The Ars Notoria, or Notory Art, is a tradition of prayers, contemplative figures, and ritual observances intended to confer knowledge. It is associated with Solomon and with the acquisition of the liberal arts, memory, understanding, and eloquence. Its independent medieval history predates the Lemegeton.[1]

Learning through sacred observance#

The text addresses God through extended prayers and includes strings of words presented as sacred language. Different observances are associated with different areas of learning. The notae, or figures, are to be contemplated as part of this work; they are not merely illustrations added for the reader's convenience.[1]

The art imagines learning as a divine gift acquired through disciplined religious preparation. Grammar, rhetoric, and other subjects receive a place in that sacred scheme. Its promise concerns an accelerated or extraordinary acquisition of knowledge, rather than a conventional classroom course.

The problem of missing figures#

Robert Turner's English edition appeared in 1657. Peterson's introduction points out that Turner's printed text omitted the figures on which parts of the instructions depend. A reader using that edition alone therefore has an incomplete representation of the art.[1]

The Notory Art appears in some descriptions of the Lemegeton's fifth part, but manuscript arrangements vary. Its prayers and contemplative aims make it distinct from the Ars Goetia's spirit catalogue. The relation between the two books is chiefly their inclusion within a later Solomonic compilation, not a shared set of operations.[2]

See also#

References

  1. Ars Notoria, Robert Turner translation, Joseph H. Peterson edition (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
  2. Joseph H. Peterson, Lemegeton: introduction and manuscript inventory (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
ars notoriasolomonmemorytexts

This encyclopedia covers traditions beyond the High Satanic Church. Church doctrine is identified as such when it appears.