#Ghayat al-Hakim

[pantherasox]

Islamicate Occultsim

As-salamu alaykum

Muslim magic isn’t exactly the right phrase to use here. While many practitioners would be definitely view these practices as modern magick, sihr is technically a no go. That is to say that these two paradigms are working under different definitions. In my definition, magick is the flow of energy around us to enact will. There is nothing about this definition that is inherently shirk. It’s all about how you practice and what you believe that separates you from the religion.

It would be easier to use the word occultism or esotericism when researching.

I will not be sharing my own practice today, as I am not religiously but culturally Muslim. I’m not a “Good Muslim” by any means, and it is my path to decide how I go about my beliefs. Instead, I’ll be sharing my research and key terms I’ve found so you can make your own judgements. As an American placed outside of the culture with maybe two muslim friends, it’s been incredibly hard finding research. Every google search will make you feel shame for your practice being a sin. Magick is all around you in your community, you just have to look with magickal eyes. Any protection you seek from Allah (swt) is magick, is esoteric, is occult.

In the medieval era, esotericism and science were tied together. It was simply understanding the world through Allah (swt). This is a great place to start your research!

If you want to get closer to the Source, look into Sufism. Hermeticism overlaps with Islam. Astrology is alive and well, and has a basis in historic practice. Alchemy is still of use to people as a spiritual practice. These practices are real, and you are not haram.

Need an overall deepdive? Read the works of Dr Liana Saif.  Read the Ghayat Al Hakim (Picatrix). For hands on work, read the Shams Al Ma’arif (Sun of Gnosis), which was partially translated in English not too long ago. Every time you are told to read a surat for specific things, that's magick.

Every day, we get more information as to what the old practices look like. You are not alone.

[nightjasmine]

I'm reading through an old German translation of the Picatrix/Ghayat-al-Hakim - which, happily, seems to be out of copyright and is available for free on the Wikipedia page - and is translated from the Arabic. I also have Greer and Warnock's English translation, which is taken from the Latin, which in turn was translated into Spanish before it was translated into Latin... and oh boy, someone needs to do a good translation into English from the Arabic, like, yesterday.

It's not just the usual game of telephone which you get when translating from language to language to language. Greer and Warnock specifically mention that the Picatrix contains traps, and to be fair, it is pretty funny that their version states "the Moon in the first mansion is good for taking medications" (page 33) when the German version claims that, actually, "the Moon in the first mansion is good for taking laxatives" (page 15).

Gonna try astrologically timing my cat's lactulose doses and get back to y'all on that.

But then there's the recipe for Jupiterian incense, which straight up replaces juniper berries (de, page 216) with hellebore seeds (en, page 164). Please, uh, do not do that substitute. Furthermore, the English version adds that you should do this ritual in a place specifically set aside for that purpose, the German version makes no such mention of this. In turn, the German version specifies a honey-coloured garment, which the English version does not.

While I think the main takeaway from this is that it's absolutely fine to adapt rituals to your liking because that exactly what the old folks using these old books did, as a linguist, I find this absolutely fascinating and maybe a little frustrating.

I would loooove to know the origin of those traps. Since I sincerely doubt Greer and Warnock are behind them, my best guess would be that the Spanish or Latin translator added them in. Alternatively, the German translator may have specifically taken them out, but I find that unlikely.

I heard that there's an English translation from the Arabic in the works by a reputable translator. I'm so curious.

[thehierophage]

[docpiplup]

Sobre Abraham Leví y la creación de las puertas (parte 2)

Aquí sigo con el asunto que empecé en la Parte 1, aviso que esta segunda publicación va a ser más larga que la anterior.

Inspiraciones y orígenes de las puertas

Una de las cosas que menciona Abraham es la Escuela de Traductores de Toledo, se piensa que probablemente el antecedente de este grupo fue creado en el siglo XII por el arzobispo de Toledo, Raimundo de Sauvetât, pero no se organizaría como una verdadera institución hasta el siglo XIII por el rey Alfonso X "el Sabio", y en la cual trabajaban judíos, musulmanes y cristianos, encargados de traducir a diferentes idiomas (árabe, hebreo, latín, castellano...) las obras en ese momento casi perdidas de los grandes pensadores griegos o las traducciones de algunos intelectuales musulmanes como Averroes y Avicenia de otros tratados de la antigua Grecia. Y en general se trabaja sobre medicina, matemáticas, astrología, astronomía , filosofía, alquimia, magia e incluso libros de instrucciones de juegos como el ajedrez, las tablas y los dados. Aunque hace unos años se ha cuestionado si realmente existió la Escuela como tal, y que a lo mejor es probable que las traducciones fueran realizadas por traductores que trabajan cada uno por su cuenta en Toledo, sin formar un grupo.

Pero la cuestión es, esto que tiene que ver con el tema de Abraham y las puertas.

Una de las cosas que estaba pensando sobre  Abraham y la escuela de traductores en  relación a la creación de las puertas es que a lo mejor Abraham tuvo en algún momento acceso a algunos de los textos traducidos por la escuela, algún tratado relacionado con astrología, filosofía o magia probablemente, y tomara ideas que puedan haber sido cruciales para desarrollar lo que serían las puertas.

Algunos de ellos son el Libro de astromagia y el Picatrix, que en resumidas cuentas en lo que se extendían era en conocimientos de astrología y filosofía, que se utilizan en magia que puede ser obtenida y usada por el mago gracias al poder astral de las estrellas y los planetas.

Hay varios tratados y libros más, pero es cierto que el Picatrix es considerado como una obra bastante importante dentro de estos manuales de magia de la época, su nombre original es Ghayat al-hakim, que se puede traducir como la meta o el fin del sabio, y probablemente fue escrito en el siglo X o XI por un matemático llamado Ibn Ahmad "al-Magriti", esto último se interpreta como "el madrileño", porque este matemático nació en Madrid.

Creo que el libro de las puertas se puede considerar otra especie tratado de astromagia, pero más tardío que los otros y que ha sido el trabajo de Abraham al tomar referencias de otros libros de astromagia, pero aunque en los tratados tradicionales se suele encontrar fórmulas y rituales mágicos para todo tipo de fines, Abraham se centró en la creación de las puertas.

En concreto las fórmulas para abrir estas conexiones entre dos tiempos diferentes y lugares son mera especulación porque los escritores no se han parado a dar una explicación exacta.

Como dato está que el esquema interno mágico de las puertas está claramente inspirado en el diseño de un elemento clásico de la cábala, el Árbol de la Vida. La cábala es un estudio e interpretación mística de los textos sagrados que tuvo su auge durante la Edad Media, siglos XII y XIII, concretamente por autores procedentes del sur de Francia y España.

En el árbol de la vida se representa las 10 emanaciones de Dios al crear el universo. Y que se plantea que también es la estructura del microcosmos dentro del ser humano, y esa similitud es lo que le conecta con el resto del macrocosmos y también se dividen en varios niveles según los cuatro elementos: agua, fuego, tierra y aire, y niveles de Emanación, Creación, Formación y mundo físico y en tres pilares, el rigor o severidad, el equilibrio y la clemencia. Luego también cada una de las 10 esferas está asociada a algún atributo de la creación, un planeta o un cuerpo celeste y un número.

En El cisma del tiempo se muestra lo que es el "código" interno de las puertas, y pues el esquema está clatamente inspirado en el Árbol de la Vida de la cábala.

Y bueno en conjunto juntando los elementos del árbol cabalistico, y con lo ya mencionado con lo de la astromagia, pues aunque a lo mejor me estoy lanzando a la piscina con este tema, yo diría que posiblemente Abraham haya diseñado las puertas en base a colocar una combinación de letras que equivalen a números (como el sistema de la cábala), los cuales a lo mejor se utilicen para indicar el año y las coordenadas de los dos lugares que conecta una puerta del tiempo. A lo mejor a través de coordenadas numéricas como tal y una fecha, o a lo mejor también esto esté acompañado de la posición de los astros en los lugares y momentos conectados, así también a lo mejor conectar las dos diferentes combinaciones de la situación de los astros, generara algún tipo de reacción mágica o energía que permitiera viajar en el tiempo entre ambos puntos.

Aunque también hay algunas cuestiones sobre cómo creó Abraham todas las puertas existentes teniendo en cuenta que desde el punto de vista suyo en el siglo XV,un gran número de puertas llevaríanal futuro, a años que aún no han pasado o a lugares que cómo tal Abraham probablemente no podría conocer en condiciones normales, como por ejemplo las puertas que conecten un sitio con algún lugar de América o algún otro sitio que en el pasado fue una colonia de España. También puede ser que experimentado con las combinaciones de números en el código resultara que algunos llevaran a otras partes del mundo (en plan, Abraham apareciendo de repente en La Habana o en Cartagena de Indias)

Algunos puntos con respecto a las puertas que desde el punto de vista de la época de Abraham es que cuando las creara a lo mejor varias de ellas se ubicara en la época de Abraham o antes y que según hallan pasado los años, como la mayoría de puertas el tiempo es continuo (salvo por ejemplo algunas que estén en bucle), pues el tiempo haya trascurrido de forma normal.

