New Dee Book Reviewed
That is by “Zadkiel” from the ritual-magic e-mail list on yahoogroups.com
John Dee’s Five Books of Mystery: Original Sourcebook of Enochian
Magic. Joseph Peterson (ed.), John Dee. York Beach: Weiser Books,
2003.
Despite the title, this book is not just for those interested in Enochian magic; far from it. The ‘five books’ are in fact Dee’s working journals, complete with diagrams, sketches, annotations and notes, all set out and exhaustively footnoted by the phenomenally erudite Joseph Peterson. This alone makes it a must-have for anyone interested in Renaissance and medieval magic. In addition to this, the often complex material has been structured for ease of reading and reference.
Peterson’s argument, masterfully constructed and argued, refutes modern contentions that Dee was utilizing a totally new system; quite the opposite. He traces Dee’s methods by reference and citation through a large number of traditional works, including the _Ars Paulina_, _Ars Almadel_, and _Liber Iuratus_, at each step showing
the provenance of the technique(s) in question and how they relate to the traditions of angel magic as practiced in Dee’s time and before.
Much effort has gone into proving the contents of Dee’s magical library, and notations in Dee’s handwriting have been tracked down in a number of magical manuscripts not previously linked to Dee.
As though this exposition were not enough, the reader is given access to a huge amount of primary source material never before published.
Here are Annael, Michael and Uriel in all their glory, and the text reveals the truly fragmented and complex nature of the scrying experiments themselves. Here also are Dee’s prayers and invocations, not seen in other works on this subject. Beginning with the scrying sessions with a medium named Barnabas Saul, these books document Dee’s attempts to discover knowledge from the spirits that was not available to scholarship or current knowledge. Diagrams in Kelley’s hand show various pieces of the imagery revealed to him – everything from sigils and talismans to hatchets, tongues of fire and faces are shown as they appear in the original manuscripts.
This work is of critical importance, not only to Enochian enthusiasts but to anyone with an interest in Renaissance magical practices.
