The Qliphothic Zodiac – Part five

Astrological talismans

When it comes to the workings of astrological talismans, a lot of attention must of course be put on the timing of their creation and cultivation. As with all type of magical work, every effort that is put into it, including preparatory contemplations, studies and calculations, will add power to the outcome as they a) are expressions of the Magical Will and b) will ensure that the elements and other cicrumstances will be in harmony with the intended work. So once again it is important to underline that the magic is initated already in the preparatory stages of the process.

Concerning plant parts

As with all of our workings, it is recommended to bring into the process fitting elements in the form of plants, minerals, stones, soil or other elements from places of relevance and to also harvest and/or consecrate the elements during times that are fitting for the work at hand. Plants does have planetary attributes that are somewhat ”universal”, but the more that is put into the work, the better the outcome. 

For example the Stinging Nettle is attributed to Mars, but to just burn a couple of its’ leafs for martial work will not have the same effect as an incense blend consisting of for example 7 or 13 martial plants. All plants have different specific aspects attached to them, even if being under the main influence of the same planet, and similar comparisons could be made when it comes to adding elements from other kingdoms (animal, mineral and so on).

This leads us to a little sidetrack worth a drawing as we sometimes gets questions from people asking if more than one plant can be recalled upon the Green Point of the Skull during the one and same working, or if each of them must be recalled separately. The answer is that it is indeed possible to recall a whole blend during one and the same ritual, but the important part is the focus that one need to place on each of them and their exact attributes that you specifically intend to attain and utilize from them. 

Examples of this are given in several places in Liber Falxifer 2, in rituals where many plant parts are included and individual prayers to each of them are given. Similar methods can be used when recalling different blends, but it goes without saying that by conducting individual ”rites of recalling” for each plant part could add a kind of focus to the work,  that otherwise could be harder to attain.

The same goes for the harvesting of plants. One could argue that harvesting of a venusian plant on a Friday night is sufficient for attaining its planetary virtues, which is generally true, but it is still not the exact same thing as to for example harvest it during a specific time when Venus is extra strong and influential according to more exact astrological calculation, especially if the work that the harvest is intended for has to do with for example the Qliphothic Zodiac or the related Powers of the Silencing Letters.

For as it is written in the Book of Sitra Achra when it comes to higher workings of the dissolving of the fetters of destiny, the Zodiac Princes ”are to be reached out to during the time best corresponding with their dominion which is the same time as when they clash with their mirrored opposites”, and practical experience has shown that this is the case with other related forces as well. 

With all of this being said, it should still be underlined that it is always better to ”do something instead of nothing”, so we do not recommend to wait for half a year or similar just to do a ritual harvest based on astrological calculations. Look instead for the best suitable time during the coming weeks and plan for other works and cultivation related to it during other auspicious times in the future. The important part to keep in mind is that there are different levels of magical power, and many things to put into consideration besides deciding which the elements are that are fitting to include in your work.

Concerning soil from places of power and other elements

When it comes to soil and other elements from places of power based on planetary attributions we can share some interesting food for thought and contemplation.

In traditional astrology, certain places (and even countries) are attributed to specific planets. Mountains and deserts are for example related to Saturn, but also cemeteries. While mountains or deserts cannot always be considered as established/created by man, at least not immediately, the cemetery on the other hand is a place established and establishable by the act of burial and through which the astrological/planetary influences are drawn to a place that otherwise would be devoid of those qualities.

For Jupiter we have an example in attributions related to courts of ”justice”, for Mars we have chimneys, forges, slaughter-houses etc etc. All examples of “man-made places” drawing certain planetary influences to themselves. 

(Here one should also consider the fact pertaining to how such deeds resulting in the creation of all such places in themselves and to start with must also have been  inspired  by the corresponding planetary forces.)

These concepts are interesting to contemplate in connection also to other aspects of folklore and witchcraft, like for example how certain spirits can be called upon at specific places, for example at crossroads, lakes or even in one’s own home when it comes to the personal guardian/spirit/Tomte. As all of these ideas relates to how the acts of man connects to the spirit world, and vice versa of course, and points to the possibility of establishing our own places of power related to specific energies.  

