I put a spell on you
Apr 14th, 2016 by adharris
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items from the newly acquired Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection.
Today I encountered our old friend L.W. DeLaurence who you may remember was featured in an earlier post called the Hypnotic Huckster where DeLaurence gives advice and practical lessons in hypnotism. He was quite a scoundrel and involved in numerous shady dealings. However in this instance we are looking at The great book of magical art, Hindu magic and East Indian occultism ;and, the book of secret Hindu, ceremonial, and talismanic magic : in one volume.
Written for the “exclusive use of true and faithful chelas (disciples) in the Hindu Magic, Indian Occultism…” the volume details what you might expect for such a tome- talismans, witchcraft, alchemy, and cabalistic magic, but it also contains a gallery of famous occultists and magicians where I found this image of a man named John Dee. Dee was an astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, and occult philosopher from the 16th-century in England. During his lifetime he amassed one of the largest libraries in England and his role as a scholar served as an entree into Elizabethean politics. He was Queen Elizabeth I’s scientific and astrological advisor and even chose her coronation date. Dee also enjoyed the patronage of Francis Walsingham and William Cecil. After a few political missteps and his dissatisfaction with his political influence at court he began to turn more towards supernatural knowledge and began to scry using a crystal ball to contact spirits and angels. These supernatural pursuits were always conducted under an intense Christian piety where fasting, purification, and prayer were included. During this time he encountered a man named Edward Kelley (also pictured in our volume) who convinced Dee of his supernatural success speaking with angels. Dee and Kelley embraced a nomadic lifestyle of traveling throughout Central Europe while conducting these “spiritual conferences” with angels, most notably for nobility like Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. At one point Kelley stated that the angel Uriel had commanded that they share all possessions, including their wives, which Dee complied with apparently never doubting the veracity of Kelley’s claim. However soon after their “wife-sharing” Dee returned to England while Kelley stayed on and became the alchemist to Emperor Rudolf II. Dee’s wife delivered a son after they returned to England whose paternity still remains a mystery. To learn more about the magical arts you can find The great book of magical art, Hindu magic and East Indian occultism ; and, the book of secret Hindu, ceremonial, and talismanic magic : in one volume / by L.W. de Laurence in Widener’s collection.
Thanks to Alison Harris, Santo Domingo Project Manager, for contributing this post.