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 Most of the texts in this collection were probably obtained in 1799 by antiquarian bookseller John Denley (d. 1842) along with other items from Sibly's estate. Sibly had hoped that his collection would be preserved as a working library after his death, but it was quickly sold off. Fortunately Hockley, working for Denley early in the century, made manuscript copies of these and other texts for resale. At the same time Hockley was able to assemble a substantial collection of rare texts for himself. Both Sibly and Hockley were major inspirations in the occult revival of the past two centuries, influencing A. E. Waite, S. L. Mathers, W. Wynn Wescott, Aleister Crowley, as well as the Golden Dawn, Rosicrucian, and Masonic movements.

This collection includes eight independent texts. They generally reflect Sibly's teachings on the practical use of celestial influences and harmonies, although his undisputed writings denounce the commerce with spirits so prevalent here. The Clavis contains clear and systematic instructions for constructing magical tools and pentacles for many practical purposes. The Mysterious Ring gives directions for preparing magic rings. Experiments of the Spirits Birto, Vassago, Agares, and Bealpharos, show how to call upon angels and spirits, and crystal scrying. The Wheel of Wisdom gives concise directions for using celestial harmonies. The final text, the Complete Book of Magic Science, is closely akin to the Secret Grimoire of Turiel, but more complete; Hockley claimed authorship himself, drawing on a variety of sources.

The manuscript reproduced here is the most accurate and complete known, very beautifully and carefully written, with extraordinary hand-colored seals and colored handwritten text. Given the inclusion of the final text, it must have been copied by one of Frederick Hockley's friends from one or more of his autograph exemplars. He was known to have held this collection in high regard, and only rarely lent it and other texts to people he could trust so they could make copies, chiding them when they hurried themselves too much to make good copies.

Contents of the text.

Introduction. The introduction was purportedly written by Ebenezer Sibly. It quotes from a 1764 edition of Jakob Böhme, and also includes quotations from Arbatel.

Frontispiece. This page has various seals and ritual implements. These are all taken from Sibly's New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences, Book 4 (1787, opposite p. 1102). Sibly took most of these from Reginald Scots's highly influential Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584, expanded edition 1665).

Clavis. The first text is The Clavis or Key to Unlock the Mysteries of Magic of Rabbi Solomon. John Denley's A catalogue of books & manuscripts . . . London, 1820, listed "the whole of the late Dr. Sibly's occult manuscripts." The Clavis is number 6 of the 17 Sibly manuscripts. It is described as an elegant quarto in calf, with 3 articles: "1st The Clavis, or Key to Unlock the Mysteries of Magick of Rabby [sic] Solomon, translated from the Hebrew into French, and from French rendered into English, with additions by Ebenzer [sic] Sibly, M. D. Fellow of the Harmoniac Philosophical Society at Paris, the whole enriched with Figures, Talismans, Pentacles, Circles, and Characters, &c.; 2nd An Experiment of the Spirit Birto, as bath been often proved, at the instant request of Edward 4th King of England; 3rd The Wheel of Wisdom, with its Key and Full Directions for its Use and Magical Operations, together with a Familiar Example for its Application. Hockley described the Sibley copy as dated 1793, and "exquisitely done by a profess!" (presumably meaning a professional calligrapher). Hockley apparently made a copy which appeared in Denley's 1822 catalog (for the considerable sum of £20). He made another copy in 1836.4 It claims to have been translated from an older French manuscript by Sibley himself. Various French and English versions of the text have been identified.5 It is evident from comparing the exemplars that the text was adapted and expanded during its history. Substantially the same is the printed Les Véritables clavicules de Salomon, tr. par Pierre Mora, Paris, H. Daragon, 1914, and the earliest version probably resembled this Mora edition in having only one pentacle for each planet, derived from Petrus de Abano's Heptameron. Later versions were reorganized somewhat, and the number of pentacles greatly increased. Many of these "supplementary" pentacles are found in the core exemplars used by Mathers in his edition of The Key of Solomon (1889). Many others are found in Lans. MSS 1202 and 1203; these manuscripts were heavily used by Mathers in preparing his edition, but he generally omitted pentacles that were not in the majority of manuscripts consulted. See table in appendix 1. The main text of the Clavis consists of ten numbered chapters, giving detailed instructions on the preparations. This is followed by unnumbered sections, giving the specifics and pentacles for each of the seven traditional planets (pages 53-182). The text refers to the latter part as the "sequel of this book." Hock-ley quotes from part of this text early in his collection of Occult Spells, which he began in 1829,6 as well as his Crystaliomancy.

