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Attuning to Astrological Talismans Part II – Rationale & Suggested Practices
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.
“Attunement” refers to the ritual process of connecting or introducing oneself to an astrological talisman for the first time. In Part I of this post series, we took a look at our historical texts to argue that what we call attunement or introduction to talismans is a modern addition to the tradition as we know it, and not an essential feature of the practice.
This means that there is no standard or correct way to connect to a talisman for the first time—and certainly no reason to insist that one must perform a special ritual to introduce oneself to a talisman.
That said, when anyone purchases a piece of astromagical talismanic jewelry from Idola Stellarum, we provide extensive suggestions on how to introduce yourself to your talisman. In this second part of this post series, we explain why we recommend a ritual of attunement or introduction, and suggest some of our best practices for introducing oneself to talismans.
Rituals of Introduction as Offerings of Respect
All across our writings (for example, blog posts on the living tradition of astrological magic, talismans as instruments of self-transformation, and the freedom of celestial spirits) we emphasize our perspective that talismans are not just means of being in touch with celestial powers and spirits, but are themselves animate, sentient beings. When we take that idea seriously and commit ourselves to think and work within that tradition and perspective, it doesn’t take much to realize that it implies that perhaps we ought to treat talismans differently from other kinds of purchases or gifts we bring into our lives.
From this perspective, we consider rituals of introduction as a way to tender respect, appreciation, and gratitude toward talismanic spirits and the celestial hierarchies they operate within. Through such rituals, we not only say, but embody: hello, thank you for being here, I value your presence in my life.
We can think of this by analogy to human relationships. When meeting someone for the first time, our first impressions matter. Especially when they are very different from us, it might help put them at ease and foster connection to greet them on their own terms. For example, people customarily change their posture, tone of voice, rate of speech, and choice of words when greeting a young child compared to greeting an adult. When greeting a dog, it helps to lower oneself closer to the ground rather than lean over them. Some cultures shake hands; others bow.
Is it strictly necessary to make the proper introduction? Of course not. Can it make a difference? Usually!
How much this matters to any person will depend on how astrological talismans fit into their values and goals, of course. For people who view talismans as a means of gaining personal power, expressing respect and gratitude may not figure into their practice, or they may only perform rituals of introduction if they believe it makes the magic more powerful. For people who view talismans as instruments of celestial devotion or as avenues for developing spirit relationships, rituals of introduction may take a more central place in their practice.
Our preference at Idola Stellarum is always in the direction of relationship, but we recognize that there is wide room for variation and disagreement between practitioners. Ultimately, as we explained in Part I of this post, there is no single traditional Right Way to approach this issue.
Rituals of Introduction as Preparation for the Modern Mind
A second reason you might want to perform a rite of attunement or introduction has to do with the difference between our modern mindset and the mindset of mages at the time when the books in our tradition were written.
The majority of people in the so-called West were raised within a worldview that denies that magic exists—or at the very least, that magic is dubious and forbidden, if not downright evil. Also, stories of the dangers of magic can spin out of control, making it seem like all magic is threatening and volatile, inherently and all the time. For reasons like these, many of us come to magic bogged down with layers of doubt, fear, and guilt when it comes to magic.
If this rings true for you, chances are on some level your mind has a hard time distinguishing between any old piece of jewelry and an ensouled, magical piece of astromagical jewelry. Your mind may on some level resist or reject the very idea that this is possible, even if you want to perceive the difference.
Ritual and ceremony can function as a crucial tool for opening up to the part of our minds that has never forgotten that magic and spirits are real and that it is possible for us to connect with them. This is why theologians, anthropologists, and Jungian psychologists, among others, have been fascinated by ritual.
Rituals of attunement or introduction symbolically situate our astrological talismans as special beings worthy of respect, rather than just another object among many. They can serve as hierophanies, events that mark or establish a moment, a place, or an object as holy—as part of but also standing apart from everyday reality.
Our attitude toward our magic matters. In fact, this has long been recognized. Marsilio Ficino writes about how belief, hope, and desire augments the effectiveness of astrological talismans:
“[I]f anyone…wears an image [i.e., an astrological talisman] which has been properly fashioned, or certainly if anyone uses a rightly made medicine [i.e., a blend of medicinal ingredients prepared according to the same timing and ritual procedures as astrological talismans], and yearns vehemently to get help from it and believes with all his heart and hopes with all his strength, he will surely get a great deal more help from it.”
