The Key Of Zev Ben Avram

In every generation, the burden must be taken up anew.

Ceremonial magic is by its nature an art defined by mysticism and mystery, which is to say, by obfuscation. This is doubly true of goetia, with its frightening demonic drama and its grandiose claims. The impenetrable allegories, the coy vagueness, the secrets and initiations, the smoke-and-mirrors… These things are integral to the sorcery, they are part of what makes it work, and so they cannot be lightly tossed aside to assuage a skeptical public. All sorcerers are liars, and there is good reason for it.

But the fact remains that our society is gluttonous for information, and that magicians and would-be magicians have as much share in the gluttony as anyone else. At some point, someone must pull back the curtain and account for what is actually going on, at least to some extent. There is a demand for understanding, and so there will be a supply. If the understanding does not come in the form of lucid truth, then it will come in the form of fraudulent nonsense, or else in the form of a sneering dismissal: “it’s all charlatanry and crankery.” The nature of the craft must be explained in the idiom of the day, or else the craft as a whole will suffer the consequences.

This is where The Key of Zev ben Avram comes in. Devoid of any unnecessary prose, this quintessential grimoire delves directly into the specifics of 72 demons, each with its own sigil and detailed description, in a highly practical way. This grand catalogue of Goetic Spirits is the heart of the book, followed by explicit instructions about the necessary tools and rituals to work with the spirits described within it. Although far from the Solomonic demons, which are among the mightiest servitors of hell, the entities introduced in this grimoire are less awful in their wrath, proving easier to work with and bind them to one’s will.

: Table of Contents :

Introduction (“For the Materialists”)

Preface (“For the Spiritualists”)

The Catalogue of Goetic Spirits

The Rites of Summoning

The Grand Goetia

Afterword (“A Meditation on the Purposes of the Goetic Pact”)

Zev ben Avram is a metaphysicist, a semiotician, and a goetic sorcerer. He studied the practice of cabala and conjuration at Harvard University, after which he spent fifteen years in reclusion, honing his craft and developing new bindings. His Key is a product of that work. In public life, he is a government official, and an author whose theatrical work has been featured in the New York Times. He resides in his native New York City.

The Key of Zev ben Avram contains dozens of unique sigils and seals, as well as two full-page illustrations inked by the master artist Kain Morgenmeer. The book is presented in two different editions:

- Standard edition: Hardcover edition limited to 300 copies. The book is bound in dark brown cloth with black end-papers, hand-sewn spine and ribbon. The covers are printed with gold foil with the book’s title and logo.

Specifications: 185 pages, 120 g. cream paper, Octavo format (148x210 mm), 140 g. black endpapers. Hand-sewn spine, bound in cloth and with a ribbon bookmark.