John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 10

"March 1oth 1582: 11:15 a.m. Saturday
One Mr. Edward Talbot came to my house...being willing and desirous to see or show some thing to spiritual practice...And I truly executed myself therin, as not in the vulagarly accounted magic...But confessed myself long time to have been desirous to have help in my philosophical studies through the company and information of the blessed Angels of God...He then seated himself to the action, and on his knees at my desk (setting the stone before him) fell to prayer and entreaty...And within one quarter of an hour (or less) he had sight of one in the stone. And after some thanks to God, and welcome to the good Creature...I recquired to know his name. And he spoke plainly (to the hearing if Edward Talbot) that his name is Uriel. "Are you one of them," (said I, John Dee) 'that are answerable to this stone?' URIEL: 'I am.'

This was the first meeting that began the astonishing partnership of John Dee and the scyer Edward Talbot. Talbot would soon come to be known as Edward Kelley. By this time, Dr. John Dee was a living legend. He was a man of such skills of observation and learning in so many different areas of knowledge that many not only respected him to the utmost, but many feared him because of his esoteric knowledge. In the time of the Elizabethan Age the great universal hierarchy and the existence of angels were widely believed in and taken for granted by many. But most people of the age feared the supernatural and anyone who claimed to be in contact with angels or hidden powers would be viewed with deep suspicion by most alive at the time. Remember that the Devil and his legions of demons were as real to these people as God and his angels-and of course the Devil was a master of trickery. How, people from the common folk up to royalty asked, could a magus know for sure that he was dealing with friendly spirits and not the "Prince of Lies" fooling him with deceits? Dr. John Dee's Sagittarian ascendant horoscope showed he was a bold adventurer and not averse to take risks in his quest for knowledge. The navigational errors he made (he also knew much about the mechanics of physical navigation) could provide us with landmarks that say "Here be Dragons!" or "Stop!"

John Dee was born in 1527 and by the age of 15 in 1542 he began his studies at Cambridge. At this young age, he very quickly became known for his scholarship and brilliance of mind. In 1546 he became one of the original fellows of Trinity College. It was at Trinity where he became famous for constructing the giant flying beetle for the stage play that for some was just too good! This beetle to many in the audience was simply too wonderful-too real. Many thought that the giant beetle could only have been created with the help of the Devil. This incident began the pattern that would repeat for the rest of Dee's life; suspicion and backstabbing followed by success in some areas. Dee travelled after Cambridge, and gave a series of much acclaimed lectures in France. In France and elsewhere in Europe, Dee made the acquaintance of men who had esoteric interests and understanding. These men were versed in traditions like alchemy, magic and the Kabbalah. Of course, Dee was already an expert-even a savant in mathematics, classics, astronomy, astrology, navigation, history and antiquities. Medicine and law would soon be added to the long list of Dee's detailed knowledge. Dee was definitely a "hands-on" explorer and went on tours of England to record knowledge firsthand: from ancient monuments, local legends of hauntings and buried treasure.

People from all across England did trust Dee and sought out his knowledge-even coming from overseas. Queen Elizabeth I, whom he had chosen a coronation date for using astrological methods, was a regular visitor. Sadly, Elizabeth never gave Dee quite the respect he had hoped for. Dee also became famous as an author, especially for his preface to Euclid and for his treatise on his Monas Hieroglyphica-his glyph that symbolized and embodied cosmic unity. Dr. John Dee wanted to go beyond what books could tell him about the mysteries of creation. He wanted gnosis of cosmic creation and emanation. It isn't known with certainty if Dee was initiated into any particular esoteric practice. Some commentators think he was a key figure in the development of Rosicrucianism, and he definitely practiced forms of magic, Kabbalah and alchemy. Dee seems to have preferred being a lone practitioner of these arts however. Interestingly, doing his own studies proclaimed Dee a groundbreaker. But working individually meant working without the safety net that is usually provided by an established tradition. In the beginning, Dee was suspicous of Kelley. He was afraid Kelley was out to "entrap" him. Scyers didn't have the best of reputations. They were known to not only falsify information and cheat their employers. But they were also feared for their ways of leading a Christian soul astray and only dark paths trodden by evil spirits.

Since ancient times, however, there were precedents for communications with angels and other celestial beings. Cornelius Agrippa in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, published in the early 1500s, talks of the great cosmic ladder. In this vision, angels are the ministers of God's virtues. They also have knowledge of a powerful magic that can raise us to their level. "Wise men conceive it no way irrational that it should be possible for us to ascend by the same degrees through each world, to the very original world itself, the Maker of all things and First Cause...and also to enjoy not only these virtues, which are already in the more excellent kind of things, but also besides there, to draw virtues from above," wrote Agippa. So these practices were not unknown. But until Dee, and his Spiritual Diaries, which were not originally intended for publication, there were no such direct records as Dee and Kelley tried to understand these "angelic" communications. Apparently Dee used a scryer because he himself didn't have the ability to "see." He finally trusted Kelley enough to pay him a salary after looking for several years for a medium to work with.

The" spiritual conferences" with Kelley were painstakingly set up. Before a session there were purification rituals, prayers, psalm recitations and fasting. Kelley's visions usually appeared in a crystal or "show-stone." Gradually other devices were added to the ritual. There was an intricately constructed table, often referred to in the transcripts, and inscribed seal, and the famous obsidain "magic mirror," of ancient Aztec origin. The sessions were usually done in a study or oratory. However, flexibility was recquired when Dee and Kelley travelled abroad with their familes. Sometimes family life intruded as Dee notes in one session: "we were earnestly called for to Supper by my folks," this ending it. One unknown is how the transcripts of the sessions were kept so carefully and fastidiously. The "angels" often delivered speeches that were hundreds of words long. It is also doubtful they spoke at dictation speed! Some of the transcripts look like they were rewritten later in a different-perhaps more careful hand. A lot of the transcripts and recorded data are about Kelley's understanding of what the angels and spirits said to him and descriptions of them. The questions posed by Dee and Kelley would ask the angels for an answer. In the Spiritual Diaries a series of complex tables of letters and numbers appear that are apparently a key to the angelic language.

The image is of Dee and Kelley conjuring and communicating with a "spirit." I thought I got a bit further than I ended up-I still have 13 pages (both sides) of information to go! The information here and in the articles to come, is largely from a fantastic article called "Dr. Dee and the Spirits." This article appeared in the summer 1995 edition of Gnosis magazine and was written by Cherry Gilchrist. I hope to have the next article here very soon-maybe tomorrow. Thanks again so very much for your wise, thoughtful and intelligent comments! Peace and be well everyone!

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 9

The Spanish Armada (Spanish: Grande y Felicisma Armada, "Great and Most Merry Navy" or 'Armada Invencible', ""Invincible Navy") was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588. This navy had the express intention of overthrowing England's Queen Elizabeth I. King Philip II of Spain had been co-monarch of England until the death of his wife Mary I (Elizabeth's half-sister). He was a devout Roman Catholic and considered Elizabeth a heretic and illegitimate ruler of England. Philip had even supported plots to overthrow Elizabeth in favor of Mary Queen of Scots but Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned and she was finally executed in 1587. In addition, Elizabeth, who sought to advance the cause of Protestanism where possible supported the Dutch revolt against Spain. In retaliation, Philip planned an expedition to invade and conquer England, thereby suppressing support for the United Provinces (mentioned in previous posts in this series.) These were part of the Low Countries not under Spanish domination. Philip, with this measure also hoped to stop attacks on Spanish Possessions in the New World. The "Golden Age of Spain" (1521-1643) was during the time of the planned invasion. As a result of the marriage politics of the Reyes Catolicos, their grandson Charles V inherited the Castilian Empire in America, the Aragonese Empire in the Meditteranean (including a large portion of modern Italy), as well as the crown of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Low Countries and Franche Comte.

This empire was welded together through marriage-not conquest. After his defeat of the Castilian rebels in the Castilian War of the Communities, Charles became the most powerful man in Europe unrivalled until the Napoleonic era. It was often said during this time that it was "the empire on which the sun never set." This vast empire of the Spanish Golden Age (Spanish: Siglo de Oro) was ruled, not from distant inland Madrid, but from Seville. So times were very good for Spain when preparations were being made to sail against England. Philip was also supported by Pope Sixtus V, who treated the invasion as a crusade, with the promise of further subsidies should the Armada make land. The Armada appointed commander was also highly experienced, but Alvaro de Bazan died in February 1588, and Medina Sidonia took his place. The fleet set out with 22 warships of the Spanish Royal Navy and 108 converted merchant vessels, with the intention of sailing through the English Channel to anchor off the coast of Flanders, where the Duke of Parma's army of tercios would stand ready for an invasion of the southeast of England. The Duke of Parma was the son of Duke Ottavio Farnese of Parma and Margaret, the illegitimate daughter of the previously mentioned Habsburg Emperor Charles V. His mother was the half-sister of Philip II and Don John of Austria. He led a significant military and diplomatic career in the service of Spain under the service of Philip II, his uncle the King. He had fought in the Battle of Lepanto and then in the Netherlands against the English supported rebels.

