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Attuning to Astrological Talismans Part I – Historical Perspective
After the launch of Idola Stellarum’s first collection of astromagical talismanic jewelry, Sanctuary, we fielded a number of questions about how to attune to astrological talismans.
“Attuning” or “attunement” refers to the process of connecting to a talisman for the first time. Often, attunement involves some degree of ceremony or ritual. There is no standard terminology for this process. Some people call it “consecration,” others say “attunement,” and still others “binding.” We prefer relational language: thinking of talismans as conduits for spirit connection and therefore instruments of relationship, it makes sense to us to speak of introducing oneself to a talisman, connecting with a talisman, or welcoming a talismanic spirit.
Attunement or introduction can be an anxiety provoking process, especially for people who are connecting with astrological talismans for the first time. People can worry about how to attune the right way: what’s the right time, what are the proper materials, what should it feel like?
In the first part of this post series, we examine the historical evidence about how talismans were intended to be created and used. Ultimately, we conclude that attunement rituals are not a necessary part of the practice of astrological magic when it comes to talismans. In Part II, however, we provide some reasons for using rituals of attunement or introduction, and suggest some of what we consider to be best practices for such rituals.
Historical Perspective on Attunement to Talismans
Whatever you call the ritual or ceremonial process of connecting to a talisman for the first time, the most essential thing that we must note is there is no clear answer on the right way to do it. When we look back at our historical sources in this tradition, none of them we currently have access to in English translation document instructions for this ritual. None of these texts mention consecration, binding, attunement, or introduction.
What our historical sources attest is the process of creation of talismans. The texts provide little guidance or instruction on what happens after you make a talisman.
Historical texts on astrological magic seem to suggest that talismans derive their power from their creation. In one of our oldest texts in this tradition, the Quadripertitus version of Liber de Quindecim Stellis, which seems to date to the early medieval period, there are simply a series of statements on how to create fixed star talismans.
Quadripertitus lays out four necessary ingredients that correspond to one another: “namely, of stars, of herbs, of stones, and of forms.” The Quadripertitus lays out lists of the fifteen fixed stars, the stones that correspond to them, the herbs which are in harmony with them, and the images and sigils (“forms”) for each of the fixed stars. The instructions provided for combining these four ingredients are quite simple:
“[T]hese [stones of the fixed stars] ought to be polished and graven or inscribed when the Moon shall be joined with the star pertaining thereto; for when this should be so, their power will be increased a hundredfold” (p. 27).
“Now I admonish thee that when the Moon shall be conjunct with the star to which pertaineth a stone, on the ascendant or midheaven, let this stone be placed in gold or silver or iron or lead or whatever metal is suited thereto, and thou wilt profit much, by God’s grace… And we ought always to add thereto the herbs we are able to hold together with them, which are in harmony with their complexions and natures. And when we have these three [i.e., the star, the stone, and the herb], we will require the fourth [i.e., the form: the image and sigil]” (p. 31).
—Quadripertitus, tr. Regulus Hess
The Picatrix, like the Quadripertitus, describes the creation of talismanic rings. For planetary talismans, Picatrix typically instructs to engrave a particular stone with a particular image on a particular stone during the appropriate planetary hour. After this, the instructions simply describe an effect, for example:
“Those who carry this image will have increase of riches and honor and lead a good life.”
—Picatrix, tr. John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock, Book II, Ch. 10, p. 106
The way these sources describe the process seems to suggest that engraving the proper images on certain gemstones when the Moon is configured to the correct fixed star serves to magnify the virtues or powers of the stone. That is, that the act of creation is sufficient in itself for a talisman to function. The following quotation from the Renaissance magician/physician Marsilio Ficino expresses a similar thought:
“It seems sufficiently probable…that [drawing celestial powers to ourselves] can be done by a certain art of collecting together rightly and at the right time many things in one.”
—Marsilio Ficino, Three Books on Life, tr. Kaske & Clark, Book III, Ch. XV, p. 319
Are Attunement Rituals Necessary?
The above examples seem to suggest that there is nothing beyond the creation of a talisman that is needed for a talisman to function. Further examples from the Picatrix make this very clear:
“And whomsoever carries this stone will not be conquered by anyone and what they begin will proceed completely to the end” (p. 107).
