Decans and Demons
Decans and Demons:
An Historical Perspective on the Testament of Solomon
By
Roland Matthews (2006)
Introduction
The Testament of Solomon is a pseudepigraphical work based upon the Biblical character of King Solomon who tells how he captured, subjugated, and interrogated many demons in order to obtain their wisdom, powers, and use them as agents of labor in the construction of his famous temple. This text stands out because it is believed to be the first to introduce the 36 decans of astrology as a source of iatromathematical melothesia into the Hebrew community. A decan is defined by the Larousse Encyclopedia of Astrology as being “One of the thirty-six 10º sub-divisions of the signs of the zodiac.”1 Over time, the decans changed from markers of time used to measure the length of hours in the night, to powerful gods controlling the seasons, and eventually into dangerous demons inflicting illnesses. Testament of Solomon is an important example of how the people of antiquity attempted to use astrological information in association with a cosmological belief system gathered from multi-cultural sources in order to understand and mitigate their shared physical suffering. This paper will discuss the progression of the decans and their affiliation with demonic forces, how this affected the development of the Testament of Solomon, and to what extent this may have influenced modern texts.
History
Where and when did the earliest evidence for the decans occur? Another question that will be addressed is how and when the Hebrews could have been exposed to or contributed to this information? Around 2,400 BCE the Akkadians, a Semitic race, occupied the Sumerian city-states and by the second millennium were indistinguishable from the Sumerians.2 It is around this time that the Amorites took over, and also the epic Gilgamesh was recorded onto 12 clay tablets.3 These peoples, we now call Babylonians for simplicity, developed a mathematically accurate and systematically tabulated record of astronomy that resulted in the sexagesimal measurement of time, the 12 month year, the 7 day week, and the constellations of the zodiac.4 James Holden starts his book A History of Horoscopic Astrology by stating “The Babylonians invented astrology. In the second millennium BCE they adopted the constellations that had already been recognized by the Sumerians in the third millennium, and they began to observe and record celestial phenomena.”5 B. L. Van Der Waerden says in his article from the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, January 1949 that “in the second millennium BCE the so-called ‘astrolabes’ text lists of thirty-six stars were connected with the twelve months of the year.”6 He goes on to say:
“After the introduction of the month names of the unified Babylonian calendar, the scribes took care to connect these names with the rising of the stars. The formula for this connection can be found in the Epic of Creation; Marduk fixed three stars for each month of the year. The list of these thirty-six stars is preserved in 3 copies, with only slight differences. These texts are called Astrolabes, but the Babylonian scribes called them the three stars each.”7
Not far from the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, another ancient civilization was developing along a similar path. It is during the first intermediate period after the Old Kingdom of Egypt that we find, according to Otto Neugebauer and Richard Parker in their Egyptian Astronomical Texts, the initial major period where the 36 decans appear on coffin lids is around 2,150 BCE with their modified use in transits as represented in the cenotaph of Seti I and the tomb of Ramses IV (about 1300 and 1150 BCE respectively) .8 This does not explain their origin or why at what point they became so important that they eventually made it into the funerary relics. We do not have the space available to go into the intricacies of the Egyptian religion, however, it is of the interest of this paper that Egyptian medical papyri go back to 2,000 BCE, which present a “demon” theory of sickness, meaning disease is represented as being caused by an evil spirit.9 And even though there are no records of astronomical observations by the Egyptians that compare to the Babylonians, they are somehow credited with devising a more accurate calendar.10
According to Van Der Waerden, around 1,700 BCE lists of stars were being compiled separately by the ancient tribes of Elam, Akkad, and Amurra with the circular Astrolabes and lists of Astrolabes from before 1100 BCE .11 These later developed into 3 lists of 12 stars each in concentric rings where the outer were called the “stars of Ea”, the middle the “stars of Anu”, and the inner the “stars of Enlil”. The stars of Anu were near the equator, Ea south of it, and Enlil north respectively.12
The Book of Genesis tells us the Hebrew patriarch Abraham left the Babylonian city of Ur somewhere between 2,000 and 1,700 BCE.13 This is interesting, because as George Patterson points out “historians speculate the Hebrew people moved into Egypt during the Hyksos invasion c. 1,700 BCE.”14 He also reminds us that the Hebrew scriptures were written down between 1,200 and 200 BCE.15 After a long period of political uncertainty, the Hebrews had Saul as their first King who reigned from 1,024 to 1,000 BCE, followed by his son David (1,000 – 961 BCE), and finally his grandson Solomon (961 – 922 BCE).16
Back in Babylonia, the King Ashurbanipal (reigned 669 – 627 BCE) amassed a library consisting of the Enuma Anu Enlil, a catalogue of omen observations parts of which are almost 1,000 years older which show evidence of an ancient astral religion, and tablets #50 and 51 called Mul Apin, an astronomical catalogue considered to be the oldest evidence of zodiacal constellations.17 Van Der Wearden asserts that the 2nd tablet of Mul-Apin proves that the signs and degrees of the zodiac are of Babylonian origin stating that “in the zodiacal scheme of Mul-Apin, the year was divided into 4 astronomical seasons, corresponding to the 4 parts into which the ecliptic was divided by the zones of Enlil, Anu, and Ea. The earliest text these signs occur is the observation text VAT 4924 from year 6 of Darius II (420 BCE).”18 He goes on to say “It is remarkable that Eudoxus, in his Phaenomena located the vernal equinox at 15º although this was wrong for his own time (370 BCE). R. Böker in his unpublished work Die Sphäre Arats suggests Eudoxus followed a Babylonian tradition because his location of 15º would have been correct for 1,000 BCE and the geographical latitude assumed was exactly that of Babylon.”19
In 587 BCE the Chaldeans, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Palestine and Syria, and enslaved the Jews in Babylon after destroying Solomon’s Temple.20 Patterson states “the Chaldeans practiced an essentially astral religion where the gods were envisioned as forces beyond human understanding which were centered in the heavenly bodies.”21 Shortly thereafter, the Persians who had adopted slightly prior to 600 BCE the astral religion of Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic belief in a cosmic struggle between the good god Ahura Mazda against his foe Ahriman and his demons, defeated the Chaldeans and freed the Jews from captivity.22 Cyrus was the king of the Persians who conquered the Chaldeans in 539 BCE. His son Cambyses defeated Egypt in 525 BCE and his successor, Darius the Great (reigned 522 – 486 BCE) even extended his empire into conflict with the Greeks.23
So now we have established that the Hebrews, a culture started by a former Babylonian, were exposed to the Egyptians who had lists of decans dating back to at least 2,150 BCE along with a belief in a demonic cause of diseases, then they were exposed to the Chaldeans who also had a long history of 36 special stars and zodiac dating back to the second millennium BCE along with an astral religion, and then they were exposed to the Persians whose astral religion centered on a struggle with demons which touched many cultures including the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and even the Greeks, which all occurred before Socrates or Alexander the Great. There should be little doubt as to whether or not the Jews had been introduced to or had a tradition of decans and demons prior to the Hellenistic period.
