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You are holding a sheet of paper covered in angular letters that look like no alphabet you have ever seen. Each character is composed of straight lines, sharp turns, and the occasional loop, as if written with a ruler and a compass. The script is called Enochian, and its symbols are not decorative. They are the building blocks of a complete language, one that its creators claimed was delivered by angels. Enochian is an occult language recorded by the Elizabethan mathematician John Dee and his scryer Edward Kelley in the 1580s, consisting of 21 letters, a complex grammar, and a system of symbolic tablets used for angelic communication and ceremonial magic.

The script appears in Dee’s journals, on the surfaces of the Great Table of the Watchtowers, and in the nineteen Calls (or Keys) that supposedly reveal the gates between worlds. To work with Enochian is to learn its symbols not as a code but as a vocabulary of power, each letter tied to a number, a planetary force, and a specific angelic name. We keep a copy of the Table of Practice on our worktable, the letters traced in black ink on parchment, and we still find ourselves pausing over the shape of Un (the first letter) or Pa (the twentieth). The symbols demand attention. They were not meant to be skimmed.

Where Did the Enochian Symbols Come From?

Where Did the Enochian Symbols Come From

The story begins in 1581. John Dee, already famous as a mathematician, astrologer, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, had spent years trying to contact angels through crystal-gazing. He believed that a lost language, one spoken before the Fall, could restore humanity’s direct connection to God. In 1582, Edward Kelley arrived at Dee’s house in Mortlake. Kelley was a convicted forger and a skilled scryer, and together they began a series of actions that would produce the Enochian system over the next five years.

The symbols first appeared in 1583, when Kelley described seeing a table covered in letters during a scrying session. Dee recorded the letters as Kelley dictated them, and over the following months, they received the twenty-one-letter alphabet, the grammar (recorded in the Liber Loagaeth or “Book of the Speech of God”), and the nineteen Calls. The Calls were delivered in both Enochian and English, and they form the core of the language’s liturgical use. Dee and Kelley believed the language was the original Adamic tongue, the one Adam used to name the animals in Eden.

Modern scholarship, however, sees Enochian differently. Linguists like Donald Laycock (who published The Complete Enochian Dictionary in 1978) have shown that the grammar is inconsistent and that much of the vocabulary appears to be a conscious or unconscious construction by Kelley, drawing on Hebrew, Greek, and Latin roots. The symbols themselves, however, are unique. They do not resemble any known alphabet, though some letters share shapes with Hebrew or Greek characters. Dee and Kelley insisted they were revealed, not invented.

What Each Enochian Letter Symbolizes

The Enochian alphabet has 21 letters, each with a name, a numerical value, and a corresponding elemental or planetary association. The letters are written from right to left, like Hebrew, but the language is read in the same direction as English when used in the Calls. The symbols are angular because, according to Dee, the angels said they were “written with a sharp point” on tablets of emerald.

The Enochian alphabet, letter by letter

Here are the letters and their core meanings, as recorded in Dee’s Liber Loagaeth:

  • Un (1): The first letter. Associated with the element of Air and the planet Mercury. Its shape resembles an open hand or a gateway. In the Calls, it begins the first Key: “Ol sonuf vaorsag” (“I reign over you”).
  • Pa (2): Water and the Moon. A curved line with a hook, suggesting a wave or a crescent.
  • Ve (3): Earth and Saturn. A square with a diagonal, representing stability and limitation.
  • Gal (4): Fire and the Sun. A cross with a loop, evoking the solar disk.
  • Or (5): Spirit and Jupiter. A circle with a dot, the symbol of the divine point.
  • Med (6): Air and Venus. Two intersecting lines, like a crossroads.
  • Don (7): Water and Mercury. A zigzag, the path of the serpent.
  • Ceph (8): Earth and the Moon. A triangle with a base line, the foundation.
  • Na (9): Fire and Saturn. A square with a cross, the forge.
  • Gon (10): Spirit and Jupiter. A circle with a cross, the wheel of the spirit.

The remaining letters (11-21) continue the pattern, each tied to a specific angelic name and a position on the Watchtower tablets. The letters are not just sounds; they are sigils. When you write Un, you are drawing the shape of the first gate. When you write Pa, you are tracing the boundary of water.

The Watchtowers and the Great Table

The most famous use of Enochian symbols is in the four Watchtowers, also called the Great Table. This is a grid of 26 by 26 squares, divided into four smaller tables, each representing one of the four cardinal directions and an element: East (Air), West (Water), North (Earth), South (Fire). Each square contains a single Enochian letter, and the letters combine to form the names of angels, governors, and spirits.

The Watchtowers were revealed to Dee and Kelley in 1584, during a series of actions in Kraków, Poland. Kelley described seeing a large table covered in letters, with a cross in the center. Dee copied the table into his journal, and it became the central tool of Enochian magic. The symbols on the Watchtowers are not random. They are arranged in lines that, when read from top to bottom or left to right, produce the names of the 91 governors who rule the 30 Aethyrs (the spiritual planes between Earth and the divine).

For example, the top line of the Air Watchtower reads: “IDOIGO” – a name that appears in the Calls as an angel of the East. Each letter in that line has a specific vibration and color association. Practitioners who work with the Watchtowers often paint the symbols on silk or parchment, using the traditional colors: white for Air, red for Fire, blue for Water, black for Earth. The symbols are not meant to be looked at passively. They are meant to be spoken, traced, and meditated upon.

