Enochian Magic

[Philosophia]

Does anybody practice Enochian magic?
What drew you to this path?
How did you begin?
What advice would you give to beginning students of Enochian magic?

[Infinite Grey]

Me me me! John Dee kicks ass!

[Alkhemia]

1. Yes, I practice Enochian Magick.

2. It started as an outgrowth of my early participation in the Golden Dawn. (But, the GD teachings on Enochian are pretty worthless, IMHO.)

3. I began by just doing work - I started making the Watchtower tablets, I started reading the late Ben Rowe's stuff and I went to a couple of events at Lon DuQuette's house.

4. Best advice? Read the primary material - don't rely on Don Tyson or the Schueler's to spoonfeed you their amusing "ideas." Geoffrey James' book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1567183670) is good, but start with John Dee's Five Books of Mystery (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578631785/) and A True and Faithful Relation (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0766108120). Read one one the biographies of Dee (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0006552021) and his Monas Hieroglyphica (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0766147444).

[Infinite Grey]

Okie now that I don't have be some where I can answer you OP for true



Does anybody practice Enochian magic?

No I don't practice Enochian magic, though I've studied it intensely... I do not believe it's the true magic John Dee was setting out... you see, old Johnny boy was first and foremost a Mathematician... and like many occultist of his time, he was interested (or perhaps obsessed) with Cryptography. There are a few people that infer that the texts regarding Enochian magic is actually a cipher hiding a deeper meaning... that isn't to say that Enochian magic isn't a valid practice, just that there is a deeper enlightenment to be had by studying it.

Bit like it's thought that Johannes Trithemius and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa did the same thing with a lot of their works.

The meaning behind Enochian magic is still a mystery to me... (or at least, that's all I'm prepared to admit to ;) )


What drew you to this path?

Basically I found modern Occultist to be severely lacking, seemingly more concerned with making their works as ascetically pleasing as possible... often riddled with bitter agendas, or personal agendas... results of a consumer driven society... the older Occultist like John Dee had very little to gain from their studies, beyond the joy of knowledge.


How did you begin?

Why I tore the internet apart looking for any references before I invested any money into actually buy the Translations/reprints.


What advice would you give to beginning students of Enochian magic?

Keep an open and deligent mind. Leave your ego at the door.

[Infinite Grey]

oh here's a few pdf versions of the books to get you started... ok I lied... I'll give you one _wedgie_

[coeur]

1. No I don't practise it though I plan to practise it in the near-future after I complete my studies of the Goetia.

2. I'm interested in the spirit model of things and I do think that the spirit model of magic has a lot of merit that needs to be explored, especially by cocky chaos magicians like me who initially believed that it was all in your head. I was also attracted to the power of the names, which, supposedly, could cause severe harm to the magician should he/she read it or speak it aloud. The concept of 'powerful words' just interests me.

3. Basic Golden Dawn training and books on evokation. Of course, many books of various merit as well.

4. Banishing, though a pain in the arse, is often very useful.

[David19]

I'm interested in learning about Enochian magic, but can someone tell me what it's actually about, like i know it deals with angels, but does it work with them like the Goetia works with demons e.g. do you bargin/worship/plead/ask/order/etc with angels to accomplish a task for you - like getting money, sex, etc, or is it something else.

Also, i've heard that in Enochian magic, you worship the angels and that they aren't all 'nice and fluffy' like the New Age authors would have you believe, is this true (and does anyone know of or have any bad experiences with angels).

Sorry is these sound like dumb questions, but i'm curious about it.

Thanks :).

[Garm]

I stopped trying to learn the Enochian Keys, I was trying to memorize the calls, when I found my life was getting suddenly, unexpectedly incident prone, with frequent squabbles that stopped just short of fisticuffs.

I worked with the signs and sigils of John Dee's heptarchial system, an altogether mellower experience, which showed quick, quirky but unspectacular results, ie, called one of the angels to banish evil spirits, right afterwards the guy in the room next to me gets out of bed, he had a severe and ongoing issue with procrastination, and calls back a potential employer, secureing himself work for the day.

[Alkhemia]

I'll play Devil's Advocate here...



