Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling Introduction to the World of Enochian Magick, March 16, 2003
I found this book to be a very Compelling Introduction to the World of Enochian Magick. ... My brief encounter with the Enochian method impressed me and Lon Duquette's book encouraged my research--therefore, I purchased this Enochian Dictionary and found myself literally Devouring the introductory material (historical aspects, etc.) of "The Complete Enochian Dictionary: A Dictionary of the Angelic Language As Revealed to Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley."
I would certainly give the book 5 stars, if not for the fact that it is, mostly, a Dictionary / Reference book. I read the introductory material in one sitting, but the rest of the book is intended as reference material. However, this reference material is Brilliantly categorized as either original "Dee" words and definitions, or attributed to the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, Goetic, etc.--thus, creating a clearly defined listing of Original Enochian and that inspired by Crowley and his own workings with this system of Magick.
... Regardless of the issues surrounding the historical creation (or revelation) of the Enochian Language, it seems to work. The words, of whatever origin, seem to produce a powerful effect upon the atmosphere surrounding the Magickian.
I have not, personally, worked with Enochian, yet--I am only researching the effects I have witnessed, first-hand. From what I have seen, thus-far, I believe Enochian is, in fact, a powerful and Magickal Language.
The origins of the language, although fascinatingly depicted in this book are moot--much like Gravitation and The Theory of Relativity, even if you do not understand the science behind it, it Works.
I highly recommend this Dictionary of Enochian to anyone interested in Magick, Anthropology, The Occult, etc.--the subject is quite interesting.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A First Rate Mind Examines a Magickal Language, February 5, 1998
It doesn't take long in the world of magic or the occult in general to find out that you're associating yourself with a lot of charlatans and mental defectives. In the time I've spent studying Enochian "Magick" I have come across some of everything. Certainly a lot of intellectuals, but mostly a lot of people who enjoy daydreaming and theorizing. Mr. Laycock has none of the tawdry qualiities of "Dr." Gerald Schueller who would take us into his own little world of concoctions. What Mr. Laycock does is examine the source material closely and turns out a preface that is lucid and balanced. He calls the originator's on their errors and blundering attempts to mislead, while giving credit to the magick that it is due. As Mr. Laycock says "it seems to work". That conclusion being arrived at he then analyzes how it compares to other languages with interesting conclusions. He then fills the bulk of the book with the words of Enochian, their phonetic representation and their English translation. He provides both Enochian to English and English to Enochian sections. He also provides the Enochian words that did not come directly from the sources of John Dee and Edward Kelley, but have come into use (most of these words devised by Aleister Crowley and clearly marked as such. The book is indispensible to the library of any who would take the language beyond its current bounds.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A scholarly look at the occult, May 1, 1997
By A Customer
This is the long-awaited paperback edition of the original 1978 hardback by Askin Publishers, Chiswick, England, now out of print and obtainable only second-hand from occult bookshops at extortionate prices. Donald Clarence Laycock was a colleague of mine, a specialist in the languages of Papua-New Guinea by trade, who had many side interests, the occult being one of them. This review is based on my copy of the original Askin hardback, which Don presented me, complete with a dedication in Enochian, for having written the software for the dictionary. Enochian is the "Angelic language" of the magical texts ("calls") collected by Dr John Dee, astrologer to Elizabeth I, through his medium Edward Kelley, the first of which starts: "Ol sonf vors g, goho Iad Balt" (I reign over you, says the God of Justice). The Enochian calls have been used by occultists for ceremonial magic, from Aleister Crowley to Anton Szandor La Vey of Satanic Church fame. Laycock was able to reconstitute the pronunciation of Enochian, as Kelley must have uttered it, from his knowledge of Elizabethan English. The bulk of his book, some 180 pages, consists of an Enochian-to-English (120 pages) and English-to-Enochian dictionary (60 pages), with Enochian pronunciation, variants and their sources. This is preceded by some forty pages entitled "ENOCHIAN: Angelic language or mortal folly?" where Laycock, after introducing John Dee, Edward Kelley and the mechanisms of the Enochian revelation, analyzes the language in thorough scholarly fashion, alphabet, pronunciation, grammar, syntax, and discusses other occultists' opinion, analyses and use of Enochian. This part features some black-and-white reproductions, including the Sigillum Emeth, a fac-simile of one of Dee's scrying sessions, and some magical alphabets.
The book concludes with the complete Enochian corpus and a comprehensive bibliography. An unusual book indeed: utmost scholarship applied to the occult with an open mind.
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