Dr. John Dee
1527 - 1608
1527 - 1608
John Dee was one of the most brilliant men of the Elizabethan Age. He was an
alchemist, a mathematician, a geographer, an astronomer and an astrologer.
He did choose the date for Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation and when he
was part of her network of spies, he signed
his coded messages "oo7." The two Os representing the eyes of
the Queen and the symbol that looked like a 7 was Dee’s personal mark.
There is evidence to suggest that when Shakespeare created the character of
Prospero for The Tempest, he modeled him on Dee.
But despite his fame and fortune he died in poverty at his home in
Mortlake, Surrey, England at the age of 81.
alchemist, a mathematician, a geographer, an astronomer and an astrologer.
He did choose the date for Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation and when he
was part of her network of spies, he signed
his coded messages "oo7." The two Os representing the eyes of
the Queen and the symbol that looked like a 7 was Dee’s personal mark.
There is evidence to suggest that when Shakespeare created the character of
Prospero for The Tempest, he modeled him on Dee.
But despite his fame and fortune he died in poverty at his home in
Mortlake, Surrey, England at the age of 81.
The Mirror
The mirror, albeit in slightly smaller form than described here, exists to this day. Its face is kept perpetually covered with a black cloth.
Over the course of his long life, Dee used several mirrors and polished metal bowls to communicate with angels and spirits. These "shew stones" were often of great antiquity and it was not unusual to bring the mirror to "life" by feeding it blood and alcohol. There are many reports - including one from Queen Elizabeth herself - of the wonders and terrors glimpsed in the glass or metal.
The British Museum currently holds an almost perfect example of one of Dee's scrying mirrors: a circle of highly polished obsidian glass. Originally from Mexico where obsidian glass was sacred to Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of divination and sorcery, no one knows how it came into Dee's care. Following his death in 1608, Dee's possessions, including his library - which was the largest in England - was scattered and his scrying mirrors disappeared.
The mirror came into the possession of Sir Horace Walpole, author of The Castle of Otranto (1764) considered to be the first gothic novel and there is a scene in that novel where a portrait comes to life. When Walpole donated the mirror to the British Museum, he added a label: The Black Stones, into which Dr Dee used to call his spirits...
Over the course of his long life, Dee used several mirrors and polished metal bowls to communicate with angels and spirits. These "shew stones" were often of great antiquity and it was not unusual to bring the mirror to "life" by feeding it blood and alcohol. There are many reports - including one from Queen Elizabeth herself - of the wonders and terrors glimpsed in the glass or metal.
The British Museum currently holds an almost perfect example of one of Dee's scrying mirrors: a circle of highly polished obsidian glass. Originally from Mexico where obsidian glass was sacred to Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of divination and sorcery, no one knows how it came into Dee's care. Following his death in 1608, Dee's possessions, including his library - which was the largest in England - was scattered and his scrying mirrors disappeared.
The mirror came into the possession of Sir Horace Walpole, author of The Castle of Otranto (1764) considered to be the first gothic novel and there is a scene in that novel where a portrait comes to life. When Walpole donated the mirror to the British Museum, he added a label: The Black Stones, into which Dr Dee used to call his spirits...
