Customer Reviews

The Complete Enochian Dictionary: A Dictionary of the Angelic Language As Revealed to Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

For over 20 years Enochian magick has been my passion and magical "drug" of choice. I've evoked many of the elemental spirits and am continuing my personal initiatory career by systematically exploring the 30 Aethyrs of the system. There are four or five texts that are absolutely indispensable if one is serious about taking up his complex art. The first one I would recommend is "The Enochian World of Aleister Crowley" by Lon Milo DuQuette and Christopher Hyatt. Next would be Laycock's Complete Enochian Dictionary. I am so happy to see that this has been reissued. My first edition has nearly turned to dust. A new introduction by DuQuette, where he actually describes an evocation of an elemental angel, is priceless...and a bit reassuring. My highest recommendation.

This book is just what it claims to be: a complete dictionary of the Enochian Language. Enochian is not really a language in the truest sense, but a cipher. There is an interesting essay at the beginning of the book, in which Laycock describes the origins of the Enochian Calls and the circumstances under which they were discovered by John Dee and Edward Kelly. It becomes rather hard to not believe that John Dee was merely the dupe of a con man (Kelly), but nevertheless, for anyone interested in the cipher or it's history, the book makes for interesting reading. Three stars because . . . well, a dictionary can only be so entertaining . . . most of the book is just a list of Enochian words with their tranlsations in English. Useful, but still a tad bit on the dull side. Still, it is scholarly, and will have obvious uses to practitioners of Enochian magick.

I have several of Dr. Dee's books in my library. To name a few, the Monas Hieroglyphica, A True & Faithful Relation of what passed for many Years Between Dr. John Dee ... and some spirits, Liber Mysteriorum Sextus et Sanctus & Tuba Veneris. This book by Donald C. Laycock on the Enochian language is truly wonderful. The first part is a short biography on Dr. Dee and Edward Kelly. I have read many biographys on these unusual men, although Mr. Laycock's version is brief, it is everything you need to know. What follows is an Enochian to English translation, very helpful in translating parts of Dee's workings that have not been translated. The gem of this book is the English to Enochian translation, with this, you can talk & write in Enochian!

Conisbra od avavox, tonug, od quash qting, od ozazma plapli iadnamad. Translation - The works of man and his pomp, let them be defaced, and destroy the rotten, and make us partakers in the divine knowledge.

The most prominent question that Dr. Dee always asked in all the conjurings, "Is this book real & is this information trust worthy". He was a man that wanted to know the TRUTH, I admire this quest ... let us be knowers of the great truths, let God's Good Angels guide us on our quest.

This book is great! It is user friendly and is good for both the beginner, intermediate and advanced prationers of Enochian Magick. This has helped me in some of my ceremonies when I wanted to speak only Enochian to lest say the Seniors. Unfortunatly I could not find a few words I wanted to use so I would say 98 percent was used in the Enochian language. But dont be fooled Enochian is not only "the language of the Angels" it is also a system of magick so you will eighter need a teacher or other books on this subject. This book is excellent as it is a companion to any book you buy which deals with the subject of Enochian magick. Lon Milo Duquette makes a wonderful introduction by sharing his experience with the reader. He realy brings the book to life. This is one of the better books on the subject of Enochian. You will also find the Enochian keys which are very important in the Enochian magickal system.

If you are interested in the Enochian language, and in understanding some of the finer points in the language, this book is for you. No, it doesn't have an in-depth grammar or even an easy way to conjugate verbs and nouns. But, it does have definitions of a lot of words; and, it has a lot of variations and variant spellings of words. I have found it immensely useful in creating Enochian rituals and prayers.

This book is for those who are interested in exploring the language deeper than just stumbling through the calls. The foreword and preface are also helpful -- but the real strength is in the lists of words. You won't be sorry you bought this one.

This is such a helpful book. Words are at your fingertips. There's no real hunting to find words. It's set up like a Enochian-English-Enochian translation book. It gives the Enochian words that have been sourced by The Golden Dawn, Crowley, and Dr. Dee. The 30 calls are also given toward the back in both English and Enochian.

This is fascinating! A dictionary for a language no one realizes exists! I had to buy it just to get a look at it and learn something new!

If you're interested in Angels here is their language!