Numerus Primus
The Numerus Primus are 7 Tablets which are worn by 7 angelic beings. They are not the same as the other tablets, in that they are of a far more symbolic nature, and don't contain any legible cipher. The beings which wear these are alluded to as being associated with the Tabula Collecta's 49 Angelorum Bonorum. In fact the tablets contain many b's, which are related to the Angelorum Bonorum in that all of the Angelorum Bonorum names begin with B's. These tablets appear again in the
Holy Table from Meric Casaboun's John Dee: A True and Faithful Revelation... around the central table.The first tablet was held by one of two figures identified as Ese and Iana. When the next tablet is dictated, Ese is identified with six young maidens. From this we may deduct that the first being was Iana, and the six maidens were the remaining part of the series from Table II, El, Me, Ese, Iana, Akele, Azdobn and Stimcvl.
As a set of Tablets they seem to be pictographically unrelated. Some being square, some round, and some rectangular. The tabular ones seem to have little relation to other Enochian tables. These tables are asymmetrical in their width to height pieces, and the number seven is avoided in preference to the numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. Even the characters within the tables seem to avoid the use of the number 7, although it is actually used, and even numbers used instead. An easy explanation for this lies in numerology, using the statement "man is 5, the Devil [really an angel, albeit a fallen one] is 6, and God is 7." The knowledge of many of the tables is from God through the angels, and hence the perfection of symmetry and the use of the number 7 is prominent. The are in fact more like sigils or signatures of and by the angels. Hence, they use their own pictographic language and numerical system, which aren't perfect like God's.
As stated before, we can deduce that the second tablet was worn by Ese. This of course is only a guess, since all of the tablets were dictated from females of some description. We could gather from this, and the fact that Ese and Iana are given in the first part of these, that the 7 females referred to in the dictation are the 7 from the series: El, Me, Ese, Iana, Akele, Azdobn and Stimcvl, a note which Dee actually gives in the record of these seances.
The second tablet is far less like the first in it's geometry. In fact there is a note in the record about the colour of the table, something which does not appear for any other tablet in this series (white, red, and a mixture of white and red changeably). Not much can be said about this tablet, except for the recurring numerical sequences. In the middle at the top, in the circle is a 1, with a 2 to the right, and a 3 at the bottom (we may also possibly take the character on the left as a 0? Not likely, but possible). In the circle to the right of the triangle is the 1,2,3 sequence again. In the centre is another sequence, this time 1-6 without 5 (a number of man?). This leaves one more number, 7, to the right of the triangle, which oddly fits in with the central sequence. Of note for the sequences is that they appear in a clockwise fashion, just as the tablets appear in the
Holy Table. For most of the Enochian system of tables, this type of order is foremost. Although they do not all stay to a clockwise direction (the Body of Nalvage being anti-clockwise), within each table(t) only one direction is used. Also of small note is that each number or sequence has a small point associated with it. Small in gesture, but if these truly are the signatures of angels, there is great meaning in this.Not much is said regarding the dictation of the rest of the tables in terms of who actually gives them, and I shall not hazard a guess until I have delved a little deeper in this.
Again, the tablet shape is returned to a gridded matrix for this tablet. Of note within this tablet is the fact that many of the letters appear on the
Sigilum Dei Ameth, on the immediate inside of the circumference. There is an obscure reference to these characters having to do with angels (a shortened version of tables, seals, sigils, signature?), most likely the Archangels- Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, etc. Also on the subject of characters, b's appear in abundance again, along with q's, d's, and p's. Disregarding the upper-case versions of these, we could deduce that these are in fact all b's- reversed, inverted, and reverse inverted. This of course is only an informed guess, but since these are in fact symbolic representations of ideas, a leap not too far in the taking. Also, the table is split into two sections, the top two rows, which have a B in the centre of each square, and the bottom two rows which have a b in the centre. In all of the squares, the corners generally seem to play a big role (being the place where characters are placed), which, along side of the central b/B's set up a geometric play for each square, and hence a geometric play across the entire tablet. A small side note to this table is that the woman who wore this tablet turned into water when she departed. Through the dictation of these, elemental symbols are used, in particular water, fire and earth (clay), with the possibility of air being used, but difficult to explain.
Again with this tablet we see an, almost excessive, use of the letter b in both of it's cases. It appears in every square, except for the third to the right, third down from the top left. This square's character's could however be viewed as reverse b's when viewed from the let hand side (West looking East), with a slightly different script which could be put down to poor dictation/copying. I have yet to delve any deeper into this tablet, but there does seem to be patterning systems regarding the multiples of b's (bb and bbb).
