A central text of occult literature, now for the first time in a deluxe hardcover edition with new ancillary material (a new introduction, corrections to the text, appendices, and other enhancements) by one of the most renowned scholars of occult literature. Discovered in a hidden compartment of an old chest long after his death, the secret writings of John Dee, one of the leading scientists and occultists of Elizabethan England, records in minute detail his research into the occult. Dee concealed his treatises on the nature of humankind's contact with angelic realms and languages throughout his life, and they were nearly lost forever. In his brief biography of John Dee, Joseph Peterson calls him a "true Renaissance man", detailing his work in astronomy, mathematics, navigation, the arts, astrology, and the occult sciences.
All this was preparation for Dee's main achievement: five books, revealed and transcribed between March 1582 and May 1583, bringing to light mysteries and truths that scholars and adepts have been struggling to understand and use ever since. These books detail his system for communicating with the angels and reveal that the angels were interested in and involved with the exploration and colonization of the New World and in heralding a new age or new world order. While Dee's influence was certainly felt in his lifetime, his popularity has grown tremendously since. His system was used and adapted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and subsequently by Aleister Crowley.
First published by Weiser Books in 2003 as John Dee's Five Books of Mystery: Original Sourcebook of Enochian Magic (Quinti Libri Mysteriorum), his new edition will include:
- Updates to the introduction that reflect twenty years of research by the editor, Joseph Peterson, since the previous edition was last published
- Corrections to text based on a review of high-res scans of the original manuscripts that the British Library only recently made available
- New, high resolution images of Dee's drawings, symbols, sigils, and diagrams
- New appendices reflecting more recent scholarship