The foundational text of astrological magic and talismans Picatrix (Ghayat al Hakim) was published in English for the first time in its immense history, from a medieval Latin manuscript, by Christopher Warnock and John Michael Greer in 2011.
Although the book had been published by Ouroboros Press in two volumes (2002 and 2008) from Arabic manuscripts, it was generally not usable in practice due to the highly specific astrological terms being misunderstood by the translator and most of the key instructions, such as the proper astrological conditions for combining the sun with the north node, were omitted or mistranslated.
The Warnock-Greer edition had the notable distinction of being translated and edited by a practicing astrologer. Chris Warnock had been among the first of a small group of people who took on the tedious task of reviving what is now called “Traditional Astrology”, by painstakingly studying and implementing astrology as it was practiced centuries ago.
This form of astrology was found to be much different than its modern form, which was developed alongside the study of psychology, something unrecognizable centuries prior.
Until this edition of Picatrix was published in 2011, the only other related source that was widely available to the public was Heinrich Agrippa’s Book 2, itself largely overlooked and generally unknown. The information in Agrippa’s work is a very valuable source in and of itself, but it was written in 1533 when traditional astrology was readily available to learn and not lost to time as it is today.
In short, it assumes that the reader has considerable skill in something that is still in the process of being rediscovered and rebuilt today.
The Greer-Warnock edition of Picatrix made this lost science easily available to everyone for the first time in history. However, like Agrippa’s work, Picatrix also assumes that the reader has a lifetime of expertise and practice, fully versed in the writings of prominent figures such as Al Kindi, Abu Mashar, Al Biruni and others whose works, like Picatrix, have only become available in recent years.
This is largely due to the efforts of Dr. Benjamin Dykes and other scholars who are taking on the monumental task of accurately translating medieval Arabic texts that have been untouched for many centuries.
It is in these books that we can find the answers to many enigmas that the anonymous author of Picatrix left for the reader to know for themselves, including crucial details about combining planetary forces like the sun and the north node.
The North Node Mistaken as a Benefic
In this article, I will show that all available medieval texts agree that the North Node (the Head of the Dragon or Caput Draconis) conjoining the Sun is an especially harmful configuration, despite popular notions to the contrary today.
This is important because the small community of people who are working diligently to rediscover the benefits of astrological magic by making talismans to benefit themselves and others could be making an enormous mistake because of a widespread interpretation of passages in Picatrix and Agrippa’s Book 2, Chapter 45.
Picatrix Book 3, Chapter 2, page 137 states:
Know that the nature of the Head of the Dragon is to augment; when it is with fortunate planets it increases them in honor and strength, and if he is with unfortunates he augments them in condemnation and bad fortune. Similarly the Tail of the Dragon has the nature of diminution. And when it is with fortunate planets it diminishes their good and with infortunates it diminishes their evil and condemnation.
This passage states that the North Node makes benefic planets (Jupiter, Venus) perform even better. The widely held assumption is that the Sun, one of the two Luminaries, is a benefic planet is potentially a serious mistake, as will be shown later.
This assumption about the Sun is given further weight by another passage in Picatrix which states that the Moon, the other Luminary, is of immense benefit when conjoining the North Node.
Picatrix Book 1, Chapter 5, page 48:
Make images for love and delight and to visit kings and high lords in the day of the Moon, when she is waxing, and in Sagittarius, Taurus, Cancer or Pisces, and if she is with the Dragon’s Head it is powerful for workings…
The South Node being of a highly malefic nature has never been in debate as Picatrix makes it plainly clear. With the Moon being one of the two Luminaries, it is reasonable to assume that the Sun would benefit from the North Node as well.
However, it is important to keep in mind what exactly the North and South Nodes are: mathematical points of the eclipse.
The Nodes are the two points in the sky where the Moon’s orbit intersects with the ecliptic (the Sun’s path through the Zodiac). They travel through each zodiac sign for approximately 19 months each and mark where eclipses will occur.
Their origins reach back into the earliest recorded history. The ancient Egyptians and people of Mesopotamia were using advanced mathematical formulas to predict all future eclipses over 4,000 years ago because of their immense astrological significations. For more information on the incredible achievements of Bronze Age kingdoms, please read this article.
