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Abstract

The Great Table is the central matrix of the Enochian magical system, existing in two historic forms: the Original Table (1584) and the Reformed Table (1587). By examining John Dee’s manuscripts and related scholarship, this paper identifies 16 minor Governor name mismatches and 23 letter alterations in the Reformed version. Most discrepancies stem from simple phonetic or scribal errors, not purposeful corrections. Angelic testimonies from 1584 already reflect the later-known Reformed arrangement, showing that the layout was intended from the outset. Consequently, the Reformed Table’s altered letters are largely transcription mistakes, while its overall ordering is authentic. The reconstructed “True Great Table” restores the original letters within the correct arrangement, providing a reliable reference for contemporary Enochian study.

Introduction

The Great Table, also known as the Table of Earth, is a major part of the Enochian Magic system, developed by John Dee and Edward Kelley. It is comprised of four Tables filled with individual letters, joined by a black cross in the centre. Each Table is further divided by another cross, into four smaller sub-angles, marked by four smaller crosses (see Figure 1). In this paper we will refer to these so-called Tables of Enoch or Watchtowers individually by the first three letters in the middle row of each Table, i.e. ORO, MPH, MOR and OIP, as is commonly done by practitioners of the system.¹

The principal function of the Great Table is to act as a data set for an algorithmic derivation of names of spiritual entities.² As such, it houses a large hierarchy of angelic and demonic beings with many different powers or offices. This in turn is foundational for the 19-day working – an original Enochian initiation ritual, in which each angel of the hierarchy is supposed to be called by name.³ Similarly, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has repurposed the four Tables, placing them at the very centre of its initiatory system,⁴ thus ensuring their influence in the wider occult community.

According to Dee’s mystical diary, the Great Table has been originally delivered by angel Ave in June 1584.⁵ The four Tables were first transmitted letter by letter, row by row, only for Dee and Kelley to then discover that they are in fact comprised of the previously received 91 Parts of the Earth⁶: All of which have their distinct characters and names that in a manner similar to jigsaw puzzles make the greater whole.⁷ According to Enochian scholar and practitioner David R. Jones, the fact that they fit almost perfectly, with just a few discrepancies, constitutes a chief proof for the system’s spiritual origin.⁸ Nevertheless, the point stands, that there are differing versions of these Tables, which remains as a challenge for students of Enochiana even today.

To complicate things further, three years after its original revelation, the Table was “reformed” by archangel Raphael.⁹ Many modern practitioners are sceptical of the changes brought in the later version. Some common arguments for this doubt include the fact that Kelley received it by himself, or its association with the infamous wife-swapping.¹⁰ More importantly, however, the differences between the two, as we shall soon demonstrate, are quite significant.

At the time of this writing, many contradictory opinions exist regarding which version is the “true” Great Table. Due to its great importance and influence, the topic is extremely controversial. The descendants of the Golden Dawn current tend to use the Reformed Table,¹¹ while the “Dee purist” practitioners favour the Original version.¹² With no clear consensus, some others turn to their subjective experiences or preferences.¹³ In this paper we will instead go in the opposite direction and reconstruct the True Great Table based on the analysis of Dee’s writings.

The Problem with the 91 Parts

Comparing the names of the Governors and the Original Table, we find that a total of 16 names¹⁵ differ (see Table 1). Most of these discrepancies are of a single letter. Among those, the differences seem to be relatively consistent among the names.

• A-O: Tedoand-Tedoond, Ronoamb-Ronoomb
• F-P: Thotanf-Thotanp, Focisni-Pocisni
• L-B: Toaogla-Taaogba, Bazchim-Lazchim
• M-N: Orcamir-Orcanir, Tahando-Tahamdo
• Z-X: Axziarg-Axxiarg, Dozinal-Doxmael

The switching of letters “a” and “o”, as well as “m” and “n” could be explained by their sounds being similar. Similarly, “z” and “x” in some cases make the same sound, as e.g. in the words “xylophone” or “xenon”. The letters “f” and “p” nowadays would seem quite distinct, but they are strongly related linguistically. Consider for example the English word “apple” and its German equivalent “apfel”, or “father” and Latin “pater”.¹⁶ Such phonetic similarities could also explain three other names: Chirspa-Chirzpa, Obmacas-Opmacas, Dialiua-Dialioa.

The “l” to “b” transition is a strange one, as the letters sound nothing like each other, but with two examples it is hard to attribute it to chance. Same goes for the names Virochi-Virooli and Abaiond-Abriond. The first one is especially odd, since Dee even noted the pronunciation of the last syllable as “ki”.¹⁷ The cause of these discrepancies remains unclear and warrants further investigation. This leaves us with Aydropt-Audropt, which is a special case, as it is linked to the Reformed Table.

