Introducing the Venerable Doctor John Dee, Scientist & Occultist

I’ve always been fascinated with the figure of Dr John Dee.  He was both a scientist and occultism at a time when chemistry was still part of alchemy, and astrology was part of astronomy (or vica-versa).  He wrote on science and communed with the angels.  Fortunately we still have lots of his writings so we can get a real insight into a man who was looking a scrying mirrors and triganometry!  Below is an image of the man in action showing his skills to Queen Elizabeth I.  I took this image in the foyer the of Wellcome Trust…

Doctor John Dee shows magic/chemistry to Queen Elizabeth I (from foyer at Wellcome Trust)

For further reading I’d recommended:
– There is a biography of the man here.
– Links to lots of his writings and texts.
– There is a a good write up on him at Wikipedia. Also quotes by him on WikiQuote.

Plus the novel by Peter Ackroyd, The House of Doctor Dee – which is a odd novel (in a good way) and does a great job of giving voice to the man.

Oh, and you can follow him on Twitter, @doctorjohndee!

There is also quite a good documentary on him online (with contributions from Alan Moore!!):

And now an opera too by Damon Albarn: