The Seal of Solomon is a six-sided star or HEXAGRAM made of two interconnected triangles with powerful magical properties of both AMULET and Talisman. The Seal of Solomon also is called the Shield of David and the Star of David. It appeared as early as the Bronze Age as a decoration on lamps, seals, and artifacts and on friezes along with PENTACLES and SWASTIKAS. In Arabic legend the hexagram and the real name of God were etched on the magic RING of King SOLOMON, which enabled him to command an army of DEMONS, the djinn.
As an amulet the Seal of Solomon protects against the EVIL EYE and Lilith, the terrible demon who steals children during the night. The seal was not widely used in amulets until the early Middle Ages when it appeared in kabbalistic prescriptions for inscribed amulets, medallions, or pieces of parchment bearing the hexagram and various Charms, Spells, or PRAYERS. In the late Middle Ages, the symbol was popular as an amulet against fire.
In Alchemy the Seal of Solomon symbolizes the Philosopher’s Stone because it joined the symbol of fire, an upright triangle, with the symbol of water, an inverted triangle.
The most important use of the Seal of Solomon is in Magic, as a talisman to control the demons and spirits conjured by the magician. From the 14th to the 19th centuries, the magicians’ Grimoires, or handbooks, gave detailed instructions for drawing the Seal of Solomon inside or outside the magic circle. The TETRAGRAMMATON, or sacred name of God, was inscribed in the middle of the symbol.
The magician was to follow strict instructions for creating the seal. One formula in The Magus (1801), by FRANCIS BARRETT, said it should be made in the day and hour of Mercury on virgin kidskin parchment or pure white paper, with the letters written in GOLD. The magician then had to consecrate it and sprinkle it with holy water.
The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written byRosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright © 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.