Book Review: Enochian Chess of the Golden Dawn, by Chris Zalewski

A product of the esoteric Order known most commonly as the Golden Dawn, Enochian Chess is a four player version of the game of chess. Outlined in the documents of the Inner Order (R.R. et A.C.), the game was never fully developed. Chris Zalewski, in her book "Enochian Chess of the Golden Dawn" (unfortunately out of print) attempts to turn the meager information contained in the Inner Order documents into a truly useable system.

Going back to the game of Chaturanga (a four player game from Ancient India), which was the inspiration of Enochian Chess (also known as Roscrucian Chess), Chris Zalewski attempts to figure out what the modern creator of Enochian Chess, William Wynn Westcott (one of the three founders of the Golden Dawn), originally intended. This research allowed her to fill in many of the holes that are contained in the Golden Dawn documents.

One of the weaknesses in Golden Dawn documents is that Enochian Chess exists only in outline form, without a full set of rules. The Golden Dawn documents were more concerned with symbolism than with actual rules; this has left the system of Enochian Chess to be fleshed out to the best of the abilities of those few who have dabbled in the game. Thanks to Chris Zalewski, who experimented with various possible rules, for the first time, a player of the game has a reasonable complete set of rules to work from.

Her book, "Enochian Chess of the Golden Dawn" is divided into four sections. Each section takes its name from one of the four elements.

In the first section, The Book of Earth, Chris Zalewski talks about the origins of Enochian Chess. The game has roots in both the game of Chaturanga, and in the system of Enochian magic. The boards, which there are four (one for each element), consists of the subservient squares of the Enochian Tablets. Golden Dawn, in a departure from the work of Dr John Dee (who along with Edward Kelley helped birth the Enochian system of magic), assigned attributes (correspondences) to the squares of the Enochian Tablets, based on certain arrangements of the Tetragrammaton (the sacred four lettered name of God). These attributions allowed the Adepts of Golden Dawn to use the Tablets in works of magic and spiritual development. These attributions also underlie the idea of using Enochian Chess as a form of divination, the best known of the practical exercises utilizing Enochian Chess.

Besides giving a quick overview of the history and underlying symbolism of the boards and pieces (which are based on Egyptian Gods and Goddesses) in the first part of the book, she also talks about possible ways to construct the pieces and boards for the game.

In the second part of the book, The Book of Air, she gives a set of rules for regular play. She also talks about some tactics and game theory for those who are approaching the game from the perspective of skill and game play. This section along with the first part of the book will be of the most interest to those who are merely interested in Enochian Chess as a game.

For those who are more interested in divination, the reason for Enochian Chess inclusion in the Golden Dawn system, the third part of the book, The Book of Water, will be of more value. Expanding upon the rules for regular (non-divinationary) play, she gives a set of rules for using Enochian Chess as a divination system. The Book of Water goes into the system of attributes that are behind the chess pieces and the squares of the board. Included in this discussion is advice about how to choose a Ptah square (the attaining of which is the goal of the divinationary game), and how to interpret the moves of the game.

In the fourth and final part of the book, The Book of Fire, Chris Zalewski talks about how Enochian Chess ties into the training of the master magician, the Adept Minor of the Golden Dawn system. She notes that the playing of Enochian Chess has an effect on the minds and subtle bodies of those who play it.

In the back of the book, there is a set of Enochian Chess pieces in outline form that can be cut out (or better yet photocopied) and colored as a basic set.

By writing this book, Zalewski has helped fix several of the problems that plagued those who tried to use Enochian Chess using just the material found in the published Golden Dawn material. There is still work to be done; no book being large enough to be the final word on this game, especially the magical aspects. And while there are a couple of places where her rules might need tweaking, her book is the best resource about Enochian Chess currently available. For those interested in learning the game, I recommend hunting down a used copy of this book (unfortunately, it is out of print); it will be well worth the hunt.

Chris Zalewski: Enochian Chess of the Golden Dawn-A Four-Handed Chess Game: Llewellyn Publications (1994).