The first Picatrix image I ever drew was this image of Venus:
I drew the image while I was still in college, all the way back in 2012. I started with that image because it was relevant to my interests at the time, and because that sort of therianthropic imagery was (and is) right up my alley. I then went on to use that initial drawing as the basis of my first talismanic image jewelry, and finally inked it just the other day.
More than ten years later, with the completion of a Lunar image illustration (moon according to Mercurius), I have finally made a complete set of Picatrix images of the seven traditional planets.
I’m pretty excited by that accomplishment. Not a lot of modern artists (that I’ve been able to find, at least) have fucked with these images at all. Fewer still have made a full set of seven.
I rushed past that milestone to finish second images of the Moon and of Jupiter, but since then I’ve been taking a bit of time to reflect on the images that I’ve made and what I’ve learned from them.
Laying them all down to look at them, the first thing that stood out to me after a few moments was that I’ve drawn three each of images according to Picatrix (Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn), three according to Mercurius (Moon, Sun, and Jupiter), and four according to Apollonius (Moon, Mercury. Sun, and Mars). That even distribution is fascinating to me; I obviously didn’t plan it.
The second most obvious thing about the collection as a whole is that they’re not as cohesive as I might like. That’s no surprise, really. I didn’t originally draw them as a set. I drew them out of order, with some fixed stars and Lunar Mansions and decan/face images thrown in the mix.
They all started out as pencil sketches, but they’ve been inked on three different computers using three or four different software suites (two different laptops, one with a touchscreen and fancy pen and one with a drawing tablet, and a desktop with a drawing tablet; a couple were done in photoshop, the rest were done with different iterations of Clip Studio Paint). The earliest ones were done in large formats, 3000 to 5000 pixels tall. The more recent ones, while drawn at a higher DPI, are smaller because of the tarot card format that I finally settled on. In part because of those differences, the line weights and styles vary wildly from one image to the next. Some of the images are depicted in modern clothing; others are in ancient or fantasy costumes, and two of them are naked.
I started this series (as opposed to the images that were made specifically for jewelry) of astrological images in 2022. I only settled on the tarot card format and proportions a few months ago. The current double-line border is, frankly, a placeholder for a cooler design that may never come.
To the best of my ability to reconstruct, I finished these images in the following order:
Mercury according to Apollonius
Sun according to Mercurius
Venus according to Picatrix
Saturn according to Picatrix
Saturn according to Other Sages
Jupiter according to Mercurius
Sun according to Apollonius
Mars according to Apollonius
Moon according to Mercurius
Moon according to Apollonius
Jupiter according to Picatrix
Venus to be well received and esteemed by all
IMAGES ACCORDING TO PICATRIX
IMAGES ACCORDING TO APOLLONIUS
IMAGES ACCORDING TO MERCURIUS
If I include our stragglers, Saturn according to “other sages” and the just-published Venus to be well-liked, that makes for: two Moon images; one Mercury; two Venus; two Sun; one Mars; two Jupiter; and two Saturn images. (I should really hurry up and make a second image each of Mars and Mercury, shouldn’t I?)
PICATRIX IMAGE MAGIC
Of these images, I have elected and consecrated talismans with, Mercury according to Apollonius, Venus to be well-liked, Venus according to Apollonius Mars according to Apollonius, Jupiter according to both Picatrix and Mercurius, and Saturn according to other sages, all in metal. I have also cast metal talismans of the Sun according to Picatrix I have used the image of Jupiter according to Mercurius and the Sun according to Mercurius in petitions. I have had good, but not spectacular effects with all of them. My clients have had results that ranged from good to spectacular.
Following my Seven Spheres initiations into the mysteries of the planets, I feel like each image I create, and each iteration thereafter, brings me closer to the planet in question. Each successive image, when I am finally ready to sit down with pencil and paper, moves through me more easily, and comes out better both magically and artistically.
In my post on what to do with planetary images, I spoke of using them for stellar idolatry, and I wasn’t joking or exaggerating. But I’m finding the process and the experience difficult to describe. Perhaps it suffices to say, I’m finding the experience rewarding and I’m going to continue to work.
PICATRIX IMAGES AS ART
Looking back over them all, now, I think Saturn according to Picatrix and Mars according to Apollonius are my favorites. I like the line weights and the way that they fill the space. When I re-do Mercury according to Apollonius and Sun according to Mercurius, I will very much be trying to find back that sense of weight and flow (I think I did well with my new Venus image, but didn’t quite nail it). I may decide that several others need to be tweaked or even re-drawn, as well. Even as I say that, though, I have to say that I’m really pleased with how they’re coming together both individually and as a series.
And, before I take anything back to the drawing board, I feel like I need to finish at least one of the above sets.
The images according to Apollonius are the obvious set to finish, since that’s the most complete set, so far. His image of Saturn is straightforward enough: an old man on a throne. Venus is similarly straightforward. And Jupiter is riding an eagle and holding a severed head, which is kinda wild.
Mercurius has a bird-headed Venus image that I’m looking forward to drawing because I love therianthropic gods, but he and Picatrix both have an overly-complex image I’m distinctly less excited about (Mercurius’ Mercury is a one-winged figure juggling objects, and Apollonius’ Mars is man-handling an image of Venus). So Apollonius is probably going to be the way.
And then I get to decide if I’m going to do the various images according to “other sages”, and the lone image (Venus) according to Ptolomy.
Inevitably, I’m also thinking about other design elements going forward.
Do I want to do color versions? Or more single-pop-of-color variations, like Mars and his red cape? Do I want to do larger versions for a book, some day? Or posters, even?
Of the human figures, so far Saturn according to other sages and Mars according to Apollonius are clearly Black, and Jupiter according to Mercurius could be Desi, but the rest are pretty white. That’s definitely something for me to work on. At a minimum, one of my Venuses needs to be a Black woman, for example. Conveying phenotypes in this small black and white lineart format without accidentally crossing the line into racist caricature is going to be a … challenge. But I think it’s a worthwhile one.
And how to dress them? I like drawing naked people, obviously, and there’s a long tradition of depicting deities in the nude, plus the images that are canonically naked. But some figures are explicitly dressed a certain way, and the truth is that I’ll probably have an easier time selling (and even sharing) these images if they’re not all flashing their tits and/or peen. I like researching and drawing ancient costumes, and clothes inspired by fantasy and high fashion, but … I do think it’s interesting and valuable, sometimes, to have magical images and occult art in contemporary settings and costumes; it makes the magic less remote.
And, finally, what can I do to draw these images together into a more cohesive collection? What can I do to make them a set?
Time will tell. The only way out is through.
And, in case it isn’t clear, I’m excited to meet these challenges and answer these questions. I’m proud of and very pleased with the work I’ve done so far. I’m looking forward to completing at least one more set of seven planetary images. I’m looking forward to the magic I’ll be able to do with them. And I’m looking forward to sharing all of it with you.
