Evaluating Magical Elections: Aspects of the Moon – Part VII

In Parts I and II of this post series we laid some of the conceptual groundwork for evaluating aspects of the Moon in magical elections. Parts III, IV, and V examined aspects to benefic and malefic planets, the Sun, and Mercury and the fixed stars, respectively, and Part VI examined some miscellaneous additional considerations such as orbs. Having covered the general and specific material on aspects of the Moon, we are now in a position to extract some general principles and create a rough guideline for evaluating the Moon’s aspects in astromagical elections.

Moon Aspects: Summary Principles

In this multi-part series we examined in detail a variety of considerations that help us evaluate the nature of aspects that the Moon makes in a talismanic election. If we were to condense the lessons into a list of general principles, we could propose the following nine principles.

Note that all of these principles are general, approximate, and not at all absolute. The narrative context of the talismanic intention, the whole picture of aspects, the houses and angularity of the relevant planets, the phase and speed of the Moon, and a variety of other factors could be considered as well.

1. General Aspect Doctrine

In terms of beneficial effects, trines are superior to sextiles, and in terms of harmful effects, squares are less powerful than oppositions.

2. Principle of Aspected Planetary Nature

The quality of a Moon aspect to a given planet depends primarily on the nature and dignity of the planet being aspected. All things being equal, any aspect of the Moon to Jupiter and Venus is generally beneficial, and any aspect of the Moon to Mars or Saturn is generally harmful.

3. Principle of Fortune Hierarchies

In general, Moon aspects to Jupiter are more beneficial than aspects to Venus, and Moon aspects to Saturn are more harmful than aspects to Mars. These hierarchies are not fixed in stone, and can reverse relative to the narrative purpose of the election.

4. Principle of Conjoined Planetary Nature

In general, Moon conjunctions with a fortune or infortune take on the nature of the conjoined planet, and presumably the conjunction has the nature of the corresponding planetary aspect. Hence, Moon-Saturn conjunctions behave like Moon-Saturn oppositions, Moon-Mars conjunctions like Moon-Mars squares, Moon-Venus conjunctions like Moon-Venus sextiles, and Moon-Jupiter conjunctions like Moon-Jupiter trines.

5. Principle of Solar Sovereignty

When the Sun is dignified and in good condition, any aspect of the Moon to the Sun is generally beneficial; when the Sun’s condition is neutral, only sextile and trine aspects by the Moon are beneficial; and presumably, when the Sun is ill-dignified or severely afflicted, any aspects from the Moon to the Sun are considered harmful (with trines and sextiles being only weakly afflictive).

6. Principle of Combustion

Moon-Sun conjunctions are only beneficial in very close cazimi; otherwise, combustion ranks as one of the top afflictions of the Moon. The Moon being in chariot (i.e., in esteemed essential dignity—rulership or exaltation) significantly mitigates the affliction of combustion.

7. Principle of Mercuriality

As with the Sun, Moon aspects to Mercury depend heavily on Mercury’s dignity and conditions. Moon-Mercury aspects vary at least as much as Moon-Sun aspects, and possibly vary to an even greater degree given Mercury’s mutability and dependence on contextual factors of the chart. Evaluation of Moon-Mercury aspects also involve an assessment of applying aspects that Mercury is making to other planets.

8. Principle of Mercurial Conjunction

Moon-Mercury conjunctions take on the character of whatever planet Mercury is aspecting, taking into account the nature of the aspect and the dignity of Mercury.

9. Principle of Fixed Star Conjunction

Moon aspects to other planets are modified according to the nature of the fixed star that the Moon conjoins, if any.

A Guide for Evaluating Moon Aspects in Magical Elections

Besides these general principles, we can also start developing a decision tree or set of rough guidelines for evaluating the Moon’s aspects in astromagical elections. The same caveats above apply: these guidelines will not be sufficient for assessing the narrative context of the talisman or every possible variation.

What follows is meant to get you started and to illustrate some of the reasoning that we have established in the previous five parts of this series. It is not presented as an exhaustive checklist, but rather a general outline of how one might begin to systematically approach an evaluation of Moon aspects in a magical election.

