King Solomon, Dr. John Dee and the Book of Raziel

The bible portrays Solomon, son of King David as the wisest man living and possibly the wisest man to ever live. According to the Bible, he spoke directly with Jehovah and asked for wisdom to govern his people properly. God replied that because Solomon didn�t ask for riches, he would be given a double portion of wisdom.

He was also given the task of building Jehovah�s Temple in Jerusalem after his father spent years gathering the necessary building materials. He is said to have had 700 wives and built many altars and temples for the worship of their gods (not Jehovah). He is commonly believed among students of the occult as the author of the Cabbala, the ancient Hebrew book of hidden esoteric knowledge.

I find it interesting that Solomon appears to have abandoned his worship of Jehovah and followed a mystical path towards hidden esoteric knowledge and magic. The Bible does not say what Solomon�s fate was as a result of the departure from serving the God of Israel. It does not say that he went to heaven or hell, or what God�s response or decision was for his seeming heresy. Below I have some information about Solomon�s activities and his sources of hidden wisdom and knowledge.

King Solomon and the Book of Raziel

"The Book Raziel (the Hidden Things of God). The Angel Raziel delivered this book to Adam after 130 years of his Repentance, which book contains Cabbala, by which they can cause Angels, according to his month and his day, to perform miracles, and cast out the evil spirits which occasionally enter in men, and it also contains the knowledge of conversing concerning the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, and to cause to be sick and heal again, and it speaks of many other powers of the vegetable world, precious stones, fishes, fowls, wild beasts, also to be enabled to foretell by the means of the stars and to explain the rod of Moses, wherewith he performed wonders.

The book was engraved on sapphire-stone and handed down from generation to generation until it, together with many other secret writings, came into the possession of Solomon; the Book of Raziel, however, was the best preserved of these works. The Book of Raziel has also been called the Book of Enoch.

The Testament of Solomon is a book which is part of the Pseudepigrapha, a collection of texts written between 200 BCE and 200 CE and spuriously ascribed to various key figures, namely prophets and kings, of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Testament of Solomon itself is said to have been written between the first century and the fourth century, but modern scholarship has placed the date at circa 200 (Encyclopaedia Judaica 246 and Brunel 721).

Although very little is known about this text, the Encyclopaedia Judaica states that it "is certainly based on Judeo-Hellenistic magic" and other sources pinpoint it as "the earliest compendium of demons" and "the earliest text to cast King Solomon in the role of sorcerer, which became the primary model for him in subsequent Jewish lore". Although the blend of vastly differing currents of thought make pinpointing an immediate source for this compilation very difficult, it has been identified as representing a "peculiar fusion known as Gnosticism, resting upon a Jewish basis influenced by Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek, more especially Orphic, teachings".

Dr. John Dee

Dr. John Dee, an Elizabethan cartographer, mathematician, astrologer, alchemist and spy was obsessed with learning the Enochian alphabet and language. He was Elizabethan England's great magus, Court Astrologer and confidant to the English Queen, Elizabeth I. Dr. John Dee's contributions played a major role in laying the foundation and opening the doors to what was to follow in the Age of Enlightenment. Also, that under the leadership of John Dee specifically, a group of scholars, noblemen and noblewomen began in the 16th Century what has been recognized as "the Rosicrucian movement" of the 17th Century.

Dr. John Dee, despite his apparent delusions, was one of the keenest minds of his time. He his credited for making the calculations that would enable England to use the Gregorian calendar, he championed the preservation and the collection of historic documents and he was very well known for being a great astronomer and mathematician. It could be said that Dr. Dee was the one of the first modern scientists, although he was one of the last serious alchemists, necromancers and crystal gazers.

He believed the Enochian language was the language of God and the Angels, and is what the original Adam spoke when conversing with God. Dr. Dee spent years involved with mediums, like Edward Kelley, writing down channelled messages by Kelley from angels and spirits.

