Seal of Solomon
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Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...
, Christian
Christian mythology
Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. In the study of mythology, the term "myth" refers to a traditional story, often one which is regarded as sacred and which explains how the world and its inhabitants came to have their present form.Classicist G.S. Kirk defines a...
and Islamic
Islamic mythology
Islamic mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Islam from a mythographical perspective. Many Muslims believe that these narratives are historical and sacred and contain profound truths...
legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
, which variously gave him the power to command demons, genies (or jinni), or to speak with animals.
In legend
In one of the Arabian Nights' EntertainmentsThe Book of One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age...
, an evil jinn is described as being imprisoned in a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
bottle for 1,800 years by a lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
seal stamped by the ring. Other, later books (Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, or Hierarchy of Demons first appears as an Appendix to Johann Weyer's De praestigiis daemonum . The title of the book translates roughly to "false monarchy of demons"....
) manage to fit far more demons in the bottle.
In some versions of the story, the ring was made of brass and iron, carved with the Name of God
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
, and set with four jewels. In later versions the ring simply bore the symbol now called the Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
(hexagram), often within a circle, usually with the two triangles interlaced (hence chiral
Chirality (mathematics)
In geometry, a figure is chiral if it is not identical to its mirror image, or, more precisely, if it cannot be mapped to its mirror image by rotations and translations alone. For example, a right shoe is different from a left shoe, and clockwise is different from counterclockwise.A chiral object...
) rather than intersecting. Often the gaps are filled with dots or other symbols. Other versions have it as a pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
or other more complicated figures. Works on demonology
Demonology
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...
typically depict the pattern of the seal as being two concentric circles, with a number of mystical sigils between the inner and outer circles, and various more-or-less complex geometric shapes within the inner square.
In one story it is claimed that the demon Sakhr deceived one of Solomon's sisters into giving him the ring. Sakhr then ruled in his stead for forty days (or years, in some versions) while Solomon wandered the country in poverty. However eventually Sakhr threw the ring into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish, caught by a fisherman, and served to Solomon. may be a reference to the sudden change from king to pauper.
Numismatics
Various forms of what look like The Seal of Solomon have been depicted on eastern currency, particularly that of MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and during the Golden Age of Islam.
Alchemy
In alchemyAlchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, the combination of the fire and water symbols (up and down triangles) is known as the Seal of Solomon. The symbol is representative of the combination of opposites and transmutation
Transmutation
Transmutation may refer to:*Biological transmutation, the claim that nuclear transmutation occurs within living organisms*Dimensional transmutation, a physical mechanism that transforms a pure number into a parameter with a dimension...
. By combining the alchemical symbols for fire (upwards triangle) and water (downwards triangle), the alchemical symbols for earth and air are also created. The downwards facing triangle is divided along the center by the base line of the opposite triangle. This is the alchemical symbol for earth. Conversely, the upwards triangle divided by the base line of the downwards triangle is the alchemical symbol for air. The Seal of Solomon is all that is unified in perfect balance; the Spirit Wheel (see Merkabah
Merkabah
Merkabah is the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" , each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle...
).
Ring of Solomon in Fiction
The book The Ring of SolomonThe Ring of Solomon
The Ring of Solomon is a fantasy novel, a prequel to the Bartimaeus Trilogy, written by Jonathan Stroud. It was first published in 2010 and is set in a fantasy version of ancient Jerusalem.-Plot introduction:It is the year 950 B.C.E...
by Jonathan Stroud
Jonathan Stroud
Jonathan Anthony Stroud is an author of fantasy books, mainly for children and young adults.-Biography:Born in 1970 in Bedford, England, Stroud began to write stories at a very young age. He grew up in St Albans where he enjoyed reading books, drawing pictures, and writing stories...
, written in 2010, focuses on this supernatural ring.
The protagonist, Bartimaeus of Uruk
Uruk
Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Uruk gave its name to the Uruk...
, later deemed Sakhr Al Jinni, stole the ring.
Beta Israel
In Beta IsraelBeta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
communities, the star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
is known as the Seal of Solomon.
See also
- GoetiaGoetiarefers to a practice which includes the invocation of angels or the evocation of demons, and usage of the term in English largely derives from the 17th century grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon, which features an Ars Goetia as its first section...
- The Lesser Key of SolomonThe Lesser Key of SolomonThe Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis , is an anonymous 17th-century grimoire, and one of the most popular books of demonology...
- Key of SolomonKey of SolomonThe Key of Solomon , is a grimoire, or book on magic incorrectly attributed to King Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century Italian Renaissance...
- PentagramPentagramA pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
- Solomon's knotSolomon's knotSolomon's knot is the most common name for a traditional decorative motif used since ancient times, and found in many cultures...
- Solomon's Seal (album)Solomon's Seal (album)Solomon's Seal was an album recorded in 1972 by folk-rock band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson. It was the last album recorded by the original Pentangle line-up, before the band split in 1973. Jacqui McShee has stated that it is her favourite...
- Star of DavidStar of DavidThe Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
- Testament of SolomonTestament of SolomonThe Testament of Solomon is an Old Testament pseudepigraphical work, the authorship of which is ascribed to King Solomon. It describes how Solomon was enabled to build the Temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ring entrusted to him by the Archangel Michael.- History :Despite the text's...
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia article
- The Book of One Thousand and One Nights from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
; see e.g. "The Story of the Fisherman." - Various representations from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Solomon's Seal in Islamic culture also has some historical background.