Lo digo por lo de "el tiempo es el que es" y no se puede viajar al futuro más allá del año en el que se situa el Ministerio principal, aunque sea algo bastante relativo. Otra opción es que cuando estuviese experimentando y creando lo que serían las puertas no se pusiera límites en hasta cuándo ir, y creo puertas que llevaban a otras épocas posteriores a la suya.

Otro intento de hipótesis sobre lo de las puertas situadas en América u otras partes es que a lo mejor originalmente no estuvieran situadas allí, sino que posteriormente alguien que conociera muy bien el funcionamiento y los códigos internos de éstas, haya querido trasladar varias de esas puertas a ess otros lugares, por tener mejor acceso a ellos o por lo que sea.

Aunque supongo que lo de los códigos internos no lo domina cualquiera, y las únicas personas a parte de Abraham que hemos oído que trabajen con manipular directamente alguna característica de las puertas son los "técnicos" del ministerio actual, que se mencionan un par de veces a lo largo de la serie.

Por lo que se intuye son trabajadores del Ministerio que manejan una especie de colección digitalizada de los códigos de las puertas, y manipularlas desde un método "informático", suponemos que este registro informatizado de las puertas puede habre dado pie al sistema de alertas de errores temporales que se ve en Antes de que no haya tiempo, o los móviles con los que se puede llamar a otras épocas, supongo que los técnicos le habrán implantado un chip a un sistema operativo especial que esté directamente conectado con el registro informático de las puertas.

[arcane-offerings]

Liana Saif, The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult Philosophy, Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). Hardcover edition. 277 pages. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254709969972 

[herdokter]

i could drop money on a good copy of faust’s compendium or i could sit here and keep digging myself into the hole of thomas aquinas practicing alchemy.

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

Reckless (6,275 words)

(This story is the sequel to “Careful” which I wrote in response to a prompt by @goodomensprompts and comments by @kedreeva - quite a few people asked for a follow-up, so here it is! I have one more part planned.)

(Available on AO3)

Aziraphale had always been careful.

Not anymore.

Rushing up Regent Street in the middle of the day at Crowley’s side, so close their shoulders brushed, so close every human they passed could see what had been kept secret for so long. Could see it in their clothes, still in disarray. Could see it in the smile on Aziraphale’s face, in the glances he shot at the demon next to him.

Crowley hid his expression better, with his dark lenses and perpetually sour face, but who could miss how both pairs of hands, ungloved, constantly reached out to touch the shoulder, the small of the back, the curve of the face?

Feeling daring, Aziraphale offered his elbow. Crowley wrapped both arms around it, clinging as if he were a drowning man and Aziraphale a spar of wood; as if Crowley were lost in a blizzard and Aziraphale were the only source of heat; as if the world were a monsoon and Aziraphale might blow away in the wind.

An angel and a demon, walking arm-in-arm down one of London’s busiest streets.

Utterly reckless.

Aziraphale walked faster.

By the time they reached the shop, they were almost running.

Aziraphale fumbled with the key as Crowley stood oh so close behind him, one hand at his wrist, the other sliding across his hip, his waist, the curve of his stomach, pulling him back into that unfathomable heat. Aziraphale’s hand shook and the key fell to the ground.

Careless.

“Crowley,” he gasped, winded not only from their run. “You said you wanted to talk.”

“Not only talk.” Warm breath stirring through his short hair.

“Not here. It isn’t safe.”

“Then get that door open!”

Aziraphale snapped his fingers and the doors sprang apart. Together they stumbled, tumbled, fell through the door, fell to the floor.

Crowley knelt over him, fists still clutching Aziraphale’s lapels from when he’d tried to slow the angel’s descent. The expression on that narrow face was something entirely new.

Aziraphale snapped his fingers again and the door slammed shut, locked, the shades drawn as Crowley leaned down –

And kissed him breathless.

Six thousand years.

Six thousand years since a meaningless reassurance, a bad joke, a shared laugh had untwisted the knot of anxious worry that was Aziraphale’s constant companion, given him a moment’s relief from the endless press of fear.

It had only lasted a second the first time. But again and again, this demon had made him feel happy. Safe. Fearless.

And in his heart, something had grown, something with an ineffability that had nothing to do with the Plans of Heaven.

When Crowley finally released him, sitting up, Aziraphale felt as if his soul went too – gently pulled out of his body by those lips, left to hover between them in the air of the bookshop.

“So. Ahem.” Azirpahale sat up, attempting to smooth his jacket, recover any of his dignified attitude. “I suppose now we, ah, talk.”

“Mmh.” Crowley reached up, adjusting Azirpahale’s cravat with a crooked smile. “I can’t think of a thing to say.”

Aziraphale snatched his fingers, pressed them to his lips.

Centuries of hovering around each other, fearing to even brush against the other’s skin in case the fire it ignited should burn them to ashes. Now that they’d finally crossed that line, thrown all caution to the wind, he realized he might never be able to stop.

It was addictive.

And he was powerless to resist.

The smell of Crowley’s perfume, the salty taste of his skin, the gentle burn of his fingertips as they cupped Aziraphale’s chin, turning his face toward those lips, oh, those lips…

Here we go again.

Aziraphale finally broke the cycle, broke the kiss, putting his hand on Crowley’s chest, tilting him back. Giving himself enough space to breathe, to speak, to think.

“Are we safe?”

Crowley reached up and pulled his glasses off. “I don’t care anymore.” Oh, the softness of those slit-pupil eyes was almost enough for Aziraphale to lose himself again.

“You said –” He took a deep breath, searching for that reserve of caution and worry that had kept them safe for so long. “You said Hell has been…watching you. Checking in more often. Is there a chance anyone saw us?”

“I think just about everyone saw us.” A laugh, just a hiss of breath across the teeth as Crowley leaned closer, resting his forehead against Aziraphale’s. “But my side…I don’t know. I won’t know until they come for me.”

Aziraphale swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. “You aren’t safe. It’s my fault, carrying on in a public place like that…”

“No.” A hand on the back of Aziraphale’s neck, fingers playing through the curls. “I asked for this. I wanted this. I told you I was ready to fight for what we have, and I meant it.” He tilted his head, lips brushing across Aziraphale’s forehead. “Though it would help if I had Holy Water.”

Aziraphale glanced at the door of the shop. “I can’t just miracle it up. It takes time. And anything more than a few ounces and Heaven will notice, send someone to investigate.” He wasn’t ready for that yet. To confront the other angels. To admit how far he’d strayed from his orders and his purpose.

“A few ounces will kill a demon.”

“Do you think they’ll only send one?”

“It’s still better than nothing.”

Aziraphale’s mind reeled. They weren’t having this conversation. It was absurd. They couldn’t win a fight. Safety came from avoiding a fight. They had to be clever. “No. You need to leave London.”

“What?” Crowley pulled back in shock.

“We have to assume your side already knows. If they find you, they’ll destroy you. London isn’t safe. England isn’t safe. I don’t know if anywhere in the world is safe, but someplace quiet and secluded should do for a start.” He stood up quickly, bustled around the shop, searching.

“Angel!” The familiar snap was back in his voice. “I told you, I’m not going to leave you. You can’t just – send me away!”

“You can’t stop me,” Aziraphale reminded him mildly. “I’m a Warrior of Heaven.”

“What are you going to do?” Under that angry scowl, the lip quirked just a little, a smile fighting to get free. “Tie me up and throw me on a boat?”

“If I had to, yes. But it’s not necessary in this case.” He found what he was looking for, held it up: a heavy leather Gladstone bag. “I’m coming with you.”

The words weren’t quite as hard to say as he’d expected. They only tore through his heart a little.

“Angel, no.” Crowley scrambled to his feet, following after him. “This shop is…your dream. Your home. You can’t just leave it.”

Aziraphale dropped the bag onto the nearest table, clearing aside a stack of Charles Dickens and making room between statuettes of angels. He rushed back to the shelves, gathering books with shaking hands. “There are protections woven on the building. For when I’m away on assignment. Humans will just ignore it, walk past. They should last for years, decades without needing to be refreshed. Plenty of time to come up with a plan.”

“You can’t be serious,” Crowley objected, as Aziraphale turned back towards the table with his autographed books of prophecy and began arranging them into a neat stack. “Decades? You think they’ll give up on us that quickly? Aziraphale, if we leave London, they’ll – we might never be able to return.”

“Then we don’t return.” Aziraphale busied his hands with organizing his favorite misprint Bibles.

“You love this shop. These books,” Crowley reminded him gently.

“Not as much as I love you.” He said it with all the conviction he had, but it still hurt. Even when Crowley wrapped his arms around Azirpahale’s waist, buried his lips in Aziraphale’s hair.

He wanted that warmth, that love. Ached for it. There was no doubt in his mind that leaving was the right thing, the smart thing to do. But Aziraphale would leave a piece of himself behind, forever missing the life he could have had.

“There’s just…so much.” His eyes roamed across the endless shelves, just dusty enough to discourage enthusiastic browsing; the countless volumes, each one a priceless treasure, lovingly collected over the decades. “How do I know what to take?”

