Enochian magic is a type of Renaissance magic created by John Dee and Edward Kelley. People today still use this practice. This tradition began with the recorded work of Dee and Kelley, who claimed that angels gave them the Enochian language and symbols during spiritual experiences. A key part of this practice involves calling upon and directing spiritual beings.

Dee's writings describe how he and Kelley communicated with these beings, using the detailed Enochian script and lists that connect different ideas. They believed these messages revealed knowledge from a book called Liber Logaeth, also known as the Book of Enoch.

The practice of Enochian magic by Dee and Kelley included rituals and ceremonies meant to summon angelic and other spiritual beings. These methods, carefully written in Dee's journals, aimed to use the power and wisdom of these beings for meaningful goals. This Renaissance tradition involved communication between humans and the spirit world, using the Enochian language and symbols.

Later, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn included parts of Enochian magic in its teachings. This helped revive interest in Enochian practices, making them part of larger Western mystical traditions. Some people debate how accurately these practices were adapted, showing how Enochian magic has changed over time in different cultures and periods.

Background

In the early 1580s, John Dee felt his efforts to learn about the secrets of nature were not enough. He wanted to find deeper knowledge that included both natural and human-made truths. This search became a spiritual journey. Dee wrote:

To find the knowledge he needed, Dee turned to the supernatural. He used a practice called scrying, where people known as scryers or crystal-gazers acted as links between him and angelic beings. His first attempts with different scryers did not work well. However, in 1582, he met Edward Kelley. At that time, Kelley used the name Edward Talbot because he had been convicted of forgery. Kelley’s special abilities impressed Dee greatly.

Dee asked Kelley to help him with his supernatural studies. These spiritual activities were based on strong Christian beliefs and included times of purification, prayer, and fasting. Dee believed these efforts could help people. Kelley’s work in communicating with angels led to many writings. The angels dictated several books in a language called "Angelical," now known as Enochian. Kelley’s efforts helped create Enochian magic, a system that combined mystical ideas with practical rituals during the Renaissance.

Dee called the language "Angelical." Enochian is a made-up language, claimed by its creators to have been given by angels. It was recorded in the private writings of John Dee and Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. The name "Enochian" comes from Dee’s belief that the biblical figure Enoch was the last person before Dee and Kelley to know the language.

The Enochian language in Dee’s and Kelley’s writings includes a small number of texts. Linguist Donald Laycock, an Australian skeptic, studied the Enochian journals and found no unusual features. The sounds and grammar of the language are similar to English, but translations are not enough to fully understand its structure. Some Enochian words look like words or names in the Bible, but most have no clear origin.

Several collections of Enochian words have been made to create Enochian dictionaries. A notable study is Donald Laycock’s The Complete Enochian Dictionary. Another helpful resource is Vinci’s Gmicalzoma: An Enochian Dictionary. Israel Regardie’s Enochian dictionary is reprinted in Enochian World of Aleister Crowley by Crowley, Duquette, and Hyatt.

Because Dee worked as a spy for Queen Elizabeth I’s court, some people believe his Angelic manuscripts might be secret messages. These messages are likely complex ciphers meant to hide political information.

Manuscript sources

Enochian magic began with manuscripts written by John Dee and Edward Kelley, especially the Five Books of Mystery and Liber Logaeth. These books are important starting points that include the complex language, symbols, and rituals used in Enochian magic.

Many scholars and practitioners have studied and shared these texts over time. People like Thomas Rudd, Elias Ashmole, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, William Wynn Westcott, Aleister Crowley, and Israel Regardie have helped preserve and explain the texts. They wrote commentaries, adapted the material, and shared new ideas that expanded understanding of Enochian magic.

The Five Books of Mystery are recorded in a manuscript called Sloane MS 3188. This document acts as a diary that covers events from December 22, 1581, to May 23, 1583. It includes the first five books of mystery and an appendix, ending where Casaubon’s A True and Faithful Relation begins. Today, two copies of this manuscript exist: one by Joseph Peterson and another by C. L. Whitby. The Five Books of Mystery serve as a complete guide to Enochian magic, covering language, symbols, rituals, and practical methods. The five books are:

