The Grimorium Verum opens the locked door to one of the most notorious and unsettling books in the European occult tradition.
Known through history as the True Grimoire, this strange and dangerous text claimed an ancient origin in Memphis in 1517, carried the name of the mysterious Alibeck the Egyptian, and promised access to a hidden world of spirits, pacts, seals, conjurations, and forbidden power. Its claims were false, but its influence was real. Printed, copied, feared, and sought after across the underground grimoire trade of Europe, the Grimorium Verum became a lasting symbol of dangerous knowledge and the terrifying authority of old books.
In this deeply researched study, Kade O'Brien examines the history, structure, mythology, and cultural afterlife of the Grimorium Verum, tracing its place among the Key of Solomon, the Grand Grimoire, the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, and the wider world of Solomonic magic, Christian demonology, folk practice, forbidden print, and European occult history.
From Lucifer, Beelzebuth, and Astaroth to the lesser spirits, ritual tools, seals, planetary timing, grimoire transmission, and the shadow of the demonic pact, this book explores the Grimorium Verum as a historical artifact rather than a practical manual. What emerges is a darkly elegant portrait of a book that reveals the old European hunger for power, protection, revenge, hidden knowledge, and contact with the invisible.
Inside this book, readers will discover:
- The false Memphis 1517 origin and the legend of Alibeck the Egyptian - The relationship between the Grimorium Verum and the Solomonic tradition - The infernal hierarchy of Lucifer, Beelzebuth, Astaroth, and the lesser spirits - The historical meaning of pacts, seals, conjurations, and forbidden ritual language - The role of Christianity, demonology, folk belief, and underground print culture - The survival of the True Grimoire in modern occult scholarship and imagination
Written for readers of occult history, grimoire studies, demonology, folklore, forbidden books, and Western esotericism, The Grimorium Verum is a serious nonfiction journey into the shadowed world of old magical texts and the strange authority they still possess.
