Showing all posts tagged Picatrix

In art, witchcraft

Picatrix Image of Venus According to Mercurius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

The image of Venus, according to the opinion of the wise Mercurius, is a shape with the body of a man, the face and head of a bird, and the feet of an eagle. This is its shape.

Picatrix, Bk II, Ch 10, Para 28, trans. Attrell and Porreca

Behold the Image of Venus According to Mercurius!

My first try at this image had a very different head: dove-like, like my Image of Venus to be Well Received and Esteemed by All, but facing the viewer. Technically, it was well-executed, but I fucking hated it. When I vented my frustration about it over on bsky, Fae Grigoryeva suggested a harpy eagle and shared a fantastic photo reference, which – as you can see – was absolutely perfect. I considered going back and seeing if I could find a reference for harpy eagle claws, specifically, but decided against because I like the claws as I drew them, already.

I struggled with what to do with his hands. As you can see, I ultimately went with Baphomet’s gesture of benediction.

I considered making him explicitly trans, naked and with top surgery scars, but in this case decided to make it more ambiguous, just leaving his wasp waist and mighty thighs. I dressed him in a fantasy loincloth with some of the same geometry as the Egyptian kilt I dressed the Image of Saturn in mostly because I just really like that shape.

It’s interesting to me that this image is so similar to the Image of Venus to Be Well Received and Esteemed by All, a bird-headed woman holding the same comb and apple as the Image of Venus According to Picatrix, which is why I originally tried to give him a similar dovelike head. I suspect there’s something interesting to sus out there, but I’m just going to run with “Venus is genderqueer” and leave it there, for now.

This image completes my collection of images according to Mercurius, my second complete set of Picatrix planetary images. It is my seventeenth Picatrix planetary image, altogether. Some day, I may come back and do the rest of the images “according to Picatrix” (I’ve already done Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn), or some of the other authors, but – somewhat to my own surprise – I’m a little tired of the planets and of the Picatrix. I don’t know, yet, where exactly I’m going to turn to next for inspiration. I have a few thoughts, but I want to reflect on this collection a bit before I chose my path forward.

In art, witchcraft

Picatrix Image of Saturn According to Mercurius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

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.

In art, witchcraft

Picatrix Image of Mars According to Mercurius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

Behold, my latest Picatrix planetary image, Mars according to Mercurius!

The image of Mars according to the opinion of Mercurius, is the shape of a man standing erect on his feet, holding on his right a beautiful virgin standing on her feet, which is an image of Venus with her hair fastened back. Mars is placing his right hand on his own neck and his left hand extending above her chest; he is facing her and admiring her. – Picatrix, Bk II, Ch 10, Para 20, trans. Attrell and Porreca

This image is interesting (and a technical challenge) first and foremost because it features not one figure but two: Mars, here, is accompanied by Venus, and they are very explicitly interacting. I may be missing something, but as far as I can tell the only other mutltiple-(human-)figure image is Venus According to Ptolemy as translated by Greer and Warnock: “a nude woman with a chain around her neck held by the image of Mars who stands before her” (Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10, p. 104 of the Liber Astratus edition), though it’s worth noting that Attrell and Porreca render that line as “in front of her neck she has the shape of Mars with a single chain” (Bk II, Ch10, Para 29 of their translation), in which case “the shape of Mars” could easily be understood as a man holding a chain, a man who is chained, or a big ol’ glyph of Mars around her neck like she robbed some macho man from the 1980s. (If I do ever come back to the Picatrix planets as an artistic subject, Venus According to Ptolemy is a strong candidate; in this moment I’m juggling two possible versions: a muscle mommy Venus wearing a glyph of Mars on a heavy chain and a high femme Venus holding Mars in chains.)

It also presented an interesting design challenge in that while the man is described as naked, the image of Venus is neither given a costume nor explicitly also nude. I think I was unconsciously recalling that Greer-Warnock rendering of the image of Venus when I decided to make them both naked. Having realized that as I write this, I have taken a moment to reconsider that decision, but I think it’s the right call because of how “naked man/dressed woman” hits on the internet in this year 2026 of our Demiurge. (And, of course, because I just like making art with naked people.)

Inevitably, there’s some very tiny technical things that vex me. There’s still something just a hair off about their respective proportions (though, of course, humans aren’t actually any one set of idealized proportions: we come in all shapes and sizes, which is something that I have tried to showcase in my collection of images.) Flaccid penises always look silly, no matter how big, small, or average they are. There’s also a few thematic elements that I’m still trying to figure out: do I want that white outline around them? I’ve added it to some and not to others; I also haven’t gone about it quite the same way twice. Before I print them, I need to make an actual decision about that for the sake of consistency.