• Primus: The Magick of Enoch introduces the celestial language called Angelical, which is the base of Enochian magic. It shows the basic Enochian alphabets and explains how to use Angelic Keys to communicate with angels. This book sets the foundation for Enochian magic.
• Secundus: The Mystical Heptarchy explores the Angelical language further, revealing the Great Table—a key arrangement of letters and symbols used in Enochian magic. It introduces the Thirty Æthyrs, which are metaphysical planes that help practitioners connect with angels. This book expands the framework for working with celestial hierarchies.
• Tertius: The Forty-Eight Angelic Keys focuses on the design and symbolism of temples. It explains how sacred geometry and symbols are used in spiritual transformation. This book helps practitioners understand how temples can be used to connect with higher realms.
• Quartus: Earthly Knowledge, Aid & Victory discusses the symbolism of Elemental Tablets and Watchtowers. It connects classical elements and natural forces to Enochian magic, helping practitioners understand the relationship between the mystical and natural worlds.
• Quintus: The Angels of the Four Quarters provides practical rituals and ceremonies based on Angelical language and symbols. It bridges the gap between theory and practice in Enochian magic.

Liber Logaeth (also called Liber Mysteriorum, Sextus et Sanctus or The Book of Enoch) is mostly preserved in the British Library, particularly in Sloane MS 3189. Parts of Sloane MS 3188 and Cotton MS Appendix I also include sections of the book. Edward Kelley wrote the text, which has 73 pages (18 from Sloane MS 3188, 54 from Sloane MS 3189, and 1 from Cotton MS Appendix I). The book contains 96 complex letter grids, including 94 grids of 49×49 letters, one grid of 49 rows of text, and one grid of 40 rows of text and 9 rows of 49 letters. The last page of Cotton MS Appendix I has 21 words with 112 letters, which can be rearranged into five 3×7 tables.

Dee and Kelley used Liber Logaeth to create the 48 Calls or Keys. The book also contains the keys to the Mystical Heptarchy, another work by Dee. Dee described the book as containing information about creation, the age of the world, and the end of the world. The title The Book of Enoch should not be confused with the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which was lost in Dee’s time.

Another manuscript, Sloane MS 3191, includes the 48 Angelic Keys, The Book of Earthly Science, Aid and Victory, On the Mystic Heptarchy, and Invocations of the Good Angels.

Two other manuscripts from Dee and Kelley’s work relate to Enochian magic:

• Cotton MS Appendix XLVI Part I is a diary from May 28, 1583, to August 15, 1584. It includes The Sixth (and Sacred) Parallel Book of the Mysteries and The Seventh Book of the Mysteries (Kraków). It describes the arrival of Prince Adalbert Laski, the journey to Kraków, the 48 Calls or Keys, the Vision of the Four Watchtowers, and the Great Table.
• Cotton MS Appendix XLVI Part II is a diary from August 15, 1584, to May 23, 1587, and March 20 to September 7, 1607. It includes The Book of Praha, The Royal Stephanic Mysteries, The Puccian Action, The Book of Resurrection, The Third Action of Trebon, and other spirit actions at Mortlake in 1607.

Meric Casaubon’s 1659 edition of parts of these diaries, called A True & Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Yeers between John Dee and Some Spirits, contains errors that were later copied in other publications. Casaubon wrote the book to criticize Dee and Kelley for working with the Christian Devil. A more complete version of Casaubon’s work was published in 1992 by Magickal Childe.

Dee and Kelley’s

The system

The Enochian magical system is an organized system described in Aleister Crowley's book Liber Chanokh. Key parts include the Elemental Tablets (such as the "Tablet of Union"), the Angelical Keys, the Great Table (which combines the four Elemental Tablets and the Tablet of Union), and specific items used in rituals. These parts help people who study Enochian magic explore spiritual ideas. The Angelical Keys are used to connect with spiritual realms, and the Great Table represents the universe. A special room is set up with tools needed for magical practice.

Enochian magic uses symbols and spiritual ideas, focusing on the Elemental Tablets and related parts. The main part of the system is the Great Table, which includes four Elemental Tablets that symbolize the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water. These tablets are believed to be home to spiritual beings.

Inside the Great Table, there is a spiritual order. This includes the Three Holy Names, which are powerful divine symbols, and a Great Elemental King who rules each tablet. Supporting these are the Six Seniors (or Elders), a group of 24 figures similar to the Twenty-Four Elders in the biblical Book of Revelation. Also present are two Divine Names linked to the Calvary Cross: Kerubim, which are angel-like beings connected to zodiac signs, and Sixteen Lesser Angels, each with unique roles.

