Recharging Talismans?

I checked out some of our traditional sources and they seem to support the common sense idea that talismans do indeed wear out.

Picatrix, for example says that the talismans made using the fixed stars have more enduring effects than planetary talismans. Picatrix Bk IV, ch 4, Greer & Warnock translation LA page 246.

Ficino says that wood talismans quickly lose their power unlike gems and metals that "retain it longer" Three Books on Life, Bk III, ch 13, Kaske & Clarke trans p 309.

I was thinking I had a traditional source for talismans lasting forever, but since I can't track it down, I can't use it!

Anyhow since talismans wear out, it would be useful to be able to "recharge" them and additional consecrations would seem to be an ideal way to do this. After all the initial consecration provided the initial charge.

I've moved away from the concept of "charging" though this is certainly not an unreasonable way of looking at the process.

What I prefer is the idea of ensoulment of the talisman, that the spirit or spirits invoked in the consecration have taken up residence in the talisman or that the talisman is a conduit and connection to their sphere or realm.

Rather than a spiritual battery recharge of impersonal forces, akin to plugging in your Ipod, I'd rather think of additional consecrations as strengthening one's connection to the spirit of the talisman. The more consecrations you do, the better your connection to the spirit and the stronger and more obvious the effects of spirit.

What’s Happening When You Ask a Horary?

The great English early modern astrologer William Lilly, in his Christian Astrology, says that chart of a horary question should be erected for the time that the astrologer “perceive[s] the intention of the Querent…” Christian Astrology, page 166.

Lilly says, for example, if he is receives a letter that contains a horary and then carries it around for several hours that when he opens it up, reads it and understands what the querent is asking as a horary, that’s the time he uses. Logically, since the understanding of the question by the astrologer is the event used to fix the time of the question, it is the location of the astrologer that is used.

This causes a good deal of confusion among clients, particularly those with a smidgen of knowledge of horary or a scintilla of awareness of traditional astrology. Modern astrologers find horary itself to be almost inexplicable!

Use the time the astrologer understands the question? Use their location? But it is MY question!

And indeed considering the question to be metaphysically mine makes sense to moderns. After all I am the center of the universe, as much as we are outwardly conditioned to deny this as selfish, we all, in our heart of hearts know it to be true. So the basic thought process is that I came up with the question and somehow the stars are arranging themselves to me and to my question. This thought process is pretty automatic and almost unconscious, quite logical under the modern atheistic/materialistic worldview. After all under this view any order is either produced from physical laws (eg gravity, Newtonian physics, magnetism, etc.) or from conscious human intervention (somebody thought about the pattern and conscious put it into operation).

But is it truly MY question? To answer this, let’s step back a bit.

How does horary even work? After all we can see how a birth chart might reflect some sort of beams or energy field at the time of your birth (Jupiter beaming some sort of waves from angle?) but horary? The chart of the time of asking a question (no matter how you determine this) gives the answer?

Hermetic philosophy provides an answer. Since every individual thing ultimately proceeds from the One (not a being, spirit or individual, but the unity of all things and the origin of all) everything is bound to everything else in an intricate web of spiritual sympathy and interconnection.

We can think of this in terms of direct causality, ie spiritual rays, see Al-Kindi’s On the Stellar Rays. These are not electro-magnetic, however, so still not acceptable to modern science.

We can also think in terms of things cycling together, without being directly connected. I like to think of 2 alarm clocks. Alarm clock A has no hands but a bell. Alarm clock B has not bell, but has hands. Both are set to the same time. When the hands on clock B reach 8:00 the alarm on clock A goes off. No direct connection, but useful nonetheless. This is the explanation given by Plotinus in Ennead II: Tractate 2.

There is a third explanation of causality, which we might term the magical one. This has less application to horary and more to astrological magic and posits the planets, stars, etc., as personalities that can be interacted with.

So given these different traditional ways of explaining the entire Cosmos, what’s happening when you ask a horary?

The medieval Italian astrologer Guido Bonatti says there are three things that cause a querent to ask a horary.

The first is the motion of the soul, when someone is moved by his intention to pose a question. The second is the motion of the superior bodies [stars & planets] namely when someone asks what they are impressing into the quesited thing, what will come of it. The third is the motion of the free will, which can itself be an act of the person asking. Because even though the soul is moved to ask, it does not suffice unless the superior bodies lead him to pose the question; nor does the motion of the stars suffice, unless from the motion of the free will the act of asking is reached.

Book of Astronomy, Tr V, 146 Considerations, Consideration 1 Dykes trans (Cazimi Press 2007) at 264.

So, now we are getting closer! What’s happening is not just that I ask a question, but that there is an interaction of multiple factors which Bonatti identifies as the soul, which appears to be emotional or at least thought colored by emotion, the cycles of the planets and stars and the free will, basically the higher reason and divine wisdom of the querent, all interacting.