“We can rebuild your collection,” Crowley promised, nose brushing down toward Aziraphale’s ear. “Just take what’s irreplaceable.”

Aziraphale turned to face him, slipping his arms around Crowley’s neck. “Oh, I’ve already got that.” He closed his eyes, leaning in, seeking the soft lips and hot breath of the demon –

“The Lemegeton!” Aziraphale pushed Crowley back.

“I – what?”

“The Lesser Key of Solomon! I need to get that.”

“I know what – why do you want a demon summoning manual?”

“It’s a special edition,” Aziraphale explained, already running toward the shelves in the back. “Just pack those up for me, there’s a dear.”

Crowley grumbled something, then raised his voice to add, “Get that Austen one while you’re back there.”

The only sound was his footsteps – quick and sharp on the hardwood floor. He took his time over the grimoires – there wasn’t a moment to spare, but these could be useful.

The Ghayat al-Hakim fi’l-Sihr.

The Liber Juratus Honorii.

The Sefer Raziel HaMalakh.

The Book of Abramelin.

Aziraphale carefully stacked them on a table, and the pile grew worryingly tall. How would he carry them all? Did he have another bag, perhaps? Or could he miracle them small enough to fit? He hated miracling his books, of course, but these were dire circumstances –

The bell over the shop door chimed.

It should have been locked.

Cautiously, trying not to make any noise as he moved, Aziraphale shifted back to the end of the shelf, leaned past to see into the main circle of the shop. The door was still shut. He couldn’t see any customer. He couldn’t see Crowley, either, but another shelf blocked the table from view.

It was far too quiet.

Aziraphale stepped back into the shadows, clutching a thick book in either hand, concentrating.

He could sense Crowley somewhere nearby. Probably still in the shop. And another supernatural entity. More than one, but shielding themselves. He would have to –

“Aziraphale! Glad to see you’re alright.”

He spun. There, striding down the length of the shelf: the Archangel Gabriel, grinning with cheerful good humor.

“Alright – Of – of course. I’m fine!” Aziraphale tried to match Gabriel’s smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Wrong thing to say. The smile vanished like a candle snuffed out, leaving only the warm violet eyes, carefully blank, revealing nothing. “Because of the demon threatening you.”

“Ah. Yes. That.” He tried to swallow, but his heart seemed lodged in his throat.

“We had reason to believe you were in danger. I came down personally to check on you.”

“Ah. Well.” Aziraphale shifted the books from one side to the other. How much did Gabriel know? Worse, what did he think he knew? “That’s…most kind of you, really. I’m – I’m flattered you would…er…”

“We assumed you’d be relieved to get backup from a few fellow angels.”

“A few?” He cleared his throat. “No. Yes. I’m – I’m – I’m…”

The arm Gabriel put around his shoulders was decidedly less friendly than usual. “Let’s get this sorted out,” the Archangel said, steering Aziraphale back towards the front of the shop.

Any protest died in his throat when he saw Crowley, still standing at the table where Aziraphale had left him, but no longer alone.

His hands were pressed flat on either side of the bag full of books. To his left stood the Archangel Uriel, to his right, Sandalphon. Each resting a hand on one of Crowley’s arms.

The demon stood absolutely motionless between them, eyes once again shielded by dark glasses.

Beside the table stood Michael, flipping through one of Aziraphale’s books.

“What did you find?” Gabriel asked, not releasing Aziraphale just yet. Three pairs of eyes – and one of black lenses – turned to face them, all four gazes equally expressionless.

“Looks like prophecies,” Michael said distastefully, tossing aside the book of Mother Shipton’s verses. It hit the ground with a sickening CRACK. Aziraphale tried not to flinch at the thought of the damage. The arm over his shoulders tightened just slightly before finally pulling away.

“What would a demon want with books of prophecy?” Gabriel gestured to the nearby armchair. “Have a seat, Aziraphale,” the Archangel offered. As if this wasn’t Aziraphale’s shop.

Michael picked up another book, turning pages so sharply that they tore.

“Oh, that’s…ah, quite alright.” Aziraphale shifted the two books he carried, pressing them to his chest, trying to steady his hands again. “I’ll…I’ll stand. After all,” a short laugh bubbled out, “everyone else is standing.”

This was bad, of course, but at least it was Heaven they were confronted with, not Hell. That must give them a chance. Surely, if he could just explain, the Archangels would be reasonable…

“Not everyone,” Gabriel corrected, nodding to Sandalphon.

The shorter angel struck, fist sinking into Crowley’s side.

As the demon fell to the floor, Sandalphon’s other hand caught him on the side of the head, knocking his glasses askew, throwing him back. Crowley sprawled on his side. Boneless. Defenseless.

Uriel grabbed his jacket, hauling him back onto his knees. “Hands where we can see them,” the Archangel intoned, and Crowley quickly obeyed, flattening his palms against the table once more.

He didn’t resist at all. He hadn’t even made a sound.

“Something wrong, Aziraphale?” Michael asked, studying his face.

Get yourself under control!

Aziraphale quickly schooled his features, trying to find the calm stillness he wore as a mask. It had always been ill-fitting, but now it was cracked, falling apart, broken by the emotions of the day.

Useless.

“I don’t approve of violence in my shop,” he said as evenly as he could. He tried to catch Crowley’s eye, beg him for some hint what they should do next. But the face was as stony as when they’d met at the park, when Crowley had first made the awful request that set all of this in motion.

“We should all just take a moment and…and talk this through,” Aziraphale continued. “There’s been a…misunderstanding.”

“Really?” Gabriel glanced at the other angels, arms folded now, face mildly curious. “Please, enlighten us. What have we misunderstood?”

Carefully, trying to buy time to think, Aziraphale placed the two books he carried on the table, angling the spines so no one could read them. On top was Crowley’s favorite, The Complete Works of Jane Austen. Below that, the Lesser Key of Solomon. That would be harder to explain.

“You all know, I think, the demon Crowley.” He gestured weakly, smiling into four pairs of uncaring angelic eyes. Or tried to – Gabriel stood behind him, Michael a little too far to the side. He had to keep turning, twisting, trying to see them all. “He’s been my adversary for nearly six thousand years. And he is here…today…to…defect!”

“Defect?” Gabriel frowned, brow furrowed slightly. “What, precisely, does that mean?”

Aziraphale took a deep breath, trying to marshal his thoughts, though his mind was a whirlwind.

When his eyes landed on Crowley, the demon gave a tiny head-shake. But it was too late now.

“Well, earlier today, he…Crowley, he sent me a message to meet him at a location. And, oh, I expected a trap because he is a cunning, wily enemy, as you know, always a step ahead of me!” He cleared his throat, wishing the other angels would respond, give him something to work with. “Or, half a step. A step behind. It’s a very, sort of, cat-and-mouse…yes.” Aziraphale’s hands kept twisting in front of him. He tried to fold them behind his back, tried to stop his body from swinging nervously. “In any case, he told me the Opposition had some…big plan brewing. Brought these books as proof. He wanted to…to stop this plan. He has agreed to renounce his Rebellion, and…and rejoin the Choirs of Heaven,” he finished triumphantly.

In the cold silence that followed, Crowley hung his head. Aziraphale tried to ignore the sick feeling inside.

He knew perfectly well Crowley had no interest in rejoining Heaven, had quite nearly spit in Aziraphale’s face the one time he’d suggested it. But it was the only thing he could think of right now, the only path that might end in safety for them both.

They’d been fools to think that they could fight. That Aziraphale could do anything other than obey, follow the purpose he'd been designed for. This was the logical solution.

The Archangels would be skeptical, of course, but Aziraphale was willing to vouch for Crowley’s loyalty, to swear by anything that the offer was sincere. Surely Gabriel would see the value of inside knowledge, and in time even come to accept Crowley as one of their own.

They could be on the same side.

If only Crowley would chime in with some plan of Hell’s, anything, to prove his worth.

The demon had never been so quiet.

Finally, after a long penetrating look that left Aziraphale feeling lost and exposed, Gabriel turned to the other angels. “Michael?”

Heaven’s Chief Soldier and Head of Intelligence began laying pieces of blank white paper on the table. Three of them. “Where did you meet?” A sharp, clipped voice.

“Far from here,” Aziraphale lied, not wanting to give Heaven any reason to look into their behavior at the Park. “The other side of London. At a pub.”

“Why didn’t you report this immediately?”

“It was rather a large story to swallow.” That was certainly true. “I…wanted to interrogate the demon privately, ensure he was telling the truth. I mean, I wouldn’t,” another laugh he couldn’t control. “I wouldn’t waste your time with an unverified report, would I?”

“How did you return?”

“Hired a carriage. Better to be seen by as few as possible. And we needed to move quickly. Hell could notice his absence at any moment.”

Michael straightened the three pieces of paper on the table, letting his words hang in the air a little longer. “And why was your name inside that book?”

Of course. Autographed books of prophecy. “Well, obviously, that one was mine.” He cleared his throat again, glancing at the bag. The rest were still packed. Michael shouldn’t have had time to check more than one or two. “I have quite the collection and I needed them to, ah, to cross-check. Confirm the others were authentic. I put it in the bag because…I…”

Gabriel’s heavy hand fell on his shoulder. “That’s all we need.”

