Category: Weather Magic

The Rings of The Fortunate Mystic

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

THE RINGS OF THE FORTUNATE MYSTIC: Fortunated Moon applying to conjoin Alcyone culminating with the North Node Ascending in Perfection.

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I’d long ago nearly given up on finding a good Pleiades talismanic election, but stumbled across this one so close to the date that I’m glad that I’d ordered a few quartz crystal rings for another project recently or I’d have missed a treasure!

This one was quite worth waiting for.

Alcyone culminates, the Moon is very fast and she applies to a fortunate aspect of a benefic, albeit out-of-Sign. The Ascendant Ruler is fast and likewise applying to a benefic. The aspect is sextile which is closely connected to Venus, the benefic in question. The Moon is separating from a conjunction with Algol, but I think that’s safe.

Finally, and most excellently, the North Node is exactly on the Ascendant. Ka-pow!

The petition was similar to what I posted recently for fortunate travel by air, with only a few lines yanked.

Now, the most extensive instructions on how to create a Pleiades talisman comes from the Quindecim Stellis, but there are similar details in Agrippa and in the Confessio Amantis.

“Fennel seed with frankincense and quicksilver placed under a crystal with the appropriate character [engraved on it], with the Moon conjunct the Pleiades rising or at midheaven, preserves the eyesight, summons demons and the spirits of the dead, calls the winds, and reveals secrets and things that are lost. “

The left sigil is from the Quindecim Stellis text and the right is from Agrippa. I tend to use the more complex Quindecim Stellis versions unless pressed for time. Most people seem to think the Agrippa sigils are degenerate and certainly date more recently.

Above the sigil I engraved the name of the angel of the Pleiades from the Greek Magical Papyri, ZIZAUBIO, and below it I engraved the common sigil of the North Node of the Moon.

Now, the big problem with Pleiades talismans is that quicksilver is a deadly poison. Tarot divination has led me to believe that a passable substitute for this talisman are poppy seeds, perhaps because of the fever dreams opium can produce. It works well enough as far as I can tell.

Four snow quartz cabochon gemstones set in sterling silver wire rings were used.  I mixed the poppy seeds with glue along with fennel seeds and frankincense grains below the gemstones towards the end of the electional window. The suffumigation was predominately frankincense but fennel and poppy were included as well.

No scented oils were used this time.

The Mighty Winds of Zizaubio

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

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The following is a ritual I use a month or so before I travel by air. It requires the use of a Pleiades Ring from the Quindecim Stellis and any other Pleiades talismans you might have handy. It controls winds so that storms are blown out of the path of the airplane or other vehicles I and friends may use to get wherever and back. It’s very powerful and effective.

The text is a modification of material from the Greek Magical Papyri and the Quindecim Stellis and my own labors. Someone had been asking for a ritual which evoked the seven sisters by name, and in fact I’ve been using this for many years by now.

For the election the Moon should be applying to conjoin or making an amicable aspect to Alcyone and the latter should be on the Ascendant. Try to keep the Moon at least eight degrees off the Ascendant if you can.

The Ring of the Pleiades from the Quindecim Stellis should be anointed and worn and the hand held aloft. Additionally any other talismans should be exposed or held in the other hand as appropriate and any lamps of the Pleiades should be lit. Frankincense grains should be burned as a suffumigation with or without fennel.

Zizaubio is the spelling from the Greek Magical Papyri but it’s pronounced Zeezowbeaw, and I include both in the text.

O, mighty and beautiful star cluster of the Pleiades, O Seven Sisters, I call upon thee in your names of Alcyone, Maia, Taygete, Electra, Celoeno, Sterope and Merope, that you swiftly raise great winds so that storms, delays, confusions and troubles are sent far away from N.N. etc in all of our travels–and may our homes likewise be protected while we travel for our safe return.

I ask this here and now in the name of the angel of my nativity N. and my rights and privileges as [initiatory hierarchy stuff] and an initiate of thy court.

I call upon you, Holy Angel Zeezowbeaw (ZIZAUBIO) from the company of the Pleiades to whom you are subordinate and serve for all things, for whatever she may command you: you great indestructible fire-breathing one; who casts the tether of Heaven, through which tether all things turn upon Earth.

And also I call upon you; yourselves, who are angels who have been stationed beneath Zeezowbeaw’s power. Hence I call upon you all–that you come quickly in this hour to protect us and facilitate all of our journeys, along all of our respective paths.

I conjure you O lord who rises above the Earth of the whole cosmic region, by the One ruling the whole inhabited world and the benefactor of all.

Hence I call upon you in this hour and ask that you protect us and speed us safely and happily along to our destinations, O Angel Zeezowbeaw.

May this talisman and ring I wear forever and ever protect and increase the light of the eyes, raise winds, gather dæmones and spirits of the dead to come and speak, and make me know of secret and hidden things; at my will, at my command, and at my desire.