What exactly are the decans and what purpose did they serve? Van Der Waerden says “they started as calendar stars in popular tradition, and in the Hellenistic period became mixed up with the twelve zodiac signs and the 36 Egyptian decans and finally became mysterious divine powers, supervising everything that happens in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld.”24 This statement appears to be in conflict with his assessment that the zodiac and the 36 stars are both of Babylonian origin, except the fact that they were not the same stars in both cultures, nor were they related to the same coordinates of the sky. The Babylonians used stars that were north, south, and along the equator; whereas the Egyptians used a band south of the ecliptic. Van Der Waerden also cites Diodorus (1st century BCE / d. 21 BCE) who says:
“Under the course in which these planets move are situated, according to them 30* stars, which the Chaldeans designate as “counseling gods”; of these one half oversee the regions above the earth and the other half those beneath the earth, having under their purview the affairs of mankind and likewise those of the heavens;…Twelve of these gods, they say, hold chief authority, and to each of these the Chaldeans assign a month and one of the signs of the zodiac, as they are called. And through the midst of these signs, they say, both the Sun and Moon and the five planets make their course…Beyond the circle of the zodiac they designate 24 other stars, of which one half, they say, are situated in the northern parts, and one half in the southern, and of these those which are visible they assign to the world of the living, while those which are invisible they regard as being adjacent to the dead, and so they call them “Judges of the Universe.”25
It is apparent that the planets making their course through the signs are a reference to the ecliptic and if we add 12 plus 24 we get the 36 special stars. Van Der Waerden then states: “We do not know how far we can rely upon Diodorus, but in any case he must have had a ‘Chaldean’ source. Let us call the star-gods alluded to in his source the ‘Chaldean Decans’.”26 He also cites Neugebauer on the use of Babylonian water clocks when he states: “If the numbers on the astrolabe have the same signification, those in the outer ring must mean day watches, the middle half-watches, and those in the inner circle quarter-watches. Hence the Babylonians divided each watch into four equal parts, which means that they divided the whole day into twelve equal parts.”27 He goes on to say: “This shows that Herodotus (484 – 432 BCE) spoke the truth when he said ‘The Greeks learned the gnomon, the polos, and the twelve parts of the day from the Babylonians.”28
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* Van Der Waerden notes that this is an obvious scribal error and should have been 36.
He concludes by alluding to The Emperor Julian who writes in his Oratio ad Solem (362 CE):
“Besides those mentioned already there are a great number of celestial Gods, known to those who contemplate the Heaven well and not like beasts. For [Helios], intersecting fourfold the three [worlds], because the zodiacal circle communicates with each of them, divides it into twelve powers of Gods, and each of these again into three, so that thirty-six [powers of Gods] result.”29
Van Der Wearden suggests the zodiacal scheme of Mul-Apin is the solution to Julian’s mysterious poem. Thus he explains:
“The 3 kosmoi are the paths of Enlil, Anu, and Ea. The ecliptic is thus divided into 4 segments corresponding to the 4 seasons. Each of the 4 segments is divided into 3 zodiacal signs, which Julian calls “powers of gods”. Each of these is again divided into 3 segments, so that thirty-six decans result. He calls this doctrine ‘mystical hypotheses’, which can only mean that these things were taught in the mysteries of Mithras, into which Julian was initiated. He considers this doctrine as revealed by gods, or great daemons, and opposes it to the spherical hypotheses of Greek astronomy.”30
Van Der Waerden does not cite his reason for claiming that Julian was an initiate into the Mithraic mysteries, but it is not a difficult proposition to accept.
Neugebauer begins by explaining the Egyptian calendar as such: “The Egyptian calendar year consisted of 3 ten-day weeks divided into 3 seasons of four months each, followed by 5 epagomenal days.”31 He makes the distinction between the Egyptian decans and the Babylonian stars by describing how the heliacal rising of a particular star was a characteristic of the Egyptian diagonal star calendar and tells us how this worked.
“The star of the first hour is the decan which has completed its 10 days as the first hour star and is seen at the meridian at the beginning of the night. It takes 90 days (in the West) after finishing as first star before a decan becomes enclosed in the Duat for 70 days. ‘Birth’ occurs 80 days in the East before the decan indicates an hour by its culmination. 90 + 70 + 80 = 240 days. 360 -240 =120 days for the ‘working’ decan. At first its culmination indicates the twelfth hour, ten days later the eleventh, and so on until it stops working after 120 days having indicated at last the first hour.”32
Neugebauer seems to agree with Van Der Waerden when he states: “The decans were used by the Egyptians to mark the hours of the night, and by the Hellenistic period, the 12 zodiacal signs had become a well-defined coordinate system in Babylonian mathematical astronomy, on which the computations of Hellenistic astrology were based. When these doctrines reached Egypt the decans were easily incorporated since the zodiac signs had no more than a schematic association with the actual constellations.”33 In explaining the hours measured by the passing of the decans he had this to say:
“Decanal hours are not the same as seasonal hours or our modern equinoctial hours. There are 18 decanal hours that cover the interval from sunset to sunrise. Because we know that the diagonal clocks contain only 12 hours, we disregard three decanal hours on each end. The ‘hours of night’ are therefore only the 12 innermost decanal hours with a margin of 3 decanal hours at each end. To this end we introduce 36 rising times which is the time it takes the ecliptic arc from 0º to 10º to rise. The values of these are conveniently tabulated in Ptolemy’s Almagest.”34
He carefully avoids explaining or guessing why the Egyptians did what they did but rather systematically details the information so the reader can make their own judgments. As an example, he describes how the decans were originally used as markers for measuring the hours of the night, when the use of a shadow clock was not possible, stating:
“The divisions of the first part of the night occur in the cosmology of Seti I and Ramses IV but there is no clear proof of how the second half of the night was divided, but the likely assumption is that it was symmetric with the first half. Another division began immediately after the eighth hour is suggested by the passage in the cosmology which states that Re ‘begins to leave the Duat in the ninth hour’. Indications point to a balanced arrangement as this:
1st darkness 1 hr (1)
Early night 3 hrs (2-4)
Middle night 4 hrs (5-8)
Late night 3 hrs (9-11)
Last darkness 1 hr (12)”35