Crowley still knelt, slumped over, nothing visible now but two long hands and a shock of red hair.

“Why…is the demon…being so quiet?” Aziraphale tried to smile. “Usually can’t shut him up, you know.”

“We have our ways.” Uriel stretched out one delicate hand, and with a snap of fingers manifested a smoky amber marble, hovering in the air.

And as they watched, it spoke with Crowley’s voice.

“I followed him to the park. Don’t know why he went, but he always goes alone. Makes it an ideal place for a Temptation. I tried to trick him into giving me valuable books, knowledge my side could use in the coming days. Didn’t work. Clever bastard saw right through it as always. So, I overpowered him, dragged him back here, forced him to let me in, give me his precious books. The only reason he’s going along is because I told him I can burn the shop down with Hellfire, him with it. Once he knows that’s not true, he’ll turn against me.”

“Lies,” Aziraphale whispered weakly. Their stories contradicted on nearly every point. In trying to save them both, he’d sealed their fate.

It was hopeless.

“We offered the demon mercy in exchange for the truth,” Uriel said, voice chillingly flat.

“Besides, a demon can’t renounce its rebellion,” Michael explained, as if to a child. “That’s what makes them demons.”

“Fortunately,” Gabriel interjected brightly, “we don’t need to rely on testimony alone.”

Michael reached across the table, turned over one piece of paper.

On the reverse was an image of Crowley and Aziraphale at the duck pond, the demon grasping at him even as Aziraphale tried to turn away. It certainly could look as if Crowley were threatening him, if you hadn’t been there, hadn’t felt the soft tenderness of his touch, heard his urgent voice – Angel. Aziraphale. I will never leave you.

“They met in the park.” All condescension was gone from Michael’s voice now, leaving nothing but ice.

The second page turned over, showing the pair running down Regent’s street, Crowley’s hands hooked around Aziraphale’s elbow.

“The demon dragged him back by the arm.”

The third page. Standing before the door of the shop, Crowley clutching his wrist as he fumbled with the key, jaw tight as he hissed into Aziraphale’s ear.

“The demon forced him to open the shop.”

Michael looked up, grey eyes flicking from Aziraphale’s face to where Gabriel stood behind him. “Only one story matches the evidence. Which raises another question: Why would an angel lie?”

The hand on Aziraphale’s shoulder squeezed, and it didn’t feel friendly at all. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

“The…the Hellfire,” Aziraphale mumbled, all but breathless. Crowley’s head tilted up again, and now he could see one golden eye visible above the frame of the glasses. Terrified. “He said…he’d…”

“You still feared him?” Michael asked, smiling dangerously. “Even with all of us here to subdue him?”

“Why didn’t you say something in the back of the shop?” Gabriel wondered.

“Why lie about the location of the meeting?” Uriel turned the golden marble between two fingers.

“Could be he was corrupted by the demon,” Sandalphon suggested, jerking back on Crowley’s hair, arcing his neck.

Aziraphale struggled to keep a straight face, to keep his panic under control. “That’s. No. Ridiculous.”

“I’ve heard such things might be possible,” Uriel offered, plucking the glasses from Crowley’s face, studying them, tossing them aside. “Enough demonic influence could corrode an angel’s Grace. Irredeemably.”

“Well, no angel is irredeemable.” Gabriel pointed out.

“There were some,” Michael reminded him. “A few thousand years ago.” All eyes turned to Crowley.

“We could let him speak,” Sandalphon suggested.

“It would be cruel not to,” Michael’s voice was almost sickly sweet. “After all, we’re angels.”

Uriel pressed the glowing marble to Crowley’s lips. The demon breathed it in with a gasp –

“You got me,” he said, voice strained from the way his head was still held back. Sandalphon released it, just enough to let him meet Aziraphale’s eyes. “I corrupted him. Or tried to. Stubborn bastard resisted me every step of the way. But it almost worked.”

Solid gold eyes, not a hint of white, pupils narrow. Filled with fear and desperation, but Aziraphale could still see what burned behind that, the fire he’d pretended to ignore for so many centuries. The familiar smirk appeared, arrogant and reassuring. “Discorporating me will undo my work, but don’t think this is the end of it, Angel. I’ll be back, if it takes a hundred years, if I have to claw my way out of Hell. And we will pick up exactly where we left off.”

Aziraphale swallowed back his tears. “Oh, you’re wrong. Things are going to be different next time,” he vowed. “I’ll be ready for you. I’ll be waiting.”

He knew he should be looking at the Archangels, gauging their reactions, seeing if they believed it. But he couldn’t turn away, couldn’t waste one second of the time they had left.

It occurred to him, almost idly, that Crowley had never actually said I love you.

He didn’t doubt it, of course. He just wished he had the words to hold on to, when the light left those eyes, to sustain him during the long wait for Crowley’s return.

“Oh, after a threat like that, I don’t think we should discorporate him.”

Blue and gold eyes turned to see Michael holding a blade. A stiletto, narrow and straight, little more than an oversized paperknife. But sharp, and the deep bronze-gold of a holy weapon, glowing with its own mighty aura.

Not a sword. The blade of the Archangel Michael could take whatever shape was needed, and a sword wouldn’t be necessary here.

“Don’t – that’s ridiculous.” For the first time, Crowley began to visibly struggle, trying to break free of the iron grips that held him in place. “You – you can’t!”

“This isn’t how we do things,” Aziraphale said, voice tight. “We deal with our own, Hell deals with theirs.”

“Naïve,” Uriel said, smirking, almost laughing, and reached over to loosen Crowley’s collar, exposing a pale throat.

As Michael stepped closer, Crowley ground his teeth. A flash of red and black across his body as he prepared to shift form – and the power dissipated, brushed aside by the angels who held him. “No.” More miracles flashed across his skin – black to change size, red to create fire, even brilliant white to stop time – each sizzled harmlessly into the air. “No!”

Sandalphon grabbed his hair again, pulling his head back painfully.

“Don’t.” Aziraphale cried, shaking with terror, with pain. “Please. This is murder.”

“It isn’t,” Gabriel said, almost soothingly. “You’ll see. Once we’ve removed this corrupting influence, we’ll bring you back to Heaven. Remind you of your loyalties, your purpose, everything you’ve forgotten. You’ll see this was right.”

Crowley continued to fight, to struggle, to scream every curse he knew at the ones who held him. But Aziraphale could only watch. Unable to move, unable to help, unable to think –

Witless. Powerless. Helpless.

This was Aziraphale’s fault.

This was where his thoughtless words had brought them.

All he’d needed to do was refuse the holy water, walk away, and they would have been safe. Crowley would have been safe. Instead, he’d shouted out words, emotions, things better left unspoken for all of time.

He’d been careless. Reckless.

Gabriel stood behind him, much as Crowley had less than an hour ago, when the world had seemed new and full of possibility.

Michael’s blade moved inexorably forwards.

Crowley screamed, wordless.

Aziraphale snapped.

--

There was one thing that every being in the room had forgotten, perhaps Aziraphale most of all:

The quiet, bookish angel with the manicured nails and tartan cravat had been created as a warrior. Not just any warrior, the Guardian of Eden.

Protector of Humanity, Heaven’s greatest weapon against all of demonkind.

He had rejected that role, run from it, hidden from it.

But now, seeing a holy blade mere inches from the throat of the one he loved most – he embraced it.

--

With all the power granted to him by Heaven, Aziraphale drove his elbow into Gabriel’s solar plexus, sending the Archangel reeling.

Then he grabbed the nearest book and threw the heavy tome at Michael, corner of the spine striking just where neck met shoulder.

Two down.

A calm settled over Aziraphale’s mind. He fell into a fighting stance, one he never remembered using or even learning. It was recorded somewhere at the very base of his being.

As he watched, his remaining opponents released Crowley, circling warily towards him. He could see their true power, hidden behind their customary forms, Sandalphon’s stretching upwards, tall as mountains, Uriel’s coiled like a steel trap.

They were warriors. Michael, too; a blow to the neck wouldn’t immobilize the General of Heaven’s Legions for very long.

Three against one might almost be equal odds.

He would need to end this quickly.

Dozens of eyes opened along Aziraphale’s arms, across his face, taking in the room from every angle.

Two steps and a lunge, fist rising to meet Uriel’s ribs, but the Archangel dodged away, swinging for Aziraphale’s head. He ducked easily; it was only a distraction, meant to keep him from noticing Sandalphon circling behind him.

As if he could be fooled so easily.

Aziraphale reached back, grabbed Sandalphon’s arm, spun, hurling the other angel at Uriel.

The impact, angel against angel, sent them both staggering back, colliding with the nearest bookcase. The shelves wobbled dangerously, dropping hardbound books, but didn’t collapse.

They would be back in a moment, but Aziraphale had accomplished his goal.

Crowley was free.

He turned back to the red-haired demon, kneeling on the floor, and smiled, though not with the muscles of his face. That’s not what they were for. Instead, it shone through his whole being.

