How to magnetize a pentacle according to Solomon?

Pentacles, or more precisely pantacles (the difference is explained here), are emblematic ritual objects of Western occultism. Since the Middle Ages, magicians and scholars have attributed to them the ability to concentrate and direct invisible forces, whether to protect oneself from evil, attract divine favor, or communicate with the spirit world. A pentacle takes the form of a disk marked with symbols: it may feature a pentagram (five-pointed star) surrounded by divine names, Hebrew inscriptions, or astrological signs, all forming a talisman charged with power. But for such an object to acquire its effectiveness, tradition requires its consecration or “magnetization”, that is, a precise ritual intended to imbue it with spiritual force. Here, we focus on the method derived from Solomonic magic in its most traditional form.

Where do ritual pantacles (not pentacles) come from?

The term pantacle appears in medieval Latin texts as early as the 11th century, notably through the translation of an ancient Arabic treatise on astral magic called the Picatrix. This manuscript, which compiles ancient knowledge, describes how to capture the influences of the stars by engraving each planet with a seal filled with symbols, divine names, and intermediary spirits, all enclosed within a circle to concentrate celestial influence. Later, in the 16th century, the famous occultist Cornelius Agrippa drew inspiration from these sources and codified the creation of planetary pentacles in his De Occulta Philosophia. He associated each planet with a specific metal, a geometric figure, and an angel, and recommended making the talisman at a favorable astrological time. Along the same lines, an influential grimoire called the Key of Solomon (or Clavicle of Solomon) presents a collection of pentacles associated with the planets and divine energies, in a style imbued with Christian religiosity. The finest manuscripts of the Key of Solomon date from the 15th–17th centuries and attest to scholarly practices combining Hebrew Kabbalah and Christian liturgy.

For further reading, you can consult our complete article on planetary powers.

General principles of ritual magnetization

In all esoteric schools, emphasis is placed on the need to “animate” or magnetize the pentacle once it has been made. Making the talisman is not enough: an influence must still be infused into it and it must be magically sealed so that it becomes active. Without this consecration, the pentacle would remain a mere decorative object, devoid of power. The magnetization ritual therefore serves to purify the pentacle, invoke the appropriate spiritual forces upon it, and bind these forces to the object.

The Solomonic planetary ritual

The Solomonic tradition is above all high magic and is therefore demanding and precise (involving purification, sanctification, and sealing). The ritual is deliberately long and solemn. It takes about an hour, sometimes a little longer depending on the preparation time, because it includes the blessing of the water and salt, the fumigation with incense, the complete reading of eight biblical psalms, and finally the closing prayer.

This high magic teaches that each planetary pentacle must be consecrated at the time corresponding to it: you must therefore first choose the corresponding hour by consulting our planetary hours calculator. This rule applies to all planets, because the rite's effectiveness depends on the harmony between the heavens and the object.

Purification

For this, you will need lustral water or holy water, and Dead Sea salt.

The pentacle is held in the left hand. With the right hand, the pentacle is sprinkled three times with the prepared water. During the sprinkling, say:

« Be purified and sanctified, O creature, by water and salt, so that every impure influence may withdraw from you, and that you may be worthy to receive the sacred virtue. »

An incense burner is prepared with burning charcoal, upon which frankincense, mastic, and aloe are placed (the Key specifically mentions these aromatics). The pentacle is passed through the smoke three times while saying:

« May this fumigation drive away every impure spirit, and may the prayer of sanctification of this sign rise before God. »

The pentacle is thus purified.

Sanctification

The operator turns to the East and reads a series of 8 sacred psalms, each in its entirety. This reading is performed in a spirit of prayer and devotion, because it is the psalms that call down divine blessing upon the sign. The traditional order transmitted by the Solomonic manuscripts is as follows (to be read in full, one after another):

Psalm 8: praise of creation and divine power

« Lord, our Lord! How majestic is your name throughout the earth! 
Your majesty rises above the heavens.
Through the mouths of children and infants you established your glory,
to confound your adversaries, to silence the enemy and the vindictive.
When I contemplate the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars that you created:
what is man, that you remember him?
And the son of man, that you should take care of him?
You made him a little lower than God,
and you crowned him with glory and majesty.
You gave him dominion over the works of your hands,
you have placed everything under his feet,
the sheep as well as the oxen, and the animals of the fields,
the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea,
everything that travels along the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord! How majestic is your name throughout the earth!»

Psalm 21: a cry for God's help in the face of the enemy

“My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me,
and do you stay far away without helping me, without listening to my pleas?
My God! I cry by day, and you do not answer;
by night, and I find no rest.
Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned amid the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried out to you, and they were saved;
they trusted in you, and they were not put to shame.

