The ''Grimorium Verum'' (Latin for ''True Grimoire'') is an 18th-century

grimoire A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...

attributed to one "Alibeck the Egyptian" of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, who purportedly wrote in 1517. Like many grimoires, it claims a tradition originating with

King Solomon King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. The grimoire is not a translation of an earlier work as purported, its original appearing in French or Italian in the mid-18th century, as noted already by

A. E. Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith o ...

who discussed the work in his ''

The Book of Ceremonial Magic ''The Book of Ceremonial Magic'' by Arthur Edward Waite was originally called ''The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts''. It was first published in a limited run in 1898, and distributed more widely under the title ''The Book of Ceremonial Magic'' i ...

'' (1911), stating: One version of the ''Grimoire'' was included as ''The Clavicles of King Solomon: Book 3'' in one of the French manuscripts

S. L. MacGregor Mathers Samuel Liddell (or Liddel) MacGregor Mathers (8 or 11 January 1854 – 5 or 20 November 1918), born Samuel Liddell Mathers, was a British occultist. He is primarily known as one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a cerem ...

incorporated in his version of the ''

Key of Solomon The ''Key of Solomon'' ( la, Clavicula Salomonis; he, מפתח שלמה []) (Also known as "The Greater Key of Solomon") is a pseudepigraphical grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates ba ...

'', but it was omitted from the ''Key'' with the following explanation:Joseph H Peterson, ''Grimorium Verum'', , Appendix 1, "Excerpts from Grimorium Verum from British Library manuscript Lansdowne 1202", pp. 79.

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arko ...

also published some of it in ''The Secret Lore of Magic: Book of the Sorcerers'' in 1957.

Contents of the book

Book one

"Concerning the character of demons" In particular the superior spirits of

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

Beelzebub Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Cana ...

Astaroth Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth), in demonology, was known to be the Great Duke of Hell in the first hierarchy with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he was part of the evil trinity. He is known to be a male figure most likely named afte ...

, including the many inferior spirits below them and their invoking sigils.

Book two

"Of planetary hours"

Book three

"The preparation of the operator"

Book four

"Here begins the Sanctum Regnum, called the royalty of spirits, or the Little

, a most learned

Hebraic Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

necromancer Necromancy () is the practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions, or by resurrection for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events; ...

and

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. This book contains various combinations of characters whereby the powers can be invoked or brought forth whensoever you may wish, each according to his faculty."

Editions

* Trident Books (1994, 2nd. ed. 1997) * Joseph H. Peterso
(2007)
*Jake Stratton-Ken
(2009)
Scarlet Imprint. . *Tarl Warwic
(2015)
.

References

External links

at Esoteric Archives

Verum The tee (⊤, \top in LaTeX) also called down tack (as opposed to the up tack) or verum is a symbol used to represent: * The top element in lattice theory. * The truth value of being true in logic, or a sentence (e.g., formula in propositional ca ...

18th-century books {{occult-book-stub