It has been suggested that the Reformed Table’s origin lies in Kelley’s attempt to fix the inconsistencies of the names of the Governors and the Original Table.¹⁸ This does not seem to be the case, as locating the names of those problematic Governors/Parts on the Great Table, we find that most of them do not use the changed letters (see Figure 2). In fact, if we compare it with the Reformed Table (Figure 4), in the three cases that do, only one is actually corrected (Aydropt). Of the remaining two, one is mostly unaffected (Orcanir), while the other is completely broken (Lazchim), and any attempt to fix it would have a ripple effect, breaking other names around it. Notably, Dee happened to ask angel Ave about the two versions of the name Aydropt specifically. Ave replied that “Both names be true, & of one signification”,¹⁹ so while there is more evidence supporting the Aydropt variant, Audropt is also valid.

Since the relevant letters agree in both the Original and the Reformed Table, beside that single exception, the discrepancies in Governors’ names are likely errors in Kelley’s transmission or Dee’s transcription. Whatever caused these differences, the evidence suggests that the Tables are correct. This is further confirmed by angel Ave:

Dee: As concerning the diversity of certayn words in these Tables and those of the portions of the Erth delivered by Nalvage what say you?
Ave: The Tables be true.²⁰

The Problem with the Reformed Table

The Reformed Table differs from the Original in two main ways. Firstly, a total of 23 letters has been changed in the newer version (see Figures 3 and 4). In particular, a whole row in the MOR table has been shifted by one to the left, removing the initial “R” and appending a “t” to the end. This affects many of the generated names, especially those of the Governors of the Parts of the Earth system. For example, the already difficult to pronounce Cucarpt would become Cucnrpt.

Secondly, three of the four divisions of the Table have their position swapped around the central cross. Meanwhile, some methods of deriving names of spiritual entities, such as the so-called cacodaemons, take the initial letter precisely from there.²¹ For instance, we can take the name of the first cacodaemon in the upper-left sub-angle of the MOR table. Using the Original Table we get XAI, while in the Reformed Table it would become MAI.

We see therefore, that the discrepancies in the two versions of the Great Table result in different names being generated. Since these names are employed in ritual practice, this constitutes a challenge for practitioners, who would have to make difficult decisions, choosing which variants to use.

Letter discrepancies

As of today, no consensus has been reached as to how to deal with these discrepancies. Scott Stenwick chooses to completely ignore the Original Table, favouring Tabula Recensa.²² Kevin Klein, on the other hand, suggests that since the “R” removed from the shifted row belongs to the name Paraoan, which has been explicitly referred to by the angels multiple times, these changes are likely just Kelley’s errors.²³

Aaron Leitch suggests that the sole purpose of the Reformed Table was to help Dee work out a cipher message received prior. Said cipher was a long list of numbers divided into many variable-sized groups, which Dee immediately understood to be words. The angels told him, that those numbers refer to the letters in the Great Table in their order. Leitch claims that Dee’s initial decipherment attempts failed, until the angels instructed them to rearrange the Tables, which then allowed them to solve it.²⁴ This version of the events is however not entirely faithful to how Dee describes them.

In reality, Kelley was first told to “Join Enoch his Tables” and given a diagram of four squares with one letter each (see Figure 5). He was then furthermore instructed: “Give every place [i.e. square] his running number. (…) Which done, refer every letter in the Table to his number, and so read what I will”. He then saw a woman surrounded by 4 white clouds in the shape of some characters. Following said vision, the manuscript presents us with the long list of numbers.²⁵

Dee noted then, that he identified the letters in the diagram to be the first letters of the four Tables, but arranged differently than he has before. He also found the 4 clouds to be the sigils of the Governors/Parts of the Earth, one from each Table.²⁶ In Kelley’s drawing, these were placed in the same positions as the diagram with the letters, as if to further affirm that arrangement. Thus, the instructions clearly suggested using the Reformed order from the very beginning.

That said, it is true that Dee struggled, though for a different reason. After they eventually gave up, Kelley felt a calling to go to his room. He came back about an hour later, and brought, in writing, the Reformed Table and the deciphered message. Upon receiving the solution, Dee seemed to attempt to reverse-engineer it.²⁷ Then he realised that the reason for his struggle was that many of the numbers were actually off by one²⁸ (see Appendix Cipher solution for a full breakdown).

Although Leitch was not entirely accurate in the order of how these events took place, that does not invalidate his point. It is worth noting, however, that it would be peculiar for the angels to place such considerable emphasis on the rearrangement solely to facilitate the cipher. The question remains why they could not have supplied the numbers in accordance with Dee’s original placement of the Tables. While Leitch’s argument retains some plausibility – perhaps the cipher functions only when the letters are altered according to the Reformed Table – an examination of the specific cells targeted reveals that this is not the case: Out of 23 cells affected by the reformation, only 3 appear relevant for the cipher (see Figure 6).

Further investigating the cipher, we see that out of the 196 numbers provided, 92 did not in fact match the letters they were supposed to. Of these, 89 were off by one. Two of the errors are unclear.

The remaining one deserves special attention, as it is one of the letters changed in the Reformed Table. It is the letter “x” in the penultimate row of the OIP Table. The cipher expected the letter “p”, which was there in the Original Table. Dee appears to recognise the error as Kelley’s, since he reinstated the “p” in the rendition presented in his grimoire.²⁹ Although not noted by Dee, the other discrepancies between the two tables are likely to be of the same kind.