The well-known Ouroboros, the snake eating its tail and often depicted encircling the earth, is the Dragon or Serpent, symbolizing the infinite cycles of time.
In Egyptian funerary texts, this serpent accompanies and guides Ra (the Sun) through his nightly journey through the underworld. The oldest known depiction is from the Old Kingdom of Egypt, in the pyramid of Unas (2375-2345 BCE) at Saqqara which served as the king’s tomb.
On the walls of the sarcophagus chamber is a carving of two entwined snakes eating each other, interpreted as a spell that binds heaven and earth.
The eclipse is often one the most forceful and potentially catastrophic aspects in all of astrological lore, widely recognized as such since prehistoric times, and regarded as such by virtually every known human culture, from the ancient peoples of the Americas to the Old World.
Far from the popular and uninformed idea of primitive people believing that the sun and moon were literally destroyed, historical records show that eclipses were skillfully chosen by ancient kings as times to initiate battles of incredible significance.
The battle that took Alexander the Great and the Greeks from local warlords to a world power was initiated during an eclipse, as shown in this article:
The Blood Moon Eclipse of Alexander the Great
The Ottoman Empire, which was one of the world’s superpowers for almost half a millennium, went from a small backwater kingdom in Turkey to an empire that rivaled all of Europe in a matter of weeks when they conquered the last remnants of the Roman Empire, Constantinople, during a significant lunar eclipse.
The Ottomans were the first to conquer this city where all before them had failed for over a thousand years:
Cosmic Conquerors: How the Ottomans Used Astrology to Topple Constantinople
These are only two examples of eclipses that changed the entire course of human history and were documented for study in modern times. What has never been in dispute is that harm in the material world, in some form, always accompanies the eclipse. The specific circumstances and severity of those events is the only thing that varies.
The Eclipse According to Picatrix
Tomb of Tutankhamun. The Ouroboros is encircling the head and feet of the figure, believed to depict Osiris, the deceased Pharoah, or both. 1300 BCE. Photo credit: touregypt.net
Simply put, the astrological influences of an eclipse according to Picatrix are of an immense force that emanates purely destructive influences.
Like the symbol of the Ouroboros, creation is an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth. The specific ways that an astrologer can expect th eclipse to manifest on earth varies according to many factors beyond the scope of this article; no two eclipses are the same.
Tetrabiblos by Claudius Ptolemy is an excellent source for those who are interested in Greco-Egyptian astrology and Ptolemy’s work provides considerable information on the specifics of eclipses.
All sources agree that destruction will accompany an eclipse in some form.
Picatrix Book 2, Chapter 3, pages 67-68 states:
The conclusion we ought to draw from all that we have said up to this point is that everything in the world, and all their qualities, orders and ends, are from the aspects of the Moon with the Sun, because this includes everything that is contained in trees and composite bodies because of the stars and the Moon. This is what causes the greater part of the influence and harm they receive from an eclipse of the Moon or other planets that are eclipsed. From the Sun, the Moon, and the fixed stars come permanent mutations; from these, things suffer change, receiving benefits from good qualities and harm from bad ones. Eclipses affect the Sun and Moon and other planets and influence them to the harm of other composite bodies. Do not believe for a moment that the Sun or Moon receive any harm in their nature or accidents thereby; and we will call this an impediment of the heavens, so that you will understand that the reason that harm comes to animals, trees, and other composite bodies from eclipses of the Sun, Moon, and the other planets happens because the four elements are altered, changed and damaged.
Picatrix further states that for an astrological election to be safe from the effects of the eclipse, the Moon must not be within 12 degrees before or after the degree in which the eclipse occurred (the location of the Node) but does not mention the Sun which also conjoins one of the Nodes during an eclipse.
Picatrix Book 1, Chapter 5 states:
You should beware of trying to work magic to a good end when the Moon is applying to an eclipse, or under the rays of the Sun, that is, twelve degrees before or after.