Over all, though, I’m very pleased with this image. I’m proud of the clean evolution from my first sketch, where I was figuring out the pose and how to interpret the texts, to the sketch I shared with you last week, to this final black line version. I feel like I’m fucking finally figuring out how to draw feet. I’m like the composition and how they interact with the frame. I like both their faces, but especially hers. I really like how the textures of their hair turned out. I think I did a particularly good job on the linework, especially the heavy border.

In art, scholarship, witchcraft

Picatrix Image of Jupiter According to Apollonius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

“The Image of Jupiter, according to the opinion of Apollonius, is the shape of a man sitting on an eagle, wrapped in a cloth, with his feet on the eagle’s back, and a head, covered by a cloth, held in this right hand. This is his shape.” -Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10, Paragraph 15 (Attrell and Porecca, 2019)

Behold, my latest Picatrix astrological image, Jupiter According to Apollonius”, my third Image of Jupiter following “… According to Picatrix” and “… Mercurius”.

The man and the eagle are obvious elements for an image of Jupiter. The head is less obvious. Having taken Gil the Dragon’s argument that the lion-headed image of Jupiter according to Picatrix is a callback to Herakles, similar lines of thought lead me to take the severed head here as a callback to Algol and Medusa, which would make this figure a rendition of Perseus.

As with all of these images, the vague description left me with a lot of room to make creative design decisions. I took “wrapped in a cloth” here the same way I did on my Mercurius image because it fit with the flying motif, because I like the continuity it adds between the two Jupiter images, and honestly because it’s just so much fun to draw. I chose to depict Jupiter as a hairy trans man with visible top surgery scars for mostly the same reasons I made the Mercurius image fat: because it’s fun, because it looks cool, and to add a bit more diversity to my imagery.

The eagle was a real technical challenge on account of I don’t have a lot of practice drawing birds. I based this one on a photo I found of a European imperial eagle in flight. The drawing is imperfect, but the fact of the matter is that real birds aren’t ever actually majestic, they’re all just that funny looking. And I’m proud of the feather patterns if not the degree to which it turned out more stylized than the figure.

The head he’s holding up, though, gave me a little bit of pause. From a design perspective, it was a challenge to navigate showing enough of the thing he’s holding under its cloth to be clear that it’s a head without reducing the cloth to the point where it looks like a doily hat. Plus the inevitable question of why the cloth isn’t blowing away in the wind that’s billowing Jupiter’s hair and the cloth he’s wearing. Ultimately, I went for intelligibility over realism, and I think that it looks pretty fucking good.
Also, while I do think that I am persuaded by my own speculation that the severed head is supposed to be (or at least evoke) Algol/Medusa, I chose to render it as a bearded man’s head for the sake of intelligibility at the intended scale of print (tarot car size).

The completion of this Image of Jupiter marks the completion of my first full set of Picatrix images: all seven planets as described by Apollonius. I’ve been thinking about that fact all week as I’ve wound up to finishing the image and writing this post, but I think I have a bit of processing to do before I say more.
Now, finally, what are the magical uses of this image?

Modern magicians emphasize the wealth and abundance aspects of Jupiter, and those are absolutely present in the Picatrix:
“Entreat Jupiter for the accumulation of wealth…” (Book IV Chapter 4, Para 6)
“Jupiter [is the substance of] the power of increase” (Book IV, Chapter 4, Para 55)
More, though, the Picatrix speaks of Jupiter of the planet by which one extracts justice and favor from rulers, and for spiritual pursuits. Health (physical and mental) and safe travel also get honorable mentions.
“… the benevolence of Jupiter is appropriate to the works of clergymen, kings, and lords” (Book 2 Chapter Three Para 5)
“Jupiter is the source of growing power. He governs an aspect toward law, legality, jurisprudence, and the ease of acquiring requests, reparations, and restraints. He guards against mortal illness. He governs wisdom, philosophy, and the interpretation of dreams. … Among the crafts, he governs ruling, jurisprudence, and selling pristine merchandise.” (Book 3 Chapter 1 Para 4)
“Jupiter is the author of life and the sciences. Laws, treaties, and judgements proceed from him.” (Book 3 Chapter 3 Para 33)
“Entreat Jupiter for … the enhancement of dreams, the pleasure of escaping sadness, the leaving behind of toil and quarrel, and safe journeys by land or sea.” (Book 4 Chapter 4 Para 6)

In art, witchcraft

Image of Venus According to Apollonius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

The image of Venus, according to the opinion of the wise Apollonius, is the shape of a woman standing on her feet and holding an apple in her right hand. This is her shape.

