On the Talismanic Gifts of Saturn: Astrological Magic of the 7th Sphere

For folks just starting down the starry path—for instance, anyone who only has only recently discovered that astrological talismans exist—the question often arises: which talisman should I get? For more experienced enthusiasts or even seasoned practitioners of astrological magic, keeping the variety of talismans and wealth of sources straight can be a challenge.

This series of posts on the talismanic gifts of the seven spheres aims to provide a comprehensive and comprehensible resource that lists and explains the many types of talismans and their various possible effects. In this post, we explore the variety of Saturn talismans attested in source texts on astrological magic.

Now, Saturn carries a formidable reputation, given the planet’s status as the Greater Malefic. Despite Saturn’s fearsome powers, the Picatrix assures us that the mage “may make use of the infortunes [i.e., Mars and Saturn], and help yourself with them to achieve your desires, just as physicians are helped by carefully making use of poisonous substances in combination with others” (Book IV, Chapter 4). This echoes the ancient toxicological adage sola dosis venenum facit—”the dose makes the poison”: although Saturn talismans can indeed be geared toward malefic ends, a properly constructed Saturn talisman can also bring a variety of powerfully life-affirming effects.

The Purposes and Effects of Saturn Talismans

Texts of astrological magic frequently contain what get referred to as ‘recipes’ for talismans. These recipes usually list a talismanic image (i.e., a picture, sigil, or design), the purpose or intention of the recipe, and often some prescribed materials such as a metal or gem, and sometimes herbs or incense to use. Much gets left to the reader, just as how cooking recipes often contain a list of ingredients and some general instructions but then rely on one’s general understanding of food and cooking (e.g., knowing what ‘medium-high heat’ means, how to dice onions, how to fry something in a pan, and even how to obtain ingredients in the first place). Similarly, talisman ‘recipes’ are often written with seasoned mages in mind, and contain bare minimum ‘ingredients’ that assume the reader will be able to fill in the blanks.

This post does not contain complete recipes, let alone instructions on how to cook, so to speak (i.e., how to make talismans), but rather a sort of cookbook table of contents: that is, what sorts of Saturn talismans can be made.

Recipes for Saturn talismans provide a variety of significations. Although these will be spelled out in significant detail below, here is a summary of the attested uses of Saturn talismans:

Longevity & long-life
Protection & safe return of travelers
Assistance with births
Preservation from cancer and other saturnine ailments
Reduction of the negative effects of drinking
Assurance against being buried alive
Protection from violent death
Defense against witchcraft
Reducing emotional intensity and desire
Success in petitions of powerful people
Increasing one’s personal power
Garnering respect from others
Bringing fortune to those in saturnine professions
Power over saturnine animals & creatures
Secret and occult knowledge
Influence over spirits of the darkness
Exorcism of evil spirits and ghosts
Sowing hatred and discord between people
Inciting fear in one’s enemies
Discouraging opposing armies

Not every Saturn talisman will have all or even most of these effects. Rather, specific talismanic recipes list one or a handful of these significations corresponding to a particular talismanic image. For source material and explanation of the various effects of Saturn talismans, read on!

Saturn Talismans in the Picatrix

Only a handful of specific recipes for Saturn talismans are given in the Picatrix. The first is the “ring of Saturn,” described toward the front of Book II, Chapter 10 in a list of images of the planets. Six planetary rings are described in this section—one for each of the seven traditional planets except the Moon, whose omission remains a mystery. The ring of Saturn is reputed to have a number of effects:

“The ring of Saturn… Let whoever carries this ring beware of eating the flesh of ducks and of entering any shadowy place. He will be served by the spirits that work in shadows and darkness, and profound secrets will be revealed to him, and he will be served by bulls, men, scorpions, serpents, and mice, and every creeping thing upon the Earth.”
—Picatrix, Book II, Chapter 10 (tr. Greer & Warnock)

This is one of the few talismans for which we are given a specific contraindication, though the text does not explain why “eating the flesh of ducks” and “entering any shadowy place” are to be avoided.

Overall, this talisman seems to give mastery over Saturnine beings: “spirits that work in shadows and darkness” may rightly be considered of the nature of Saturn, and Al-Biruni lists oxen (i.e., bulls), scorpions, black snakes, and mice as Saturnine animals, as well as “other poisonous insects and fleas and beetles,” which maps pretty closely onto “every creeping thing upon the earth.” To be served by such creatures, as well as men, suggests that part of this talisman’s purpose is to establish its bearer as something like nobility within the hierarchy of Saturn.

The Picatrix also notes that Saturn “rules profound sciences, and the science of laws and seeking out the causes and roots of things and their effects, and speaking of wonders and understanding deep and secret qualities” (Book III, Chapter 1). Since Mercury is listed as having “rulership over learning sciences and wisdom and dialectic” (ibid), and given that Picatrix is a book that exalts magic as a “science [that] is too deep and strong for the intellect” (Book I, Chapter 2), we can infer that “profound sciences” refers to magic, alchemy, and the like, and that this talisman is intended to guide the bearer to a deeper understanding of occult virtues and divine causes, rather than the material or theoretical sciences as we would understand them in contemporary times.

Book II, Chapter 10 lists two further Saturn talismans:

“[T]he virtue of this image is that whoever carries it on his person will be able to drink heavily and die only of old age.”
—Picatrix, Book II, Chapter 10 (tr. Greer & Warnock)

Saturn’s links with time, age, and slowness are widely known. It comes as no surprise that Saturn talismans extend life. Curiously, though, these talismans are not simply for longevity, but also apparently for protection—of life, if not from limb, as dying only from old age does not necessarily promise avoidance of all harm, but only of fatal harm from other causes. Caveat emptor, it should go without saying.

The text about being “able to drink heavily” is somewhat ambiguous, but can be read as suggesting that this talisman will mitigate health effects of excessive drinking—that is, its effects are probably generally preservative.

Of note, Agrippa describes virtually the same talismanic image for long life, and notes in his commentary that Albumasar “wrote of certain regions of India where men are subject to Saturn, and they live to a great age and do not die except from extreme old age” (Book II, Chapter 38).

Another talisman attested to in Picatrix is a curse talisman that comes with a warning not to carry it oneself. Given Saturn’s reputation as the Greater Malefic, it should come as no surprise to us that Saturn talismans can be crafted for malefic effects. This talisman, for sowing hatred and discord, which could likely be put to work to break up relationships, gives testament to Saturn’s reputation for decay and the dissolution of bonds.

Saturn Talismans in Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy

Agrippa also describes a talisman based on the planetary table or kamea of Saturn:

“They say that [such talismans] engraved in a lead plate with a fortunate Saturn, helps birth, men returning safely, and powerful and excellent success in petitions to princes and powerful [men].”
—Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book II, Chapter 22 (tr. Eric Purdue)

As with the other talismans described in this section of Agrippa’s book, numerous effects are attributed to this talisman. Given Saturn’s fearsome reputation, help with births may be surprising. Saturn is, however, referred to in the Orphic Hymns as having “obstetric nature,” and the association with life cycles entails a hand in their beginning as well as their culling. Childbirth as one of the most dangerous experiences, especially historically, is a prime time to call on Saturn for aid. “Men returning safely” indicates protective virtues, and this phrasing likely indicates safe return from travels and protection abroad. Considering that in medieval and Renaissance times, both childbirth and travel were even riskier endeavors than now, the power of a Saturn talisman would be a boon to such ventures.

Success in petitions “to princes and powerful [men]” mirrors language in the Picatrix concerning Saturn petitions to be used with “generous men, senators, and rulers of cities” (the emphasis on men is likely an historical anachronism rather than something essential about the gendered nature of Saturn talismans). Many planets and stars signify favor from the powerful, and Saturn is not unique in this regard. In contemporary terms, such a talisman would probably help one curry favor with leaders, managers, and government officials that hold some power over you or others in your sphere.

Overall, these purposes are quite life-affirming. One further talisman from Agrippa describes a singular effect:

“used for increasing power”
—Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book II, Chapter 38 (tr. Eric Purdue)

Power here likely refers to influence over people, for example in social groups, governments, or institutions.

