Serapis – Moon in Taurus and Sun in Leo (Hephaestion of Thebes, 400 CE) 

Greek Magical Papyri

For Mental Agility, Victory, Strength, Healing, Wealth, Abundance, Oracular Dreams

“Serapis in Taurus, Leo and Sagittarius”.

- Hephaestion of Thebes, 415 AD, Egypt

A Hellenized Egyptian astrologer in the Roman period, Hephaestion of Thebes (born in 380), provided astrological configurations for crafting sacred images which he says was passed down from “the wise Egyptians and the rest of the ancients”. This was the source used for crafting these talismans which, to my knowledge, are the first of their kind to be made in modern times.

Alexander the Great’s campaign (336 – 323 BCE) resulted in the widespread adoption of Koine Greek as a common language from Europe to parts of India. Ancient gods from many different cultures were syncretized, viewed as the same beings known under different names. For many centuries Egypt adopted Greek deities and vice versa. Romans later adopted gods from all over the Hellenized world.

By the time Hephaestion of Thebes lived, the already ancient Anatolian mother goddess Cybele had become Magna Mater or “Great Mother”, who was understood to be an archetypal figure from which all mother goddesses derived. This was the melting pot that produced Hermes Trismegistus and the Hermetica, with the Egyptian Thoth merging with the Greek Hermes.

Serapis was considered to be the Demiurge who encompassed Zeus, Mithras, Osiris, Dionysus, Hades, Asclepius and the Agathos Daimon (Good Spirit or Good Fortune). He had solar attributes which gave him authority over the heavens (Leo) as well as the underworld (Sagittarius), and the Moon (Taurus) which gave him rulership of the night alongside his wife and queen Isis. Together with their son Horus or Harpocrates, they formed the Egyptian holy trinity.

Like his purely Egyptian form Osiris, Serapis is a liminal god who traverses the heavens, earth and underworld.  In the Greek Magical Papyri, he is frequently invoked as the Demiurge. Serapis was the patron deity of many Roman Emperors, among them Vespasian and Hadrian.

Serapis enthroned with Cerberus at his feet.

Serapis was the patron god of the Greco-Egyptian city of Alexandria. He combined the life-giving qualities of Jupiter-Ammon with the benefic aspects of Hades or Pluto in the underworld (wealth, good harvests, order). He was also called Userhapi or Osiris-Apis and fully represented Osiris. He was sometimes depicted with ram horns to associate him with the ecstatic attributes of Dionysius. In short, Serapis was the world of matter bestowing people with all its best gifts. He was credited with many healing miracles like Asclepius and visiting people in dreams to announce a miracle that he would soon create.

(Images of Isis and Serapis in an Egyptian shrine, Roman period)

The image of Serapis was often a mummified man with the head of a bull, a common depiction of Osiris, or a bearded king on a throne with the Cerberus hound sitting at his feet, like Hades. In his Greek likeness of Hades, he had a basket of grain and/or a grain measure on his head, symbolizing the harvest, land of the dead, and judgement/balance. For many Gnostics he represented Christ.

In the Greek Magical Papyri, Serapis is petitioned for dream oracles, divination, ensouling images, and generalized prayers. For those who use these Serapis images with the PGM, it is recommended to do so when the Moon and/or Sun is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius).

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Sources

Hephaestion of Thebes was a Hellenized Egyptian astrologer who lived in Roman Egypt during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Around 400-415 AD, the same time that Emperor Theodosius issued his decree ordering the destruction of all pagan temples and making their practices a capital crime in Rome’s provinces, Hephaestion wrote his three volumes on astrology. In the third volume “On Inceptions” he provides instructions for crafting temple statue and sacred images of many ancient gods.

“In the temples one must enthrone the statues (agalmata), after they have been made in the fitting form, and of suitable material, as the wise Egyptians and the rest of the ancients have transmitted, when the Moon is filling and has appeared in her phase.  The powers of such images, when they are completed in harmony with the heavens’ movement, are produced more ‘theōdéstera’ (more god-filled) and ensouled.

“And each of the sacred objects and statues is advantageous to fashion and enthrone while the Moon is in Jupiter’s trigon [triplicity] and while Jupiter is harmonious with her. That is, in the same trigon, and likewise when the Sun has been configured in the same way, and Saturn likewise happens to be in his own trigon.

“And for the rest of the stars [planets] one must in the same way prepare both the sacred objects and the statues. It is auspicious, whenever they themselves are in their exaltations and domiciles, to fashion them, if no malefic stars [planets] opposes.”

(Hephaestion of Thebes Book III 7.13-18)

Hephaestion of Thebes requires a considerable number of factors to be present for the ensoulment of a sacred image. The triplicity rulers according to Dorotheus are considered, as well as the luminary of sect (Sun in day and Moon at night) having a harmonious configuration. The three triplicity rulers signify the beginning, middle and end.

He adds that they should be crafted when the exaltation or domicile ruler is present in the god’s sign, which is standard for a planetary election. The significators must not make hard aspects with the malefics, Saturn and Mars, and be made with suitable material.