I ask this in the name of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades; Alcyone, Maia, Taygete, Electra, Celoeno, Sterope and Merope, and in the name of the Angel of the Pleiades, Zeezowbeaw; and all of the spirits of the Pleiades.

AMEN.

© 2017 Clifford Hartleigh Low

On Scholastic Image Magic

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

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Scholastic Image Magic or SIM was one of two main branches of magical practice in the Medieval Era and the Renaissance. It was heavily influenced by the science of the Arabic world, and incorporated astrology, optics, mathematics, and the philosophy of antiquity. The European version was an outgrowth of Medieval Scholasticism; a movement which attempted to reconcile Christianity with the works of Plato, Aristotle and the mystical Neoplatonists.

Scholastic Image Magic focuses primarily upon the creation of talismans; objects created or modified to become repositories of celestial light which alter the attributes and destinies and basic nature of anything in their proximity, including human beings.

It also includes celestial petitions, which are akin to highly ritualized prayers which facilitate the granting of expressed wishes. This is where Scholastic Image Magic and theurgy, the other main branch, cross over.

(The other branch is also sometimes called necromancy, depending on emphasis. It largely focuses on angel magic and spirit evocation, and use of Biblical charms and sometimes variants of Kabbalah. There is significant overlap, but the rationales for these traditions are different at heart.)

Both the creation of talismans and the making of petitions are endowed power largely through astrological timing. Some have asserted that Scholastic Image Magic is a subcategory of Electional Astrology, the choosing of fortunate times. It certainly is dependent upon it; but I and others believe in the importance of the materials used as well. There is no way to become minimally competent in this tradition of magic without being very skilled in Medieval or Renaissance Era Astrology.

Scholastic Image Magic may also include the creation of confections, suffumigations (incenses), and potions; though these are often considered to be alchemy.

Many of us who have experimented with Scholastic Image Magic believe it to be the most powerful (and sometimes dangerous) form of magic in Western history. The demands usually exceed those of other magical traditions in numerous ways, and the results are proportional. It is not for the dilettante. Many of us have studied under Christopher Warnock, whose RenaissanceAstrology.com is a great place to learn a major flavor of this from tabula rasa. Without having some background in the generalities of Traditional Astrology you’ll probably be very confused. John Michael Greer often describes this stuff as the rocket science of the Middle Ages. (And he should know, because he translated Picatrix with Christopher Warnock a few years back.)

Scholastic Image Magic has a body of literature which we refer to frequently. The most central text is the Picatrix, which has two popular editions at present. Another, harder to find text is the Treasure of Alexander. Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books on Occult Philosophy (especially the upcoming complete Eric Purdue translation) is an excellent source for Scholastic Image Magic and much else besides, and large portions of the somewhat derivative The Magus from Francis Barrett are appropriate. Though the available version of De Imaginibus is purged of suffumigation recipes and incantations, it is still of great value. I find the Liber Lunae to be very fascinating, and has had an influence on Kabbalah. The Mysterium Sigillorum and the Kyranides have content of interest. Many shorter texts such as the Quindecim Stellis and De Mineralibus, Seals & Stones of Solomon, Seals & Sigils of Chael, Talismans of Hermes, and the Seals of Thetel are also very important, and sections of the works of Giordano Bruno and even parts of the so-called Greater Key of Solomon merit study. But all of this is built upon a foundation of antique astrology and metaphysics, such as the essential writers Guido Bonatti, Johannes Sacrobosco, and Abu Yusuf Al-Kindi, which the authors expected the readers to have expertise in.

I have studied and practiced Scholastic Image Magic in a very focused way for over a decade, I have witnessed it cure incurable diseases, draw hundreds of thousands of dollars from nowhere, conjure storms, raise and banish spirits, repel dangerous animals, hypnotize and compel obedience, and make a subject fall hopelessly in love. In my own experience it is vastly closer to the kind of magic which appears in myths and Fantasy literature than anything else I’ve seen. (And I have expertise in many other traditions of magic, which have their own distinctive advantages.)

If this tickles your fancy and you’re considering putting in the effort, welcome aboard. SIM is one of my very favorite flavors of magic. If it isn’t your cup of tea, there’s a lot of additional material on my blog to inform and tantalize.

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Tempestarii and Magonians

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

New terms; tempestarii and magonians. Relevant to people who have enjoyed my Weather & Storm Magic class and video.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempestarii

In medieval lore, Tempestarii were magicians, specifically weather-makers, dwelling amongst the common people, who possessed the power to raise or prevent storms at will. For this reason, anyone reputed as a weather-maker was the subject of respect, fear, and hatred in rural areas. One bishop, Agobard of Lyons, writing in 815 on the subject of the irreligious beliefs of his flock, complained that villagers resented paying tithes to the church, but freely paid a form of insurance against storms to village tempestarii; but, it was also noted, whenever a supposed weather-maker failed to prevent a storm, he or she would generally suffer the wrath of the populace, being victimised or killed.

