A True & Faithful Relation of Dr John Dee & Some Spirits (limited ed)

S$586.00

A True & Faithful Relation of Dr John Dee & Some Spirits (limited ed)

S$586.00

Title: A true & faithful relation of what passed for many yeers between Dr. John Dee and some spirits : tending (had it succeeded) to a general alteration of most states and kingdomes in the world…

Author: Dr John Dee, Dr Meric Casaubon (preface)

Publisher: The Antonine Press and Golden Dragon Press, 1974. Limited Facsimile Edition of the 1659 edition, signed by both publishers and numbered 231 of 1000 copies.

Condition: Hardcover, cloth, with dust jacket. Folio, 13.5″ x 9″. In very good condition: Dust jacket has edgewear and closed tears, but book itself is in excellent condition.

SKU: true-faithful-relation Categories: , ,

One of the most important works on Alchemy/Magic/Occult in the Western tradition. Facsimile edition, the first published since the original from the 1600s. Huge book, ink and paper quality as close to the original as possible, a spectacular limited-edition reproduction. All diagrams and figures are reproduced clearly and exactly, thus eminently collectable.

From the publisher:

Compiled almost 400 years ago, this book is one of the earliest actual accounts of magical research. It puts us uniquely in touch with attitudes typical of the best minds in Renaissance Europe — when Magic was still mixed with Science, Astrology with Astronomy, Alchemy with Chemistry and Natural Philosophy with Mathematical Physics. Previously little known—due to the scarcity and cost of copies—it is a fascinating classic of the Occult.

Elizabethan England’s leading Philosopher and Scholar, Dr. Dee records his efforts through the use of his Occult powers, to aid humanity by bringing peace and reconciliation to a Europe torn by war and religious intolerance. He and his medium journeyed through 16th century Europe to Bohemia, meeting leading political figures including the King of Poland and the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II. Throughout their journey the two partners called upon the guidance and help of the spirits and we learn how these spirits were summoned, the help and advice they gave, and the commands that they had for Dee. Whether these manifestations and apparitions were the work of beneficent powers or whether they were the snares of Devils, is a matter for conjecture.

OF SPIRITS AND APPARITIONS was written at a time when despite the risk of prosecution and public execution, Magic was widely studied and practiced. In these more Enlightened times, Dr. Dee’s immensely significant work is likely to be a major source book for the ever growing following that the Occult commands.

About the author:

John Dee (1527 – 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occult philosopher, imperialist, and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.

Dee straddled the worlds of science and magic just as they were becoming distinguishable. One of the most learned men of his age, he had been invited to lecture on the geometry of Euclid at the University of Paris while still in his early twenties. Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics and a respected astronomer, as well as a leading expert in navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct England’s voyages of discovery.

Simultaneously with these efforts, Dee immersed himself in the worlds of magic, astrology and Hermetic philosophy. He devoted much time and effort in the last thirty years or so of his life to attempting to commune with angels in order to learn the universal language of creation and bring about the pre-apocalyptic unity of mankind. A student of the Renaissance Neo-Platonism of Marsilio Ficino, Dee did not draw distinctions between his mathematical research and his investigations into Hermetic magic, angel summoning and divination. Instead he considered all of his activities to constitute different facets of the same quest: the search for a transcendent understanding of the divine forms which underlie the visible world, which Dee called “pure verities”.

In his lifetime Dee amassed one of the largest libraries in England. His high status as a scholar also allowed him to play a role in Elizabethan politics. He served as an occasional adviser and tutor to Elizabeth I and nurtured relationships with her ministers Francis Walsingham and William Cecil.

– a lot more at wikipedia.

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