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Astrological Talismans: Living Stones, Living Traditions, Living Relationships
What is an astrological talisman? Sometimes the questions we ask point us in wayward directions. By framing it this way we are already in a worldview that by default objectifies the non-human. The “what” in “what is an astrological talisman” subtly urges us to treat astrological talismans as things among things—to see them as just one type, if maybe a particularly special type, of inert, insensible matter.
The deeper tradition of astrological magic encourages us to move beyond the worldview that sets humans apart from the rest of creation. In our magical experience and in our understanding of the source texts of the tradition, the act of creating a talisman inspirits a piece of matter by inviting a celestial spirit of the cosmic hierarchy to reside within the gem or metal that serves as the material body for the talisman. As Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa puts it:
[Through astrological magic,] incomprehensible things become wonderful–that is, when materials are mixed and prepared at appropriate times, to make them alive, acquiring life from the stars, a sensible soul, and a nobler form.”
—Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book I, Ch. 36, tr. Eric Purdue
The Picatrix, one of our primary instruction manuals for astrological magic, makes a similar statement:
“When [astrological talismans] are made in a proper and opportune time as they ought, they receive spirits and infused powers from the planets and are similar to living bodies, from which follow miraculous effects.”
—Picatrix, Book I, Ch. 5, tr. John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock
These traditional sources encourage us to instead ask: who are astrological talismans?
When you hold a talisman in your hand, you are not holding a symbol or a reminder of some hypothetical being in another dimension or somewhere elsewhere in the cosmos: you have a sentient being at your fingertips.
When you wear a talisman, you are not wearing a representation of divinity: you have adorned yourself with immanent divinity.
Our tradition is not confined to the four walls of a church or a single day that gets designated as the place or time for connection with the divine. Our tradition does not ask for belief in a spiritual doctrine that stands in silent contrast to mundane existence.
When we hold talismans in our hands, we hold a fragment of our ‘church’ that reflects and contains the whole: we carry our church on us and within us, and we stand beneath it and within it every moment of every day. Its nature changes and flows with the change of every planetary hour, but its essence remains the same: the one World Soul, dancing and flourishing in every breath, in every stone, in every second.
Ours is a tradition that acts and speaks, if we know how to listen. The living tradition of astrological magic allows us full participation. It does not exist elsewhere, beyond our lifetime or outside of time. When we hold astrological talismans in our hands, we can know: our tradition is right here, right now, in this very hand, in this very stone.
Idola Stellarum is Latin for “images of the stars” or “idols of the stars.” The former idea conjures up the images drawn or imprinted on astrological talismans in order to ensoul or inspirit them. The latter idea puts us in mind of the spiritual significance and power of astrological talismans: they are like a mobile altar to the stars, a conduit to the heavens that we carry with us. More than this, though, talismans are not just a place or vehicle for communicating with the cosmos: they are not just the embassy, they are the ambassadors, and they can be your allies.
Astrological talismans do not just represent our capacity to be in relationship to the celestial entities, but actually, materially exist as a real, here-and-now way to be in intimate relationship to them. In this way, through the images and idols of the stars, astrological talismans serve as medicine for the beliefs, upbringings, and ideologies that sever us from the rest of the universe.
The pre-Socratic philosopher Thales said that all things are full of gods. Astrological talismans stand as the clearest testament to how this is no mere metaphor. In these wondrous beings, these living stones, our magical tradition lives on through bringing our relationship to the gods to life.
As stewards of the tradition of astrological magic, it is our privilege to bring the wonder of astrological talismans to others. Sign up to our mailing list for word of our upcoming talismanic collections and workings:
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