Read an Excerpt
John Dee's Five Books of Mystery
Original Sourcebook of Enochian Magic
By Joseph H. Peterson Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
Copyright © 2003 Joseph H. Peterson
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-57863-178-0
CHAPTER 1
Anno 1581: 1582
Mysteriorum
Liber Primus
Mortlaci
Præter alias meas extemporaneas preces, et eiaculationes ad Deum vehementiores: Hæc una, maximè usitata fuit
Oratio mea Matutina, Vespertinaque: pro Sapientia.
In nomine Dei Patris, Dei Filij, Dei Spiritus Sancti.
Amen.
Omnipotens, Sempiterne, vere, et viue Deus, in adiutorium meum intende: Domine Dominantium, Rex Regum, Jeouah Zebaoth, ad adiuuandum me festina: Gloria Deo, Patri, Filio, et spiritui Sancto: Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper et in sæcula sæculorum: Amen.
Recte sapere, et intelligere doceto me, (Ô rerum omnium Creator,) Nam Sapientia tua, totum est, quod volo: Da verbum tuum in ore meo, (Ô rerum omnium Creator,) et sapientiam tuam in corde meo fige.
O Domine Jesu Christe (qui sapientia vera es, æterni et Omnipotentis tui Patris) humilimè tuam oro Diuinam Maiestatem, expeditum mihi ut mittere digneris, alicuius pij, Sapientis expertique Philosophi auxilium, ad illa plenissimè intelligenda perficiendaque, quæ maximi valoris erunt ad tuam laudem et gloriam amplificandam: Et si Mortalis nullus iam in terris viuat, qui ad hoc munus aptus sit: vel qui ex æterna tua providentia, ad istud mihi præstandum beneficium assignatus fuerit: Tunc equidem humilimè, ardentissimè et constantissimè a tua Diuina Maiestate requiro, ut ad me de cælis mittere digneris bonos tuos Spirituales Ministros; Angelosque, videlicet Michaëlem, Gabrielem, Raphaelem ac Urielem: et (ex Diuino tuo fauore) quoscunque, alios, veros, fidelesque tuos Angelos, qui me plene et perfecte informent et instruant, in cognitione, intelligentiaque vera et exacta, Arcanorum et Magnalium tuorum (Creaturas omnes tuas, illarumque naturas, proprietates, et optimos usus, concernentium) et nobis Mortalibus Scitu necessariorum; ad tui nominis laudem, honorem, et gloriam; et ad solidam meam, aliorumque (per me,) plurimorum tuorum fidelium consolationem: et ad Inimicorum tuorum confusionem, et subversionem. Amen. Fiat Jeouah Zebaoth: Fiat Adonay, fiat Elohim. O beata, et superbenedicta Omnipotens Trinitas, Concedas mihi (Joanni Dee) petitionem hanc, modo tali, qui tibi maximè placebit.
Amen.
Ab anno 1579, hoc ferè modo: Latinè, vel Anglicè; (ast circa annum 1569 alio et peculiari, particulari modo: interdum pro Raphaële, interdum pro Michaële) ad Deum præces fundere: mihi gratissimum fuit: Mirabilem in me faciat Deus Misericordiam suam.
Amen
Ad Deum Omnipotentem Protestatio fidelis: ad perpetuam rei memoriam Anno 1582.
