John Dee's Relationship with Royalty

In spite of his success in prediction and prophecy, John Dee did not consider himself to be a great psychic. This is about his life and relationship with royalty

Before she was crowned, Elizabeth sent Robert Dudley to ask John Dee to tell her the most favourable day for her coronation. He chose the 14 January 1559 as a date that would ensure a long, happy and prosperous reign. He was then offered a position at Court where he was known as "Hyr Astrologer".

John Dee as Queen Elizabeth I's Astrologer

Queen Elizabeth I consulted her astrologer not only about her personal problems but on all matters of state. The voyages of Frobisher and Hawkins took place only after Dee had been consulted and had given a favourable date for sailing.

The Queen consulted John Dee about the battle with the Spanish Armada. When news reached England that the Spanish fleet was assembling to set sail and Drake planned to attack them in their home port, Elizabeth refused to sanction this expedition because her astrologer was doubtful of its success. Drake had to wait until Dee decided it was time for action. By this time the Spanish fleet were in the English Channel and the Armada was defeated, as John Dee had foretold.

John Dee and Count Laski ~

In 1583 John was introduced to Count Laski who came from a Polish noble family and was a courtier of Henri III of France. Laski asked John if he could foretell the King's future and also contact the spirits on his own behalf. He was anxious to know if his claim to the Polish throne had any chance of success.

Laski became a frequent visitor, so much so that John was forced to ask the Queen for money to entertain him on the lavish scale that he was accustomed to! Laski then proposed that John should accompany him to Prague to meet the King of Germany, Rudolph II who was also a student of the occult. In 1585 Dee and his family set sail for the Continent where they remained for four years.

John Dee and James I

On his return to England, John had a difficult and frustrating time. While he'd been away his house had been burgled and many of his precious books and instruments, destroyed. The Queen had granted him Wardenship of Christ's College, Manchester but after his wife died of the plague, he spent most of his time writing and giving vent to his obsession with alchemy.

James I, succeeded Queen Elizabeth to the throne. Son of Mary, Queen of Scots and due to his Catholic upbringing, he had no use for an astrologer. At a time when people were being tortured and burned for practising witchcraft, John was fortunate that no one accused him of witchcraft even though James had dismissed him from his post as being an "ally of Satan." John passed his remaining years in peace and quiet in his home at Mortlake and died at the age of 81 in 1608.

John Dee, a Great Thinker

John Dee's claim to fame lies in his work and services as an astrologer to Elizabeth I. His extensive research puts him as a fore-runner of modern day psychic research and there is little doubt that had he been born later, he would have been amongst the most notable researchers of the Victorian era.

Sources

Woolley B The Queen's conjuror: The Life and magic of Dr Dee (London 2001)
Biography">http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/dee.html">Biographyof John Dee