Basically I found modern Occultist to be severely lacking, seemingly more concerned with making their works as ascetically pleasing as possible... often riddled with bitter agendas, or personal agendas... results of a consumer driven society... the older Occultist like John Dee had very little to gain from their studies, beyond the joy of knowledge.

By all accounts, Dee seems to have been an hornorable guy, but I question some of the romanticism you have for 'ye olde tymes of yore.' Edward Kelley certainly had quite a bit to gain by his studies and by fabricating his 'conversations' with the angels; a) Steady employment as Dee's skryer, b) Kelley got to have sex with Dee's attractive wife, Jane (per the communicaton Kelley received from Madimi and the contract Dee, Kelley and their respective wives signed on May 3, 1587) and c) Kelley used Dee's impressive library and political connections to further his own research into alchemy. In other words, personal agendas, bitter agendas and pandering to a consumer are not simply "modern" phenomena - they are a part of human nature and, one might argue, such traits have evolutionary benefits as well. While the Llewellyn junk may strive to appeal to a lowest common denominator market, there is actually some good stuff out there that isn't "aesthetically pleasing" or pandering to those with a 6th grade reading comprehension.

:rant:

Of course, Dee did risk quite a bit for his research into magic and mysticism - having his library burnt down, dying in poverty and, despite his real scientific accomplishments, he has beome a historical footnote. Still, an argument could be made that not a whole lot has changed - despite the preponderance of New Age gobeldygook. For instance, I'm in a non-occult-related grad school program - I can assure you that it would be a career-killer for me to publish a book on magic. A friend of mine, who has a PhD. and has written some occult-related books, cannot find a job because he/she is a well-known occult writer. His/Her former PhD. advisor has complained that the University should rescind his/her doctorate because the occult works tarnish the reputation of the school. I'll agree with you; a lot of crap is being published and, frankly, the occult 'community' has no one to blame but themselves. When $ilver Ravenwolf and Don Tyson's "Necronomicrap" are the top sellers, there's just no incentive to risk reputations and put good work out there.

:/rant:

[Infinite Grey]

I'll play Devil's Advocate here...




By all accounts, Dee seems to have been an hornorable guy, but I question some of the romanticism you have for 'ye olde tymes of yore.' Edward Kelley certainly had quite a bit to gain by his studies and by fabricating his 'conversations' with the angels; a) Steady employment as Dee's skryer, b) Kelley got to have sex with Dee's attractive wife, Jane (per the communicaton Kelley received from Madimi and the contract Dee, Kelley and their respective wives signed on May 3, 1587) and c) Kelley used Dee's impressive library and political connections to further his own research into alchemy. In other words, personal agendas, bitter agendas and pandering to a consumer are not simply "modern" phenomena - they are a part of human nature and, one might argue, such traits have evolutionary benefits as well. While the Llewellyn junk may strive to appeal to a lowest common denominator market, there is actually some good stuff out there that isn't "aesthetically pleasing" or pandering to those with a 6th grade reading comprehension.


Oh I didn't say there wasn't an agenda there, but not really in the same sense as the modern occultist... though I have to admit that Kelley was a bit of a hack, but Dee wasn't... it was a tragedy that he basically lost everything... imagine what lost! For example, The Hieroglyphic Monad is largely incomplete in it's interpretation, but was held in high regard within his peers.

Though I'm sure that there may be some good modern stuff out there, I just don't care. The older stuff works well as source material for the most part, and the gaps aren't filled in with someone else's opinions.

[SilverClaw]

Does anybody practice Enochian magic?
What drew you to this path?
How did you begin?
What advice would you give to beginning students of Enochian magic?



I started learning about Enochian Magick almost 11 or so years ago. I was drawn to this path because I wanted to understand at the time what my (then) boyfriend was talking about. I found it fascinating. And at our local Metaphysics store I found the Enochian Tarot and started studying.. However due to the fact I had little ritual experience (and the Tarot book stressing that you need to make sure you know what you are doing before you begin) I put the practice part of rituals on hold and continued to read and study.

And I am still studying and due to health I am not sure if I will be doing any ritual work still any time soon.

So advice to you or any one starting out research, read and study and practice when your absolutely sure you can handle doing so.