O God Almighty, thow knowest, & art my director, and witnes herein, That I haue from my youth up, desyred & prayed unto thee for pure & sownd wisdome and understanding of some of thy truthes naturall and artificiall: such, as by which, thy wisdome, goodnes & powre bestowed in the frame of the word might be browght, in some bowntifull measure under the Talent of my Capacitie, to thy honor & glory, & the benefit of thy Servants, my brethern & Sistern, in, & by thy Christ our Saviour. And for as much as, many yeres, in many places, far & nere, in many bokes, & sundry languagis, I haue sowght, & studyed; and with sundry men conferred, and with my owne reasonable discourse labored, whereby to fynde or get some ynckling, glyms, or beame of such the forsaid radicall truthes: But, (to be brief) after all my forsaid endevor I could fynde no other way, to such true wisdome atteyning, but by thy extraordinary gift: and by no vulgar Schole doctrine, or humane Invention. And, Seing, I haue red in thy bokes, & records, how Enoch enioyed thy favor and conversation, with Moyses thow wast familier: And allso that to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Josua, Gedeon, Esdras, Daniel, Tobias, and sundry other, thy good Angels were sent, by thy disposition, to instruct them, informe them, help them, yea in worldly and domesticall affaires, yea and sometimes to satisfy theyr desyres, dowtes & questions of thy Secrets: And furdermore Considering, the Shew-stone, which the high preists did use, by thy owne ordering: wherein they had lights and Judgments in theyr great dowtes: and considering allso that thow (O God) didst not refuse to instruct thy prophets, (then, called Seers) to give true answers to common people of things æconomicall, as Samuel, for Saul, seeking for his fathers asses being gon astray: and of other things vulgar true predictions, whereby to wyn credyt unto thy waightier affayres: And thinking with my self, the lack of thy wisdome; to me, to be of more importance, then the Value of an Asse or two, could be to Cis, (Saul his father): And remembring what good cownsayle thy Apostle James giveth, saying, Si quis autem vestrûm indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, &c. And that Salomon the wise, did so, euen immediately by thy self, atteyne to his wonderfull wisdome. Therfore, seeing I was sufficiently towght and confirmed, that this wisdome could not be come by at mans hand or by humane powre, but onely from thee (Ô God) mediately or immediately) And having allwayes a great regarde & care to beware of the filthy abvse of such as willingly and wetingly, did invocate & consult (in diuerse sorts) Spirituall creatures of the damned sort: angels of darknes, forgers & patrons of lies & untruthes: I did fly unto thee by harty prayer, full oft, & in sundry manners: sometymes Crying unto thee, Mittas lucem tuam et veritatem tuam, que me ducant &c, sometymes Recte sapere et intelligere doceto me, Nam sapientia tua totum est quod volo: &c, sometymes, Da verbum tuum in ore meo, et sapientiam, tuam in corde meo fige &c. And having perceyued by some slight experiens with two diuerse persons, that thow hadst a speciall care to give me thy light, and truth, by thy holy and true ministers Angelic and Spirituall: and at length, hearing of one, (a master of Arte, a preacher of thy word admitted) accownted as a good Seer, and skryer of Spirituall apparitions, in Christalline receptacle, or in open ayre, by his practise procured: and trusting to frame him, by my ernest & faithfull prayers unto thee (my God) to some my help in my forsayd Studies: tyll, thow (o hevenly father) woldest by thy unserchable proveydence, send me some apter man or means thereto. Thereuppon trying him and using him, I fownd great diuersity betwene his private usuall manner, and intente of practise, and my pure, sincere, devowte, & faithfull prayer unto thee onely. And therfore often & fervently I exhorted him to the good; and reproved both him, and his ministers, with my no small daunger, but that thow (in manner unhard of) didst pitch thy holy tente to my defence, and cumfert, in conflict most terrible: as thow best knowest O God, and I willed him thereuppon to preach thy mercyes, & the verity of the kingly prophet his testimony, Castrametatur Angelus Domini, in Circuitu timentium eum. And out of Roger Bachon his boke written De mirabili potestate Artis et Natura, (where he writeth against the wycked Diuel callers) I noted unto him this sentence, Facilius (sine comparatione a Deo impetrandum foret, vel a bonis spiritibus, quicquid homini utile reputare &c which my cownsayle he promised me to follow, as thow art witnes, ô our true & almighty God. And as thy good spirituall creatures neyther had delight in the man, neyther wold so playnely & preistly give me theyr answers or informations by him, that he might be hable to perceyve the pith therof: So was he at length very unwilling to here him self rebuked for his nawghtynes, and to be barred from the Mysteries of thy truthes understanding; which were the onely things that I desyred, throwgh thy grace, o our most mercifull God. Therfore, as well for a Memoriall answerable to the premisses, as for the better warrant of my Such exercises to be made accownt of, hereafter: (leaving all unto thy infinite mercies, and unsearchable providence,) I haue thowght it not impertinent, to note downe, even in this place one of the last Actions, which I had with the forsayd preacher: when I made ernest & faythfull petition unto thee (o the true and Almighty God) for sending, unto my cumfort & eridition, (yf it were thy blessed will,) thy holy, & mighty Angel Annael: of whome and of all the Hierarchies hevenly all prayer honor & thanks, be rendred unto thy diuine maistie: now & euer: & worlde without ende. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Anno 1581 Decembris 22. Mane Mortlak
Δ: After my fervent prayers made to God, for his mercifull cumfort and instruction, throwgh the ministery of his holy and myghty Angel, named Anael, (yf it wer his diuine pleasure) I willed, the Skryer, (named Saul) to loke into my great Chrystaline Globe, yf God had sent his holy Angel Anael, or no: And Saul loking into my forsayd stone, (or Chrystall Globe) for to espie Anael, he saw there one, which answered to that name. But being ernestly requested of me to tell the Truthe yf he were Anaël, An other did appere very bewtifull, with apparell yellow, glittering, like gold: and his hed had beames like ster beams, blasing, and spredding from it; his eyes fyrie. He wrote in the stone very much in hebrue letters, and the letters seamed all transparent gold: which, Saul was not able eyther presently to reade, that I might write after his voyce, neyther to imitate the letters in short tyme. A bright ster, did go up and down by him. There appeared allso a white dog, with a long hed. And many other visions appeared, with this second: The first being voyded quite away. Thereuppon I sayd, as followeth,
Δ: In nomine Jesu Christi, Quis tu es? He answered to Saul his hearing.
