Serialized Standard Edition of the Magical Manuscripts of John Dee, by Brother David

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In this issue of the Thelema Lodge Calendar we begin a transcription of John Dee's spiritual diaries. Our serialization begins with Elias Ashmole's preface to Doctor Dee's Five Books of Mystery (Doctoris Dee Mysteriorum Libri Quinti), comparing the texts of Slane Manuscripts 3188 and 3677. Though this particular passage is already avaiable in several modern editions, we include it here as a general introduction, and in order to preserve the continuity of our project.

In preparing this text we have expanded most abbreviations, noting the first instance of each. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been left intact. References to manuscripts in the Sloane collection are designated "SL," with all textual variations noted. Ashmole's annotation is given in the left hand column, with our commentary upon his notes following. Our own editorial annotation is placed opposite, on the right hand, and standard abbreviation has been used. Textual variations are noted all together, following the text.

It is our intention over the course of time to provide a completely standardized edition of the magical manuscripts of John De, that serious practitioners and interested students of Enochian Magick may have a reliable guide in their work.

 

	1.		Be it remembered, That the 20th: of August
	2.		1672. I received by the hands of my Servant
	3.		Samuell Story, a parcell of Doctor Dee's
	4.		Manuscripts, all written with his owne hand;
	5.		vizt:1 his Conference with Angells, which first		1. 2.		L. abbr. 'videlicet' namely L. = in the year
	6.		began the 22d: of December anno2 1581. And
	7.		continued to the end of May anno 1583, where the
	8.		printed Booke of the remaining Conferences		3. 4.		Meric Casaubon, ed., A True & Faithful Relation (London: 1659) the volume now catalogued as Sl. 3188
	9.		(published by Doctor Cawsabon3) begins, and are
	10.		bound up in this Volume.4
	11.		Beside these, the Booke intituled, the 48
	12.		Claves Angelicae5, also Liber Scientia		5. 6.		L. = The Forty-Eight Angelic Keys L. = The Book of Earthly Science: Aid and Victory
	13.		Terrestris -- Auxilij et Victoria6 (These two
	14.		being those very individuall Bookes, which the
i.   10 Aprila 1586  ii.   30. April 1586	15.		Angells commanded to bei burnt, and were afterii
	16.		restored by them as appeares by the printed
a. 'April abbr. 'Apr:' Sl.3188;      abbr. 'Ap:' Sl. 3677.	17.		Relation of Doctor Dee's Actions with Spirits7		7.		Casaubon. op. cit.
	18.		pages 418. & 419.) The Booke intituled De
	19.		Heptarchia Mystica -- Collectaneorum Liber		8. 9. 10. 11.		L. = A Collection con- cerning the Mystic Seven-fold Doctrine: First Book: cf Turner, ed., The Heptarchia Mystica (1986) cf. James, ed., The Enochian Evocation (1984) the volume now catalogued as Sl. 3191 i.e. days
	20.		primus,8 and a Booke of Invocations or Calls,
	21.		beginning with the Squares filled with Letters,
iii. of both which      there are Trans-      cripteb made with      my owne hand      E.A.c	22.		about the Black Cross. These foure Bookes9 I
	23.		have bound up in anotheriii volume.10
	24.		All which, were a few daies11 before
	25.		delivered to my said Servant, for my perusall (I
b. catalogued as      Sl. 3678. c. this note given in      Sl. 3677 only.	26.		being then at Mr: William Lillies house at
	27.		Hersham in Surrey) by my good friend Mr: Thomas
	28.		Wale, one of him Majesties Warders in the Tower
	29.		of London.
