TALISMAN OF SAFE DRIVING: Moon culminating triumphed and fast in the 7th Lunar Mansion, Ascendant Ruler fast and dignified.

This is a 7th Mansion talismanic election for safe travel, particularly by car.

Picatrix gives the name of the Mansion’s ruler as Siely and alternately as Sehele in the Plinian Mansion section, derived from Ibn Hatim:

The seventh Mansion is Aldira and is for the acquisition of all good things. When the Moon is passing through this Mansion, fashion a seal of silver, and sculpt the image of a man clothed in robes and with his hands extended to heaven in the manner of a man who is praying and supplicating; in the breast of the image write the name of the lord of this Mansion. Suffumigate it with sweet smelling things, and say: “You, Siely, cause such and such to happen, and grant my petition.” Ask for whatever you wish that pertains to good things. Carry the image with you and it will be as you wish. Know that Selehe is the name of the lord of this Mansion.

Picatrix, however, gives more options for the 7th Mansion in the “foundational” Mansion section much earlier in the book.

The seventh mansion is called Aldirah. 25 It begins at 17 degrees 8 minutes and 36 seconds of Gemini and its boundary is the end of that sign. In this Mansion make images to increase merchandise and profit and to travel safely, and to increases crops, and to sail beneficially on the water, and to cause friendship between friends and allies, and to expel flies so that they will not enter where you wish, and to destroy officials, and it is good to go into the presence of the king or other high nobles, and to cause the king and other lords to be benevolent.

So, let’s analyse the election and then go onto the implementation.

This election is mixed. It has great strengths and some weaknesses. I made a judgement call that the former were much greater than the latter, but informed opinions may vary. I did not wish to wait any longer for a good talisman for this purpose.

The Moon is the principal significator in this election, and culminates. The Moon is very fast– which I believes rapidly promotes sensible manifestation and strengthens the effects overall.

The Moon is triumphed; a term I’ve coined for inverse besiegement. Instead of the planet separating from an aspect with a Malefic and applying to the other, this does the same with the Benefics. In besiegement the significator is caught between a rock and a hard place; in a triumphal position, the Benefics behave like strong bodyguards which flank the traveler. The Benefics in this instance are both afflicted– yet their nature does not change and they ensure success. Beseigement remains a dire affliction even when the Malefics are weakened or fortified, and so triumphing is always among the strongest of accidental fortitudes.

Another positive factor is the Ascendant; the lord is Mercury, who recieves a +2 dignification by term or bound, is fast, but is unaspected. The electional window is narrow (about six minutes) because the Ruler of the Sign the Moon is within must never be cadent and I had to wait until Mercury was eight degrees past the cusp of the 8th House boundary for this to take place. According to Picatrix, when the Moon’s Sign Ruler is cadent, the election begins well but ends in failure.

The weaknesses of the election are the the Moon is applying to a conjunction with Mars and an opposition with Saturn after the triumphing ends, and that the Moon is in the same Sign as a Malefic (Mars.) Mars is also on an Angle; the Midheaven. These are normally very serious concerns, but I believe the role of triumphing is to shield the significator (the Moon) from afflictions. If it were the other way around and the Moon were besieged, nobody would put much weight on application to aspects of Benefics after the configuration would end.

As Picatrix says, there are certain configurations which can neutralize the afflictions of the Malefics, such as making them cadent and placing a Benefic on the Ascendant. I believe triumphing is another such.

Is this a perfect election? No. I’ll replace it when I find a better one, but in the meanwhile I think the two talismans I made are safe and strong.

Two large quartz crystal cabochons were selected. They are inexpensive and easy to replace when a better election comes along. Both will be carried in a velvet bag to reduce scratching and impacts.

The main feature of the ymage is what the talisman is supposed to fortunate; a car. Before the headlights is the sigil of Venus and behind it is the sigil of Jupiter. Moon, the cosignificator, is tightly applying to a benevolent aspect of Venus and separating from a benevolent aspect Jupiter. Above the car is the sigil of the Moon and below it is the number 7, signifying the Lunar Mansion. Across the body of the car is the name of the Ruler of the 7th Mansion, SIELY. On the back is an X, which Picatrix advises using when one is uncertain about the ymage of a particular spirit for a talisman. The suffumigation was aloeswood, in very small amounts.

The image below is in different colors for clarity; they were all actually engraved with a diamond tipped stylus and not colorized. I use that here only for readability.

I am mostly including this election here, beyond as a record of my work, but as an excample of how to implement the “foundational” Mansion elections with components of the Plinian/Ibn Hatim material to fill in the gaps.