As Bonatti explains it we can see that the question is as much the planets’ and stars’ question as it is ours! The question only manifests when all the factors line up. If just our wanting to know the answer isn’t enough, it also seems logical that our own asking isn’t enough. We need to manifest the question and complete the celestial circuit by asking the question of the astrologer.

What Can I Get From A Horary Question?

1. Precise, accurate, concrete answer

Must ask reasonably precise question about concrete situation

“Will I marry X?” Works!

“What is the meaning of life?” No way! Vague, broad, not concrete question

2. Focused answer

Must ask focused, ie yes/no question,

can’t ask multi-variable question with multi-variable answer

“Should I move to Cedar Rapids?” Works!

“Should I quit my job and move to Rio de Janeiro?”

Too many variables, maybe you should quit your job, but shouldn’t move to Rio. Maybe you shouldn’t quit your job, how are we going to pull the correct answer out of the chart?

3. Objective view of situation

can’t necessarily get “solution” to problem

“Will my ice cream business be a success in Anchorage this winter?” Works as a question, since the answer is likely no.

“How can be elected President of the US?” All you are getting out of this question is no, not a roadmap for your inauguration.

4. Clear view of flow of events

Variation on #3, horary will tell you what is likely to happen not how to make reality conform to your desires

5. Headline question answered

Can’t always get secondary information

What do I mean by headline?

“When will I marry X?” Headline question actually is “Will I marry X?” positive answer is assumed in the question, but this doesn’t alter the fact that both negative and positive answers are possible to almost any question.

Therefore, timing, physical description, location are typically all secondary information. Maybe they can be answered, maybe not!

Natal Astrology Course Review

Here is a review from the first student to graduate from my Natal Astrology Course


"I have recently completed and passed Mr Warnock's Renaissance Natal Astrology Course. I thought that [others] would be interested in how I found it, so here is a short write up…

In summary, the course was excellent: very clear and comprehensive. I am now doing natal chart readings and getting very positive feedback, such as "I am amazed at the depth that it goes into and how accurate it is", "spot on in many ways" and "that was spookily accurate - how did you know that?".

I started the course in May and so it has taken 6 months to complete. Having said that, I did work on the course quite intensively and had already taken the Astrological Magic course, and so the course could take some people a good while longer. My advice would be to take as long over each lesson as is required to feel that you have really grasped the fundamentals. Mr Warnock was always on hand to answer questions and help me with any sticking points. A lot of supplementary materials are provided in addition to each lesson, and I found it very useful to take the time to read and absorb all of that as well.

On that subject, I'd like to mention that the course completely fulfilled something that Mr Warnock promised: doing this course means that all the many pre-1700 English books that are out there in facsimile, and the many being translated into English by the month are now understandable and accessible to me - I can make sense of them. This I find amazing, given how impenetrable these works were to me before.

The course registration page says that "The material presented in the Renaissance Natal Astrology Course is difficult and requires commitment to master". I would not disagree with this, but want to say that this should not put any serious students off. However - if you want to be 'spoon fed', this is not the course for you.

A word of encouragement/advice for anyone who has started the course: many of the concepts on the course were unfamiliar and there were times when I felt 'stuck' and wondered if I'd ever get my head around it. What I found was that if I allowed myself a few days to let these concepts sink in, and if I read the course materials over and over again very carefully, I always got through these stumbling blocks. The course does not 'spoon feed' you and you will need to work a lot of stuff out for yourself - but there is method in that - that is the way that you come to really understand the materials.

The course also comes with many example readings which are very informative.

I think that the course is excellent value for money given the depth of information that it conveys and the skills it transfers. It is very enjoyable and interesting and as always it is a pleasure and a privilege to have Mr Warnock as a teacher."

Brian
Yorkshire, England

I want to thank Brian for the review and congratulate him upon being the very
first graduate of my Natal Astrology Course!

Brian was my "beta tester" and made many useful suggestions that have improved
the course. Brian's feedback here is especially pleasing to me because the areas he touches on are exactly what I had hoped to achieve with the course.

His point about the course not "spoon feeding" students is spot on! While I don't throw students in at the deep end, it is very important to be able to work things out for yourself. As Brian mentioned, one of my key goals was to teach students enough so that they don't need to rely on my teaching or my course, but can delve into the huge resources available on traditional astrology, either in the 17th century English texts or in translation.

I was also very pleased with his comments about not getting frustrated, but reading about concepts and techniques and then letting the knowledge sink in for awhile. One problem I've had with students is trying to water ski through this material at 60 mph. I deliberately make students slow down a bit, by having a homework correction day every 3 weeks or so. Since I want to make sure students have mastered the earlier lesson before going on to the next, this ensures that material can really sink in before you get in deeper.