Hockley also stated that Rabbi Solomon's Clavis was a major source of material (along with Heinrich Agrippa) for Francis Barrett's influential book The Magus, all the materials for which were lent to him by Denley. In spite of this assertion, I find no evidence that Barrett used Clavis directly, but rather quoted extensively from the same source materials, namely, Agrippa and Petrus de Abano. In fact Hockley's statement would be better applied to his own book The`Complete Book of Magic Science, on which see below. Wellcome MS 4670 is a French manuscript of a closely related text, though apparently not the direct ancestor of Sibley's Clovis.'

The Mysterious Ring. This text is also found in Pierre Mora (1914, pp. 69-79.) Although slightly obscured by the translator, the method serves for preparing rings consecrated to any of the seven traditional planets, and each can serve to help access the qualities attributed to that planet (such as Venus for love). A greatly simplified version is also found in Grimorium Verum.

Experiment of the Spirit Birto. The next four texts, Experiments of Birto, Agares, Vassago, etc. are known from older sources, as well as another Hockley manuscript (Wellcome MS 2842, dated 1829). They often are found together, but not always, and then not always in the same order. These experiments are also included in the sixteenth century British Library manuscript Sloane 3824.11 The experiment of Birto is found by itself in Bodleian MS Rawl. D254, where it is described as "an experiment sayd to be made by Roger Bacon, viz. Fryer Bacon, that a spirit, appere to thee & to be don in a wood or secret place, or in a cleere faire chamber with a window towards the East.

Vassago. Hockley also incorporated some of this text in his Crystaliomancy. Vassago is the third goetic spirit listed in the Lesser Key of Solomon, after Baal and Agares, but the sigil differs somewhat from that found here. Like many others, I was curious about the inclusion of a second version of the seal of Vassago in Waite's recap of the Lesser Key in his Book of Black Magic (1898, plate X). He described it as "seal of Vassago used in white magic," but gave little explanation. His earlier book The Occult Sciences (1891, pp. 103-8) provides the context though, for he includes extensive quotations, and cites Hockley as the source. Vassago is one of the very few goetic spirits that does not also appear in Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.

Agares. Second spirit listed in Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and Lesser Key. Spelled Agarat in Cambridge, Trinity College, MS 0.8.29, fos 179-182v° (sixteenth century) le Livre des esperitz, lequel fut manifesto au saige Salomon.

Bealpharos. A version of this experiment appears in Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, pp. 242 ff, but Scot's text is considerably different. It is obvious Sibley was instead following a text more akin to Sloane 3824. Hockley also recognized this difference in his preface to W3203, where he wrote, "This differs from the Conjuration of Bealpharos in Scot's Discovery [sic] of Witchcraft, Book XV p. 296 Edit 1657 — first published in 1584 BL."

The Wheel of Wisdom. Hockley made a copy of this "from the autograph of Dr. Sibley" in 1834; it is currently in the High Council library of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.). This is also found in a collection of manuscripts that Hockley had his friend Henry Dawson Lea prepare (Wellcome 3203). It is based on Agrippa. Interestingly, the diagram is also in the Italian manuscript Sloane 1307 (seventeenth century, fol. 118r), but without any of the explanatory text found here. See appendix 2. Sloane 1307 was one of the manuscripts Mathers used in preparing his edition of the Key of Solomon.

The Complete Book of Magic Science. The last text, Complete Book of Magic Science, was composed by Hockley himself. He wrote in a letter to his friend Major Francis George Irwin, that it was "one of my particular babes for at Denley's suggestion I made up the MS from other sources & made him several copies one after another." Hockley described copies of Clovis and Complete Book of Magic Science as having been correctly prepared by Mr. Fryer — presumably the bookseller Robert Fryar — and "worth the money he charges," 30/- and 15/- respectively." As mentioned above, it is closely akin to the Secret Grimoire of Turiel, but more complete. It is also substantially the same as the one recently published by Teitan Press. The version in the Weiser manuscript however has important differences:

• Teitan title page claims it was "translated from an ancient Latin ms. in red and black 1519." As the editor Dietrich Bergman points out, the extent of the Latin corruptions makes this highly unlikely. The W manuscript claim is more modest: "transcribed from an ancient ms in red and chek. 1573." The obvious dependence on Arbatel rules out dates earlier than 1575. In any event Hockley claimed it as his own nineteenth century compilation.
• The incenses in W closely follow those in the Clovis text, which in turn follow Agrippa. Those in the Teitan edition and Turiel have been incorrectly attributed to the planets.
• The directions on sprinkling were probably taken from Scot 1584, which was in turn taken from the Ordinary of the Tridentine Mass.

Given these and other major differences in W, Teitan, MPH, and Turiel, it is obvious that the text underwent some evolution after the initial copies were produced. Based on the fuller text, closer agreement with earlier texts, and other differences described below in the notes, the version in W is probably closest to original version.

