Making a Grimoire

Photo by Paulina B on Unsplash

I'm busy plotting my trilogy and am halfway through the plot of Book Two, but I took a brief break to do some quick research and worldbuilding. I thought I'd share some of it with you because it's just so interesting! If you're into old magic, that is. I'm going to get into some occult stuff here, so if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip this post.

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I'm working on a grimoire! A grimoire is a magical occult text often filled with spells and invocations. Some of the ancient ones out there in the world--we're talking centuries old--contain instructions on how to summon and subdue demons.

Demons are a part of The Name and the Key trilogy. I got inspired to add them after reading Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, as her interpretation of demons is so freaking cool. I read her work and saw a great possibility there to add something dark and interesting to my already dark (and hopefully interesting!) story. Plus, I've always been fascinated by ancient magic, especially when anime and manga adapt it: Fullmetal Alchemist, Devils and Realist, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic...these are some examples of series that have a magic system relying on the historical, esoteric, and arcane spells that have been documented in history. I've always found the interpretations of such magic to be interesting when I've seen it pop up in anime and manga.

One of the most famous grimoires in existence is The Lesser Key of Solomon. It's a compilation of spells and invocations of demons whose publication is said to be around the 1580s, but supposedly is far older than that, as it is purported to have been written by King Solomon himself--the famous king blessed with wisdom and the ability to subdue demons.

The anime Devils and Realist features demons from The Lesser Key by name, such as Dantalion, and a descendant of King Solomon who later possesses Solomon's ring. In Magi, the Labyrinth of Magic, the djinn are named after the demons of The Lesser Key, such as Focalor, and there is a magical ability known as Solomon's Wisdom in the series, too. These are just a few interesting examples of how this grimoire has been interpreted by modern storytellers.

I'm using The Lesser Key of Solomon as a guidebook and inspiration for the grimoire that appears in The Name and the Key Trilogy. The grimoire that appears in my trilogy is called The Book of Simoneth, and is a book of invocations for demons.

I researched English from the 1500s (this OED guide was particularly helpful with spelling examples) to get it as close to sounding like The Lesser Key of Solomon's time period as possible. And I chose to write it in verse because I love making rhyming poetry, and making it sound like a proper summoning spell, while keeping a specific syllable and rhyming pattern was a great challenge for me.

As of writing this, I have already completed my first "demon invocation" from The Book of Simoneth. The rhyming pattern is written in a series of couplets that bounce back and forth between seven syllables and eight syllables per line. In the novels, that specific pattern is called "lullico meter" as an ebb and flow between a sacred number 7 and a cursed number 8. (Numerologists out there--I'm totally making this up).

I only need three summoning spells total for The Name and the Key Trilogy as I'm only working with three demons over the course of the books. So, the grimoire I'm making is quite short, indeed. But I'm trying to treat it all with care to make the reading experience for the reader as "real" as possible--I want them to feel like they are looking at a piece of occult history.

Perhaps most importantly, it's been really fun to write.