17th Lunar Mansion (Against Thieves & Criminals)

“The seventeenth Mansion is Alichil, and it is so that thieves may not enter into the house and other criminals likewise. When the Moon has entered this Mansion, fashion the figure of a monkey in an iron seal, holding his hands above his shoulders. Suffumigate it with the hair of a monkey and the hair of a female mouse, and wrap it in a monkey skin. It should then be buried in your house, while saying: "You, Adrieb, guard all my things and everything that exists within this house, nor let it be entered by thieves." When the foregoing has been done, thieves will flee from your house. Know that Adrieb is the name of the lord of this Mansion.” (Picatrix Book 4, Chapter 9)

Who Is This For?

Anyone who wishes to keep their property safe, whether from burglars, vandals, and other unwanted people doing harm. Picatrix implies that this talisman will prevent theft in the building it is kept in even by people who are lawfully there.

These talismans, crafted under an excellent astrological election, are tested and have proven to be very successful. An old friend has a job as a building manager in a large city, and for several years he had a constant problem with people living on the property grounds illegally, with theft and vandalism a constant problem and the police being unable to help due to city ordinances. My friend was in the unfortunate position of receiving nonstop complaints from both the residents and upper management, told to resolve it but powerless to really do anything about it.

I sent him one of these 17th Lunar Mansion talismans because this was a perfect place to test it. He hid it in a private spot in his workplace. Within two weeks most of the people who were causing real problems drifted away of their own will. A few remained, but within a month they inexplicably went elsewhere. The complaints had fully stopped within three months. As of the time of this writing, almost two years have passed and the building has yet to experience any more of those issues.

If you want to help protect your house or place of business you will likely be pleased with a 17th Lunar Mansion talisman. Vandalism, theft, trespassing, all these things affect most everyone at some point. Having one of these in your possession could make people with ill intentions towards your property gravitate away.

Election Standard

Many people want to avoid the Moon in Scorpio, its Fall, for creating an astrological talisman. However, this Lunar Mansion is the sign of Scorpio. Likewise, soft aspects with malefics like Mars are avoided by some. This is a valid concern, but an overgeneralization.  When we dig a little deeper into the source materials, this election checks out perfectly. The Book of the Treasure of Alexander, for instance, requires that talismans with Mars or Saturn as the significator make a soft aspect with the Moon. Scorpio is the domicile of Mars and Capricorn its Exaltation. The Moon sextiles Mars and receives him with this configuration. Picatrix strongly warns against the Moon making hard aspects (square or opposition) with Mars and Saturn and even states that any aspect is to be avoided. “.. when the waxing Moon beholds Mars, this is considered to be a great affliction of the Moon..” (Picatrix Book 2, Chapter 3 page 72).  At first glance, Picatrix would rule out this election but it says that if the moon is waxing in light and aspecting Mars, it is an affliction. In this election, the Moon is waning in light, meeting the criteria set forth in Picatrix.

Likewise, Mars on the Ascendant is a sticky point for some, but the election only gives two options: the Moon rising in the Ascendant (AC), which can give unpredictable reactions as the AC is by far the most sensitive point of the chart. The Moon is a funnel of sorts for all of the planets and stars, and relatively minor issues can sometimes become amplified here. The Midheaven (MC) is the second most powerful angle in the chart and that is where the Moon is in this election, mitigating any potential issues with the AC. Its speed is a bit slow but not prohibitively so.

We have Mars in Capricorn, its Exaltation, rising in its hour, making a loose sextile to the Moon. This by itself provides an excellent source of Mars’ influence. The mixture of Mars and the Moon is softened by a sextile to Venus and an opposition to Jupiter, both benefics. The sect of the significator is not a deal-breaker for me, but in this case the nocturnal Mars is rising in a night chart, a pleasant bonus. Although these talismans are Lunar Mansions, the astrological configuration itself is also an amazing Mars election. All around, this election perfectly meets all the requirements in the source materials.

How They Were Made

Shortly before crafting some excellent Mars talismans, I used iron discs to engrave the 17th Lunar Mansion images by hand. Although I don’t put top priority on the art style as the election is what makes or breaks it, I’m very proud of the artistic quality of these talismans. The image is a monkey holding up his hands, and the name of the Mansion lord engraved on top. They were suffumigated with Moon incense made per Liber Razielis, a 15th century Solomonic grimoire, and a small amount of mice fur per the instructions in Picatrix. Monkey fur and skin were unobtainable for both suffumigation and storage of the talisman, and cloth bags were used instead. Picatrix states that the talisman should be buried in the house or building that it’s intended to influence, but it seems to work very well being stored in a secure place.

The Chart

2 February 2024, 0548-0554