– Picatrix Bk 2, Ch 10, Para. 26 trans. Attrell & Parecca

Modern magicians overwhelmingly use Venus to bring love, and that is absolutely in her wheelhouse: “Entreat Venus for the union of desires, the power of causing joy and friendship, driving out idleness and grief, for invigorating the appetite, augmenting procreation, multiplying sons, extinguishing fires, and remaining secure from animals.” (Book 4 Chapter 4 Para 8)

She also governs the arts: “She governs an aspect toward grammar, the art of poetic meter, sounds, and songs. … From the crafts, she governs all the skills of painting, illustrating, selling perfumes, playing instruments pleasantly, singing, dancing, and producing harmonies with instruments.” (Book 3 Chapter 1 Para 7)

My first astrological image of 2026, and my sixth of seven images “according to Apollonius. I’m really very pleased with how it’s turned out. I love her facial features, and the texture I was able to convey in her hair. I think I did a great job of making her fat and hot.

Even more than my other planetary images, it’s important to me as a politically conscious artist that at least one of my images of Venus be explicitly Black. When I picked Venus as my next Apollonian image to finish, I decided that there was no time like the present. I had originally wanted her costume to be much more clearly African-inspired, but I struggled to find inspirational images attatched to such basic information as, “who and where in Africa designed or wore or wears this”. So for this image I settled on a big cloth that reads somewhere in between a Hellenistic himation, in line with the vaguely Graeco-Roman vibes of most of my images, and the wrapped cloth I’ve seen both tribal and urban Ghanans wear. If I ever do this in color, the cloth will be bright yellow-orange and have my best simplified approximation of the vivid, intricate, and colorful patterns for which West Africans, in particular, are known. I wish I knew how to better convey Black skin in a black-and-white image, like this. That’s obviously going on the research list, along with traditional and modern African fashions.

I might go back and dial up the details and the shading, but my hands hurt like fire and I’m really, really pleased with this as-is.

In art, scholarship, witchcraft

Image of Saturn According to Apollonius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

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.

As always (though I don’t always remember to remind you), a high resolution version of this image is available on Patreon. If you respect and enjoy my work, please consider supporting me there, or by dropping a tip in my Ko-fi cup.

In art, scholarship, witchcraft

Image of Mercury According to Mercurius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

“The image of Mercury, according to the wise Mercurius, is the shape of a man with a cock on his head, standing on a throne; his feet are similar to the feet of an eagle; he is holding fire in the palm of his left hand…” Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10, Paragraph 32. (Attrell and Porecca, 2019)

Behold, friends! My latest astrological image, and one of my favorites to date: Mercury according to Mercurius. The imagery doesn’t particularly call to me (I’m surprisingly un-mercurial), but I’m just SO FUCKING PLEASED with how this turned out. And, for a rarity, I’m equally happy with both the pencil sketch and the digital inks!

Like all of what I describe as the primary planetary images (the big block of descriptions in Book Two, Chapter Ten), it is my understanding that this image is good for all Mercurial purposes.

The picatrix says this of Mercury:

“The benevolence of Mercury is appropriate to messengers and scribes…” – Bk II Ch 3 Para 6

“Mercury is the source of intellectual power. He governs an aspect toward learning knowledge and wisdom, dialectic, grammar, philosophy, geometry, astronomy with its processes, geomancy, notarial science, the augury of birds according to tradition, and the interpretation of Turkish and other languages.” – Bk III Ch1 Para 8

“Mercury is the author of eloquence, rational intellect, and sense perception; from him proceeds the understanding of subtle and profound things.” – Bk III Ch 3 Para 33

“Seek from Mercury petitions appropriate to notaries, scribes, arithmeticians, geometricians, astrologers, grammarians, public speakers, philosophers, rhetoricians, poets, sons of kings and their secretaries, toll keepers, merchants, ministers, lawyers, slaves, boys, girls, younger brothers, painters, designers, and the like.” – Bk III Ch 7 Para 7

“Use Mercury when you wish to know, understand, and expel distraction; then your request will be fulfilled and flourish more easily.” – Bk IV Ch 4 Para 26

In art, witchcraft

Picatrix Image of Jupiter According to Picatrix

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

“The image of Jupiter, according to the opinion of Picatrix, is the shape of a man with a leonine face and the feet of a bird; beneath his feet he is holding a dragon that has seven heads, and in his right hand he holds a dart as if he wished to throw it at the head of the dragon.”

–Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10, Paragraph 16 (Attrell and Porecca, 2019)

Behold! Another astrological image for the collection!

This, of course, my second illustrated Jupiter image, following my Jupiter according to Mercurius from earlier this year. I is also my second take on Jupiter according to Picatrix, following the jewelry design that started from the same rough sketch. And, while it isn’t perfect (I’ve mentioned previously that I have felt for several months like I forgot how to draw; I similarly feel like I’m re-learning how digital inking works), I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I briefly considered saving this for next month, so I could be absolutely certain that you’d get an astrological image in October, but looking at the little collection I’ve put together, I think I’m going to be sufficiently motivated by the fact that I am only two planets short of a complete set of images according to Apollonius (Saturn and Jupiter), which is pretty freaking cool in and of itself.