The Elemental Tablets are divided into four sections. Each section contains names of archangels and angels who oversee different parts of the world, helping to fill the universe with spiritual beings.

At the center of each Elemental Tablet is the Great Central Cross. This cross has two vertical lines called Linea Patris and Linea Filii, and a horizontal line called Linea Spiritus Sancti. The meaning of the Great Central Cross may vary depending on how it is interpreted.

The Tablet of Union, also called the Black Cross, completes the representation of the five classical elements. It is a grid of 20 squares taken from the Great Central Cross and represents the element of Spirit.

The Thirty Aethyrs are an important part of the system. They are spiritual levels or realms that practitioners move through, starting from the lowest (TEX) to the highest (LIL). Magicians write down their experiences in each Aethyr to track their progress.

Each Aethyr has three spiritual leaders called "Governors," except for TEX, which has four. In total, there are 91 Governors. These Governors are spiritual beings linked to the Aethyrs and are believed to have great knowledge and power.

Each Governor has a unique symbol called a sigil. These symbols are drawn on the Great Tablet, a key tool in Enochian magic. By tracing the sigils, magicians connect with the Governors and the energy of each Aethyr.

The Angelical Keys, also called the Calls or Enochian Keys, are important in Enochian magic. These are written messages in the Enochian language that help open paths to spiritual realms. These realms may include elemental areas, sub-elemental areas, or the Thirty Aethyrs, depending on which key is used.

There are 19 Angelical Keys. The first 18 are used to open gates to elemental and sub-elemental realms, which are often shown on the Great Tablet. The 19th key is used to open gates to the Thirty Aethyrs. The Aethyrs are imagined as layers of rings, with each one offering unique spiritual experiences. Exploring them is seen as a journey through different levels of spiritual understanding.

Tools needed for Enochian magic include:

• The Holy Table: A table with a Hexagram engraved on top, surrounded by Enochian letters, and a central area with 12 Enochian letters. This table is not used for calling Elemental or Aethyrical spirits.
• The Seven Planetary Talismans: These are engraved on tin and placed on the Holy Table. They include names from the Goetia, a book related to magic. These talismans are not used to call spirits.
• The Sigillum dei Aemeth, also called the Holy Sevenfold Table or "Seal of God's Truth": This symbol comes from a book called Liber Juratus. Five versions are made from beeswax and placed around the Holy Table. One large version supports a crystal used for scrying, a practice where magicians look into objects like mirrors or crystals to see spiritual visions.
• A magician's ring engraved with the formula PVELLE.
• A magic rod called "el," painted with three sections: black at the ends and red in the middle.

Adaptation by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Little else happened with Dee's work until the late 1800s, when a group of experts in England included it in their studies.

In the 1880s, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn rediscovered Dee and Kelley's writings. He used these materials to create a detailed system of ceremonial magic. Magicians called on Enochian gods whose names were written on the tablets. They also imagined themselves traveling in glowing forms to spiritual realms and recorded their mental experiences. The two main parts of this system were later added to the Adeptus Minor training program of the Golden Dawn. Aleister Crowley said that a magician begins with the 30th aethyr and works upward to the first, exploring only as far as their level of training allows.

According to Chris Zalewski's 1994 book, the Golden Dawn also created a game called Enochian chess. In this game, parts of the Enochian Tablets were used for divination. Players used four chessboards with colored squares but no symbols, and each board was linked to one of the four elements in magic.

Florence Farr started the Sphere Group, which also explored Enochian magic.

Paul Foster Case (1884–1954), an occultist who began his magical journey with the Alpha et Omega, criticized the Enochian system. He believed the system from Dee and Kelley was incomplete, based on an earlier, full Qabalistic system, and lacked enough protection methods. Case claimed he saw physical harm to some Enochian practitioners due to these missing protections. When Case founded his own magical group, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), he removed the Enochian system and replaced it with elemental tablets based on Qabalistic formulas given to him by Master R.

In popular culture

H.P. Lovecraft, a famous horror writer, wrote a short story called "The History of the Necronomicon" in 1927. It was published in 1938, after his death. In this story, Lovecraft made John Dee the translator of one version of his mythical book about forbidden knowledge, The Necronomicon. This is an example of Lovecraft's use of a method called "pseudo-authenticity," where he made things seem real. Much has been written about connecting John Dee and Enochian magic to The Necronomicon. This imaginative link was first suggested by Lovecraft's friend, Frank Belknap Long.