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Introduction

John Dee’s system of Enochian Magic took different forms throughout the centuries. The history of its sources may be divided into several distinct periods. This text aims to briefly recount the most notable contributions and give a general overview of the literature on the subject.

Primary sources

Records of John Dee’s conversations with angels between years 1581-1607 survived in several manuscripts. These are nowadays known to us as Sloane 3188, Sloane 3189, Sloane 3191, Add 36674, as well as Cotton Appendix XLVI parts 1 and 2 (all currently in the British Library in London), and the Ashmole 1790 (in the Bodleian Library, Oxford). See Appendix Overview of the primary sources for a brief breakdown of their contents.

Some existing manuscripts have been significantly damaged. Although some have been reconstructed, many pages are lost completely. Dee admits to have burnt some 9 or so years worth of angelic actions between 1591-1600.1 Other papers were lost due to a maid of a previous owner of the manuscripts, who used them to line pie plates.2 What survives is nevertheless a nearly complete corpus of Dee’s work with Edward Kelley.

Early copies

A large part of these records (Cotton Appendix MSS) went on to be published by Meric Casaubon in 1659 as A True and Faithful Relation of What passed for many Yeers Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits (or TFR for short). Although Casaubon’s intention was to shame Dee, he was largely faithful to the sources, though not to the extent as to avoid errors, which are plenty. Elias Ashmole (1617-1692) soon later got his hands on Dee’s manuscripts and copied them:

MS Copy of
Sloane 3677 Sloane 3188
Sloane 3678 Sloane 3191
Sloane 2599 Sloane 3189 (incomplete)
Ashmole 422 Sloane 3189
Ashmole 580 TFR (annotated with the Cotton Appendix)
Ashmole 1788 Art. 2 Ashmole 1790 Art. 1

Sloane MSS are to be found in the British Library, while the Ashmole MSS in the Bodleian Library.

17th century Neo-Enochiana

Casaubon’s TFR inspired some 17th century occultists to work with the Enochian material. We know that thanks to several manuscripts of TFR-based grimoires as well as a record of multiple years of spiritual actions by an unspecified group. We shall call these later developments “Neo-Enochiana”.

The records of those group operations survive in Sloane 3624-3628.3 They remain largely unstudied as of today, and only a brief overview has been published.4 One grimoire, attributed to Dr Rudd, survives in Harley 6482.5 It makes use of some Enochian elements, but in ways that at times strongly disagree with the source material, for example attributing Goetic demons to the Ensigns of Creation.6 Another grimoire is now known as Sloane 307. It seems to have been somewhat popular, as several copies of it exist, such as Bodleian Rawlison D 1067, D 1363, and even one by Ashmole – Sloane 3821.7 The text attempts to reconstruct Dee’s practice of the Great Table, but being based on TFR, it however introduces significant errors.8

Victorian revival

Francis Barrett mentions the existing records of Dee’s spiritual actions at the end of his magnum opus, The Magus (1801), though he did not include any Enochiana in his work.9 Perhaps thanks to that pointer, the Neo-Enochian grimoires were rediscovered by a British occultist and Freemason, Frederick Hockley (1809-1885), who copied some of the manuscripts.10 Through Hockley, this material ended up in the hands of another occultist, Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie (1833-1886). Mackenzie is the most likely author of the mysterious Cipher Manuscript, which contained a draft of quasi-Masonic initiation ceremonies, containing some Enochian material.11 After his death, these Neo-Enochian texts ended up in the hands of William Wynn Westcott (1848-1925), who then founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn based on them.12

The Golden Dawn founders seemed to have been unaware of the origin of Enochiana at first, omitting any mention of Dee in their order papers, and even suggesting the Angelic Keys (which they circulated in the inner order as “Book T”) were transcribed by Christian Rosenkreuz.13 Thus, for a time at least, they worked solely with the Cipher Manuscript and Sloane 307 (or “Book H”). Later on, they produced “Book S”, which elaborates on the attributions from the Cipher Manuscript.14 Said text contains some references to the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, proving that they did eventually rediscover Dee’s original manuscripts.15 Some records of the Order’s work with their Neo-Enochian system survive in so-called Flying Rolls (particularly no. 33, on skrying the letters of the Great Table).16

New Aeon innovations

One of the Golden Dawn members, Aleister Crowley (1875-1949), started publishing their material in The Equinox in 1909.17 Later on, he did his own research of Dee’s manuscripts, particularly on the Holy Table and Sigillum Dei Aemeth, which he included in his Liber Chanokh.18 He also documented his unique method of “skrying the aethyrs” and his experiments with it in Liber 418, a “holy book” in his system of Thelema.19

By 1940, the full teaching of the order of the Golden Dawn were published by its member and a student of Crowley’s – Israel Regardie (1907-1985).20 Since then, these Golden Dawn and Thelemic systems, though based on erroneous Sloane 307, remain the most common forms of Enochian practice.

