Tag Archives: Mercury

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Eight of Wands

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Eight of Wands from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) Tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

As the first decanate of Sagittarius, the Eight of Wands is the time period of November 22 to December 1, ruled by Jupiter, suggesting a combination of the powers of Mercury and Jupiter together with the zodiacal attributions of the sign Sagittarius and its natural 9th house. Well-Dignified: aspiration; foresight; rapid expression of force, but quickly expended; the acceleration of anything in which the querent is interested; generosity; confidence ; freedom.
Ill-Dignified: violence; warfare; rapacity; insolence; theft or robbery. These are suggested by some of the evil meanings connected with Hermes or Mercury associated with misuse of human intellect.
Keyword: Swiftness
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

The card represents motion through the immovable-a flight of wands through an open country; but they draw to the term of their course. That which they signify is at hand; it may be even on the threshold. Divinatory Meanings: Activity in undertakings, the path of such activity, swiftness, as that of an express messenger; great haste, great hope, speed towards an end which promises assured felicity; generally, that which is on the move; also the arrows of love. Reversed: Arrows of jealousy, internal dispute, stingings of conscience, quarrels; and domestic disputes for persons who are married.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Eight of Wands from the Rider Waite Smith tarot

Aleister Crowley

The Eight of Wands is called Swiftness, as one might expect from its attribution to Mercury and Sagittarius. This is an etherealization of the idea of fire; all gross elements have disappeared.

[…]

The remaining three cards of the suit belong to Sagittarius, which represents the subtilizing of the Fiery energy; and Mercury rules the card, thus bringing down from Chokmah the message of the original Will.

The card also refers to Hod, splendour, in the suit of Fire, whence it refers to the phenomena of speech, light, electricity. The pictorial representation of the card shows the Light-wands turned into electrical rays, sustaining or even constituting Matter by their vibrating energy. Above this restored universe shines the rainbow; the division of pure light, which deals with maxima, into the seven colours of the spectrum, which exhibit interplay and correlation.

This card, therefore, represents energy of high velocity, such as furnishes the master-key to modern mathematical physics. It will be noted that there are no flames; they have all been taken up into the wands to turn them into rays. On the other hand, the electric energy has created intelligible geometrical form.
(From The Book of Thoth)

The Eight of Wands from the Thoth Tarot

Golden Dawn’s Book T

FOUR White Radiating Angelic Hands (two proceeding from each side) issuant from clouds; clasped in two pairs in the centre with the grip of the First Order.
They hold eight wands, crossed four with four. Flames issue from the point of junction. Surmounting the small wands with flames issuing down them, and placed in the centre at the top and bottom of the card respectively, are the symbols of Mercury and Sagittarius for the Decan.

Too much force applied too suddenly. Very rapid rush, but quickly passed and expended. Violent, but not lasting. Swiftness, rapidity, courage, boldness, confidence, freedom, warfare, violence; love of open air, field-sports, gardens and meadows. Generous, subtle, eloquent, yet somewhat untrustworthy; rapacious, insolent, oppressive. Theft and robbery. According to dignity.

Hod of HB:Y (Hasty communications and messages; swiftness).
Therein rule the Angels HB:NThHYH and HB:HAAYH.

Etteilla

Countryside
Upright. This card, as far as its medicine is concerned, means, in its natural position: Countryside, Field, Plain, Agriculture, Cultivation, Landed Property, Immovable Property, Farm, Homestead, Garden, Orchard, Prairie, Forest, Grove, Foliage, Pleasure, Amusement, Leisure, Pastime, Recreation, Enjoyment, Peace, Calm, Tranquility, Innocence, Country Life. – Forest, Valley, Mountain, Battlefield.
Reversed. Inner dispute, Examination, Reasoning, Incomprehension. – Regret, Remorse, Repentance, Inner turmoil, Irresolution, Uncertainty, Indecision, Inconceivable, Incomprehensible, Doubt, Scruple, Fearful consciousness.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Six of Swords

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Six of Swords from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The Six of Swords corresponds to the second decanate of Aquarius under the rulership of Mercury, January 30 to February 8.
Well-Dignified: success after a period of trouble or anxiety; difficulties
overcome; change of scene, possibly a journey by water; something
mysterious effects a change o f circumstances for the better; success
earned by the Querent’s laborious efforts.
Ill-Dignified: sudden changes; circumstances dominate the Querent; he is in danger of being over-confident or conceited; too much effort expended for small results.
Keyword: Patience
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A.E. Waite

A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the freight is light, it may be noted that the work is not beyond his strength. Divinatory Meanings: journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient. Reversed: Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of love.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Six of Swords from the Rider Waite Smith tarot

Aleister Crowley

The Six of Swords is called Science. Its ruler is Mercury, so that the element of success turns away from the idea of division and quarrel; it is intelligence which has won to the goal.

[…]

Tiphareth shows the full establishment and balance of the idea of the suit. This is particularly the case with this card, as the intellect itself is also referred to the number Six. Mercury, in Aquarius, represents the celestial Energy influencing the Kerub of the Man, thus showing intelligence and humanity.

