The Picatrix
or Ghayat al Hikam,
the Aim of the Wise, was composed in Arabic in Andalusia around 1000 A.D. It is a
key work of medieval and Renaissance
astrological magic.
The following talismans all come from Book II, chapter 5
of Picatrix and were translated by Robert Thomas, a noted ceremonial magician and
traditional astrologer. These talismans are, for the most part, based on astrological
elections using the 12 mundane houses, rather than a
particular planet. This is an excellent example of the sophistication of astrological
technique typical of Picatrix.
The Picatrix
Book I, Chapter 5
translated by Robert Thomas
If you desire to fashion images
to place love between two people, and
that of them love and affection should be made strong and strengthened,
fashion images of the two [people] in their likenesses.
And let this be done in the hour of Jupiter or Venus, and
let the North Node [be] placed in the Ascendant, and let the Moon
[be] with Venus or aspecting her with a good aspect, and let the lord
of the 7th house aspect the lord of the Ascendant with a trine or sextile aspect.
And after this, I say join the images together face to face, and bury them in a different
place - that is to say, [the place] of that other who is beloved by the magician .
And it shall be as you desire.
An image
to generate peace and love between two [people].
Fashion two images under the Ascendant of the questioner, and
make fortunate the Ascendant and 10th house, and remove infortunes
from the first house, and place the lord of the 10th house fortunately
and aspecting itself to the lord of the Ascendant by a trine or sextile aspect.
And there is a second image that may be fashioned: if it is
done for two friends, place the eleventh house in the Ascendant
of it as aforesaid in the first image ; and if you wish to generate
love between a man and woman, place the Ascendant of the second image
as the seventh house from the first . And form it so that the Lord of
the Ascendant of he who seeks love shall aspect the lord of the Ascendant
of the other [person] with a good aspect and that they are well received
of one another. After this join the images and bury them in the place of
the one who is sought; and they will be friends that were apart before.
An image to place love between two people.
Fashion two images with
the 1st face of Cancer rising, and Venus therein, and the Moon in the
1st face of Taurus in the eleventh house. And when you have made
these images, join each to the other face to face and bury them in
the house of the other . And they will care for each other and
have an enduring love between them. And these are called figures of
alteration, and Ptolemy speaks of them in the 33rd verse of his Centiloquy .
And we shall speak further of this in the fourth book of our work; therefore
we shall explain then, if God so wills it.
An image for an enduring love.
Fashion two images, and place a fortune
in the Ascendant, and the Moon in Taurus conjoined to Venus.
And write on one image cifram - obviously the figure algorismi
is of such a kind - 0-220 changes of positions, and write the
figure itself in the other image in 284 positions and join
the pair of images face to face, and there will be
complete and enduring love between them.
An image that kings and nobles or whomever
is desired shall love you. Fashion an image in the
form and name of the one for whom the image is made.
Make the Ascendant fortunate with a fortune that is not
cadent, retrograde or combust, and with the Lord of the
Ascendant placed strongly, in good condition and direct of
motion, in his exaltation, and let the Lord of the Tenth
aspect the Lord of the Ascendant by a trine or sextile aspect
with strong reception; and let the Lord of the Ascendant be
placed in a compelling sign and the Lord of the Tenth be in
an obeying sign. And as long as he shall have the aforesaid
image with him, he shall be loved and honored and whatever
he requests of the king shall be given to him.
An image that a lord may
be loved and always obeyed
[by his subjects]. Fashion two images, of which one
should be made in the hour of Jupiter, and the Moon
well-aspected to the Sun and separated from the infortunes;
and place the North Node of the Moon in the Ascendant.
After this, fashion the other image placing the cusp of
the fifth house of the first image as the Ascendant [of the second],
and do this in the hour of Venus. And the North Node of the Moon
should be placed in the Ascendant or aspect the Ascendant with a
good aspect, and that in the hour of the Moon, with the Moon placed
so that it is free from infortunes . And bury the images with some
fixed star on the Ascendant in the hour of Saturn. And when you have
done this, the lord shall be loved by all his subjects, and they will obey him.