	30.		The 5th: of September following Mr: Wale
	31.		(having heard of my retourne to Towne) came to my
	32.		Office in the Excise Office in Broadstreete, and
	33.		told me he was content to exchange all the
	34.		aforesaid Books, for one of myne, vizt: The
	35.		Institution Lawes & Ceremonies of the most Noble
	36.		Order of the Garter,12 to this I agreed, and		12.		published London: 1672
	37.		provided one, which I sent him fairely bound, and
	38.		gilt on the Back.
iv. As a further tes-      timony of the sense      of Mr: Wales      kindnes; shortly      after his death, I      sent for his Son,      and bestowed on      him one of my      deputies places in      the Excise, withd      an allowance of      80: L pere Annum.f	39.		On the 10th: of the said September Mr: Waleiv
	40.		came thither to me againe, and brought his wife
	41.		with him, from her I received the following
	42.		account of the preservation of these Bookes, even
	43.		till they came to my hands, vzit: That her former
	44.		Husband was one Mr: Jones a Confectioner, who
	45.		formerly Dwelt at the Plow in Lumbardstreet
	46.		London, and who, shortly after they were married,
d. 'with'] abbr. 'wth'      both MSS. e. 'per'] abbr. ;p'      both MSS. f. L. = each year.	47.		tooke her with him into Adle Streete among the
	48.		Joyners,13 to buy soem Houshold stuff, where		13.		i.e. furniture crafts- men: lit. joiners of wood
	49.		(at the Corner house) they saw a Chest of Cedar
	50.		wood about a yard and an halfe long, whose Lock
	51.		and Hinges, being of extraordinary neate worke,
	52.		invited them to buy it. The Master of the shop
	53.		told them it had been parcell of the Goods of one
	54.		Mr: John Woodall Chirurgeon14 (father to Mr:		14.		i.e. surgeon
	55.		Thomas Woodall late Serjant Chirurgeon to his now
	56.		Majestie King Charles the Second (my intimate
	57.		friend) and tis very probable he bought it after
	58.		Doctor Dee's death, when his goods were exposed
	59.		to Sales.
	60.		Twenty yeares after this (and about 4 yeares
	61.		before the fatall Fire of London) she and her
	62.		good husband occasionally removing this Chest out
	63.		of its usuall place, thought they heard some
	64.		loose thing ratle in it, toward the right hand
	65.		end, under the Box or Till thereof, and by
	66.		shaking it, were fully satisfied it was so:
	67.		Hereupon her Husband thrust a peece of Iron into
	68.		a small Crevice at the bottome of the Chest, and
	69.		thereupon appeared a private drawer, which being
	70.		drawne out, therein were found divers Bookes in
	71.		Manuscrpt, and Papers, together with a litle
	72.		Box, and therein a Chaplet of Olive Beades, and a
	73.		Cross of the same wood, hanging at the end of
	74.		them.
	75.		They made no great matter of these Bookes,
	76.		etc. because they understood them not; which
	77.		occasioned their Servant Maide to wast about one
	78.		halfe of them under Pyes, and other like uses,
	79.		which when discovered, they kept the rest more
	80.		safe.
	81.		About two yeares after the discovery of these
	82.		Bookes, Mr. Jones died; and when the fire of
	83.		London hapned, thought the Chest perished in the
	84.		Flames, because not easily to be removed, yet the
	85.		Bookes were taken out and carried with the rest
	86.		of Mrs: Jones her goods into Moorefields, and
	87.		being brought safely back, she took care to
	88.		preserve them; and after marrying with the
	89.		aforesaid Mr: Wale, he came to the knowledge of
	90.		them, and there upon, with her concent, sent them
	91.		to me, as I have before set downe.
			E.Ashmole/

