It was written in Latin on vellum, with the seals drawn in red and black ink. The text circulated in monastic and scholarly circles throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, often bound together with other Solomonic works like the Key of Solomon and the Lemegeton.
By the 17th century, the text had been translated into French, German, and English. The English occultist Elias Ashmole (1617–1692) owned a copy, which he annotated heavily. His marginalia reveal that he attempted to use several of the seals for astrological experiments, though he recorded mixed results.
The first printed edition appeared in 1855, included in Arthur Edward Waite’s The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. Waite was skeptical of the text’s claims but acknowledged its historical importance. Modern editions are based primarily on the Sloane manuscript, with variations collated from later copies.
The text’s attribution to Honorius of Thebes is almost certainly pseudepigraphic. Honorius appears in other grimoires, most notably the Sworn Book of Honorius, but no historical figure matching that name has been identified. The name may have been chosen to evoke the authority of the Roman emperor Honorius (384–423 CE), or it may be a corruption of a Hebrew or Arabic name. The sources disagree, and no consensus exists.
How the seals are organized: planetary correspondences
The core of the book is its planetary system. Each planet governs a set of human concerns, and the seals are designed to address those concerns directly.
Saturn seals are used for binding, restriction, and protection. They are drawn on lead or black stone, and the instructions specify that they must be created during the hour of Saturn on a Saturday, when the planet is in a fixed sign. The seal for binding an enemy, for example, includes a triangle enclosing a square, with the letters of the planetary spirit written around the perimeter.
Jupiter seals govern wealth, honor, and legal matters. They are inscribed on silver or tin, and the preferred planetary hour is the first hour of daylight on a Thursday. The seal for acquiring favor from a powerful person includes a six-pointed star with the name of the planetary intelligence written in the center.
Mars seals are for victory, courage, and conflict. They are drawn on iron or red stone, and the timing must align with the hour of Mars on a Tuesday. The seal for overcoming an enemy in battle includes a pentagram with the points marked with the names of the five martial spirits.
The Sun seals address health, fame, and spiritual authority. They are inscribed on gold or yellow silk, and the operation is performed during the hour of the Sun on a Sunday. The seal for gaining the favor of kings includes a circle divided into twelve sections, each containing a solar angelic name.
Venus seals concern love, friendship, and artistic success. They are drawn on copper or rose-colored stone, and the hour of Venus on a Friday is specified. The seal for attracting a specific person includes a heart-shaped figure surrounded by the names of the seven planetary spirits of Venus.
Mercury seals govern communication, trade, and intellectual work. They are inscribed on mercury-treated parchment or on a silver disk, and the hour of Mercury on a Wednesday is required. The seal for success in business includes a caduceus-like figure with the names of the Mercurial spirits written in a spiral.
The Moon seals deal with dreams, travel, and emotional matters. They are drawn on silver or white silk, and the hour of the Moon on a Monday is preferred. The seal for prophetic dreams includes a crescent moon with the names of the lunar spirits written in a circle.
What the seals actually look like: form and function
The seals in the Secrets of Magical Seals are not arbitrary designs. They follow a consistent visual grammar. Each seal is enclosed in a circle, which represents the boundary of the operation. Inside the circle, geometric shapes (triangles, squares, pentagrams, hexagrams) are arranged around a central point. The names of planetary spirits, angels, or demons are written in Hebrew characters, often reversed or abbreviated.
The instructions specify that the seal must be drawn in one continuous line, without lifting the pen. This is not a practical convenience. It is a ritual requirement. A broken line is considered a broken seal, and the operation must begin again from scratch.
The materials matter as much as the design. A seal drawn on the wrong metal or at the wrong hour is described as “dead” and “without virtue.” The text warns that using a dead seal can attract hostile spirits rather than the intended planetary force.
How the seals are used: ritual instructions
The Secrets of Magical Seals provides detailed instructions for activating each seal. The process typically involves three stages: preparation, consecration, and application.