An image that slaves might
love their master. Let there be two images,
of which one should be made in the hour of any of the superior planets and
with the Moon increasing in light, with the North Node in the First, Fourth,
Seventh or Tenth House. And fashion the second image in the hour of any of
the inferior planets, and let the Ascendant [of the second image] be within
the Tenth house of the first image, and let the South Node be placed in the
First, Fourth, Seventh or Tenth houses. And when these two images have been
made in this fashion, join them together face to face and bury them in the
place of those whose love is desired.
An image to gain dignity
from a lord or king. Fashion images, and make
fortunate the Ascendant and Tenth and the Lord of the Ascendant. And likewise,
remove the infortunes from the Ascendant and its lord, and place a fortune
in the Eleventh house aspecting the Ascendant and its lord with a good and
praiseworthy aspect; and with the lord of the Tenth aspecting the Lord of the
Ascendant by a favorable aspect with reception. And when these images have
thus been perfected, bear them with you in secret, allowing no-one to see them;
and by them you will be aided and have the heart of the king and you shall
receive whatever dignities or offices you may request of him, his officers or
dignitaries.
An image to increase
sales and profits. Fashion images, and make
fortunate the Ascendant and the Tenth house and their lords, and the
lord of the house of the lord of the Ascendant, and the lord of the
house of the lord of the Tenth, the Moon and the lord of its house,
as well as the Second house and its lord, and place the lord of the
Second house in reception with the lord of the Ascendant by trine or
sextile aspect, and place a fortune in the Second house, and place
the Part of Fortune in the Ascendant or the Tenth house, and have
the Lord of the Part of Fortune aspecting it with a good aspect.
And when this image has thus been made, carry it with you, and
hide it secretly so that none might see it, and you shall gain
money in great quantities and have good fortune in all your undertakings.
An image
for the augmentation of cities and that they may
continue well. Fashion an image, and make fortunate the Ascendant
and the Tenth and their lords, and let them be aspected by the
fortunes, and make fortunate the lord of the Second house and the lord
of the Eighth house, and place the Lord of the Ascendant well, and with
the fortunes aspecting it, and make fortunate also the lord of the
house of the lord of the Ascendant and the Moon and the lord of the
house of the Moon. And in truth when this image is completed as has
been said, bury it in the center of the city, and it shall be as you have desired.
An image to acquire
the love of another. Fashion two images,
of which one should be made in the hour of Jupiter with Virgo rising
and the Moon waxing in light, and place it in the First, Fourth,
Seventh or Tenth houses. Make the second image in the hour of Venus
when Venus makes a good aspect to Jupiter. And the infortunes should
be placed in cadent houses to the Ascendant, and let the Ascendant of
the second image be the Seventh house cusp of the first image, and the
lord of the Ascendant [of the second image] should aspect the lord of
the Ascendant of the first image with a trine or sextile aspect. And
when these images have been made as we have said, join them to one
another face to face, and bury them in the place of the one from whom
you seek love and preferment.
An image to aid the escape of those
detained in prison. Fashion an image in
the form of the one who is imprisoned that you wish to release in
the hour of the Moon, with the Moon waxing in light, fast in motion
and safe from the infortunes. Bury the image near the prison when the
Ascendant is placed as the Tenth house of the city where the prisoners are detained.
An image to catch many fish.
Fashion an image in the form of a fish
which exists in your river, and make it with Pisces rising, and with Jupiter
in it [the Ascendant], and the lord of the hour should be Venus. And make
it in this fashion, fashion the head and body first, and after this the tail,
and join them together in the aforesaid hour. And make a spike of pure silver,
and place the image on the head of the spike; and fashion a pitcher or other
vessel having a constricted mouth out of lead, and in the midst of this place
the spike upright with the image of the fish at the top of it. Next fill the
vessel with water and seal the mouth with wax that the water may not escape.
After this, place the vessel in the bottom of the river. All the fish which
live there shall be gathered together from every part [of the river].
An image to gather fish together.
Alhanemi, who was wise and skilled and
discovered the truth, said this in his book on these arts: make an image in
the shape of a fish, and do this with the second face of Pisces rising, and
let the Moon be with Mercury in the Ascendant. And do this in the hour of
the Moon. And when this image has been properly made, place it in the river
when you wish the fish to gather together, and you shall behold wonders as
many fish gather together in that place.
An image
for the driving away of scorpions.
Fashion the image of a scorpion from the purest gold in the hour of the Sun,
and place the Moon
in the Ascendant, 4th, 7th or 10th houses in either Taurus, Aquarius or Leo
(Leo is best, for the magic of its nature is contrary to scorpions).
