From the Quarries

The Hieroglyphic Monad

New text in Esoterica – The Hieroglyphic Monad

It’s a bit self-indulgent to mention, but this month marks 30 years since I submitted my Masters Thesis on John Dee’s 1564 work Monas Hieroglyphica. (January 25th was also coincidentally, the date on which Dee finished writing the book)!

In celebration I’ve uploaded a copy of this endlessly fascinating masterwork.

Once described by Brian Vickers as “possibly the most obscure work ever written by an Englishman,” and it wasn’t until years after I joined I joined the craft that I revisited it and realised that it is virtually a foundation text of the Fraternity.

In 24 theorems, Dee takes a straight line and a circle and, like Euclid, creates an entire system of ‘occult’ (in the sense of hidden) knowledge from them. He “mathematically, magically, cabbalistically, and anagogically” explains the various ways in which his hieroglyph can be analysed to reveal various levels of knowledge.

The student of Masonic symbolism will find much that is recognisable and much to ponder on.

It’s a tough road to follow, but I hope you enjoy the journey.

toowoombadistrictmasonic

4 responses to “The Hieroglyphic Monad”

  1. Joseph Avatar
    Joseph

    Interesting, though not the easiest thing to understand. I have a brass square with a hanging attachment that is engraved with Dr. Dee’s Enochian Table. I think I bought it in a trip back to the UK.
    I have asked you before if you are a member of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA). I am a Grade VII in Eugenius Philalethes College No.18 in Brisbane. The College name is the pseudonym of a Welsh contemporary of Dr. Dee called Thomas Vaughan and means “Well Born Lover of Truth”. There must be at least i year between Grades, so it took me around 10 years to get to VII. Living in Cairns has meant I have been unable to take Office, so this Grade is as far as I can go. We have a very active Facebook group, which I’m sure you would love, but it is closed group. If you are not already a member and are interested I can send you the Secretary’s email address. He is also Secretary of the other College in the South East Corner of Queensland, which is Francis Bacon College No.29, which originally met in Victoria. Unfortunately COVID has meant only Zoom meetings in

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  2. Joseph Avatar
    Joseph

    (The above posted itself so I will just finish off)
    recent times. One of our most interesting Zoom meetings was with a young Muslim Freemason from New York, who gave us a talk on Sufism. He knew a lot about Rosicrucianism but obviously was not a member of the American equivalent SRICF, as like SRIA it requires a belief in Trinitarian Christianity. In my case the belief is loose as I am more of a Gnostic now! Anyway the discussion afterwards showed a remarkable similarity between Rosicrucianism and Sufism.

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    1. toowoombadistrictmasonic Avatar
      toowoombadistrictmasonic

      Hi Joseph – thanks for your detailed comments and sales pitch! You sound like a man after my own heart. I would love to apply for the SRIA if you could email me the details (email address on the website). My only concern would be the time/travel commitments as I run a business, which makes external commitments tricky, but I can check that out with the Secretary.

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  3. Hieroglyphic Monad Video – From the Quarries Avatar
    Hieroglyphic Monad Video – From the Quarries

    […] A full copy of the book can be downloaded from here. […]

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