The Nineteen Enochian Calls

    In the year 1584, on April 13th, the angel Nalvage dictated Kelley the last word of the first call. The calls were transmitted backwards, because of their immense power. Nalvage tried to avoid that the calls would already produce some effects during the dictate. When I began to work with enochian magic, I copied all nineteen calls into my magic diary. In the course of two decades of magic practice I copied the calls three times altogether. Everytime I copied them by hand I had problems in writing them down correctly. Many times I was exhausted and could not do much for a while after I copied more of them successively at once.

"Nalvage: Also in receiving of the calls, this is to be noted: that they are to be uttered of me, backward: and of you, in practise, forward.

Dee: I understand it, for the efficacy of them; else, all things called would appear: and so hinder our proceeding in learning."

(Casaubon, Meric [Ed.] - True & Faithful Relation of What Passed Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits, London, 1659, pg. 78)

    Nalvage dictated 48 calls in total, the last thirty calls actually are identical, except the name of one of the thirty Æthyrs which is being placed at the beginning of them. The first call is without words, a silent one. Nalvage mentioned it on 12th April, 1584:

"I am therefore to instruct and inform you, according to your Doctrine delivered, which is contained in 49 Tables. In 49 voyces, or callings: which are the Natural Keyes, to open those, not 49, but 48. (for One is not to be opened) Gates of understanding."

(Casaubon, pg. 77)

    The calls have a resemblance in the Liber Loagaeth and the 48 tables, the first table is silent, without words, too. Each table has two sides, thus the Liber Loagaeth has 96 squares. Nalvage said, regarding to the first call:

"I finde the Soul of man hath no portion in this first Table. It is the Image of the son of God, in the bosome of his father, before all the worlds. It comprehendeth his incarnation, passion, and return to judgement: which he himself, in flesh, knoweth not; all the rest are of understanding. The exact Center excepted."

(Casaubon, pg. 77)

    The enochian version of the calls was dictated before the english translation, most of times. Sometimes the translation was dictated immediately after the enochian version. The difficulties of translation of enochian calls reveal a really compressed kind of language, which can describe with few words rather complicated things. This problem arises everytime when you try to translate such kind of language, for example if you try to translate a sanskrit-text, so this common argument against the idea that enochian is an own language is lacking evidence. Because of this quality of the enochian language, the tranlsations into english or german are considerably longer then the enochian call. The actual transmission of the calls was very difficult, as you can see in some fragments of Dee's protocols. In Kelley's vision Nalvage used a crystal-table, on which he showed him the letters.

    Donald Tyson combines the calls with the Great Table in an interesting way. He created four large circles, partially overlapping each other. Each circle starts in the eastern watchtower of the subquadrants and clockwise counts the calls between the third and the eighteenth. The circles pass through the little cross of the corresponding subquadrants on the other watchtowers. The first circle sums up the third, fourth, fifth and sixth call and starts in the eastern subquadrant of the eastern watchtower and reaches over to the other eastern subquadrants of the other watchtowers. The second circle spans the calls seven, eight, nine and ten and starts in the southern subquadrant and so on. The first two calls are not used in here and are associated with the black cross. The first call belongs to the vertical axis and the second call to the horizontal.

    Looking closer to the text of the calls reveals a problem: Who is the author of the calls? Who should have some interests in transmitting those calls anyway, and what is the meaning of them? Who is the person, speaking in the calls? Neither the modern nor the old pratical approach to the calls is being forbidden by the angels, but checking through the texts of Dee reveals that there are clear sings of a more apocalyptic background to enochian magic. A deeper meaning of the complete system that goes far beyond the usual daily practice of angel-conjurations, reaching into aeonic dimensions of the universe.

    In modern enochian magic, which is largely based on the Golden Dawn developments, nothing is known of this deeper meaning at all. The angels gave many little hints on the meaning, why they are dictating the keys. One of them goes like this: "And I have kept my flayles for a long time hid in unknown places: Which flayle is the Doctrine that I deliver unto you: Which is the instrument of thrashing, .... " - it is of interest that the enochian magic, as it is seen by the angels, is an instrument of desctructing the old aeon, that must be initialized by human hands in opening the four watchtowers to offer those powers behind these watchtowers the possility of manifestation. This is an obvious difference between this apocalypse and the one you can read in the bible. It can only take place when initialized by human intention by using enochian magic. At this moment we are living in a time, when an astrological aeon ends and a new one begins. so it can be no accident that just today enochian magic is a bit more popular then during Dee's times and later. The angels were quite clear to Kelley and Dee, telling them that they cannot and must not use this magic. The change of paradigmata between the old and the new aeon, however, the angels accomplish on a total different way then you might expect. As soon as the gates are wide open the angels are finding their path into the subconscious of humankind in order to bring forth the apocalypse. The dark side of humankind is going to drive us into this downfall. The texts of Dee never mention an apocalypse in clear ways, but it cannot be denied that there are many hints on this hidden meaning of the enochian calls.

    The angels never gave exact instructions on the ritual that has to be conducted in order to open up the gates of the watchtowers. With some innovative ideas and a bit of work this ritual can be reconstructed, however. I do not describe this ritual here, as you might have expected. Enochian magic already is quite dangerous, and one of the most dangerous and efficient magic systems available. If you are practicing it you already have to deal with the consequences. Slowly, but steadily, it is becoming obvious that the whole thing already have begun what the angels have announced. It is not my way to talk of an apocalypse right now, but the synchronicities cannot be denied. You can take the apocalyptic dimension of enochian magic as a clear hint on inner alchemy, the transformation of old structures into new, changed ones. For the actual practice this transformatory influence is in any case to be expected.

    The association of elements to the parts of the great table, as you can see in this list here, were invented and used in the late 19th century by the magicians of the Golden Dawn. This kind of elemental association was unknown in Dee's time.