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#23 - March 2018 - The "Traditional" Psychological Reading & Mercury Talismans & Pentacles
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The "Traditional" Psychological Reading
Mercury Talismans and Pentacles
The "Traditional" Psychological Reading
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I think my starting point for these readings is pretty modern. I look at the chart of the native (native is the person whose birthchart you are looking at, like the querent is the one asking a question in a horary). I start with the signs of the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, looking at the Sun as basic personality, Moon as emotions, Ascendant as how the native presents themselves to the world, ie persona, Mercury as thought and thinking processes, Venus as well, Venus is a little murky, love, relationships, arts, etc, Mars is definitely anger and drive, Jupiter and Saturn, judgment, deeper spiritual connections if dignified.
I look at the basic nature of the sign and consider how the areas ruled by the planet are refracted by that sign, so Sun Libra, basic personality is fair, balanced, elegant, objective, diplomatic, etc. Moon Scorpio, emotions are intense, strong negative emotions, fearful, jealous, stubborn, deceitful secretive, etc. Then I add in traditional essential and accidental dignity, house placements, and possibly aspects, still looking for patterns. You start to see repeated indications and patternings as you move back and forth looking at the various factors in the chart.
But when I do this, it's not like doing a traditional horary, I'm using a much more intuitive approach, like a tarot reader or modern astrologer. I remember being at UAC years and years ago and watching a pseudo-traditional astrologer do a horary about his mother's buying a property. It was something like the 4th ruler (property) afflicted and the 1st ruler (querent-buyer) separating from an opposition of 7th ruler (seller). So no sale, which I could follow. The astrologer then went off on this whole weird tangent about the 12th house and how that predicted that his mother would in fact buy a 2 story house with a red door from limping cockney. Very accurate, apparently, but completely impossible for anyone to replicate.
And this really is the modern method which is very light on technique and heavily reliant on intuition. The chart is used similarly to a tarot deck or even crystal ball, as a releasing mechanism for the intuition of the diviner. This can be very accurate or completely off, depending on the fortuneteller. But being honest with myself, I can see that this is the method I am using for these natal psychological readings. I'm not sure this method is really teachable, because a lot depends on me rather than on technique. Unlike traditional horary which is technique first, and you get maybe 75-80% of the answer from the technique with the final 20-25% from intuition, this psychological reading is probably 30-40% technique and the rest intuition.
Which is not to say it's not on the money. I've been getting feedback saying stuff like "disturbingly accurate" etc. But I've also realized that there are a couple of advantages to my particular method. First it is a hybrid of modern and traditional. Even in a natal psychological reading it is useful to have the fuller toolkit of traditional technique. Essential and accidental dignity and debility is super useful even if you are looking at Sun Aquarius and talking about an Aquarian basic personality as opposed to focusing on the Sun being in detriment for this piece of the analysis. I'm getting a lot more support from having traditional methods. It's like having a range of very thick to very fine brushes and a really full palette of colors. The painting has so much more detail and life.
The other more subtle difference is that as a traditional astrologer I try to give the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, a warts and all psychological analysis that includes problems, obstacles, challenges, stumbling blocks, etc. A modern analysis tends to be like getting your coursework reviewed by your grandmother. This is great if you are looking for a boost, but not so good if you want an accurate and balanced complete picture.
Of course either one is fine! I like the warts and all, but that doesn't mean that the modern hopeful analysis is wrong or bad. You just need to be aware of the difference. It's easy to fall into, "tell me the truth and make sure it's what I want to hear" Of course you can go too far in the other direction as well. The other day I had a client who had had a Vedic reading and at least how this client told it, the Vedic astrologer just walloped them with negativity. I thought her chart was problematic, but not impossible. Now this could also be the client being off base, but this is something Lilly warns about, I'm paraphrasing, "tell the truth but don't pummel the poor querent unmercifully with your analysis."
It's very interesting being aware of the difference between how I am doing the natal psychological readings and a traditional horary reading. We can never forget how important judgment and intuition are to even traditional readings, but that even a more intuitional reading can really benefit from the much more comprehensive and balanced techniques of traditional astrology.
Mercury Talismans and Pentacles
Arabic Mercury Talisman |
We had been sold out of Mercury talismans for awhile, so I am very happy to be back in stock with them. We also have Winged Mercury Talismans cast at the same time. This is our new pattern for planetary talismans which is to cast some with the Picatrix/Agrippa images and others as Arabic planetary table talismans with Quranic inscriptions.
With the heavy reliance of Picatrix on Arabic magic, traditional renowned as powerful, plus my Sufi background, plus all the negativity and bigotry being stirred up against any form of Islam, even forms that the Islamic fundamentalist persecute, I am pleased in so many ways to feature the traditional Arabic magical artistry of our jeweler/mage Muhammed Ajmal.
So we don't have a lot of the Arabic Mercury, so no initial discount. Just not enough! These sold out first and likely will again.
I don't where we'd be as astrologers or magicians without Mercury, who co-rules us along with Saturn. Fittingly it is Hermes Trismegistus himself who has pride of place on my planetary altar, my main working altar. Fittingly he is cited in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell "...and there you will find a strange country like a chessboard, where alternates barren rock with fruitful orchards, wastes of thorn with fields of bearded corn, water meadows with deserts. And in this country, the god of magicians, Thrice-Great Hermes, has set a guard upon each gate and every bridge; in one place a ram, in another place serpent..."
Plus in addition to the Winged Foot and Arabic Mercury talismans, we also now finally have a full set of Mercury pentacles. My particular favorite is the Mercury 4th pentacle which "...is further proper to acquire understanding and knowledge of all things created and to seek out and penetrate into hidden things." Greater Key of Solomon. These have always sold the fastest of Mercury pentacles. Very similar in effect to the Pleiades talisman.
Check out all of our currently available talismans, currently available pentacles, currently available magic mirrors and currently available paper talismans,
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Specializing in Horary Astrology, Electional Astrology Astrological Magic and Astrological Talismans.
Copyright 2018, Christopher Warnock, All Rights Reserved.