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Who was John Dee? He is virtually unknown in modern times, although he
has had a profound influence on popular culture- without him, there would
be no Harry Potter, no Gandalf, no wizard bearing a crystal ball.
A brilliant magician, mathematician, scientist, and secret agent, Dee
was the original Renaissance man. Something of a prodigy, Dee entered
St. John's College at Cambridge at age 15. He achieved notoriety early
on with a charge of sorcery, which stemmed from a mechanical flying beetle
demonstrated in a stage play. After spending many years studying mathematics
and cartography, he took an interest in natural magic, a pastime then
accepted by the church. From his studies he developed a doctrine that
one could obtain knowledge of God from the applied practice of magick-
an idea that was to get him into trouble on a number of occasions.
His notoriety as a skilled astrologer eventually caught the attention
of Queen Mary's court, and he was asked to cast horoscopes for the Queen
and her prospective husband, Philip of Spain. During this time, he made
the mistake of befriending the Princess Elizabeth, then in captivity as
a potential rival of Queen Mary. He was charged, tried, and acquitted
of attempting to kill Mary with black magic. Shortly after his release,
Mary died and Elizabeth ascended the throne. Elizabeth had not forgotten
her friend, and Dee was asked to choose an auspicious date for her coronation.
Their friendship continued, although in much secrecy, due to Dee's growing
reputation as a black magician.
Dee became Elizabeth's court astrologer, and soon after, her spy. As an
agent of the crown, Dee conducted several mysterious missions for purposes
mostly unknown to this day. he relished his espionage duties, creating
elaborate ciphers. In his correspondence with the Queen during these episodes,
he signed his communiqués "007," a moniker that would
be used again, as any fan of the spy genre will recognize.
In between spy missions, Dee continued his studies in mathematics, cartography,
and alchemy, as well as his experiments in magic. He developed state of
the art navigational techniques, instituted the use of telescopes and
navigational equipment in the military, and developed secret codes for
military communication. He also translated many important mathematical
works, and introduced the English speaking world to Euclidian Geometry.
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Crystal
balls and conversations with angels 1, 2
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