The Book of the Treasure of Alexander’s Degree of Exaltation Saturn Talisman

The Book of the Treasure of Alexander provides a recipe for the Saturn degree of exaltation talisman purported to have the following effects:

“The ring of Saturn is for quelling the passions and exorcising evil spirits and ghosts. The owner of the ring will cause his enemies to fear him and he will be respected by the populace and he will be without challengers due to their fear of him.”
—Book of the Treasure of Alexander, quoted from Christopher Warnock’s Renaissance Astrology website

Again, a variety of effects. “Exorcising evil spirits and ghosts” echoes the talisman from the Picatrix above that says is bearer will be served by spirits of darkness. This sort of spiritual protection is rare in talismanic magic outside of a handful of fixed star talismans.

This talisman embodies the more fearsome aspects of Saturn in the form of inciting one’s enemies to fear you. In this sense, it can be thought of as a protection talisman to some degree. Additionally, garnering the respect of others echoes the Agrippa talisman for “increasing [one’s] power” and influence over others.

The issue of quelling the passions bears some notice. Very rarely in these medieval and Renaissance texts do we get talismanic effects focused on the experience of the bearer: most talismans describe something more external to the bearer, or something focused on the body such as health. Relatively few talismans clearly state what we would label a more psychological signification. Here, quelling the passions likely refers to a dampening of enthusiasm, emotional intensity, and desire. Saturn was said to rule the spleen, “which is the source of melancholy” (Picatrix, Book III, Chapter 1), and Saturn petitions were also said to be able to relieve melancholy (Book III, Chapter 7). Some contemporary practitioners have reported that wearing a Saturn talisman for too long can lead to something resembling depression. Thus, “quelling the passions” here probably refers to an overall dampening of emotional intensity and desire, rather than a mastery over emotions or emotional regulation.

A Saturn Talisman from A.E. Waite’s The Occult Sciences

A text from A.E. Waite documents several protective and health benefits of a certain Saturn talisman:

“The Talisman of Saturn was affirmed to be a safeguard against death by apoplexy and cancer, decay in the bones, consumption, dropsy, paralysis, and decline; it was also a preservative against the possibility of being entombed in a trance, against the danger of violent death by secret crime, poison, or ambush. If the head of the army in war-time were to bury the talisman of Saturn in a place which it was feared might fall into the hands of the enemy, the limit assigned by the presence of the talisman could not be overstepped by the opposing host, which would speedily withdraw in discouragement, or in the face of a determined assault.”
—The Occult Sciences, A.E. Waite, p. 119

This Saturn talisman makes the most specific and explicit health claims, many of which are quite bold even in our modern day. Safeguarding against cancer, tuberculosis, paralysis, and more is surely a lofty claim. (See the Idola Stellarum guarantees for our disclaimer about the health effects of talismans.)

This talisman also boasts several protective qualities, notably and interestingly protection from being buried alive (“entombed in a trance”). The protection also has a 12th house flavor (Saturn rejoices in the 12th house), with wards against “secret crime, poison, or ambush,” events surely falling under the signification of hidden enemies.

Finally, like the Saturn degree of exaltation ring in the Book of the Treasure of Alexander, this talisman protects against enemies, drawing a limit to their assaults, here out of “discouragement” rather than fear. The protective aspects of this talisman against violence and war suggests that Saturn can be used as a ward against the more violent martial energies of the world.

Israel Hibner’s Saturn Talisman from Mysterium Sigillorum

Finally, Israel Hibner documents a talisman based on the planetary square or kamea of Saturn that purports to cure a number of ailments:

“When this [Saturn talisman] is prepared, and sewed up in a black silk bag, and hanged on in the influence of Saturn, it cures all Saturnal Sicknesses.”
—Mysterium Sigillorum, Israel Hibner, p. 164

Hibner lists as “diseases of the nature of Saturn” the following: “baldness, scabs, looseness of teeth, rottenness of the gums, distorted teeth, tooth-ache, [diseases of] the right ear, hindrance of conception, chilblains, hard knots or boils in the flesh, noise in the ears, wens [i.e., cysts], quartan fever, cancer, scurvy, [diseases of the] spleen and bones” (pp. 1-2). This list overlaps with several of the diseases that the talisman described by A.E. Waite purports to safeguard against, with several additions as well as some notable omissions, such as tuberculosis and paralysis.

