The Key of Necromancy
Vol. I & II
The Key of Necromancy is a two-volume work that attests to the continuity and changes that underwent the German magical literature through the late 17th to mid-18th century. It stands as an example of the unique techniques and spirit lists that circulated around the Holy Roman Empire that would later consolidate in what today is known as the Faustian Tradition.
Volume I
Volume II
The first volume contains an introduction which analyses the influence of alchemical literature on the Faustian grimoires and the role of the spirits in these texts. It also contains two appendices, one dealing with the mysterious Martagon of Solomon and the change of this plant’s meaning and use in the magical texts; and the other with the subject of the Bond, Imprisonment of Spirits and the Triangle of Art as they relate to the present text.
As part of the second volume one can find the famous knife and conjuration of the spirit Waran, the Art Nerony, a discourse dealing with the subject of finding mines and protecting them against other miners as well as an interesting addition to the literature on the Olympic Spirits, among many other subjects. This volume also contains experiments related to conjurations found in Reginald's Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft and commentary on the subject which will be of interest to those who study the transmission of magical texts.