When people discuss anything technical with me about the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, the conversation usually comes around to, "and there's this fantastic book on it by Colin Campbell, but unfortunately it's a pricey limited edition that has been out of print for years." But that's not true anymore. Colin D. Campbell's The Magic Seal of Dr. John Dee is finally available in paperback from Weiser Antiquarian Books.
Back when the original limited edition came out, Campbell did a presentation of his findings at the National OTO Convention. I make it a rule to attend all of those conventions, and if there's an Enochian presentation I always am sure to check it out. Reading over the description, I was expecting to hear the usual speculative interpretation of how this or that might be some sort of error or inconsistency in Dee's work, which usually are not very illuminating.
This presentation was different, though. The scholarship was actually solid, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I came away from one of these presentations with the impression that Campbell was on to something. There really are some inconsistencies in the traditional arrangement of the Sigillum that most magicians use today. Whether the inconsistencies are mistakes or deliberate on Dee's part remains an open question, but there is nothing it the diaries that explains the differences.
I'm not going to re-hash the entire argument because it would take a while, but suffice it to say if that sort of thing interests you, you should go out and pick up a copy now that you can buy one for a reasonable price. The book walks you through the entire process of crafting the design of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, and even if you don't accept Campbell's analysis, it is totally worth it just for that exposition.
Back when the original limited edition came out, Campbell did a presentation of his findings at the National OTO Convention. I make it a rule to attend all of those conventions, and if there's an Enochian presentation I always am sure to check it out. Reading over the description, I was expecting to hear the usual speculative interpretation of how this or that might be some sort of error or inconsistency in Dee's work, which usually are not very illuminating.
This presentation was different, though. The scholarship was actually solid, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I came away from one of these presentations with the impression that Campbell was on to something. There really are some inconsistencies in the traditional arrangement of the Sigillum that most magicians use today. Whether the inconsistencies are mistakes or deliberate on Dee's part remains an open question, but there is nothing it the diaries that explains the differences.
I'm not going to re-hash the entire argument because it would take a while, but suffice it to say if that sort of thing interests you, you should go out and pick up a copy now that you can buy one for a reasonable price. The book walks you through the entire process of crafting the design of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, and even if you don't accept Campbell's analysis, it is totally worth it just for that exposition.
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