He then mentions “The cosmology of Seti I and Ramses IV according to the text of the Carlsburg I papyrus is divided into 7 sections or chapters.”36 This could have suggested a correlation to the 7 planets and the previous excerpt could possibly be the beginning of the use of magical hours used in electional astrology, yet he avoids these concepts most likely because of lack of proof. Neugebauer begins to make a subtle connection with the Egyptian cosmology mentioning: “Chapter (E) is the central astronomical section in which the relation between the Sun and the decans, their appearance and disappearance in the course of a year are explained. The most important information that comes from this chapter is the fact that the decans indicate the hours of the night no longer by their successive rising, but by their culmination or transit.”37 Neugebauer also says “The Greeks called stars of simultaneous rising ‘Paranatellonta’ identifying the decans with their paranatellonta in the zodiac. It is in this form the decans finally appear as thirds of zodiacal signs in Hellenistic astrology, which then profoundly influenced medieval astrology from India through the Islamic world to Western Europe.”38 Neugerbauer informs us that “The earliest known zodiac to us from Egypt dated c. 200 BCE is that of Esna A (now destroyed), which is also the first to document an incontrovertible relationship between the zodiac and the decan lists. It starts with Virgo and ends with Leo.”39 And then he points out “The first complete Greek version is from Hephaistio of Thebes (4th century CE) and starts with Aries. His list either includes errors or was an artificial list composed without regard for astronomical exactness.”40
How did demons get mixed into this astronomical calendar system? On page 75 of Egyptian Astronomical Texts Neugebauer tells us “A star which had fallen purified itself by shedding all impurity to the earth during its stay in the Duat.”41 Is this the origin of the idea of stars as evil influences? He finally gives us the clue when he tells us:
“Geb became prince of the gods – the gods are of course the decanal stars.”42 With the name of each decan is almost always also associated with a deity, who may be named only or may be represented as well. First found in the 22nd dynasty is an assemblage of deities, many of whom are lion-headed or serpents. Later these bear decanal names, in an expanded list of 48 names arrived at by inserting a 4th name in every group of 3 decans.”43
Are these insertions a group leader or lord of the zodiac sign as found in later angelic hierarchies? In the miscellaneous texts studied by Neugebauer, the first mentioned inscription outlines perhaps best the areas of interest of an ‘astronomer’ saying that he should know: “the proper length of the hours of daytime and night, and the proper performance of different rituals, as well as charms against scorpions.”44 In 1906 a statue of Harkhebi (c. 300 BCE)* the astronomer was found with the inscription: “…who announces rising and setting at their times, with the gods who foretell the future, for which he purified himself in their days when Akh [decan] rose heliacally beside Benu [Venus] from earth and he contented the lands with his utterances.”45 Neugebauer thinks ‘utterances’ could mean ‘predictions’, yet later on page 215 the text continues saying: “who does not disclose (anything) at all concerning his report after judgment, discreet with all he has seen.”46 Therefore it cannot mean ‘predictions’ and must have a more magical / invokational meaning. Another significant part of ToS is hinted at on page 78 of Egyptian Astronomical Texts in reference of the soul traveling through the Duat, Neugebauer refers to Charles Maystre’s Les De’clarations d’Innocence: “The 42
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* There is also evidence of a Harkhebi, son of Haremakhet, Grand-son of Shabaka, that served as an High Priest of Amun until at least year 14 of Psamtik I (660 – 644 BCE).47
utterances are the second part of the declaration of innocence [the so-called negative confession]. Each utterance consists of an appeal by name to one of the divine judges and then a negative statement.”48 Knowing the names of the decans and how to address the gods through ‘utterances’ is an important theme which is prevalent in the ToS. Neugebauer concludes by saying: “This text has a list of astronomical topics similar to the Babylonian Mul-Apin. This is the earliest extant witness of the transmission of Babylonian astrological doctrines into Egypt. It concludes with his ability to charm snakes and scorpions.”49 This writer is curious if ‘snakes and scorpions’ from the miscellaneous texts is either a mistranslation or a possible colloquialism for ‘demons’? In the Esna C text Hippo, a common Egyptian constellation, is called simply wrt, “Great One”50 and the reason this is significant will become apparent later when we examine the text of ToS. The Egyptian Book of Day and Night (Ramses IV era) says the Big Dipper is the foreleg of Seth, the evil brother and enemy of Osiris.51 This is interesting, as it is later associated with Asmodeus, a major demon in ToS. Neugebauer also mentions the ‘Western pillar of the sky’.52 Is this related to the pillar of air held up by the demon of the Red Sea from Testament of Solomon?
How do the decans relate to early medical practices? In addition to the medical papyri previously mentioned, we also have an early example of what appears to be melothesia mentioned on page 82 of Egyptian Astronomical Texts: “Part of the shadow clock text which appears on the ceiling of Seti’s cenotaph lists the 12 hours of the night and associates with them twelve parts of a female body, undoubtedly, as De Buck suggested, twelve stations in the body of Nut through or on which the Sun passes during the night.”53 This is important because if there was a pre-existing ‘demon’ theory of illness, then an astrological connection to the body would be a critical link to the gods of the decans. Several things that Neugebauer mentions about the Egyptians appear strange when taken out of context, but when questioning the source of the concepts presented in ToS they become suddenly clear. He states something curious on page 48 of Egyptian Astronomical Texts (which will become more interesting later when we discuss the Hygromancy of Solomon) saying: “The Sun symbolized as a scarab beetle with its ball is thought of as a woman in delivery sitting upon the birth-bricks. In Papyrus Rhind I, it is related how Thoth wrote the length of life upon the birth-brick.”54 This comment is odd because not only does the concept of someone giving birth on bricks seem to be an unusual practice, but it also is a statement of prediction of the length of one’s life based on one’s birth. But as it turns out, the word brick was used as a translation of the Greek word pinax meaning tablet.55 There is a theme of instructional tablets that seems to run throughout many of these texts as well. In his explanation of the decanal stars traveling the heavens, Neugebauer says: “Instead of following one star for 90 days and so on, we are told that at any one time, there are 9 stars in the West, 7 in the Duat, 8 in the East, and 12 working in the middle of the sky.”56 He later adds, “The 7 invisible stars in the Duat are further divided into 2 near the ‘Eastern door’, 2 near the ‘Western door’, and 3 between in the heart of the Duat.”57 This is then reinforced with “The star which is rising is also called the ‘star of birth’ while the star of the 1st hour its two other designations, ‘star of evening’ and ‘star which meets the lake’, so no misunderstanding is possible.”58 The rising star relates to the astrological 12th house and the star of the 1st hour is in the 6th house. These are mentioned because there is a bit of a controversy around the “36 bright horoscopes”. What are the “36 bright horoscopes”? Neugebauer investigates this and offers the following:
“The editors of P. London 98 could offer no satisfactory explanations because horoscope decans are so relatively unknown in other texts. The Corpus Hermeticum by Asclepius does mention ‘the 36 which are called horoscopes’ but does not explain them. Galen also mentions them in criticizing Pamphilos [1st century CE] as a grammarian who writes about plants which he does not know and which might not even exist, as e.g. The Sacred Plants of the 36 Horoscopes [Galen, Opera XI, p. 798, ed. Kuhn and Pauly-Wissova XVIII, 3, cols. 344 f.]. Neither reference is helpful beyond confirming the existence of a list of thirty-six horoscopes with decanal names.”59
