Shades & Adders

Talisman of Cultivation



After a scenic detour to explore the natural mysteries of Mars, I returned to the trail of natural magic talismans with Jupiter.

Background

My keyword for Jupiter is "organization." This planet calls to my mind the planning and design required for sustainable "empire" building. My personal "empires" include my garden, my body, my home, and my education. Each of these domains require a different set of skills and consideration to support their effective execution (through Mars). Jupiterian magic popularly involves things like abundance, wealth, institutions, and governance. For me, the thing that ties all these themes together is cultivation.

A talisman of cultivation could function as a general luck charm, a conduit for wisdom, or a focus for planning. My intention for these talismans was to keep them somewhat general purpose, but aligned with a specific planetary energy. The last time I made a luck talisman, I employed the powers of Jupiter to fuse Venusian and Mercurial powers. I'd like a talisman of cultivation to serve a similar purpose of oversight.

My previous work with the talisman of discretion led me to a passage in Book II of Agrippa that mentioned the elemental cycles embedded in the Orphic Hymns. The obvious option for this talisman would have been one of the hymns to Zeus. However, I found that all the hymns in the elemental cycle of Zeus (fire), Hera (air), Poseidon (water), and Plouton (earth) possessed qualities that I associated with rulership and cultivation.

Parallel to the observations from the Orphic Hymns was Agrippa's citation of Medea's "boast" from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book VII, OM via Book I, TBOP). Medea was not boasting when she listed off all the things she did with magic. The context of the section that Agrippa cites is that Jason had asked Medea to take a few years off his life and give them to his father Aeson. As part of the ritual to extend Aeson's life, Medea thanks the gods of nature and magic in a very suppliant manner (on her knees, in fact). Medea's command over natural forces, life, death, and time is facilitated by the daimones of nature, thus her collection of herbs to restore Aeson's youth. Medea does not hesitate to express her gratitude.

The Spell

I settled on a charm primarily inspired by Medea's "boast," but with a nod towards the elemental cycles in the Orphic Hymns. The lesson I learned from Mars was how to marshal the will necessary to act. I think this is the key to the boast. I can and will do magic. Jupiter offers a balancing force that keeps a ruler humble. A queen is nothing without her subjects, fertile land, and wise counsel (elements in balance).

I used the same three stanza format as before with a general conjuration, invocation, and statement of intent. The first stanza alludes to the Orphic Hymns to Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Plouton. In the second stanza, I declare myself as a conduit for these natural powers and "boast" about my accomplishments. The last stanza focuses the power towards the main goal of cultivation.

For natural ingredients, I used golden pothos. Golden pothos is a hardy and prolific plant, characterized by golden patterning on the leaves. This particular plant contained a servitor that I've been feeding for nearly two years. I created this servitor as part of a magical money-making competition. The servitor has worked well enough, given the loose parameters I gave it. The effect was subtle and typically manifested as being in the right place at the right time to get a significant discount on things (often free). Abundance is a function of earnings and expenditures, after all.

Execution was per previous talismans. The first stanza was accompanied by a gesture of greeting and the second by a gesture of prayer. During the last stanza, I laid my hands on the striped stone (my Jupiter bone). I used the paper talisman to guide the hidden powers of Jupiter from the pothos, through the characters, and into the stone. I finished the operation by thanking the servitor for its service and sacrifice and allowing a stick of incense to burn.




The Result

The result came on to me slowly. I felt taller and more connected to the land. I had a brief vision of using the talisman to support multiple operations, including healing and crafting a new servitor. I could feel something coursing through my body, like blood after a hard run. My sense of smell felt more refined. This is a strange talisman that I'll need more time to explore.

Ianvs