The Armada achieved its first goal and anchored outside Gravelines, at the coastal border area between France and the Spanish Netherlands. While awaiting communications from Parma's army, it was driven from its anchorage by an English fire ship attack, and in the ensuing battle at Gravelines the Spanish were forced to abandon their rendezvous with Parma's army. The Armada managed to regroup and withdraw north, with the English flleet harrying it up the east coast of England. A return voyage to Spain was plotted, and the fleet sailed into the Atlantic, past Ireland. But severe storms disrupted the fleets course, and more than 24 vessels were wrecked on the north and western coasts of Ireland, with the survivors having to seek refuge in Scotland. Of the fleet's initial complement, about 50 vessels failed to make it back to Spain. The expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604). The defeat of the Spanish Armada led to the Drake-Norris Expedition of 1589, also known as the English Armada against Spanish Possessions in the New World and against the Atlantic treasure fleets. The treasure fleets brought various agricultural goods, precious metals and gems, spices, silk and lumber to Spain from its New World conquests. The Crown of Spain taxed the wares and precious metals of private merchants at a rate of 20%, a tax known as the quinto real (royal fifth.) On the day after the battle of Gravelines, the wind had backed southerly, enabling Medina Sidonia to move his fleet northward away from the French coast.

Although their shot lockers were almost empty, the English pursued in an attempt to prevent the enemy from returning to escort Parma. On 2 August (Old Style), 12 August (New Style) Howard called a halt to the pursuit of the Spanish in the latitude of the Firth of Forth off Scotland. By that time, the Spanish were suffering from thirst and exhaustion, and the only option left to Medina Sidonia was to chart a course home to Spain by a very hazardous route. The threat of invasion from the Netherlands had not yet been discounted by the English, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester maintained a force of 4,000 soldiers at West Tilbury, Essex, to defend the estuary of the River Thames against any incursion up river towards London. On 8 August (Old Style) 18 August (New Style) Queen Elizabeth I went to Tilbury to encourage her forces, and the next day gave to them what is probably her most famous speech. The Spanish, in trying to get back to Spain in damaged ships (some of the ships' hulls were bundled together with cables), supplies of food and water running out (even the cavalry horses had been thrown into the sea) added to their misfortune by making a devastating navigation error. Then off the coast of Scotland and Ireland the fleet ran into a series of powerful westerly gales, which drove many ships towards the lee shore.

Because so many anchors had been abandoned during the escape from the English fire ships off Calais, many of the ships were incapable of securing shelter as the reached the coast of Ireland and were driven onto the rocks. The late 1500s, and especially 1588 were marked by unusually powerful North Atlantic storms, perhaps associated with a high accumulation of polar ice off the coast of Greenland, a characteristic phenomenon of the "Little Ice Age" which some scientists date as lasting as long from the sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. As a result many more ships and sailors were lost to cold and stormy weather than in combat. Following the gales it is estimated that 5,000 men died, whether by drowning and starvation or by the hands of the English after they were driven ashore in Ireland, only hald of the "Invincible" Spanish Armada fleet returned home to Spain. By contrast English losses were comparatively few, and none of their ships were sunk. The Battle of Gravelines is regarded by specialists in military history as reflecting a lasting shift in the balance of naval power in favor of the English, in part because of the gap in naval technology and armament it confirmed between the two nations, which continued into the next century.

In the words of Geoffrey Parker, by 1588 'the capital ships of the Elizabethan navy constituted the most powerful battlefleet afloat anywhere in the world. However after its defeat in the Armada campaign the Spanish Navy also underwent a major organizational reform that helped it maintain control over its home waters and ocean routes well into the next century. The boost to English national pride lasted for years, and Elizabeth's legend persisted and grew long after her death. The repulse of the Spanish naval fleet also gave heart to the Protestant cause across Europe, and their belief that God was behind the Protestant cause was shown by the striking of commemorative medals that bore the inscription, He blew wiht His winds, and they were scattered. Some more light-hearted medals were struck, such as the one with the play on Julius Caesar's words: Venit, Vidit, Fugit (he came, he saw, he fled). The victory was acclaimed by the English as their greatest since the Battle of Agincourt. Agincourt was an English victory over a much larger French army in the Hundred Years War. The battle occurred on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) in northern France.

Here is a rather long quote from Paul Kennedy's 1987 book, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers that I had forgotten to include: "The post 1585 conflict with Spain placed both strategical and financial demands upon Elizabeth's government. In considering the strategy which England should best employ, naval leaders like Hawkins, Raleigh, Drake, and others urged upon the queen a policy of intercepting the Spanish silver trade, raiding the enemy's coasts and colonies, and in general exploiting the advantages of a sea power to wage war on the cheap-an attractive proposition in theory, although often difficult to implement in practice. But there was also the need to send troops to the Netherlands and northern France to assist those fighting the Spanish army-a strategy adopted not out of any great love of Dutch rebels or the French Protestants but simply because, as Elizabeth argued, "whenever the last day of France came it would also be the eve of the destruction of England." It was therefore vital to preserve the European balance, if need be by active intervention; and this "continental commitment" continued until the early seventeenth century, at least in a personal form, for many English troops stayed on when the expeditionary force was merged into the army of the United Provinces in 1594."

" In performing the twin function of checking Philip II's designs on land and harrassing his empire at sea, the English made their own contribution to the maintenance of Europe's political plurality. But the strain of supporting 8,000 men abroad was immense. In 1586 monies sent to the Netherlands totaled over 100,000 pounds, in 1587 175,000 pounds, each being about half of the entire outgoings for the year; in the Armada year, allocations to the fleet exceeded 150,000 pounds. Consequently, Elizabeth's annual expenditures in the late 1580s were between two and three times those of the early 1580s." The quotes from the Paul Kennedy book were on pages 61 and 62. Previous to the Kennedy information-most of the Armada information was from various links to wikipedia.

The first image is a painting by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg called "Defeat of the Spanish Armada" it was painted in 1787 and depicts the battle off Gravesend, France. The second image is "The Pillars of Hercules" with the motto "Plus Ultra" as the symbol of Charles V. The relief is a work done on the Town Hall of Seville in the 16th century. The last image is a painting of Philip II of Spain circa 1560. Tomorrow or the next day I should be able to start the article that is actually about John Dee and Edward Kelley-as opposed to all of this background. I had no idea I would be doing this much history information for the background to the Dee/Kelley information and am sorry if the title of the articles were misleading! At last I should be able to start the actual original article intended. I might even go beyond this-thanks in large part to Justin Russell and the links he left under the comments section of this series-but I do feel I will need to take a "breather" from Dee for awhile after the next few posts. It is over 17 pages of notes on both sides of large spiral notebook paper-so it should be at least enough for a few posts!

Peace and be well to anyone stopping by and thanks again so much for your thoughtful and intelligent comments! I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend! Link Here for Spanish Armada information.

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 8

I again rely heavily on Jane Dunn to get us to the point where my article about John Dee should come in. Hopefully it will be the next article after tonight's -not sure of the timeframe on it yet. This information is from pages 28 and 29 of Jane Dunn's Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens and begins talking about Mary Queen of Scots and her marriage to the short-lived Francis II of France and about Princess Claude's marriage to the Duc de Lorraine. "Across the English Channel cloth of gold was in similarly short supply. Mary was caught up in the flurry of preparations for another grand celebration at court. Only nine months after her own magnificent wedding, she was to be one of the leading guests at the wedding of the King's (Henri II's) second daughter, Princess Claude, with whom she had grown up. This girl was not yet twelve years old and was marrying the nominal head of the Guise family, Charles, Duc de Lorraine. This was yet another triumph for his uncle the Duc de Guise, "le Balafre," whose family consolidated further to its position at the heart of the French royal family."

Henry II (31 March 1519-10 July 1559) is the French King mentioned in this famous prophecy of Nostradamus-or so commentators say. I will provide a wikipedia link at the end of the article that talks about some controversy to the prophecy that I had never heard of before. If any readers have any thoughts of have also heard of this I would appreciate hearing from you as I thought this was one of Nostradamus' "slam dunk" prophecies. Here is the prophecy from Century 1 and Quatrain 35: The young lion shall overcome the older one/on the field of combat in single battle,/He shall pierce his eyes in a golden cage,/Two forces one, then he shall die a cruel death. I should mention that this is about Henri II's death days later from injuries he suffered in a jousting match.