Modern recompilation

No notable developments occurred for a long time, until in the 70s, the interest in Enochiana reignited. In 1974, Stephen Skinner republished Casaubon’s TFR.21 Two years later, the first Angelic dictionary was produced by practitioner Leo Vinci.22 In just another two years, a more critical dictionary by linguist Donald C. Laycock (1936-1988) appeared.23

The following decade was even more fruitful, as the writings of Dee omitted in Casaubon’s TFR finally became transcribed. Two editions of Dee’s early actions (Sloane 3188) were published, by Joseph H. Peterson24, and by Christopher Whitby.25 Dee’s grimoires (Sloane 3191) likewise got two different transcribers, Robert Turner26 and Geoffrey James.27

WWW and Purism

With the rise of the internet in the early 90s, many practitioners began discussing Enochiana online. Thelemite Benjamin Rowe wrote numerous short ebooks and for a while his Enochian Magick Reference28 was the most comprehensive introduction to the subject, covering the so far mostly ignored parts of the Enochian system: the magical tools, the Mystical Heptarchy, as well as the cryptic Loagaeth tables. Meanwhile, Peterson published online the very first complete transcript of Liber Loagaeth (Sloane 3189).29

All of Dee’s angelic writings now being published, some practitioners began the so-called Dee-Purist movement, rejecting Neo-Enochiana, and instead recompiling Enochian Magic from its source. Donald Tyson published his Enochian Magic for Beginners, which was the first printed publication to actively question the methods of the Golden Dawn and Thelema.30 In 2003, Peterson republished his transcription of Dee’s diaries, translating the Latin portions and adding extra commentary.31 Especially note-worthy is his comparison of Enochian Magic to the wider grimoire tradition.

Enochian Golden Age

Rowe’s and Tyson’s publications served well as theoretical introductions, but they did not make it clear how to actually use Enochiana. The following two decades welcomed a lot of more practical and beginner-friendly books, both Dee-Purist and Neo-Enochian. Notable authors include Lon Milo Duquette,32 Aaron Leitch,33 Scott Michael Stenwick34 and Frater Yechidah.35

Recently, Dee’s diaries have been once again republished in even better formats. Skinner’s new edition of TFR (2019) got expanded with extra commentary and translations of Latin.36 Peterson likewise released an improved edition in 2024.37 Most notably however, Kevin Klein published The Complete Mystical Records of Dr John Dee (2020),38 which is the most faithful reproduction of Dee’s diaries to date. Klein’s edition also brings a full transcript of Liber Loagaeth, which for the first time appears readable in print.

Final words

Enochian Magic, historically characterised as fragmented, enigmatic, and largely inaccessible, is now experiencing a renaissance of clarity and approachability. Contemporary scholarship and numerous introductory texts published in the recent years have rendered both the study and practice more readily attainable than ever before.

Appendices

Overview of the primary sources

Below is a short breakdown of Dee’s manuscripts. The aim is to give the reader a general idea of the sources Enochian Magic is based on. Manuscripts are divided into books, using Dee’s convention and titles. Brief outline of the contents is given, focusing on the magical and mystical elements.

Sloane 3188 (British Library):

Mysteriorum Liber Primus

  • Actions of 22 Dec 1581 – 15 Mar 1582.
  • Initial instructions of the tools: the (false) Lamen, the PELE ring, the Sigillum Dei and the Holy Table.

Mysteriorum Liber Secundus

  • Actions of 19 Mar – 21 Mar 1582.
  • Detailed instructions for Sigillum Dei Aemeth.

Mysteriorum Liber Tertius

  • Actions of 28 Apr – 4 May 1582.
  • The 7 Ensigns of Creation and the Heptarchy.

Quartus Liber Mysteriorum

  • Actions of 15 Nov – 21 Nov 1582.
  • Seals, offices and ministers of the Heptarchic spirits.

Liber Mysteriorum Quintus

  • Actions of 23 Mar – 18 Apr 1583.
  • Initial instructions on Liber Loagaeth and the angelic alphabet.
  • Alchemical cipher.