In July 2018, Clifford Low crafted solar talismans with the Sun rising in Leo, separated from the North Node by one degree and posted it in real time on social media, under the assumption that the Sun is a benefic and would therefore be well suited for the Head of the Dragon, as is standard practice for the Moon in the instructions provided by Picatrix.
Within a few hours he destroyed all of them.
His experiences immediately following the engraving of his jewelry were especially unpleasant and he quickly stated his opinion that the Sun and North Node is a malefic combination. At first glance, this goes against the popular notion of the Sun as a benefic in the same sense as Jupiter or Venus.
When we consider the severity of combustion as an affliction, among other factors, the Sun is not necessarily a benefic planet.
I’ve since searched for definitive answers in all the traditional astrology sources available to me from Hellenistic, Medieval and Renaissance to find a clear answer to the question of the Sun’s relationship with the North Node and, if possible, the orbs of both the North and South Node.
Although the finer details vary somewhat according to the individual source, all are clear that the Sun in proximity to the North Node is a severe affliction and attracts many of the negative influences of the eclipse itself.
Modern Knowledge Gap
As stated already, the use of Picatrix and its related sources is still in the infancy of its modern revival, as is the practice of traditional astrology itself.
An immense knowledge gap now exists between a person thoroughly educated in the practice 1,000 years ago and the most knowledgeable people today due to several centuries of traditional astrology being cast out of society, and the tendency to view these sources through the lenses and assumptions of astrology’s modern psychology-based forms.
Adding to the confusion is the sheer complexity and many seemingly contradictory instructions, or lack thereof, in Picatrix and its related texts (Book of the Treasure of Alexander, Thabit Ibn Qurra’s On Images, Marsilio Ficino’s Three Books on Life, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy).
Simply put, these texts were written for a reader who was vastly more educated and experienced than anyone today. The author of Picatrix explicitly states that the book was deliberately written in a form that could not be understood or used by someone who was not deeply learned in the “sciences of the philosophers”.
In the Prologue of the Picatrix, the anonymous author states:
You who wish to gain the knowledge of the philosophers and to understand and ponder their secrets, know that you must first diligently search their books, in which the great wonders of their art can be found, and seek to discover the wonderful science of magic. First of all, however, you must understand that this science has been hidden by the philosophers, and they have not wished to disclose it to humanity; nay, they have rather hidden it with all their might, and whatever they have said about it was phrased in secret words, and indeed in signs and similitudes, as though they spoke of other sciences. And they did this on account of their honesty and goodness, because if this science were revealed to all humanity, the universe would be thrown into confusion. And it was for this reason that they spoke of it figuratively, that no one would be able to obtain it unless this science was first revealed to them.
The sciences of the philosophers are the Quadrivium which vanished from all educational institutions centuries ago. The Quadrivium was four subjects or arts: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy in their classical forms. Although these subjects are widely taught today, their classical forms were systematically erased in the post-Enlightenment era and were made virtually extinct at the beginning of the Industrial Age.
Aside from the Quadrivium, the reader was expected to be well-versed in the works of Plato and Aristotle, particularly their cosmological and metaphysical frameworks. Obtaining formal education in these subjects in their classical forms, as they were taught centuries ago, is now impossible. The only option available now is meticulous self-study of their writings.
Returning to the subject of Picatrix, the process of creating astrological talismans, timing of ritual petitions, and compiling herbal mixtures according to its instructions is itself an immensely complicated task.
Christopher Warnock made enormous contributions for studying the book by carefully identifying the book’s common denominators and minimum requirements and establishing a standard base to work from, published in his many books. Everything beyond the standard formula he established becomes murky territory and often a matter of debate.
One of the murky subjects up for debate is the relevance of traditional natal, horary, mundane and electional astrology to the use of Picatrix, and if the vast rules and instructions in Picatrix alone are sufficient. The author of Picatrix intended for its readers to have expertise in all these branches.
It could be reasonably argued that astrological magic, or “The Science of Images” as Picatrix defines the practice of creating and using talismans, is separate from the others and many of their rules and processes do not apply. I argue that although the processes differ for each, the principles are the same. An undesirable planetary configuration in a natal or horary chart is also undesirable in a talisman or ritual petition.