This guide assumes a medieval framework—that is, we use the principle of aspected planetary nature and a more restrictive context for aspects to fixed stars. We also tacitly assume that you are evaluating a magical election for a talisman intended to have positive, life-affirming effects on the bearer, and are aiming for beneficial Moon aspects. Curse talismans, though they would follow an analogous logic, are not explored here.

1. Next Aspect: Use an aspectarian or use an app to walk forward in time to determine which planet the Moon aspects next, and take note of which type of aspect the Moon is making to that planet.
   • If the Moon’s next aspect is to Venus or Jupiter:
     • The aspect can be assumed to have a positive influence, with the beneficial strength of the aspect evaluated as follows: trine (= conjunction to Jupiter) > sextile (= conjunction to Venus) > square > opposition.
     • Assess the essential and accidental dignity of the aspected benefic planet:
       • If the aspected benefic planet is in good condition, the beneficial influence of the aspect should be considered augmented and pure.
       • If the aspected benefic planet has poor essential dignity, retrograde, and/or significantly accidentally afflicted, the beneficial influence of the aspect should be considered muted.
     • If the Moon’s last separating aspect was also to Venus or Jupiter, the Moon is considered to be in the condition of benefic enclosure, one of the finest conditions for the Moon to be in.
   • If the Moon’s next aspect is to Saturn or Mars:
     • The aspect can be initially assumed to have a harmful influence, with the afflictive strength of the aspect evaluated as follows: opposition (= conjunction to Saturn) > square (= conjunction to Mars) > sextile > trine.
       • However, soft aspects to a malefic can be considered positive if the goals of the election are entirely harmonious with the nature of the aspected planet and the Moon is received by the malefic planet. Such aspects should be approached and assessed with prudence and caution.
       • Similarly, if the malefic planet is the Lord of the Moon’s house (i.e., rules the sign that the Moon is currently in) and the Moon beholds that malefic planet by a soft aspect, this is considered favorable.
     • If the Moon’s last separating aspect was also to Mars or Saturn, the Moon is considered to be in the condition of malefic enclosure or besiegement, one of the most negative conditions for the Moon to be in.
   • If the Moon’s next aspect is to the Sun:
     • If the next aspect is a conjunction, assess whether the Moon is in cazimi or combust. Combustion should be considered a serious affliction unless the Moon is in chariot (i.e., in Cancer or Taurus).
     • If the next aspect is not a conjunction, the aspect’s quality cannot be evaluated without knowledge of the Sun’s condition.
     • Assess the essential dignity and accidental dignity of the Sun:
       • If the Sun is essentially dignified (e.g., in domicile in Leo or exalted in Aries) and not significantly accidentally afflicted, then any aspect can be presumed to have a positive influence, with the beneficial strength of the aspect evaluated as follows: trine > sextile > square > opposition.
       • If the Sun has poor essential dignity (e.g., in exile in Aquarius or in fall in Libra) or severely accidentally afflicted, then any aspect can be presumed to have a harmful influence, with the afflictive strength of the aspect evaluated as follows: opposition > square > sextile > trine.
       • If the Sun’s condition is neutral, then a trine or sextile by the Moon can be presumed to have a muted positive influence, and an opposition or square by the Moon can be presumed to have a muted afflictive influence.
   • If the Moon’s next aspect is to Mercury:
     • If Mercury is retrograde, a Moon aspect to Mercury should be presumed to be an affliction.
     • Determine which planet Mercury will next be aspecting, other than the Moon.
       • If Mercury’s next aspect is out-of-orb or to the Sun, consider Mercury to be neutral.
       • If Mercury’s next aspect is to a benefic planet, consider Mercury to function like a muted benefic planet, and thus tentatively presume that the quality of the Moon’s aspect to Mercury is beneficial.
       • If Mercury’s next aspect is to a malefic planet, consider Mercury to function like a muted malefic planet, and thus tentatively presume that the quality of the Moon’s aspect to Mercury is harmful.
     • Assess the essential dignity and accidental dignity of Mercury:
       • If Mercury is (1) essentially dignified (e.g., in domicile in Gemini or in domicile & exalted in Virgo), (2) not significantly accidentally afflicted, and (3) either functioning neutrally or like a muted benefic planet, then any aspect can be presumed to have a positive influence, with the beneficial strength of the aspect evaluated as follows: trine > sextile > square > opposition.
       • If Mercury has poor essential dignity (e.g., in Sagittarius or Pisces) or severely accidentally afflicted:
         • If Mercury is functioning neutrally or like a muted benefic, consider a trine or sextile by the Moon to Mercury to be neutral (mixed quality), and consider a square or opposition to Mercury to be a significant affliction.
         • If Mercury is functioning like a muted malefic, consider any aspect by the Moon to Mercury to be a significant affliction, with oppositions > squares > sextiles > trines in terms of harmfulness.
       • If Mercury’s condition is neutral, then a trine or sextile by the Moon can be presumed to have a muted positive influence, and an opposition or square by the Moon can be presumed to have a muted afflictive influence.
2. Orb of Aspect: Assess whether the Moon’s next aspect is in orb or out of orb.
   • The following orbs can be used for Moon aspects to other planets:
     • Moon-Saturn: 11°15′
     • Moon-Jupiter: 12°15
     • Moon-Mars: 10°15′
     • Moon-Sun: 14°45′
     • Moon-Venus: 10°15′
     • Moon-Mercury: 9°45′
   • If the Moon’s next aspect is in orb, this indicates a stronger influence.
   • If the Moon’s next aspect is out of orb, the influence of the aspect—as well as the overall strength of the election—can be assumed to be somewhat muted.
3. Subsequent Aspects: Determine whether any of the Moon’s subsequent aspects are in orb. If so, assess their quality according to step 1 above and balance that with and against your evaluation of the Moon’s next aspect. If the next aspect is judged beneficial, this blends with and does not cancel out subsequent harmful aspects (and vice versa)
4. Fixed Stars: Determine if the Moon is applying to a close conjunction (< 3°-5°) to any bright fixed stars, particularly any of the 15 Behenian fixed stars (or, alternatively, any fixed stars that are particularly thematically relevant to the election). If so, factor the nature of that fixed star into your assessment of the Moon’s condition. This will largely be a qualitative assessment on the level of meaningful significations, rather than a simplistic positive or negative. That said, certain stars with fearsome reputations (e.g., Algorab, Algol) can be presumed to cast a malefic aura over the Moon’s condition, while generally auspicious stars (e.g., Sirius, Regulus) can be presumed to fortify the Moon’s condition.

