Queen Elizabeth’s personal astrologer John Dee literally signed his spy letters as 007

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James Bond was originally a 16th-century wizard.

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Queen Elizabeth’s personal astrologer John Dee literally signed his spy letters as 007 — STACKY / Myths & mysteries

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James Bond was originally a 16th-century wizard. John Dee was Queen Elizabeth I's personal astrologer, mathematician, and occultist, but he also served as her secret intelligence agent. When writing confidential missives back to the Queen, he marked his letters with two circles representing his eyes, and a magical lucky number seven—creating the '007' moniker centuries before Ian Fleming ever touched a typewriter. Sadly, Dee's gadgets were mostly just cursed mirrors and crystal balls.

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Queen Elizabeth’s personal astrologer John Dee literally signed his spy letters as 007

A closer look

A bigger world.One discoveryat a time.

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Ptolemy wrote the Tetrabiblos in the second century, effectively creating the foundational textbook that almost all modern western astrology is still based upon today.

Mercury retrograde is blamed for literally every late text

Early modern astrologers blamed the devastating bubonic plague on a nasty alignment of Mars and Jupiter

Queen Victoria kept a personal astrologer on her payroll

Early leaders of the Catholic Church vehemently condemned astrology as a demonic practice, with prominent theologians like Saint Augustine arguing that believing the stars…

Renaissance magicians wore solid lead amulets to protect themselves from the bad vibes of the planet Saturn

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.