Ultimately, my goal is to assist students in developing their own individualistic approach while still staying within traditional astrology.

Thanks, Brian, for the great feedback, and again congratulations!

Christopher Warnock

Trying to Get Astrology To Do the Heavy Lifting

I understand the attraction, but it is hard for some clients to accept that you can't ask, "What should I do with the rest of my life?" and get the answer, "In 3 months, two day and five hours, call this number, talk to Joe and all your wishes will be granted." After all it would be nice to have a magic answer machine!

The reality is that with a horary, if you ask a broad, general question you get a broad general answer. Asking, "Where should I move?" will get something like, "Not far away to the East" as the answer. It really isn't that surprising that you need to ask a specific question to get a specific answer. With horary the best way to do this is to ask a yes or no question without multiple possible answers.

Let's give some examples. As noted, "What" questions are often going to be to broad. Also a "what" question tends to be expecting that the horary will solve their problem. "What should I do to be elected president?" is an extreme example of this approach.

Similarly the "When?" question. Again, "When will I be elected president?" assumes a positive outcome to the question. This is a particular problem with job question. "When will I find a job?" Often clients who are unemployed are unconsciously looking for reassurance that they will find a job. Unfortunately, as in all questions both a negative and a positive answer are possible. I ask these clients if a "no" answer will be helpful to them, if not, don't ask!

What I call trying to get astrology to do the heavy lifting most often manifests itself when the client wants to use astrology too early in the decision making process. Since the best horary is a yes or no, single outcome question, if you can't decide between moving to Cleveland, Buffalo, LA, NYC, San Francisco or Reno it is still too early to be asking horaries. Some clients realize that you can't ask about multiple outcomes in one question and try to ask separate questions, "Should I move to Cleveland?" then "Should I move to LA?" then "Should I move to Reno?" I don't refuse to do these sets of questions, but I am starting to recommend against doing this. These questions, usually asked within a relatively short time of each other, don't seem to be as "juicy", or have the emotional punch of a good horary.

It is better, in my experience, to go through your decision making process, narrow down your options to one, and then use horary to confirm that option. I have a sense that when you are still dealing with multiple possibilities that you haven't manifested their reality at the same power as when you finally make your decision.

Now this is a different approach from the modern idea that prediction somehow robs clients of their precious Free Will and that we can do anything we want with sufficient positive thinking. The Renaissance view is that Fate and Free Will both exist simultaneously while the wondrousness of Free Will and the evil of Fate is part of the modern worldview.

I don't see much Free Will operating even in my own life. I have no ethical problem predicting the future for clients, I am just part of the seamless web of Fate and Free Will. My main concern is to accurately predict. When I understand what seems to work for accuracy and communicate that to my clients, I'm doing my job better as a traditional astrologer.

Malefics: Merely Weak or Actually Powerful for Evil?

Generally we are doing talismans for benefic purposes and doing horaries looking for a positive result. When we are looking for a positive result it doesn't much matter to us whether a planet is simply weak or is actively and powerfully malefic, it is not contributing to our positive result.

But clearly there is a difference between being strongly evil or simply weak, how can we see this in the chart?

If you want a powerful talisman you want to make a powerful placement of the planet, benefic or malefic. "Now we shall have the Planets powerfull...when they are in Angles, especially of the rising, or Tenth" Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Bk II, ch 30.

Now for a benefic purpose the election is straightforward. Put the planet in its sign or exaltation or otherwise dignified, rising or culminating, in its day or hour and unafflicted.

But what about for a malefic purpose? Now things get interesting. For example, a benefic planet can be accidentally malefic in a particular chart, Ramesey says, do not

"...think the making a fortune: viz. Jupiter or Venus (which are but generally so) significators, will be beneficial: for it will often prove contrary : for all men are not ruled by Jupiter and Venus; neither (as I say) are they always fortunes: for accidentally they may be infortunes: and when they are Lords of the eighth, twelfth and sixth, they are occasions of sickness, poverty, imprisonment, mischief and death as effectually as Saturn or Mars;"

Astrology Restored p 123-4.

So, for example, if Jupiter in Pisces rules the 8th this can be powerful for death, though likely of a more benign type being Jupiter.

Similarly, if a malefic like Saturn or Mars is strongly dignified, they lose much of their malefic quality, all other factors like house rulership not being considered. Bonatti, Book of Astronomy, TR 5, 34th Consideration, Dykes trans at 289.

On the other hand, being in detriment or fall can powerfully cause evil. A planet in fall "signifies sorrow and prison and distress" Abu Ali Khayyat, "Judgments of Nativities" 9 in Dykes, Introductions to Traditional Astrology at 50.

