Fixed Star Sirius: Favor & Peace – Aquamarine Pendant Talisman

One of the most potent mysteries of fixed star magic consists in the almost paradoxical nature of the talismanic qualities of the fixed stars. The magical purposes and effects of fixed star talismans often run almost totally contrary to the mundane significations and meanings of the asterisms themselves.

For although the talismans of Sirius bring Favor & Peace, these friendly boons of calm seemingly run contrary to the nature of the Dog Star. The Roman astrologer and poet Manilius, describing the constellation of Canis Major, home of Sirius, writes:

“It is Orion who leads the constellations as they speed over the full circuit of the heavens. At his heels follows the Dog outstretched in full career: no star comes on mankind more violently or causes more trouble when it departs. Now it rises shivering with cold, now it leaves a radiant world open to the heat of the Sun: thus it moves the world to either extreme and brings opposite effects… The brilliant constellation of the Dog: it barks forth flame, raves with its fire, and doubles the burning heat of the Sun. When it put its torch to the earth and discharges its rays, the earth foresees its conflagration and tastes its ultimate fate.”

—Marcus Manilius, Astronomica, Book V (tr. G.P. Goold)

Hunter, Leader, Scorching One: the fixed star Sirius has been associated with power but also with violence and difficulties—not just dog bites, but “plagues and death,” according to Homer—as well as with the “dog days” of summer heat in the northern hemisphere. Conflagration indeed.

Magically, however, De Quindecim Stellis attests that talismans of Sirius impart “great honor and great benevolence in imposing concord among kings and other men” as well as “favor with the spirits of the air and peoples of the earth” and the capacity to “send a great peace among kings [and] other earthly rulers, and between quarreling husbands and wives” (tr. Regulus Hess, Quadripertitus manuscript).

‘Favor’ here goes beyond the modern parlance of doing someone a favor. In the medieval world in which our source texts arose, favor was the outward sign of approval from someone of higher station. Whether in the form of gifts, protection, leniency, or influence, favor served as a mark of approval or good will from someone with greater authority or, to use a traditional astrological term, dignity. Favor, in this sense, works two ways. In the ‘downward’ direction a gift or boon is granted by one with greater power; yet in the ‘upward’ direction, the station of the one receiving the favor is thereby raised. In receiving favor, one’s status, image, and relational standing rise relative to those not receiving such favor.

Thinking within the worldview of astrological magic requires attending to the Great Chain of Being and taking seriously the image of spheres expanding inward and upward to the heavens (C.S. Lewis notes in The Discarded Image that modern people take ourselves to be looking outward when we look up at the night sky, but that to the medieval mind, to gaze up at the stars was to peer from the outskirts of creation inward toward the centrality of heaven). Thus, by a Sirius talisman granting favor from humans and spirits of the air it should be under that the Dog Star raises our station, drawing us up the cosmic ladder and establishing us in closer relationship with those who were formerly our superiors, from the point of view of the Great Chain of Being.

Now, favor can also be a mixed bag. Signifying as it does a relationship of approval, drawing in closer to anyone—whether human or spirit—ties us in, however loosely or tightly, to the fortunes of the one granting us favor. Becoming a vassal of a particular liege may seem safe and appealing until their kingdom falls to war or corruption. Favor tends to turn with the wheel of Fortuna, after all, and it therefore behooves the bearer of the Favor & Peace talisman to stay nimble and show some discernment as to where and whom they seek favor.

Relationally, the Favor & Peace talismans seem to ease tensions and bring grace and spaciousness to difficult conversations—as well as, sometimes, the capacity and wisdom to sidestep them entirely. Reconciliation can mean a coming back together after rupture—the bread and butter of relational development and healing—as well as the tenacity and devotion required to carry shared burdens together.