“[W]hoever drinks liquid in which it has been washed will immediately be free from attack [by snakes]” (p. 108).
“[I]f you make a seal from this image in wax and put it in the food of children, they will be freed from boils” (p. 109).
“[I]f this stone is carried into a prison it liberates prisoners” (p. 109).
“[W]ith this stone make a seal in incense and give it to a man for good memory, and to retain knowledge” (p. 111).
—Picatrix, tr. John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock, Book II, Ch. 10
These examples make clear that properly constructed talismans were presumed to take effect solely by virtue of their creation and presence, as if their power would emanate outward the way light shines from a torch or smoke emanates from burning incense. Marsilio Ficino says this directly:
“[The material of the talisman,] once it has received by art [i.e., through the rituals of astrological magic] a figure similar to the heavens, both conceives in itself the celestial gift and gives it again to someone who is in the vicinity or wearing it.”
—Marsilio Ficino, Three Books on Life, tr. Kaske & Clark, Book III, Ch. XVIII, p. 333
In a previous post on the safety of astrological talismans, we noted that talismans can be created for beneficial as well as malevolent purposes. With the disclaimer that Idola Stellarum does not recommend, endorse, or encourage the creation or use of curse talismans, their existence provides an important lesson about attunement. Like the above examples for beneficial talismans, our sources that describe talismans that operate for negative intended impacts also indicate that the talisman will operate simply by proximity.
This makes sense when we think about it. If talismans required a ritual binding them to a particular person, the only way a curse talisman could operate would be if someone tricked another person to attune to a curse talisman without realizing it was a curse talisman. This would be practically difficult and operationally unfortunate, since the target would have good reason to guess that the talisman given to them was the cause of whatever misfortune began to befall them.
The key to whatever lesson curse talismans have to teach us is that our historical texts draw no distinction between beneficial and malevolent talismans. The texts describe no difference in their creation, operation, or use, and they suggest that talismans can operate without the knowledge or even the consent of other people. Presumably, then, we can assume that astrological talismans all operate under the same principles, whether created for good or for ill, and were originally intended to work via proximity rather than via some specially constructed ritual connection.
This obviously raises serious ethical issues around the use of astrological talismans which we will not explore in depth here. We note that some beneficial talisman recipes are actually intended to operate on people who probably would not have access to the means or knowledge to perform attunement rituals, such as prisoners and children. Astrological mages and people who acquire astrological talismans should think carefully about their potential effects on unwitting others.
Finally, returning to our main theme, we note that the examples we have selected above are not just cherry picked examples from the relatively brief talisman recipes in Book II of the Picatrix. Later in the text, in Book III, Chapter 5, the author of Picatrix provides some of the most detailed instructions on the creation of talismans available in our entire tradition—but again, there is no guidance provided as to rituals of attunement to or connection with talismans.
We can also remember that back when these texts were being written and copied, writing materials were rare and expensive. People only wrote down what was necessary, and copied what was important. It is reasonable to assume that our tradition hands us down the bare bones of what is necessary. Therefore, the fact that no rituals of attunement are attested in our historical sources suggests that they are not strictly necessary in the practice of astrological magic, but does not preclude the existence of such practices, however undocumented.
Takeaways from Our Historical Texts
Simply put, what we now call attunement or introduction to talismans is a modern addition to the tradition. Because rituals to attune or introduce oneself to astrological talismans do not appear in our essential texts, we can infer that people can use astrological talismans effectively without the use of such rituals.
One further conclusion we can draw from this is that there is no one right way to attune or introduce oneself to an astrological talisman. There is no dogma, no canon, and no ultimate source for how or even whether to do it. This should encourage us to be humble, charitable, and curious about considering different ideas and practices of attunement or introduction.
That said, just because something is not strictly necessary does not mean that one should not do it. Most cooking recipes in North America tend to include only the most essential amounts of salt, pepper, and other seasons, but following these recipes to the letter can result in fairly basic or even bland results. Similarly, you do not have to fully furnish or decorate a living space for it to protect you from the elements, but adding your own personal touches can transform a space into a home. To move beyond the merely palatable to something personal and exciting, we have to go beyond the basics.
In the second part of this post, we will provide some reasons why we think rituals of attunement or introduction are helpful for us in the here and now, and outline some of Idola Stellarum’s suggestions for best practices of introducing oneself to astrological talismans.
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