Mysteriorum Libri Quinque: Dr. John Dee's Five Books of Mysteries
By (Author) Joseph Peterson
By (author) Dr. John Dee
Red Wheel/Weiser
Red Wheel/Weiser
2nd January 2025
United States
General
Non Fiction
Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
Magic, spells and alchemy
Mysticism, magic and occult interests
Hardback
400
Width 165mm, Height 254mm
1g
A central text of occult literature, now for the first time in a deluxe hardcover edition with new ancillary material (a new introduction, corrections to the text, appendices, and other enhancements) by one of the most renowned scholars of occult literature.
Discovered in a hidden compartment of an old chest long after his death, the secret writings of John Dee, one of the leading scientists and occultists of Elizabethan England, records in minute detail his research into the occult. Dee concealed his treatises on the nature of humankind's contact with angelic realms and languages throughout his life, and they were nearly lost forever. In his brief biography of John Dee, Joseph Peterson calls him a "true Renaissance man", detailing his work in astronomy, mathematics, navigation, the arts, astrology, and the occult sciences.
All this was preparation for Dee's main achievement: five books, revealed and transcribed between March 1582 and May 1583, bringing to light mysteries and truths that scholars and adepts have been struggling to understand and use ever since. These books detail his system for communicating with the angelsand reveal that the angels were interested in and involved with the exploration and colonization of the New Worldand in heraldinga new age or new world order. While Dee's influence was certainly felt in his lifetime, his popularity has grown tremendously since. His system was used and adapted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and subsequently by Aleister Crowley.
First published by Weiser Books in 2003 asJohn Dee's Five Books of Mystery: Original Sourcebook of Enochian Magic(Quinti Libri Mysteriorum), his new edition will include:
Joseph H. Peterson has been studying esoteric texts for decades, intrigued by the Renaissance intellectual and experimental approach to spirituality. He has translated many esoteric and religious source works and amassed a large collection of rare and occult tracts for comparative research from the British Library and other institutions, which he shares on his award-winning websites esotericarchives.com and avesta.org. Peterson's published works include The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses and The Secrets of Solomon: A Witch's Handbook from the Trial Records of the Inquisition. Peterson has a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota, where he also studied various languages and religions. He lives near Rochester, Minnesota.