THE ENOCHIAN RECORDS

During the occultists’ sessions, Dee would direct prayers to the archangels and to the Creator, for almost an hour. Then a scrying stone would be placed on a table and the angels were called to appear therein. Then Kelley would dictate to his partner everything he saw and heard; Dee was also responsible for jotting down the sessions. The latter kept the magickal records concealed in a cedar chest of his. After his death, the chest was passed through several buyers and the hidden manuscripts were not discovered until 1662 and they found their way into the British Library. However they had been partly destroyed by a clumsy maid.

Dee and Kelley’s work divides into three periods separated by months in which nothing of particular value was received. Only the material from the third period may be labeled ‘Enochian’.

1) Period one: The Heptarchia Mystica

This is a moderately complex planetary magick that was given in 1582.
It contains descriptions of necessary tools, as well as an angelic hierarchy of the 49 Good Angels, namely the Princes, the Kings and their ministers.

The tools or equipment: Ring, Lamen, and Holy Table.
The angels gave Dee a ring they designed for him, and told him it was the same one King Solomon had used to control demons.

The letters PELE are Latin for “he will work wonders”.
The occultists were also given two different lamens. The first lamen was composed of free-form lines and bizarrely placed letters. The being giving it instructed it was to be made in gold and worn continuously for purpose of protection. Later, Dee and Kelley were told that this was a false lamen given by a malicious spirit. Instead, the angels gave them a 12-by-7 table formed from the names of the Heptarchic Kings and Princes; the new lamen consisted entirely of letters taken from this table and arranged in rectilinear patterns. The purpose of that lamen was only to show the magician’s worthiness to perform the Heptarchic magick.

The Holy Table of Practice or Table of Covenant was the main key in the Heptarchic magick. Its was the instrument on which the scrying stone was placed. As with the lamen, the first version of the table was later said to be false, and a new design provided.
The table was to be 40 inches square and 40 inches high. The legs rested upon empty containers, under which small copies of the Sigil of Ameth (more below) were placed. It had a one-inch border, in which letters were drawn. Inside the border a Star of David (hexagram or 7-pointed star) was drawn, and in the center of the star a little square divided into a 3-by-4 grid, containing more letters. On top of the table were placed seven planetary talismans, called the Ensigns of Creation (more below). In the center, a large version of the Sigil of Ameth. When in use, the table, Sigil, and talismans were covered with a red silk cloth. The scrying-stone was then placed directly over the Sigil.

>Naturally, the letters around the edge of the table and in the central grid are taken from the 12-by-7 table used to form the lamen. They are intended to consecrate the table to the Heptarchic magick, and NOT to be used in rituals as many people later assumed.

The Sigil of Ameth or Sigillum Dei is a large wax disk, on which are inscribed various names of God and angels. This sigil was placed in the center of the Holy Table, underneath the scrying-stone. Smaller versions were placed underneath the cup-like ends of the table’s legs, to protect the table from earthly energies. When one first reads the names on the Sigil one doesn’t immediately recognize the beings mentioned; in fact, the names are derived from two sets of familiar angelic names.

The Ensigns of Creation were provided to our occultists in the form of 7complex talismans engraved on plates of purified tin, and spread on the surface of the holy table. As an alternative to the plates, the angels allowed that they could be painted directly on the table. Although the angels later specified that the letters on the ensigns should be converted into the Enochian alphabet, this was apparently never done. Each ensign was associated with a specific Heptarchic King, and thus with a specific planet and day of the week.

Who were the 49 ‘Good’ Angels?

After having presented the Ensigns, the archangel Michael introduced the 49 angels by saying:

“Now you touch the world, and the doings upon the earth. Now we show you the lower world: The Governors that work and rule under God.”

Dee and Kelley were presented with seven 7-by-7 tables, each square of which contained a letter and a number from 1 to 49. By gathering the letters with the same number in a specific sequence, the names of the angels were produced. The list of names was divided into groups of seven, with a King and a Prince heading each group; they were arranged by Dee into a circular table called the Tabula Bonorum.
Each of the seven tables was associated with power over a particular aspect of existence.

The powers ascribed to each table or letter are:
• Wit and wisdom
• The exaltation and government of Princes
• Prevailing in counsel, and over the nobility
• The gain and trade of merchandise. (Later changed to Water by Dee, for no clear reason.)
• The qualities of Earth, and of Water
• Knowledge of the Air and those that move in it
• The government of fire.

The Kings, Princes, and their ministers:

The powers of the Princes are presented first, followed by their sigils. Next the Heptarchic Kings appear, describing their powers, and each presents their 42 ministers. The ministers in turn present their names, in two forms: a table of six rows and seven columns, each containing a letter; and a talisman with their inscribed names. The 42 ministers assigned to each King are divided into six groups whose members have names formed from the same letters. Each group rules a four-hour section of the day, beginning at midnight.