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Materials Matter: Why We Consider Our Attention to Ingredients as Prayer
Not too long ago, we were in a retail outlet browsing the kitchen and home aisles, and beside the myriad discount scented candles sat a shelf of amethyst chunks, unnamed geodes the size of your palm, and a bundle of selenite wands. Divorced from all historical context and subjected to the violence of corporate supply…
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Talismanic Gemstones are more like Birdhouses than Birdcages: On the Essential Freedom of Celestial Spirits (Part II)
In Part I of this post series on the freedom of celestial spirits, we examined source texts in the tradition of astrological magic and compared the methods of astrological magic to the methods of Solomonic magic to reject the idea that talismans are like birdcages. That is, celestial spirits do not become trapped or imprisoned…
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Talismanic Gemstones are not like Birdcages: On the Essential Freedom of Celestial Spirits (Part I)
When those who are less familiar with astrological magic discover astrological talismans, a natural and understandable question arises: if making astrological talismans brings down a spirit of the stars inside of a gemstone (or metal), does the spirit freely reside there or has it been trapped there? This question could really worry us. We could…
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Orphic Hymn to Jupiter: Empower Your Jovial Prayers & Magic
Jupiter, known in traditional astrology as the Greater Benefic, would be an excellent place for many people to start building relationships with planetary spirits or beginning a devotional practice. The Renaissance magician-physician Marsilio Ficino advised as a general rule for people “to increase the influence of the Sun, of Jupiter, or of Venus.” Invocations, prayers,…
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Orphic Hymn to Venus: Empower Your Venusian Prayers & Magic
The ‘laughter loving queen’ Venus, known in traditional astrology as the Lesser Benefic, would be a great place for many people to start building relationships with planetary spirits or beginning a devotional practice. The Renaissance magician-physician Marsilio Ficino advised as a general rule for people “to increase the influence of the Sun, of Jupiter, or…
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“The Spirit is Made Luminous by Luminous Things”: Astrological Talismans as a Vehicle for Self-Transformation
Many people turn to magic for power and influence. They want to get things in life that they feel like they can’t get on their own, whether that be money, status, creative achievement, sex, love, and so on. Those aims are perfectly understandable, and astrological talismans can help achieve such practical ends. Consideration of exactly…
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Orphic Hymn to Mars: Empower Your Martial Prayers & Magic
Although Mars may have a fearsome reputation, building a relationship with Mars can be approached the same way one would build a relationship with any spirit. Invocations, prayers, and offerings to a planetary spirit can help you attune to and come into rhythm with that planet. There are many ways to pray to or invoke…
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Orphic Hymn to the Sun: Empower Your Solar Prayers & Magic
Renaissance magicians focused a great deal on the Sun, the bringer of light and warmth, through whose power all life on earth exists. For most people, especially those born during daylight hours, Solar devotion would be a great place to start building relationships with planetary spirits. In fact, the Renaissance magician-physician Marsilio Ficino advised as…
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Orphic Hymn to the Moon: Empower Your Lunar Prayers & Magic
The Moon is arguably the most important of the seven traditional planets from the perspective of astrological magic. Virtually every magical election must attend to the location and condition of the Moon. As written in the Picatrix: “You should pay attention to the Moon in all workings, as the foremost of the planets, because she…
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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…