“Aziraphale,” Crowley whispered, rising to his feet. “Is that…you?”

What a strange question. He’d never felt more…himself.

Walking on bare feet, white robes shaking gently in the breeze, Aziraphale reached out a hand to cradle his face. Had Crowley always been so small, so delicate? He hardly even reached Aziraphale’s shoulder.

He could see Crowley's true self, as well, coiled in the air around him like a serpent. Torn and scarred from timeless epochs of abuse, from fighting to survive, but still intact, still strong, still woven through with golden threads of love that no power in Creation could destroy.

Yes, it was all so clear now. This beautiful, precious being needed to be protected.

That was Aziraphale's Purpose.

Behind him, the other angels prepared to attack. He could see the energy gathering around Sandalphon – always smiting, that one. There wouldn’t be time for Crowley to reach the door.

“Angel…” Tear-filled golden eyes reflected the soft white light that surrounded them.

“Go, my love.”

He let himself linger on the demon a few nanoseconds longer, enough time to memorize every line and furrow on that face.

Then he turned his full attention to his opponents.

Sandalphon’s blast of energy raced towards him, and Aziraphale caught it in one hand, crumpled it like paper, let the power flow back into the air like the heat of summer.

Michael had joined them again, blade in hand. Where had Aziraphale’s blade gone? It was a nice sword, flaming. Very impressive.

Ah, well. Improvisation it is.

Three angels rushed towards him.

With a wave of Aziraphale’s hand, sixty-three angel figurines came to life throughout the shop, and flew in to intercept them.

Not that his little army could do much other than provide a distraction, but they did that beautifully, tugging on hair and clothing, giving the other angels too many things to concentrate on. He could see the way they dodged, fruitless, careening into each other. The way their minds raced, trying to keep up with the action, to take everything in.

But Aziraphale’s mind was glacially calm. It was nothing at all to track all the trajectories, to see what each of the other angels planned to do.

To walk into the swirling melee and with a casual backhand, send Uriel across the shop to crash into the back wall.

His mind had never been so clear. If this was what hid behind the anxiety and fear, why, he should have given in eons ago.

The other angels moved so slowly. They were so tiny.

Even Sandalphon, fists flying, couldn’t keep up with Aziraphale’s movements; the Guardian picked him up and threw him across the shop.

It was so simple. So easy.

Effortless.

Until Michael’s blade sank into his right shoulder.

The brilliant fire of pain cut through the calm of his mind. Aziraphale screamed, not with sound, but with a wave of power rolling through the air, shaking the books from their shelves. His army of miniature angels fell, the glass and ceramic ones shattering with the sound of a hundred broken hearts.

He stumbled back, jerking the blade out of Michael’s hand. Bright gold ichor ran down his arm; dozens of eyes tried to blink themselves clear, focus on the room, the enemies again.

They were back again, all three, trying to rush him, overwhelm him. They thought this made him weak, to lose one arm, as if he didn’t still have another to fight with.

But suddenly his movements were slow, clumsy. He couldn’t see fifteen steps ahead in the fight anymore.

Now it was all he could do to keep them at bay.

“Aziraphale. You need to stop this.”

A handful of his eyes turned to look at Gabriel, standing just beyond the fighters, face a picture of stern disapproval.

“No.” His enemies still stood. He had to keep them busy…keep them from…

“Can’t you see what’s happened?” The Chief Archangel continued. “You’re fighting your own kind. The corruption must be worse than we thought.”

“I’m not corrupted,” he said, pulling the blade from his shoulder. It was so tiny. His fingers didn’t seem to want to hold onto it. His right hand was numb.

Useless.

“Come on, Aziraphale. Does this look like the work of a healthy angel?” Arms spread wide indicating the fight, the broken figurines, the toppled books, the shop itself. “We’ve had our suspicions for a long time. Frivolous miracles. Attachment to material objects. To ephemeral beings. To foods! Who knows how long the poison has been creeping into your mind? But it might not be too late.”

A steady hand held out, palm up. An offer. “Come back with us. We can purify you. Make you whole again.”

Aziraphale took a step back, but suddenly it was hard to keep balance. Michael's blade wavered, nearly fell from his grip. He was…tired. “That’s not…”

“What other choice do you have?” Gabriel pressed on. “If you continue to fight, you will lose. Why destroy yourself? Why reject the power of Heaven? For that?”

Two eyes on his shoulder followed the gesture.

There, by the open door of the shop, crouching, hidden, so that Aziraphale had failed to notice –

“Crowley. Why are you still here?”

He straightened, slowly, clinging to the doorframe. Tense, shivering, hardly able to stand – yet his eyes stayed locked on Aziraphale. Unwavering. “I told you. I will never leave you.” He held out his shaking hand, palm up. “Come on, Angel. Time to go.”

Aziraphale blinked half of his eyes, then the other half.

His right hand flashed, throwing the blade of Michael, pinning Gabriel to a bookcase by one coat sleeve.

Aziraphale scooped up the last book, lying on the table beside him, swinging it towards the other angels, scattering them. He felt it hit one, but he didn’t pause to see which, to notice if there was any damage.

He ran.

In three steps, he was where he belonged, beside his demon, grasping that hand, feeling Crowley’s strength pull him through the door.

With a snap of his fingers, Crowley miracled the doors shut, locked, and Aziraphale collapsed against them. Normal height, two eyes, familiar suit, rumpled and torn. No holy glow, just a long blood stain down one sleeve, a dull pain that went straight through his shoulder.

His head felt fuzzy, confused, packed once again with doubts and worries. He couldn’t even remember exactly what had happened – it was like sobering up after a particularly rough night of drinking. He needed rest.

But there wasn’t time for that.

He tossed the Key of Solomon to Crowley. “Page one-hundred eighty-three.”

“What?”

“The incantation.” He pressed his left hand to his wound, quickly drawing a circle of blood on the window of the door, right over the sign reading Sorry, We’re Closed. “Hurry!”

Crowley flipped through the pages. “I don’t recognize any of this!”

“I told you – it’s a special edition.” He glanced at the page Crowley held out for him, added a few lines to the sigil drawn in blood. “Manuals on summoning, binding and warding off both demons…and angels!”

He muttered the incantation under his breath –

Energy ripped through his body, down his arm, into the mark of blood –

And the whole shop glowed in a faint blue light.

Aziraphale let out a deep breath, letting himself fall to his knees beside the door, boneless with exhaustion.

“That should hold them. Not very long. Depends on how angry Gabriel is.”

“Angel. What…in there…”

“Crowley, I can’t.”

“Aziraphale, you –”

He turned to face the demon, and every fear and worry rose like the tears to his eyes, and he didn’t have the strength to hold them back anymore. “Please, don’t ask me. I just…what have I done?” He held one shaking hand to his forehead. He couldn’t even think through all the emotions. Anger. Grief. Pain. Fear. Loss. They seemed so much bigger than him. “I – I attacked the Archangels. I’m in Rebellion! Of all the angels who ever disobeyed, I must be the worst…most wretched…”

Crowley knelt beside him, pressing the book into Aziraphale’s chest. The angel instinctively grabbed it.

It was comforting, feeling the press of leather and paper against his hands. Even more comforting when Crowley reached across, traced a hand along his cheek, and whispered reverently: “You were beautiful.”

Then Crowley picked up something that lay on the sidewalk beside them: a brown leather bag. Aziraphale hadn’t even noticed it was missing from the table.

“My books!”

Without his glasses, Crowley seemed so different. Not the cold, distant demon full of ridiculous plans and cunning temptations. He seemed more frail, more vulnerable, and very, very tired.

But he still managed the same careless shrug and arrogant smirk. “Well, I might not be much good in a fight after all, but I’m not completely worthless.” He stood up, then held out his hand. “They’ll all be coming for us now.”

Aziraphale pushed aside the emotions that clouded his mind, grasped that hand, let it pull him to his feet.

And didn’t let go.

An angel and a demon, running hand-in-hand down one of London’s busiest streets.

Utterly reckless.

[cawandordersvu]

Someone here straight up called me a fucking liar when I told them the Ghayat al Hakim mentions gemstones because they so strongly associate gemstones with uwu witches. No serious book of magic could POSSIBLY use GEMSTONES. That's what anti vaxx white moms use, not us spoooky serious witches. The uwu tumblr witch meme has done more goddamn damage than any glitterjar master post because it's making all y'all allergic to even the most basic concepts lest anyone even slightly be able to associate you with a new ager meme.

UwU-ery ruined everything, you can't do anything even a little out of step now without someone assuming you're using your crystals to do MaGiCk for Steven Universe or something

[magicunessay2020-blog]

Astrological Timeline

Early Influences

4242 BCE Egyptian calendar is one the first calenders in use, marking 12 months made of 30 days, with a year consisting of 360 days. 4000 BCE The basic concepts of astrology are first utilized in Mesopotamia. The Ziggurat at Uruk, Ur and Babylon, built by the Sumerians, are the first astrological observatories in the world, where early astrologers kept track of the Sun, the Moon and the five planets that they could see.

