#lunar node
My series on astrological magic is now complete. There are thirteen posts total, each of them thoroughly discussing different concepts which are important to the effective practice of these arts. They don’t proceed in exactly the order you’ll need the information in, and I apologize for that, but I also don’t think it will be a problem. You should really make sure to carefully read the information in each of these posts before attempting to carry out this kind of work, in order to be sure that you’ve covered your bases and taken the appropriate precautions. Below is a list of all the posts in the series. I hope they are helpful to you. You’re welcome to ask us if you have any questions at all.
Master List of things Ruled by the Planets, Signs, and Fixed Stars
Lunar Nodes, Planetary Days and Hours, Names and Spirits of Times and Bodies
A Very Effective Method of Drawing a Circle
Consecration, Prayers, and Ritual Theory
Conclusion (Aspects, Other Loose Ends, and a Step-By-Step Walkthrough)
Thank you very much for reading. If you found this series interesting, please consider checking out Benefica’s series on the court cards in Tarot, and if you’re interested, check back soon for our upcoming series on the creation and use of talismans (which will be a collaboration between Benefica and myself).
-Admin
This will be the tenth post in our series on astrological magic. Here I will briefly discuss some of the things you should know about the Lunar Nodes (Caput Draconis and Cauda Draconis). I also intend to introduce the concept of planetary days and hours, and the spirits which rule over them. We will also talk about some of the various other things you’ll need to know about if you want to build an effective magical circle to work from based on the astrological conditions you’re working with (mostly from Pietro D'Abano’s methods, but discussing some other relevant things, as well). This way, you’ll be prepared for a later post I’ll make about the ritual theory of astrological magic, and then this series can conclude, and serve as a foundation for some of the ideas in our upcoming series devoted to making talismans. Please be careful, and feel free to ask us if you have any questions.
The Lunar Nodes are a fairly important concept to know about in astrological magic. They influence the Moon in particular, and in fact, they are sometimes collectively called “the Dragon of the Moon.” Its image is that of a serpent with a hawk’s head. Caput Draconis (the “head of the Dragon,” or North Lunar Node) has different effects on the celestial bodies in different positions, but is considered the more positive influence of the Lunar Nodes. Here are a few of the specific effects Caput Draconis has on a chart:
-In the 1stHouse, it improves the quality of life and success.
-In the 2ndHouse, it helps one make more money, and it can help protect and hide thieves. It can also help you to effectively hide valuable things.
-In the 3rdHouse, it can help you make good friends, and gain the trust of others. It can also help you embark on a journey.
-In the 4thHouse, Caput Draconis can help you inherit large sums of money, and it encourages longevity of paternal figures.
-In the 5thHouse, it aids fertility, and especially helps people conceive daughters or twins. It also aids good reputation, and signifies a time when rumors can be trusted.
-In the 6thHouse, diseases are more severe. It can also aid in selecting a good doctor, though. It is a time to hire servants and help.
-In the 7thHouse, Caput Draconis can be used to cause people to go through many marriages in their lives. It can also bring forth numerous enemies.
-In the 8thHouse, it represents certain impending death. It does augment inheritances, though, and leaves widows or widowers well provided-for.
-In the 9thHouse, it helps travelers return safely, and it is good for the pursuit of science and religion.
-In the 10thHouse, it emphasizes the workings of people in powerful positions.
-In the 11thHouse, it can aid in gaining friends and good will.
-In the 12thHouse, it will help you cause people to have many enemies, and many lovers. It can also be used to cause incarcerated people to stay firmly held, and often to be mistreated.
Consider that Cauda Draconis (“the Dragon’s tail,” or South Lunar Node) doesn’t function much differently than the head. The only distinction is that rather than augment the things each house represents, it reduces them and weakens them. It’s also useful to know the two properties of the Lunar Nodes listed here:
-When Jupiter and Caput Draconis are together in the midheaven, this is a particularly good time to work.
-When the Moon is with Cauda Draconis, and is eclipsed or in an unfavorable aspect of Saturn or Mars, this is a good time to cause pain, illness, or upset.
Planetary days and hours are another concept you need to understand if you want to effectively cast astrological magic. Since there are seven days of the week and seven classical planets, it follows that each planet rules over one day of the week. There is a way to map out the days of the week and their ruling planets by placing the glyphs of the planets around a circle in Chaldean order (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon), and drawing a unicursal septagram starting at Saturn (which rules Saturday). As your line proceeds to each planet, that is the order of the planetary days. I’m not going to illustrate that here, since it isn’t horribly important for this purpose, but if requested, I might do a series on the foundations of Hermetic symbolism which will detail that sort of thing. Instead of detailing it here, I’ll just list the days and their rulers (which can be found in a different format here, along with a lot of other information about the planets):
Saturday – Saturn
Sunday – The Sun
Monday – The Moon
Tuesday – Mars
Wednesday – Mercury
Thursday – Jupiter
Friday – Venus
Each day is also ruled by an angel (nearly every pantheon contains equivalent deities to each of these angels, so it is possible to work with different imagery if you wish). The days each have an archangel and a sub-ruling angel, according to the Clavicula Solomonis. I will briefly go over these here.
Saturday’s archangel is Tzaphquiel. Its sub-ruling angel is Cassiel.
Sunday’s archangel is Raphael. Its sub-ruling angel is Michael.
Monday’s archangel is Gabriel. Its sub-ruling angel is the same.
Tuesday’s archangel is Khaniael. Its sub-ruling angel is Samael (also spelled Sammael or Zamael)
Wednesday’s archangel is Michael. Its sub-ruling angel is Raphael.
Thursday’s archangel is Tzadquiel. Its sub-ruling angel is Sachiel.
Friday’s archangel is Haniel. Its sub-ruling angel is Anael.
Pietro D'Abano identifies a (mostly) different set of spirits as the rulers of the days. I will give you those as well, in case you find them necessary. Be aware that he refers to some spirits as angels which almost certainly are not. I’ll be sure to differentiate between those as clearly as I can.
Saturday’s ruling angels are Cassiel and Uriel. D'Abano identifies a third angel who rules over Saturday, called Machatan. I don’t think this third spirit is really an angel.
The aerial spirit ruling over Saturday is Maymon, and the spirits who minister to him are identified as Abumalith, Assaibi, and Balidet. These spirits are subject to the Southwest Wind.
Sunday is ruled by the angels Michael and Dardiel. A spirit probably mistaken for an angel is Huratapal, who also rules over Sunday.
The aerial spirit who rules over Sunday is King Varcan. His subservient spirits are Tus, Andas, and Cynabal. These aerial spirits are subject to the North Wind.
Monday’s ruling angels are Gabriel, Michael, and Samael (sometimes spelled Sammael).
The aerial spirit ruling on Monday is King Arcan. He commands the spirits Bilet, Missabu, and Abuzaha. These aerial spirits are all subject to the West Wind.
Tuesday’s ruling angels are Samael (or Sammael), Satael, and Amabiel.
The aerial spirit ruling over Tuesday is King Samax. He commands Carmax, Ismoli, and Paffran. These aerial spirits are subject to the East Wind.
Wednesday’s ruling angels are Raphael, Miel, and Seraphiel.
The aerial spirit ruling over Wednesday is King Mediat (also spelled Modiat). He commands Suquinos and Sallales. These aerial spirits are subject to the Southwest Wind.
Thursday’s ruling Angels are Sachiel, Castiel, and Asasiel.
The aerial lord of Thursday is King Suth. He commands Maguth and Gutrix. These aerial spirits are subject to the South Wind.
Friday’s ruling angels are Anael, Rachiel, and Sachiel.
The aerial spirit ruling Friday is King Sarabotes. He commands Amabiel (who is probably a fallen angel), Aba, Abalidoth, and Flaef. These aerial spirits are all subject to the West Wind.
We already know that a day has 24 hours in it, and the same remains true when we’re talking about the planetary hours, though the way they’re divided up is different from the normal system of hours. To determine the length of a planetary hour, you should take the amount of time from sunrise to sunset on the day in question, and divide it by twelve, and the quotient will be the length of a planetary hour during the day. Do the same from sunset to sunrise, and that is the length of the nocturnal planetary hours. If you want to double-check your calculations, you can always add a diurnal hour to a nocturnal hour of the same day, and see if it adds up to a perfect 120 minutes. Now, to determine which planet rules the current hour, you should just remember that the first hour of each day is ruled by the same planet which rules over the day. Then, the planets ruling the hours proceed in Chaldean order for the next 24 hours. If you look closely at this, you’ll notice that the next planet in sequence after 24 hours is naturally the planet which rules over the next day. So, we can conclude that following the planetary hours in the Chaldean order is equally viable for determining the rulers of the days of the week.