And I am a worm and not a man,
the reproach of men and the despised of the people.
All who see me mock me,
they open their mouths, shaking their heads:
Commit yourself to the Lord! The Lord will save him,
he will deliver him, because he loves him!

Yes, you brought me out of my mother's womb,
you placed me safely at my mother's breasts;
from my mother's breast I have been under your protection,
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
Do not stay far from me when distress is near,
when no one comes to my aid!

Many bulls surround me,
the bulls of Bashan surround me.
They open their mouths against me,
like a lion that tears and roars.
I am like water that is poured out,
and all my bones separate;
my heart is like wax,
it melts within my entrails.
My strength dries up like clay,
and my tongue sticks to my palate;
you reduce me to the dust of death.

For dogs surround me,
a band of evildoers surrounds me,
they have pierced my hands and feet.
I could count all my bones.
But they watch, they look at me;
they divide my clothes among themselves,
they cast lots for my tunic.

And you, Lord, do not stay far away!
You who are my strength, come quickly to my aid!
Protect my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dogs!
Save me from the lion's mouth,
deliver me from the horns of the buffalo!

I will proclaim your name among my brothers,
I will celebrate you in the midst of the assembly.
You who fear the Eternal One, praise him!
All the descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Tremble before him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he neither despises nor disdains the suffering of the afflicted,
and he does not hide his face from him;
but he listens to him when he cries out to him.

You will be the object of my praises in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear you.
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied,
those who seek the Eternal One will celebrate him.
May your heart live forever!

All the ends of the earth will think of the Eternal One
and will turn to him;
all the families of the nations will bow before your face.
For the kingdom belongs to the Eternal One: he rules over the nations.

All the mighty of the earth will also eat and bow down;
before him all who go down to the dust will bow,
those who cannot preserve their lives.

Posterity will serve him;
the Lord will be spoken of to the future generation.
When she comes, she will proclaim his righteousness,
she will proclaim his work to the newborn people. »

Psalm 27: request for light and salvation

« The Eternal One is my light and my salvation: whom should I fear?
The Eternal One is the support of my life: whom should I fear?
When evildoers advance against me,
to devour my flesh, they are my persecutors and my enemies
who stumble and fall.
If an army encamped against me, my heart would have no fear;
if a war arose against me, even then I would remain confident.

I ask the Eternal One for one thing, which I ardently desire:
I would like to dwell all my life in the house of the Eternal One,
to behold the magnificence of the Eternal One
and to admire his temple.
For he will protect me in his tabernacle on the day of trouble,
he will hide me under the shelter of his tent;
he will lift me up onto a rock.
And already my head is lifted above my enemies who surround me;
I will offer sacrifices in his tent, to the sound of the trumpet;
I will sing; I will celebrate the Eternal One.

Eternal One! Hear my voice; I call to you;
have mercy on me and answer me!
My heart says on your behalf: Seek my face!
I seek your face, O Eternal One!
Do not hide your face from me,
do not reject your servant in anger.
You are my help; do not leave me,
do not forsake me, God of my salvation!

For my father and mother forsake me,
but the Eternal One will take me in.
Eternal One! Teach me your way,
guide me in the path of righteousness, because of my enemies.
Do not hand me over to the pleasure of my adversaries,
for false witnesses and people who breathe nothing but violence rise up against me.

Oh! if I were not sure of seeing the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living…
Hope in the Lord! Be strong, and let your heart be strengthened!
Hope in the Lord! »

Psalm 29: glorification of God who delivers

« I exalt you, Lord, for you have lifted me up,
you did not want my enemies to rejoice over me.
Lord, my God! I cried out to you, and you healed me.
Lord! you brought my soul up from the realm of the dead,
you brought me back to life, far from those who descend into the pit.

Sing to the Lord, you who love him,
celebrate his holiness with your praises!
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his grace lasts a lifetime;
in the evening come tears,
and joy in the morning.

I said in my security:
I will never be shaken!
Lord! by your grace you had made my mountain firm…
You hid your face, and I was troubled.
Lord! I cried out to you,
I pleaded with the Lord:

What do you gain by shedding my blood,
by making me go down into the pit?
Does the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, Lord, and have mercy on me!
Lord, help me!

And you have turned my mourning into gladness,
you have untied my sackcloth and girded me with joy,
so that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
Lord, my God! I will praise you forever. »

Psalm 32: thanksgiving for divine goodness

« Righteous ones, rejoice in the Lord!
Praise befits the upright.
Celebrate the Lord with the harp,
celebrate him on the ten-stringed lute.
Sing to him a new song,
make your instruments and voices resound!