3000 BCE Egyptian calendar is revised to 365 days.

2872 BCE Sargon of Akkad, the first ruler of the Akkadian empire, is one the first to use astrologer priests to predict the future.

1200 BCE The Babylonians invent the written first systematic astrological system over thousands of years. The records survive in the form of the Babylonian star catalogs, making Babylonian astrology the oldest astrological system on Earth.

One of the earliest compilations is the Enūma Anu Enlil; meaning “When the Gods Anu and Enlil…” It is composed of approximately 70 astrological tablets, which include around 7000 predictions. The Babylonian astrological system was very omen-oriented, and such records were kept to predict the state of the king and the nation as a whole.

1000 BCE The MUL.APIN, was compiled, which consisted of the most significant star lists in Babylonian astrology. It contained 71 stars and constellations as well as their rising and setting times. The stars were also associated with specific deities. The Babylonians originally listed 17-18 constellations, but in later revisions, the number of constellations was reduced to 12 major ones. Many believe copies of the tablets carried astrology from Babylon to India, sometime between 400 and 300 BCE.

Babylonians recognized five planets—Jupiter associated with God Marduk, Venus with Goddess Ishtar, Saturn with Ninurta, Mercury with Nabu and Mars with Nergal.

The 12 Babylonian Astrological Signs

GU.AN.NA – Heavenly Bull, The Bull of Heaven (Taurus)

MASH.TA.BA – Twins, The Great Twins (Gemini)

AL.LUL – Pincers, Crayfish (Cancer)

UR.GU.LA – Lion, The Lion (Leo)

AB.SIN – Daughter of Sin, The Seed-Furrow (Virgo)

ZI.BA.AN.NA or GISH.ERIN – Heavenly Fate, The Scales (Libra)

GIR.TAB – That Which Claws And Cuts, The Scorpion (Scorpio)

PA.BIL.SAG – Defender, The Overseer (Sagittarius)

SUHUR.MASH – Goat-Fish, The Goat-Fish (Capricorn)

GU.LA – Lord Of Waters, The Great One (Aquarius)

SIM.MAH – Fishes, The Tails, Swallow Tail (Pisces)

LU.HUNG.GA – Field Worker (Aries)

700 BCE The present day zodiac wheel was shaped by the wheel that the Babylonians created  

549 BC Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid king of Persia, conquered Babylon.

572-490 B.C.E. Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician, identifies the wisdom embodied within numbers, and theorizes that numbers are important to the universe, and they come together in harmony to create the world that we see. He was one of the first to refer to the universe as the Cosmos. His ideas were the foundation for the Pythagorean Theorem. His theory solidified the mathematics and science behind the planetary aspects that are used today. His ideas influenced some of the greatest philosophers in history.

535 BCE Pythagoras sets up a colony to learn about astrology, numerology and the occult arts - the Brotherhood.

475 BCE. Empedocles replaces the theory of matter with the theory that all of the substances derive from the four elements: fire, air, water and earth - which are the basic principles of developing astrological interpretations used today. He theorized that nothing can be created or destroyed, only transformed.

428-348 BCE. Plato's Timeus (360 BCE) identifies the universe as a living entity, composed of four elements (air, fire, water, earth) which distinguish each form by their molecular structure, although all four elements are interconnected and interrelated in a perfect harmonious form.

460 BCE. Hippocrates used earlier astrological and universal principles laid before him, and applied them to the study of the human body in relation to the rhythms observed within the universe as a whole.

409 BCE The oldest known horoscope chart is created

370 BCE Eudoxus of Cnidus invented a model of twenty-seven concentric spheres by which he was able to calculate the sun's annual motions through the zodiac, the moon's motion including its wobble, and the retrograde motions of the planets (27 Spheres, one for the fixed stars, three each for the Sun and Moon and four for each of the five planets). He created calendars using the zodiac with all 12 equal zodiac signs.

331 BCE Alexander the Great conquers Babylon and establishes the city of Alexandria. Under his rule, the Greeks further advances in astrology, along with developments in medicine, geometry, mathematics, and philosophy - furthering on the theories put forth by Pythagoras, Plato, Hippocrates, and Aristotle.

330 B.C.E. Berossus a Babylonian/Chaldean astrologer founds the School of Astrology at the Island of Cos. Many Greek astrologers learned and taught there.

330 BCE Alexander the Great spreads the knowledge of astrology throughout the Middle East. Greece personalizes astrology. The word astrology itself is derived from the Greek word for "star," and the word zodiac which means “the circle of animals.” The Greeks borrowed some of their myths from the Babylonians and invented many of their own, such as adding the names of their heroes to the constellations. The animals representing the signs were placed among the stars usually for great acts of heroism, and were usually associated with the Greek gods. The Greek words were translated to the Latin words that are used today.

290 BCE The legendary Alexandria becomes the center of astrological research. 250 BCE Achinapolus and Antipatrus teach medical astrology based on the teachings of Berossus. They begin to experiment with natal horoscopes.

207 BCE Galen, a Greek physician, combines the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates, building upon them to create a functional system, for human anatomy and medical theories. He built upon Hippocrates earlier theory, that health requires an equilibrium between the four main bodily fluids, or humours—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. Each of the humours is built up from the four elements and displays two of the four primary qualities: hot, cold, wet, and dry. He was one of the first to argue that humoral imbalances can be located in specific organs, as well as in the body as a whole. This modification of the theory allowed doctors to make more precise diagnoses and to prescribe specific remedies to restore the body’s balance. 

200 BCE Astrology for predicting the future appears in Rome.

Papyrus with Greek Horoscope of Anubion Son of Psansnos , 2nd century CE, from Thebes, Egypt, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes

100 BCE The Essenes develop the Qabbalah and esoteric astrology.

60 BCE First school of astrology opens in Rome.

7 BCE The birth of Christ is predicted by three Magi astrologers, using a star. 150 CE Ptolemy, a Greek astrologer and mathematician published the Tetrabiblos, which was one of the most revered astrology works ever written. The Tetrabiblos contained the core techniques of astrology including planets, zodiac signs, houses, and aspects, which are still relevant and heavily used today. 400 CE The Library of Alexandria containing many of the world’s texts on astrology is destroyed.

474 CE European astrology in decline after the Fall of the Roman Empire. 600 CE The Church condemns astrology and tries to suppress it. 639 CE Egypt is invaded and taken over by the Islamic Empire. This marks the end of the Hellenistic astrological tradition. 750 CE Muslim astrologers revive Greek astrology.

787-886 CE Arabic astrologer Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi writes the Kitab al-Madkhal al-kabir ila ‘ilm ahkam al-nujum (The Great Introduction). This was one of the most comprehensive astrology books written, that detailed scientifically, the astral influences on the material world, and the human body and life. The Great Introduction was translated into Latin first by John of Seville in 1133 CE.

801-873 CE The book De radiis stellicis (On the Stellar Rays) is written by Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, which further combines Galen’s work, with Arabic astronomy, setting a precedent for medical treatments using astrology. 

~ 1000 CE. Majriti (pseudo name) composes the Ghayat al-Hakim (The Picatrix), whose fundamental objective is to teach its reader how to determine the appropriate astrological time to contact celestial spirits and then “draw down” their essence by inducing them into a talisman created with materials which are sympathetic/resonate to, that particular spirit.

A page from the Picatrix

~1000 CE. Ibn Yunis, Moslem astronomer, compiles the Hakamite tables of planetary motions at Cairo.

1020 CE. Firdausi, or Abul-Qasim Mansur, Persia's epic poet, writes the Sah-Namah of over 60,000 couplets, containing many astrological references.

Kitāb al-tafhīm li-awā’īl ṣinā‘at al-tanjīm, Biruni, 11th century

~1114-1187 CE. Gerard of Cremona translates the Crises and the Critical Days from Arabic to Latin, allowing these great works to influence the educational climate of the time.

1200 CE The University of Bologna that was established in 1088 CE, becomes the center for learning medical astrology.

~1240-1311 CE. Arnald of Villanova wrote De iudiciis astronomiae, in which he wrote an influential treatise on the application of astrology to medicine. He combined Arabic teachings with Galen’s Critical Days, and used them to determine many methods of treating patients. 

1250 CE Ancient magic and astrology is linked in the Speculum Astronomiae by Roger Bacon. 

1255 CE Astrology is taught at Cambridge University in England. During this time Astrology is considered a science of the higher class, and many royals had court astrologers, and relied on them for predictions and medical advice.  1280 CE Johannes Campanus, an Italian astrologer and physician works for Pope Urban IV and develops a new way to divide astrological houses. ~1300 CE Almanacs (calenders) that contained star charts were employed by physicians, which allowed them to check the positions of the stars before making diagnoses. The book contained diagrams of the the body, and its corresponding star sign. 

1399 CE Almanac diagram of the ‘Zodiac Man’

Diagram from a 1486 CE Medical Almanac 

1400 CE The printing press is invented which allows mass production of astrological writings to be distributed in Europe. The Vatican promotes the instruction of astrology, with many Popes that were astrologers, and many served royal families in England, Italy, France and Austria.

