Email response to someone asking about the best system of attributes to use when learning Enochian magick
What I think, is that the best way in which to use the Enochian 'system' is to first learn the Enochian Letter Essences to the best of one's ability, and then make use of the most common or 'standard' attributes of everything else until the Angels show you otherwise. I believe the truth is that there is no one 'true' system of attributes. Each Enochian letter/square appears to be a whole universe of ideas, and there is probably a lot of overlapping. That's why I've concluded that it may be best to learn the letter essences first, and then study the tablets afterward so that you'll have a deeper more intuitive understanding of the energies assembled together on them. The tablets can be thought of as symbolic assemblages of forces - what better way to learn to use them than learning the rudiments/essences of those forces first?
When I looked into the topic of letter essences, I was shown that each letter is like a sphere or world of concepts. Finding ONE core idea that describes the meaning of each letter doesn't seem completely possible although finding a few concepts that roughly approximate what the letter/symbol represents may be possible to some degree. Of course, the interpretations will be biased with regard to the magickian's subjective experience of them, but that is unavoidable. What they mean to you is what's most important, since you're the one who is going to be making use of them for magick.
I'm a practical magickian, not strictly a theorist/explorer. I do theorize and explore, but my purpose for using Enochian magick is not purely for scholarly pursuits - it's to find practical applications for creating change in conformity with my will (i.e. defense, healing, spiritual development, increased knowledge and awareness of self and the universe around me etc.). Consequently my ideas may be very different from some of the people on the e-lists. I appreciate their research into areas of theory, but I realize that rules/attributions can mean little when it comes to actually making something happen. Anything that remains rigid will break - flexibility is essential. That goes for rules too. If I live in an infinite reality, then what use have I with rigid rules? Such things can't possibly be a true reflection of reality and will eventually show themselves to be limitations when I am unable to see beyond them. Taken in small amounts, rules can provide direction. Taken to the extreme, they can become obstacles.