Neugebauer finally clarifies the situation by stating:
“The correct explanation of the thirty-six horoscopes we now believe to be quite a simple one, once we recall that we have been dealing with two types of decanal families. One, of transit decans, we have seen to be attached to the zodiac. The other type is of course made up of families which consist of rising decans. Now an important datum in any horoscope is the point on the ecliptic which is rising at the given time, known as the Horoscopos. The transfer of this name to the thirty-six rising decans so that they become ‘the 36 bright horoscopes’ is a natural step to take.”60
There is also another interesting occurrence in relation to ancient medical practices. In the Seti I-B family of decans no deities are named, nor are stars ever given; but in two lists minerals (with the exception of ebony and olive wood) are associated with each decan. Neugebauer cites “The minerals with which the decans are associated or out of which images of them were made are given the identification established by J. R. Harris in his Lexicographic Studies in Ancient Egyptian Minerals [Berlin, 1961]”61 To anyone who has studied remedial measures, this is quite significant! Tamsyn Barton says in her Ancient Astrology “Ptolemy, who uses medicine as a model to justify astrology, depicting them both as conjectural technai, also proudly claims that the Egyptians, who have most advanced the art of astrology, have entirely united medicine and astrological prediction.”62 She also says: “the origins of astrological entities, stones and plants may have been in Egyptian medicine, famed already in the age of Homer, and probably elaborated in Hermetic writings.”63 Barton continues saying: “Diagnosis in a more general sense was provided by the various doctrines of melothesia, which assigned parts of the body to astrological entities. This idea was well enough known to be mentioned by Pliny (23 – 79 CE).”64 Barton further relates this concept by citing: “Firmicus Maternus (4th century CE) mentions that Nechepso (730 – 672 BCE) ‘by means of the decans predicted all illnesses and afflictions; he knew which decan produced which illness and which decans were stronger than others’.”65 She continues by mentioning a Hermetic text by Thessalus (1st century CE) in Latin and Greek wrote about Nechepso using stones and plants, which were linked to 15 fixed stars.66 Barton also mentions that “in the Sacred Book of Hermes Addressed to Asclepius the medical recipes envisage strengthening the decan responsible for causing disease in a particular part of the body.”67 She goes on to say “there is a further role in astrology in determining the moment and place to obtain the plant or stone used”68, which is an allusion to electional astrology, often used in relation to astrological medicine. She also says “there are a number of Hermetic texts concerning ‘astro-botany’ which are late but reflect older material.”69 Barton concludes by telling us: “In magical papyri (2nd century BCE to 5th century CE) we find correspondences. For example: 7 flowers of the planets and 7 precious stones.70 In a Demotic spell to call up a god, it is stipulated that it should be done opposite the Great Bear (Big Dipper) on the third day of the lunar month.”71 Earlier we learned that Asmodeus is affiliated with this constellation. Hephaistio of Thebes in his Apotelesmatics Book I (c. 380 CE) as translated by Robert Schmidt, relates physiognomy to the decans.72 In the Liber Hermetis translated by Robert Zoller, the decans are symbolically described with specific images and most mention illnesses associated with certain body parts.73
Hopefully, by now it is apparent that there is a precedent for the decanal stars to be affiliated with the zodiac, medical practices possibly related to the Ascendant at the time of birth used to fend off demonic illnesses, and with gods whose names were called upon through the ‘utterances’ of ‘astronomers’. These points of interest in addition to the previous explanation of how the Hebrew people are historically entwined with the astronomy and cosmologies of their surrounding mid-Eastern neighbors should be a solid foundation for what gave rise to the main book of our interest:
The Testament of Solomon
Before we continue, we should offer the reader a brief overview of the content of the story itself so that they are familiar with the subject matter. In the text, King Solomon tells us how he captures various demons and interrogates them after forcing them into submission by use of a magical ring given to him by an angel. During the course of his questions, he discovers that the demons reside in various astrological signs, and that a specific group of them are associated with the ten degree divisions of those signs known as the decans, and that they are the source of a range of physical ailments related to the body parts through astrological melothesia.
The age and location origin of this text is undoubtedly an issue of contention amongst historians. Some suggest that manuscript N equates each of the 36 decans in chapter 18 with the 10 days of the Coptic month, and therefore this equation relates manuscript N to Egypt.74 McCown concluded the native language of ToS was Koine / Hellenistic Greek while F. C. Conybeare suggested it was a Christian revision of a Jewish document. He concluded that it sounded archaic and since the section of 36 decans shared a similar demonology with the apostle Paul that it must be from around 100 CE.75
D. C. Duling states that McCown’s theory of 3rd or 4th century is plausible, but not convincing.76 K. Preisendanz, the recognized authority on magical papyri, suggests 1st century, based on Gundel’s Dekane und Dekansternbilder which suggests chapter 18 was in use in pre-Christian Egypt and there are similarities with the Nag Hammadi texts which refer to a Book of Solomon, or it could be related to the Epistle of Rehoboam (c. 1st century BCE Egypt).77 Duling says “The Testament of Solomon is the product of the growth of a legend about a famous biblical character combined with a variety of syncretistic beliefs about astrology, demonology, angelology, magic, and medicine.”78 Duling cites the alchemist Zosimus Panopolis [c. 300 CE in Egypt] who said “Among the Egyptians there is a book called the Seven Heavens attributed to Solomon…but it is not true because these bottles were brought [from Jerusalem] long ago to our [Egyptian] priests.”79 What bottles is he referring to? Could they be similar to the ones Solomon supposedly trapped the demons in? Duling continues by stating: “Solomon’s fame as a magician in Judaism and Christianity carried over into the magic of the larger Hellenistic world.”80 This and the previous historical information seem to discount if not explain the syncretism suggested by Duling.
One of the points that is made clear by Duling in this text that we can assume was influenced by the Egyptians is that “demons are said to reside in a star, and stars are viewed as demonic and have a special destructive power over those humans who share the same constellation.”81 He therefore claims: “The major interest of the author of the ToS was medical”82 and then confirms this by stating: “Theodoret (c. 385 – 458 CE) praises Solomon as the source of all medical knowledge.”83 Duling cites McCown’s reference to the asakku marsu by stating: “the ascription of ailments and diseases to specific demons was deeply rooted in Babylonia and so was the wind demon which causes a fever.”84 However, if the Egyptians got the idea of the zodiac from the Babylonians, then perhaps they also received from them the concept of ‘demonic’ illness.