But what can you use this image for? Well, lots of things. It is my opinion (and divination seems to bear it out) that the “core” images (those listed Book II Chapter 10 with no specific description of their effects) can be used for any Jupiterian purpose.

Modern magicians emphasize the wealth and abundance aspects of Jupiter, and those are absolutely present in the Picatrix:

 “Entreat Jupiter for the accumulation of wealth…” (Book IV Chapter 4, Para 6)

“Jupiter [is the substance of] the power of increase” (Book IV, Chapter 4, Para 55)

More, though, the Picatrix speaks of Jupiter of the planet by which one extracts justice and favor from rulers, and for spiritual pursuits. Health (physical and mental) and safe travel also get honorable mentions.

“… the benevolence of Jupiter is appropriate to the works of clergymen, kings, and lords” (Book 2 Chapter Three Para 5)

“Jupiter is the source of growing power. He governs an aspect toward law, legality, jurisprudence, and the ease of acquiring requests, reparations, and restraints. He guards against mortal illness. He governs wisdom, philosophy, and the interpretation of dreams. … Among the crafts, he governs ruling, jurisprudence, and selling pristine merchandise.” (Book 3 Chapter 1 Para 4)

“Jupiter is the author of life and the sciences. Laws, treaties, and judgements proceed from him.” (Book 3 Chapter 3 Para 33)

“Entreat Jupiter for … the enhancement of dreams, the pleasure of escaping sadness, the leaving behind of toil and quarrel, and safe journeys by land or sea.” (Book 4 Chapter 4 Para 6)

With the dart in his hand and the dragon under the figure’s feet, my best guess is that this image is particularly suited for securing justice or overcoming personal demons.

For high resolution versions of these images, please support me on Patreon.

In art, scholarship, witchcraft

First Complete Set of Picatrix Images

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

I began this series of Picatrix planetary images back in February of 2023 with the (now very rough looking) image of mercury according to Apollonius. With the completion of the image of the Moon according to Mercurius, back at the end of May, I finally have finally completed a full set. I present them as such, here, for the first time.

I plan to eventually release them as a “booster pack” of tarot-sized cards through DriveThruGames. I may also make them available as transparent stickers to slap on novena candles, or even as larger prints, if there’s any interest in that. First I need to re-do the Mercury and Venus images to better match the others, stylistically (my digital illustration skills have improved a lot over the last couple years). Then I need to settle on a frame. And then I need to design a back. And then I either need to have a couple really good sales months, or look into crowdfunding… assuming its even still legal to publish shit like this, by the time I’ve done all that, what with the swiftly-escalating fascism.

I’m still experimenting with frames. Of the handful of designs I’ve done up, so far, I like this simple geometry best. Part of me really wants a more elaborate Art Nouveau or Arabesque pattern, but that’s a little outside my design wheelhouse and I haven’t yet found one I like that I’m certain is in the public domain.

I have no idea what to do about a back design. Something minimalist and easy to write over for petition / paper talisman purposes? Something pentacle-tacular and extra witchy? One of my Baphomet devotional images? One of my occult art photographs? (I am definitely open to suggestions, here.)

I’m only a few images away from a complete second set, too: another Moon, for which I already have two sketches to choose from; another Jupiter and Venus, both already sketched; another Mars; another Mercury. Then I’ll be on to fixed stars and lunar mansions. Maybe I’ll even do all the decans, eventually.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these.

In art

Picatrix Image of the Sun According to Apollonius

Author Satyr MagosPosted on

The image of the Sun, according to the opinion of the wise Apollonius, is the shape of a standing woman, placed on a chariot drawn by four horses, holding a mirror in her right hand and a staff bound above her breast in her left hand; above her head she has the likeness of a flame. – Picatrix Book II, Chapter 10, Paragraph 22 (Attrell and Porecca, 2019)

This image was interesting to me in that it features the thing I do best (figure drawing) AND one of the things I do worst (animals, especially horses). I also, probably obviously, picked it because I get uncomfortable when an image set I’m working on is so wildly dominated by images of men.

Following a suggestion from @gildedragon on bsky, I have interpreted the “staff bound above her breast” as the charioteer’s whip. His suggestion also gave me the keyword that found me references for the horses: quadriga. If I make another bid at this image, I will probably look to one of the many “helios and his chariot being pulled by four horses” images that have survived in the form of red and black figure vases, and make a super explicitly femme!Helios version to scandalize the astrobros.

As always, you are welcome to download and print this astrological image for your personal magical use. A higher resolution version of this image is available on Patreon. You can also support me and my work on Ko-Fi if, for whatever reason, you don’t like Patreon.