Enochian Study Papers at Mountain Temple
John Dee and the Enochian Magical System
Dee was a brilliant English mathematician, astrologer, alchemist and Magician of high order. He made significant contributions to the fledgling body of scientific and occult knowledge of his time. Dee was born in London in 1527 and received his M.A. at Trinity College (Cambridge) at the age of 21. He is generally referred to as "Doctor" today, though technically speaking the Ph.D. degree did not exist in his era (a holder of a Master's degree was commonly referred to as "Doctor" then.) Certainly his immense learning and labors qualify him for the title by any era's standards. Dee was a professor on the Continent for several years, teaching in Paris, Brussels and elsewhere. He also studied with Mercator, the famous map-maker. On his return to England he served as a navigational consultant (under Edward VI) for the nation's fleets of ships, then just beginning the great adventure of discovery in the New World. In the meantime, he amassed one of the largest private libraries in England, specializing in works of science and the occult. His magical interests put him under some suspicion during the brief reign of Queen Mary, and it is likely that he narrowly escaped the axe. When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne in 1564, the atmosphere for magi improved somewhat, and he served as her court astrologer. In his late 50s and early 60s, Dee travelled in Poland and Bohemia with his primary associate at that time, the n'er-do-well alchemist / con-artist Edward Kelly (a pre-incarnation of Aleister Crowley, according to Crowley) trying to manufacture gold and invoke spirits for various rulers on the Continent. Kelly also served as Dee's primary medium during the famous channelling sessions that created what is now known as the "Enochian" or "Angelic" system of magic. In old age, Dee returned to England, where he fared less well during the reign of James I, and died at his stately manor in Mortlake in 1608 at the advanced age of 81.
Though Dee (both with and without Kelly) generated a huge amount of magical writing, what is commonly known as the "Enochian" system generally refers only to a specific portion of that work dedicated to concourse with Angelic forces and summoning of spirits. The original Order of the Golden Dawn made much use of this magic, and indeed it is the centerpiece of the old G.D. system. The Order made several important innovations to Dee's systems, most critically the creation of astrological and qabalistic attributions to his Great Table, and the manufacture of the Table in truncated-pyramid (trapezohedronic) form. It is a potent tool for skrying in the spirit vision -- perhaps too potent for some; it is not ordinarily recommended for any but Adepts. Aleister Crowley wrote an entire book describing his experiences travelling through the Thirty Aethyrs, and this work is recommended reading for any who may be contemplating such a journey. (The writer of this brief discussion, an Exempt Adept at Mountain Temple, once made an effort to "work" the Aetyrs utilizing the full system. The results were less than satisfactory and the Adept will endeavor to attempt the experiment again sometime in the future.)
Ring
design given to Dee by the Angels,
said to be based on the ring
used by Solomon to summon spirits.
There is a large amount of material devoted to Dee available on that modern magical wonder, the World Wide Web. No doubt Dee would have been impressed (or perhaps shocked) to see his work so widely disseminated. Rather than attempt to duplicate information that is readily available elsewhere, we will present a few links to the more interesting or useful sites. It is to be presumed that anyone seriously endeavoring to probe into the deeper reaches of the Spirit realm via Dee's system would have the knowledge and determination to find the basic information that they are looking for without having it handed to them on a silver platter. Nevertheless, here are some clues to get one started:
Dee's Monas Hieroglyphica, uniting the symbols of all the planets and elements into one figure.