Saturn in Aquarius: Nous, Aeon, Sophia

Of the nature of Saturn in Aquarius, these sapphire talismans were created with the intention of granting their bearers long life and the wisdom and intelligence to live it well.

Within the Hermetic worldview, the seven traditional planets—also known as the Seven Governors—are not neutral cosmic dispositors of fate sitting at an impossible remove from humanity. Although they exist in separate spheres not directly accessible to our mortal forms, the Seven Governors are more like family members than impersonal forces.

The Seven Governors are intelligent, agentic, and most importantly our family: created by the same Logos, we share in the divine spark that moves the perfect heavens. The emanations of the One filter down through the movements and agency of the seven spheres, resulting in the buzz and bluster of the sublunary realm. 

Saturn, the Father of Vast Eternity, sits at the outermost remove of the planetary spheres. The delimiter of time and distance, Saturn is the closest of our planetary kin to the divine. As such, Saturn stands as the first recipient of the divine intelligence: the Nous.

The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius tells us that “the world is intelligible and God is Nous; he is the truly uncreated, the intelligible; by essence, the uncreated and the ineffable, the intelligible good. In a word, God is the intelligible world, the immovable Monad, the invisible world, the intelligible, invisible, and ineffable good” (The Way of Hermes, p. 109, tr. Salaman, van Oven, Wharton, & Mahé).

Nous, or mind, expresses not just the idea of intelligence but the very foundation of intelligibility. If God is Nous, is intelligibility, then Saturn stands as the first and foremost translator of that intelligibility into intelligence. 

These Saturn in Aquarius Nous, Aeon, Sophia talismans were created with the aim of harnessing the highest, most austere perfections of the sphere of Saturn. The Greek words were chosen to reflect the ancient roots rather than the contemporary leaves of the tree of life: to reach back into the beyond in devotional imitation of Saturn.

Not just intelligence but Nous, intelligibility itself.

Not just long life but Aeon, vitality and longevity itself.

Not just wisdom but Sophia, embodied and living wisdom herself.

One of the deepest mysteries and wonders of astrological talismans is that they exist somewhere in the liminal space between symbols and the real things they stand for. A Saturn ring, properly made according to talismanic procedures and with appropriate timing, does not merely represent long life but actually is a living, enduring spirit of eternity.

Crafted from sapphires, stones renowned for their healing properties but also for their hardness, these Saturn rings attempt to go beyond their signification in the Picatrix that the bearer will “die only of old age” (Book II, Chapter 10—your mileage may vary; caveat emptor, and we strongly recommend not tempting fate in order to test this claim) to also reach for the intelligence and wisdom to live a long life well.

For even a moment’s consideration will confirm that the mere passing of years does nothing in itself to grant the wisdom that typically requires maturity as a necessary condition for its ripening. And nothing stands in the way of the most powerful mind chewing itself to pieces through rumination and destructive self-analysis; the power of intelligence requires wisdom and maturity to guide its force to generative rather than corrupting ends.

Attuning to the lessons and insights of the furthest planetary sphere helps us achieve the Serenity of slowness, of prudence, of circumspection. Serenity does not come solely from the absence of stimulus or chaos, but from the moments between the moments, the indwelling of eternity omnipresent in the flickering images of life, the recognition that the very nature of mind and time allow for the reflective pause that allows us to choose the better option that fate presents us.

In Zen temples, monks strike the han (a wooden gong or striking board) to signal that a period of zazen meditation is about to start. There is an inscription on the han that reads:

Great is the matter of
Birth and death
Quickly passing, gone, gone
Awake each one, awaken
Don’t waste this life 

Serenity comes when this message invigorates us and inspires resolve and focused effort, rather than one that scares us and inspires regret and despair. The Nous, Aeon, Sophia talismans were made for those who wish to answer this call of awakening.

As a final note, Book I, Chapter 5 of the Picatrix states that talismanic working are “more certain if the planet was strong in the natal chart of those people who performed the working.” Idola Stellarum’s mage Rain took charge of this working, and their natal Saturn in Libra adds a potent boost to these Saturn in Aquarius talismans.

Technical Details

The Saturn in Aquarius talismans Nous, Aeon, Sophia talismans were ensouled during Saturn hour on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 between 11:04am and 11:30am EST.

Essential Features of the Election

For planetary astromagical elections, we require that the relevant planet either rises on the Ascendant or culminates on the Midheaven during the relevant planetary hour. This election took place during Saturn hour with Saturn rising and within 5° of the Ascendant during the electional window. Saturn was unafflicted and dignified by rulership and triplicity in Aquarius, one of Saturn’s two signs of domicile.

Planetary elections also require the Moon to be in sufficiently good condition. During this election, the Moon was exalted in Taurus, having just separated from a conjunction to Algol. The Moon was unafflicted with Mars cadent from her, and she was applying to a close sextile with highly dignified Jupiter in Pisces.