1555 CE Andrew Dygges publishes A Prognostication, Manuscript on Medical Astrology in London, which became widely used by physicians. It attributed the zodiac signs to the specific body parts and organs of the human body, usually depicted visually.

~1500s CE All over Europe, physicians were required by law to calculate the position of the moon before carrying out complicated medical procedures.

1603-1668 CE Placidus, a monk and mathematics professor, created the house division system used by astrologers today.

The renaissance period, marks the period of enlightenment, and ushers in a decline in the use of astrology as a science.

Solar Zodiologium – prognostications when the sun is in each of the signs of the zodiac. The writer offers advice related to daily life and health, matters that would readers would find useful in either the 15th century or the 21st.

[skepticaloccultist]

The Cult of the Black Cube

"The Cult of the Black Cube" Arthur Moros

The concept of "chthonic" gods have long lingered in the midsts of magical practices. Hekate herself is often referred to as chthonic and the term, literally "subterranean", refers to gods and beings that come not just from under the earth, but from a time before the current order of the universe was established.

Saturn, a deity with a wide cultural appeal that spans much more than the Greco-Roman eras from which it is commonly derived, has become a focus for those looking to find a being whose origins are in many ways similar to the Luciferian path, but without the Abrahamic inclinations and Judeo-Christian mindset involved in the devotion of Lucifer itself.

As Saturn has become a kind of contemporary magical stand-in for the Lord of Darkness, harkening to an age that predates the Christian mythos, a wide selection of material based around the Saturnine figure has emerged over the past several decades.

In his insightful volume "The Cult of the Black Cube" author Arthur Moros gives us a brilliant analysis of the Saturnine path, illuminating some of the variables that have historically found root in Saturn as a deity surrounded by devotional and magical practices.

A concise text that begins with an historic overview and personal insights from the author the work ends with a practical grimoire for those who are interested in practicing along the path of Saturn.

Drawing extensively on the Arabic texts of the "Ghayat al Hakim" (the Picatrix) and the "Filaha al-Nabatiyya", "The Cult of the Black Cube" is as much a warning to the would be devotee as it is an instruction on how to proceed.

The traditions that have long surrounded Saturn and his surrogates involved a kind of temporal darkness of the mind that may ward off those not prepared for such an intensive path - involving blood sacrifice, emotional insecurity and stages of complete mental alienation.

The work presented in "The Cult of the Black Cube" is a straightforward introduction to Saturn as a practical devotional deity through which a follower may access the Saturnine Gnosis of the Black Cube, that physical manifestation of the "prison" in which Saturn has been bound and from which he may be called.

While Moros gives us some useful meat on which we may feast in terms of Saturn as a global idea rooted in many cultures throughout the world, I did wonder at his lack of reference between the "Black Man" that is conjured forth from the Black Cube idol, and the European idea of a "Black Man" as the center of the witch's sabbat. There is clearly a connection to be drawn between these cultural concepts that is overlooked. Though it in no way detracts from the book and its ideas, it is worth future exploration and investigation.

For students of the dark arts who find the Judeo-Christian setting of Luciferian Gnosis a bit heavy handed, The Cult of the Black Cube can provide a perfect remedy to those seeking the darkness of the benighted path.

As one can expect the publisher Theion have done an exceptional job with a dark blue cloth binding, silver stamped text on spine with Saturn sigil on the cover, and wonderful internal typesetting. As well the influence of editor David Beth is referenced in the text and it is clear he has had a hand in guiding these ideas and their author on his exploration of the chthonic path from which the Black Cube emanates.

Rumor is that the publisher is nearly out of the work, which means it will be out of print soon. It is a must have for students of Dark Gnosis, Saturnine practices and those looking for a solid alternative to the endless stream of Luciferian imagery in contemporary occultism. Get yourself a copy before they are gone.

Find your copy directly from Theion here:

The Cult of the Black Cube

[itztagninut]

honestly liana saif is a blessing and i cherish all of her work but i absolutely cannot wait for her english translation of the arabic ghayat al-hakim (the Original picatrix).

i feel like it’s going to be one of those books that really shake up the popular practice of magic and i simply cannot wait to get my hands on it :’)

[glitchbottle]

Dr. Liana Saif is an author, scholar and critical translator of esoteric and occult manuscripts. She received a British Academy postdoctoral fellowship at the Oriental Institute in the University of Oxford (St. Cross College), and is interested in Western and Islamic occult thought and the exchange of esoteric ideas between the two worlds. Dr. Saif is preparing an English translation of the Arabic magic compendium Ghayat Al-Hakim known as the Picatrix, as part of her current project, entitled 'On the Margins of Legitimacy: Magic in Medieval Islam.’ 

------- Become a Glitch Bottle patron!: ✅►https://www.patreon.com/glitchbottle 

🔥 Thank you to all the kick-ass Glitch Bottle patrons for supporting this podcast and all other videos and episodes, which would not have been made in the same spirit without you. You are very much appreciated. 🔥

[wagahai-da]

i’m gonna have to learn arabic and just translate the picatrix/ghayat al-hakim myself

[chez-mimich]

ANDAR PER TESORI

“...Quando la luna è in congiunzione con Mercurio, occorre preparare una mistura di cumino, mandorle amare, semi di ebano, cinnamomo, mirra, radici di piante erbacee ed altre essenze. Fumigando si deve invocare il pianeta per mezzo dell’angelo Arquyel, stando seduti su un trono simile a quello su cui è normalmente rappresentato il pianeta, da sempre protettore di ladri e commercianti anche truffaldini. Il lungo rituale di captazione prevede che vengano elencati tutti i nomi con cui Mercurio è noto, in latino, in arabo, in persiano, in greco, tutti i suoi epiteti, tutte le attività che esso governa. Poi si dovrà sacrificare un gallo e mangiarne il fegato. Infine comparirà uno spirito al servizio di chi lo ha chiamato. Se il desiderio è quello della ricchezza, esso condurrà a un tesoro...”

(“Ghayat al-Hakim” in “Andar per tesori” di Allegra Iafrate)

[ridiculebutcool-blog]

The Ghayat Ek Hakim, known in the west as “Picatrix”. The name “Buqratis” is mentionned as being the translator of sacred greek books of wisdom. Probably Harpocrates, or Horus.This book explains how to carve talismans and cook potions under the auspices of the seven planets (here Venus and the Sun in red ink). Sabian book of (non-muslim) wisdom. The Sabians of Harran, in Turkey and northern Syria, were influenced by the greek pagan philosophers who fled from Byzantium in the 5th century AD. Epitome of “occult science”...

IXth Century AD, . Supposed author :Pseudo Al Majriti.

http://makhtota.ksu.edu.sa/makhtota/6164/60#.VgOZ9hX0y6Y

Other versions can be found at the Warburg Institute.

[escolademagia]

Livros antigos que prometem Poderes Sobrenaturais

Desde os primórdios da humanidade nós flertamos com o sobrenatural atraídos por estranhas promessas de iluminação e poder. Não a toa, ao longo dos séculos, várias obras foram escritas e dedicadas a essa prática, descrevendo rituais complicados e misteriosos que são oferecidos como uma conexão com o mundo dos espíritos, e as vezes, a solução de todos os nossos problemas.Instigados por este fenômeno, fomos atrás desses artefatos místicos e reunimos aqui alguns desses itens raros que até hoje ativam a cobiça dos homens.

