1) There are those who look at any given grimoire as a complete thing unto itself, and feel that its instructions must be followed exactly to the letter, or else the magick will not work. This type usually has little clue what the instructions mean or why he must follow X, Y, or Z – but he sticks to the book anyway. He is also against adding anything new or taking the material beyond what is recorded. It’s all about following the recipe to get your result, and that’s it.
2) Then there are those who feel that a given grimoire is not complete, and therefore draw material from other grimoires to fill the gaps or allow their practice to grow beyond the original text. This person tends to view the Solomonic texts as individual examples of a larger collective tradtion, and thus does not find an issue with (for example) using consecration instructions from the Key of Solomon to prepare the tools needed for the Goetia.
3) Then you have a more generalized Solomonic practitioner, who does not focus on any particular grimoire. This type also looks at the Solomonic tradition as a whole, and he tends to create his own unique spells based on what he has learned from ALL of the grimoires. As often as not, this type will also draw material from other related traditions (such as the PGM) when it seems in sync with his work. And, of course, he will include or change things as his spirits instruct.
(snipped)
Well, by that definition I am mostly in number 2 as I do use the consecration and exorcisms from The Key of Solomon to fill-out other grimoires that lack instructions on the creation of their specific tools.
But, I have made my own incense blends that are planetary and smell much better than some of those listed in the grimoires. I could easily substitute mine for the ones listed. If I did that would put me in number 3. And I am not against using modern tools, like say an electric engraver, that has been consecrated as a burin from the Keys. Why? Because we live in an electric world afterall. So I may have number 3 leanings.