There are further things to contemplate as well, for example the combinations between planetary attributes of one and the same place. While for example forests/woods can be seen as related to Saturn, the birch tree is attributed to Venus. This means that in a forest of birch trees, elements related to Saturn are still possible to harvest, if the Will is focused on those particular aspects of the place itself. 

The same goes for the harvesting of cemetery soil, which in many cases of course are done for necromantic workings, but if the soil is to be used for work related to the Qliphothic Saturn instead, our focus must be upon that and nothing else when entering Gulgaltha and asking the Grave Grim for permission and guidance. In other words, it is the expression and focus of the magical Will that ”shapes” the final outcome of the work we do, or primary virtues of the elements we harvest, which shows again the importance of putting as much effort and focus as possible into every aspect of the magical operation.

The talismanic creation

We now move on to the actual creation of talismans with the focus on astrological attributes, by a short presentation of a working that was initiated over a year ago related to the Daemon of the Silencing Letter Peh, connected to Mars. The idea was to ”simply” include a good amount of relevant elements and combine them all for the specific purpose of accessing the powers of this Daemon, and the different stages of the work was to be conducted during the most auspicious times. 

In order to again connect to the topic of harvest, one can say that to make an astrological talisman is to ”harvest” the relevant forces during the time of the ritual. The harvested power is then kept accessible within the talisman, and remain anchored therein if cultivated properly.

I started out by deciding what specific elements to use. Everything won’t be listed but what was included was a herbal blend of seven plants related to Mars, as well as elements from the animal and mineral kingdom, red jasper and blood-stone, ashes etc, which was all to be put together in a red drawstring-pouch together with a clay talisman bearing the inscribed sigil of the Daemon upon it.

Clay was in this case chosen besides the practical reasons also for traditional ones, as the clay itself was first cleansed, then shaped in a fitting manner and watered with an infusion consisting of the martial herbal blend (mirroring the intent of the work and the initiatory process itself, during which the clay-born aspects are overwritten by the magical Will manifested through correct deeds).

All preparatory work was done with astrological timing and influences in mind, and I deemed that the central part of the work would be the time during which the seal was to be inscribed, so specific attention and effort was put into doing that part during a time when Mars was particularly strong. It turned out that the time best suitable was during the 23rd planetary hour of February 24th (the late Mars hour of that date) in 2022.

This is a date that should ring a bell and serve to show how terrestrial events indeed are subject to celestial influences. 

To me personally, it became a clear confirmation that the calculations had been correct and that relevant energies had been very active around that time of of the ”main” ritual of talismanic consecration.

The work itself will not be described in detail in this post as the focus here is placed upon the astrological aspects. But it was done upon the Assiahic Hendecagram, employing all elements of relevance and after the inscribing was finished the session was ended with the burning of Echad Asarel incense, followed by meditations upon the powers sought and active at the time. 

The clay talisman was later painted with red and black paint, again during an auspicious time, that had been mixed with drops of a tincture containing the essence of the Martial blend otherwise employed within this operation. 

Anyone interested enough can on their own look up the chart for the particular time and calculate essential and accidental dignities and debilities and other influences, but we will give two examples of astrological factors of relevance, which really could not be more correct given the ”martial events” in the world at that same time:

The 23rd hour of Thursday (the late night hour of Mars) is in traditional sources (included in for example The Magical Treaties of Solomon) mentioned to be ”a good hour for throwing yourself into battle” or ”a good hour to cause hassle”.

And to conclude, we give here a quote from the Picatrix about the mansion of the moon at the time, which was the 21st, known as ”Albelda”:

”The twenty-first Mansion is Albelda, and it is for destruction. When the Moon is passing through this mansion, fashion the image of a man having two faces, with one facing forward and the other facing behind. Suffumigate it with sulfur and carob, and say ”You, Bectue, depopulate such and such a place and destroy it.”