Planetary Attributions to the Elements
and the Pentagram in Enochian Magick

by David Jones

The following system of attributions, with their preliminary justifications, was first suggested to me by Michael Sanborn, http://www.ecsd.com/~msanborn. The subsequent elaborations are my own, and any flaws therein are wholly my own responsibility.

I. THE PLANETS AND THE PENTAGRAM.

The problem of how to attribute the planets to the points of the pentagram, and thereby to the five elements used in magick, is one of the most perplexing in the occult sciences. Using the structures of the Enochian system, this question can be resolved with elegance and utility.

The pentagram as a geometric form only appears in the spirit actions of Dee and Kelly in relation to the Sigillum Dei Aemeth. It is described and attributed by the angel Uriel in Mysteriorum Liber Secundus. ⁽¹⁾

URIEL: "The next five names thou shalt dispose in the five exterior angles of the Pentacle: every angle containing one whole name.

Set the first letters of these 5 names, (in Capital letters) within the five acute internal angles of the Pentacle: and the rest of each name following Circularly from his Capital letter, but in the 5 exterior obtuse angles of the Pentacle.

Set Z of Zedekieil within the angle which standeth up toward the beginning of the greatest Circle. And so proceed toward thy right hand." ⁽²⁾

The angels thus assigned are: Zedekieil, Madimiel, Semeliel, Nogahel and Corabiel. ⁽³⁾ This can be seen in the form of the Sigillum itself. ⁽⁴⁾ These are the angels of the planetary spheres, as Uriel states:

URIEL: "These Angels are the angels of the 7 Circles of Heaven, Governing the lights of the 7 Circles."

Therefore, by taking the planetary attributes of these angels, and applying their symbolic properties to the points of the pentagram, ascribed to the corresponding angels, planetary properties can be assigned to the the positions of the pentagram. The relationship which is thereby derived is as follows, going clockwise from the top:

Jupiter = Topmost point
Mars = Upper right point
Sun = Lower right point
Venus = Lower left point
Mercury = Upper left point.

Notes:

1. Sloane MS. 3188. the action for March 21, 1582 (Julian)
   
   
2. I have modernized the spelling throughout, sorry C.H.
   
   
3. These deviate from the Hebrew Cabalistic equivalents in some matters of detail. I am inclined to accept those delivered to Dee and Kelly on etymological and mytho/symbolic grounds. An argument for the more traditional view can be found on pg. 91 et passim of vol. 10 in Israel Regardie. THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN SYSTEM OF MAGIC. Phoenix AZ: Falcon, 1984. Compare also the Hebrew names of the planets pg. 65 Regardie. THE GOLDEN DAWN. St. Paul MN: Llewellyn, 1989.
   
   
4. Vide pg. 28 Geoffrey James. THE ENOCHIAN EVOCATION OF DR. JOHN DEE. Gillette NJ: Heptangle, 1983. and in places elsewhere too numerous to cite.

II. THE ELEMENTS AND THE PENTAGRAM

In the Golden Dawn and related systems of magick, A∴A∴, O.T.O., A.S. ⁽¹⁾ and B.O.T.A. ⁽²⁾, the elemental properties are attributed to the points of the pentagram as follows ⁽³⁾:

Spirit = Topmost point
Air = Upper left
Water = Upper right
Earth = Lower left
Fire = Lower right.

The relative positions given to the lower or terrestrial elements, below the spirit, on the pentagram is identical to the locations assigned to them on 'The Great Table as reformed by Raphael' received by Dee and Kelly. ⁽⁴⁾ The Golden Dawn attributions were probably established from these, out of sympathy, and in order to facilitate their own second order rituals and magikal formulae. This assumption is nowhere specifically stated, but has been alluded to in the more recent recensions of the Golden Dawn material. ⁽⁵⁾ It provides the premise for the rulership of the Tablet of Union attributed to spirit, over the four Watchtowers attributed to the lesser elements, which is practiced in the Golden Dawn method of Enochian magick.

Given the two sets of attributions to the pentagram, both within the framework of the Enochian system, the hypothetical relationship between them, as set forth below, is posited.

Spirit = Topmost point =Jupiter
Air = Upper left = Mercury
Water = Upper right = Mars
Earth = Lower left = Venus
Fire = Lower right = Sun

What remains to be demonstrated is a sympathetic correlation of the planetary attributes with the corresponding elemental properties.

Notes:

1. The Aurum Solis retains the attribution of the elements to the pentagram, yet their mechanics for the banishing and invocation of these forces differs somewhat from orthodox Golden Dawn practice. Vide pp. 43-45. Melita Denning & Osborne Phillips. MYSTERIA MAGICA VOL. 3: THE MAGICAL PHILOSOPHY. St. Paul MN: Llewellyn, 1992.
   
   
2. The Builders Of The Adytum retain the lower order Golden Dawn elemental formulae intact, yet their dogma denies the entire validity of the Enochian system, as evil and false. I have no idea upon what authority they support their attribution of the elements to the pentagram.
   
   
3. Vide 777 columns LV. and LXX. pp. 16-17, Aleister Crowley. 777 AND OTHER QABALISTIC WRITINGS. York Beach ME: Weiser, 1977. also vide supra THE GOLDEN DAWN pp. 280-281, 506-507.
   
   
4. The attribution of the elements to the Tables, Watchtowers and Keys with their corresponding colors and directions, in the original system of Enochian magick is a complex issue. But a consistent structure can be extracted, with difficulty, from the complexities of the material delivered to Dee and Kelly and recorded in Meric Casaubon's A TRUE & FAITHFUL RELATION . . . New York: Magickal Childe, 1992. So far, I don't believe that any such system has yet been published.
   
   
5. Vide supra THE GOLDEN DAWN note pg. 210, and THE COMPLETE G.D. SYSTEM . . . vol. 4. pg. 14.
   

Next, chapter III. The Elements and the Planets, part 1. The Jovial Spirit. (Al's note: This file is missing...)