Now back to Elizabeth and Mary this is the paragraph directly after the one quoted above: "Again no expense was to be spared. In a country still struggling under the levies of war, the young duke spent nearly 200,000 crowns, raised in taxes from his people, on the wedding and the week-long jousting and masquerades, which were traditional accompaniments to such regal nuptials. Part of his expenditure was on the livery of cloth of gold and silver for his team of twelve jousters and the matching eight to nine dresses of extravagant construction for the main female guests. Mary was presented with one of these creations, richly embroidered in gold and silver and lined with lynx's fur against the January weather. There were countless other beautiful gowns offered as gifts to ladies of the court."

"This display of ostentatious wealth and munificence was commented on even by the worldy-wise Venetian ambassador. Mary herself could not have been oblivious to the grandeur and self-confidence of her family inheritance exhibited at every possible occasion. United in her youthful person was the pride and valour of the Guises and the God-given pre-eminence as both a Stuart queen and-she hoped-a queen of the house of Tudor. This powerful dynastic mix was further enhanced through marriage with the mighty Valois, royal family of France. Born to all this, it was understandable if such a young queen had a share of the hubris of those she had grown up amongst. It made it difficult for her to recognize that even such certainty as her right to be the Queen of Scotland, the kingdom she valued least of all, was not immutable."

"Perhaps the same astrological phenomena Dr. Dee used were pored over by French diviners looking for auspicious signs, for this marriage was solemnised on 22 January, just a week after the coronation of Elizabeth as the new queen of England."

" Elizabeth's cornonation managed to be both a grand spectacle and yet intimately involving of her subjects. This ability to combine "a superb show" with a certain formality at great state occasions seems to have been a characterisitc peculiar to the English at the time, differentiating them from the Italian and French. A perceptive Italian observer in his eyewitness account commented on this, not entirely favorably: "the English having no Masters of the Ceremonies...and still less caring about formalities" seemed to rely less on pomp and ceremonial. He thought the cheery way Elizabeth answered back to the jocular crowds who clamoured for her after her coronation was equally deplorable. This informality and sensitivity to the popular mood was to appear to her Catholic observers to extend even into her attitude to religious worship and allow a fatal backsliding, they feared, to her brother's radicalism."

"This ability to unite grandeur with a genuine common touch was memorably displayed in Elizabeth's state entry into London on the Saturday afternoon, the day before her cornonation. The sky was dull with heavy snow clouds; in fact some snow even fell on the waiting crowds, some of whom had been out all night "their untired patience never spent, eyther with long expecting (some of them from a good part of the night before) or with unsatiable beholding of the Ceremonies of that day." There was thick mud everywhere, brought on by the rain and churned up by the increased traffic of carts and horses, and each house-holder had taken it upon themselves to strew sand and gravel in front of their houses to make the going less difficult. The whole court was present and so brilliantly arrayed the weather hardly mattered. They "so sparkled with jewels and gold collars that they cleared the air." Again, all of the previous material, unless otherwise noted is from the Jane Dunn book. I thought her writing and knowledge of the era would add greatly to this series. Next I would like to just state some more things about Dr. John Dee that I had put on tape recorder. I hope none of this is going back over old stuff. I just wanted to have a good background for the next-and maybe last-maybe not article in this series.

From the 1550s through the 1570s, Dee served as an adviser to the Crown on England's voyages of discovery. Providing technical assistance on navigation and ideological backing for the "British Empire," a term that John Dee was the first man to use. Dee wrote a letter to Willliam Cecil, First Baron Burghley in October 1574 seeking patronage. He claimed to have occult knowledge of treasure on the Welsh Marshes. This area is an imprecisely defined border between England and Wales. Dee also claimed to have knowledge of valuable ancient manuscripts at Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire. Dee knew that the Lord Treasurer's ancestors came from this area. In 1577 Dee published "General and Rare Memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation," a work that set out his vision of a maritime empire and asserted English territorial claims on the New World. Dee was acquainted with Humphrey Gilbert and was close to Sir Phillip Sidney and his circle. Sidney was one of the Elizabethan ages most prominent figures. He was famous for being a poet, courtier and soldier. In 1564 wrote the Hermetic work Monas Hieroglyphica (the Hieroglyphic Monad) an exhaustive Cabbalistic work of the interpretation of a glyph of his own design.

Meant to express to express the mystical unity of all creation. He travelled to Hungary to present a copy to Maximillian II, Holy Roman Emperor. His work was highly valued by his contemporaries but the loss of a secret oral tradition of Dee's milieu makes the work hard to interpret. Dee also published a mathematical preface to Henry Billingsley's English translation of Euclid's Elements in 1570 arguing the central importance of mathematics and outlining mathematics influence on the other arts and sciences. Dee''s work for the audience outside of the university setting was his most published an reprinted. In 1570 Dee argued in Brittanicae republicae synopsis for England's expansion into the New World. In this work he talked about the state of the Elizabethan realm and was also concerned with trade, ethics and national strength. His 1576 work on navigation, mentioned previously also argued for English imperialism and expansion. On the highly suggestive cover of this book, Brittania is seen kneeling and beseeching Elizabeth I to keep England safe by strengthening her navy. Dee used Geoffrey's inclusion of Ireland in Arthur's imperial conquests to argue that Arthur had established a British Empire abroad. John Dee also proposed that England exploit new lands through colonization. Dee posited a British claim to North America on the back of a map drawn 1577 to 1580.

In his Title Royal he invented the claim that the Madog ab Owain Gwynedd had discovered America with the intention of strengthening his claim that England's claim to North America was stronger than that of Spain. By the early 1580s Dee was growing dissatisfied with his progress in learning the secrets of Nature. And with his own lack of influence and recognition he turned to the supernatural as a means to acquire knowledge. Specifically he sought to contact angels through the means of a scryer or a crystal gazer who would act as an intermediary between Dee and the angelic realm. In 1582 Dee met Edward Kelley (then going by the name Edward Talbot) who impressed him greatly with his abilities. Dee took Kelley into his service and began to devote all his energies to his supernatural pursuits. These "spititual conferences" or "actions" were undertaken with an intense air of Christian piety with purification through fasting and prayer before. Dee was convinced of the benefits to mankind from these "communications." The character of Kelley is more difficult to assess. Some claim he acted with complete cynicism, but delusion or self-deception is not out of the question. The sheer volume of Kelley's output is amazing for its intricacy and vividness.

Dee maintained that the angels laboriously dictated the content of several books to him this way-some in a special angelic or Enochian language. In 1583 Dee met visiting Polish nobleman Albert Laski who persuaded Dee, Kelley and their families to accompany him to the continent in September 1583-the "angels" also prompted Dee to undertake the journey. But Laski proved to be bankrupt and out of favor in his own country. Dee and Kelley began a nomadic life in central Europe but they continued their "spiritual conferences" which Dee kept meticulous notes of. Dee also had an audience with Rudolf II (Holy Roman Emperor 1576-1612) and King Stephen of Poland in which he chided them for their ungodliness and attempted to convince them of the importance of his angelic communications. Neither monarch took him under their wings. During a spiritual conference in Bohemia in 1587, Kelley claimed that the angel Uriel had told him that he and Dee should share their wives. This caused Dee great anguish but he did not doubt its genuineness and apparently allowed it to go forward. Kelley, who was becoming a noted alchemist by this time and was much more sought after than Dee may have used this as a way to end the spiritual conferences. However, after this took place Dee ended the spiritual conferences and did not see Kelley again. Dee returned to England in 1589.

Dee returned to Mortlake to find his library ruined and many of his prized instruments and books stolen. He sought support from Queen Elizabeth who finally made him Warden of Christ's College in Manchester in 1592. This former college of priests has been reestablished as a Protestant institution by a royal charter of 1578. However, he could not exert much control over the Fellows who despised or cheated him. Early in his tenure he was consulted over the demonic possession of seven children, but took little interest in the matter. He did allow those involved to consult his still extensive library. He left Manchester in 1605 to return to London. By that time Elizabeth was dead and her successor, James I, was unsympathetic to anything related to the supernatural and provided no help. Dee spent his final years in poverty at Mortlake. He was forced to sell off various of his possessions to support himself and his daughter Katherine who cared from him until the end in late 1608 or early 1609 aged 82. There are no extant records or the exact date as both the parish registers and Dee's gravestone are missing. Dee was married twice and had eight children. Details of his first marriage are sketchy but is likely to have been from 1565 until his wife's death around 1576. From 1577 to 1601 he kept a meticulous diary. He married the twenty- three year old Jane Fromond in 1578. This was the wife that Kelley claimed Uriel had said they should share. Jane died during the plague in Manchester in 1605 along with a number of his children. Dee's son, Arthur, was also an alchemist and Hermetic author.