The following is a brief synopsis of the 64 demons as they are listed in order of appearance in the ToS along with any astronomical associations they have.
1. 1. Ornias – associated with
2. 2. Beelzeboul – Prince of Demons
3. 3. Onoskelis – a female satyr associated with the Full Moon
4. 4. Asmodeus – associated with the Great Bear
5. 5. Ephippas – an Arabian wind demon
6. 6. Lix Tetrax – a wind demon associated with a star near the tip of the Moon
7. 7. – 13. The Seven Heavenly Bodies
14. 14. Murder
15. 15. Scepter – a dog-like demon associated with his star (Sirius?)
16. 16. Lion-shaped demon and his legion
17. 17. a 3-headed dragon spirit
18. 18. Obyzouth - a female demon
19. 19. a winged dragon
20. 20. Enepsigos – a female demon with two heads located near the Moon
21. 21. Kunopegos – a sea-horse demon
22. 22. a lecherous spirit with the shadowy form of a man and gleaming eyes
23. 23. – 58. The demons of the 36 decans (discussed later)
59. 59. Ornias returns and makes a prophecy
60. 60. Ephippas – captured again?
61. 61. Demon of the Red Sea – chained to a pillar
62. 62. Abezethibou – a wind demon sent to help the Demon of the Red Sea
63. 63. Raphan – a foreign god
64. 64. Moloch – another foreign god
Now that we have a brief synopsis, we can go into the specifics of each demon as they appear in the narrative.
Onoskelis says she associates with men of honey colored skin because they are of the same constellation. Charlesworth’s footnote (b) assumes this is because she is also assumed to be a satyra, a mythological creature that was half human female and half beast. She also has a star that these men worship, but doesn’t say which one. Footnote (d) says the term homolybdos translated as ‘black’ means ‘lead’.85 Could this also mean Saturn? This would confirm the assumption. She also says that men worship her because they seek gold. Is this an alchemical text as well?
Asmodeus fears the sheatfish (a type of catfish from Assyria). He also detests water.86 Remember that Seth is affiliated with the Big Dipper as well.
Beezeboul resides in the evening star (Hesperia the Greek name for Venus).87 It is interesting that Lucifer is the morning star, and in astrology Venus is a benefic.
Lix Tetrax is a magical term referring to the element of earth (Lix) and a four seasoned year (Tetrax). This stands out because the Egyptians had a year with three seasons. It is an old Ephesian name in a tablet from Crete connected with a wind. He is called the direct descendant of “the great one” and Artemis is called “the great” at Ephesus.88 Remember what was said earlier about the Egyptian constellation Hippo?
The seven heavenly bodies were commanded to dig the foundation of the temple 250 cubits long. McCown suggests these are the Pleiades not the planets.89
Murder, the headless demon is based on a similar Egyptian demon with an astrological background that is thwarted by the fiery angel or fiery flash of lightning.90
We find out in chapter 10 that the 6th of 7 ruling demons has the face of a dog and is named Erataoth.91 Is this the same being as Scepter, the dog-like demon?
In chapter 14, the winged dragon only sodomizes beautiful women who possess a name tou xylou (of the wood) of this star.92 Does this mean they are named after a particular tree ruled by his particular star? What tree / plant and what star? As he spoke, his breath set the forest of Lebanon on fire. The most famous tree of Lebanon is Cedar.
In chapter 15, Enepsigos is related to Hecate.93
H. G. Gundel in his Dekane und Dekansternbilder says “the archetypes for chapter 18 are 1st century BCE and that traditional Decan deities are distorted to evil demons.”94 The following is a list of the individual demons with their affiliated illnesses related to the decans from Chapter 18.*
1. 1. Ruax – 1st decan of affects headaches
2. 2. Barsafael – 2nd decan also affects headaches
3. 3. Artosael – 3rd decan damages the eyes
4. 4. Oropel – 1st decan of affects sore throats
5. 5. Kairoxanondalon – 2nd decan obstructs the ears
6. 6. Sphendonael – 3rd decan affects tumors of the parotid gland
7. 7. Sphandor – 1st decan of weakens the shoulders
________________________________________________________
* Although some of these do not appear to agree with current concepts of melothesia, it is not the intention of this paper to make those comparisons.
1. 8. Belbel – 2nd decan perverts the mind
2. 9. Kourtael – 3rd decan sends colics to the bowels
3. 10. Metathiax – 1st decan of causes pain in the kidneys
4. 11. Katanikotael – 2nd decan unleashes feuds in homes
5. 12. Saphthorael – 3rd decan puts dissention into the mind and causes stumbling
6. 13. Phobothel – 1st decan of loosens the tendons
7. 14. Leroel – 2nd decan causes chills, shivering, and sore throat
8. 15. Soubelti – 3rd decan causes shivering and numbness
9. 16. Katrax – 1st decan of inflicts incurable fevers
10. 17. Ieropa – 2nd decan sits on the stomach and causes convulsions
11. 18. Modebel – 3rd decan separates wife from husband
12. 19. Mardero – 1st decan of inflicts incurable fevers
13. 20. Rhyx Nathotho – 2nd decan locates in the knees
14. 21. Rhyx Alath – 3rd decan affects croup in infants
15. 22. Rhyx Andameoth – 1st decan of inflicts heart pain
16. 23. Rhyx Manthado – 2nd decan causes the kidneys to suffer
17. 24. Rhyx Aktonme – 3rd decan causes the ribs to suffer
18. 25. Rhyx Anatreth – 1st decan of sends gas and burning up into the bowels
19. 26. Rhyx Enautha – 2nd decan steals minds and alters hearts
20. 27. Rhyx Axesbuth – 3rd decan affects diarrhea and hemorrhoids
21. 28. Rhyx Hapax – 1st decan of unleashes insomnia
22. 29. Rhyx Anoster – 2nd decan affects hysteria and pain in the bladder
23. 30. Rhyx Physikoreth – 3rd decan causes long term illness
24. 31. Rhyx Aleureth – 1st decan of causes choking on fish bones
25. 32. Rhyx Ichthuon – 2nd decan detaches tendons
26. 33. Rhyx Achoneoth – 3rd decan causes sore throats and tonsillitis
27. 34. Rhyx Autoth – 1st decan of causes jealousy and squabbles between lovers
28. 35. Rhyx Phtheneoth – 2nd decan casts the evil eye on everyone
Rhyx Mianeth – 3rd decan causes flesh to rot and demolishes houses
After chapter 18, the text becomes even more unorganized and confusing. It is difficult to tell if the subject matter is meant to be symbolic or allegorical. For example, an object of interest in the construction of Solomon’s Temple is the “Bronze Sea”, a giant bronze basin in the courtyard of the temple which is supported by 36 bulls.95 There are many instances in the story where Solomon sentences the demons to aid in various stages of construction on the temple, however they appear to be out of sequence or there is a mistranslation of the text. For instance, why are they trying to place a “corner stone” near the completion of the temple? Should it be a keystone or capstone instead?