—Marsilio Ficino, Three Books on Life, tr. Kaske & Clark, Book III, Ch. XX, p. 353
We should note that Ficino’s writing predates our modern understanding of the placebo effect. He is not saying that if you believe in a talisman, you will think it will work and that’s what counts. Ficino was a physician by trade, and he would have been aware of the traditional role of the doctor to provide not only remedies but consolation of the patient. He recognized that in addition to the mechanics of the medicine, the relationship between doctor and patient was part and parcel of the treatment.
In fact, Ficino goes on in the same chapter to reference how a patient’s “love and faith” toward their doctor improve the effectiveness of medical treatments. He then immediately says the following about talismans:
“Now the same love and faith toward a celestial gift are often the cause of celestial aid; and love and faith in their turn perhaps sometimes get their start from this fact—that the kindness of the heavens is already befriending us for this very gift.”
—Marsilio Ficino, Three Books on Life, tr. Kaske & Clark, Book III, Ch. XX, p. 353-55
This passage makes clear that our traditional sources did not view belief in and love for talismanic spirits as a kind of placebo effect. Talismans do not work because of some mere trick of the mind that makes us feel better. Rather, we can easily read Ficino to be speaking of the relationship between the bearer of a talisman and the celestial spirits who empower the talisman.
Ficino tells us that a reciprocal, mutual relationship of friendliness, love, and faith between we humans and talismanic spirits magnifies the celestial gifts provided by talismans.
How we regard our magic is part of the magic.
Idola Stellarum’s Suggested Best Practices for Introduction
Having delved into a couple of reasons why Idola Stellarum recommends rituals of introduction, we now turn to some suggestions for how to go about such introductions.
Our suggestions are based on our own training and personal experience. We have been heavily influenced by the recommendations provided by the elder statesman of the astrological magic tradition, Christopher Warnock, as well as our own personal practices of devotional and visionary magic and witchcraft. In our view, there are five main ingredients to consider in a ritual of introduction: setting, offerings, words, meditations, and timing.
Setting. As with any ritual, you should have a dedicated space set aside for the ritual. This can be a permanent or temporary altar, or any calm and beautiful space that you can intentionally set, clear, cleanse, or cast (e.g., as in casting a circle) for the purpose of your ritual of attunement.
Offerings. The most basic and essential offerings are a candle and incense. Water is a lovely inclusion in most rituals for spiritual and practical purposes (in case you need to put out any rare errant sparks). Anything else is a bonus. A single candle and nice stick incense will do. You can also go the extra mile to match the color and number of the candle to the colors and numbers associated with the celestial hierarchy of your talisman. Choosing a specific incense with traditional associations is another way to show additional reverence. In our experience, offerings of food and drink are not necessary for introducing oneself to a talisman, but we encourage you to follow your instincts, aesthetics, traditions, and divinations on this and all points.
Words. Offering a prayer to the spirits associated with your talisman is a nice basic step. You can use the Orphic Hymns for planetary talismans, for example (Sphere + Sundry has also provided a way to adapt the Orphic Hymns for the fixed stars). Idola Stellarum talismans in particular also include devotional prayers based on the specific petitions handcrafted for each of our talismans. We also find it useful to offer some words of introduction, for example stating your name and intentions for your relationship with the talisman out loud.
Meditations. Sitting with the talisman and its celestial hierarchy can be an excellent avenue for fostering connecting beyond words. We encourage visualizing the images and symbols associated with the talisman, drawing or writing them out and meditating on them, or using journeying techniques to connect with the talismanic spirit through their images. Idola Stellarum talismans come with text provided for a suggested journeying visualization oriented around the images for that talisman and set in an Idola Stellarum space specifically created for our talisman bearers’ introductions.
Timing. Celestial spirits are primarily spirits of time, not necessarily of place. You can’t go to their original physical home (if such a place even exists). But you can meet them on their own turf, so to speak, by electing a time when the relevant planet or fixed star is prominently and auspiciously configured. How exactly to do this is beyond the scope of this post, but Idola Stellarum does provide extensive recommendations for astrological timing of introduction rituals with our talismans.
Intentionally attending to these five ingredients within your knowledge and abilities, and opening and closing rituals as you already know how, can provide an excellent framework for making an introduction to an astrological talisman.
If you are a beginner or complex ritual is not a large part of your magical practice, keep things simple. You can allow your rituals of introduction to evolve and change with your developing relationships and practice. You might offer different rituals to different talismanic spirits, as well, depending on your current relationship to their sphere and your intentions (i.e., a wealth talisman introduction might include food offerings, and an occult knowledge talisman introduction might include more meditation).
We hope this post series has helped you think about attunement and rituals of introduction, and can serve as support for furthering your own relationship with talismanic spirits.
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