Circle of daffodils (magical images of Aries)

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The subject of today's Tarot Blog Hop is Tarot and magical images associated with the first three decans of Aries (the start of spring supposedly in the Northern Hemisphere--looking out the window I can't tell that it is spring because the plains of Colorado are under a fire ban and it is a whole cool eighty degrees out there--it looks more like summer drought time than what spring is supposed to look like).

Magical images are emblems used in both fortune telling and practical magic--the Tarot itself can be thought of as a set of magical images.

For those who are unfamiliar with magical images, consider these images from the Picatrix:

First image of Aries: “The first face of Aries is Mars, and there rises in it according to the opinion of the great sages in this science, the image of a black man, with a large and restless body, having red eyes and with an axe in his hand, girded in white cloth, and there is a great value in his face. This is a face of strength, high rank and wealth without shame. This is its form.” This image corresponds to the first ten degrees of Aries (sub-ruled by Mars) and the Two of Wands (a man looking out onto the world from the walls of a high castle--will of creation "dominion"). The image from the Picatrix is used for invoking strength, high rank and wealth without shame.

Second image of Aries: “There ascends in the second face of Aries a woman dressed in green clothes, lacking one leg. This is a face of high rank, nobility, wealth and rulership. This is its form.” This image corresponds to the second ten degrees of Aries (sub-ruled by the Sun) and the Three of Wands (a man looking out onto a harbor--supervising one's business "established strength"). The image from the Picatrix is used for acquiring high rank, nobility, wealth and rulership.

Third image of Aries: “There rises in the third face of Aries, a restless man, holding in his hands a gold bracelet, wearing red clothing, who wishes to do good, but is not able to do it. This is a face of subtlety and subtle mastery and new things and instruments and similar things. This is its form.” This image corresponds to the last ten degrees of Aries (sub-ruled by Venus) and the Four of Wands (a couple under a wedding canopy--celebration and marriage "perfected work"). The image from the Picatrix is used to achieve subtlety, subtle mastery, and in the creation of subtle instruments and devices.

And if you are anything like me, most of what was just said is just noise without much information context. (Like for instance, what does "lacking a leg" in the second image mean? Does she only have one leg? If so, was she born without it? or did she lose it to some accident or disease? Or does "lacking a leg" mean that only one of her legs is visible and the other is hid from view by her clothes?) I have some idea how to use the magical images, thanks to my lodge and coven training, plus years of magical experimentation, but am I even remotely using them in a manner that the Arabic compiler of the Picatrix would have recognized?

Now to be perfectly honest, the Tarot and the Picatrix magical images are not my go-to set for invoking the energies of this time of year. I tend to think of the wheel of the year more in terms of the eight Wiccan Sabbats...because I have spent my entire life in Wicca (seriously, before the age of ten, my sole religious education came from my Wiccan aunt because my parents could not decide what branch of Christianity [or Judaism] I should be schooled in--their indecision helped make me a witch). Sure, I can think in astrological and Tarot terms; but when it comes to magic, I am more of a Wiccan Sabbat person.

As someone who thinks more in the terms of Wiccan Sabbats, occasionally I find myself needing to do spell-work that matches a Wiccan Sabbat, but being months and months away from the Sabbat that best fits my need. The first time this happened was over a decade ago--I needed to do something that matched the ideas and energies of Beltane--and I was nowhere near Beltane at the time (the next Wiccan holiday was Yule which is hardly spring-like).

By this time, I had already become an initiate of both Wicca and an offshoot of the magical tradition known popularly as the Hermetic Golden Dawn, as well as having read and dabbled in various other magical traditions, including the grimoires. Therefore, I choose the idea of using magical images to address my little timing problem.

My set of magical images grew out of the symbolism of the Wiccan Sabbats, due to the fact that the spell-work I was doing corresponded in my mind to one of them. At first, my set of magical images grew piecemeal as I needed to use new ones. It wasn't until a few years ago that I completed the whole set (the first time, I showed the full set to anyone was at a Open Full Moon ritual where I did a ritual tour of the Sabbats--if you are really interested in the ritual and the whole set, there is the little ebook [e-article] up on Amazon [and other ebook outlets]).

So what does the magical image that I am using for this time of year look like?

In front of the standing stone marked with a sigil of a nest of eggs stands the magical image of Ostara. Beside a fire of dying embers, a woman stands, surrounded by a circle of daffodils. In her hands, she holds an egg with a snake coiled about it.

The magical image of Ostara (Spring Equinox) as conceived by me.

 And I created a little speech for this magical image that helps describe the meaning of the Sabbat.

Listen to the words of the magical image of Ostara: Robin call, bear cubs, tender shoots, the sun is reborn. Light and dark are equal; the elements are in balance, yet scarcity remains. Eggs laid, planted seeds, and cherry trees in bloom; all is caught between hope and fear. Will it stay warm? Will it rain enough? Will hardship stay away? Only time will tell; one can only prepare and hope. The cycle of hours, the cycle of days, the cycle of years, it all spins around and around. This is the time of newborn hope; this is the time of new beginnings; the ground prepared, and the seeds planted. Look forward; plan ahead; hope for the best—celebrate the equinox of spring, the most hopeful time, as the wheel of the seasons turns and turns.

So that is the magical image I use for invoking the energy of this Sabbat.

Happy Spring Equinox!

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Black magic and me

Reading the internet, I realized that some people believe that when I mentioned using black magic last night that I was thinking of David Griffin.

Wrong.

No, I am thinking about my empty wallet. If I am going to dirty my hands with black magic, for instance use the Picatrix (which someone says is black magic), I am going to go after money. After all, I have student loans that are about to start coming due.