Peace bears some contemplation. The manner of peace signified by a Sirius talisman is not some crystalline perfection in which nothing happens, but rather an active process of bringing things back into alignment. Peace, in this sense, requires courage, compassion, and a willingness to step forward and offer oneself. As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche says, the bodhisattva makes the first move:

“Usually we are in a stalemate with our world: ‘Is he going to say he is sorry to me first, or am I going to apologize to him first?’ But in becoming a bodhisattva we break that barrier: we do not wait for the other person to make the first move; we have decided to do it ourselves. Millions of people in the world are suffering because of their lack of generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and transcendental knowledge. The point of making the first move by taking the Bodhisattva Vow is not to convert people to our particular view, necessarily; the idea is that we should contribute something to the world simply by our own way of relating, by our own gentleness.”

—Chogyam Trungpa, The Heart of the Buddha

The Favor & Peace talismans can therefore be a guide and companion in taking up or entering more deeply into a path of peace. In the wake of attuning to a Favor & Peace talisman in Idola Stellarum’s testing period, Rain initiated a daily practice of chanting the Metta Sutta, an early Buddhist discourse from the Pali Canon centered on the cultivation and radiation of kindness over the entire world. The “one who knows the path of peace,” according to the Metta Sutta, should be “straightforward and gentle in speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways,” among other things. 

A related part of Rain’s daily offerings, the Prayer to St. Francis, begins: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” Peace is never given: it must be made. The Favor & Peace talismans help us to become not just passive enjoyers but active instruments of peace.

It also bears note that despite the placid aims of these Favor & Peace talismans, they do retain some of the inherent spiciness of Sirius. The fixed stars by their very nature are quite potent and exist on a profoundly different scale from human experience: fixtures of the Eighth Sphere beyond even the seven traditional planets, nearly everything in the sublunary world ultimately flows from these vast and distant powers. As such, fixed star talismans can shake things up a bit, and those who adopt these talismans might expect a bit of a jolt through an initial adjustment period. Sometimes, after all, bringing things into alignment requires destabilizing an existing homeostasis, and even when things are not working, there is a certain comfort in the familiar that can get disrupted as we make the initial lurch toward a greater peace.

Connecting this to the discussion of favor above, several planetary talismans attested in Picatrix seem to express an underlying logic of establishing the bearer as something of a VIP or royalty of that sphere. To the extent that the fixed star Sirius Favor & Peace talismans also serve to raise our station, the bearer should understand that the sphere of the fixed stars is quite distant from human affairs, and it can take a keen and expansive perspective to integrate such great heights with our daily human existence and experience. Should we seek favor, we must also seek to become worthy of it.

Practically speaking, these talismans can be particularly useful for anyone whose daily life revolves around relationship or consultation. Diplomats, lawyers, therapists, social workers, consulting astrologers, clergy, teachers, and many more who work directly with people may particularly benefit from the peace-making capacities of these talismans. Our experience has also been that the favor from aerial spirits aspect of these talismans can show up in unbidden messages during consultations, as if the truth becomes more easily whispered on the wind in the presence of these talismans. One who receives messages also becomes a messenger, with all of the dilemmas and responsibilities that this entails. These talismans therefore pair well with magic or other talismans aimed at bolstering the wisdom and insight that might help one wield Favor & Peace with greater discernment.

Technical Details

The fixed star Sirius Favor & Peace talismans were ensouled on Monday, June 19, 2023 between 6:29am and 6:50am EDT.

Essential Features of the Election

For fixed star astromagical elections, we require that the relevant fixed star either rises on the Ascendant or culminates on the Midheaven. In this election, the fixed star Sirius at 14^◦23’ Cancer was rising on the Ascendant and the working took place while Sirius was within 2^◦30’ of the AC.

Fixed star elections also require the Moon to be in sufficiently good condition and applying to the relevant fixed star. Idola Stellarum only works with lunar conjunctions to fixed stars. In this election, the Moon, dignified by domicile in Cancer, was applying to conjoin Sirius within less than two and a half degrees. Although moving slowly, the Moon was free from the influence of the malefics (separating from a trine Saturn and in aversion to Mars), increasing in light, and making as her next applying aspect a square to Jupiter with mutual reception by exaltation.