Since the 1st house signifies the bearer of the talisman, we also look at the condition of the Lord of the Ascendant in planetary elections. Since Aquarius was rising, the same considerations above for Saturn, the significator planet, apply here as well.

Further Magical Factors in the Election

Several factors auspiciously boost the potency of this election. The Moon’s dignity and application to a bonified and dignified Jupiter in Pisces significantly strengthen Luna, who serves as the secondary significator for planetary elections.

Beyond the Moon, three of the cardinal angles host Behenian fixed stars: Aldebaran roots the chart at the IC, Deneb Algedi joins Saturn on the AC, and Antares shines on the MC. Deneb Algedi on the AC serves as the greatest fortification of the three, as Picatrix tells us that the participation of a relevant fixed star serves as a great benefit to an election:

“If you do a planetary working with the aid of some fixed star of the same nature, it will be more complete and more perfect because it will have the vigor of the planet and the endurance of the fixed star.”

—Picatrix, Book IV, Chapter 4 (tr. Greer & Warnock)

Finally, having a benefic planet in the first house—in this case, Jupiter—imparts a more positive cast to the working, as the first house represents the bearer of the talisman.

Reflection on Weaknesses of the Election

There are three less-than-desirable components to this chart, all with partial mitigations.

First, Mars retrograde is angular in the fourth house. The election window was intentionally constructed to keep Mars at least 5° off of the IC to ensure that this gnarly and chaotic martial energy would not have a strong foothold in the magic.

Second, the Moon is separating from the significator, Saturn. Although not ideal, this is not specifically prohibited in the Picatrix, and the Moon is fortified by her application to Jupiter.

Third, the Moon is on the slow side, moving at 12°24′ per day at the time of this election. Picatrix warns to not use elections with a Moon speed of less than 12° per day; this election’s Moon is above that threshold, and our sense is that a slower Moon is not as significant an issue in Saturn elections, given that slowness is part of the essence of the Great Fire of Gods and Men Whom All Revere.

Recommendations

Although talismans of the malefic planets are not inherently or necessarily harmful, Saturn talismans can bring a certain heaviness that not everyone would relish. We would consider it prudent for those with a natally afflicted Saturn (e.g., combust Saturn, Saturn in Aries, Cancer, or Leo) and those prone to depression and melancholia to take extra care with their discernment and divination regarding the adoption of one of these talismans.

Ceremonial Details

Gemstone & Talismanic Image

The Nous, Aeon, Sophia talismans were made from 10x12mm and 10mm dark blue sapphire cabochons. The Peterborough Lapidary states that sapphire “is called ‘gem of gems,’ as it were chief of precious stones” (p. 66, tr. Francis Young), and the Damigeron lapidary likewise calls sapphire “indeed a stone made highly honorable by God” and elaborates that “kings are accustomed to wear this stone about their neck, for it is a great protector” (p. 24, tr. Patricia Tahil). Both texts attest to a variety of boons granted by this stone, many of which relate to good health, understanding, and holiness. Sapphire is attested as a stone of Saturn by Picatrix, Agrippa, and William Lilly.

These sapphire cabochons were carved with “the form of a man elevated in a high throne…having in his hand a sickle.” The Picatrix attests that “the virtue of this image is that whoever carries it on his person will be able to drink heavily and die only of old age” (Book II, Chapter 10). Caveat emptor as far as pushing the limits of these claims is concerned! The back side of the cabochons were etched with the symbol of Saturn and the sigil of Agiel, the planetary intelligence of Saturn. An herbal mixture of the roots of angelica and mandrake and the leaves of sage and vervain was then glued to the back of the cabochons during the electional window.

Ritual Setup

An altar shrouded in black was erected to Saturn preceding this election, with heavy decorative black chains, an hourglass, an antique scythe, and a black angelic statue standing for Saturn’s archangel Cassiel symbolically marking the space. Generous offerings of food and spirits were made to Saturn. Six black candles (two sets of three, the number of Saturn) emblazoned with symbols, seals, and sigils of Saturn were crafted and consecrated to Saturn the previous week during Saturn’s planetary hour and dressed with Saturnine materia.

Suffumigation

The suffumigation used to ensoul these talismans consisted of a specially made Saturn in Aquarius incense blended and consecrated to Saturn during a previous talismanic Saturn election. The incense was prepared according to a recipe adapted from Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, which says to “combine black poppy seed, henbane seed, mandrake root, lodestone, and myrrh.” We elected not to include “the brain of a cat or the blood of a bat” in this mixture, for reasons you can probably imagine. In addition to the traditional ingredients, a portion of sawdust from the Yew tree was added to enhance the incense’s ability to be burned as a standalone powder.