II - What Enochian Is & What It Consists Of

[Frater Yechidah]

I - What Enochian Is

There is no better place to begin here than by starting with the question: "What is Enochian?" To answer this, I will quote Fr. Neshamah when this question was asked on another forum, as I feel it is concise and yet detailed enough to answer the question appropriately:

"Enochian Magick is any attempt to communicate with the Enochian Angels in order to a. gain knowledge; b. perform some action (such as finding treasure - a goetic favorite); c. gain power (over others, etc.). The first one is acceptable to the Angels, and they will readily help you discover all kinds of 'hidden truths,' about yourself, and about the world. The second point is less apt to get a positive response since these particular beings aren't too keen on becoming 'errand boys' for anyone. Remember, THEY HAVE AN AGENDA, and they are as interested in using you for their agenda as you are interested in using them for yours. The last point is almost a non-issue since they will not help you gain power over others (and if you find an entity that will, it isn't an Enochian Angel)."

- Fr. Neshamah

The only thing I will add to this is a few words of "history". Enochian Magick was first "delivered", through a serious of skryings over a period of many years, to Dr. John Dee and his skryer, Edward Kelley (often spelled Kelly, though his original name was Edward Talbot). This occured during Elizabethan times (circa 16th Century CE), and, indeed, Dee was Court Astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I herself, not to mention involved with many other affairs at the time (such as exploration of the New World, etc.). Both Dee and Kelley were Protestants, though it may be better to describe them as Deists, for their beliefs and practices did not entirely fall in line with mainstream Protestantism. This will be evident from the material involved with the Enochian system itself.

I hope that answers the general questions on what Enochian is. The next post here will deal more thoroughly with Dee, and the one following that will detail the basic layout of the system, before we explore it all in more detail in subsequent threads.

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[Frater Yechidah]

II - Dee

Since these two characters were the recipients of the entire Enochian system (barring that which has been received since, which is substantially smaller in scope in comparison), it is important to look at who they were.

As stated in the previous post, Dee was the Queen's Court Astrologer. He was actually very close to the Queen in his day, enjoying a certain amount of "invulnerability" associated with her faith in him during her reign (in stark contrast to the reign of "Bloody Mary" before her, a time in which Dee was actually arrested and thrown in jail). It is evident that the Queen was privy to much of Dee's insights and his earlier work (though not, perhaps, the Enochian material), including his nominal work, the Hieroglyphic Monad. Indeed, many feel that he was, in fact, a spy working for her, and he often signed his documents to her with the "codename" of 007, which is possibly where Ian Fleming got the idea for James Bond from, especially through his friendship with Aleister Crowley.

Dee was also the typical Renaissance Man, being well-versed in a great array of subjects. He was a great mathematician, invented many things, was pivotal in the explorations of the New World (through his cartography, etc.), and, indeed, was heavily involved in the various occult sciences that were part and parcel of the "elite" of that day. He was well-respected, not only in England, but all over Europe, where he traveled frequently and enjoyed the hospitality and audience of many nobles and royal families. Indeed, at one stage he was invited to the Vatican, though this was, it seems, an attempt to take his life - luckily for us, he was wise enough to turn down the invitation.

To close this section on Dee, I will quote Fr. Neshamah again and supply a few links he gave in the other version of this Enochian Class on a different forum. Make sure to check out these links, as they are very intriguing, and may help to add to your appreciation of how important Dee actually was:

Dee had a deep understanding of the Occult Traditions of his own time; he was well-versed in the Hermetic Philosophies and Teachings that were available and popular in his day. He has been called the most powerful magickian of his time, but not just because he was the one that "received" the Enochian language. He was the Founder of the Rosicrucian Society, and he had a profound knowledge of alchemy. He was also personal Astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I.

- Fr. Neshamah

Links detailing Dee's Rosicrucian connections (courtesy of Fr. N):

http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_dee.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/2216/deejohn.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/rosicrucian

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.
(http://www.answers.com/topic/rosicrucian) (http://www.answers.com/topic/rosicrucian)

[Frater Yechidah]

III - Kelley

Kelley is a more unusual figure, with less known about him. His original name was Edward Talbot, though he changed this to Kelley when he entered Dee's household and service. It seems that Kelley was notorious for his deception and fraud, and was, at one stage, arrested for coining (making false money). Indeed, it seems evident that Kelley was obsessed with material wealth, as his soul magickal purpose seems to have been in finding out how to turn lead to gold (which, according to the stories, he managed to do [after the Enochian work]).

