Bond of Solomon

Below is a conjuration ritual from the Munich Manual, a collection of demonic and divinatory rituals and spells.  Although the purpose for the section (fols 62v-65r in the manuscript) is for a conjuration of several powerful demons usng a mirror, the bulk of the section contains the Bond of Solomon, a powerful exorcism and abjuration.  It’s lengthy, and the Munich Manual suggests it to be read rather than memorized.  Besides its purported power and strength in binding demons to the abyss, it’s notable for its lengthy list of godnames and when they might have been first used or discovered (such as for each plague that Moses called for Egypt, various Biblical stories, and so forth).

The author writes of the Bond of Solomon:

…of this bond the spirits are not to be loosened, but rather will be divided and split.

But beware, as already mentioned, that this secret may not be discovered in some foolish hand. We gush forth the wisest word, by which the [aforementioned demon] kings and princes with all their servants may be well to be made available, gathered, bound, and thrown forth into the abyss.

I’ve translated the conjuration and Bond of Solomon as it appears in Kieckhefer, simplifying the text and directions elsewhere.  The end of the Bond of Solomon suggests one of three demands to make of the spirits, labeled below as [a], [b], or [c], though I’m sure you might come up with more as a need arises.

The ritual is to be done in a cemetery and calls for:

  • 19 small stones1 gathered from the same cemetary
  • common vervain, or another member of the verbena genus of plants
  • a mirror
  • olive oil

Go to a cemetery and gather the stones. Place the stones in a circle and set the vervain inside it.  Take a mirror, and dress it with olive oil using your thumb, saying Gloria in excelsis deo, then enter the circle. Stand above the herb and face east.  Repeat the following conjuration.

I conjure you, Astra, Astaroth, Cebal,

  • by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
  • by the twenty-four elders2,
  • by the three boys Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
  • by Toth3, your prince,
  • by Zambrim and Mambrim,
  • by Usuel and by Saduel, whom you are held to obey in truth,
  • by the baptism I received in the font by my priest,

and obey me.

When a spirit comes, say, “You have abandoned the God who created you, and have forgotten your Lord and Creator”. The spirit will reply, “It is true.” Then say, “I bind and constrain you demons, by the word that you have heard by your Creator hanging upon the Cross, that you hurt no one, but that you answer to me the truth”. If they accept, awesome.  If not, and prove to be rebellious and adversarial and disobedient, proceed to the Bond of Solomon.

By the strengthened and powerful name of God El, strong and wonderful, I exorcise and command you spirits, by He who spoke and created, by all of His names:

  • by the name IHVH4 that Moses heard and spoke,
  • by and in the name Genery5 that Noah heard and spoke, with the eight families of his line,
  • by and in the name IHVH6 that Abhraham heard and knew the omnipotent God,
  • by and in the name Joth that Jacob heard from the angel accompanying him and who himself was freed from the hand of his brother Esau,
  • by and in the name Eyzaserie7 that Moses heard on the mountain and earned to be now with God, and to hear Him speaking in flame,
  • by and in the name Anathematon that Aaron heard and was made eloquent and wise,
  • by and in the name Tzabaoth8 that Moses head and then called out, and all the water from the earth seized the wetlands, turned into blood, and festered,
  • by and in the name Oristion that Moses called and all the rivers surged with frogs and infested the homes of the Egyptians,
  • by and in the name Eloy that Moses heard and, beating the dust of the earth, created flies unto men and mules,
  • by and in the name Artifonte that Moses caled and sent all sorts of mice into Egypt and amongst the Egyptians,
  • by and in the name Yephaton that Moses heard and called, beating the earth, and struck the horses, donkeys, camels, sheep, and cattle with a grave plague and killed them,
  • by and in the name Arbitrios that Moses called and brought ashes from the charnels and scattered them in the sky, and dire boils were created on the men and mules all through the land of the Egyptians,
  • by and in the name Elyon that Moses called and hail was thrown down, never as much from the beginning of the world as far as the present time, and that the men and mules that were in the fields fell and died,
  • by and in the name Adonai9 that Moses called, and locusts appeared above all the earth, and greatly devoured whatever was left,
  • by and in the name Pantheon that Moses called, and horrible shadows were made for three days and three nights,
  • by and in the name Arimon that Moses called at midnight and all the firstborn of Egypt perished and were made limp,
  • by and in the name Geremon that Moses called and all the Israelites in captivity were freed,
  • by and in the name Yegeron that the sea heard and was divided,
  • by and in the name Ysiston that the sea heard and submerged all the chariots of the pharaoh,
  • by and in the name On10, that the rocks heard and spread out innumerable,
  • by and in the name Anabona that Moses heard on Mount Sinai and earned to accept the Tables written by the hand of the Savior,
  • by and in the name Egyryon with whom Joshua fought and destroyed his enemies and obtained victory,
  • by and in the name Patheon that holy David called and was freed from the hand of Goliath,
  • by and in the name Eya that Solomon heard and at Gibeon earned in a dream to ask for and obtain holy wisdom,
  • by and in the name Pancraton11 that Elias called when it did not rain and had not for three and a half years,
  • by and in the name Symayon that Elijah called and the sky gave forth rain, and the earth gave forth her fruit,
  • by and in the name Eloy that Elisha called and freed the son of the Shunammite,
  • by and in the name Athanatos that Jeremiah called and passed by the bondage of the city of Jerusalem,
  • by and in the name of the Alpha and Omega that Daniel called, and by it destroyed Baal and the dragon,
  • by and in the name Emmanuel12 that the three boys13 in the forge of a burning fire called, and by it escaped unharmed and free,

