Flying Roll No.XIV

TALISMANS AND FLASHING TABLETS

By Frater Sapere Aude (W. Wynn Westcott)

A TALISMAN is a magical figure charged with the torce which it is intended to represent. In the construction ota Talisman, care should be taken to make it, as far as is possible, so to represent the Universal Forces that it should be in exact harmony with those you wish to attract, and the more exact the symbolism, the more easy it is to attract the force — other things coinciding, such as consecration at the right time, etc.

A SYMBOL should also be correct in its symbolism, but it is not necessarily the same as a Talisman.

A FLASHING TABLET is one made in the complementary colours. A flashing colour, then, is the complementary colour which, if joined to the original, enables it to attract, to a certain extent, the Akasic current from the atmosphere, and to a certain extent from yourself, thus forming a vortex which can attract its flashing light from the atmosphere. Therefore, to make anything of this description which shall be really operative, so does it proportionately tire you.

The complementary colours are:

The other complementaries of other mixed colours can easily be found from this scale.

Coming now to the nature and method of formation of the Talisman, the first thing to be remembered is that it is not always a just and right thing to form a Talisman with the idea of completely changing the current of another person's Karma. In any case you could only do this in a certain sense. It will be remembered that the words of the CHRIST which preceded His cures were "Thy sins be forgiven thee," which meant that the Karmic action was exhausted. Only an Adept who is of the nature of a God can have the power, even if he have the right, to take upon himself the Karma of another. That is to say, that if you endeavour to change completely, (I am not now speaking of adapting and making the best of a person's Karma), the life current, you must be of so great a force that you can take this Karma from them by right of the Divine Power to which you have attained — in which case you will only do it in so far as it does not hinder their spiritual development.

If, however, this is attempted on a lower plane, it will usually be found that what you are endeavouring to bring about is in direct opposition to the Karma of the person concerned. It will not work the required effect and will probably bring a current of exhaustion and trouble on yourself. Without doing much good you will have attracted his own Karma into your own atmosphere and, in fact, brought it on yourself.

These remarks only apply to an attempted radical change in the Karma of another, which is a thing you have no right to do until you have attained the highest adeptship.

The formation or adaptation of Talismans in ordinary matters should be employed with great discernment. What may assist in material things is often

a hindrance spiritually, seeing that for a force to work, it must attract elemental forces of the proper description, which may thus, to an extent, endanger your spiritual nature.

Also, in making Talismans for a person, you must endeavour to isolate yourself entirely from him. You must banish from your mind any feeling of love or hate, irritation, etc., for all these feelings operate against your power.

It is but rarely that a Talisman for the love of a person is a right and justifiable thing to construct. Purelove links us to the nature of the Gods. There is a perfect love between the Angels and the gods because there is perfect harmony among them, but that is not the lower and earthly love. Thus a Talisman made for terrestrial love would be sealed with the impress of your own weakness, and even if successful, would react on you in other ways. The only way in which real power can be gained, is by transcending the material plane and trying to link yourself to your Divine and Higher Soul. That is why trouble is so great an initiator, because trouble brings you nearer spiritual things when material things faiL

Therefore, a Talisman as a rule is better made for one in whom you have no interest. In the work of actual consecration, it is always a good thing to purify the room and use the Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All these are aids which the Adept, when sufficiently advanced, will know when to use and when not to do so. It is better, if possible, to finish a Talisman at one sitting, because it is begun under certain conditions and it may be difficult to put yourself in the same frame of mind at another time.

Another point that beginners are apt to run away with, is that Talismans can be made wholesale. Suppose a dozen Talismans were made to do good to as many different people, a ray from yourself must charge each Talisman. You have sent out a sort of spiral from your aura which goes on to the Talisman and attracts a like force from the atmosphere — that is, if you have

learned to excite the like force in yourself at the moment of consecration. So that, in the case supposed, you would have a dozen links connecting with you, like so many wires in a telegraph office, and whenever the force which any of these Talismans was designed to combat becomes too strong for the force centred therein, there is an instantaneous communication with you — so that the loss of force to which you would be continually liable might be such as to deplete you of vitality and cause you to faint.

In cases where Talismans and symbols have done their work, they should be carefully decharged, and then destroyed. If this is not done, and you take a symbol, say of water, still charged and throw it into the fire to get rid of it, you are inflicting intense torment on the Elemental you have attracted, and it will react on you sooner or later. Also, if you throw away a still charged Talisman, thus desecrating it, it will become the property of other things, which, through it, will be enabled to get at you. It is for these reasons that the Talisman should be decharged with the Pentagram and Hexagram according as it partakes of the planetary or zodiacal nature — and these remarks apply equally to Flashing Tablets.

If a Talisman is given to a person who goes away, and does not return it, you can render it inoperative by invoking it astrally and then decharging it with great care and force.

A FLASHING TABLET should be carefully made charged, and consecrated, and then each morning the Adeptus should sit before it and practise clairvoyance, endeavouring to go through it to the plane it represents, and then to invoke the power and ask for strength to accomplish the matter desired, which will be granted if it be a lawful and laudable operation.