The antiquary, John Aubrey gives a detailed description of Dee, "He was tall and slender. He wore a gown like an artist's gown with hanging sleeves and a slit. A very fair, clear sanguine complexion...a long beard as white as milk. A very handsome man." John Dee was an intensely pious Christian, but his Christianity was heavily influenced by the Hermetic, Platonic and Pythagorean doctrines that were pervasive during the Renaissance. He believed that number was the basis of all things and the key to all knowledge and the key to God's creation was the act of numbering. From Hermeticism, he believed that human beings could have divine power. And he believed this divine power could be excercised through mathematics. His Cabbalistic angel magic was heavily numerological and his work on practical mathematics, navigation for example, were simply the exalted mundane ends of the same spectrum, not the antithetical activities many would see them as today. I will give a couple of links for this article this morning and hope to come back with more soon. I have been at this almost three hours I think and have to stop for now! I hope to be online tomorrow but if not-I definitely want to be Saturday. Here is a LINK about Francis, Duke of Guise and a LINK about the short-lived husband of Mary and king of France. With any luck many more links on the way! The Dee information was largely from wikipedia in this article. Thanks so very much for your great comments and be well all of you! The image is of a rose of the Tudor dynasty. Forgot the Henry II LINK the part about the Nostradamus prophecy is logically under the "prophecy" label in the wikipedia article.

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 7

I have always thought that some of the most fascinating thoughts on world history are the conspiratorial, esoteric-ummm things not being quite as they seem. This idea is just one that I hope to touch on in this series. These ideas can be as simple as things we know happened: for instance the conspiracy to kill Hitler-I should also mention here the absolute 100 percent reality of the Holocaust-for there are some numbskulls out there that don't think the Holocaust was the real series of atrocities that it was-or even existed at all! Uh yeah-Zyklon B and "The Final Solution" were simply code words for a new form of roach control! Oh and the walking skeletons you see in photographs taken in concentration camps after the Nazi regime fell-they were just extras-kinda like what you find in Hollywood!. I have always found people coming from this angle to be haters of Jewish folk. They will deny it under all sorts of refutations and folderall-but trust me on just this one thing if anything-people that deny the Holocaust happened hate Jewish people. That is one reason I refuse to visit certain sites on the net even though they may have a great database of other subjects.

In fact Professor Pan did a great expose of one of them and I will try to come back with a link to his article. The deaths of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy have long been proven in my mind to be what Jeff Wells at Rigorous Intuition calls "acts of state." Jeff also touches on the anti-Jewish contagion that unfortunately infects some in the field of conspiracy research in his book, Rigorous Intuition. From here I will skip over the many events from the latter part of the twentieth century through the years of our new century-everthing from other assassinations-including Pope John Paul 1 (oh yes-yet another series inspired by Rigorous Intuition might be in the works here if my neighbors don't whack my own bad self before then!), Pan Am 103, the Oklahoma City bombing and of course the biggest bugger of them all-September 11, 2001. There are some out there who would suggest that the money masters of the capitalist West bankrolled both the foundation of Nazi Germany and the nascent Soviet Union. These ideas are what I call the BIG conspiracy theories-and you know what? I think the people that have done research like this just might be onto something. But I digress-as usual:) What I am trying to get at, using too many words is that sometimes our history books may not tell us the whole story. And with John Dee-maybe just maybe a person who rates a footnote in most serious studies of history, was perhaps a much more important individual than given credit for.

Now I would like to plug another book! The lovely author Jane Dunn who has written a biography of Mary Shelley, a study of the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, and also a groundbreaking work on the life of Antonia White authored a beautiful 2004 book called Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals and Queens. Jane Dunn is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Like Rigorous Intuition, the music of Linda Matos and other books, poetry and works of art that I have shouted out here and those I hope to in the future I would feel absolutely secure in offering a refund to readers of my blog who purchased the book and found it wanting. I actually hope to be able to do this with these things if my financial situation ever turns around. Of course one must qualify certain things. I would suggest buying this book iff (iff=if and only iff if I remember geometry and college algebra right!): You have an interest in women in power, feminism, Elizabethan England, Mary Queen of Scots, international relations of the time period, customs, how men and women related to each other then. I also very much enjoyed how Jane Dunn breathed so much life into the people and timeframe she talks about in the book and also the powerful emotions she portrays with an expert skill. Jane Dunn-you get the My Favorite Monsters seal of approval (as if you care:). If you were a man I could offer to do certain things for you-or should I say iff and only iff you were a man! Sorry folks-you know how bad insomnia worsens my already horrid sense of humor! I do have one thing I could offer if you so fancied. I could dress up as Peter Cottontail and chase you around with an egg beater as I sing my version of I think I'm Going Out of My Head by Little Anthony and the Imperials! And of course if you do not wish me to do this you (which I am just assuming on a hunch:) you could just let me quote from your book!

So here goes from pages 27 to 29 in Jane Dunn's Elizabeth and Mary: "Court Life had revived within the month. Having been secluded for so long, careful to be seen as modest, scholarly and not overly ambitious, Elizabeth now joined her courtiers, feasting and dancing into the early morning. Her physical vitality reminded the older ones present of her father when a young man, but unlike him, her energy and physical fitness lasted well into late middle-age when she could still hunt and dance her noblemen to a standstill. Elizabeth began that Christmas to exhibit something of her capacity for epic enjoyment. In another dispatch, Schifanoya was rather disapproving: "The Court is held at Westminster, and they are intent on amusing themselves and on dancing till after midnight," he sniffily reported to the Mantuan ambassador at the court of Philip II in Brussels. A month later he was deploring "the levities and unusual licentiousness at Elizabeth's court, refusing to detail the profanities acted out on the feast of the Epiphany, traditionally Twelfth Night, when mummers dressed up as crows wearing the habits of cardinals, or as asses in bishops' regalia and wolves in abbots' clothing. While the court and the young queen greeted this ribaldry with wild laughter, our devout Italian observer was not amused at the wider implications as to Elizabeth's intentions towards the true religion: "I will consign it in silence."

"The timing of the coronation was of crucial moment. With the implicit threat from the French with Mary Queen of Scots' claim to the English throne in their pocket, and the obdurate insistence of two popes that Elizabeth was illegitimate, it seemed politic to claim her crown as soon as possible. By then it was well-established law, "that the crown once worn quite taketh away all Defects whatsoever. But these new Elizabethans had a complicated relationship with the supernatural. A teeming spirit world coexisted with the material, and divination, astrology, alchemy and other esoteric beliefs flourished as part of the natural sciences. Nostradamus was closely consulted for his prophecies (Catherine de Medici, the mother-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots, was a particularly fervent devotee). According to the seer, 1559 was an inauspicious year: to anyone who could read or was susceptible to tavern gossip there was not much better to be hoped for than "divers calamities, weepings and mournings" and "civil sedition" which would sweep the land. It was not the best omen for the beginning of the reign of another woman and it added to the atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty."

" Lord Robert Dudley was entrusted with a mission to seek out Dr. John Dee, a remarkable and learned man, who was to become Elizabeth's own consultant philosopher and who numbered astrology amongst his many accomplishments. Unlike Nostradamus with his mysticism, Dr. Dee was known for his more scientific approach to divination by mapping the positions of the planets. His task was to draw up a horoscope of the most auspicious day and time for Elizabeth's cornonation, the formal birth of her reign. Apparently the best astrological augury pointed to 15 January 1559, with Jupiter, the chief god of the planetary system, positioned satisfactorily in Aquarius, to signfiy a universality to this Jovian power and Mars, the planet of war and assertive action, placed in indomitable Scorpio. The date of greatest promise was what the Queen accepted."

"The Christmas of 1558 was even busier than usual as everyone prepared for the coronation, working "day and night both on holidays and week days." There was such a run on crimson silk and cloth of gold and of silver that any sale of it was embargoed until Elizabeth had made her choice for herself and her household. Her noblemen and women were determined to cut a dash and make their mark. With a new reign there was much insecurity and jostling for position and preferment. This was the greatest opportunity for dressing up and showing off, parading one's wealth and influence to which one aspired. It was a chance to catch the royal eye."