AN: Potestas omnis, in me sita est.
Δ: Quæ:?
AN: Bona, et mala.
Δ: Then appeared in the stone, these two letters M. G. I then axing him some questions, de Thesauro abscondito: He answered,
AN: Ne perturbes: Nam hæ sunt Nugæ.
And withall appeared many dedd mens skulls, on his left hand. He sayd to me,
AN: Ubi est potestas tua?
Δ: Cur quæris de potestate aliqua mea?
AN: Cur? Signifi, non mihi placet.
Δ: I, thereuppon, set by him, the stone in the frame:
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
and sayd,
Δ: An bonus aliquis Angelus, assignatus est huic speculo?
AN: Etiam.
Δ: Quis?
AN: He answered, by the shew of these letters in the stone.
Δ Bonus ne ille Angelus, de quo in scripturis fit mentio?
AN: Maximè
Δ: Fieri ne potest, quod ego eundem videam, et cum illo agam?
AN: Ita. And therewith appeared this character
Δ: Quid per hoc, significare velis?
AN: Alterius Angeli character est.
Δ: Cur hîc, et nunc ostendis?
AN: Causam ob magnam. Make an ende: It shalbe declared, but not by me.
Δ: By whome then?
AN: By him that is assigned to the stone: but not, tyll after the feast. And then thow must prepare thyself, to prayer and fasting.
In the Name of God, be Secret: and in all thy doings praying, tyll thow hast thy desyre: which shall not be far of. After Newyeres tyde, Deale, But not on the Sabaoth day. Pray contynually. When it shall pleas god, to stir thee up, Then procede. In the brightest day, When the Sonne shyneth: In the morning, fasting, begynne to pray. In the Sonne Set the stone. Deale both Kneeling, and sitting. I haue done for this tyme.
My name is ANNAEL.
I will speak ones more to thee: and than farewell: for thow shalt not haue me any more.
Be not to hasty in wrath.
Δ: Is this, that, you ment to speak?
AN: I. Do good to all men. God hath sufficient for thee, and for all men. Farewell.
Δ: Gloria patri et filio et spiritui sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper: et in sæcula sæculorum.
Amen.
Δ: Remember, that diuerse other particulars, mowght haue byn Noted of this dayes Action: but these may suffice: And yet it is not to be forgotten, that as he sayd his name was Annael (with a dubble n) so he allso confessed himself to be the same Annaël which is prepositus orbis veneris: and allso Chief governor Generall of this great period, as I haue Noted in my boke of Famous and rich Discoueries.
* * *
Consider and Remember: That this Note, of the Action, (had with holy ANNAEL), is, of prince Befafes, (otherwise called Obelison) accownted as the Prolog of my first boke of mysticall exercises Anno 1582. Nouembris 20. Vide post.
* * *
At Mortlak
In nomine Jesv CHRISTI. Amen.
