Language of the Gods

From advocating for the settlement and exploration of the New World (that means America), all the way to constructing a language thought to be spoken by Angels: John Dee was a hell of a guy.

He was born in 1527 to a family of Welsh heritage (Dee meaning du (Black) in Welsh) in London.

John would attend Cambridge and graduate with a B.A, being made an original fellow of Trinity College (founded by the monarch Henry VII in 1546) afterwards by the age of 19.

Seriously impressive!

During his early 20’s, he would travel throughout Europe to study and learn from famous mathematicians in Brussels, Paris and Italy.

On his return to England, he would turn down the world-renown Oxford University for their preference of teaching rhetoric and grammar over the likes of philosophy and science.

(I feel him on that one — philosophy is fun, grammar not so much…)

He’d turn his focus to the court of Queen Mary I, but he’d be arrested in 1555… for “calculating”?

That can’t be right. Nobody gets arrested for calculating…

What does “calculating” even mean in this context?

Well, they didn’t take too kindly to people making “horoscopes”, which they considered “calculating a plot” about the monarchs, of which he did for both Mary and Elizabeth I.

This issue was sent all the way to Mary under the charge of “treason” and thankfully, he was exonerated and sent to a Catholic bishop for “religious examination”.

He would try to work at the Court of Mary the following year, offering a way to preserve old books and tomes and ultimately to start a national library, but would be turned away.

When Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth would inherit the throne and bring on John Dee as her court astronomer and scientific advisor.

For the next 20 years, he would be instrumental in the court of Elizabeth and the ideological navigating and forming of what’s known as the “British Empire”.

He’d also start to write some absolutely weird shit during these 20 years:

Ok, so something I haven’t mentioned about John Dee yet — the guy was insanely secretive (which didn’t do him any favors during his trial for telling horoscopes).

His secret nature would actually prevent us from knowing and learning about some of his works because the oral tradition of the time meant it wouldn’t be transcribed.

Here are some of the ones we know about:

In 1564, he’d write a Hermetic work on an esoteric glyph titled “Monas Hieroglyphica” that he thought would explain the unity of ALL creation.

A glyph he HIMSELF created.

This specific work was dedicated to Maximillian II, the Holy Roman Emperor, in hopes of his patronage.

He wouldn’t get it.

In 1570, he’d write a preface to a translation of famous Greek mathematician Euclid’s “Elements” that would discuss the importance of mathematics to other arts and sciences.

The preface would live on as his most recognized work.

Dee would write one more notable piece of work in this decade, discussing the construction of a maritime empire and the importance of discovery and claims on the “New World” for the British Empire.

His political influence and recognition would wane in the 1580’s, which lead him to look to the spiritual realm for guidance.

John wasn’t necessarily happy with his rate of progress in learning about the “secrets of nature”, so he turned visit scryers who would attempt to contact the supernatural for him.

All but one scryer would be disregarded: Edward Kelley.

Edward Kelley (then going by Talbot) would wind up being a close friend and spiritual advisor to him for nearly a decade. They would have intense “spiritual conferences” that would be conducted usually after long periods of fasting or praying.

Together, Dee and Kelley would later form the basis for Enochian — a constructed language reportedly originating from “angels”.

This language (only known because both men had recorded it extensively in their own personal diaries) was labeled by John Dee as a “holy language”, “celestial speech” and “Adamical” in reference to Adam from the Bible who used this language in paradise to “name all things”.

The name itself comes from the biblical figure Enoch, who they claimed was the last human to know the language before them.

They would spread the word of their practices and beliefs throughout Europe for the next several years including audiences with Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and King Stephen Bathory of Poland, but they would generally view him as a spy for Queen Elizabeth’s more so than a man trying to share the knowledge of his beliefs.

The language and beliefs would never reach mass popularity, but have been used in some circles to attempt Enochian magic, parts of which would later be integrated into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

John Dee would return to England poor and robbed after living a nomadic life in Central Europe, under intense criticism for his hermetic beliefs, and fallen out of favor from the court.

By this time his former partner Edward Kelley was the court alchemist for Rudolf II and was extremely weary of the spiritual conferences that seemed to increase in length and intensity throughout the years.

His final appointment would be Warden of Christ’s College of Manchester, and he would have to resort to selling possessions later in life to keep his head above financial water.

Once Elizabeth died and James I inherited the throne, Dee would have zero support from the crown. The popular support for things like natural philosophy and “magical practices” had dwindled.

He would die in 1609 at the age of 81.

They still don’t know where his gravestone is to this day, and there was no parish records of his death.

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I appreciate you taking the time out of your lovely day to read this.

‘Till next time,

Evan