Tarot Fellow
Mysteriorum Libri Quinque — John Dee's Five Books of Mysteries
- Regular price
-
$90.00 - Regular price
-
- Sale price
-
$90.00
-
Hurry, only 5 items left in stock!
Couldn't load pickup availability
Details
Mysteriorum Libri Quinque — Dr. John Dee’s Five Books of Mysteries, the essential grimoire of Enochian angelic magic transcribed from Dee’s crystal-scrying sessions with Edward Kelley in the 16th century. A cornerstone text for advanced practitioners working with Golden Dawn ceremonial magic, Enochian systems, and Elizabethan occultism.
Description:Quick Specs
- Author: Dr. John Dee; edited by Joseph Peterson
- Publisher: Weiser Ankh (Red Wheel/Weiser), deluxe hardcover edition
- Pages: Approximately 400
- Best for: Enochian magic study, Elizabethan occult history, ceremonial magic, advanced grimoire research
John Dee and the Five Books of Mysteries
Dr. John Dee (1527-1608) was one of the most accomplished scholars of the Elizabethan era, serving as advisor to Queen Elizabeth I while simultaneously pursuing his life's great obsession: establishing direct communication with angelic intelligences. Between 1581 and 1583, Dee and his scryer Edward Kelley conducted a series of extraordinary ritual sessions, recording in obsessive detail a system of angelic language, symbols, and practice later called Enochian magic. The manuscripts from those sessions were hidden in a wooden chest after Dee's death and were only discovered a few years before the Great Fire of London in 1666.
The Mysteriorum Libri Quinque, or Five Books of Mysteries, is the primary surviving record of those sessions. The five books detail the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, the Ensigns of Creation, the Mystical Heptarchy, and the Holy Book Liber LOAGAETH, among other elements of what Dee believed was a complete angelic communication system. The work encompasses angels, talismans, angelic language, Kabbalistic structure, and Elizabethan politics in one densely recorded set of transcripts.
Joseph Peterson's Definitive Scholarly Edition
Joseph Peterson, a respected scholar of Renaissance magic and occult history, edited and prepared this edition from the original manuscript preserved in the British Library in Dee's own handwriting. This Weiser Ankh deluxe hardcover represents a substantial upgrade from Peterson's earlier Weiser Books edition (first published in 2003 as John Dee's Five Books of Mystery: Original Sourcebook of Enochian Magic). The new edition incorporates twenty years of additional research, corrections based on recently available high-resolution manuscript scans, new appendices, and full translations of the extensive Latin passages.
The physical production reflects the text's importance: three-piece quarter binding with black cloth spine and blue cloth over heavy boards, gold and black foil stamping, headbands, a ribbon marker, marbled endpapers, and archival acid-free paper with sewn signatures. This is built to last and to be used. Scholars of Enochian magic will recognize that Dee's system was adapted by the Golden Dawn and subsequently by Aleister Crowley, making this manuscript the origin point for a major current of 20th-century occultism. For related texts, explore my esoteric and occult book collection.
How to Use Mysteriorum Libri Quinque
How to approach the Five Books of Mysteries as a study and practice text.
-
Read Peterson's Introduction Before the Primary Text
Peterson's introduction provides essential context on John Dee, his relationship with Edward Kelley, and the 1581-1583 sessions. Without this grounding, the dense ritual transcripts are difficult to follow or interpret.
-
Cross-Reference with a Modern Enochian Primer
The Five Books of Mysteries is a primary source, not a beginner's guide. Readers new to Enochian magic benefit from a modern secondary source covering the Watchtowers, Aethyrs, and Calls developed from Dee's records.
-
Study the Appendices for New Scholarship
This Weiser Ankh edition includes new appendices not in earlier editions, using corrections from British Library manuscript scans. These are valuable for practitioners and researchers who want the most accurate version.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this edition specifically because Peterson's scholarship is the standard by which other Enochian texts are measured. This isn't a reprint of a reprint. It's a carefully corrected primary source edition prepared by the researcher who has spent decades with the original manuscripts, and the Weiser Ankh production quality matches the text's significance. Anyone working seriously in Enochian magic, ceremonial magic, or Renaissance occultism will want this on the shelf. For related titles on ritual magic and witchcraft, browse my spellcraft and witchcraft book collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the primary record of Dr. John Dee's 1581-1583 angelic communication sessions with scryer Edward Kelley. The five books document the foundation of Enochian magic, later adapted by the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley.
Peterson is a leading scholar of Renaissance occultism who prepared the text from Dee's British Library manuscript. This Weiser Ankh edition adds twenty years of research, manuscript corrections, appendices, and Latin translations.
It is a primary source dense with 16th-century ritual transcripts. Readers new to Enochian magic benefit from pairing it with a modern secondary source. Peterson's introduction and footnotes make this edition more accessible.
It is a deluxe hardcover with quarter binding, black cloth spine, blue cloth boards, gold foil stamping, headbands, ribbon marker, marbled endpapers, and sewn signatures on archival paper. Approximately 400 pages.