✔ O Livro de Abramelin, o MagoEscrito no século 15, o Livro de Abramelin o Mago é um dos textos místicos mais importantes de todos os tempos. Foi escrito por Abraham von Worms, um viajante judeu que supostamente encontrou o enigmático mago Abramelin durante uma viagem ao Egito. Em troca de 10 florins e a promessa de piedade, Abramelin teria ditado este manuscrito de magia para Abraham, que, em seguida, passou para seu filho Lameque.O descrito Ritual de Abramelim, referido como "a operação", é uma tarefa árdua. É constituída por 18 meses de oração e purificação, o que só é recomendado para os homens de boa saúde entre as idades de 25 e 50. As mulheres em geral são desencorajados a prática da "operação" por causa da sua "curiosidade e amor pela conversa", embora uma exceção pode ser feita para as virgens. Se os princípios da "operação" são cumpridos rigorosamente e com inabalável devoção, você entra em contato com o seu Sagrado Anjo Guardião, que irá conceder-lhe uma variedade de poderes. Estes poderes incluem a necromancia e adivinhação, precognição, o controle do tempo, o conhecimento de segredos, visões do futuro, e a capacidade de abrir portas trancadas. Este livro teve um impacto  profundo no ocultista famoso Aleister Crowley , que alegou ter experimentado várias ocorrências sobrenaturais depois de embarcar no ritual, e na Ordem Hermética da Golden Dawn, uma ordem mágica britânica do século 19. Mais tarde Crowley teria usado o livro como base para o seu próprio sistema de magia. ✔ GaldrabokUm grimório islandês que se originou no século 16. O Galdrabok é uma coleção de 47 feitiços compilados por vários magos. Como a maioria da magia islandêsa do período, o Galdrabok depende fortemente de runas que possuem propriedades mágicas quando levadas junto ao corpo, esculpido em objetos, ou escrito na pele. Entre as pautas estabelecidas no Galdrabok, encontramos feitiços para incitar o medo em seus inimigos e colocar alguém para dormir. A maioria das magias encontradas no Galdrabok são "magias apotropaicas," remédios benignos destinadas a proteger o praticante e curar doenças. O que inclui cansaço, dificuldade no parto, dores de cabeça e insônia. Outros feitiços são bem peculiar, como o intitulado "Fart Runes", é uma magia que vai atacar seu inimigo com gases, e o fará peidar sem parar. Já outros são absolutamente sinistros. Como o Feitiço 27, por exemplo, quando desenhado sobre a comida de alguém, pode fazê-lo doente e incapaz de comer durante todo o dia. ✔ Papiro Mágico GregoO papiros mágicos gregos do século II AC listam feitiços, rituais e adivinhações. Algumas das instruções falam sobre evocar um demônio sem cabeça, abrir as portas para o submundo para se proteger de animais selvagens. Talvez o mais tentador de tudo seja a magia de como ganhar um assistente sobrenatural, uma entidade sobrenatural que segue as suas ordens.Os feitiços mais encontrados nos papiros são cerimônias com magias de adivinhação que oferecem visões do futuro. Uma de suas passagens mais conhecidas fornece instruções para a previsão de eventos usando um "urna de ferro", "uma oferenda de incenso," e uma "criança pura". Depois de ser colocada em um transe profundo, a criança é capaz de ver imagens bonitas nas chamas do fogo. Entre os componentes mais famosos do Papiros, está a Liturgia de Mithras. Esta cerimônia descreve como ascender através de sete planos superiores da existência e se comunicar com a divindade Mithras. ✔ O Black PulletOriginária da França, no século 18, o Black Pullet se concentra principalmente no estudo de talismãs mágicos, objetos especiais gravados com palavras místicas que protegem e capacitam o seu usuário. Ele teria sido escrito por um oficial anônimo do exército de Napoleão, que afirmou ter recebido o conteúdo de um misterioso mago durante uma expedição ao Egito. O Pullet inclui instruções detalhadas sobre como construir talismãs com aço, seda e tinta especial. Entre estas invocações esta um feitiço para invocar um djinn, uma criatura feita de fumaça e fogo que vai lhe trazer o verdadeiro amor. Se as suas intenções forem mais ambiciosas, então a Pullet também fornece talismãs que forçarão qualquer um a dizer-lhe os seus segredos, permitem que você abra portas fechadas, e destrua qualquer um que esteja tramando algo contra sua pessoa.

✔ Ars AlmadelO Ars Almadel é o quarto livro da Chave Menor de Salomão , também conhecido como o Lemegeton , um grimório significativo de demonologia compilado no século 17 por um autor desconhecido. Este livro em particular fornece um modelo para a construção de um altar de cera mágico, parecido com o tabuleiro Ouija, que lhe permite comunicar com os anjos. O Almadel é composto por quatro Altitudes, cada um dos quais corresponde a um conjunto único de anjos com diferentes domínios. O texto fornece os nomes dos anjos de cada Coro, a maneira correta de dirigir seus pedidos a eles (pedir apenas o que é "justo e leal"), e as melhores datas de calendário para invocá-los. Ele também inclui breves descrições físicas destas manifestações angelicais. Os Anjos do Terceira Coro, por exemplo, vêm na forma de "mulheres pouco vestidas de verde e prata" com coroas feitas de folhas de louro. ✔ PicatrixO Picatrix é um antigo grimório de magia astrológica. Originalmente escrito em árabe e intitulou o Ghayat Al-Hakim, que remete ao século 11 e se estende por um volume de 400 páginas de teoria astrológica. Paralelamente são feitiços e encantamentos para canalizar as energias ocultas dos planetas e estrelas para alcançar o poder da iluminação.O Picatrix é mais notório pela obscenidade de suas receitas mágicas. Estas misturas terríveis e potencialmente mortais são projetados para induzir estados alterados de consciência e experiências extra-corpóreas. Não é para os fracos de coração, os seus ingredientes incluem sangue, excreções corporais, e massa encefálica misturado com grandes quantidades de haxixe, ópio e plantas psicoativas. Para construir um espelho que lhe dá poder sobre os mortos, por exemplo, você deve usar fumos nocivos de "sangue, esperma, saliva, cera de ouvido , as lágrimas dos olhos, fezes e urina." ✔ Arbatel de magia VeterumComposto no final do século 16 por um autor desconhecido, o Arbatel de magia Veterum é um manual abrangente de aconselhamento e aforismos espiritual. O Arbatel é muito parecido com um livro de auto-ajuda mística, salientando a importância da piedade cristã, a produtividade, do pensamento positivo, e o uso da magia para ajudar, em vez de prejudicar. Seus grãos de sabedoria incluem "Evitar a amizade do povo" e "fugir do mundano para buscar coisas celestiais." O Arbatel revela uma série de rituais para invocar os sete governadores celestes e suas legiões que governam as províncias do universo. Os governadores incluem Bethel, que traz medicamentos milagrosos, Phalec, que traz honra na guerra, e Aratron, que "faz os homens peludos". No entanto, a capacidade de realizar esses rituais é apenas para uma pessoa que seja nascido para a magia no ventre de sua mãe. Todos os outros, Arbatel adverte, são imitadores impotentes. Além de anjos e arcanjos, o Arbatel menciona um círculo de outros espíritos elementais que existem além do véu do mundo físico, incluindo pigmeus, ninfas, dríades, sílfides e saganis (espíritos mágicos mortais que habitam o elementos). ✔ Ars NotoriaO grimório salomônico datado no século 13, o Ars Notoria, não contém quaisquer mágicas ou poções. Em vez disso, ele foca na aquisição da aprendizagem, o comando de memória, e ganhar a introspecção na leitura de livros difíceis. O Ars Notoria promete o domínio profissional nas artes da geometria, aritmética e filosofia, através de um longo processo diário de visualização, contemplação e orações. Por meio dessas orações, você pode pedir a Deus por dotes intelectuais, incluindo eloquência, sentidos aguçados, sabedoria e memória perfeita.Como um livro preocupado principalmente com a iluminação, o Ars Notoria evita alguns dos aspectos mais maléficos da magia. No entanto, nem todos estavam convencidos de sua natureza benigna. Um monge do século 14, John de Morigny, devotamente seguiu os ensinamentos do Ars Notoria e passou a ter visões assombrosas, até que ele alegou que as próprias visões eram de natureza demoníaca. Ele alertou as pessoas da natureza diabólica do Ars Notoria em seu próprio manuscrito mística, o Liber Visonum.

✔ Pseudomonarchia DaedonumO Pseudomonarchia Daedonum foi escrito pelo famoso médico e demonologista do século 16 Johann Weyer, que foi muito inspirado por seu ex-professor, renomado ocultista alemão Heinrich Cornelius Agripa. É o apêndice de sua obra seminal contra a perseguição da bruxaria, o Praestigiis Daemonum , saudado por Sigmund Freud como um dos livros mais importantes de todos os tempos.O Pseudomonarchia Daedonum é um catálogo de 69 nobres demônios proeminentes membros da monarquia do Inferno, suas especialidades, e os métodos de conjurar-los. Naberius, por exemplo, é um marquês que vem sob a forma de um corvo e "concede a um homem amável e astúcia em todas as artes". Foras é um presidente que "encontra coisas perdidas e descobre tesouros". Outros membros da aristocracia demoníaca incluem Haagenti, que pode transformar água em vinho. Shax, que rouba cavalos, a visão e a audição das pessoas, e Eligos, que pode ver o futuro de guerras e os destinos dos soldados. Weyer, no entanto, era um cristão devoto que abordou a perspectiva de conjurar estes espíritos infernais com grande cautela. Ele omitiu detalhes importantes dos rituais e advertiu aqueles que leram o Pseudomonarchia contra a sua própria insensatez. ✔ Livro Juramentado do HonórioO Livro Juramentado de Honório é um grimório medieval de magia ritual que teria sido escrito por Honório de Tebas , uma figura misteriosa, possivelmente mitológica que nunca foi identificado. O livro começa com uma crítica mordaz a igreja católica. A Igreja, um inimigo acérrimo das artes das trevas, foi corrompido pelo diabo, cujo objetivo é condenar a humanidade, livrando o mundo dos benefícios da magia.O livro faz exigências elevadas de seus praticantes. Apenas três exemplares do livro podem ser feitas, qualquer pessoa em posse do livro que não consiga encontrar um mago digno de herdar a obra, deve levá-lo para a sua sepultura. Como muitos outros grimórios, seus rituais focam principalmente na convocação dos anjos, demônios e outros espíritos para adquirir conhecimento e poder. Ao repetir orações, é prometido ao praticante uma variedade de habilidades cintilantes. Esses poderes vão desde os impressionantes (causando inundações e destruindo reinos) até o sinistro (conhecer o purgatório e saber a hora de sua morte). Entre as suas magias mais malignas estão aquelas para "lançar doenças em seus inimigos", "causar discórdia", e "para matar quem você quiser."