Talisman Diaries
notes on our first stone ensouling
Note: Due to a lack of newsletter last week due to the holiday, this week’s rollout will be a bit wonky. I will be posting a free one today, a paid one tomorrow on Air and Jupiter divination and probably another free one on Friday as well.
**December Books are Open**
I have just opened my books for the upcoming month! My availability will be limited because of the holidays so schedule now if you want a year ahead session to prepare for the next year or a grounding in your unique enchantment/purpose.
Some of my current offerings:
Creative Praxis Consult: This reading is specifically for artists who want to connect their art-making to the divine and unseen. We examine your 5th, 3rd and 9th houses, as well as any significant muse asteroid conjunctions to see where spirit flows through you and what your unique artistic process looks like.
And remember:
Fixed Star Parans Consult: To go past the natal chart and into all the stars contained in our sky is to know your essence, your truest soul. I have trouble describing the potency of the path your fixed stars lay out because you truly have to experience the stars to understand their deep significance. One way of doing that is booking this reading with me.
Year Ahead Consults: This reading is great for an overview of themes, planetary time lords, and significant moments for you in 2023. I use techniques such as as firdaria, annual and continuous profections, solar returns and transits to describe your upcoming year as well as which parts of yourself are currently coming to fruition.
And when newsletter subscribers book between now through December 1st and get 15% off any of these offerings! Use code SAGSZN between now and Friday.
Talisman Diaries
If you have dipped your toes into astro-magic, you have most likely encountered instructions on crafting talismans. In an astrological context, a talisman is an object made or consecrated during an auspiciously-elected astrological moment, imbuing the item with the qualities of that time.
The word “talisman” comes from the Arabic tilsam and Greek telesma, which encompasses both the objects itself as well as the ceremony and rites surrounding its consecration. The Greek word has an even further root in the word telein, meaning “completion” or to “perform (religious rites), pay (tax), fulfill,” in relationship to telos "the end, limit, goal, fulfillment, completion”. From here we see a theme of culmination or reaching some end point.
In the astro-magic context, a talisman is some sort of object, usually made of stone or metal, ritually engraved and suffumigated during the auspicious date and time. In my point of view, which is heartily informed by the work of wise mage Shuly Rose, a certain tutelary spirit for whatever planet, decan or star you are trying to ensoul comes to inhabit the object you are choosing as your talisman.
The idea behind this talismanic point of view is that you can “capture” (or “invite” as @sirens_spheres on Twitter helpfully suggested) the energy of a really well-placed Venus, for example, and carry those qualities well beyond the date. Perhaps talisman’s root in the idea of “completion” is why they have been so intimidating for me. I’m not a stone carver! I’m not a sculptor! I don’t know what I’m doing.
But what’s cool about a genuine spiritual working is that simply surrendering to the process leads to the talisman working on you.
Last Sunday, I made my first stone talisman. It was in honor of the third decan or final 10º of Cancer, the decan of the overflowing cup, Hecate, deep abundance, and, as the Picatrix put it “gain through strife”. Though primarily a Lunar talisman (with Jupiter on the MC for good measure) the Moon’s next aspect was to Venus in Scorpio.
The moon’s next aspect in an election is always important: it will show what will next come to pass. Perhaps a detriment planet is a weird thread to include but we’ll never get a perfect, hermetically-sealed election; the universe sticks its fingers into our pies and all that doesn’t “fit” into the narrow aim of the election somehow seems to be what you need.
Well before I actually made the talismans, I could feel the spirits I would summon later begin to weave their tendrils into my life, or affirm that they chose me as well. That weekend, my partner, my magician’s assistant, and I had an especially fun and nurturing time, topped off with a raucous first view of the first Saw movie— Venus in Scorpio is that you? To further that idea, part of what I wanted from this waning moon working was a removal of obstructions from truly loving and being loved. Of course with Hecate being the patron spirit, this means going to the underworld— to our deepest wounds and hidden facets— to then rise back to earth whole and clear.
It also helps that my partner has Venus in Scorpio natally — intimately knowing the relationship between the underworld and love; finding comfort when things are turned up. I felt this most acutely during the ritual, where my perfectionist was in full force. I was very interested in doing this ritual the “right way,” though to an extent that left me more focused on a specific structure rather than feeling into the moment. My boyfriend, on the other hand, is much more fluid and casual in temperament. He talked to the spirits like they were friends and wasn’t concerned with everything feeling “official”. Though I enjoyed the suffumigating and recitation, I still felt sort of cranky leaving the ritual, worried my rigidity had “ruined” the election.
My boyfriend was, as usual, comforting. No way you could do that! he tells me. And I even feel Hecate in our emotions and interactions; this ritual brought up my inner critic and how my idea of how something should go can often supersede being present. It also brought up my tendency to feel my negative feelings by myself— I am still learning I can rely on others, even when I’m not pleasant to be around. But this working and his presence showed me another way can be, even if I can’t imagine that future yet. Healing or deepening can often feel like going backwards if we expect our journeys to always be linear and outwardly improving.