Preparation requires the operator to be in a state of ritual purity. The text specifies fasting for three days, abstaining from sexual activity, and wearing clean white garments. The workspace must be cleansed with fumigations appropriate to the planetary spirit being invoked. For a Jupiter operation, for example, the fumigation is saffron and cedar. For a Saturn operation, it is myrrh and sulfur.
Consecration involves reciting the planetary prayer while holding the seal over the fumigation smoke. The prayer is addressed to the planetary intelligence, not to the planet itself. The text distinguishes between the planetary spirit (the conscious entity governing the planet’s influence) and the planetary force (the impersonal energy). The seal is consecrated to the spirit, not the force.
Application varies by purpose. A seal for protection may be worn on the body, sewn into clothing, or placed above a door. A seal for attracting wealth may be buried in the ground near the place of business. A seal for binding an enemy may be burned while reciting the binding prayer. The text is explicit about the disposal of seals after their purpose is fulfilled. They must be destroyed by fire or water, never discarded whole.
How does this compare to other grimoires?
The Secrets of Magical Seals shares material with the Key of Solomon, but it is not a copy. The Key of Solomon is a comprehensive manual of ceremonial magic, covering everything from tool construction to spirit evocation. The Secrets of Magical Seals is narrower. It focuses exclusively on talismanic seals, with minimal attention to other forms of magic.
The Lemegeton (the Lesser Key of Solomon) is concerned primarily with spirit evocation and contains 72 demons with their seals and sigils. The Secrets of Magical Seals deals with planetary spirits, not infernal ones. The distinction matters. Planetary spirits are considered neutral or benevolent, while the demons of the Lemegeton require binding and control.
The Arbatel of Magic, a 16th-century grimoire, also uses planetary seals, but its approach is more philosophical. The Arbatel emphasizes the inner transformation of the operator, while the Secrets of Magical Seals is purely practical. You do not need to be spiritually advanced to use the seals. You only need to follow the instructions.
What people get wrong about the Secrets of Magical Seals
The most common misconception is that the seals are inherently dangerous. They are not. The text itself warns against using seals for harmful purposes, and the planetary spirits are described as just and merciful. The danger comes from breaking the ritual rules, not from the seals themselves.
Another misconception is that the seals work automatically. They do not. The text emphasizes that the operator must be in the correct state of mind and body, and that the planetary hour must be precisely calculated. A seal created at the wrong hour is not merely ineffective. It is counterproductive.
A third misconception is that the text is a single, unified work. It is not. The surviving manuscripts vary significantly in content. Some include seals that others omit. Some add prayers and invocations that others lack. The modern reader must work with a critical edition that notes these variations.
FAQ
Can I use the seals without knowing Hebrew? Yes. The text provides the Hebrew names in transliteration, and the seals can be copied directly from the manuscript illustrations. Knowing Hebrew helps with pronunciation but is not required.
Do I need to be initiated to use the Secrets of Magical Seals? No. The text assumes the reader has some experience with ritual magic, but it does not require initiation into a specific order. The instructions are self-contained.
Are the seals from the Secrets of Magical Seals the same as those in the Key of Solomon? Some overlap exists, but the seals are not identical. The Secrets of Magical Seals uses a different system of planetary spirits and a different set of prayers.
Can the seals be used for healing? The text includes seals for health and protection, but they are not medical tools. The seals are intended to address spiritual and psychological causes, not physical ones.
The Secrets of Magical Seals is not a beginner’s grimoire. It is a specialist’s reference, written for practitioners who already understand the foundations of planetary magic. For those who do, it offers a complete system of talismanic work, grounded in the astrological and ritual traditions of the medieval West.
If this subject interests you, explore our guide to magical alphabets for the script traditions that underpin these seals, or visit the glossary of planetary spirits for the entities named in the text. For a deeper look at the Solomonic tradition, read our guide to the Key of Solomon.