He was a powerful "psychic", with strong skrying abilities (which Dee lacked, thereby explaining his employment of Kelley), which is evident alone in the accounts of the Enochian workings. He was, however, quite a "scoundrel", and at times accused the Angels of being demons, a sentiment that was returned by the Angels with a strong dislike for Kelley (they, in effect, were using him to get this material to Dee [and, thereby, to the world], and I believe Kelley was aware of this, which would somewhat explain his contempt).

In the later years, when Kelley supposedly discovered the alchemical secret (via the Angels), he enjoyed the fame and welcome that Dee previously had in the crown courts of Europe. It is evident that this was merely because everyone was interested in figuring out how to turn lead to gold, though it's not clear if this was another ploy by Kelley or a genuine belief in the attainment of this secret.

Kelley died when he tried to escape a chase, falling off a wall and breaking his legs (exactly as the Angels had predicted to Dee a long time before this), while Dee himself lived into his 80s, which was a considerable age at that time, and still is, to some degree, now.

Neither of these really utilized the Enochian system, or, at least, no documentation of such has been found. It seems that many promises were made by the Angels purely so that these two conflicting figures would work together long enough to received the full material that the Enochian Angels wanted Man to have. Regardless, Dee's careful journaling of the workings has allowed us to piece together a viable and, indeed, potent practice that has attracted a lot of attention over the last century or so.

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[Frater Yechidah]

IV - The Three Main Sections Of The Enochian System

When we talk about "Enochian", we generally think one thing, but there is actually a lot more to the original material than we might at first expect. This "lesson" is intended to highlight the three main sections of the material. We will only be dealing with the second one ("Enochian Proper"), for the most part, but it is good to recognise that other parts exist.

1. The Heptarchic System

From hept ("seven") and archy ("realms/kingdoms" - from archon: "ruler"), this is, as you can imagine, entirely devoted to the seven "old" planets (the ones that can be seen with the naked eye). This was delivered first and includes the basic tools that were deemed necessary for the later Enochian work - such as the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, Table of Practice, Seals of the Bonorum, etc. There is a lot of material here (most of which you'll find in the Five Books of Mystery [Quinti Libri Mysteriorum] if anyone wants to check the source works), most of which isn't used by modern magicians, barring the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, as most people simply don't know it exists or know much about it (it wasn't as heavily employed by the G.'.D.'. as the Watchtower material was). Some of this material sneaks its way into the next section, however, so it is an area that will require further study once you've made some progress with the Watchtowers and/or Aethyrs. In the O.'.S.'.D.'.L.'. we usually reserve this work for higher grades.

2. Enochian "Proper" - Language, Watchtowers, & Aethyrs

This is the bit we're all familiar with, and it includes the actual language itself, the Great Table (and its subdivisions into Watchtowers, etc.), all of the Calls/Keys, the Aethyr names, and anything else that we traditionally think of when it comes to Enochian (barring the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, which is from category 1, as noted above). This course primarily deals with this section.

3. Liber Loagaeth & Other Obscurities

There was other material delivered, most of which is incredibly obscure, such as the Liber Loagaeth. Most people just don't know what this is, what it is intended to do, or how to make any practical (or even theoretical) use of it. There were myriads of tables delivered and some people have some theories on their use, but this is the section that is most open to interpretation and experimentation (and also, because of this, the most potentially risky, if you manage to even get anything out of it). It can be linked to the other two sections (afterall, they make up one unified system in the end), but how it links up remains theoretical at best. This material is reserved for the highest grades of the O.'.S.'.D.'.L.'. and is primarily experimental work at present.

So, that's it. I hope I'm not just adding to anyone's confusion here, but I think it's important to mention these at this time to save later confusion that might be created from other texts (or, indeed, the original material itself). Again, I must stress that they are all one system, though they can be (and are) approached individually.

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.