There is a bit more to go with the Dee information from Jane Dunn's book. I hope I didn't quote directly from her book too much. I don't want to be in violation of any copyright laws or rules . I have enjoyed this book so much and thought the information in these pages was very pertinent to this series that I quoted more from the book directly than I realized at first. I asked someone who I thought would be very in the know about copyrights when I started the blog-and their answer was as long as you give credit to the author you should be fine-but I have noticed some differences in the way copyrights are worded and such. Perhaps there is a website that will tell about them or about.com or an agency I can call or email to be on the extra-safe side. Again everything in quotes, except earlier where noted is from Jane Dunn's Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens on pages 27 and 28. I will put the rest that is left-not sure how much in my own words and hope to get it here very soon. And of course the article I have planned all along is in the works-and it may not even be the end of the series. The image is The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth 1. The name of the picture is one of any three surviving versions of an allegorical panel depicting Elizabeth surrounded by symbols of imperial majesty against a backdrop of the Spanish Armada. I also hope to come back with the link to the Professor Pan article I mentioned before logging off for the evening. Peace and best wishes to anyone stopping by! The link to the Professor Pan article -actually a series here The articles Professor Pan has posted is about Jeff Rense. There are many other subjects on his site also besides this.

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 6

I think several quotes from Richard Smoley's excellent 2006 book: Forbidden Faith-The Gnostic Legacy about John Dee would be a great way to introduce the actual mystery and spiritualism of the man. The chapter in Forbidden Faith that the John Dee information is in is called "The Sages of the Renaissance." In this chapter Smoley focusses on how he would write the Gnostic legacy if it were turned into a drama. He sees two parts to the drama. The first act being the rise and fall of the dualist heresy, and the second great act is the entry of the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah into Western civilization. Later in the series I would like to talk about Enoch and Enochian magic in relation to John Dee and Edward Kelley. Smoley points out that some believe the Kabbalistic tradition began with Enoch, the first fully enlightened human being, who "walked with God" (Gen 5:22). Enoch was said to have been transformed into the angel Metatron, who guides the spiritual evolution of humanity. Metatron appeared before Abraham as Melchizedek and initiated him into the teachings of the sacred Kabbalah.

The pages where I quote from the book are from 118-120. "Because of the ambiguous role of the magus in Western civilization-who is seen sometimes as a sage, often as a charlatan-these figures have risen and fallen in the esteem of history, much as they did in their own day. John Dee, court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, the inspiration for the character Prospero in Shakespeare's Tempest, and the man who according to legend, conjured up the storm that sank the Spanish Armada, furnishes a vivid example. Dee (1527-1608) saw extremes of good and bad fortune in his life. At one point a close adviser to Elizabeth, he ended his years in poverty and disgrace. He espoused a version of the Christian Kabbalah that sought to reform the church; he also sketched out the ideal of a universal British monarchy that inspired the beginnings of the British Empire. And yet he became most famous for a strange series of encounters involving a medium named Edward Kelly (or Kelly). The record of these conversations with beings of the other world was published in 1659 under the title A True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits by a debunker named Meric Casaubon, who sought to discredit Dee's reputation posthumously and largely succeeded. Dee was generally regarded as a plain fraud until the twentieth century, when scholars began to see him as a key figure in the intellectual world of the Elizabethan Age."

Smoley goes on to point out that Dee had invoked the supposed Arthurian ancestry of the Tudor dynasty and its mythical rights to lands overseas to lay the groundwork for Elizabeth to take possession of these vast territories. John Dee wanted England to rule over the European continent instead of the extremely powerful Habsburg dynasty that at the time was Europe's greatest power. 1583 was the year that John Dee and Edward Kelley, along with their familes, began a six year tour of Central Europe. Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire at the time and ruled by Emperor Rudolf II. Rudolf II was known for his religious tolerance as well as his interest in occult and esoteric matters. Apparently, Dee discussed with Rudolf his vision of a reformed Christianity that would be guided by esoteric principles. Dee also seemed to be prophesying that Protestanism would triumph over both Catholicism and Islam. Emperor Rudolf II wasn't greatly intrigued by Dee's vision. Smoley also points out that similarities between Dee's failures as a prophet and those of his contemporary Nostradamus. Of course, the idea of Nostradamus being a failure as a prophet has been argued for centuries-and many believe in his work today. The quatrains of Nostradamus were used during World War II by both opposing sides predicting defeat for the other (so maybe that should tell us something of the fluidity of his prophecies)!

Unlike John Dee, Nostradamus was viewed with respect by the French court until his death in 1566, whereas Dee died in penury and near obscurity. Some reasons for this are that Dee's protectors had died. But even more importantly, hatred and suspicion of sorcerers and witches had grown. Smoley writes, "The public-and some of those in power-were not always able to distinguish a learned magus from a low sorcerer who trafficked in evil spirits. Indeed Christopher Marlowe's highly popular 1593 tragedy Doctor Faustus explicitly connected the two turning sorcery hunting into a popular craze. As a result the last two decades of Dee's life were a time of disappointment and impoverishment, made worse by the accession to the throne of James I in 1603. James was obsessed with witchcraft and had even written a tract against witches entitled Demonologie. Dee could expect no favors from him and did not receive any. In 1608, the old magus died in great poverty." The image is of one of John Dee's magical "sigils"-more about this later. I think I will write the next article on John Dee with the first source I had found-I don't know how long it will be but hope that it is interesting. From there maybe I can expand on the subject using internet sources and links that people like Justin Russell and Anadae have given. The articles below this one are all "history" but might be helpful explaining later events. Peace and be well to anyone passing through or stopping by!

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 5-Background

Acting against what he considered to be Protestant subversion, King Philip II of Spain (1536-1598) put his support behind the Catholic cause, which had been strengthened by the Council of Trent. Philip put at the Church's disposal the immense resources of the Spanish Empire, which from 1558 onwards were increased by the annexation of Portugal and its territories overseas. With the abdication of his father Charles V, the old rivalry between Spain and France led Philip to declare war once again on the King of France, Henry II; Pope Paul IV, who opposed any Spanish presence on Italian soil, supported the French King. Under the terms of the Treaty of Cambresis (1559), France retained Metz, Toul and Verdun, and recovered Calais, but had to give up its claims to Savoy, Italy and the Low Countries. Spain achieved supremacy this way on the western part of the European mainland. In 1565 it liberated Malta from the siege of the Turks. From this point forward there could be no doubt of Philip's dominant position. However, in 1568, fortunes changed for him. In the north Calvinism took root in the Low Countries. In sounthern Spain, the Moors, rebelled, while the Turks began a new offensive and captured Cyprus which had previously been held by Venice.

Philip II's first action was in the Meditteranean. In 1571 the Holy League formed by Spain, Venice and Rome destroyed the Turkish fleet at Lepanto. With the Turkish threat eliminated, Philip tried to subdue the Low Countries, which were supported strongly by England and France. With Queen Elizabeth 1 giving assistance to Dutch rebels, the attacks by English ships on Spanish possessions in America and also the execution of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, Philip II tried to invade England. The Spanish Armada, thought to be invincible, was to escort Spanish troops. The Armada's "invincibility' in the tradition of the ocean liner Titanic, centuries later was attacked by the English and destroyed by a storm in the English Channel in 1588. This catastrophe weakened Philip in his struggle against France, where he was supporting the Catholics against the Protestants. At the end of his reign, Philip signed a peace treaty with France and recognized its King Henry IV, despite his Protestant past. Philip II intended to rule the Low Countries as an absolute monarch and he fiercely suppressed Calvinism, which was spreading in the larger cities. In 1566 the Spanish repression sparked a revolution. A number of things gave rise to the revolt. The nobles were afraid of losing their power; the bourgeoisie thought taxes too high; and of course Calvinism exacerbated religious tensions.

The rebellion had its first success when Philip II had to dismiss the Cardinal Granvelle, Bishop of Arras. The nobles then demanded autonomy for the country and freedom to worship. Their doings stoked the religious fanaticism of ordinary people who had suffered a great deal from the economic crisis and they destroyed a number of Catholic churches. Philip then took measures that led to a general revolt in the Netherlands. Dutch Catholics and Protestants united under the leadership of William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, Stadholder or Governor of Holland and Zeeland. The rebels who called themselves Geuzen (beggars) seized Brielle and Flushing in 1572. The Duke of Alva, who had been appointed governor general of Holland by Philip was replaced by Don Luis de Requesens, who pursued a policy of religious tolerance. Then the Spanish soldiers, who had not been paid, sacked Antwerp and a general revolt began. The 17 provinces, Catholic and Protestant, united by the Pacification of Ghent in 1576, resumed their fight for freedom and autonomy once more. This time they fought the viceroy Don John of Austria, victor of Lepanto, who was unable to defeat the insurgents. Philip II's new envoy, Alessandro Farneses was a gifted negotiator. He managed to rally the ten Catholic provinces in the south by promising them political autonomy (the Union of Arras, 1579).

