Continuing my explorations into practical Rosicrucianism, which for the past 18 months have been focused on a series of theurgic planetary conjurations, this week I conducted my first consecration of an astrological talisman. Specifically, an invocation of the fixed star Fomalhaut to create a talisman that will help unlock deeper levels of creative inspiration.
Not being part of the fifteen Behenian fixed stars often worked with in Western esotericism, I was unable to find examples of an invocation to Fomalhaut and talisman designs were rare. As such, I am sharing here the text of the invocation that I wrote for this working as well as my own talisman design. Although I am a novice in the area of astrological magic, I figure it’s helpful to have examples that can be used or built upon by those doing research for their own workings.
Useful sources about Fomalhaut can be found here:
Summary of source materials on the Constellations of Words website
Example of Paper Talisman by Christopher Warnock
Overview of the Royal Stars and the Archangels by John P. Pratt
I also found the following texts useful in constructing the ritual:
Fixed Star, Sign and Constellation Magic by Christopher Warnock (note: Fomalhaut is not directly included)
Talismanic Construction by Medieval Astrology Guide
Orphic Hymn to the Stars as recommended by Medieval Astrology Guide
Sigil Generator (using Magic Square Sigils and then the drop-down menu to choose the planetary kameas)
From the traditional sources, it is most common to see Fomalhaut referred to as of the nature of Venus and Mercury. As one of the Royal Stars, specifically the Watcher of the South, consensus indicated that it was also considered to be under the auspices of the Archangel Gabriel. From these key points of information both the invocation and the talisman design could be developed.
The invocation of Fomalhaut that I wrote for the consecration was as follows:
Archangel Gabriel, by thy holy office and eternal majesty acting as the virtue of God, assist us to bring forth into this talisman the spirit of the fixed star Fomalhaut so that it might bring the user the ability to hear the quiet words of grace and communicate with the sanctified humility required to speak in accordance with the prophetic voice.
O Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, we ask that you open your gates so that we might greet Fomalhaut, the bright star of your constellation, and request that they imbue this talisman so that its user might act with intuition and wisdom in all their creative undertakings.
O Fomalhaut, mouth of the Fish; Royal Star and Watcher in the South; I humbly call forth your presence on this auspicious moment of election, so that you might bring down your blessings and allow the spirit of your purpose and being to enter into this talisman as we consecrate it to your holy and regal name.
Come, Fomalhaut! Grant us thy Wisdom! Bless this talisman with your Inspiration! Arrive, Fomalhaut, so that we might benefit from your celestial presence. Enter this talisman that is crafted in your honour and the sanctification of your holy name in the material world. May a glimmer of your celestial presence bring the user the creative wisdom and inspiration to act as a messenger of the heavens and hear the voice of the Choirs of Angels so that their words and actions can run in harmony with the machinations of Nature and be aligned with the holy purpose of the Most High.
Come, Fomalhaut! Arrive! Enter! Bless this talisman with your presence! Fiat, Fiat, Fiat!
This invocation does, of course, contain emphasis particularly suited to my own path and purpose for creating the talisman. However, as a framework it can be easily adapted according to your own needs and understanding. Sections of the text, particularly the closing sentence, were used multiple times during the suffumigation and intention-setting process.
The talisman design used for the consecration:
The design elements include the name of Gabriel written in Hebrew around the outer-circle in a hexagram layout (counter-clockwise from top); inside the circle are the characters for Venus (top) and Mercury (bottom) as taken from Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Book One; the Ichthys symbol of the fish alluding to the Piscis Austrini constellation and also harkening to the vesica pisces; and finally on either side in the middle are two sigils for Fomalhaut that were created using Agrippa’s method and using the magical kameas for Venus (left) and Mercury (right) accordingly.
Overall, I came away from this working with Fomalhaut energised and with a talisman that holds a lot of resonance. The full impact of it will only really become clear over time, but it was certainly worth undertaking and from a Rosicrucian perspective the creation of magical talismans has a lot of relevance to our tradition and its emergence from the deep roots of Renaissance esotericism.
The short periods of meditation before and after the specific time of the election were filled with an emotional sense of being in the right place of my life. That the efforts of previous decades, varied and internally conflicted though they often were, had been leading toward this period of more intensive spiritual development. The elements of doubt continue to wash away as I am more able to fully embrace the purpose of the work being done and its ultimate goal. Come, Fomalhaut! Arrive!