Another conundrum is presented by several demons that are thwarted by an angel (Jesus) who hasn’t even been born yet (at the time of Solomon). This presents an interesting concept for the status of Jesus as avatar, and also suggests that spirits exist prior to materializing in the flesh, not to mention the dating issues discussed previously. Duling offers an interesting legend that may explain why some of the demons are thwarted by the name of Jesus saying: “the magi came to Judea because at the birth of Jesus, the demons lost their strength and became weak, so they (the magi) were not able to perform their charms.”96 The amount of Gnostic and Christian references in the ToS is what has led many scholars to believe it is of a later date.
On page 985 of The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Charlesworth’s footnote (23a) says: “McCown suggest that the pillar of cloud in the Old Testament of the Bible is transferred to the heavens and he agrees with M. R. James that the pillar of air carried by the demon of the Red Sea may represent the Milky Way.”97 Remember the pillar of the West mentioned by Neugebauer? Is this related to the mythological Mount Meru and the churning of the ocean of milk by the Hindu devas and asuras? Perhaps this is something that was influenced by the Persian exposure from the Indians.
Now that we have had a chance to briefly examine the text itself and can possibly see a relationship with previous more ancient influences, we should also look at some contemporary texts that also relate to King Solomon and his wisdom in order to better evaluate how popular these concepts had become.
Solomonic Traditions
What are some of the other texts that share similar themes as the ToS? Pablo Torijano says in his Solomon the Esoteric King: “The whole text of the exorcisms has a clear focus on magical medicine, since a good deal of it is dedicated to the procedures for exorcising the 36 decans who are supposed to be responsible for different sicknesses…which shows how Solomon the exorcist was linked with astrology and could eventually be characterized as an astrologer.”98 Later, he tells us “The tradition of an amulet or ring also mentions Egypt as the place it was given, which could mean that it originated in a Hellenized Jewish setting there. There are older manuscripts establishing a chain of tradition in which the archangel Michael, Moses, and finally Solomon are presented as links in the transmission of the amulet.”99 He further contends: “It is most probable that the tradition that contained information about Solomon and the demons were quite common as early as the 2nd century BCE.”100 Torijano says: “Astrology and magic came to the fore as protagonists; thus we have here a Hermeticism of a different kind, which would function as a bridge between the image of Solomon in Late Antiquity and its further development in the Middle Ages.”101 And he then exclaims: “The ToS exhibits the absorption of astrological material and demonology from different cultures, especially Jewish, Egyptian, and Hellenistic.”102
In the Hygromanteia of Solomon, a possible reason that even though the title suggests divination by water and there is none in the text, is because there may have been pages lost from the manuscript that the principle text was copied from.103 This makes one wonder about the purpose of the ‘Bronze Sea’ in front of Solomon’s temple. One feature that is not similar to ToS that Torijano mentions is that “in the HoS knowledge about the hour of invocation is more important than knowledge of the name.”104 This is definitely related to electional astrology. The HoS describes Solomon as the master of astrological knowledge.105 He points out that “apart from Abraham and Moses, Solomon is portrayed as king and magician, in a way that is not supported by Hellenistic theories concerning the character of the monarchy and the endowment of kings with numinous (divine) power. This combination, then, of worldly power over people, and esoteric or magical power over demons, seems to be Jewish.”106 Another curious theme that seems to be in direct contrast to the alleged Christian influences is as Torijano states: “human life is bounded by a supernatural world of angels and demons but the magician does not worry about the inevitability of a final judgment; that is, magical tradition seems to care little about eschatology. The mystical text seeks to transcend time and place in order to attain contemplation of the divine, oblivious of this worldly history.”107 According to Torijano, the IIQPsApa, Wisdom of Solomon, Biblical Antiquities of Pseudo-Philo, and Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities all bear witness to the underground existence of exorcistic traditions by the first century CE.108
In the Sepher ha-Razim or Book of Secrets, (4th century CE) Solomon is described as the repository of a magical chain of tradition going back to Noah.109 Torijano says: “It is noteworthy that in both the HoS and in the Sepher ha-Razim the names of the angels and their description were of primary importance.”110 He does not mention the use of Gematria, the Kabbalistic doctrine of equating words with numbers, or how that would effect the use of the angelic names even though this is considered to be a primary Kabbalistic tome. The origin of the tradition linking Noah to a book of secret lore is found in Jubilees 10:12-14, which says: “And the healing of all their illnesses together with their seductions we told Noah so that he might heal by means of herbs of the earth.”111 Torijano relates that “the text of Jubilees is found in a context where the demons are subdued and where the angels teach Noah how to heal the illnesses produced by them.”112 This book of knowledge is traditionally written in stone as is demonstrated by Jubilees: “And [Noah] inscribed it upon a sapphire stone very distinctly.”113 Hermes has the Emerald tablet; Thoth wrote the lifespan on a tablet; Gilgamesh has a tablet of Lapis lazuli, and apparently Noah had one of sapphire. Torijano reminds us “The knowledge of the book that has been given to Noah coincides with the astrological knowledge given by Solomon to his son Rehoboam in the HoS” where “Solomon warns his son about the need to master the observation of the planets and of the Zodiac signs and to know the positions of the seven planets, because the seven planets lead to the seven days of the week.”114
Torijano states in his conclusion: “In the 1st century BCE Wisdom of Solomon shows Solomon as a master of all physical things with knowledge and power even over the spirits; Josephus adds Hermetic features in his Jewish Antiquities noting that Solomon’s skill at exorcistic powers remained intact even in the historian’s own time; and IIQPsApa shows that the Qumran sectarians were aware of such a tradition prior to the 1st century CE.”115 D. C. Duling dates Wisdom of Solomon slightly earlier [2nd century BCE Egypt] stating “it claims he knew astrology, the powers of roots, and forces of spirits.”116 Another text called the Selenodromion of David and Solomon, which is concerned with proper actions taken on certain days according to the phase of the moon, could have been influenced by the Egyptians as exemplified by this statement from Egyptian Astronomical Texts: “The moon of the 2nd day is the Feast of Horus [because he was born on that day].”117 It is difficult to be certain since the first 5 days are missing.
