2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries/2,000 Greater and Lesser Mysteries.iso/hermetic/mys00919.txt

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     "The Enochian Evocation of Dr. John Dee" (ed. Geoffrey James) is the
     definitive and most complete edition of Dee's magical notebooks ever
     to be published.  It contains a complete system of Renaissance Magic,
     encompassing Planetary spirits, Zodiacial spirits, and the spirits of
     the Four Quarters as well as Dee's famous 48 Angelic Keys
     transliterated exactly as they appear in Dee's manuscripts, with
     accents on the Enochian vowels, and with the English in the original
     Elizabethan.  The book includes all of Dee's major magical writings,
     his private grimoires, with an introduction and appendices which
     supply background and give suggestions in the practice of Enochian
     Evocation.



     The following exerpt is from Appendix A -- "The Practice of Enochian
     Evocation":

         There are no descriptions in Dee's extant diaries of actual
     Enochian evocation rituals, a fact that has led some scholars to
     conclude that he never attempted the magic.  The existence, however,
     of artifacts such as the wax sigils of Aemeth in the British museum
     indicate that Dee, at the very least, constructed some of the
     requisite furniture.  In addition, Dee compiled Sloane MSS 3191 (the
     primary source for this book) to be a working collection of
     conjurations for use in magical ceremonies.  Although it is possible
     that Dee never went through with the experiments, it is far more
     likely that he recorded the events in a separate diary that has not
     survived.  Dee was a rabid diarist, and kept at least three
     concurrent diaries during the period that he was working with Kelly,
     each diary covering a different aspect of his life.  It would be well
     in character for Dee to initiate a special diary for the practice of
     the "radical truths" that he had sought for so many years.

         There are many clues that assist in uncovering of the operative
     portions of this arcane branch of magical lore.  Sloane MSS 3191, for
     example, delineates the portions of Enochian evocation that Dee
     thought were most essential.  Other clues are scattered throughout
     the surviving diaries.  Dee describes many scyring sessions, and it
     is unlikely that the Enochian rituals differed very greatly from
     those he practiced with his scryers.  In addition, many passages from
     the scrying sessions contain hints and instructions concerning
     Enochian evocation.  Another valuable source of information is the
     body of magical literature that was available to Dee and Kelly.  The
     effect of Agrippa, for example, upon Dee's philosophical outlook is
     obvious, and many aspect of Enochian evocation are dependent upon the
     worldview of the renaissance Magi. Also, Kelly's involvement in black
     magic indicates influence from other magical texts. When all these
     sources of information are gathered together, a coherent picture
     emerges of the practice of Enochian evocation.

     Enochian rituals were practiced by two people, a Magus and a Scryer.
     The Magus chanted the conjurations, compelling the Angels (by the
     power of the names of God) to appear within the crystal stone.  The
     Scyrer gazed into the crystal and related his visions.  The Magus
     doubled as scribe, recording the visions and the results of the
     ceremony.

     Both Scryer and Magus were expected to lead holy lives (at least
     while practicing the magic), to cultivate piety and humility, and to
     abstain from the practice of black magic.  During the ceremonies,
     both were dressed in white linen robes, and the magus wore a magical
     ring with a gold seal (as shown in Book Two, Chapter Two). Other
     renaissance magical texts recommend that the Magus wear a crown and
     carry a magical wand and/or sword, but none of these are mentioned in
     Dee's work.

     Before practicing Enochian evocation, the Magus and Scryer located
     and/or constructed the following items:

     1.   A crystal ball.  This was handled only by the magus or the
     scryer.  Dee's was rather small, about two inches in diameter.

     2.   A circular wax tablet, 9 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches
     thick, inscribed on the front with the Sigil of Aemeth and on the
     back with a cross.  These designs are shown in Book Two.  The center
     of the front was hollowed out slightly, so that the crystal ball
     could easily be placed on top of the Sigil.

     3.   Four wax tablets, about 4 inches in diameter, similarly
     inscribed.

     4.   A red silk "rug", two yards square.

     5.   A red silk tablecloth, about 1.5 yards square, with tassles at
     each corner.

     6.   A table constructed of "sweet wood" (cedar?) a yard (two cubits)
     square, with yard-long legs.  Each leg terminated with a hollow
     cylinder, slightly more than 4 inches on the inside diameter and
     about .5 inches thick.  The basic structure of this table is shown in
     Book Two; because of its low profile, two wooden stools were probably
     also necessary. A set of elaborate sigils were to be painted in
     yellow oils on the top surface of the table. The arrangement of these
     sigils is too complex to be reproduced in this volume, but can be
     found in The True Relation, between the Preface and the first book,
     on the page labeled "The Holy Table".

