Your entire life, your very being, your physical body, indeed, every ongoing living process must be a talisman of the nature of your Angel.
David Shoemaker, Living Thelema: A Practical Guide to Attainment in Aleister Crowley’s System of Magick
Tag Archives: talisman
Liber AL vel Legis
Hermetic Library fellow T Polyphilus reviews The Book of the Law: Liber Al Vel Legis by Aleister Crowley:
“FRATER PERDURABO composed His talisman by invoking His Holy Guardian Angel according to the Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage. That Angel wrote on the lamen the Word of the Aeon. The Book of the Law is this writing. To this lamen the Master Therion gave life by devoting His own life thereto. We may then regard this talisman, the Law, as the most powerful that has been made in the world’s history, for previous talismans of the same type have been limited in their scope by conditions of race and country.”
This book “is the Interpretation of the Secret Will of Man on every Plane of his By-coming.”
P.S. “The study of this Book is forbidden.” [via]
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Mercury Dimes
Bkwyrm, of the Occult Book Reviews site at the library, has a special offer on Mercury dimes, including a special on a combo of dime and ritual oil that seems like a pretty good deal. These are special order, so check out the Mercury Dimes page for details.
“The Mercury dime is a ten-cent coin struck by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1945. Designed by Adolph Weinman and sometimes referred to as the Winged Liberty dime, it gained the term “Mercury dime” because the depiction of Liberty, in her winged cap, was often confused with the Roman god Mercury. The reverse of the coin shows a a bundle of wooden sticks with an axe blade emerging from the center, called a fasces, symbolizing unity and strength, and an olive branch, signifying peace.
In hoodoo and some forms of American folk magic, a Mercury dime is considered an extremely lucky talisman. Traditionally, it is pierced, anointed with oils, and worn on a cotton string around the ankle. It is said to turn black if the wearer is being attacked with negative magic. Other practitioners wear a Mercury dime as a pendant around the neck for the same reason, but also as a charm for luck. The Mercury dime is also a common item found in “mojo bags” or “mojo hands” created for various purposes, usually related to luck or money. Due to the god Mercury’s position as patron of games of chance and sleight of hand, the Mercury dime is considered a powerful talisman for gambling purposes.
We recently discovered a local coin dealer who had something of a stash of circulated Mercury dimes. This means the coins are somewhat worn and tarnished, as they were actually used. A coin dealer would find that this makes the coin worth less to them, but for magical purposes, a circulated coin may well be more effective than an uncirculated one – the theory is that the coin has been in contact with other money and has been “in the flow” of circulation, and will work more effectively for attracting wealth. Because the Mercury dimes are 90% silver, they have become slightly more difficult to find, as the cost of silver has increased.
QUADRIVIUM SUPPLIES has a limited number of Mercury dimes, which we are offering to our customers in the following ways:
- The coin alone ($10).
- The coin as a pendant, set in a nickel-plated bezel on a sterling silver chain ($15).
- Special Holiday Offer – The coin in conjunction with a vial of oil, regular or electional ($20).
For leap year coins, please add $5 to the price.
Because of the limited number of coins, these are available by special order only.” [via]
I Make Myself Invisible in Articles by Aleister Crowley.
“According to the rules of magic, I built a terrace with a northern aspect and carted river sand to it.
I worked in the breakfast-room at making the talismans which were necessary to my purpose. The sun was streaming into the room, but in vain; there was a darkness which could be felt. The demons, evil forces, had congregated round me so thickly that they were shutting off the light. It was a comforting situation. There could be no more doubt of the efficiency of the operation.” [via, also]
Egyptian Magic in Egyptian Magic by Florence Farr.
“The body of the Initiate was therefore preserved after death as a species of Talisman or material basis for the manifestation of the Soul upon earth.” [via]
William Blake and his Illustrations to The Divine Comedy in Ideas of Good and Evil by William Butler Yeats.
“here and there among the pictures born of sensation and memory is the murmuring of a new ritual, the glimmering of new talismans and symbols” [via]
William Blake and his Illustrations to The Divine Comedy in Ideas of Good and Evil by William Butler Yeats.
“is not the Bacchus and Ariadne of Titian a talisman as powerfully charged with intellectual virtue as though it were a jewel-studded door of the city seen on Patmos?” [via]