Quinti Libri Mysteriorum Appendix

  • Actions of 20 Apr – 23 May 1583.
  • Detailed instructions for the Holy Table and the Lamen.
  • The perfect form of the angelic alphabet.

Cotton Appendix XLVI Part I (British Library):

Liber Sexti Misteriorum (et sancti) parallelus Novalisque

  • Actions of 28 May – 4 Jul 1583.
  • Heptarchic talismans.
  • The 49th leaf of Liber Loagaeth and instructions for Gebofal.

Liber Peregrinationis Primae: (Sexti Mydici Paradromus)

  • Actions of 21 Sep 1583 – 13 Mar 1584.
  • Moral and metaphysical sermons.

Mensis Mysticus Saobaticus

  • Actions of 10 Apr – 30 Apr 1584.
  • Corpus Omnium.
  • Angelic Keys (1-4), with translations.

Libri Septimi, Apertorii, Cracoviensis, Myftici, Sabbatici, pars Tertia

  • Actions of 7 May – 22 May 1584.
  • Angelic Keys (5-18), without translation.
  • The 91 Governors or Parts of the Earth.

Libri Septimi, Apertorii, Cracoviensis, Myftici, Sabbatici, pars Quarta

  • Actions of 23 May – 12 Jul 1584.
  • The Latin names and physical locations of the 91 Parts.
  • Instructions for the Great Table.
  • Translations of the Angelic Keys (5-18).
  • Beginning of the 19th Key (with translation).

Liber Quintus Cracoviensis Mysticus, Apertorius

  • Actions of 12 Jul – 15 Aug 1584.
  • 19th Key continued.
  • Angelic names of the 30 Aires.

Cotton Appendix XLVI Part II (British Library):

Mysteriorum Pragensium Liber Primus, Caesareusque

  • Actions of 15 Aug – 8 Oct 1584.
  • Numerous prophecies.
  • Moral and metaphysical sermons.

Mysteriorum Pragensium Confirmatio

  • Actions of 20 Dec 1584 – 20 Mar 1585.
  • Alchemical cipher.
  • Moral and metaphysical sermons.

Stephanica Mysteria Regia

  • Actions of 20 Mar – 6 Jun 1585.
  • Alchemical instructions continued.
  • Instructions regarding the 91 Parts system.

Unica Actio; quae Pucciana vocetur

  • Actions of 6 Aug – 6 Sep 1585.
  • Moral and metaphysical sermons.

Liber Resurrectionis et 42: Mensium fundamentum

  • Actions of 29 Apr 1586 – 21 Jan 1587.
  • Moral and metaphysical sermons.
  • Miracle of destroyed and restored books.

Mysteriorum Divinorum memorabilia Actionis (ex 7) Tertiae

  • Actions of 4 Apr – 23 May 1587.
  • Arthur’s attempts at skrying.
  • Reformation of the Great Table.
  • Wife-swapping incident.
  • Daughter of Fortitude.

[title missing]

  • Actions of 20 Mar – 7 Sep 1607.
  • A few surviving actions with Barthilmew late in Dee’s life.

Ashmole 1790 (Bodleian Library):

Praefatio Latina in Actionem primam

  • Action of 10 April 1586.
  • Moral and metaphysical sermons.

Liber exercitii Heptarchici

  • A draft of De Heptarchia Mystica, contains some unique material.

Add 36674 (British Library):

Compendium Heptarchiae Mysticae

  • A draft of De Heptarchia Mystica, contains some unique material.

Sloane 3191 (British Library):

48 Claves Angelicae

  • A full transcription of the Angelic Keys with English translations.

Liber Scientiae, Auxilii et Victoriae Terrestris

  • A full transcription of the 91 Parts of the Earth.39

De Heptarchia Mystica

  • A compilation of material relating to the Heptarchical system.

A Booke of Supplications and Invocations

  • Invocations for Great Table angels.

Sloane 3189 (British Library):

Liber Mysteriorum Sextus et Sanctus

  • Tables of Liber Loagaeth written by Kelley.