Yet being combust, a serious affliction as well, indicates weakness. Bonatti, Book of Astronomy, TR 5, 52nd Consideration, Dykes trans at 294. This is because the strength of the combust planet is wiped out by the Sun.

Malefic aspects of malefics are particularly dangerous. The applying square or opposition of a malefic "will destroy [the matter in question]..." Bonatti, Book of Astronomy, TR 5, 34th Consideration, Dykes trans at 289.

So this helps us understand the electional instructions for the pest control talisman explained by Agrippa, which is a malefic talisman at least for the pests! Rats Begone!

In this talisman we use a variety of means of exerting malefic power.

[A]nd thou shall make unfortunate the ascendant, and lord thereof, and the Lord of the house of Mars; and thou shall make unfortunate the lord of the ascendant in the eighth house and let them be joined with an aspect malignant, opposite or quadrant:

Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Bk. II, Chapter 50, p. 402.

While I don't personally work with malefic talismans or elections, understanding how they work, in particular the difference between merely being weak and actually being powerful for evil is very useful in understand the nuances of traditional astrology.

Zen and Astrology?

I will be away from Friday October 21st to Tuesday, October 25, 2011 for a sesshin (intensive meditation) at Ryumonji Zen Monastery At the sesshin I am scheduled for my Jukai/lay ordination.

I haven't said too much about my Zen Buddhist practice, but I thought it might be useful to talk about it a little. We live about 1/2 a block from the Iowa City Zen Center, very convenient! Since we were so close, we thought, "clearly a sign!" and started attending zazen.

This particular Zen center is affiliated with Shoken at Ryumonji Monastery. Shoken is a dharma heir of Dainan Katagiri in the Soto Zen School.

Ok, what does that mean? Buddhism arose in India and passed to Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. In the middle ages in China the Chan (Chinese for dhyana or meditation) School arose as reform movement within the Chinese schools and lineages. It passed to Japan as Zen. In Japan there are 3 schools of Zen, Rinzai, Obaku and Soto. Over simplifying Rinzai focuses on koans, impenetrable statements like the classic "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" while Soto is very focused on zazen, sitting meditation. Rinzai does zazen, of course and Soto can use koans. Obaku is a later import of the Chinese Rinzai lineage. Here's a little taste of Zen from the Matrix.

One key tenet of Zen is the idea of direct transmission from master to student. Earlier Zen masters basically confirmed that the student had had a basic enlightenment experience called kensho or satori. Nowadays dharma transmission is basically the last step in being an osho (monk/priest) and doesn't necessarily indicate anything about enlightenment experiences.

Unlike many Western spiritual traditions Zen has an unbroken tradition and lineage. I can read Dogen (the "founder" of Soto Zen) and he is describing the ritual and teachings that my teachers tell me.

I have done zazen (sitting meditation) every day now for a year. Up till last year I found it impossible to meditate at all. I could not even sit still. Now I am doing an hour a day. At sesshin we do about 15 hours of meditation over 2 1/2 days and a full day. At Rohatsu, an 8 day meditation session, they traditionally stay up later and later each night and all night meditating on the last day. I don't think I am quite up to that yet.

The meditation has had clear positive effects. For example, I am much calmer and less likely to react immediately emotionally. This is not the main point, however. I am convinced that the accounts of kensho and other enlightenment experiences are correct and that they can be obtained through Zen and other spiritual traditions.

Now, what does this have to do with astrology and magic? First, my Zen teachers have been very supportive of my astrological work. Zen, to Americans, seems like an atheistic/materialist iconoclastic spiritual tradition, easy to fit into their modern ego based consumer lifestyle. It is, in fact, very ritualized and does a good amount of what can only be described as magical ritual and invocation. This is
just not as major a focus as it would be in Shingon or other Vajrayana/Tantric Buddhist schools.

Secondly, there is a long tradition of syncretizing local spirits and native spiritual cultural elements into Buddhism and Zen. The Hindu devas, Chinese Taoist immortals, and Japanese Shinto kami were blended into Buddhism. The stars and planets are already part of Chinese & Japanese Buddhist practice, so my adding in the Western style astrological spirits, basically as dharma protectors and cosmic gods, is not much of a stretch.

And why do I want to integrate them at all, doesn't astrological magic stand on its own? I've found astrology and astrological magic useful from a practical standpoint, after all it is great to be able to accurately predict the future and to do practical magical tasks. But the most valuable quality of practicing traditional astrology and magic is that it confirms for moderns, steeped in atheistic/materialism, that the spiritual exists. Once we know that then following a spiritual path and affirming the primacy of the spiritual over the material becomes logical and, for some, inescapable.

I'm pleased that I have found a living spiritual tradition that allows me to continue my practical studies and work in astrology and magic, but points me to a path leading beyond the material, beyond merely attempting to sate the ego self.