Any Flashing Tablet of two colours should be as nearly balanced in proportion of the extent of colour as possible — the ground one colour, and the

charge another. There is also a mode in which three colours can be used in a planetary talisman. This is done by placing the seven colours on the Heptagram, and drawing two lines to the points exactly opposite, which will thus yield two flashing colours. This properly drawn, will give the effect of a flashing light playing on the symbol, partly visible physically and partly clairvoyantly, i.e., if properly charged. An advanced Adept should be able to charge his Tablet to a certain extent as he constructs it.

The radical colour of the Planet is symbolical. But a Talisman for harmony of idea say, could be well represented by the TIPHARETH of VENUS—a beautiful yellow-green, and so on.

The Lion Kerub of VENUS would represent spiritual fire and thus symbolises the inspiration of the poet — the colour being a soft and beautiful pearl grey, and the charges should be white. The Watery part of Venus would represent the reflective faculty and answer to spiritual beauty, colour a bluish-green. The Vault contains a perfect scale of Talismans of every description of Planet, and shows how a planetary man will look at everything according to the colour of his aura, due to the planet under which he is born. The real Adept comes forth from the sides to the centre. He is no longer under the dominion of the Stars.

Having made a Magical Talisman, you should use some form of charging and consecrating it, which is suitable to the operation. There are certain words and Letters which are to be invoked in the charging of a Tablet, the Letters governing the Sign under which the operation falls, together with the Planet associated therewith (if a planetary Talisman). Thus in Elemental operations, you take the Letters of the appropriate zodiacal triplicity, adding AL thereto, thus forming an Angelic Name which is the expression of the force. Hebrew Names as a rule, represent the operation of certain general forces, while the names on the Enochian or Angelical Tablets represent a species of more particular ideas. Both classes of Names should be used in these operations.

After preparing the room in the way laid down for the consecration of lesser magical implements, supposing this to be an Elemental Talisman, first formulate towards the Four Quarters the Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram as taught. Then invoke the Divine Names, turning towards the quarter of the Element.

Let the Adeptus then, being seated or standing before the Tablet, and looking in the requisite direction of the force which he wishes to invoke, take several deep inspirations, close the eyes, and holding the breath, mentally pronounce the letters of the Forces invoked. Let this be done several times, as if you breathed upon the Tablet pronouncing them in the vibratory manner. Then, rising, make the sign of the Rose and Cross over the Tablet, and repeating the requisite formula, first describe round the Talisman, a circle, with the appropriate magical implement, and then make the invoking Pentagrams five times over it, as if the Pentagrams stood upright upon it, repeating the letters of the Triplicity involved withAL1 added. Then solemnly read any invocation required, making the proper sigils from the Rose as you pronounce the Names.

The first operation is to initiate a whorl from yourself. The second, to attract the force in the atmosphere into the vortex you have formed.

Then read the Elemental Prayer as in the Rituals, and close with the Signs of the circle and the cross (that is the Rose-Cross) after performing the necessary Banishing.

Be careful, however, not to banish over the newly consecrated Talisman, as that would simply decharge it again and render it useless. Before Banishing, you should wrap the charged Talisman in clean white silk or linen.

1 For Fire put Shin first, then three Fiery Signs, then AL. So far for elemtary ones.  For Planetary ones you may add AL to the Planets letter or to the Planet and its Houses, the letters of them,and the planet and triplicity, use the hexagram made six times. For Zodiacal ones add AL to the letters of the sign and use pentagram five times. When you use the three letters of three Signs of a triplicity for elemental working you should put as the initial letter that of the Sign principally invoked as most useful to you.

January 15, 1893.

Appendix

By G.H. Frater D.D.C.F. (S.M. Macgregor-Mathers)

The Talismanic symbols — or Telesmatic Emblems as they are sometimes called — are formed from the Geomantic Figures by drawing various lines from point to point of each.

These characters are then attributed to their ruling Planets and Ideas. For example, the most simple forms will be:

Here follows a complete table of all the Talismanic Figures classed under the Planets and Signs. The characters of Saturn and Zazel taken from Carcer equals Capricorn.

The characters of Saturn and Zazel taken from Tristitia equals Aquarius.

The characters of Jupiter and Hismael taken from Acquisitio equals Sagittarius.

The characters of Jupiter and Hismael taken from Laetitia equals Pisces.

The characters of Mars and Bartzabel taken from Rubeus equals Scorpio.

The characters of Mars and Bartzabel taken from Puer equal Aries.

The characters of Sol and Sorath taken from Fortuna Major equals Leo.

The characters of Sol and Sorath taken from Fortuna Minor equals Leo.

The characters of Venus and Kedemel taken from Amissio equals Taurus.

The characters of Venus and Kedemel taken from Puella equals Libra.

The characters of Mercury and Taphthartharath taken from Albus equals Gemini

The characters of Mercury and Taphthartharath taken from Conjunctio equals Virgo.

The characters of Luna and Chasmodai taken from Populus equals Cancer.

The characters of Luna and Chasmodai taken from Via equals Cancer.

The characters of Caput Draconis are:

The characters of Cauda Draconis are:

MODE OF FORMATION OF TALISMANS AND PANTACLES

The mode of using these Talismanic Characters drawn from the Talismanic Figures in the construction of a Talisman or Pantacle, is to take those formed by the figures under the Planet required, and to place them either at the opposite ends of a wheel of eight radii as shown, or to place them in the compartments of a Square. A versicle suitable to the matter is then to be written within the double line.

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