Concluding Thoughts

The guidelines above are fairly complex and may be somewhat imposing to beginners. Nevertheless, although there are a lot of words and conditions, the underlying logic rests on a handful of basic principles. Deeply internalizing those principles and fully understanding the core logic of medieval astrological magic will go a long way to making these guidelines more easily graspable and applicable to your process of evaluation.

Still, it is also important not to reduce your evaluations to a cookbook approach or checklist. Every chart represents a vibrant moment teeming with life and spirit, and just as a personality test in psychology does not capture the living essence of a person, technical guidelines do not fully capture the magical quality of a talismanic election. The map is not the territory, after all. Any evaluation of the Moon’s aspects should be considered to some degree a spiritual art, guided but not constrained by technical considerations. Narrative harmony, subtle nuances of the weights of positive and negative, and meaningful significations of various aspects that cannot be captured by pluses and minuses also hold significant sway and should not be neglected in your evaluations.

Some might consider it overkill to dedicate a seven-part series to evaluating aspects of the Moon in astrological Magic. We take seriously the injunction of the Picatrix, however, to give pride of place to the Moon in all talismanic operations:

“You should pay attention to the Moon in all workings, as the foremost of the planets, because she has the most manifest effects and judges all things in this world, and to her belong the powers of generation and corruption, and she is the mediatrix of their effects; for she receives the influences and impressions of all the stars and planets, and pours them down onto the inferior things of this world.”

—Maslama al-Qurtubi, Picatrix, Book II, Chapter 3, tr. Greer & Warnock

The Moon plays a foundational role in this art, and keenly understanding her role in magical elections provides solid ground to stand on in your talismanic endeavors. We hope that these posts and guides provide some insight that serves you well in your discernment in astrological magic.

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