Adding weight to my argument is the fact that Thabit Ibn Qurra’s On Images is one of the primary sources for Picatrix, acknowledged as such in Book 1, Chapter 5 after the author provides unusually complex astrological criteria for 29 different talismans, several of them copied verbatim from Ibn Qurra’s book, which consists of only seven. The others strongly resemble the complexity of Ibn Qurra’s work.
Ibn Qurra states in the first chapter of On Images that these seven sets of instructions were handed down through the priesthood of Harran, and that these seven are “certain rules which constitute examples”. In chapter 8, after having listed all seven examples in minute detail, he concludes by stating that there exists an image for every purpose imaginable if the astrologer is skilled enough to correctly identify and gain the assistance the astrological forces.
The significance of the 29 images and instructions detailed in Picatrix that I want to emphasize is they appear to have been crafted by others using Ibn Qurra’s work as a source. Furthermore, Ibn Qurra’s seven examples have multiple recommendations to create talismans based on an individual’s nativity for maximum effect with an emphasis on using the exact same degree of the native’s ascendant.
If a precise birth time can’t be obtained, then a horary chart cast for that talisman’s purpose is a viable substitute, and these same recommendations are often repeated in the 29 similar images in Picatrix.
Although not explicitly stated word for word, it is strongly implied by both sources that the processes are different, but the principles of natal and horary astrology equally apply to the Science of Images. Thabit Ibn Qurra, himself a famed polymath in an era of great thinkers, stated that it is the highest form of all the sciences.
In the following sections I will provide all references to the Sun its relationship to the North Node that I could locate in a wide range of traditional sources.
Hellenistic, Medieval And Renaissance Sources
Claudius Ptolemy, Alexandria, 2nd Century
Claudius Ptolemy, Alexandria, 2nd CenturyHellenistic astrology texts (approximately 200 BCE to 600 CE) give the Nodes little consideration as significators aside from the eclipse itself, of which much was written. Claudius Ptolemy, on whose works much of Western astrology builds on, writes:
Again, if the luminaries, together or in opposition, move toward the maleficent planets upon the angles, or if the maleficent planets move toward the luminaries, particularly when the Moon is at the nodes or her bendings, or in the injurious signs such as Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, or Capricorn, there come about deformations of the body such as hunchback, crookedness, lameness, or paralysis, congenital if the maleficent planets are joined with the luminaries, but if they are at the mid-heaven points, elevated above the luminaries or in opposition one to the other, the deformations will result from serious dangers, such as falls from a height, the collapse of houses, or the attacks of robbers or animals. If Mars prevails, the danger is from fire, wounds, bilious attacks, or robberies; if it is Saturn, through collapse of buildings, shipwreck, or spasms
(Tetrabiblos, Book III, chapter 13)
… nevertheless the condition of the Moon itself also makes a certain contribution. For when the moon happens to be at the bendings of its northern and southern limits, it helps with respect to the character of the soul, in the direction of greater versatility, resourcefulness, and capacity for change.”
(Book III, Chapter 14)
Ptolemy and other Hellenistic sources briefly mention the Nodes and harmful effects but evidently considered them mathematical points, like the Lots or so-called Arabic Parts, rather than significators as they later developed into. It was during the rise of early Islamic kingdoms that the North and South Nodes took a prominent role in medieval astrology practices (around 700 CE). The efforts of the Abbasid Caliphate to develop and advance all branches of learning, including astrology, was in large part responsible for the Islamic Golden Age.
The Abbasids were the third caliphate to succeed the prophet Mohammed and established their capitol in Baghdad in 750 CE, with two of the most skilled astronomers of the time, Abu Mashar and Masha’allah, carefully choosing an astrologically auspicious time for the coronation of the city as the new capitol and initiating what was, at the time, arguably the peak of medieval human civilization.
For centuries, the Caliphs paid handsomely for the best astronomers in the world to live in Baghdad, study in their famous House of Wisdom, and compile what became the foundational texts of medieval astrology. The remnants of the Persian Magi contributed greatly to this development, when Zoroastrian temples and schools still existed in what was left of the Sassanid (Persian) Empire.
