The image of Saturn, according to the opinion of wise Mercurius, is the shape of a man standing, raisihing his hands above his head and holding a fish in them. Below his feet is a lizard.
Picatrix, Bk II, Ch 10, Para 13, trans. Attrell and Porreca
Behold, my penultimate (for now) Picatrix planetary image, Saturn according to Mercurius!
This one was a challenge because the image this description first conjured for me was more comical than I think most people are prepared to accept from/of Saturn: a fat butch showing off her catch like she’s making an OKCupid profile, standing over the Sobe lizard:
Gods, that was so much fun to draw. More than a month later, this one still makes me giggle, and getting past it to a more conventional image of Saturn was hard work.
In the end, though, I think I succeeded.
I can’t say why I decided that this Saturn should be dressed in an ancient Egyptian kilt, but I think it works well. That Egyptian theme helped me choose what sort of fish and lizard to draw with him: an electric Nile catfish and an Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard. The fish is admittedly so-so, but the lizard and its dramatic pose (copied from the fantastic reference photo I found) more than make up the difference.
As always, you can find high resolution versions of these images over on my Patreon, where you can also find a lot of my art and writing that never makes it to the wider web.
Behold, my latest astrological image, Saturn According to Apollonius!
“The image of Saturn, according to the wise Apollonius, is the shape of an old man sitting erect on a tall throne. This is his shape.” Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10 Paragraph 12 (Attrell and Porecca, 2019)
How do y’all like that crown? I feel like it belongs on the cover of a heavy metal album.
This image was an interesting technical challenge in that it’s basically the same as Saturn According to Picatrix except without the theriomorphic elements. and specifying “erect on a tall throne”. Behold, he sits erect. Behold, his throne is tall. And I gave him an orb to ponder, both because it brings a little bit of a sword-and-sorcery vibe to the illustration and to represent the worldly power he wields.
Overall, I’m very pleased with this piece. There’s a lot of little elements that didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted (go ahead and zoom in on at that fuckin’ hand that h olds the orb, and the way the fur collar interacts with the texture of the throne), but which will be invisible at the intended print scale, and one of the things I’ve been working on this year is just … letting that go and letting the art do what it needs to do. Really the only thing I’m unhappy with is that I didn’t get it out a week or two ago, and that is 100% because of Christmas depression.
As with my other “mainline” Picatrix images, this one is good for all things Saturn. It is superior to Saturn According to Picatrix in that only people with extremely suspect taste in men will find this one cute (a complaint that I saw on my crow-headed image), but for my own part I will always prefer the theriomorphic images.
Modern magicians call upon Saturn to set boundaries, build long-term / generational wealth, and to destroy their enemies.
The Picatrix says that, “Saturn is the source of retentive power. He governs an aspect toward profound knowledge; the science of law; the search for causes, effects, and the origins of things; the utterance of magical words; and the knowledge of deep and occult properties. … From the crafts, he rules working the soil, plowing, digging, extracting and working minerals, and the building trades.” (Book 3 Chapter 1 Para 3) and to “Entreat Saturn for delaying movement, concealing purity, destroying cities, humbling hearts, and calming waters.” (Bk IV Ch 4 Para 5)
Thus, Saturn is a fantastic patron and ally for witches and magicians of all stripes. Recall that it was the archangel and ruling spirits of Saturn that provided me with the triangle of conjuration that I use to this day.
At long last, I return to you with a new astrological image:
The image of Saturn, according to the opinion of other sages, is the shape of a man standing upon a dragon, holding a scythe in his right hand and a spear in his left, dressed in black and tawny clothes.
-Picatrix Book 2 Paragraph 13, (Atrell and Porecca, 2019)
This is the same image I used for my triangular Picatrix Saturn talisman, but very differently executed. I’m very pleased with how it turned out.
At last, friends, I have delivered unto you another Picatrix Image. Behold the Image of Saturn, according to Picatrix: “a man with a crow-like face and the feet of a camel, sitting upon a throne, with a spear in his right hand and a lance or dart in his left.” Picatrix Book II, Paragraph 11 (Attrell and Porecca, 2019) This is, of course, the same image I chose for my first Saturn talisman design (which I’ve included for comparison).
I penciled the image in my sketchbook, scanned it, and then inked it using Clip Studio Paint, all in essentially one sitting this afternoon. I am particularly proud of the crow-like face, which I think turned out really well.
You are, of course, welcome to use these images in your own planetary magic, but not for commercial purposes.
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.
If you want to get my posts a week before everyone else, to see the magical experiments that I don’t share with the public, to get first dibs on my elected talismans and fine art jewelry, or just want to support my work, you can do so through patreon. If you’d like to make a one-time donation, or don’t want to deal with all the non-occult content I post on patreon, I also have a ko-fi.
