Secrets of Planetary Magic

by Christopher Warnock

The planet should be dignified, preferably by sign or exaltation. * The planet should be rising , i.e., conjunct the Ascendant, or culminating i.e., conjunct the Midheaven. * It should be the hour and preferably the day of the planet In addition, the planet and the Moon must be unafflicted. In other words neither the planet nor the Moon must be: * Combust, that is within 8.5 degrees of the Sun * Retrograde or significantly slower than its average speed * In detriment or fall * Making an applying opposition or square of any planet or an applying conjunction, opposition or square of Saturn or Mars * Conjunct the South Node of the Moon or the malefic fixed star Algol which is at 26 Taurus. The presence of any one of the afflictions listed above invalidates the talisman election in the basic method or with a particular election recipe. Many talisman elections in our traditional sources call only for the hour of the planet, so this is more important than the day, and even the day of the planet can be dispensed with if necessary. We can also make a good talisman with the planet dignified by triplicity, but a term or face talisman would be rather weak.