and by these names and all other names of the omnipotent and living and true God, who from the high noble throne throws you down for your offenses and casts you as far as the abyss.

I exorcise and powerfully command you spirits,

  • by He who spoke and created, whom all creatures obey,
  • by the terrible day of judgment of God Most High,
  • by the devouring fire,
  • by the clear sea open before His divine majesty,
  • by the four joyous animals14 around the seat of His divine majesty, having eyes forward and backward,
  • by the holy Trinity, which is the one true God,
  • by the ninety-nine names spoken by the daughters of Israel,
  • by the ineffable virtue and omnipotency of the Creator Himself,
  • by the twenty-four elders standing around the Throne,
  • by the angels of the sky, the powers and dominations, that are called for under the Creator,
  • by the highest Intelligence,
  • by the ring and seal of Solomon,
  • by His most sacred name that the whole world fears, that is written with the four letters Yod, He, Vau, and He15, and AGLA,
  • by the nine celestial spheres16,
  • and by His power,

[a] that you guard for me the this thing for as long as today until the utmost last;
[b] that you relinquish to me this treasure you guard until now, without any decrease, thus that as you produce the treasure you shall never be separated from me;
[c] that you come now, in this hour, and must answer me honestly in matters about which I will have questioned you to speak truth.

Similarly, if you come upon a rebellious or adversarial spirit, say the following abjuration:

By and in the name of Pneumaton, that Moses called and Dath, An, and Abyron17 were swallowed by the caverns of the earth, and the power of the most sacred name of God Pneumaton, I curse you into the depths of the abyss; up to the last day of judgment I stay you and bind you, unless you obey my order and have brought about my desire.

  1. There are 19 verses in this psalm (Psalm 50 of the Vulgate), though the text says that it has 47.
  2. The “24 elders” are those mentioned in Revelations 4 and 5, representing the 24 patriarchs from Adam to Jacob.
  3. “Toth” here might refer to the Egyptian god Thoth.
  4. MS Y et V et E
  5. Almost all the adjurations here follow the formula “et per nomen N et in nomine N”, or “and by the name N and in the name of N”. I’ve shortened the phrasing to this.
  6. MS et per nomen Y et V et E et X, et in nomine V et X
  7. Probably a corruption of Esherehie, or “ehyeh asher ehyeh”.
  8. MS Sabaoth.
  9. MS Adonay.
  10. Probably a corruption of the Greek name “Ο ΩΝ”.
  11. Perhaps a corruption of Pantocrator, “ruler of everything”, often an epithet of Christ or other (especially risen) gods.
  12. MS Emanuel.
  13. Referring to the story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego (Daniel 1 through 3).
  14. The four sacred cherubim, in the form of a bull, an eagle, a lion, and a man.
  15. MS HV, V, et V, HV
  16. MS candarias?
  17. Referring to the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram and the Levite Korah (Numbers 16).