At the end of February, I had the opportunity to catch one of the last talismanic elections for Saturn in Aquarius.
My memory of the ritual is, at this point, a little vague. The preverb vibes were raucous. I barely slept the night before, and in the process of not-sleeping an intense vision of the Saturnian spirits coming toward me and my temple in a crackling storm cloud. When the spirits came through, it was in a rush.
Then I cocked up an unrelated ritual the next day, and it took me a while before I felt sufficiently fortified and clear to finish processing those talismans: cleaning up the sprues and divining their names and sigils and purposes.
But, at last, with Saturn all the way into Pisces, I have done that final work. Of the nine talismans, two failed to cast and one I kept for myself. The rest of the spirits are ready and available for purchase.
These talismans are all cast in lead in my home studio. Most of them are my original Picatrix Saturn design. One is my new triangular talisman. For the moment I have chosen to include exemplars, rather than pictures of the individual talismans.
The fifth Spirit is a triangle pendant. She offers the favor of Saturn. Sold.
After six months of working with my own talisman, I can offer this advice: these talismans promise and deliver much, but they require clear communication on your part and demand that you meet the terms of your agreements.
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At the beginning of the month I was able to catch the two Venus in Taurus elections, casting two cohorts of shibuichi Image of Venus talismans. For this election, I divided my efforts between my usual Picatrix Image of Venus talisman – “…the shape of a woman with a human body but with the head of a bird and the feet of an eagle, holding an apple in her right hand and a wooden comb similar to a tablet in her left, which has these figures written upon in [the Greek letters OLOIOL]. Whoever carries this image will be well received and esteemed by all.” (Picatrix Bk 2, Chapter 10, Paragraph 55, translated by Attrell and Porecca) – and an experimental variant without the characters, which effectively becomes a synthesis between the Picatrix (“…a woman holding an apple in her right hand and, in her left, a comb… “) and Mercurius (“…a shape with the body of man , the face and head of a bird, and the feet of an eagle.”) images (Book II, Chapter 9, paragraphs 27 and 28)” .
The first cohort, cast before dawn on the 1st, consisted of four talismans – two each of the friendship and experimental images. The second cohort, cast before dawn on the 6th, consisted of five – three friendship and two experimental. The pre-verb for both rituals was intense: I couldn’t sleep at all those nights, and spend the non-ritual hours leading up to the elections working on old drafts.
All are being sold for $409, including shipping anywhere in the US.
THE FIRST COHORT
Doing divination in preparation for the first cohort, I drew the Princess of Disks: good things will come of these, but they may be slow to manifest – possibly as much as nine months, depending on how literal that pregnancy metaphor gets. I mixed up an incense for the rituals on the night of the 1st, consisting of red sandalwood, rose buds, crushed amber, oil made at a previous Venus election, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I invoked the spirits by means of the Orphic Hymn to Venus (Athanasakis translation, as usual) and the Picatrix Invocation of Venus (Attrell and Porreca, p. 173), calling upon the powers of Venus to send down spirits who would aid and serve and be good companions to whomever carried them, and bring with them the blessings of the planet Venus. I got a little restless and hurried during the casting, and poured the metal at the exact beginning of the election’s window, but I think that was the spirits on the other side as much as me, because I could absolutely feel them come through.
The first talisman is a pendant, and she promises to teach self-love. This is the first of the experimental images. Sold.
The second talisman features the experimental image and is meant to be strung on prayer beads. She promises to help build a new life in a new place.
The fourth talisman bears the experimental image and is meant to be strung on prayer beads. She says, “I am a muse. I draw and inspire muses.”
THE SECOND COHORT
In preparation for the second cohort, I drew IV Art (Crowley’s answer to the Temperence card). Although I was and am confident in the go-ahead message, I am less certain what it means for whomever will carry it. I used the same incense for the second cohort as for the first, and invoked the spirits by the same two hymns, and again asked that the planetary powers send down spirits who would be good companions to those who carried them, and bring with them the blessings of Venus. This election I hit more precisely, a single minute before Venus crossed the ascendant, and again I could very much feel the spirits rushing through.
The first talisman is a pendant and she promises to “bring true connection.” Sold.
The second talisman is a pendant bearing the experimental image. She promises, “I will awaken something within you.” I’m not sure if this will be a new passion or a new fetish, but … I’d take her at her word.
The third talisman is a pendant and she promises, “I will help you find family.”
The fourth talisman is a pendant and she promises, “I grant grace and bring friendship.”
The fifth talisman, bearing the experimental image, is meant to be strung on prayer beads. She promises, “I offer all the blessings of Venus.” SOLD
A FEW CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Between various mundane and magical exertions, I collapsed both physically and emotionally after these elections, and was not able to complete and polish these pieces until the last few days. I got them clean and free of the sprue during the Night Hour of Venus on Friday the 10th. I polished and communed with them on at the night hours of Venus on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week. Having now done these spirits their due honors, I am feeling much better … though that may be confusing causalities.
It is also worth noting that while my divination indicated that these would be good elections for me and my customers – possibly owing to my unique relationship with Venusian powers – two of the astrologers I follow and respect made a point of not taking advantage of these elections: they considered the Uranian influence too destabilizing. Certainly these are not talismans for someone hoping to stabilize existing relationships. But I’m glad that I made them, and I think that whoever takes them home will be glad that they did so. The ideal recipients of these talismans are queer magicians with passions for the arts.
The third talisman
The fourth talisman
The second talisman
The third talisman
The fourth talisman