In addition, in a later section of Mysterium Sigillorum, Hibner boasts a laundry list of positive effects from the same Saturn talisman, if properly prepared:

“[I]f it be buried in the ground where an army is encamped, they will have no success till they break up from that camp; ’tis excellent for child-bearing women, for it facilitates the birth; every thing that this [talisman] is put to increases; he who carries it upon his left foot, his secret enemies cannot hurt him, and it defends him from a horse, dog, or any other four footed animal; ’tis excellent against all witchcraft; he who carries it with him, and digs for enchanted treasure, the spirits have no power over him; it fortunates those who belong to mines, agriculture, digging of fountains, and making all other buildings; it discovers secret strategems; he who drinks from it, is deprived of all venereal appetites.”
—Mysterium Sigillorum, Israel Hibner, pp. 185-6

Many of these effects we have seen before in other Saturn talismans, such as dispersal of armies, protection from hidden enemies, facilitation of childbirth, protection from malevolent spirits, and discovery of secrets. Depriving the bearer of “all venereal appetites” is a function related to the effect of “quelling the passions” of the degree of exaltation Saturn ring. Here, the effect focuses on sexual desire rather than emotional “passions” more generally. Although the demand for celibacy talismans may be somewhat limited, this source suggests that the right Saturn talisman may be able to help folks with difficulties relating to sexual impulse control.

Notably, protection from witchcraft is rare among planetary talismans. Defense against four-footed creatures is interesting and potentially useful for farm workers and others, and here we also see good fortune to people in specific professions. William Lilly lists “husbandmen” (i.e., farmers) and day laborers among people ruled by Saturn, as well as holes, mountains, coal mines, and wells as saturnine places. Thus, we might generalize that this talisman is fit to aid anyone in a saturnine profession or whose life takes place in primarily saturnine locales.

As a speculation, the significant overlap of the effects of this talisman and the one described by A.E. Waite suggests that the latter may have derived, directly indirectly, from this older source, or perhaps that they both shared a common historical source.

Selecting a Saturn Talisman

Some may be wary of Saturn talismans due to Saturn’s reputation as the Greater Malefic, though as we have seen, the vast majority of Saturn talisman recipes are for quite life-affirming and protective purposes. Although we would generally not recommend that most people’s first talisman be one of one of the malefic planets, there is no necessary reason to fear Saturn talismans so long as they are made during an effective and safe astrological election and clearly follow traditional sources in their construction.

Whenever anyone is choosing a talisman, we by and large recommend selecting based off of your goals and intentions rather than on the nature or reputation of the celestial body represented by the talisman. So, if you are looking for a talisman for longevity and occult knowledge, a particular Saturn talisman might be a good choice for you; if you are looking for a talisman for glory, fame, or love, we can see that our traditional sources do not describe Saturn talismans with these effects.

As we can see from the above list of purposes and effects of Saturn talismans, even the most multipurpose Saturn talismans are not purported to carry every possible saturnine benefit. Thus, we think it wise not to think in terms of selecting or obtaining ‘a Saturn talisman’ in a general sense, but rather in terms of identifying which particular type of talisman—whether of the nature of Saturn or otherwise—would be most useful to you.

It is also worth noting that since Saturn takes about 28 years to make a full transit through the zodiac, Saturn talismans may be quite scarce during the long periods during which Saturn does not have essential dignity. Having recently left Aquarius, it will not be until 2039 until Saturn returns to a sign in which very powerful Saturn talismans can be made. Thus, if you have cause or motives to secure a Saturn talisman, it would be wise to do so while you have the opportunity to do so.

If you are interested in forging a relationship with Saturn but are unsure about making a commitment to a Saturn talisman, we also provide resources on Saturn devotion, prayer, and veneration on our page on the Orphic Hymn to Saturn and other prayers.

Here at Idola Stellarum, we release quarterly collections of astromagical talismanic jewelry, which have included a number of powerful Saturn talismans. Get on our mailing list below to receive word of new resources, collections, and when our Inner Sanctum opens next.

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