Enochian

Enochian is a name often applied to an occult or angelic language recorded in the private journals of Dr. John Dee and his seer Edward Kelley in the late 16th century. The men claimed that it was revealed to them by angels, while some contemporary scholars of magick consider it a constructed language.

Applying the term "Enochian" to the language is a modern convention - not found in Dee's journals. Dee referred to the language as "Angelical", the "Celestial Speech", the "Language of Angels", the "First Language of God-Christ" and the "Holy Language". He sometimes referred to its alphabet as "Adamical" because (according to Dee's Angels) it was used by Adam in Paradise to name all things. Dee also recorded that the Patriarch Enoch had been the last human (before Dee and Kelley) to know the language - thus prompting later scholars to refer to the language and Dee's entire magickal system as "Enochian."

Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the evocation and commanding of various spirits. It is based on the 16th century writings of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley, who claimed that their information was delivered to them directly by an angel. They created the Enochian script, and the table of correspondences that goes with it. It claims to embrace secrets contained within the apocryphal Book of Enoch.

Dee and Kelley claim they received these instructions from an angel and wrote them down. This account is taken at face value by most occultists. However, some of them have pointed out remarkable similarities to earlier grimoiric texts such as the Heptameron known to Dee. Doubts surrounding Kelley in particular have led many non-occultists to the assumption the whole system was originally a fraud devised by Kelley in order to receive more financial support from Dee. The system claims to relate to secrets contained within the apocryphal Book of Enoch.

Compared to other theories of magic, Enochian magic is strikingly more complex and difficult to understand. Also, parts of the original manuscripts written by Dee have been lost, mainly due to a fire in his house after his death, and thusly, key parts of the system are missing. This has allowed numerous interpretations to arise, some of which have solidified into schools of thought with individual bodies of interpretative literature. Almost all schools agree, however, in that Enochian magic is a particularly powerful and dangerous form of magic.

Some practitioners hold that Enochian magic is inherently destructive to the magician. In particular, its use is forbidden for members of the Builders of the Adytum and Servants of the Light.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian_Magic