The astrologer-priests of Harran, enjoying the protection and patronage of Muslim kings despite their so-called “Sabean” religion, also played an enormous role in its development. What became Islamic medieval astrology was a consolidation and of knowledge based primarily on Hellenistic astrology, adding elements from other schools of thought such as the Persians, Sabeans, and some elements of Vedic astrology from India.
Although the process of the Nodes becoming part and parcel of Western astrology remains unknown, it is likely that the Persian astrologers of the time introduced it. In Vedic astrology, Rahu and Ketu (North and South Node) are considered malefic demons in every sense.
The notions of the North Node having a benefic nature in some circumstances makes the Persian astrologers the most likely sources, due to their proximity and long term cross-cultural exchange with India while maintaining their own independent traditions and practices since the Persian Empire and probably long before.
William Lilly, England, 17th Century
I explored the writings of the English astrologer William Lilly, who translated astrological texts from Latin into English for the first time in the 17th century and made the practice accessible for less privileged people in Europe.
Famous in his own lifetime for his many accurate predictions that played a significant role in the English Civil War, as well as predicting the Great Fire of London of 1666 decades prior to the event, Lilly was among the last famous and widely respected astrologers in Europe before the practice entered its final decline.
In his introduction of astrological principles, he states that the North Node is fortunate, but does not explicitly mention the Sun in respect to either of the Nodes.
The Head of the Dragon is Masculine, of the nature of Jupiter and Venus, and of himself a Fortune; yet the Ancients doe say, that being in Conjunction with the good he is good, and in conjunction with the evil Planets they account him evil. The Tail of the Dragon is Feminine by Nature, and clean contrary to the Head; for he is evil when joined with good Planets, and good when in conjunction with the malignant Planets. This is the constant opinion of all the Ancients, but upon what reason grounded I know not; I ever found the North Node equivalent to either of the Fortunes, and when joined with the evil Planets to lessen their malevolent signification; when joined with the good to increase the good promised by them: For the Tail of the Dragon, I always in my practice found when he was joined with the evil Planets; their malice or the evil intended thereby was doubled and trebled, or extremely augmented, and when he chanced to be conjunction with any of the Fortunes who were significators in the question, though the matter by the principal significator was fairly promised, and likely to be perfected in a small time; yet did there ever fall out many rubs and disturbances, much wrangling and great controversy, that the business was many times given over for desperate ere a perfect conclusion could be had; and unless the principal significators were Angular and well-fortified with essential dignities, many times unexpectedly the whole matter came to nothing.
(Christian Astrology Book I. page 82)
Guido Bonatti, Italy, 13th Century
Going back deeper into European texts, I looked to Guido Bonatti whose work Liber Astronomiae or “Book of Astronomy” revolutionized the practice of astrology in Europe when it was published in 1277. Drawing heavily on the expertise of earlier Arabic astrologers as well as his own observations, Bonatti’s fame as an astrologer earned him a place in Dante’s Inferno.
Although much of Bonatti’s life details are lost to time, he earned renown for timing the military campaigns via electional astrology for the Count of Montefeltro when Italy was a loose collection of warring city-states.
By all accounts, the Count of Montefeltro was hopelessly outnumbered and stood little chance of success but Bonatti’s expertise proved critical to his stunning victories in battle. Historical records state that Bonatti accurately predicted the process and outcome of a battle with incredibly specific details, including that the Count would win but suffer a life-threatening wound in the process.
The Count planned for his wounding and made the necessary preparations. When it occurred exactly as predicted, the medical treatment he had prepared saved his life. Bonatti went on to enjoy a successful career as an astrologer for numerous kings, including the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
Bonatti, in Tractate III, states unequivocally that the Sun is heavily afflicted by both the North and South Node 12 degrees before and after, and the other five planets are afflicted for 10 degrees after conjunction with an eclipse.
For clarity around the seeming contradictions of Picatrix, Lilly and Agrippa regarding the Moon and North Node, the Sun is only in the same signs as one of the Nodes during an eclipse, whereas the Moon passes by once every month. The terms genzahar and zenzahar are phonetic translations of Arabic terms for orb.
