W.S. Burroughs sought to break free of the control that language exercises over human beings, by turning to a technique rooted in the occult. Words according to Burroughs, turn to images, and images “lock” control over one’s mind. Control that locks us into conventional patterns of perception and thought. Burroughs butchered those patterns by sticking a pair of scissors to them. Using his famous “cut up” technique he eradicated all rational thought. Here are the instructions from old Uncle Bill himself:
“The method is simple. Here is one way to do it. Take a page. Like this page. Now cut down the middle and cross the middle. You have four sections: 1 2 3 4 … one two three four. Now rearrange the sections placing section four with section one and section two with section three. And you have a new page. Sometimes it says much the same thing. Sometimes something quite different–(cutting up political speeches is an interesting exercise)–in any case you will find that it says something and something quite definite. Take any poet or writer you fancy. Heresay, or poems you have read over many times. The words have lost meaning and life through years of repetition. Now take the poem and type out selected passages. Fill a page with excerpts. Now cut the page. You have a new poem. As many poems as you like.”
Original image by: Christiaan Tonnis ~ Oil on canvas
In the last post I gave general instructions on making planetary talismans. Here’s what making a specific talisman looks like. Please note that while you should feel free to adapt this methodology to suit your practice, you should operate within the Abrahamic paradigm for the duration of the construction. Swapping out Abrahamic godnames and symbols for pagan ones likely will cause malfunctioning (if it functions at all) as Abrahamic entities rarely play nice with entities from other paradigms. If you’d like to make a pagan or atheistic version, I recommend you design your pentacle from the ground up.
1. Pick a pentacle that matches your goal. My husband has been quite sick lately so for this post we will be making a healing talisman using the 2nd pentacle of Mars from the Greater Key of Solomon.
Figure 26. The Second Pentacle of Mars. – This Pentacle serveth with great
success against all kinds of diseases, if it be applied unto the afflicted part.
Editor’s Note.– The letter Hé, in the angles of the Hexagram. Within the same the
Names IHVH, IHShVH Yeheshuah (the mystic Hebrew Name for Joshua or Jesus,
formed of the ordinary IHVH with the letter Sh placed therein as emblematical of the
Spirit), and Elohim. Around it is the sentence, John i. 4:– “In Him was life, and the
life was the light of man.” This may be adduced as an argument of the greater antiquity
of the first few mystical verses of the Gospel of St. John.
Those of you familiar with planetary magick are probably scratching your head over using Mars for healing as it’s a pretty unusual choice. It threw me for a loop too until @kab-niel pointed out that the Mars talismans deal with protecting the magician from harm and illness can be viewed as a type of harm. Fair enough – still seems a bit weird to me but let’s roll with it.
2. Timing. I’m going to admit straight up I fudged this a bit. Ideally planetary talismans should be constructed on the day ruled by their planet (ie. Mars talismans should be made on Tuesdays) but since my husband was pretty sick, I opted to do it sooner rather than later. There is some lenience on the day but you should be sure to begin construction in the correct planetary hour. As you can see here, we are beginning in the hour of Mars:
3. Pentacle construction. This step is pretty easy but a bit tedious. Note that it can be difficult to find a clean, legible version of your pentacle so just do the best you can with what you can find. As should be obvious from my terrible Hebrew, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Be sure to use a fresh (”virgin”) sheet of paper and to give yourself some space away from the edges because we will be tearing them off.
4. Sigilize your desire. I went kind of a weird route with this one and you absolutely do not need to do the sigil step this way. A more standard version of this step would be sigilizing “[NAME] is healthy” but I wanted to start developing an idea I’ve had rolling around in my head.
My train of thought was that since Psalms have a long history of use in Abrahamic magick, using a healing psalm would make a nice addition to the talisman particularly because I plan on saving this one for general healing in the future. Since Psalms are something I use fairly often in magick, I want to start developing a Biblical alphabet of desire using common phrases that can be combined into unique phrases. Below is my first attempt. I tried to keep the symbols more representational than I typically would use in sigil magick (monad symbol for God, Ouranus for the magician etc) to assist in remembering the alphabet well enough to use it regularly.
5. Putting it together. Draw your sigils and any other symbols you’re using in a pleasing manner around your pentacle and ink everything in the color associated with your planet (in this case red for Mars). Here I’ve added the name EL SHADDAI (a name of God associated with nourishment and blessings) and the symbol of Mars. Tear (not cut) off the edges – only cut if the pentacle is being used against an enemy. I chose to tear it five times because five the number of Mars.
6. If you’re using powdered herbs, add them now. For this one I’m using ginger, tumeric, and St. John’s Wort as they’re all healing herbs and used to drive away “evil spirits”. My husband and I both crave curry when we’re sick and as a result I tend to associate curry spices with healing from illness so tumeric and ginger are kind of playing double duty here.