Torijano suggests the image of Solomon on a horse holding a spear attacking a female demon in ceremonial bowls and talismans seems to have given rise to the later iconography of St. George and the dragon.118 Neugebauer mentions that under the Northern Constellations ‘the man spearing a crocodile’ constellation actually holds a weapon in some representations, but not all.119 This is reminiscent of the image of Solomon spearing a demoness / St. George and the dragon commented on by Torijano, who makes the distinction of how “Chapter 18 of ToS has a new demonology in which the demons are transformed into astrological entities over which Solomon has practical knowledge, being able to control them”, and “even in rabbinic texts Pesiqta de Rab Kahana, Qohelet Rabbah this characterization of Solomon as astrologer was alluded to, which proves that it was also known in less Hellenized Jewish communities.”120 But this should come as no surprise after considering the material we have covered thus far. Torijano says: “Solomon is represented as astrologer because it was believed that he knew about the times relating to the planets and their servants, the demons and angels.”121
Lester Ness in his book Written in the Stars conveys that “the Book of Jubilees says that Noah passed on the secrets of herbal medicine which could counter the demons to Shem [his son].”122 He says The Treatise of Shem was [according to Charlesworth] possibly composed in Alexandria, Egypt c. 20 BCE.123 Ness comments “the Letter of Rehoboam [c. 1st century CE] contains prayers to angels and planets (and it is divided into 7 sections), but it is also a work on favorable hours as well as a work of astrological medicine or iatromathematics.”124 It is ascribed to a work by Thessalus of Tralles (1st century CE), a well known 1st century physician, and it is also linked to the Wisdom of Solomon.125 Ness contends that the author of Letter of Rehoboam was most likely a Jew and notes by contrast, ToS has many Christian references.126 He echoes Torijano stating: “the Sepher ha-Razim [c. 350-400 CE] says that it was revealed to Noah by the angel Raziel” and observes that it too “is also divided into 7 sections.”127 Ness concludes remarking: “The 36 angels in the third camp may be the 36 decans, although not labeled as such, they perform similar functions.”128
We have now established that there was a long running tradition of the legendary King Solomon being thought of as an astrologer with extraordinary powers over ‘demons’ inherited through an ‘angelic’ legacy passed down by Noah, his conventionally accepted ancestor. This custom of astrological medicine used to conquer disease-causing ‘demons’ was popular enough to appear in many works of literature around the same time as ToS. The fact that the age of the text is debated makes it difficult to determine which text influenced the others first, but it remains quite evident that the concepts were wide spread, even appearing in ceremonial objects.
Subsequent Influences
How did texts like the Testament of Solomon influence later writers up into our own time? Torijano says: “Magical practices were popular in the Judaism of late Antiquity as they were among other cultures of the same period…whether high or low, human life could be confronted by means of magic. Therefore magicians pervade every sphere of life because they were viewed as effective, as the persistence of the same techniques even up to the early modern period clearly witnesses.”129 He then concludes saying: “Later, Christian magicians and astrologers transmitted the very same writings and attributions, which survived as the handbooks of medieval and modern practitioners of the esoteric. In fact, works such as the so-called Clavicula Salomonis, Maphteah Shelmo, seem to have had those traditions and writings about Solomon as their source.”130
Another very influential text, Picatrix, has a Latin version from the 11th century CE, however the Arabic version may be as old as 348 CE.131 The unknown author of the Picatrix says the reader should consult The Book of the Great Images by Zosimos (3rd century CE) and there are 48 ‘delusive’ images that they attribute to the Indians.132 Are they the 36 decans plus 12 leaders of the zodiac? Remember that some of the Egyptian decan lists also had 48. They go on to say Abu Bakr Ibn Wahsija deals with this subject in his book Tiqana which he translated from the Nabateans.133 They mention how magic and talismans are used with astrology (decans) in a book by Jabir Ibn Hayyam called Explaining the Images of Constellations and Their Actions, which the writer claims “compensates for the 2 lost books by Aristotle Astrologia and The Plants which were burned with no trace found.”134
One of the most popular books of this nature from the medieval period was the Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Henry Cornelius Agrippa (1486 – 1535), which had a Latin version published in 1531, and a posthumous English edition in 1651. It has been rumored that Agrippa owned and was influenced by a copy of Speculum by Albertus Magnus (1193 – 1280 CE) a well known ‘natural philosopher’.135 Donald Tyson’s annotation of Agrippa’s work is less than accurate when it lists ToS as a source for a comparison of 4 evil spirits which rule over all the others and he even dates it to the 12th century CE.136 However, some of Tyson’s footnotes are worth paying attention to, such as when he states: “The use of pre-pubescent boys as an undefiled medium for the communications of the gods is very old. It began in Babylonia and was carried to Egypt, where it still exists today. This is why Pythagoras said that children were loved by the gods.”137 He cites Iamblichus’ Life of Pythagoras, Babylonian Oil Magic: Text 3 translated by S. Daiches (London, 1913), Three Works of Ancient Jewish Magic, then The Demotic Magical Papyrus fo London and Leiden (London, H. Grevel and Co. 1904), and he excerpts several descriptions similar to hygromancy using oil or ink.138 In these, Solomon commands his young medium to stand, sit or lie upon unbaked bricks, and this is what was interesting when we mentioned them earlier. Agrippa himself says: “There are besides in the zodiac thirty-six images, according to the number of faces, of the which [as Porphyry saith] Teucer the Babylonian long since wrote, who was a most ancient mathematician, after whom the Arabians also wrote of these things.”139 Tyson’s footnote cites the Picatrix as the source for the decans, ignoring Agrippa’s own words. Agrippa gives descriptions of the 36 images, but doesn’t affiliate them with illnesses. Also he mentions the faces. Is this a reference to the astrological essential dignity? This is also the number and order of the minor arcana of the Tarot. Many later books use Barrett’s The Magus by Francis Barrett, London, 1801 as a source; however, it is basically a plagiarized version of Agrippa’s work.140
Probably the most popular and influential occult tome of the modern era, The Goetia, was ‘edited’ by the infamous Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947) who declared that “the evolutionary goal of the new age inaugurated by his reception of The Book of the Law was nothing less than the conscious attainment by each individual of the knowledge and conversation of their ‘daimon’ or ‘Holy Guardian Angel’; that is the next step in human evolution.”141 The Goetia characterizes the decans as personified spirits, and doubles the number to 72 by allowing a spirit for day and night. There are several citations listed as possible sources for The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (Clavicula Salomonis Regis) edited by Crowley and translated by Samuel L. Mathers, such as J. A. Fabricus’ Codex Pseudepigraphus Veteris Testamenti, Hamburg, Felginer, p. 1054 (1722-1733).142 Peter Friedrich Arpe cites Josephus in connection with a supposed 1st century CE Hebrew Clavicula Salomonis in his Deprodigiosis naturae et artis operibus, talismans, et amuleta dictis (Hamburg, Liebzeit, 1717); Johann Christian Wolf cited it as Maphteah Shelomo 48 quarto pp. in Bibliotheca Hebraea (Hamburg 1715-1733) pp. 1047-1048; and even the 11th century CE Latin version of Picatrix: Ghayat al-Hakim, edited by David Pingree, London, Warburg Institute, 1986 is a possible influence where an unknown author is said to have compiled information from 224 books by ‘ancient sages’.143 Other books were also considered. A student of Cornelius Agrippa by the name of Johannes Wierus (1515-1588) wrote Pseudomonarchia Daemonum in 1577; Reginald Scot is attributed with his Discoverie of Witchcraft, 3rd edition from 1665; Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516) was Agrippa’s teacher and wrote Steganographia (Darmstadii, 1606); and finally, Michael Maier’s (1568-1622) Laws of the Fraternity of the Rosie Cross (Themis Aurea) London, 1656 is also a listed as a plausible source.144
So, as we can plainly see, a menagerie of various offshoots was spawned over the centuries which were concerned about controlling demonic forces through magic. However, over time the material became only vaguely affiliated with astrology and even less interested in the medical uses of melothesia, and the number of demons doubled.