Or if they [the planets] are with the Caput or Cauda Draconis, or if they are in their genzahar, so that there is between them and the Caput or Cauda Draconis, or their zenzahar, 12 degrees or less before, or 10 degrees or less after. And of the planets, those more greatly impeded by their genzahar are the Sun and the Moon, when there are between them and the Caput or Cauda Draconis 12 degrees or less before them- since there they suffer an eclipse which is a great detriment to them.
(Guido Bonatti, Tractate III, XX, When and In Which Places the Planets Become Weak, translated by William Tynan.)
This is significant for Picatrix enthusiasts who widely operate under the assumption that a separating aspect, even by one minute, nullifies the effects. This is not without good reason because Picatrix clearly states that separating aspects nullify the effects of that aspect for the purposes of a talisman.
For example, one of the most consistent rules in Picatrix is that the Moon must not be in a separating aspect from the significator, i.e. in a Venus talisman, the moon must not be making a separating aspect from Venus even by one minute.
The Moon is a key factor in making all talismans and performing petitions.
However, Picatrix also emphasizes the immense harm of an eclipse and its only exceptions to its rule of separating aspects are combustion and the eclipse. The Moon is still combust and of a harmful nature when it is one degree separated from the sun (Cazimi being the notable exception).
Abu Mashar & Al Qabisi, 9th to 11th Centuries
The following quotes are from “Abu Mashar & Al Qabisi: Introductions to Traditional Astrology” translated by Benjamin Dykes. Both of these astrologers were famous in their lifetimes, Abu Mashar especially.
Al Qabisi was born in modern-day Iraq and was gainfully employed as an astrologer for the Emir of Aleppo (modern day Syria) and Abu Mashar was a Persian Muslim born in modern-day Afghanistan before emigrating east to eventually become the most influential astrologer in the Abbasid court. He is best remembered for consolidating astrological information into more user-friendly learning manuals for future astrologers in the palace.
Abu Mashar makes very clear that not only the Moon but also the Sun is dangerously afflicted when conjoining both Nodes, and that 4 degrees is by far the most dangerous. Furthermore, they are both afflicted within 12 degrees applying or separating.
Picatrix enthusiasts will be quick to point out that the Moon and North Node are an especially benefic combination under the correct circumstances, but I’ll point out again that the Moon conjoins each Node once a month. The Sun only conjoins each Node once per year, during eclipses.
Al Qabisi lists the properties of the Nodes which is quoted by many later sources but, like Lilly, he conspicuously doesn’t mention the Sun:
The friends of the Head of the Dragon are Jupiter and Venus, and it’s enemies Saturn and Mars. But the friends of the Tail of the Dragon are Saturn and Mars, and it’s enemies the Sun and Moon, Jupiter and Venus.
(Al Qabisi, Book 3, pg 205)
Abu Mashar states:
Even to be in the Head or Tail of the Dragons, even if there were 12 degrees or less between them and the Dragon, but the worst is if the Moon were in these places. For the Sun, to be within 4 degrees of the Head or Tail…..
And the Nodes impede the Sun more severely if there were 4 degrees between him and them, in front or behind. And they impede the Moon more severely if there were 12 degrees between one of them and her, in front or behind.
(Abu Mashar, Page 223)
The nature of the Head is hot and masculine, but the nature of the Tail is cold and feminine.
(Abu Mashar, pg 274)
Al Biruni, 1000 AD, Persia & India
Al Biruni, who lived around 1000 AD, was another polymath famous in his lifetime. A Persian born in what is now Uzbekistan, he spent much of his early life in Afghanistan and spent a great deal of time living in India where he explored the Hindu culture and wrote treatises on Vedic culture and beliefs.
As stated earlier, while the Greco-Egyptian astrologers like Ptolemy recognized the Nodes, it was the Hindu astrologers who ascribed to them the devilish characteristics of Rahu and Ketu. Al Biruni also agrees with 12 degrees being dangerous for the Luminaries with the Nodes and disagrees with Abu Mashar’s statement on the temperament and gender.