Now, whenever my fear and anxiety rises, I can place one of my talismans on my chest. A dark, warm pool opens up and I am bigger, more diffuse, than before.
I have only lived with these talismans for about two weeks so I don’t want to say much more: I’ll let time and spirit teach me.
Scrying
One thing I did want to do to get a sense for the individuals talismans that we made together. Enter: scrying, or the use of gaze, usually focused on a crystal ball, to see the hidden. Altogether we crafted five of them, drawing from what I’ve learned from Shuly Rose, I tuned into my mind’s eye as I was consecrating the now-carved stone by passing them over the incense smoke (another word for suffumigating). Thanks to months of visioning practice, I got a clear image for each stone that I wanted to share with you.
A quick note: I spent a lot of time contemplating sharing the details of my ritual publicly. I was worried doing so would deplete its magic or upset the spirits with which I interacted. But upon discussing with friends and feeling into it myself, I believe that writing about this process can help others make talismans as well as even strengthen the magic of my own.
The latter idea came from Janet Goodspeed, actually, and reminds me of the idea behind flower essences, which is an energetic form of plant medicine without any actual plant matter in it. You rest flowers on water and leave them in the sun or moonlight for a few hours. Then, you dilute this water with brandy and more water two times until you have a “dosage amount” that you actually consume. It may seem counter-intuitive to dilute a medicine to make it stronger but that’s how energetic magic can work. When just a few drops of the substance is added to pure water and alcohol, they can infect and amplify every other water molecule within, almost like a speaker, strengthening the flower’s energy by connecting and expanding.
Hopefully, my sharing does the same.
Cancer III Talismans and their Attendant Images:
Black stone (found by the ocean):
a dark, winding tunnel leading to a cave studded with garnet-colored geodes/jewels with an opening at the top that reveals blue sky
Clear Quartz #1
walking into a bustling downtown marketing with plenty of people, beautiful merchandise, specifically oranges and gold jewelry; everyone knows each other and even the thief amongst the stalls works for good (stealing from rich and giving to the needy)
Clear Quartz #2
a black lab and white wolf meet and nuzzle each other on the top of a hill on a starry night. below at the bottom of a hill is a tree of golden apples
Clear Quartz #3
a cottage in the woods with an underground cellar and a little patch of tillable, lush land being cultivated outside. A turtle dove flies to meet another on the roof
Rainbow Moonstone
a sunny day in the middle of the ocean looking up at a jellyfish. a rainbow reflects through its body and a white hand emerges from just out of frame
What I love about images is that they contain so much meaning that may not be immediately apparent or legible; it allows a talisman to have multiple valences of significance, going from literal to the mystical. You have to sit with them and let them reveal their meaning to you, rather than solely rely on the limited powers of your own mind.
The Lord of Divination
Another difference between my partner and I: my Lord of Divination is Saturn, planet of structure and limits, whereas his is Jupiter, planet of expansion and freedom. My natural inclination in magical or divinatory workings is to establish a rigorous foundation and do things in accordance to what is “proper”. My boyfriend, on the other hand, relishes being part of something bigger and showing up as he is, always held and present.
Part of the reason I created my Lord of Divination lecture is to help people identify and allow their unique relationship to the unseen. Each has their pitfalls and advantages but all gesture towards the hidden are meaningful and important to engage with, both for understanding oneself and the world around.
I believe that studying your Third Triplicity Lord of the 9th through your chart’s elemental makeup and corresponding planet, can help you better discern what divination looks like to you and ground your practice in the material world, whether that be through earth, air, fire, water or some mixture.
This class walks you through how to calculate your Lord of Divinity as well as what to do with it; I explain how to understand divination as an embodied practice through exploring how the elements— fire, air, water and earth— and our relation to them affect the ways in which we divine— which may look very different than what we have been told it looks like!
Features include:
an exploration of what divination *is* and how it already fits into your life
a breakdown of triplicity in astrology, with special focus on triplicity rulers
a how-to on calculating your Lord of Divination and how to begin delineating, with examples
a breakdown of divination of each of the elements as well as the planets which can serve as your Lord of Divination
next steps for practicing divination and weaving it into your own life
This class is not just for fellow astrologers and diviners; it lays out a way of communing with the unseen that can be useful for artists, healers, movement leaders or anyone who wants to unite heaven and earth. I believe anyone who wants to use their mind to serve the unseen and mysterious will benefit from this class.
**And for the rest of the week, you can buy my Lord of Divination class as 25% off via my website**
The discount has already been applied. Click the link below to purchase.
To learn more and purchase the lecture and transcript, click below.
How is the world reaching back out to you? Let me know in the comments 🌿
Until tomorrow,
Chloe
this sounds so beautiful ❤️🔥