The hours of the day also have names. These names are the same every day of the week, and they are divided up the same way as the planetary hours. I will list the names of the hours of the day here.
Day:
1st Hour – Yayn
2nd Hour – Yanor or Janor
3rd Hour – Nasnia or Nasmia
4th Hour – Salla
5th Hour – Sadedali or Sadedalia
6th Hour – Thamur
7th Hour – Ourer
8th Hour – Thainé or Thamic
9th Hour – Neron
10th Hour – Yayon or Jayon
11th Hour – Abai
12th Hour – Natalon or Nathalon
Night:
1st Hour – Beron
2nd Hour – Barol
3rd Hour – Thanu or Thami
4th Hour – Athor or Athar
5th Hour – Mathon or Methon
6th Hour – Rana
7th Hour – Netos
8th Hour – Tafrac or Infrac
9th Hour – Sassur
10th Hour – Agla or Aglo
11th Hour – Calerva or Cäerra
12th Hour – Salam
It’s not only important to know which planetary hour you’re working in, but also which spirits rule over it. The angels ruling over the hours correspond to the planets, so I will just give you a list showing which angel rules over the hour of each planet.
Saturn’s hours are ruled by Cassiel.
Jupiter’s hours are ruled by Sachiel.
Mars’s hours are ruled by Samael.
The Sun’s hours are ruled by Michael.
Venus’s hours are ruled by Anael.
Mercury’s hours are ruled by Raphael.
The Moon’s hours are ruled by Gabriel.
Be aware that there are many other spirits who are of certain times which I have not included here, including spirits of the air (spirits who are not angels or demons, but who wander), and demons. If I write at all about magic and information regarding demons and aerial spirits in the future, I might include this kind of information in those posts.
ThePicatrix identifies specific names of the planets which should be used for magical purposes, as well, and they are very similar to the Arabic names of the planets (they are quite possibly just regional variants of the Arabic names of the planets, pronounced slightly differently than in standard Arabic, and therefore also spelled differently in old European translations). I will list these below.
Saturn – Zohal
Jupiter – Musteri
Mars – Marrech
The Sun – Xemz
Venus – Zohara
Mercury – Hotarid
The Moon – Alchamar
The names of the seasons (that is, the names used for them in some magical traditions) are also important to know for some methods. Pietro D'Abano identifies them as follows.
Spring – Talvi
Summer – Casmaran
Autumn – Ardarael
Winter – Farlas
He says the Earth, Sun, and Moon should be referred to by different names depending on the season. Here are the names for the Earth.
Spring – Amadai
Summer – Festativi
Autumn – Rabianara
Winter – Geremiah
Now the names for the Sun.
Spring – Abraym
Summer – Athemay
Autumn – Abragini
Winter – Commutaff
And the names for the Moon.
Spring – Agusita
Summer – Armatus
Autumn – Matasignais
Winter – Affaterim
There are also particular spirits D'Abano identifies who rule during each season, and he calls them angels, but I disagree with him about most of these, because their names are not angelic. It is possible that he mistranslated or misspelled their names, but their complete obscurity from the basic characteristics of angelic names makes me doubt it. This doesn’t mean his methods shouldn’t be used, or that they are invalid, but just that I think he miscategorized the majority of the spirits he was dealing with. Still, I will list them, because they’re important if you want to make a circle in his method. I’ll be sure to note when I think these spirits are angels.
The spirits who rule in the spring are Caratasa, Core, Amatiel (who is an angel), and Commisoros. Spugliguel is the (correctly identified) angel who rules over the sign of spring.
The spirits who rule in the summer are Gargatel, Tariel, and Gaviel (who are all angels). Tubiel rules over the sign of summer (and is also an angel).
The spirits who rule over autumn are Tarquam, and Guabarel (who is an angel). The spirit ruling the sign of autumn is Tarquaret.
The spirits who rule over winter are Amabael (who is an angel), and Ctarari. The spirit ruling the sign of winter is Altarib.
I hope this post has provided useful information for you, and that it will serve as a useful reference for the rest of my series on astrological magic. This series is coming close to its end. I will continue it very soon, probably to explain how you should build a circleandconsecrate the space where you will do your work.
-Admin
