[1] The _Clavicula Salomonis_, or _Key of Solomon the King_, consists
mainly of an elaborate ritual for the evocation of the various planetary
spirits, in which process the use of talismans or pentacles plays a
prominent part. It is claimed to be a work of white magic, but, inasmuch
as it, like other old books making the same claim, gives descriptions of
a pentacle for causing ruin, destruction, and death, and another for
causing earthquakes--to give only two examples,--the distinction between
black and white magic, which we shall no doubt encounter again in later
excursions, appears to be somewhat arbitrary.

Regarding the authorship of the work, Mr MATHERS, translator and editor of
the first printed copy of the book, says, "I see no reason to doubt the
tradition which assigns the authorship of the `Key' to King Solomon." If
this view be accepted, however, it is abundantly evident that the _Key_ as
it stands at present (in which we find S. JOHN quoted, and mention made of
SS. PETER and PAUL) must have received some considerable alterations and
additions at the hands of later editors. But even if we are compelled to
assign the _Clavicula Salomonis_ in its present form to the fourteenth or
fifteenth century, we must, I think, allow that it was based upon
traditions of the past, and, of course, the possibility remains that it
might have been based upon some earlier work. With regard to the
antiquity of the planetary sigils, Mr MATHERS notes "that, among the
Gnostic talismans in the British Museum, there is a ring of copper with
the sigils of Venus, which are exactly the same as those given by
mediaeval writers on magic."

In spite of the absurdity of its claims, viewed in the light of modern
knowledge, the _Clavicula Salomonis_ exercised a considerable influence
in the past, and is to be regarded as one of the chief sources of
mediaeval ceremonial magic. Historically speaking, therefore, it is a