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What is Enochian Magick

by: Gerald and Betty Schueler

Enochian Magick is a special branch of magick that was begun in modern times by Dr. John Dee, court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, and his psychic partner, Edward Kelly. Dee and Kelly discovered an ancient language they called the Angelic, or Enochian, Language. The alphabet of this archaic language has 21 letters. It has its own grammar and syntax, but only a small sample of it has ever been translated into English. Dee and Kelly were directed by Angels to produce several tablets containing squares, with a letter in each square. Kelly would gaze into a crystal where he could see Angels, and communicate with them. Dee would record the conversations between Kelly and the crystal shrewstone Angels. Together, they produced many curious tablets. Five of these are especially important—the Four Watchtower Tablets and the Tablet of Union. Each square on these tablets represents a region in the subtle, invisible worlds that surround the Earth. Each tablet represents a map of one of the five Cosmic Planes of Manifestation. These planes exist in the regions between the divine plane of God, and the matter of our gross physical plane. In addition, a person’s body is made of the elemental substance of each plane. The planes interpenetrate each other and are named after the five known cosmic elements : Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Spirit. Each tablet corresponds with a color, a direction, and a cosmic plane and subtle body as shown below.

Watchtower of Earth - black - North - etheric
Watchtower of Water - blue - West - astral
Watchtower of Air - yellow - East - mental
Watchtower of Fire - red - South - causal
Tablet of Union white ----- spiritual

In addition to the Watchtower Tablets and the Tablet of Union, 30 special regions, called the Aires, or Aethyrs, were also investigated. They range in serial order, from the most material to the most spiritual, and are complementary to the Watchtowers. The Watchtowers and Aethyrs of Enochian Magick have striking similarities with the Sephiroth and paths of the Tree of Life as taught in Qabalistic Magick. Enochian Magick is a comprehensive system of magick. Besides the basic system there is Enochian Tarot. Enochian Tarot is a new system of divination using the deities and locations of Enochian Magick. Like the traditional Tarot system, it can also be used for meditation.

The basic teachings relating to Enochian Magick and the Angelic language, as revealed by Dee and Kelly, were taken up at the end of the last century by a secret occult group known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn . The Golden Dawn used the mysterious tablets and language in their rituals and magickal ceremonies. They amplified Enochian Magick by creating what are known as the signposts of the squares. Just as a good map points out the major sites of an unknown area for a traveler to prevent him or her from getting lost, so do the signposts predict the general atmosphere, the names of the local deities, and so on, for each of the Watchtower Squares. Two of the methods used by the Golden Dawn to visit these regions were skrying and traveling in the Spirit Vision. Skrying was the method used by Kelly to discover the Tablets. It involved gazing into a crystal, or similar material, and recording whatever visions were seen—or voices heard. The Spirit Vision method is similar to what is known today as astral traveling—a consciously directed out-of-body experience.

The primary goal of Enochian Magick is the attainment of knowledge and power. This is accomplished by visiting the subtle regions of the Cosmic Planes of Manifestation and conversing with the inhabitants and rulers of the regions. The knowledge and power gained should give the magician a better understanding of humankind and the universe. According to Enochian Magick, we do not have to be slaves to the forces of cosmic justice (karma) that always seem to control our lives. Through Enochian Magick, people can consciously direct their lives and even destinies.