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The Magic and Astrology of John Dee

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Book cover The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult Philosophy

Part of the book series: Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic ((PHSWM))

Abstract

The sensational life of John Dee (1527–c.1608) guaranteed him a firm place in the who’s who list of the history of Western occult thought. The British Museum houses a group of objects associated with his divination and magical practices in ‘The Enlightenment Room’. These are three wax discs bearing the mystical great Seal of God and names of angels, an obsidian mirror from which spirits were supposedly gleaned, and a gold disc inscribed with ‘the vision of the four castles’.1 The British Library displayed Dee’s spell book in the Comics Unmasked exhibition (2 May–19 August 2014), serving as an example of visually evocative texts. Dr Dee: An English Opera, debuted in July 2011, was composed by frontman, Damon Albarn, of the British pop rock band Blur.

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  1. St Cross College, University of Oxford, UK

    Liana Saif

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Saif, L. (2015). The Magic and Astrology of John Dee. In: The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult Philosophy. Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137399472_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137399472_8

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-57399-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-39947-2

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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