 

Textual Variants   The following notes record all variations of any significance between our text and the two manuscripts from which it has been edited (Sloane 3188 and Sloane 3677). Notes are keyed to line numbers in the text where the contested readings occur, with the adopted reading given first, and the variations listed afterward.

 

2.		'by' Sl. 3188 ] var. 'from' Sl. 3677.		31.		'5th: ] abbr. '5t:' Sl. 3188: 'fift' Sl. 3677.
3.		'Doctor' ] abbr. 'Dr.:' both MSS.		31.		'September' ] abbr. 'Sept:' both MSS.
5.		'which' ] abbr. 'wch' both MSS.		39.		'said' Sl. 3677 ] abbr. 's:d' Sl. 3188.
6.		'22d:' Sl. 3677 ] var. '22th' Sl. 3188.		45.		'Lumbardstreet' Sl. 3188 ]
6.		'December' ] abbr. 'Dec:' Sl. 3188;				var. 'Lumbardstreete' Sl. 3677.
		abbr. 'Decemb:' Sl. 3677		47.		'Adle Streete' SL. 3188 ]
6.		'anno' ] abbr. 'ano:' both MSS.				Adel=Streete' SL. 3677.
6.		'and' ] abbr. &' both MSS.		50.		'Yard and a halfe' Sl. 3677 ]
11.		'intituled' Sl. 3188 ]				var. 'yard and halfe' Sl. 3188.
		cap. var. 'Intituled' Sl. 3677;		51.		'Hinges' Sl. 31888 ]
		an interesting var. considering				var. "hindges' Sl. 3188.
		E.A.'s interest in "Titles,"		55.		'Thomas' Sl. 3677 ] abbr. 'Tho:' Sl. 3188.
		cf. his Noble Order of the Garter (1672)		56.		'Second' Sl. 3677 ] abbr. '2d:' Sl. 3188.
13.		'et' ] abbr. '&' both MSS.		59.		'Sales' Sl. 3188 ] var. 'sales' Sl. 3677.
18.		'pages'] abbr. 'pag:' both MSS.		61.		'She and her good husband' ] abbr. 'she &
19.		'Liber' ] abbr. Lib: both MSS.				her gd husband' Sl. 3188; var. 'her
22.		'filled' Sl. 3188 ] var. 'filed' Sl. 3677.				husband & she' Sl. 3677.
23.		'foure' Sl. 3677 ] abbr. '4' Sl. 3188.		67.		'peece' Sl. 3188 ] var. 'piece' Sl. 3677.
28.		'Surrey' Sl. 3188 ] var. 'Surry' Sl. 3677.		76.		'etc.' ] abbr. '&c:' both MSS.
29.		'Majesties' ] abbr. 'Ma:ties' both MSS.		83.		'aforesaid' Sl. 3677 ] abbr. 'foes d' Sl. 3188.

 

Afterword

Further biographical information regarding Elias Ashmole, the various persons and events mentioned above, and the circumstances of his interest in John Dee, may be found in C. H. Josten's five volume work noted below. These bibliographic references are by no means exhaustive, and are concerned only with the specific content of the previous document.

 

Manuscripts:

Sloane MS. 3188. Dr. Dee's Mysteriorum Libri V; five books and an appendix containing his earliest extant experiments in what was to become the system of Enochian Magick.

Sloane MS. 3191. The four books refered to in paragraph two of Ashmole's preface, being Dee's grimoire and instruction manual for the practice of Enochian Magick.

Sloane MS. 3677. Ashmole's transcription of the material designated above as Sl. 3188.

Sloane MS 3678. Ashmole's transcripton of Sl. 3191.

(Note that all manuscripts in the Sloane collection are held in the British Library.)

 

Published Works:

Elias Ashmole. The Institution Laws & Ceremonies of the most Noble Order of the Garter (London: 1672; fascimile reprinted Baltimore: Genealogical Publ. 1971).

Meric Casaubon, D. D., A True & Faithful Relation of What Passed for many Yeers Between Dr. John Dee ... and some spirits (London: 1659; facsimile reprinted Glasgow: Antonine Publ., 1974).

Geoffrey James, ed. & trans., The Enochian Evocation of Dr. John Dee (Gillette, NJ: Heptangle Books, 1984). Contains a translation of Sl. 3191, as well as extracts from Ashmole's preface, pp. 192-3.

C. H. Josten, ed., Elias Ashmole (1617-1692): His Autobiographical and Historical Notes, His Correspondence, and Other Contemporary Sources Relating to his Life and Work, 5 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966). A wealth of interesting and useful information; pp. 1265-7 contain a version of Ashmole's preface.

Robert Turner, ed., The Heptarchia Mystica of John Dee (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press, 1986). Contains the text and translation of the book refered to in note 8, as well as extracts from Sl. 3188 and a version of Ashmole's preface (pp. 18-19).

 

Acknowledgements:

We would like to thank the following individuals in particular for making this project possible. First, Ms. Christina Daves, for her support and for her time and effort in researching the life and works of Elias Ashmole. Also, Brother Bill Heidrick, for the use of his microfilm copies of the manuscript materials for transcription. And Brothers Equus and Vandemere, for inspiration and encouragement in the work. Lastly, the fellows of the Center for Enochian Studies at Thelema Lodge: Brothers Leoviridis, Adam Weishaupt, and Nick Guliaeff, for the work involved in preparing the text.

Interested persons may obtain an unbound photocopy reproduction of the manuscript versions of this text, and pertinent ancillary materials from the CENTER FOR ENOCHIAN STUDIES at Thelema Lodge, for the sum of $3. (Please make checks payable to "cash.")
    {Note to web edition: this offer is no longer in effect. Here for historical reasons only.}

Next month, John Dee's own introduction to his spiritual diaries.