You may have correctly noted that St. John’s is a solar herb rather than a Martial one however Mars and the Sun play very nicely together, the Sun has some pleasant healing aspects, and St. John’s is good for minor joint pain which unfortunately my husband was experiencing. Use whatever makes sense to you and if you have to wander a bit outside your planet that’s fine as long as you avoid conflicts (don’t combine Jupiter and Saturn etc.)
Fold the paper around the herbs, folding towards you to draw, folding away to remove, and bind with an appropriately colored thread. I didn’t take a photo of this step but I bound it with five knots.
7. Activation. This generally involves launching your sigil, reading the Bible verse associated with the pentacle, and a consecration. If you have a process for consecrating tools, do it now but I recommend avoiding calling on deities other than the Abrahamic god. The one exception to this is using the Orphic hymns of the planets as rather than deities, the planets can be viewed as emanations from the Godhead. Traditions that have syncretized with Abrahamic religions obviously are the other big exception.
If you do not have a process, follow this procedure:
Place your talisman on your altar/working space, light a candle, incense, and pour a shot of whiskey.
Recite the following prayer or the Orphic Hymn to the planet being utilized:
O ADONAI most powerful, EL most strong, AGLA most holy, ON most righteous, the ALPHA and the OMEGA, the Beginning and the End; thou who hast established all things in thy Wisdom; thou who has chosen Abraham thy faithful servant, and hast promised that in his seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed, which seed thou hast multiplied as the stars of Heaven; thou who hast appeared unto thy servant Moses in flame in the midst of the Burning Bush, and hast made him walk with dry feet through the Red Sea; thou who gavest the Law to him upon Mount Sinai; thou who hast granted unto Solomon thy Servant these pentacles by thy great Mercy, for the preservation of Soul and of Body; we most humbly implore and supplicate thy Holy Majesty, that these pentacles may be consecrated by thy power, and prepared in such manner that they may obtain virtue and strength against all spirits, through thee, O Most Holy ADONAI, whose Kingdom, Empire, and principality, remaineth and endureth without end.
Read the Bible verse associated with your pentacle over it. In this case we are using John 1:4:
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Feed your talisman a few drops of whiskey, then leave it on your altar until the candles burn out.
That’s about all there is to it. This one served it’s purpose in 48 hours so I am definitely keeping it around for future use. If your talisman is to be used repeatedly, periodic feeding is necessary in addition to reciting the pentacle’s verse
Planetary pentacles are very useful but their purposes tend to be quite generalized. I personally find combining them with sigils, herbs, stones, and other magick items to be extremely potent and ensures a more targeted effect. The following process should ideally be done in it’s entirety on the correct planetary day.
Construction
Create a planetary pentacle (for instructions see this post) appropriate for your working. I highly recommend you use paper to make your pentacle as we will be writing on it and folding it up.
Sigilize the desired effect of your talisman. Be as specific as possible and remember to use positive phrasing (”I am” instead of “I am not”) and the current tense (”I am” instead of “I will be”). Once you have a sigil you are pleased with, write it on the back of your pentacle using an appropriately colored ink.
Reach gnosis and launch your sigil using your preferred method. If the talisman is for someone else, have them launch the sigil if at all possible. Sigil launching methods include but are not limited to:
Orgasm while looking a the sigil
The death posture
Drugs
Physical exhaustion
Hyperventilation
Meditation
Mantra
Fold your pentacle up and bind it with an appropriately colored string. Fold towards you if you are trying to draw something to you, away from you if you are banishing or removing something. It can also be useful to use the number of folds that correspond to your working or to add an appropriate number of knots (7 times for luck etc).
Place the packet in your container along with any herbs, stones, or other items you wish to include. I usually just use those little organza baggies but you’re welcome to use anything that suits you. If the talisman is for someone else make sure to include a taglock – particularly if you were unable to get them to launch the sigil.
Correspondence lists are outside the scope of this tutorial but many can be found online – I recommend Alchemy Works for planetary correspondences.
Decorate your container if desired.
Consecrate the talisman for use. How you go about this will depend heavily on your practice and paradigm so use whatever method your comfortable with. I tend to create mine during other planetary workings which includes reciting the Orphic Hymn of the planet being used over it, speaking it’s purpose aloud, and anointing it with consecrated oil or water.
Here is an example of a talisman I made recently. It’s nothing special to look at but it packs quite a punch. You can make much more elaborate and beautiful ones than this but boring ones are perfectly functional.
Talisman Care and Feeding
Talismans typically require some periodic maintenance – particularly if you intend their effects to last indefinitely. How you choose to do this is up to you however the feeding should be performed on the planetary day and hour that corresponded to your talisman and last the duration of the planetary hour. I find traditional spirit offerings of a tea light and incense do the trick quite nicely but feel free to get creative with it. In my experience talismans can go 3-4 weeks without any maintenance and much longer if you carry them on you regularly but your mileage may vary.