Clear examples of such errors can be found among the bolded letters.

• The “x” in the name of the angel Aaoxaif, separately mentioned in the diaries,³⁰ is changed to a “z”, which was not part of the cipher.
• The “a” in “npaT” is changed to an “n”, while Dee even notes explicitly the pronunciation of this name as “en pe at”.³¹
• The name Paraoan is broken, as an entire row in the MOR Table shifted one to the left. While two of the letters in that row were indeed used in the cipher, considering that more than half of the numbers were off by one, that shift is unnecessary.

There remains only one letter change in the Reformed Table that the cipher actually needed: The “c” at the beginning of the 8th row in the ORO Table has been corrected to a “t”, although since its number was also incorrect, it is possible that this too is an error. This “c” is used in the name of the 44th Part/Governor of the Earth – Nociabi. Dee noted the “ci” distinctly as a syllable, so it is pronounced as a soft “c”, like in “cipher”.³² That sound being similar to an unvoiced “th” makes it possible that a mistake occurred somewhere during transcription. Nevertheless, because the Original Table aligns with the Governor’s name, and lacking additional corroboration, it is more plausible that this amendment is erroneous.

We have demonstrated that most of these letter changes serve no apparent purpose. They do not really fix the issues with the names of the Governors, in fact they make them worse. They are likewise not needed for the cipher. Thus, the evidence supports Klein’s claim that all these alterations are merely mistakes on Kelley’s part, with one noted exception of the “a” to “y” change, confirmed by the Governor Aydropt.

The rearrangement

Since the Reformed Table is indeed riddled with errors, the question remains whether the rearrangement itself is one. In fact, Dee had previously been assured that he joined the Tables correctly.³³ It is notable, that during its revelation, the new order had been referred to multiple times: First in the diagram with the initials, then with the sigils of the Governors, and finally the new Table – all this further confirmed by the cipher. It should also be mentioned, that while all this happened in a single day, the reformation had been foreshadowed the day before by angel Ben, who told Kelley, “That [Dee’s] Tables of Enoch, were in some places falsly written”.³⁴

While Dee’s diary provides a few examples of names generated from the Tables,³⁵ those unfortunately cannot verify which arrangement should be used. Although he did include the Reformed Table in his grimoire,³⁶ it remains unclear why he never corrected the names of the angels in his invocations. Leitch states that the Original Table was the one and only used throughout the angelic actions, and nothing else had been said about its arrangement until Raphael’s revelation in 1587.³⁷ This is, however, incorrect.

In an action on 1 September 1584 (just 2 months after the Great Table was first transmitted), three angels – Ga, Za and Vaa – appeared and identified themselves as belonging to the Tables (see Figure 7).³⁸ They described themselves as follows:

1. Ga – “I am the Midst of the Third, and the last of the spirit of Life”. That is the last two letters of the middle row (previously called by the angels “Linea Spiritus Sancti” i.e. “the line of the Holy Spirit”³⁹) in the MOR Table.
2. Za – “I am the second of the Third”, i.e. the second name in the first row of the MOR Table.
3. Vaa – “I am the last of the first of the fourth”, i.e. the end of the first row of the OIP Table.

Given that they refer to the MOR table as the third and the OIP table as the fourth, it appears they were consulting the Reformed Table well before its purported delivery by Raphael in 1587. Dee himself noted this difference: “Note: the Third Table; here ment, is that of the Sowth, as Est, West, Sowth & North: Theyr placing is others.”⁴⁰ This refers to the four Tables using the directions he attributed to them previously: ORO-East, MOR-South, MPH-West, OIP-North. The order suggested here is therefore ORO, MPH, MOR, OIP, the same as the Reformed Table. Thus, Dee knew the arrangement of Tabula Recensa a whole 30 months prior to its revelation.

Keeping the above in mind, it would seem there is one more place where this arrangement seems to be referenced. That is in fact during the original transmission. The Tables were first delivered to Dee in the following order: ORO, MOR, OIP, MPH.⁴¹ However, when delivering the MOR table, Ave said, “Take the second, that is the third that was written.”⁴² This matches the language used by the angels Ga, Za and Vaa. “Third that is written” most likely indicates that the Tables were drawn left to right, top to bottom, the natural direction of writing in English. Unfortunately, the other Tables were not given similar notes. That said, since the placement of the ORO Table is stable in all configurations, the MOR Table being thus specified, we can be relatively confident that the angels had the Reformed arrangement in mind from the moment the Great Table was first transmitted.

Conclusion

Diving deep into Dee’s writings we have verified that the so-called “Reformed” arrangement had been intended from the start. We also confirmed that all the letter changes in the Tabula Recensa, bar one instance noted before, are a product of error. Thus, I present the reconstructed True Great Table (Figure 8), as the most correct version of the Great Table, until new research proves otherwise.

Cipher solution