The seven northern provinces retaliated a few days later by forming the Union of Utrecht. The Low Countries were split in two. In 1588 the seven northern provinces established the United Provinces, loyal to Calvinism with the support of France and England, they won their independence in 1609 and were recognized by Spain when the Treaties of Westphalia were signed in 1648. The image is a painting of King Philip II of Spain of the House of Habsburg. Peace and best to anyone stopping by and I hope you are having or have had a great weekend! More on Philip II Here

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 4-Background

When the crisis between the Protestant and Catholic viewpoints had begun there were calls for and ecumenical council. In 1518 Martin Luther had called for a council "against an ill-informed Pope." Catholic humanists, including Erasmus, Luis Vives and Pope Adrian VI, had also called for a council, mentioning the fact it was in line with the traditions of the Catholic Church. In 1524 Charles V made the same proposal. However, successive Popes, afraid of the diminishing of their authenticity tried to use tactics to delay this. Paul III tried to reform the church by setting up a "Council of Cardinals on Church Reform." In 1542 Cardinal Carafa reorganized the Roman Inquisition, whose horrific methods were to suppress 'heresy.' In the end all of these measures failed. There was a necessity of reforming the church. Pope Paul III finally held a Council at Trent (Trento), a strategic location since it was an imperial city on Italian territory. This turned into a series of three different councils at different times between 1545 and 1563. The councils discussions were surprisingly open and free, although the Protestants shunned them. The conclusions of the Council of Trent defined modern Catholicism.

They reaffirmed Catholic dogma, in particular on points rejected by the Protestants: tradition, as well as Holy Scripture, was a source of revelation and a criterion of faith. The Council condemned predestination and justification by faith. It also reconfirmed the necessity of all seven sacraments and declared that Christ was really present in the Eucharist; it declared that the Latin Vulgate was the official version of the Bible. It reaffirmed the Church's hierarchy and the authority of the Pope; it maintained the celibacy of the priesthood and forbade the accumulation of wealth. All forms of religious instruction must be carried out under the strict authority of the bishops. Bishops and priests must reside in their individual dioceses and parishes, now reorganized; and the members of the clergy must be trained in diocesan seminaries. To fight Protestanism, new religious orders were established as part of the restoration of Catholicism as conceived by the Pope. Spain witnessed a growth of mysticism, largely due to the influence of St. Teresa of Avila. This spiritual revival also helped launch the Society of Jesus, an order founded in Paris by the Spaniard Ignatius de Loyola. Loyola (1491-1556) had been born into a noble family. He saw combat and was seriously wounded by the French at the siege of Pamplona in 1521.

He withdrew to the monasteries of Monserrat and Manresa, where he began writing his spiritual Excercises, then left on a pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. Loyola decided to devote his life to God, and studied at Salamenca and settled at the College of Montaigu in Paris. The Society of Jesus was born on 15 August 1534 in the little Montmartre Church in Paris where Ignatius Loyola and six of his fellow students met to take their vows. The group went to Rome, where in 1540 Pope Paul III recognized the new order as the armed champion of faith. The order added the vow of absolute obedience to the Pope in addition to the three traditional vows of chastity, poverty and obedience to the abbot. The studies to obtain admission into the order were difficult with their strict discipline and intellectual training, the Jesuits became the essential corps of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The resurgence of the faith was continued by three great reforming Popes. Pius V put the Council's decisions into practice, Gregory XIII promoted religious education, and Sixtus V reorganized the central administration of the Church. These reforms enabled Catholicism to check the growth of Protestanism and recover much of the ground that it had lost.

The Company of Jesus had great success in Poland. Another Jesuit, Peter Carnisius had great influence on the restoration of Catholicism in Germany, France, Hungary and Bohemia. Lutheranism for now was limited to northern Germany and Scandinavia. Calvinism took hold in Switzerland, Holland, Scotland, England and western Germany. One post down and hopefully I can get two more done. I am trying to provide more background information to this era that John Dee lived in. Some of it may be very relevant to his story, like the sinking of the Spanish Armada, and some only tangential to the main topic. I just wanted to portray as complete a picture of the politics and religious differences of the time as I could-for these matters did end up having a great effect on Dee's life. Peace and be well! The image is a painting of the Council of Trent at the Santa Maria Maggiore Church.

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 3-Background

Queen Elizabeth I (7 September 1533-24 March 1603) was queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. She came to the throne after her half-sister, Queen Mary I, who had only been queen since 19 July 1553. Mary was the daughter of the previously mentioned Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. Mary is best remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism. During her short reign she had almost 300 religious dissenters burned at the stake, which earned her the unenviable sobriquet of "Bloody Mary." Elizabeth was sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen." She was expected to marry at some point but never did despite several petitions from parliament. As Elizabeth grew older, she became famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants and literature of the time. Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. She was the daughter of Henry VIII, and was born a princess, but her mother Anne Boleyn, was executed three years after her birth. Anne Boleyn was likely innocent of the charges of adultery, incest and high treason, but that did not save her from being beheaded on 19 May 1536. After Anne's execution, Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her brother Edward VI, cut her out of the succession.

In 1558, however, Edward's will was set aside and Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, Mary to the throne. Elizabeth had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. One of Elizabeth's first acts as queen was to support the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement later evolved into the modern Church of England. As a ruler, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and her siblings. Many of her counsellors didn't approve of this strategy, but it often saved her from political and marital mistakes. Even though Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588 forever tied her name with what is popularly viewed as one of the greatest victories in English history. Within twenty years of her death, Elizabeth was being celebrated as the ruler of a golden age. Her reign is also famous for the flourishing of English drama, led by playrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe and the foreign adventures of men such as explorers Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh and others. Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25. As her triumphal procession snaked through the city, she was greeted cheerfully by her subjects. Elizabeth's open and gracious responses endeared her to the spectators.

The following day, 15 January 1559, Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey and anointed by the Catholic bishop of Carlisle. She was then presented for the people's acceptance, amidst the deafening noise of organs, fifes, trumpets, drums and bells. On 20 Noevember 1558, Elizabeth declared her intentions to her Council and other peers who had come to Hatfield to swear allegiance. The speech contains the first instance of her often used metaphor of the "two bodies": the body natural and the body politic. My lords, the law of nature moves me to sorrow for my sister; the burden that is fallen upon me makes me amazed, and yet, considering I am God's creature, ordained to obey His appointment, I will thereto yield, desiring from the bottom of my heart that I may have assistance of His grace to be the minister of His heavenly will in this office now committed to me. And as I am but one body naturally considered, though by His permission a body politic to govern, so shall I desire you all...to be assistant to me, that I with my ruling and you with your service may make a good account to Almighty God and leave some comfort to our posterity on earth. I mean to direct all my actions by good advice and counsel.

Elizabeth and her advisors perceived a threat of a possible Catholic crusade against heretical England. Elizabeth sought a Protestant solution that would not offend Catholics too much while acknowledging the desires of English Protestants; she would not tolerate the more radical Puritans, however, who were wanting far more reaching reforms. As a result the parliament of 1559 started to legislate for a church based on the Protestant after Edward VI, with the monarch as its head, but with many superficially Catholic elements, such as priestly vestments.

It was never clear why Elizabeth never married. Some speculate that she might have known she was sterile. Whatever the case, her last courtship ended in 1581 when she was 48 -well past child-bearing years. This was with a man 22 years younger than she. Elizabeth had kept the marriage question open, but often only as a diplomatic ploy. Parliament repeatedly petitioned her to marry, but she always side-stepped the question. In 1563, she told a imperial envoy: "If I follow the inclination of my nature, it is this: beggar woman and single, far rather than queen and married." That same year, after her illness with smallpox, the succession question became an even greater concern. Parliament urged the queen to marry or nominate an heir, to prevent a civil war after her death. She refused to do either. The House of Commons threatened to withhold funds until she named a successor. In 1566, she confided to the Spanish ambassador that if she could find a way to settle the succession without marrying, she would do so. By 1570, senior figures in the government privately accepted that Elizabeth would never marry or name a successor. Elizabeth was often accused of negligence due to this failure. However, her silence on the matter strengthened her own political security; she knew that if she named an heir, her throne would be vulnerable to a coup.

Apart from courthship with a man she actually loved, her childhood friend, Lord Robert Dudley, Elizabeth treated marriage as an aspect of foreign policy. She had turned down Philip II's offer in 1559, but negotiated for several years to marry his cousin Archduke Charles of Austria. Relations with the Habsburgs declined by 1568. Elizabeth the considered marriage to the two French Valois princes in turn, first Henri, Duke of Anjou, and later from 1572 to 1581, his brother Francois, Duke of Anjou. The last proposal was tied to a planned allegiance against Spanish control of the Southern Netherlands. Elizabeth's foreign policy was largely defensive. The exception was the disastrous occupation of Le Havre from October 1562 to June 1563, when Elizabeth's Huegenot allies joined the Catholics to retake the port. Elizabeth had intended to exchange Le Havre for Calais, retaken by France in January 1558. She sent troops to Scotland in 1560 to prevent the French from using it as a base. In 1585, she signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch to block the Spanish threat to England. Only through the activities of her fleets did Elizabeth puruse an aggressive policy. This paid off in the war against Spain-80% of which was fought at sea. She knighted Francis Drake after he circumnavigated the globe from 1577 to 1580, and he also won accolades for his raids on Spanish ports and fleets. There was an element of piracy and mercenary self-enrichement that drove Elizabethan voyages-much the same as other powers of her time, before and afterwards.