Let the Sun be also in Leo, and let Saturn be retrograde. Fashion the tail
[of the scorpion] first, after this the legs, after this the claws ,
and finally the head. There are many diverse aspects in this [working],
and you should know them well, for they may aid you in all such operations
and workings. When the members [of the image] have been made in this manner,
place the left claw in the place of the right, and the right foot in the
place of the left foot, and place the head upright in the proper position
and the tail likewise. After this has been done, fashion a spine and
when this has been made in this manner, bury [the image] in a hole which has
been bored into a stone. After this, bury the stone in a place high above
the city(?), and [scorpions] shall flee from that place and not approach within
45 miles of it.
An image to heal
the sting of scorpions. Fashion the image of a
scorpion in bezoar stone, and do this in the hour of the Moon while the Moon
is in the second face of Scorpio, and with Leo, Taurus or Aquarius rising.
Afterwards let this stone be set in a ring of gold, and when it has been
made thus, use it to mark incense under the aforesaid constellation. Give
the one stung a drink made with incense marked by this seal and he will
be healed immediately and all infirmity will be put aside.
An image
that a man may be loved by women. Fashion the image of a
maiden in a metal both cold and dry, and make this with Virgo rising and
with Mercury being within the circle of his auge and being the almuten of
the chart; this work should also be started in the hour of Mercury. In
this manner the image should be completed. After this has been done,
fashion another image in the likeness of a youth when Mercury is in Virgo
and has returned to the place of the [Ascendant of the] first image, or is
thus placed in Gemini, and beware of differing Ascendants- that is to say,
if Mercury is in Gemini do not place Virgo on the Ascendant, and likewise if
Mercury be in Virgo do not place Gemini on the Ascendant, but whichever sign
is on the Ascendant let Mercury be in that sign likewise. When these two
images have been made, bind them face to face and place them by hand into
a high wall . And all of these things should be done in the hour of Mercury
with Virgo or Gemini rising. Bind the image with a wire made of the same metal
as the images, and bury it in the center of a city of great population.
And when you have done this, men will joined to women and there shall be
excellent love between them. Likewise, when someone seeks to be loved by
another bury it (i.e., the joined images) in the place where you wish them
to be joined together.
An image
to make that physicians may profit. Fashion in a
plate of tin the image of a man seated upon a throne, having the
work of science , and make another image of a man standing on his feet and
held before him a chamberpot as if seeking counsel on it. And fashion both
images under an ascendant of Taurus or Libra, with Mars in the Ascendant and
the North Node on the Midheaven. And when you have made it thus, set the
plate bearing these images in the place where you wish people to come
[to consult], and you shall behold the people miraculously carried to that place.
An image
for the multiplication of crops and plants.
Fashion in a plate of silver the image of a seated man with crops, trees and plants
about him; and this should be made beneath an Ascendant of Taurus, and
the Moon passing from the Sun against Saturn . And bury this [image]
in the place you wish it to be, and all seeds and plants and the like
will greatly increase and [it] will preserve [them] from destruction
by animals, birds, tempests or any manner of thing which destroys crops.
An image
for the healing of flaws in stones.
Fashion the image of a lion in the purest gold, holding a stone
in its hand as though dancing
with it, and fashion it in the hour of the Sun with the first degree of
the second face of Leo rising. And if you carry this tablet with you,
you shall be instantly freed from weariness . And this has been proven
by the most wise.
An image for the casting out of illness,
melancholy and [the breaking of] enchantments.
If you wish to remove mechanical infirmities of whatever
kind you may wish, to strengthen health until it is quite strong, and to
return evil spells upon their senders whenever you may wish to do so.
Fashion an image of the purest silver in the hour of Venus, with the Moon
being placed in the Ascendant, fourth, seventh or tenth house and aspecting
Venus with a good aspect; and the lord of the sixth house should aspect a
fortune with a trine or opposite aspect, and the lord of the 8th house should
be in square aspect to Mercury. And beware that Mercury not be retrograde nor
combust, nor receiving any aspect from an infortune. And this image should be
fashioned in the final hour of the lord of the day , and the lord of the hour
should be placed in the tenth house from the Ascendant. And when this image
has been fashioned in this manner, the aforesaid infirmities will be driven away.