And considering that I am a writer, we all know any spell I use to increase my income has to be black magic...because all writers are evil, along with scholars and historians (I am just evil in spades, ain't I?).

Griffin and his Order do not have to worry about me using black magic against them. I got better and more important things to do.

I am looking forward to some cursing

Rufus just exploded and reminded me that if my resignation is accepted, I get to go back to cursing people. That pesky oath of obligation has been in the way for too long, and I have a long list of people I have beefs with. And there is a whole bunch of black magic I have been waiting to try out. It will be like the good old days again. C'mon Bast Temple you know that you want to let me loose.

(And in no way should this blog post be read as an admission of previously black magic use...I was never a power hungry psychopath dabbling in dark ceremonial magic.) 

Hey, I can now work with the Picatrix---let the good times begin.

Combining Astrology Symbols (sort of a Tarot Deck Review)

How the energies of Mercury may manifest in the sign of Leo.

One of the big things that the Picatrix talks about is images of the various zodiac signs and planets, and combining these images to create more complicated symbols. This idea is not new. In fact, you can figure it out from Agrippa. In addition, the Vault of the Adepts can be viewed as a complex astrological image.

(The comment that I just said about the Vault of the Adepts is approved by my Secret Chiefs and not yours, so don't you dare talk about it. Of course, given the fact that the Picatrix is considered Black Magic, one can only presume that the same applies to the works of Agrippa, who may have been using the Picatrix as a source. I wonder if the Vault of the Adepts is Black Magic also.)

Now, astrologers use the idea of blending astrological energies all the time; it is how they read charts. And magicians working with astrological energies use the concept all the time to do magic.

One of the tools I use for helping me think about such things is the Symbolon deck by Peter Orban, Ingrid Zinnel, and Thea Weller. It is a deck of 78 cards (but not a Tarot deck), consisting of 12 cards representing the zodiac signs and their planetary rulers, and 66 cards combining the basic imagery of the 12 basic images into more complicated images.

For instance, let's say that I am trying to understand how the energies of Mercury manifest in the zodiac sign of Leo---my natal Mercury is located in Leo, by the way.

Mercury, and its ruled sign of Gemini, is represented in the Symbolon deck by The Mediator, a winged messenger carrying a scroll.

The Sun, and its sign of Leo, is represented by The Ego, a king enthroned on a lion-headed throne (a symbol that most of Golden Dawn members will associate more with Aries).

The combined energies of Leo and Mercury can be seen in The Actor, which depicts a stage with the Mediator in the background while the Ego walks across the stage, in front of an audience, holding the unfurled scroll.

Hmmm, I see no way that could actually apply to me, a humble blogger---I must have decided to use the wrong card.

(Review Time)

I have owned my Symbolon deck for several years (more than a decade). I am not sure that it is even still in production---but with eBay does it really matter? I do not use it for readings, well, not card readings. The way I use it is exactly what I was talking about in the first part of this blog post; I use it to suggest to me ways that astrological energies might be manifesting when combined in various modes. It is basically, for me, a way to attempt to grok the parts of an astrology chart that I am struggling with.

(And no, I do not struggle with my Mercury in Leo; it is my Moon in Scorpio that causes all the problems.)

Is the Picatrix black magic?

"Magic is, in fact, everything that absolutely fascinates minds and attracts souls by means of words and deeds."---The Picatrix (Ghayat Al-Hakim)

Today, reading the comments on another blog, I saw some one declare that the Picatrix is Black Magic. This naturally brings us to the question of how exactly are they defining black magic...your guess is as good as mine.

And in fact, I do not want to guess. Let me toss out a bunch of reasons that I have seen over the years and cross my fingers that one of them hits the target.

The Picatrix for those who have never leafed through a copy is a book of astrological magic; mainly talismans, correspondences, and invocations. It is basically Agrippa meeting Alan Leo.

So why is this black magic?

Well, some of the talismans' goals are dubious in nature---like causing nations and cities to fall. And some of the ingredients are icky---my cats would purr-fur me to not use cat brains in my spells (I pun today...and "cat brain" might be a code, much like babies' hearts.) So that might be part of it.

And we all know that any magic done for material ends, and not just spiritual development, is pure evil.

Then there is the fact that some people claim that it works...and one of the definitions of black magic is magic that works better than yours.

Add to the fact that it is published, well that is a sure sign of evil, for only evil and black magics are allowed to be published by the Hidden Masters.

Then again, if it is the source of one's inspiration, then one labels it black and vile to keep your students from reading it...or to make sure that they do read it (depends upon your mentor).

Of course, the cherry on top has to be the fact that it was written by a Muslim, mentions Allah, and requires some knowledge of the Quran...and we all know those people, not being good Christians, are just downright evil as all of their works are.

So there you have it, a bunch of reasons why the Picatrix is evil. Take your pick, or ignore all of them and make up another reason...but I imagine some of us are going to continue to use our copies of the material despite what you think (or because you think that the Picatrix is evil).

"I call you, you High and Powerful Spirit of Spirits, the Wisest of All Wise, Intelligent of All Intellignce, Knowledgeable with the World's Knowledge, answer me and come to me and get me close to your knowledge, make me as wise and powerful as you are, let me understand what I do not understand, let me see what I cannot see and protect me from ignorance, forgetfulness and cruelty and make me like the Forefathers of Wisdom, the ones that had intelligence, wisdom, attentive awareness and understanding in their hearts, let all that live in my heart and never depart from it."---Picatrix (Ghayat Al-Hakim)