This larger table was dictated from the back of a woman. The dictation is short, but makes two references to the element of earth. Also, at the end, the woman is split in to two, one part Man and one part Woman. A marginal note is made regarding the second square to the right from the bottom left corner. "Note the cross with the two bees, the 4 and the 6, is one of the Notes annexed to the second Table of the 4 of Enoch's Tables. And the T of Enoch's Tables seemeth to answer with the T first in the seal of Aemeth, and the cross also." The character in question is the symbol associated with the Elemental Table's Water table, hence the Enoch's Tables are equivalent to the Elemental Tables. As for the comment on the T and the cross, I am unclear as to which T in both figures, and how these relate. Possibly some allusion to the codification? J Again, witness the use of b's and the introduction of the M's in greater numbers.
Two women appear in the dictation of this table. The second woman has a tablet which is "four square", yet there is no tablet in the records of this sequence of dictations which is four by four squares. The third is the closest, but only numbers three by four. This may be an allusion to another set of angels, possibly from another sequence derived from the Table II dictated to Dee and Kelley earlier. The woman who wore this table "seameth to be like a witch". As to what Dee and Kelley thought a witch to look like, we may never know, but we may presume it to be a crone or hag, or an older woman in general, which does fit in with the idea that these are still the women referred to in the sequence from Table II. There are again seemingly graphical sequences (almost like sentences) within this tablet, revolving around the letters b and B, their placement and repetition. Note that again, each square contains a b or B, and the position of these is repeated in a similar way in an adjoining square either up, down, left or right.
The final tablet is the simplest in terms of number of characters and their placement, and very reminiscent of the second tablet. Note that the central pictogram appears twice in the above mentioned tablet, and is in fact an astronomical symbol for the sun, used by Dee in the circular version of the
Tabula Collecta). Again, the use of B, b and q appears alongside numbers. Note that the arrangement of the B 9 7 g at the top, and B EL (from the Sigilum Dei Ameth) 8 2 are rotated versions of each other in regards to placement, not actual letters and numbers. Also the two side groups are akin to each other with their character placement.It would be remiss and downright evil to leave the reader with only an individual explanation of these tablets, so I shall try to bring these tablets together at this point as best as I currently can- later I shall try to re-post a better explanation if I find one. These tables are undoubtedly a set of tables, and can be read together as much as they can be read apart. Their order is still a mystery, and the manner in which they have been presented here is the order in which they were dictated to Dee. I feel we can safely say that they are the women referred to in the Table II deconstruction. We see, though, that the first tablet is for Iana, and the second for Ese, two from the centre of the sequence. As to whether the tablets then continue descending to El, then begin again from Stimcvl, or are simply in a random order, I shall only lean towards the latter. Could they be associated by simplicity (i.e. El [first and simplest] with the last, Ese with the second) probably not, since Iana, the third, is the tablet with the most divisions. So it shall remain a mystery for now.
However, they are all tied together by their use of characters. B and b are predominant characters in all of the tablets, and the other characters used are from a limited palette, possibly even more limited if one considers p, q and d as just differing forms of b. To note with the use of b's is the Tabula Collecta, and it's use of b's. The Tabula Collecta's names all begin with a B, and hence, we can deduce that across most of the Enochian names/ system, that the use of the letter b is a high and mighty one (even if these names aren't directly referred to as angels, they are kings, princes, rulers and important dignitaries). So we could deduce that these women are on a level akin to the names from the Tabula Collecta.
Also the graphical conventions regarding the placement of these characters across many of the tables is similar. The central characters to these tables, B and b, are often place in a central position in squares or groups of characters, or in specific positions, which spread across many tables.
One thing that I shall leave the reader with here is that the Enochian System, like a tenet of witchcraft, is linked to everything, and vice versa. Consider the fact that from Table II, there is one set of Angelic names which create the table, and one set which is derived from it. Also, in Casaboun's True and Faithful Revelation Nalvage refers to the fact that all things are linked by a system mathematically- "and therefore, are by numbers gathered together: ... :for as every greater container has its lesser, so are the secret and unknown forms of things knit up in their parents." Much can, and should be said regarding this passage, but not here and now. To further understand the passage which this is taken from, one needs to begin to understand how these can, and are, linked together, because it is how these are linked together which is important, not what they are. Study on, and understand...