Anno 1582. Martij die. 10. hora 11¼ Ante meridiem. Saterday
Δ: One Mr. Edward Talbot cam to my howse, and he being willing and desyrous to see or shew some thing in spirituall practise, wold haue had me to haue done some thing therein. And I truely excused myself therein as not in the, vulgarly accownted Magik, neyther studied, or exercised: But confessed my self, long tyme to haue byn desyrous to haue help in my philosophicall studies throwgh the Cumpany and information of the blessed Angels of God. And thereuppon, I browght furth to him, my stone in the frame, (which was given me of a frende) and I sayd unto him, that I was credibly informed, that to it (after a sort) were answerable Aliqui Angeli boni: And allso that I was ones willed by a Skryer, to call for the good Angel Anchor, to appere in that stone to my owne sight. And therfore I desyred him to call him: and (yf he wold) Anachor and Anilos likewise, accownted good Angels, for I was not prepared thereunto. &c. He than settled him self to the Action: and on his Knees att my desk (setting the stone before him) fell to prayer and entreaty &c. In the mean space, I, in my Oratory did pray, and make motion to god, and his good Creatures for the furdering of this Action. And within one quarter of an howre (or less) he had sight of one in the stone. But he still expected for two more: deeming this to be one of the three (namely Anchor Anachor Anilos). But I then cam to him, to the stone: And after some thanks to God, and Wellcome to the good Creature, used, I required to know his name. And he spake plainly, (to the hearing of E.T.) that his name is URIEL.
Δ: Are you one of them (sayd I, John Dee) that are answerable, (uppon due observations performed) to this stone?
URIEL: I am.
Δ: Are there any more besyde you?
UR: Michaël and Raphael. But, Michaël est princeps in operibus nostris.
Δ: Ys my boke, of Soyga, of any excellency?
UR: Liber ille, erat Adæ in Paradiso reuelatus, per Angelos Dei bonos.
Δ: Will you give me any instructions, how I may read those Tables of Soyga?
UR: I can - But solus Michaël illius libri est interpretator.
Δ: I was told, that after I could read that boke, I shold liue but two yeres and a half.
UR: Thow shallt liue an Hundred and od yeres.
Δ: What may I, or must I do, to haue the sight, and presence, of Michaël, that blessed Angel?
UR: Præsentias nostras postulate et invocate, sinceritate et humilitate. Et Anchor, Anachor, et Anilos, non sunt in hunc Lapidem invocandi.
Δ: Oh, my great and long desyre hath byn to be hable to read those Tables of Soyga.
UR: Hæc maximè respiciunt Michaëlem. Michaël est Angelus, qui illuminat gressus tuos.
Et hæc revelantur in virtute et veritate non vi.
Δ: Is there any speciall tyme, or howre to be observed, to deale for the enioying of Michaël?
UR: Omnis hora, est hora nobis.
Δ: After this, there appered in the stone a strange seale, or Characterismus of this fashion ensuing:
Δ: What is the intente, or use of this?
UR: Sigillum hoc in auro sculpendum, ad defensionem corporis, omni loco, tempore et occasione: et in pectus gestandum.
Δ: So we ceased, with thanks to god: and I mused much uppon this Action: and layd all up in mynde, and writing.
Δ: Soli Deo Honor omnis, et gloria.
Amen.
* * *
The same Saterday after none. Hora. 5.
Δ: After that Mr. E.T. had called Uriel, and I was come to the stone and had used a short speche of thanks giving to God: I then required some instruction for the purpose of Soyga.
UR: Peace. You must use Michaël.
Δ: I know no meanes or order to use in the invocating of Michaël.
UR: He is to be invocated by certayn of the psalmes of Dauid, and prayers. The which psalmes, are nothing els, but a means unto the seat and Maiestie of God: whereby you gather with your selues due powre, to apply your natures to the holy Angels. I mean the psalmes, commonly called the Seven psalmes. You must use pleasant sauours: with hand and hart: whereby you shall allure him and wynn him (thorowgh Gods fauour) to atteyn unto the thing, you haue long sowght for. There must be Coniunction of myndes in prayer, betwyxt you two, to God Contynually. Yt is the wyll of God, that you shold, ioinctly, haue the knowledge of his Angells to-gither. You had atteyned unto the sight of Michaël, but for the imperfection of Saul. Be of good Cumfort.
Δ: The chayre cam into the stone againe: and I axed what it ment.
UR: This is a seat of perfection: from the which, things shall be shewed unto thee, which thow hast long desyred.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from John Dee's Five Books of Mystery by Joseph H. Peterson. Copyright © 2003 Joseph H. Peterson. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.