Elizabeth reign also witnessed the first colonization of new land in North America; the colony of Virginia was named by her. Elizabeth's policy towards Scotland was to oppose the French prescence there. She was afraid the French planned to invade England and put Mary, Queen of Scots, who was considered by many to be the true heir to the crown, on the throne. When Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 to take power, the country had established a Protestant church and was run by nobles who supported Elizabeth. Mary refused to ratify the treaty. Elizabeth had offended Mary by proposing her own suitor, Robert Dudley, as a husband. Instead, in 1565 Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who carried his own claim to the English throne. The marriage was the first of a series of errors of judgment by Mary that gave the victory to the Scottish Protestants and to Elizabeth. Darnley became unpopular in Scotland and then infamous for presiding over the murder of Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio. In February 1567, Darnley was murdered by conspirators, almost certainly led by James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell.

Shortly afterwards, on 15 May 1567, Mary married Bothwell, arousing suspicions that she had been involved in the murder of her husband. Elizabeth wroter to her: How could a worse choice be made for your honour than in such haste to marry such a subject, who besides other and notorious lacks, public fame has charged with the murder of your late husband, besides the touching of yourself also in some part, though we trust in that behalf falsely. These events led quickly to Mary's defeat and imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle, near Kinross, Scotland. The Scottish lords forced her to abdicate in favor of her son James, who had been born in 1566. James was taken to Stirling Castle to be raised as a Protestant. Mary escaped from Loch Leven in 1568, but after another defeat fled across the border to England, where she had once been assured the support of Elizabeth. Elizabeth had thought to restore her half-sister and fellow monarch; but she and her council chose a more cautious route. Rather than risk returning Mary to Scotland with an English army or sending her to France and the Catholic enemies of England, they detained her in England. Mary was imprisoned there for the next nineteen years.

Whenever the next article is ready to go, it should finally have more information about John Dee and Edward Kelley. I just thought it might be good to have some background to this historical era-and will try to continue to talk about this era in these articles. The image at top is of Elizabeth 1 in her Coronation Robes. The next image is of Elizabeth as a younger woman and the last image is of Mary, Queen of Scots. Thanks again for your comments and best to all of you!

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 2-Background

Catherine of Aragon was born at the Archbishop's Palace in Alcala de Henares, in Madrid on 16 December 1485. She was the youngest child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. Queen Mary I (18 February 1516-17 November 1558) was the only child of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon to survive infancy. In 1525 Henry VIII fell in love with Anne Boleyn-a maid of honor to Queen Catherine about 10-17 years younger than Henry. Catherine had been pregnant six times altogether with only the future Queen Mary surviving. All of Catherine's male children died very young-one Henry, Duke of Cornwall lived only 52 days (born 1511) and the other male children were stillborn. Catherine's religious dedication grew as she aged along with her interest in academics. Education among women became fashionable partly because of Catherine's influence. She also donated large amounts of money to several colleges. Henry VIII still thought a male heir to the throne was essential. The Tudor dynasty at that time was fairly new and Henry felt if its legitimacy were tested, a male heir would help solidify the Tudor's claim to the throne. A long civil war (1135-1154) had been fought the last time a woman, Henry I of England's daughter, Empress Matilda had inherited the throne.

The disaster of the Wars of the Roses, between the rival royal houses of Lancaster and York, between the years of 1455 and 1487 were still fresh in people's minds. In 1520, Catherine's nephew Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, paid a state visit to England, and she urged Henry to enter into an alliance with Charles rather than with France. Immediately after his departure, she accompanied Henry to France on the celebrated visit to Francis I, within 2 years war was declared against France and the Emperor was once again welcome in England, where plans were being made to betroth him to Catherine's daughter Mary. By 1525 when Henry VIII was falling in love with Anne Boleyn Catherine wasn't able to undergo any more pregnancies. Henry actually began to believe his marriage to Catherine was cursed and sought confirmation from the Bible,which stated that if a man marries his brother's wife, the couple will be childless. If Catherine had lied when she said her marriage to Arthur (Prince of Wales and eldest son of Henry VII of England and heir to the throne due to her overwhelmingly English ancestry, inherited from her mother Queen Isabella I of Castile), it meant that their marriage was wrong in the eyes of God.

It is possible that the idea of annulment had been suggested to Henry much earlier and it is very likely that it was motivated by his desire for a male heir. Soon it became an obsession for Henry VIII to secure an annulment. Catherine was not happy when it was suggested that she retire to a nunnery, saying "God never called me to a nunnery I am the King's true and legitimate wife." Henry had hopes that the Holy See, would act separately from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who didn't know anything about Henry's plans. The King's secretary, William Knight, was sent to Pope Clement VII to sue for an annulment. The pope, however, was a prisoner of Catherine's nephew Emperor Charles V, after the Sack of Rome in 1527-so needless to say, Knight had great difficulty trying to get an audience with him! William Knight returned to England without accomplishing much. Now Henry's hand was forced-he had to appeal to Cardinal Wolsey. Indeed, Wolsey ended up doing all he could to get a decision in Henry's favor. He convened an ecclesiastical court in England with a representative of the Pope presiding. Both Henry and Catherine were in attendance. Shakespeare's play, The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth, paints a remarkable picture of Catherine's eloquence. Catherine clearly made the case that she was being treated unfairly by Henry.

The Pope recalled his legate. It is not clear how much the pope was influenced by Charles V, but it is clear that Henry thought that the Pope was unlikely to give him an annulment from the Emperor's aunt. The Pope forbade Henry to marry again before a decision was reached in Rome. Cardinal Wolsey had failed and was dismissed from office in 1529. Wolsey began a secret plot to force Anne Boleyn into exile and began communicating with the pope about this matter. The unfortunate Wolsey's plot was discovered and Henry ordered Wolsey's arrest. If Wolsey had not died from illness in 1530, he might have been executed for treason. A year later Catherine was banished from court and her old rooms were given to Anne Boleyn. When Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham died, the Boleyn family's chaplain, Thomas Cranmer was appointed to the vacant position. When Henry decided to annul his marriage to Catherine, John Fisher became her most trusted confidante and one of her main supporters. He appeared in the legates' court on her behalf, where he shocked people with the sharpness of his language. Fisher declared that, like John the Baptist, he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage.

Henry was enraged and wrote a long Latin address to the legates in answer to Fisher's speech. The removal of the cause to Rome ended Fisher's role in the matter, but Henry never forgave him. When Henry returned to Dover from a meeting with King Francis I of France in Calais, he married Anne Boleyn in a secret ceremony. Anne was already pregnant by this time. Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry to Catherine illegal on 23 May 1533, and 5 days later declared the marriage of Henry and Anne valid. Catherine insisted that she was Henry's only lawful wife until the end of her life and England's only legitimate queen. Catherine's faithful servants continued to address her by that title, and most of Europe agreed that Catherine was the Queen and Anne Boleyn just a concubine and her daughter a bastard. Henry refused Catherine the right to any title but "Dowager Princess of Wales," in recognition of her position as his brother's widow. In 1535 Catherine was transferred to the decaying and remote Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire. She confined herself to one room and left it only to attend Mass. She fasted most of the time and even wore the hair shirt of the Order of St. Francis. She was permitted to receive occasional visitors, but was forbidden to see her daughter, Mary. They were also forbidden to communicate-but discreet sympathizers acted as an underground postal service for the two.

Henry offered them both better quarters and each other's company if they would acknowledge Anne Boleyn as his Queen, but they refused to do this. In late December 1535, Catherine sensed the end was near and made her will. She also wrote to her nephew, The Emperor Charles V, asking him to protect her daughter Mary. Catherine then wrote one final letter to Henry, her "most dear lord, king and husband," The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you forceth me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part, I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofor desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. Lastly, I make the vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things. Katherine the Quene.