Conclusion
We have demonstrated how the purpose of the decans changed through history, starting as markers of time and seasons, later becoming part of the zodiac, and eventually zones of physical affliction affected by demons. Is this text the first to introduce the 36 decans of astrology as a source of iatromathematical melothesia into the Hebrew community? After reviewing the political history of the Jews and seeing how they were exposed to older cultures who already had an astronomical knowledge of 36 stars or decans and medical practices that attributed illnesses to demonic forces, it is clear that this is not necessarily the case. The Babylonians and Egyptians are the actual sources of these doctrines. We learned how the decans were used by these cultures and what connection they had with ancient remedial methods and how knowing the name of a god was so important that it was later exemplified in the Testament of Solomon as the main procedure for subduing the demons. Also, since it is unclear as to when this text was actually written and where it first originated from, or even who wrote it, the point of it being the introductory text for the Jews into these concepts is mute. Most likely, it is only one surviving text that was composed at a time of cultural exchange after a long-standing oral tradition from various peoples which was finally committed to writing. This does not detract from its importance, but rather accentuates how it is the culmination and condensation of many ideas from many cultures. After examining several contemporaneous texts that were similar to the Testament of Solomon and seeing how it influenced the many books which came afterwards, it is a noticeable landmark in the literary bridge of history that links our modern era to the primordial past. Whether or not these ancient techniques can be applied to contemporary astrological medicine is a question that will have to be researched in the future.
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2. Essentials of Ancient History 4500 BC – 500 AD: The Emergence of Western Civilization by Patterson, Gordon M.; Research & Education Association, Piscataway, NJ; 2000, p. 14
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28. ibid.
29. Van Der Waerden, p. 26
30. ibid.
31. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 1
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33. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 168
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36. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 38
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38. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 97
39. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 168
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42. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 76
43. Neugebauer, Vol. III, p. 2
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46. Neugebauer, Vol. III, p. 215
47. http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/Faculty/bart/egyptianhtml/Kings%20and%Queens/High_Priests_of_Amun.html
48. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 78
49. Neugebauer, Vol. III, p. 215
50. Neugebauer, Vol. III, p. 190
51. ibid.
52. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 62
53. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 82
54. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 48
55. A Greek-English Lexicon: Vol. II by Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, 1948, p. 1,405.
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57. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 60
58. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 59
59. Neugebauer, Vol. III, pp. 172-173
60. ibid.
61. Neugebauer, Vol. III, pp. 133-139
62. Ancient Astrology by Barton, Tamsyn; Rutledge, New York, NY, 1994, p. 186
63. ibid.
64. Barton, p. 189
65. Barton, p. 190
66. ibid.
67. Barton, p. 191
68. ibid.
69. ibid.
70. ibid.
71. Barton, p. 193
72. Apotelesmatics Book I by Hephaistio of Thebes, translated by Schmidt, Robert; edited by Hand, Robert; Golden Hind Press, Berkeley Springs, WV, 1994
73. Liber Hermetis part I by Hermes, translated by Zoller, Robert; Hand, Robert, Golden Hind Press, Berkeley Springs, WV, 1993
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75. Charlesworth, pp. 939-940
76. Charlesworth, p. 941
77. Charlesworth, p. 942
78. Charlesworth, p. 944
79. Charlesworth, p. 950
80. Charlesworth, p. 951
81. Charlesworth, p. 952
82. Charlesworth, p. 954
83. Charlesworth, p. 956
84. Charlesworth, p. 943
85. Charlesworth, p. 965
86. Charlesworth, p. 966
87. Charlesworth, p. 968
88. Charlesworth, p. 969
89. Charlesworth, p. 970
90. Charlesworth, p. 971
91. ibid.
92. Charlesworth, p. 974
93. Charlesworth, p. 975
94. Charlesworth, p. 977
95. Charlesworth, p. 983
96. Charlesworth, p. 975
97. Charlesworth, p. 985
98. Solomon the Esoteric King: from King to Magus, Development of a Tradition by Torijano, Pablo A.; Leiden, Boston, MA, 2002, p. 68
99. Torijano, p. 79
100. Torijano, p. 86
101. Torijano, p. 143
102. Torijano, p. 144
103. Torijano, p. 152
104. Torijano, p. 169
105. Torijano, p. 228
106. Torijano, p. 193
107. Torijano, p. 195
108. ibid.
109. Torijano, p. 197
110. Torijano, p. 199
111. Torijano, p. 201
112. ibid.
113. Torijano, p. 202
114. Torijano, p. 203
115. Torijano, p. 227
116. Charlesworth, p. 945
117. Neugebauer, Vol. I, p. 80
118. Torijano, p. 228
119. Neugebauer, Vol. III, p. 32
120. Torijano, p. 228
121. ibid
122. Written in the Stars: Ancient Zodiac Mosaics by Ness, Lester; Marco Polo Monographs, Shangri-La Publications, Warren Center, PA, 1999, p. 146
123. ibid.
124. Ness, p. 147
125. Ness, p. 148
126. Ness, pp. 149-150
127. Ness, p. 154
128. Ness, p. 155
129. Torijano, p. 198
130. Torijano, p. 230
131. Picatrix: Ghayat Al-Hakim (the Goal of the Wise)Vol. I translated from Arabic by Atallah, Hashem; and edited by Kiesel, William; Ouroboros Press, Seattle, WA, 2002, p.1
132. Kiesel, pp. 69-70
133. Kiesel, p. 71
134. Kiesel, p. 72
135. Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Agrippa, Cornelius H.; annotated by Tyson, Donald; Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, 1993, p. xvi
136. Agrippa, p. 536
137. Agrippa, p. 697
138. ibid.
139. Agrippa, pp. 377-379
140. Agrippa, p. 536
141. The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (Clavicula Salomonis Regis) translated by Mathers, Samuel L., and edited by Crowley, Aleister; Samuel Weiser, York Beach, ME, 1995, p. xxi
142. Crowley, p. xxiv
143. Crowley, p. xxv
144. ibid.