  1. Deborah E. Harkness, John Dee’s Conversations with Angels (1999), p. 24. ↩︎

  2. Ibid., p. 2. ↩︎

  3. Ibid., p. 222-223. ↩︎

  4. Alan Thorogood, Dr. Rudd’s Nine Hierarchies of Angels (2013), p. xx-xxix. ↩︎

  5. First published by Adam McLean, A Treatise on Angel Magic (1989). ↩︎

  6. Scott Michael Stenwick, Mastering the Mystical Heptarchy (2011), p. 18. ↩︎

  7. See Stephen Skinner and David Rankine, Practical Angel Magic (2004), for a comprehensive edition of these manuscripts. The reader should be warned, however, that the editors’ theories of the provenance of these manuscripts have since been disproven. See next note. ↩︎

  8. Thorogood, p. xv. See also Donald Tyson, Enochian Magic for Beginners (1997), chapter 17. Although Tyson is not aware of Sloane 307, he does a good job identifying errors that it introduced into Golden Dawn Enochiana. ↩︎

  9. Francis Barrett, The Magus or Celestial Intelligencer (1801), p. 196. ↩︎

  10. One of Hockley’s manuscripts has been published in Alan Thorogood, Dr. Rudd’s Nine Hierarchies of Angels (2013). ↩︎

  11. Egil Asprem, Arguing with Angels (2012), p. 45-48. ↩︎

  12. R. A. Gilbert, The Golden Dawn Scrapbook (1997), p. 5. ↩︎

  13. Asprem, p. 56-59. This is mentioned in particular in the Adeptus Minor ceremony (see Frater Yechidah, The Complete Initiation Rituals of the Golden Dawn (2025), p. 407). ↩︎

  14. Ibid. ↩︎

  15. Israel Regardie, The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic (1994), vol. 10, p. 39. ↩︎

  16. Samuel Scarborough, The Complete Flying Rolls of the Golden Dawn (2023). ↩︎

  17. The Equinox vol. 1 (1909-1913). ↩︎

  18. Aleister Crowley, Liber Chanokh sub figura LXXXIV, https://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib84. First published in The Equinox vol. 1, no. 7-8 (1912). ↩︎

  19. Aleister Crowley, Liber XXX Aerum vel Saeculi sub figura CCCCXVIII, https://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib418. First published in The Equinox vol. 1, no. 5 (1911). ↩︎

  20. Israel Regardie, The Golden Dawn, vol. 1-4 (1937-1940). ↩︎

  21. Stephen Skinner, Dr. John Dee’s Spiritual Diary (1583-1608) (1974). ↩︎

  22. Leo Vinci, GMICALZOMA! An Enochian Dictionary (1976). ↩︎

  23. Donald C. Laycock, The Complete Enochian Dictionary (1978). ↩︎

  24. Joseph H. Peterson, The Five Books of Mystical Exercises of John Dee (1985). ↩︎

  25. Christopher Whitby, John Dee’s Actions with Spirits (1988). ↩︎

  26. Robert Turner, The Heptarchia Mystica of John Dee (1983).
    Robert Turner, The Elizabethan Magic (1989). ↩︎

  27. Geoffrey James, The Enochian Evocation of Dr. John Dee (1984). Turner fairly criticises James’ Latin translations, however this book remains a great compilation of the most relevant parts of Dee’s writings, at least for practitioners. ↩︎

  28. Benjamin Rowe, Enochian Magick Reference (1997), https://hermetic.com/enochia/enoch-ref. See also https://hermetic.com/browe/index. ↩︎

  29. Joseph H. Peterson, Liber Loagaeth or Liber Mysteriorum, Sextus et Sanctus (1998), https://www.esotericarchives.com/dee/sl3189.htm. ↩︎

  30. Donald Tyson, Enochian Magic for Beginners (1997). ↩︎

  31. Joseph H. Peterson, John Dee’s Five Books of Mystery (2003). ↩︎

  32. Lon Milo Duquette, Enochian Vision Magic (2008). ↩︎

  33. Aaron Leitch, The Angelical Language, vol. 1 & 2 (2010).
    Aaron Leitch, The Essential Enochian Grimoire (2014). ↩︎

  34. Scott Michael Stenwick, Mastering the Mystical Heptarchy (2011).
    Scott Michael Stenwick, Mastering the Great Table (2013).
    Scott Michael Stenwick, Mastering the Thirty Aires (2022). ↩︎

  35. Dean F. Wilson, Enochian Magic in Theory (2012).
    Frater Yechidah, Enochian Magic in Practice (2016). ↩︎

  36. Stephen Skinner, Dr. John Dee’s Spiritual Diary (1583-1608) (2019). It has to be noted that Skinner’s Latin translations are not always perfectly accurate, however. ↩︎

  37. Joseph H. Peterson, Mysteriorum Libri Quinque (2024). ↩︎

  38. Kevin Klein, The Complete Mystical Diaries of Dr John Dee (2020). ↩︎

  39. Dee made some errors copying the details over, particularly with regards to the Angels of the 12 Tribes. See my article Mismatched assignments in Liber Scientiae. ↩︎