Hephaestion’s work pairs well with the writings of Julianus of Laodecia. Around 480 CE, Julianus wrote a short treatise on the use of astrological elections or inceptions, meaning “beginnings” or the moment in which a temple statue is ensouled. He was a pagan philosopher and member of the New Academy and likely studied there while Proclus was head of the school. His treatise was written during the reign of Justinian, who effectively outlawed the New Academy in the Eastern Roman Empire and caused many philosophers to flee to Persian territories. This is believed to have been the cause of the Academy founded in Harran, which later provided much of the material that became the Ghayat al Hakim or Picatrix.

From a historical standpoint, these two texts are significant because they both predate Catholicism as the state religion of Rome. Hephaestion lived in Egypt when it was a province of the Western Roman Empire and Julianus in Athens, part of the Eastern Roman empire.

Like many works of Hellenistic astrology, these are short compared to medieval sources. The recommended astrological considerations are numerous and stringent, and place a notable emphasis on doryphory, also called attendants or spear-bearers as well as the sect (day or night). Nocturnal charts are used for chthonic (underworld) gods and diurnal for the celestial. Both recommend that the Moon in night charts and Sun in day charts aspect at least one planet for support.

“Sweats (life) will be [produced] if the gods are chthonic, with Selene, Aphrodite, and Zeus testifying (bearing witness) to one another, and let Kronos also testify to them in harmony….with male gods….the same rule applies to all.”

Julianus recommends that the Moon, Venus and Jupiter aspect each other and Saturn lend his support for nocturnal gods and goddesses of the underworld, and to apply this principle for the diurnal gods. The Moon aspecting both benefics ensures that the most benevolent astral influences are imprinted into the image, and Saturn will not hinder it. These astrological configurations complement those of Hephaestion. When paired with the more thorough details found in Picatrix, they are a fascinating look at one of the most heavily suppressed branches of knowledge from the ancient world.

SERAPIS: SOLAR GOD AND RULER OF THE UNDERWORLD

"Serapis in Taurus, Leo and Sagittarius."

Examining the three signs assigned to Serapis as temples of the heavens and underworld shows the solar god and lunar goddess in their strongest and most benefic guises.

Leo, the sole rulership of the Sun, is Serapis' solar strength, invincibility, and visible triumphs.  Leo is the light of summer at its most radiant, and plant life at its fullest. Sagittarius is the benefic aspects of the underworld. With Leo rising, Sagittarius is the fifth house of Good Fortune.

The Moon in Taurus in the midheaven signifies the gifts of the underworld springing up from the earth. Conversely, Serapis (and Isis) can be seen in his nocturnal form with the Moon rising in Taurus. Cancer, the Moon's domicile, is the 3rd house of the Goddess. This places Leo in the 4th house or Imum Coeli, the Throne of Hades or Tartarus, and Sagittarius in the 8th house which is the Gate of Hades.

Sagittarius can be considered the chthonic temple of the Sun. He has fully matured here. He enters Sagittarius well after the autumn equinox and his light has decreased to its lowest proportions just before the winter solstice. In Capricorn the Sun will die and his path in the sky becomes erratic for three days. He will also be reborn here in the womb of the earth, and his light increases again.

In the context of Egypt’s agricultural cycle, the Sun in Leo would signify the Nile flooding in summer ushering in a new cycle of life, Sagittarius the growth season in autumn and winter, and Taurus the harvest season of spring.

Egyptian pendant with the image of Serapis and lamp bowl with Serapis flanked by the Sun and Moon.

Election Standard

“Serapis in Taurus, Leo and Sagittarius."

“And each of the sacred objects and statues is advantageous to fashion and enthrone while the Moon is in Jupiter’s trigon [triplicity] and while Jupiter is harmonious with her. That is, in the same trigon, and likewise when the Sun has been configured in the same way, and Saturn likewise happens to be in his own trigon.

Hephaestion of Thebes places considerable emphasis on the triplicity rulers much like Dorotheus of Sidon five centuries before him. During his life, three triplicity rulers were considered. Two rulers and a participating ruler came into use in the medieval period. He describes the most optimal astrological conditions to use, simple and straightforward, and the reader must find a time that matches it closely enough. This is how Julianus wrote his text on ensouling temple statues with astrological timing. The Moon and significator must not apply to a square or opposition with a malefic. The Luminary of Sect should ideally make applying aspects to benefics and/or their triplicity rulers whenever possible. At a minimum, the triplicity rulers of the significator’s sign should not be severely afflicted.

The Moon rises in Taurus at night in the Hour of the Moon. The Moon applies to square the Sun in Leo in the 4th house, the throne of the underworld. The participating triplicity ruler and Moon sign ruler Venus is in Cancer, the third house of the goddess, with Mars in the fifth.

For those who use these Serapis images with the PGM, it is recommended to do so when the Moon is in Taurus or Cancer.

How They Were Made

Sterling silver, lapis lazuli, and brass were engraved by hand with images of Serapis. Silver is an excellent choice for practically every type of talisman, partly because of its reflective qualities. I thought brass was also well suited because of its golden hue, similar to the fur of a lion and to some extent the Sun’s light. I chose lapis lazuli not only for its beauty but because of its strong likeness to the sky. Its unique shades of blue, combined with pyrite flecks of gold and silver, bear a strong resemblance to the Sun’s rays and the stars. Images were engraved by hand, modeled on classical Greco-Egyptian and Roman images of Serapis. The name "Zeus Sarapis" is engraved in Koine Greek. They were suffumigated with frankincense and lunar incense made from a recipe in Liber Razielis.

Election Chart

15 August, 2025   11:50 PM (EST)