For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his works are accomplished in faithfulness.
He loves justice and righteousness;
the goodness of the Lord fills the earth.

The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap,
he stores the depths in reservoirs.
Let all the earth fear the Lord!
Let all the inhabitants of the world tremble before him!
For he speaks, and the thing comes to pass;
he commands, and it comes into being.

The Lord overturns the plans of the nations,
he brings the plans of the peoples to nothing;
the Lord's plans endure forever,
and the plans of his heart, from generation to generation.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!
Blessed is the people he chooses as his inheritance!
The Lord looks down from heaven,
he sees all the sons of man;
from the place of his dwelling he observes
all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who forms all their hearts,
who is attentive to all their actions.

It is not a great army that saves the king,
it is not great strength that delivers the hero;
the horse is powerless to ensure salvation,
and all his strength cannot bring deliverance.

Behold, the eye of the Eternal is upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope in his goodness,
in order to rescue their soul from death
and to keep them alive in the midst of famine.

Our soul waits for the Eternal;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart rejoices in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
Eternal, may your grace be upon us,
as we hope in you! »

Psalm 51: request for purification

« O God! have mercy on me in your goodness;
according to your great mercy, erase my transgressions;
wash me completely of my iniquity,
and purify me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is constantly before me.
I have sinned against you alone,
and I have done what is evil in your sight,
so that you will be just in your sentence,
without reproach in your judgment.

Behold, I was born in iniquity,
and my mother conceived me in sin.
But you want truth to dwell in the depths of the heart:
make wisdom enter deep within me!

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Announce gladness and joy to me,
and the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
Turn your gaze away from my sins,
erase all my iniquities.

O God! create in me a pure heart,
renew within me a steadfast spirit.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and may a willing spirit sustain me!

I will teach your ways to those who transgress them,
and sinners will return to you.
O God, God of my salvation! deliver me from bloodshed,
and my tongue will celebrate your mercy.
Lord! open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

If you had wanted sacrifices, I would have offered them to you;
but you take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices that are pleasing to God,
it is a broken spirit:
O God! you do not despise a broken and contrite heart.

In your grace, pour out your blessings on Zion,
build the walls of Jerusalem!
Then you will accept sacrifices of righteousness,
burnt offerings and whole victims;
then bulls will be offered on your altar. »

Psalm 72: prayer for divine justice

« O God, give your judgments to the king,
and your justice to the king's son!
He will judge your people with justice,
and your afflicted with equity.

The mountains will bring peace to the people,
and the hills also, through the effect of your justice.
He will uphold the rights of the afflicted among the people,
he will save the poor man's children,
and he will crush the oppressor.

You will be feared as long as the sun endures,
as long as the moon shines, from generation to generation.
He shall be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers that water the countryside.
In his days the righteous shall flourish,
and peace shall be great until there is no more moon.

He shall rule from sea to sea,
and from the river to the ends of the earth.
Before him the inhabitants of the desert shall bend the knee,
and his enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and the islands shall pay tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
All kings shall bow down before him,
all nations shall serve him.

For he will deliver the poor who cry out,
and the unfortunate who has no helper.
He will have pity on the poor and needy,
and he will save the lives of the poor;
he will free them from oppression and violence,
and their blood shall be precious in his sight.

They shall live, and give him gold from Sheba;
they shall pray for him continually,
they shall bless him every day.
Grain shall abound in the land,
upon the mountaintops;
the ears of grain shall sway like the trees of Lebanon,
and men shall flourish in the cities like the grass of the earth.

His name shall endure forever,
as long as the sun shines;
his name will endure from generation to generation;
through him they will bless themselves,
all nations will call him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone performs wonders!
Blessed be His glorious name forever!
May the whole earth be filled with His glory!
Amen! Amen! »

Psalm 133: praise of fraternal unity under God

«Behold, oh! how pleasant and sweet it is
for brothers to dwell together!
It is like precious oil that, poured upon the head,
descends upon the beard, upon Aaron’s beard,
which descends upon the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which descends upon Mount Zion;
for that is where the Lord sends the blessing,
life, for eternity. »

Sealing

After reading these psalms in full, the following prayer is recited to seal the consecration of the pentacle:

« O Almighty, Eternal, and Indescribable Lord, who created all things by Your Word and governs the entire universe by Your power, You who gave Solomon these pentacles to subdue spirits, we implore You to bless and sanctify this sign. May it obtain strength and virtue against all spirits, so that whoever bears it may find protection of soul and body, through You, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, holy and mighty God, forever and ever. Amen. »

The pentacle is magnetized according to the Solomonic tradition, in accordance with the planetary power to which it is linked. You can thus keep this pentacle/pantacle with you and let it do its work.