Although we consider the condition of the Lord of the Ascendant to be a lesser factor in fixed star elections due to their austere nature and remoteness from the sublunary realm, we always examine the Ascendant Lord for all elections since the first house represents the bearer of the talisman. In this election, the Moon ruled the ascending sign of Cancer, and thus the same considerations for the Moon above apply here.

(Note that for fixed star talismans, planetary hour and/or day are not essential considerations.)

Further Magical Factors in the Election

As mentioned above, the Moon’s next applying aspect to Jupiter with mutual reception by exaltation adds the influence of the Greater Benefic to this election. The Part of Fortune in the 1st house is also a fortuitous factor here.

Reflection on Weaknesses of the Election

Two factors dampen the intensity of this election. First, as mentioned, the Moon is moving with slow speed. The Picatrix warns that the Moon should not be moving fewer than 12^◦ per day, and although the Moon’s speed is above this threshold, its slowness is not ideal. Second, the Moon’s next aspect to Jupiter is not for another 25^◦, and the lack of an in-orb aspect may render the effects of this talisman more moderate. 

Recommendations

We consider these talismans beginner friendly and general purpose, and do not issue any particular cautions about their use.

Ceremonial Details

Gemstone & Talismanic Image

Our canonical tome on fixed star talismans, De Quindecim Stellis, notes that the stone of Sirius is beryl, which the text describes as “clear after the manner of Crystal [i.e., quartz] or sea-water” (tr. Regulus Hess). Divination supported the use of milky aquamarines—aquamarine being a modern variant of the beryl stone. Many aquamarines have a more greenish hue more like the “sea-water” appearance, though these are a very appealing almost sky-blue color with significant clarity. These stones, when made into Sirius talismans, are said to impart “great honor and great benevolence in imposing concord among kings and other men” as well as “favor with the spirits of the air and peoples of the earth” and the capacity to “send a great peace among kings [and] other earthly rulers, and between quarreling husbands and wives.”

Among the many significations of beryl, the Peterborough Lapidary notes that “whoever bears it will be much honoured” (tr. Francis Young, p. 16), that it “nourishes love between a man and a woman” (p. 16), and that it “allows a [person] to bear suffering” (p. 17). Albertus Magnus, in his De Mineralibus, notes that beryl “is said to be effective against peril from enemies and against disputes, and to give victory” and that “it is also said to cause mildness of manner and to confer cleverness” (p. 76). Regarding the signification of reconciliation, Albertus Magnus further says that beryl “makes a husband and wife agree in marriage.”

The 20mm aquamarine cabochons were carved with the image of a “harehound” (i.e., a hunting dog, likely a greyhound or related wind hound) on the front and the sigil of Sirius on the obverse. The herbs of Sirius are “savin” along with “mugwort, dragonwort, and a bit of the tongue of a serpent” according to the Quadripertitus version of De Quindecim Stellis (tr. Regulus Black). However, prior translations give savin, wormwood, and bistort. Some textual research suggests that the “artemisia” in the Latin text is probably wormwood. We therefore used savine juniper, wormwood, and bistort as herbs, not having any tongue of a serpent on hand.

Note that although Idola Stellarum canonically performs all prayers, stone carving, and affixing of herbs within the electional window, because we did not have one of the key herbs on hand for this working, divination supported application of herbs in a follow-up repair election. The herb mixture was affixed to these talismans during a separate working (less elaborate, more practically focused on the repair) on Sunday, July 16th just after noon, with the Moon applying to sextile Jupiter and applying to conjoin Sirius on the Midheaven in just over three degrees. 

Ritual Setup

Copious offerings of flame, fresh flowers, and spirits were offered to Sirius, as well as a dozen eggs, fresh fruit, butter, cheese, figs, bread, cream, honey, olive oil, and garlic. The skull and partial pelt of a coyote (ethically obtained and well beloved in our home for many years) served as the centerpiece of the ritual, embodying the literal canid presence of the Dog Star.

Suffumigation

The herbs of Sirius—savine juniper, wormwood, and bistort—were offered as suffumigation alongside the highest quality Sultan’s grade royal Hojari frankincense.