Some say the Head of the Dragon is Male and Diurnal and the Tail Female and Diurnal, but this is quite illogical.
(Instructions, page 27)
When both the luminaries are in aspect to each other, and to the benefics, and are in their own sections of the signs of the benefics, both of them are strong. But if they are in situations unsuitable to them, and the malefics, full of enmity are above them, and the benefics below, or are eclipsed, or near the dragon’s head or tail, especially the latter by less than 12 degrees, both of them are weak.
(Instructions, page 110)
Understanding the Astrological Impact of the Sun and North Node
The experts of centuries past, who were employed by kings and thoroughly answered the most difficult questions using astrology and provided precise details, very often risked their lives.
Their answer could determine the fate of an entire nation and it was a common practice to put court astrologers to death for mistakes. Lengthy imprisonment in a dungeon followed by banishment was considered merciful, as happened to the colleagues of Jean Baptiste Al Morin who made minor but unforgiveable errors in their astrological readings.
These experts often disagree on some minor details, but all agree that the Sun and the North Node is a dangerous combination. 12 degrees applying or separating is the most widely agreed answer. 10 degrees of separation is the closest for the Sun to be unafflicted if Bonatti is right. 4 degrees on either side is the most volatile according to Abu Mushar.
It is simply not worth the risk of making Sun talismans with the North Node and finding out firsthand if these renowned geniuses were simply wasting expensive paper and ink bottles, or if they knew something we don’t. The astral light of an eclipse, captured in a talisman, would likely not be noticed immediately but within a year or two, its owner could be experiencing strange mood swings, a weakened immune system, illnesses involving the head area, or more, if the source texts are correct.
With the Sun now entering Aries, many enthusiasts of astrological magic will no doubt be excited to make Sun talismans which are very popular for good reasons. When the Sun is in his domicile or exaltation, these talismans are among the most beneficial by far, in my opinion surpassing that of Jupiter. The presence of the North Node in 15 and 16 Aries for many will bring with it expectations that the exalted benefic Sun will be even better.
We should keep in mind that the author of Picatrix explicitly states that there are not only things deliberately concealed for only the most learned and discerning reader, but also deliberate traps written in the pages of this book for those who do not measure up to the expected standards.
One of those standards was that the practitioner be an expert astrologer and learned philosopher by the standards of the time, which bluntly stated, simply do not exist anymore due to centuries of systematic state-sponsored efforts all around the world to suppress and wipe out the means to directly experience the spiritual part of life.
What has survived into the present day is most often due to this knowledge being kept hidden from the masses and reserved for the ruling classes, as is certainly the case for Picatrix, and once-secret manuscripts being found in dusty museum vaults centuries later after the skills and knowledge base has been extinct for several hundred years.
It is only due to the freedom of speech and religion, a relatively recent privilege in the grand scheme of human history, that these once-hidden books can be accessed by anyone. But fully understanding them is a whole other task that will take many decades and the efforts of many people, and most likely generations.
Harness the Power of Talismans Wisely
As the reader can see from the testimonials on this website, astrological talismans can have a very profound effect on a human being. Many people have reported positive effects that have totally changed their life. But it should be kept in mind that what can help can also hurt. Wielding the power of astrological talismans is a significant responsibility, and it’s crucial to approach this practice with wisdom, caution, and a deep understanding of the underlying principles.
If you’re intrigued by the potential of astrological talismans and would like to explore this path further, I encourage you to delve deeper into our collection of resources. Check out our store to browse our carefully crafted talismans, each designed with meticulous attention to astrological details.
Additionally, I highly recommend reading our comprehensive guide on astrological factors for creating talismans, which will equip you with a deeper understanding of the intricate astrological considerations involved in this ancient practice, and possibly assist you in your own path if you too are navigating the labyrinth of Picatrix.
Remember, the path of astrological magic is one that requires dedication, study, and a profound respect for the forces at play. By approaching this journey with an open mind and a willingness to learn, you can unlock the transformative potential of talismans while navigating their complexities with wisdom and care.