Agobard of Lyons also referenced a related belief amongst his parishioners—a belief that tempestarii were in league with a mythical race of cloud-dwellers who came from a land named ‘Magonia’ (“Land of Magic”, “Land of Thieves”). The Magonians were supposed to sail the skies in storm clouds; they would then pay Frankish tempestarii to summon up storms over farmlands, during which the Magonians could swoop down and steal the corn from the fields. On the particular occasion which prompted Agobard to write, several supposed Magonians had been taken prisoner by irate villagers shortly after a bad storm; the Bishop had been forced to intervene and debate with the villagers in order to save the prisoners’ lives.

Storm raising

During the witch hunts the belief in witches who could raise storms was not limited to the Tempestarii. Depending on a witch’s preference, they were believed to cause tempests, hailstorms, and lightning. Witches struck homes and crops alike, sank ships, killed men and animals, and it was believed they took great delight in the process. Church authorities gave credence to the belief by stating that God permitted the Devil and witches to perform these acts as punishment for the wickedness of the world.
Since ancient times around the world, the ability to control elements—including the raising of storms and causing rain—has been attributed to magicians, shamans, sorcerers, and witches. As early as 700 A.D., the Catholic Church prosecuted sorcerers for causing storms.

The most famous storm believed to be caused by witches was recorded in 1591 during the North Berwick Witch Trials. John Fian and his alleged coven of witches were accused of raising a sea storm to drown James VI and Queen Anne on their way from Denmark.

Remedies against tempestarii

The Catholic Church prohibited superstitious remedies against witchcraft such as storm raising because the remedies themselves were of pagan origin. Prayer, sacraments, and the invocation of the name of God were prescribed instead with the belief that a person who had strong faith in God, kept the commandments, and revered the rites of the Church would be immune from storms and tempests raised by malicious witches.

Because many peasants were reluctant to give up their supersitions as being false, the church also sanctioned remedies like the ringing of church bells, believed to drive storm devils away, and placing charms made from flowers consecrated on Palm Sunday in the crop fields. It was believed that if a storm did strike after the charm was placed, the owner’s crops would be protected even if the surrounding land and crops were destroyed.

Marvelous Magics

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

Picatrix Rubeus page 128:

“The great sage Plato, however, wrote two books about magic, that is, the Greater and the Lesser. In the Greater he wrote about the effects of the figures of heaven, from which he described great marvels, such as walking upon water, and changing into the form of any animal you desire, or into some composite form never before heard of in this world, and calling down rain at times when it ought not to rain and preventing rain when it ought to rain, and making stars move and cast down rays out of their proper times, and burning down hostile cities as well as ships at sea and remote places that you wish to burn, and ascending into the air, and making stars appear at times incongruent for their appearance so that they seem to fall from heaven, and speaking with the dead, and making it appear as though the Sun and Moon were divided into many parts, and making ropes and spears appear to be serpents and dragons, eating anyone they encounter, and making long and short journeys pass in the blink of an eye.

“All the foregoing that we have described are brought about by the powers and virtues of figures and by the strong attraction of spirits that will be obedient to us, and by the strong composition of the bodies of the figures of materials brought together from this inferior world. From these come the spiritual motions that move all bodies, by which motions marvels are brought about, as well as works that are not done by human beings, but appear to belong almost to the category of miracles.”

This may be the most important passage in Picatrix, because it illustrates the most advanced forms of astrological magic and what once it was capable of, and perhaps someday again.

If you think it’s all preposterous, I can tell you I’ve seen some of those things happen– and if those are true, why not the others?

Ancient Stellar Magic and the Rings of Power @ ConVocation 2011

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

 

Clifford Hartleigh Low’s lecture on “Ancient Stellar Magic and the Rings of Power” at ConVocation 2011. This lecture covers Traditional Astrology, Stellar Omens, Zoroastrianism, the Liber Hermetis, the Behenian Fixed Stars, Talismans, Magical Rings and Crowns, Predestination, Symmetrical Divinatory Systems, Astral Light, Servitors, Stellar Hierarchies, Petitions, and much much more…

Ancient Stellar Magic and the Rings of Power @ PantheaCon 2011

Posted on by Clifford Hartleigh Low

Clifford Hartleigh Low’s lecture on “Ancient Stellar Magic and the Rings of Power” at PantheaCon 2011. This lecture covers Traditional Astrology, Stellar Omens, Zoroastrianism, the Liber Hermetis, the Behenian Fixed Stars, Talismans, Magical Rings and Crowns, Predestination, Symmetrical Divinatory Systems, Astral Light, Servitors, Stellar Hierarchies, Petitions, and much much more…

Part One: https://youtu.be/EJur4DWtJSk

Part Two: https://youtu.be/KTkzPDkNIZU