The Three Rings of Solomon

historical seals of solomon

There are a variety of grimoires attributed to King Solomon from the middle ages onward. They may even have their origins in a genuine ancient source.

Such Solomonic grimoires have impacted hoodoo practice, partly through their dissemination into European magical traditions which were then absorbed into the American hoodoo tradition; and also through direct reprintings of the grimoires, such as those made by De Laurence, which were sold into the American hoodoo market. Even Lewis de Claremont, of Ancient's Book of Formulas fame and probable inventor of the 7 Holy Spirits Bath, composed his own guide to Solomonic conjuring called The Ancient's Book of Magic.

Many of the grimoires instruct the practitioner to wear a certain ring while conjuring, with the designs sometimes varying quite wildly from manuscript to manuscript. Some common basic designs include the three above, going from left to right.

Solomon's pentalpha. The version used in the oldest known Solomon text (The Testament of Solomon). This symbol was known in Sumeria and was formerly used as the city seal for Jerusalem.

Solomon's hexagram. This is the "Star of David" that most people would be familiar with as a traditional Jewish symbol, though it was not widely adopted for this purpose until the 19th century. Its use in kabbalist magic seems to date to around the 6th century AD, according to this history site.

Solomon's 8-pointed ring. A variation more common in Arabic manuscripts, this design is of overlapping squares with stylized looping of the corners. It has made its way into Indian and Thai magic, still known as King Solomon's Ring. (Read more at the British Library blog.)

Many grimoires give heavily embellished versions of these simple designs for their proposed "Solomon Rings." Naturally, it is impossible to know which, if any, is the "real" design.

If you cannot decide between them, there is always the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, also known as the Great Seal of Solomon or the Great Pentacle of Solomon, which appears to be some kind of attempt to combine all the designs into one: