Drawing from the Well of Time
Jul. 13th, 2024 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lostianvsDrawing from the Well of Time
The first chapter of my Bed, Bath, and Beyond celestial magic project applied a space-for-time substitution to tweak a sleep spell. In this chapter, I focus on a method that uses historical events to formulate a spell for a healing bath.
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla refers to a Roman gymnasium named for Emperor Caracalla that were probably built in 216 CE and remained in use until the 530s. These baths were among the largest gymnasiums in the ancient world. I'd like to tap into the powers behind these baths to create an amplifying reservoir for healing bath salts. While narrowing down the year of inauguration for these baths is a good start, I will need to employ some improvisation to get a more specific time period.
Many gymnasiums were dedicated to Heracles. The festival of Heracles was often held in late July or early August. Granted, I'm muddying the waters a bit by not distinguishing between Greek and Roman cults. However, my goal isn't reconstruction. When drawing from the well of time in this way, I'm looking for complementary currents that I can weave into something new. From my current perspective, both the Baths and the Heracleia are upstream of the river in which I'm currently standing.
Nativity
There seems to be a lot of hand wringing among astrologers about the precession of the equinoxes and whether it's more appropriate to use Tropical or Sidereal astrology. Looking for ancient patterns seems to bring this tension to the fore. I am not an astrologer nor even an astrological magician, so I don't really have a stake in this argument. So instead of backing myself into a corner where I'm ill-equipped to defend my amateurish knowledge of astrology, I'll appeal to my own ignorance and use what works for me.
An additional consideration are the substantial differences in techniques that natal, electional, horary, and mundane astrology employ. Modern astrologers often use the techniques of natal astrology for everything, but this innovation is quite recent. I have a preference for traditional astrology due to its simplicity and consistency, but my knowledge is mostly limited to natal applications. From that perspective, I will often focus on a "birth" relevant to the chart and in this case I'm interested in the likely "birth" of the Baths of Caracalla.
Event: Inauguration of the Baths of Caracalla
Location: 41°52′46″N, 12°29′35″E
Time Period: 25 July to 7 August 216 CE
For the time period under consideration, two big things stick out to me. First, Luna travels from Taurus to Scorpio which would include passing through Cancer where Luna is in its Joy. Second, there's a potential Jupiter and Mars conjunction in Scorpio where Mars is in its Joy. Cancer and Scorpio also form a water Trine, which is a beneficial aspect. Mars, Jupiter, and water seem like good ingredients to use for a Heracleian inspired bath talisman.
The Spell
I constructed a paper script and attached it to a jar of bathing salts to serve as the focus of the spell. This script uses characters and planetary seals to describe the flow of power from Luna in Cancer to Mars in Scorpio via Jupiter. As usual, I punctuate the script with a representation of the elemental realm (because I want a material effect), which in this case is Earth, Sea, and Sky. My normal bathing mix is one part each Epsom, sea salt, and oatmeal. For this working, I added a few drops of cedar and juniper oils for Jupiter. I rummaged through my cabinets and came up with a handful of dried peppermint for the Cancer element and some black pepper corns for the Scorpio element. I also used my Talismans of Illumination (Luna), Cultivation (Jupiter), and Action (Mars) as additional materials.
As per usual, I charged and explained the purpose to each element of the spell. I employed my Charms of Illumination, Cultivation, and Action to tie everything together and declared my intent that anything stored in this jar be imbued with the powers to restore, rejuvenate, and relax. I let the ingredients marinate while a stick of cedar incense burned. While running a bath, I activated the bath salts stored in the jar and added them to the water.
The Result
Minimal! I missed something. I could feel the weight of the jar had increased and sensed a spiritual presence, but for some reason the effect had not transferred to the actual salts. After a tarot session, I came to realize that it would take some additional time for the jar's contents to become infused with the spell. I left the jar and bath salts to mingle for an additional week.
Over the course of the week, I found that my sleep script seemed more effective if I stared at the characters while invoking the powers of Sleep. I also found that making a small daily offering to the bed by making it nicely seemed to amp up the restful effects. I applied these principles to the bath talisman and found the results were way more effective. I found additional power in offering my normal warm-up and stretching routine to this spirit. In short, I enter the bath feeling drained, sore, and tired, but I leave feeling completely recharged and pain free.
Ianvs
The first chapter of my Bed, Bath, and Beyond celestial magic project applied a space-for-time substitution to tweak a sleep spell. In this chapter, I focus on a method that uses historical events to formulate a spell for a healing bath.
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla refers to a Roman gymnasium named for Emperor Caracalla that were probably built in 216 CE and remained in use until the 530s. These baths were among the largest gymnasiums in the ancient world. I'd like to tap into the powers behind these baths to create an amplifying reservoir for healing bath salts. While narrowing down the year of inauguration for these baths is a good start, I will need to employ some improvisation to get a more specific time period.
Many gymnasiums were dedicated to Heracles. The festival of Heracles was often held in late July or early August. Granted, I'm muddying the waters a bit by not distinguishing between Greek and Roman cults. However, my goal isn't reconstruction. When drawing from the well of time in this way, I'm looking for complementary currents that I can weave into something new. From my current perspective, both the Baths and the Heracleia are upstream of the river in which I'm currently standing.
Nativity
There seems to be a lot of hand wringing among astrologers about the precession of the equinoxes and whether it's more appropriate to use Tropical or Sidereal astrology. Looking for ancient patterns seems to bring this tension to the fore. I am not an astrologer nor even an astrological magician, so I don't really have a stake in this argument. So instead of backing myself into a corner where I'm ill-equipped to defend my amateurish knowledge of astrology, I'll appeal to my own ignorance and use what works for me.
An additional consideration are the substantial differences in techniques that natal, electional, horary, and mundane astrology employ. Modern astrologers often use the techniques of natal astrology for everything, but this innovation is quite recent. I have a preference for traditional astrology due to its simplicity and consistency, but my knowledge is mostly limited to natal applications. From that perspective, I will often focus on a "birth" relevant to the chart and in this case I'm interested in the likely "birth" of the Baths of Caracalla.
Event: Inauguration of the Baths of Caracalla
Location: 41°52′46″N, 12°29′35″E
Time Period: 25 July to 7 August 216 CE
| Planet | Starts in | Ends in |
| ☾ | ♉︎ | ♏︎ |
| ☿ | ♋︎ | ♋︎ |
| ♀ | ♌︎ | ♍︎ |
| ☉ | ♌︎ | ♌︎ |
| ♂ | ♎︎ | ♏︎ |
| ♃ | ♏︎ | ♏︎ |
| ♄ | ♎︎ | ♎︎ |
For the time period under consideration, two big things stick out to me. First, Luna travels from Taurus to Scorpio which would include passing through Cancer where Luna is in its Joy. Second, there's a potential Jupiter and Mars conjunction in Scorpio where Mars is in its Joy. Cancer and Scorpio also form a water Trine, which is a beneficial aspect. Mars, Jupiter, and water seem like good ingredients to use for a Heracleian inspired bath talisman.
The Spell
I constructed a paper script and attached it to a jar of bathing salts to serve as the focus of the spell. This script uses characters and planetary seals to describe the flow of power from Luna in Cancer to Mars in Scorpio via Jupiter. As usual, I punctuate the script with a representation of the elemental realm (because I want a material effect), which in this case is Earth, Sea, and Sky. My normal bathing mix is one part each Epsom, sea salt, and oatmeal. For this working, I added a few drops of cedar and juniper oils for Jupiter. I rummaged through my cabinets and came up with a handful of dried peppermint for the Cancer element and some black pepper corns for the Scorpio element. I also used my Talismans of Illumination (Luna), Cultivation (Jupiter), and Action (Mars) as additional materials.
As per usual, I charged and explained the purpose to each element of the spell. I employed my Charms of Illumination, Cultivation, and Action to tie everything together and declared my intent that anything stored in this jar be imbued with the powers to restore, rejuvenate, and relax. I let the ingredients marinate while a stick of cedar incense burned. While running a bath, I activated the bath salts stored in the jar and added them to the water.
The Result
Minimal! I missed something. I could feel the weight of the jar had increased and sensed a spiritual presence, but for some reason the effect had not transferred to the actual salts. After a tarot session, I came to realize that it would take some additional time for the jar's contents to become infused with the spell. I left the jar and bath salts to mingle for an additional week.
Over the course of the week, I found that my sleep script seemed more effective if I stared at the characters while invoking the powers of Sleep. I also found that making a small daily offering to the bed by making it nicely seemed to amp up the restful effects. I applied these principles to the bath talisman and found the results were way more effective. I found additional power in offering my normal warm-up and stretching routine to this spirit. In short, I enter the bath feeling drained, sore, and tired, but I leave feeling completely recharged and pain free.
Ianvs