     7.   Twelve banners or flags each embroidered with a name of God as
     as shown in Book Five, Chapter Three.

     This furniture was arranged into a temple where Enochian evocation
     could be practiced.  This may have been intended to be in the open
     air rather than within a building, as there are no descriptions of
     candles or torches.  Furthermore, the magical circle specifies
     "Terra" (Earth), which may or may not have been intended
     symbolically.

     The temple was constructed in the following manner:

     1.   The place of working was enclosed by a circle as shown in Book
     Five, Chapter Three.  The banners were propped at the circle's edge.

     2.   The red silk rug was laid in the center of the circle.

     3.   The four small wax tablets were arranged in a square pattern in
     the center of the silk rug, 1 yard square.

     4.   The table was balanced upon the wax tablets, so that the hollow
     cylinders at the end of the table legs overlapped them.

     5.   The large wax tablet was placed on the center of the table.

     6.   The silk tablecloth was draped over the table, covering the
     large wax tablet, so that the tassles dangled almost to the floor.

     7.   The crystal was laid on top of the tablecloth, balanced on the
     indentation in the wax tablet.

     The Magus was required to have a book in which prayers and
     conjurations were recorded for use within the temple.  For the
     complete practice of Enochian evocation, it probably would have had
     the following contents:


     PART ONE: PRAYERS

     The Oration to God -- as shown in Book Two, Chapter Five.

     The Prayer of Enoch -- as shown in Book One, Chapter Two.

     The Fundemental Obesance -- as shown in Book Five, Chapter Four.


     PART TWO: CONJURATIONS

     The Heptarchic Conjurations -- formed by inserting the specific
     attributes of the each King and Prince (as shown in Book Two, Chapter
     Seven) with the generalized conjuration (as shown in Book Two,
     Chapter Six).

     The Angelical Keys -- as shown in Book Three. These were to be
     written in both Angelical and English.  Note that the last key was to
     be repeated 30 times, with the third word altered to indicate the
     Aire being worked. In Sloane MSS 3191, the various Aires are listed
     in the margin. The individual names of the Aires are given in Book
     Four, Column Four.

     The Invitations to the Angels of the Quarters -- as shown in Book
     Five, Chapters Five through Thirteen.

     The ordering of Dee's workbooks suggests that he intended a certain
     cross-semination of the earlier (Heptarchic) and later (Angelical)
     systems.  In any case, the magical book is described in Dee's diaries
     as consisting "first of the invocation of the names of God and second
     of the invocation of the Angels, by the names of God" -- an ordering
     is preserved in the contents above.

     Note that, unlike other renaissance magical systems, Enochian
     evocation does not include a "Dismissal" or "License to Depart", a
     conjuration designed to send a spirit back to its dwelling place.
     Dee evidently felt this to be unneccessary, although most renaissance
     Magi would have considered this omission dangerous.

     Enochian evocation was believed to summon three interrelated
     hierarchies of angels:

     1.   The Heptarchical Royalty -- who were believed to govern "all
     earthly actions", and "disperse of the will of the Creator".  One
     conjured them to obtain "knowledge of God truly, the number and
     doings of His Angels perfectly, and the beginning and ending of
     Nature substantially".  These angels were based upon the 7 planets
     and the 7 days of the week.

     2.   The Angels of the Aires -- who were believed to rule over the
     various countries of the earth.  One conjured them to "subvert whole
     countries without armies", to "get the favor of all the (human)
     Princes", and to "know the secret treasure of the waters, and the
     unknown caves of the earth".  These angels were based on the 12
     houses of the Zodiac and the 30 Aires, which were evidently
     subdivisions of the "vault of stars" in which the "fixed stars" were
     believed to reside.

     3.   The Angels of the Quarters -- who were believed to have been
     "put onto the earth so that the Devil's envious will might be
     bridled, the determinations of God fulfilled, and his creatures kept
     and preserved".  One conjured them to obtain a variety of semi-divine
     powers and capabilities.  These Angels were based upon the 4 Elements
     and the 4 compass points.

     Thus Enochian evocation consisted of a complete panoply of magical
     art, covering planetary, zodiacal, and elemental operations, and
     reputed to control hundreds of named and thousands of unnamed Angelic
     creatures.  Because of the complexity of these Angelic hierarchies, I
     shall discuss each in detail...

     (The appendix continues, giving specific details of the angelic
     hierarchies, probable reconstructions of Enochian talismans, a
     variation of Enochian script never before published, and the ordering
     of the days for the practice of Enochian evocation magic.)

     --------------------------
     "The Enochian Evocation of Dr. John Dee is available from:

     Heptangle Books
     P.O. Box 283
     Berkeley Heights, NJ,
     07922 0283

     The cost is $40.00  The book is hardbound, 205 pages, printed
     letterpress on acid-free paper.  The estimated shelf life of the
     paper and binding is 400+ years.