Dee's interest was undoubtedly stimulated by his meetings with Renaissance Cabalists and by his genuine and scientific desire to explore the possibilities of spiritualism and telepathy. Dee did not delude himself that he possessed mediumistic talents; he said many times, no doubt with regret, �You know I cannot see, nor scry' and he depended entirely on scryers (crystal-gazers).

Dr. Dee received the secrets of Enochian Magick while channeling spirits through the body of his associate, Edward Kelly. The resulting system of Enochian Magick is believed to be among the most powerful in all the Western tradition. This indispensable treasury of Enochian lore is a transcription of Dee's most important private magical notebooks, offering the only definitive version of the famous Angelical Calls, conjurations said to summon the angels of the heavenly spheres-as well as all the practical information necessary for the experienced magician to reproduce Dee's occult experiments.

The information that Dee provided was partly the result of his own experiments and personal experiences. It was also a part of the vast body of knowledge of Hermeticism developed by such previous scholars as Plato, Zoroaster, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Agrippa, Ficino, Bruno, Roger Bacon, Abbott Trithemius, and Lull.

The work of the Rosicrucian movement from the earliest records in the 16th Century has now been tied inextricably to John Dee.

For several years after 1583 Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly lived in Trebona in Poland, the home town of Albert Laski, who sponsored their alchemical researches. In about a year, Laski's fortune was spent, and the men began to travel about Poland and Bohemia, from city to city finding new people to dupe. These travels went on until 1587, when in Prague Dr. Dee�s health began to fail and when Kelly and Dee had a falling out because of Kelly's new explorations of a book called The Necronomicon, that frightened both Dee and his family. Dee is said to have found a copy of the Necronomicon, given to him by the alchemist Jacob Eliezer known as the "Black Rabbi" (this book does exist and was the basis of Kelly and Dee�s Endochian magic).

Dee returned to England, welcomed by Elizabeth and the court then went back to his home in Mortlake, continuing his search for the philosopher�s stone that always had eluded him. His experiments yielded nothing except to impoverish Dee. Seeing his plight, Elizabeth gave him first the position of chancellor of St. Paul�s Cathedral in London and then the wardenship of Manchester College that he held until 1603 when he finally retired to his home for good. While he was warden of Manchester College Dee translated his copy of the Necronomicon into English and was never printed. After Dee's death the book went into the collection of Elias Ashmole then into the Bodleian Library in Oxford until it was stolen in 1934 Back at Mortlake for good. Dee died at the age of 81 in 1608, in extreme poverty.

Dr. Dee was also associated with the Voynich Manuscript, which contains an unknown language � or many believe to be a complete hoax.



Book of Raziel Links

www.geocities.com...

www.jewishencyclopedia.com...

Dr. John Dee Links

www.woe.edu.pl...

www.crcsite.org...

www.levity.com...

www.esotericarchives.com...

www.occultopedia.com...

www.johndee.org...

Voynich Manuscript
members.tripod.com...

Book of Enoch
wesley.nnu.edu...

sadly i have yet to find an english to enochian translator and dont have the earge todo it on my own...

reply to post by deepwaters

John Dee opened the gates of hell and put its inhabitants at the beck and call of Her Majesty,to this day Her Majesties secret services throw around goetic demons and other unpleasantries conjured up initially by Dee,I have personally been on the recieving end of these blessed saints and angels,its fitting he died in poverty I hope he was insane as well for a truly fitting end.

Good post.

You mixed three subjects but they all are the thread tied in quite well.

My understanding for king Solomon was the only thing he lost was his true love... She did not want to be another wife and he knew when he lost her.

kabbalah

I have too many 'legends'

Angelic magics do seem to have a central source of origin. They rock when you ram a karma train down a deserving enemies throat...

The book of Enoch was only partially referenced during class a s a good reference book like an encyclopedia...

I will follow some of your references a little later forgive me and allow me a little time on that.

As for the good doctor his name sounds so familiar but it wasnt high on the list some where agh it has been so long...

post some more on the good doctor... good thread.

You had little drift. And it even stayed on topic s and f

some of your links are broken... do you another way to them... thanks..


[edit on 2-9-2010 by ripcontrol]