The Greater Key of Solomon contains numerous planetary pentacles for use in magickal operations. When properly constructed they are quite potent and require little additional input from the magician aside from periodic maintenance making them an excellent method of low energy spell casting. Rather than reproducing all of the pentacles here, please refer to this excerpt from the Greater Keybefore beginning.
For good judgement and direction. This amulet will attract fortune and good luck and is helpful with overseas travel, assistance in business, legal cases and religious affairs. The table of Jupiter is a Four square, containing 16 numbers each adding in any direction, to 34 with its sum being 136.
2. TABLE OF MARS
For action and destruction. This amulet brings favors in battles, quarrels and wars, promotes strength and courage, understanding medicine and mechanics and cause distress to one’s enemies. The table of Mars is a Five square, containing 25 numbers each adding in any direction, to 55 with its sum being 325.
3. TABLE OF MERCURY
For movement and intuition, this table helps with acquiring knowledge, secures safety in traveling and aids in expression of speaking and writing. The table of Mercury is a Eight square, containing 64 numbers each adding in any direction, to 250 with its sum being 2080.
4. TABLE OF THE MOON
For imagination and forms. This table helps with settling quarrels, domestic problems and in gardening/farming. The table of the Moon is a Nine square, containing 81 numbers each adding in any direction, to 359 with its sum being 3321.
5. TABLE OF SATURN
For reserve and endurance. Used to strengthen the ability to perform jobs/carry out duties and responsibilities. Favorable to politicians, assisting in political activity and helps develop and increase business. The table of Saturn is a three square, containing 9 numbers each adding in any direction, to 15 with its sum being 45.
6. TABLE OF THE SUN
For activity and will – Good health, confidence in one’s own abilities, and draws out the powers and qualities of leadership dominance and supremacy. The table of Sun is a Six square, containing 36 numbers each adding in any direction, to 111 with its sum being 666.
7. TABLE OF VENUS
For love, matters of the heart, marriages, partnerships, social affairs and friendship. The table of Venus is a Seven square, containing 49 numbers each adding in any direction, to 175 with its sum being 1225.
Have pity ! show no pity ! Those eyes that send such shivers Into my brain and spine : oh let them Flame like the ancient city Swallowed up by the sulphurous rivers When men let angels fret them !
Yea ! let the south wind blow, And the Turkish banner advance, And the word go out : No quarter ! But I shall hod thee -so ! While the boys and maidens dance About the shambles of slaughter !
I know thee who thou art, The inmost fiend that curlest Thy vampire tounge about Earth’s corybantic heart, Hell’s warrior that whirlest The darts of horror and doubt !
Thou knowest me who I am The inmost soul and saviour Of man ; what hieroglyph Of the dragon and the lamb Shall thou and I engrave here On Time’s inscandescable cliff ?
Look ! in the plished granite, Black as thy cartouche is with sins, I read the searing sentence That blasts the eyes that scan it : “HOOR and SET be TWINS.” A fico for repentance !
Ay ! O Son of my mother That snarled and clawed in her womb As now we rave in our rapture, I know thee, I love thee, brother ! Incestuous males that consumes The light and the life that we capture.
Starve thou the soul of the world, Brother, as I the body ! Shall we not glut our lust On these wretches whom Fate hath hurled To a hell of jesus and shoddy, Dung and ethics and dust ?
Thou as I art Fate. Coe then, conquer and kiss me ! Come ! what hinders? Believe me : This is the thought we await. The mark is fair ; can you miss me ?
See, how subtly I writhe ! Strange runes and unknown sigils I trace in the trance that thrills us. Death ! how lithe, how blithe Are these male incestuous vigils ! Ah ! this is the spasm that kills us !
Wherefore I solemnly affirm This twofold Oneness at the term. Asar on Asi did beget Horus twin brother unto Set. Now Set and Horus kiss, to call The Soul of the Unnatural Forth from the dusk ; then nature slain Lets the Beyond be born again.
This weird is of the tongue of Khem, The Conjuration used of them. Whoso shall speak it, let him die, His bowels rotting inwardly, Save he uncover and caress The God that lighteth his liesse.
“Most people knew Rosaleen Norton simply as ‘Roie’. The Roie I remember was slight in build, with dark and rather untidy curly hair, quick darting eyes and mysterious arched eyebrows. During the 1950s she had become famous in Australia – perhaps one should say notorious – as an eccentric and bohemian practitioner of witchcraft. She wore flamboyant blouses, puffed on an engraved cigarette holder, and produced bizarre fantasy paintings which had a distinct touch of the pagan and demonic about them.”
– Nevill Drury
Occult Aspects 