Four Reasons I Like Writing about John Dee.

When it comes to historical personages that interest me as a writer, few come with as many story hooks as John Dee (1527 – 1608). Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, alchemist, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. I’m attracted to the blend of Renaissance scholarship with occult mysteries, and here are four reasons he interests me:

Dee was a trusted member of the Elizabethan court, advising on navigation and astrology.  When he traveled to Europe in the 1580s, he likely gathered intelligence for the queen while mingling with Polish and Bohemian nobility. So, he was, in some sense, working as a spy for Queen Elizabeth like an occult James Bond.Dee was of a time when science and the occult were still intertwined. That was why he’d be as comfortable drafting navigational charts for explorers like Francis Drake as he was casting horoscopes for the Queen. Bringing rationalism into occult subjects is fascinating to someone used to the science of the 21st century.He amassed the largest and most significant private libraries in 16th century England, rivaling those of Oxford or Cambridge Universities. Notable works included texts by Euclid, Ptolemy, Roger Bacon, and Arabic scholars, alongside Kabbalistic, Hermetic, and alchemical treatises. And, like the library of Alexandria, the library was lost to vandals while Dee was in Europe. And, like the library of Alexandria, can be a fertile source of lost eldritch tomes. (Like that translation of the Necronomicon that Lovecraft mentioned.)With medium Edward Kelly, a charismatic yet shady figure, he communed with angels via a crystal ball.  Dee’s angelic dialogues involved cryptic symbols, otherworldly entities, and the Enochian language. This could lead to anything from cosmic horror to divine quests.  Enochian is especially cool if you like arcane symbols and invented languages. (I happen to own an Enochian dictionary.)