Catherine died at Kimbolton Castle, on 7 January 1536. The news reached Henry and Anne the following day. Anne wore yellow for the mourning which has been interpreted in different ways; some taking it as a sign she didn't mourn. However, Chapuys reported that it was actually King Henry who wore yellow and celebrated the news and made a show of his and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, to his courtiers. This was seen as distasteful and vulgar by many. Rumors then began that Catherine had been poisoned by one or both of them. The rumors began after a discovery during her embalming that there was a black growth on her heart that could have been caused by poisoning. However, modern medical experts agree that the discoloration was not due to poisoning but cancer, a disease not understood at the time. Another belief, is that the dressing in yellow was out of respect for the late queen/princess dowager as yellow was the Spanish color of mourning. Definitely, later in the day it is reported that Henry and Anne both individually and privately wept for her death. Catherine was buried in Peterborough Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, England with the ceremony due to a Dowager Princess of Wales, not a queen. Henry did not attend the funeral and refused to allow Mary to attend also.

The image at the top is of Catherine of Aragon as a Queen of England-I am going to try to add another image of Catherine of Aragon as a younger woman in here also somewhere in the post. I hope I didn't go unnecessarily too far back in time to explain the world of Queen Elizabeth I, Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley. The more I kept looking at things the more I thought I should add-this may indeed be a long series and the next article may be historical in nature as well-not sure yet. I hope to get caught up with everyone tomorrow. Peace and be well anyone stopping by or passing through-& thanks so much again for your continued wonderful, thought-provoking and intelligent comments!

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World

Dr. John Dee was born on 13 July 1527, in Tower Ward, London, England-exactly 482 years ago-give or take a few Julian-Gregorian calendar screw-ups (joke). He attended Chelmsford Catholic School from 1535 to 1542. After this, he attended St. John's College in Cambridge. Dee's great abilities in mathematics and the sciences were recognized there, and he was made a founding fellow of Trinity College. The amazing stage effects Dee produced for a production of Aristophanes' Peace gave him the reputation for being a magician that would follow him throughout his life. In fact, many in the audience thought his wondrous construction of a flying beetle was too good-and thought it had to be the work of Ole Scratch himself! After Dee's studies in Cambridge he travelled to the Continent in the late 1540s and early 1550s. He studied at the University of Leuven in Belgium (still famous as the repository for the largest collection of theological books in the world), Brussels and gave a series of much acclaimed lectures in France. During these travels, Dee began meeting men with a wide range of scientific and philosophical interests. Dee studied with Gemma Frisius, a famous cartographer who had also studied at Leuven. Dee also became a close friend of the famous cartographer Gerardus Mercator.

Dee also met men interested in esoteric studies of subjects like the Kabbalah, alchemy and magic. John Dee was already famous for his knowledge and expertise in the fields of mathematics, astrology, classics, astronomy, navigation, history and the antiquities. Dee was not content to just absorb the information in books alone. He went on tours of England to seek out first-hand knowledge and experience of things as different as buried treasure, hauntings, the recording of ancient monuments and ancestral coats of arms. He was indeed a typical Renaissance Man. Dee met Gerolamo Cardano, an Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, and astrologer in 1552. Together the two investigated the ever-chimerical perpetual motion machine, as well as a gem that was believed to have magical properties. Dr. John Dee was an innovator in many different areas and in his middle years many people came to his Thameside home at Mortlake to ask him about practical and esoteric matters. In 1554, Dee was offered a readership of mathematics at Oxford University, which he declined as he was busy with other things. In 1555 Dee became a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, whose goal was to act as a trade association for general merchants, especially for exporters of wool and importers of velvet, silk and other luxurious fabrics. The word mercero in Spanish has a meaning similar to haberdasher.

Queen Elizabeth I, for whom Dee had selected a coronation date for astrologically, met with him regularly although he was never given the status he felt he deserved. Dee also became famous as an author, especially for his preface to Euclid and for Monas Hieroglyphica, which is a work describing cosmic unity represented by the glyph at the top of the page. However, Dr. John Dee's life was anything but smooth and free of bumps and bruises. In 1555 he was imprisoned for casting enchantments against Queen Mary. Dee appeared before the Star Chamber, which was an English court of law set up to ensure the enforcement of laws against prominent people, who would normally be so powerful that no ordinary court would ever convict them of any crimes. Dee exonerated himself in this affair. After this he was turned over to the Catholic Bishop Bonner for religious examination. His strong and lifelong penchant for secrecy probably made matters worse for him at this time in his life. The episode with Bonner and the Star Chamber was merely the latest scandal perpetrated against him. Dee and Bonner became close associates after the affair was over. Dee presented Queen Mary with a visionary plan for the preservation of old manuscripts, books, etc and the foundation of a national library, but his proposal was not taken up. Instead he expanded his personal library at his house in Mortlake, tirelessly expanding his library with books from England and the European continent. Dee's library, outside of the centers of learning in England, became famous for the wealth of information it contained and was visited by many scholars.

I hope to be able to continue this new series at a halfway decent clip-I can't promise anything, as it seems when I do things go the opposite way that I had intended. I would like to have the next post in this series here by the 18th-hopefully earlier. There is a lot of background history and other things I think I could include in this series if I can keep my energy level somewhat higher than it has been-and lately I would make Abe Vigoda look like Lance Armstrong! If this starts to get ridiculously long between posts there is a "guide" by which I can finish things up much faster, but I am hoping that doesn't happen. Thanks again all of you for your friendly, insightful, intelligent comments! I hope to be around tomorrow (unless a handsome dark looking fellow decides to sweep all 195 pounds of me off my feet and "take me to his mansion in the sky"-haha remember that one anybody??:) For today I think I will collapse into a sweat soaked puddle in the middle of my kitchen and drown myself in a glass of iced tea! Peace and best to all of you!

Christopher Smart: My Cat Jeoffrey

For I will consider my cat Jeoffrey.
For he is the servant of the living God,
duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God
in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven
times round with elegant quickness.
For when he leaps up to catch the musk, which
is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.
For having done duty and received blessing
he begins to consider himself.
For this he performs in ten degrees.
For first he looks upon his fore-paws to see
if they are clean.
For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away
there.
For thirdly he works it upon stretch with
the fore-paws extended.
For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
For fifthly he washes himself.
For sixthly he rolls upon wash.
For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may
not be interrupted upon the beat.
For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
For ninthly he looks up for instructions.
For tenthly he goes in quest of food.
For having consider'd God and himself he
will consider his neighbor.
For if he meets another cat he will kiss
her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it
to give it a chance.
For one mouse in seven escapes by his
dallying.
For when his day's work is done his busi-
ness more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night
against the adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness
by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death,
by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun
and the sun loves him.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel
Tiger.
For he has the subtlety and hissing of a
serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed,
neither will he spit without provocation.
For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells
him he's a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to
learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him
& a blessing is lacking in the spirit.
For the Lord commanded Moses concern-
ing the cats at te departure of the
Children of Israel from Egypt.
For every family had one cat at least in the bag.
For the English cats are the best in Europe.
For he is the cleanest in the use of his fore-
paws of any of the quadrupeds.
For the dexterity of his defence is an inst-
ance of the love of God to him exceed-
ingly.
For he is the quickest to his mark of any
creature.
For he is tenacious of his point.
For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.
For he knows that God is his Saviour.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace
when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life
when in motion.
For he is of the Lord's poor and so indeed is
he called by benevolence and perpetuality--
Poor Jeoffrey! poor Jeoffrey! the rat has
bit thy throat.
For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that
Jeoffrey is better.
For the divine spirit comes about his body
to sustain it in a compleat cat.
For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it
has in purity what it wants in musick.
For he is docile and can learn certain
things.
For he can set up with gravity which is
patience upon approbation.
For he can fetch and carry, which is pat-
ience in employment.
For he can jump over a stick which is pat-
ience upon proof positive.
For he can spraggle upon waggle at the
word of command.
For he can jump from an eminence into his
master's bosom.
For he can catch the cork and toss it again.
For he is hated by the hypocrite and the miser.
For the former is afraid of detection.
For the latter refused the charge.
For he camels his back to bear the first mo-
tion of business.
For he is good to think on, if a man would
express himself neatly.
For he made a great figure in Egypt for his
signal services.
For he killed the Icneumon-rat very pern-
icious by land.
For his ears are so acute that they sting
again.
For from this proceeds the passing quickness
of his attention.
For by stroaking of him I have found out
electricity.
For I perceived God's light about him both
wax and fire.
For the Electrical fire is the spiritual sub-
stance, which God sends from heaven
to sustain the bodies both of man and
beast.
For God has blessed him in the variety of his
movements.
For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent-
clamberer.
For his motions upon the face of the earth
are more than other quadrupeds.
For he can tread to all the measures upon
the musick.
For he can swim for life.
For he can creep......

From Rejoice in the Lamb: A Song from Bedlam by Christopher Smart, 1722-1771.
And many thanks to "P----" at the RI forum for turning me on to this as the saying goes-geez I love that-must bring it back into vogue! Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!
Christopher Smart