Manly P. Hall's Secret Teachings of All Ages also quotes a few passages from the Complete Book of Magic Science. His bibliography cites it as: "Complete Book of Magic Science (London, 1575). (Copy of British Museum Manuscript)", but I have not been able to identify a copy there. Hall also states that it is referred to in Francis Barrett's The Magus, but that also does not seem to be the case, and in fact is contradicted by Hockley's statement that he compiled the work himself.

Sibly and his involvement.

Ebenezer Sibly (1751-1799), was "one of the most influential occultists in modern English history.  His numerous publications were very popular and attracted "disciples to London seeking instruction." Although it seems certain that the prototypes for most of these texts came from Sibly's estate, and were in his handwriting, I am not entirely convinced that Sibly was directly involved in translating the text, or in authoring the introduction for that matter. One argument against it arises from the defective state of the Latin, and the awkwardness of some of the French translations. From what I can tell, Sibly was an accomplished translator, including a translation of Michael Sendivogius (Michal Sedziwój) from the French, Bernard Trevisan, and Heinrich Khunrath.

Several of Sibly's works deal explicitly with magic. Most have similar titles, are beautifully illustrated, and for the most part rework the same material. Much of the magical material in his printed works was drawn from the expanded 1665 edition of Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft.

Sibly's printed texts almost always use the "Sibly" spelling, not "Sibley," although the engraving of the magical instruments uses the latter (see reproduction in appendix 2). Hockley's frequent references to him almost always use the spelling "Sibley," as do A. E. Waite and W. B. Yeats. This may be an hint that these texts were widely known.

Hockley and his involvement.

As mentioned earlier, Frederick Hockley was widely known and respected by his contemporaries as an expert in occultism, and played a considerable role in its revival in the nineteenth century. Although his main source of income seems to have been accounting, he practiced astrology, and was part of an enduring network of astrologers. More importantly for us, however, was his lifelong passion for occult books and scrying. Both probably originated with his employment with bookseller and publisher John Denley (1764-1842). This employment apparently began when he was only thirteen or fourteen, for his earliest copy of Sibley's Clavis appeared in Denley's 1822 catalogue. One of his copies of the Wheel of Wisdom dates to 1824, and he went on to amass a large collection of manuscript copies that way. 1824 was also the year that he was given his first crystal, and began a lifelong obsession with scrying. His scrying records eventually occupied thirty volumes. Hockley employed a medium for his most successful experiments. He had various crystals and mirrors, some consecrated to specific spirits. He was known as a "maker of crystals and mirrors," and he supplied one to the famous adventurer Richard Burton in July of 1852. Hockley often lent out books from his considerable collection, and it became an important resource to his circle of acquaintances and successors. Waite specifically cites Hockley as an authority and "one of the most successful" practitioners of crystallomancy. He also quotes from him, and praised his collection and transcriptions, describing him as "a practical student of several branches of magic. Israel Regardie makes similar statements in his writings. According to one account, the foundational rituals of the Golden Dawn were based on Hockley's papers, via one of the founding members, Adolphus F. A. Woodward, who was a friend of Hockley's.

In publishing this collection of magical texts, we were faced with the dilemma of whether to try to critically establish a "reconstruction" of Hockley's prototype. One argument against it is the observation that Hockley evidently exercised a certain amount of license as he copied texts, often making minor changes in phrasing, word order, and punctuation. Fortunately it turned out to be relatively straightforward to resolve most of the significant (or "substantive") differences. In keeping with editorial trends of the last three decades, I have not attempted to modernize the text. For the most part the Weiser manuscript has been followed, except for substantive deviations that can be critically established from the limited number of available witnesses.

The situation is a little different with the Complete Book of Magic Science, since there are fewer exemplars, and the differences are more significant. For this text, I have mostly followed the W manuscript.

