Christopher Warnock - Secrets of Planetary Magic

Contents

The Secrets

OF

Planetary Magic

Christopher Warnock

Renaissance Astrology

www.renaissanceastrology.com

2012

Secrets of Planetary Magic, copyright 2010-12 Christopher Warnock

Renaissance Astrology

www.renaissanceastrology.com

Chapter 1: Secrets of Planetary Magic

This book is the product of more than a decade of study and practice of traditional (pre-1700) astrology and magic, which involved reading traditional sources, translating Latin astrological magic texts, creating astrological talismans, performing rituals and observing the results. My quest has not been to create my own individual system or invent new methods, but rather to become another link in the Golden Chain of Western esoteric practice, to immerse myself in the ancient Hermetic and Neo-platonic philosophies which form the basis of traditional astrology and astrological magic, and to practice astrological magic and astrology using the techniques and methodologies of our illustrious, pre-"Enlightenment" predecessors.

Of necessity we must fill in the blanks where the sources are silent and we cannot nor is it desirable that we attempt to turn ourselves into exact copies of the mages of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. However, by first following the rules laid down in the traditional sources and then assimilating their essence, we can follow in the quest for magical knowledge and true spiritual enlightenment.

Much of this book is taken up with the nuts and bolts of planetary magic, but I would like to begin with what might, without much exaggeration, be termed the secrets of planetary magic. These secrets are not tips, hints or recipes, but insights gleaned from years of study and practice.

The first and most important of the secrets of planetary magic is the existence and reality of the spiritual realm. Magic and astrology depend on the spiritual connection of all things. Without a firm grounding in the spiritual, planetary magic will be weak and ineffectual.

Secondly, while the creation of talismans can be viewed as the process of charging them with some form of energy, it appears to be more effective to view the process as an interaction with spiritual beings, in this case, the spirits, intelligences or archangels of the planets. The creation of talismans, says the ancient grimoire of astrological magic, the Picatrix , involves the action of spirit on body. The process of creating a talisman is the process of ensoulment as we invite the spirit of the desired planet to dwell in and vivify the talisman.

This leads us to the third secret of planetary magic and indeed the use of the planets in traditional astrology. It is helpful to conceive of the planets as individual persons with their own distinct personalities. We will discuss planetary rulership later in this book and we can grasp the nature of each planet more swiftly if we view them as individuals with likes and dislikes, moods, qualities, attributes, strengths and weaknesses. This is also the best way to approach the planets in ritual. When we invoke the planets we are raising ourselves up to their spheres, opening up a door to their realm. The wise mage interacts with the planetary spirits in a respectful way. These are not Goetic spirits to be commanded, bargained with, or that require a protective circle, but rather angelic beings who may have unpleasant work to perform at times, but who have no rancor towards us, so long as we approach them properly.

Further revelations flow from this premise. Since the action of talismans is to open the realms and influences of the planets to us, then in many respects astrological magic is different from spell casting. The power of talismans is primarily external to the mage and the effect of a talisman will always be appropriate to the planet involved, but cannot necessarily be predicted or willed by the magician.

Another key revelation is that creating and maintaining a relationship with the spirits of the planets greatly increases the power of planetary magic and talismans. For example, I do a daily invocation of the planet that rules the day, as well as regular invocations of the spirits of particular talismans. Repeated ritual with a talisman creates a strong spiritual bond between you and the planetary spirit of that talisman. Along these same lines, you will have an easier time doing planetary magic using planets that are dignified in your birth chart because you already have a bond to these planets.

Finally, the planetary spirits demand to be approached on their own terms and in particular at their preferred times. We cannot make an astrological talismans whenever we wish, but must wait until an astrologically auspicious moment arrives. The design and materials of a talisman are of minor importance, while the timing and ritual consecration are paramount. Astrological magic in general and planetary magic in particular depend on precise astrological timing. Without first mastering traditional (pre-1700) astrology, attempts to create planetary talismans will frequently be ineffectual and may even be counterproductive.

Chapter 2: The Planets

The seven traditional planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, are a key part of astrology and astrological magic. The word astrology itself comes from the Greek astro , star and logos , speech, ratio or pattern. Thus astrology literally means the speech or pattern of the stars. Since the dawn of civilization in Babylonia and Chaldea, astrologers and magicians observed the cycles of the Heavens, with a strong focus on the planets, and used them to predict and influence events on Earth. Astrology flourished during periods of high civilization: among the Greeks and Romans, the advanced Islamic civilization of the Middle East, and in Europe in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The astrology practiced during this last period, approximately A.D. 1200-1700, is known as traditional astrology. Unlike the predominately psychologically oriented modern astrology, traditional astrology emphasizes prediction and providing definitive answers to specific questions, and traditional astrological magic focuses on the use of astrology for talismanic magic.

Our first question must be, how do astrology and magic work? This raises the issue of world view. A person's world view generally is some blend of the prevailing cultural world view and the person's own conscious philosophy and unconscious views about the nature of reality. In essence it is your reality. World view is so ingrained and automatic in our psyche that it is difficult for many to accept that anyone could have a different one. After all reality is reality, isn't it? It can be difficult to comprehend that other societies could have a radically different view of reality and even more difficult not to immediately reject that view as erroneous.

For our purposes, the key tenet of the modern world view is that nothing truly exists except matter and energy. For moderns, even when dealing with spiritual issues, their unconscious assumptions are always pushing towards atheistic materialism. When it comes to astrology, the automatic assumption is that the influence of the stars and planets must, of necessity, be exerted by matter or energy, i.e., some sort of electromagnetic field or rays, emanating from the stars and planets themselves. In fact, this is demonstrably false. There is simply no "scientific" evidence that explains how astrology or magic work, that is to say, there is no evidence that there is a material cause connecting cycles of the Heavens and events on Earth.