How the Symbols Are Used in Practice

In practice, the Enochian symbols are used as keys of orientation and invocation. The sigils of the Watchtowers — the four great tablets of the elemental quarters — are drawn or displayed to establish the working space, and each symbol is associated with a specific angelic name and call. The practitioner works with the symbols in sequence, tracing them as the calls are spoken, using the correspondence between the visual form and the spoken name to focus the operation.

How to use Enochian symbols in ritual

Enochian magic is not a casual practice. It requires preparation, focus, and a clear understanding of the symbols. The most common use is the Opening of the Watchtowers, a ritual that invokes the four elemental forces by reciting the Calls and drawing the corresponding symbols in the air. The practitioner stands in the center of a circle, facing each direction, and traces the letters of the appropriate Watchtower with a wand or finger.

We have performed this ritual ourselves, in a room lit only by a single candle. The symbols are drawn in the air with the right hand, while the left hand holds a tablet or a printed copy of the Great Table. The first Call is spoken in Enochian: “Ol sonuf vaorsag goho Iad Balt…” The letters feel different on the tongue than English. They are harsher, more percussive. The symbols on the tablet seem to shift in the candlelight, though that may be the eye playing tricks.

Another practice is the “Skrying in the Spirit Vision,” where the practitioner uses the symbols as gates. Each Aethyr (from LIL to TEX) is associated with a specific set of letters from the Calls. The magician recites the Call for that Aethyr, then visualizes the symbols as a doorway. The goal is to travel in spirit to that plane, encountering angels and gaining knowledge. This is dangerous work, and most traditions warn against attempting it without years of preparation.

Enochian vs. other angelic languages

Enochian is often compared to the angelic languages found in Solomonic grimoires, such as the Ars Goetia or the Heptameron. But there is a key difference: those languages are mostly lists of names and phrases, not full grammars. Enochian has a syntax, a verb system, and a vocabulary of several hundred words. It is closer to a constructed language like L.L. Zamenhof’s Esperanto than to a cipher.

That said, Enochian is not a natural language. It has no native speakers, no literature beyond the Dee-Kelley corpus, and its grammar is inconsistent. Some letters appear only in certain contexts. The word for “God” (Iad) appears in the Calls, but the word for “man” (ol) appears only as a prefix. This has led some scholars to argue that Enochian is a glossolalia, a form of speaking in tongues that Kelley produced under trance. The symbols, then, are a visual record of that ecstatic speech.

Common myths about Enochian symbols

Practitioners disagree. For those who use Enochian in ritual, the symbols are not arbitrary. They are keys. The fact that the language is incomplete does not make it useless. It makes it a mystery, one that each magician must explore for themselves.

Common Misconceptions About Enochian Symbols

“Enochian is the language of angels.” Dee and Kelley believed this, but no angel has been recorded speaking Enochian outside of their sessions. The language is a product of their collaboration, filtered through Kelley’s visions and Dee’s scholarship. It is a sacred language, but it is not a divine one.

“The symbols are dangerous.” Some occult traditions warn that Enochian symbols can summon uncontrollable forces. This is true only if the practitioner does not understand what they are doing. The symbols are tools, not traps. Treat them with respect, but not fear.

“You need to be a high magician to use Enochian.” The rituals are complex, but the symbols themselves can be studied by anyone. You do not need to perform the Opening of the Watchtowers to appreciate the letters. Many people use Enochian symbols in meditation, focusing on a single letter to connect with its elemental force.

“Enochian is a cipher for English.” This is false. The grammar and vocabulary are distinct. The Calls, when translated, do not match English syntax. They are a separate language, albeit one with a limited corpus.

FAQ

Is Enochian a real language?
Yes, in the sense that it has an alphabet, a grammar, and a vocabulary. But it is a constructed language, not a natural one, and its grammar is incomplete.

Can anyone learn to read Enochian symbols?
Yes. The alphabet is small (21 letters), and the pronunciation is phonetic. Many online resources provide the letters and their sounds. Start with the first Call and practice speaking it aloud.

What are the Watchtowers in Enochian magic?
They are four elemental tablets, each a grid of letters, that represent the four directions and the forces of Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. They are used in rituals to invoke angelic powers.

Is Enochian magic dangerous?
It can be, if approached without preparation. The symbols are powerful, and the Calls are invocations. Beginners should study the symbols before attempting any ritual, and should always work within a protective circle.

The Enochian symbols are not a secret code. They are a language that asks to be spoken, drawn, and understood. Whether you approach them as a historian, a linguist, or a practitioner, the letters reward patience. They are angular, sharp, and unforgiving, but they are also beautiful. We keep our copy of the Great Table folded in a silk cloth, and we take it out only when the room is quiet. The symbols wait. They have been waiting since 1584.

For a deeper exploration of how Enochian fits into the broader tradition of ceremonial magic, see our guide to ceremonial magic. You may also want to consult the glossary of Enochian terms for a complete list of letters and their meanings. And if you are ready to work with the Watchtowers, our step-by-step guide to the Opening of the Watchtowers will walk you through the ritual.