On a recent visit to London, I went to the British Museum, where I was able to get a close-up look at magical artifacts that once belonged to John Dee. He lived from 1527 to around 1609, and was the court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I. He was a student of the occult, practicing divination, sorcery, numerology and the hermetic arts. He was also an alchemist and had one of the largest libraries in England. He is credited with writing the Monas Hieroglyphica (still available today), a work that contains a magical glyph believed to express the unity of all creation. In his other works, he and his assistant Edward Kelley divined what they believed to be an angelic language, which came to be known as ‘Enochian’. Dee was particularly drawn to angelic beings and spent much of his time in practices to communicate with them. This was done through the use of a black obsidian scrying mirror, and crystal ball placed on a wax tablet inscribed with magical symbols. These rare items are, of course, sealed inside a glass case at the British Museum, but I was still able to get quite close to them and take a few photos. While I have no personal interest in angels, I am more interested in Dee’s ideas about magic and divination. He did keep diaries which are still accessible today, and I am anxious to have a look at them. ‘Enochian’ is another of those magical languages that must be deciphered, much like the Theban alphabet, runes or ogham. Some witches use these languages to write spells or label certain magical oils or other items, as they are only known to the esoteric folk who recognize them. If you have the opportunity to visit the British Museum, you can view the items belonging to John Dee in the Enlightenment Gallery on the first floor. This gallery has many other magical artifacts from various cultures on display. It was quite a thrilling experience to be so close to these items that were once in the hands of John Dee himself.

The Monas Hieroglyphica (below)