Volume 1 - Practical Angel Magic of Dr John Dee's Enochian Tables: Tabularum Bonorum Angelorum Invocationes as Used by Wynn Westcott, Alan Bennett, Reverend Ayto by Stephen Skinner and David Rankine (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series: Golden Hoard / Llewellyn Worldwide) Dr Dee's last book of angelic invocations, kept in Latin, developed by a 17th century magician into a fully working magical system. Much more material than in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Stephen Skinner has been interested in magic for as long as he can remember. He wrote, with Francis King, the classic "Techniques of High Magic" in 1976. He followed that with "Oracle of Geomancy and Terrestrial Astrology" which has become the standard work on Western divinatory geomancy. Books on Nostradamus and Millennium Prophecies followed in highly illustrated editions. Stephen is also the author of eight books on feng shui, including the first one written in English in the 20th century. In the 1970s he was responsible for stimulating interest in John Dee and Enochian magic by publishing the first reprint of Casaubon's "True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Yeers between Dr John Dee and some Spirits", and Dr Donald Laycock's key reference book on the angelic language "The Complete Enochian Dictionary". With David Rankine, he discovered what happened to Dee's most important manuscript, his personal book of angelic invocations which he kept in Latin, and how it was preserved and developed in the 17th century into a full working Enochian system. Only ten percent of this material reached the unpublished archives of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and even this was then suppressed by the chiefs of the Order, so it did not appear in Israel Regardie's monumental work on the Order rituals and documents. They have also traced the routes down which were passed the classic techniques of invocation and evocation from late mediaeval grimoires, through Dee's magic, via Ashmole, and the aristocratic angel magicians of the 17th century, and Frederick Hockley to the senior magicians of the Golden Dawn.

Volume 2 - The Keys to the Gateway of Magic: Summoning the Solomonic Archangels and Demon Princes by Stephen Skinner and David Rankine(Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series: Golden Hoard / Llewellyn Worldwide) Dr Thomas Rudd's Nine Great Keys, a rare early 17th century grimoire detailing the invocation of the Archangels and the nine Orders of Angels, as well as the four Demon Princes.

This classic text of the Nine Great Keys details the invocation of the Archangels, the full hierarchy of spiritual beings (including Olympic Spirits and Elementals) and the evocation of the four Demon Princes.

Highly sought-after, this edition of a rare early seventeenth century grimioire has never before appeared in English. Occult scholar Stephen Skinner, along with magician and author David Rankine, trace the history of the Keys and offer full transcriptions of four key seventeenth century manuscripts in the British Library and in the Bodleian Library.

Volume 3 - The Goetia of Dr Rudd: The Angels & Demons of Liber Malorum Spirituum Seu Goetia Lemegeton Clavicula Salomanis  by Stephen Skinner and David Rankine (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series: Golden Hoard / Llewellyn Worldwide) The Lemegeton including Liber Malorum Spirituum seu Goetia, Ars Amandel, Theurgia-Goetia and Ars Paulina, as it was used by 17th century magicians, including the 72 Shemhamphorash angel seals.

The Goetia (Lemegeton) is perhaps the most famous grimoire after the Key of Solomon. This volume contains a transcription of a hitherto unpublished manuscript of the Lemegeton includes four whole grimoires: Liber Malorum Spituum seu Goetia Theurgia-Goetia Ars Paulina (Books 1 & 2) Ars Almadel This manuscript was owned by Dr. Thomas Rudd, a practicing scholar-magician of the early seventeenth century who knew Dr. John Dee. There are many editions of the Goetia, of which the most definitive is that of Joseph Peterson, but this volume shows how the Goetia was actually used by practicing magicians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, before the knowledge of practical magic faded into obscurity. For example, to evoke the seventy-two demons of the Geotia, or the many other spirits listed here, requires more knowledge than is included in the grimoires themselves. It was well-known in times past that invocatio and ligatio, or binding, was a key part of evocation, but in the modern editions of the Goetia this key technique is expressed in just one word "Shemhamphorash," and its use is not explained. This volume explains how the 72 angels of the Shemhamphorash are used to bind the spirits, and the correct procedure for safely invoking them using dual seals with the necessary angel seal and Psalm. Also, for the first time, the exact form and use of the breastplate and Brass Vessel is explained.

Volume 4 - The Veritable Key of Solomon by Stephen Skinner and David Rankine  (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series: Golden Hoard / Llewellyn Worldwide) The most famous and significant of all Grimoires, including three complete manuscripts translated from the French, containing many pentacles, and a full description of the practices.

Completely new and richly detailed, this is perhaps the most comprehensive version of The Key of Solomon ever published. Based on one of the best-known grimoires of the Western world, The Veritable Key of Solomon presents all aspects of this revered magical system in one impressive source.

Based on the original Key of Solomon manuscript, this brand new text features never-before-published material and added detail. Over 160 illustrations beautifully complement the elements of this complete and workable system of high magic, from a broad range of talismans and techniques to magical implements and procedures.

Also featured is a commentary by two of the best-known scholar magicians alive—Stephen Skinner and David Rankine—who offer a full survey of all extant manuscripts of this famous grimoire and an exploration of how they interrelate.

Volume 5 - Grimoire of St Cyprian Clavis Inferni by Stephen Skinner and David Rankine (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series: Golden Hoard / Llewellyn Worldwide) A very rare grimoire allegedly by St. Cyprian, but including many Solomonic strands. 96pp, 7 colour plates.