I was watching a show on satanism and they stated that the pentagram was used at Solomon’s temple. What is known about Solomon’s temple other than what is in the bible?
Solomon is widely credited (if “credited” is the right word) with being a master magician. The roots of this story go back to the Jewish historian Josephus (don’t know exactly where in Josephus, but there’s probably someone around here who does), and he’s mentioned in this context several times in the Arabian stories which comprise the Thousand and One Nights. In the mediaeval ceremonial magic tradition, Solomon is the purported author of two “standard” works, the Key of Solomon and the Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon, text of which you may find, along with others of similar ilk, at this site.
I say “purportedly”, because I don’t believe it for a minute. Sure, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, in the introduction to his translation of the Key, may “see no reason to doubt the tradition”, but I am made of sterner stuff, and the total lack of the supposed Hebrew original makes me suspect rather strongly that the mediaeval Latin “translations” are, in fact, as authentic as you’re going to get. (C.A.E Waite noted, rather sourly, that “the besetting bibliographic sins of Black Magic are back-dating and imputed authorship”).
Ceremonial magic, as described in these texts, appears (at least to me) to be in conflict with Jewish religious laws (“neither shall ye use enchantments, nor observe times” and all that), which would argue against Solomon having any part of it. But, he’s famous for his wisdom, so I can see why some “discoverer” of “occult wisdom” might use his name.
The building of the Temple is described in some detail in the Old Testament; my take on it is, if that description doesn’t include pentagrams, then there weren’t any pentagrams. The association of the pentagram with Solomon probably comes from a much later date. (Anyone got any solid information on the origins of the pentagram…?)
YMMV, but you might gather that I don’t take these mediaeval grimoires particularly seriously… they’re interesting curiosities, but the information contained in them needs to be taken with more than just a pinch of salt. And that definitely includes the information about their supposed authorship.
Arthur C. Clarke is famous for his dictum “Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.” But I would add a reverse corollary: Any insufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. Somehow, famous learned men become magicians in popular lore long after their deaths.
For example, Roger Bacon, one of the greatest medieval scientists in Europe. In folklore he became a sorceror. Same thing happened to the great medieval scientist Avicenna (Abû ‘Alî al-Husayn ibn Sînâ): I once saw an Arabic grimoire of magic spells atttributed to his authorship (which of course he had nothing to do with). Similarly, Solomon’s reuptation for commanding the jinn to build his Temple* translated into attributing grimoires to him centuries later.
*In the Qur’ân it tells the story of how Solomon used his staff to control the jinn for building the Temple. When he was old they still kept working. He used to sit leaning on his staff, supervising them. He died in that position, but stayed propped up on his staff. The jinn couldn’t tell he was dead and kept on working, thinking he was still supervising them. Until termites gnawed away the base of his staff and he fell down, and the jinn saw he was dead and said “If we’d known that before, we wouldn’t have kept working!”
That would be Sura 34 Saba’ verses 12-14.