OCCULT VIEW

King Solomon

There has been a recent excavation in Jerusalem dating back 3,000 years to the era of King Solomon. This excavation, a wall, seems to support the Bible’s account concerning the historical reality of King Solomon.  Solomon was reputed to have been the builder of the original Jewish temple. Some scholars regard the Bible’s version of this history as myth and Solomon as legend. But behind legend often lies a version of truth.

Here is one of the stories about this discovery:    King Solomon’s Wall Found - Proof of Bible Tale?

If the reign of King Solomon was a historical reality this is meaningful not only for historians, scholars and religious believes but for occultists too.  According to the Bible and the Qur’an, King Solomon was considered to be the greatest king the world has known. He was given divine wisdom by God Himself. Solomon ruled a united Jewish kingdom and built Solomon’s Temple. Solomon was renowned across the known world and great tributes where offered to him and his counsel was sought by all.

“And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of
 Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his
 wisdom. “(1 Kings 4:34)

The stories about Solomon go even further. Legend holds the Wisdom of Solomon included not only knowledge of the physical world but also the invisible world of spirits.  It was said Solomon commanded infernal spirits (the Jinn) and used their services to build the Temple. He possessed a magic ring, the Ring of Solomon with which he performed spectacular supernatural feats. Hard to believe for sure, yet Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions record these.

Key of Solomon Pentacle

The most renowned of the ancient magical grimoires is attributed to King Solomon, the infamous Clavis Salomonis, the Key of Solomon. This grimorie has been a cornerstone of occult thought, containing instructions for summoning and gaining the services of angels and thereby the obedience of infernal spirits. In occultism, King Solomon is a Big Deal, the George Washington of magic. It is not likely Solomon himself actually wrote the Key of Solomon but some believe the grimorie was inspired by his heritage.
 
If King Solomon was indeed a historical figure, could there be any grain of truth to these more fantastic stories?  If legends and myths can be half true, perhaps Solomon’s occult legacy is also partially true.

The bible said Solomon was offered almost supernatural wisdom by God. When offered a wish in a dream, Solomon asked for wisdom, not fame, fortune or long life.

“And God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing,
 and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked
 riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies,
 but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand judgment;
behold, I have done according to thy word: behold, I have
 given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there
 hath been none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee
 shall any arise like unto thee.” (1 Kings 3:11-12)

This enlightened request by Solomon suggests he already had the wisdom he asked for, God having foreknowledge of what was to be. It is possible Solomon was born that rare individual, a genius. In real life we’ve had these blessed individuals throughout history and their impact has been gigantic. Consider how Galileo or Einstein changed the world and how their genius was baffling, incomprehensible, seemingly near divine. If the Bible is believed, Solomon might have had the genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo combined in a savvy politician.

King Solomon summoning demons

The construction of Solomon’s Temple, like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, was reputed to be partially a supernatural feat.  Merlin was credited for creating Stonehenge and ancient astronauts or refuges from Atlantis are said to have built the pyramids.  And so Solomon’s Temple was said to have been built by the spirits he commanded.  Of course Solomon did not literally summon demons to physically create the Temple.  But the story could be a metaphor to explain his genius.  From the distance of time the results of cleverness can seem almost  supernatural. The Wisdom of Solomon could have been a historical reality.

The story of Solomon’s wisdom speaks to a central point of occultism.  The purpose of occultism is to gain hidden knowledge thru personal experience.  It is not based on simply accepting revealed knowledge through scriptures, as interpreted by organized religion.  Occultism is an attempt to learn spiritual truths directly yourself.  One reason occultism is despised by religion is this personal dimension threatens the power structure of religion. The goal of the occultist should be the same as King Solomon‘s…wisdom and enlightenment.  If this path is pursued for other reasons it may fail.  But if like Solomon we seek enlightenment first, everything else will follow in due time.