But there is much more than this in the symbol. The perfect balance of all mental and moral faculties, hardly won, and almost impossible to hold in an ever-changing world, declares the idea of Science in its fullest interpretation.

The hilts of the Swords, which are very ornamental, are in the form of the hexagram. Their points touch the outer petals of a red rose upon a golden cross of six squares, thus showing the Rosy Cross as the central secret of scientific truth.
(From The Book of Thoth)

The Six of Swords from the Thoth Tarot deck

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO hands, as before, each holding two swords which cross in the centre. Rose re-established thereon. Mercury and Aquarius above and below, supported on the points of two short daggers or swords.

Success after anxiety and trouble; self-esteem, beauty, conceit, but sometimes modesty therewith; dominance, patience, labour, etc.

Tiphareth of HB:V (Labour, work, journey by water).
Ruled by the Great Angels HB:RHa’aAL and HB:YYVHL.

Etteilla

Road
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Road, Avenue, Walk, Course, Passage, Path, Way. – Path, Tract, Gait, Origin, Conduct, Means, Manner, Way, Expedient, Run, Career, Walk, Pattern to be followed, Track, Footprint, Sending, Commissary [= Deliveryman].
Reversed. Declaration, Declaratory act, Development, Explanation, Interpretation. – Charter, Constitution, Diploma, Manifest law, Ordinance. – Publication, Proclamation, Ostensibility, Manifesto, Publicity, Authenticity, Notoriety. – Denunciation, Census. – Enumeration. – Knowledge, Discovery, Unveiling, Vision, Revelation, Apparition, Appearance, Admission, Confession, Protest, Approval, Authorization.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Pentacles or Coins

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the first decanate of Taurus, under the rulership of Venus, April 20 to 29. Meanings:
Well-Dignified: labor, toil, the cultivation of the land; building, and plans concerning it; some anxiety over money.
lll-Dignified: toil unrewarded; loss of money; poverty; trouble for the Querent through lack of imagination and foresight.
Keyword: Uncertainty; material trouble.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Two mendicants in a snow-storm pass a lighted casement. Divinatory Meanings: The card foretells material trouble above all, whether in the form illustrated–that is, destitution–or otherwise. For some cartomancists, it is a card of love and lovers-wife, husband, friend, mistress; also concordance, affinities. These alternatives cannot be harmonized. Reversed: Disorder, chaos, ruin, discord, profligacy.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Five of Disks is in equally evil case. The soft quiet of the Four has been completely overthrown; the card is called Worry. [See Skeat, Etymological Dictionary. The idea is of strangling, as dogs worry sheep. Note the identity with Sphinx.] The economic system has broken down; there is no more balance between the social orders. Disks being as they are, stolid and obstinate, as compared with the other weapons, for their revolution serves t9 stabilize them, there is no action, at least not in its own ambit, that can affect the issue.

[…]

The Number Five, Geburah, in the suit of Earth, shows the disruption of the Elements, just as in the other suits. This is emphasized by the rule of Mercury in Taurus, types of energy which are opposed. It needs a very powerful Mercury to upset Taurus; so the natural meaning is Intelligence applied to Labour.

The symbol represents five disks in the form of the inverted Pentagram, instability in the very foundations of Matter. The effect is that of an earthquake. They are, however, representative of the five Tatvas; these hold together, on a very low plane, an organism which would otherwise disrupt completely. The background is an angry, ugly red with yellow markings. The general effect is one of intense strain; yet the symbol implies long-continued inaction.
(From The Book of Thoth)

A peasantly mystical AI-generated illustration for the Five of Pentacles

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiant Angelic Hand issuing from clouds, and holding a branch of the white rose tree, but from which the roses are falling, and leaving no buds behind.
Five Pentacles similar to the Ace. Above and below are Mercury and Taurus.

Loss of money or position. Trouble about material things. Labour, toil, land cultivation; building, knowledge and acuteness of earthly things, poverty, carefulness, kindness; sometimes money regained after severe toil and labour.
Unimaginative, harsh, stern, determined, obstinate.
Geburah of HB:H (Loss of profession, loss of money, monetary anxiety).
Herein the angels HB:MBHYH and HB:PNYAL rule.

Etteilla

Lover
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Lover [man], Lover [woman], In love, Gallant man, Gallant woman, Husband, Wife, Groom, Bride, Friend, Friend. – Lover. – Loving, Lovingly, Adoring. – Harmony, Agreement, Convenience, Concordance, Good manners.
Reversed. Disorderly, Contrary to order. – Debauchery, Disorder, Turmoil, Confusion, Chaos. – Damage, Devastation, Ruin. – Dissipation, Consumption. – Unruliness, Libertinism. – Discord, Disharmony, Discordance.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Three of Cups

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Three of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The Three of Cups is astrologically related to the second decanate of Cancer ruled by the Scorpio aspect of Mars, time period July 2 to July 12. The distinct meanings in divination combine the pleasure and emotion associated with the suit of Cups and the sex magnetism of the Scorpio aspect of Mars, together with Cancerian practicality and penchant for attachments.
Well-Dignified: activity, determination, practicality; fondness for pleasure and comfort; attachments and attractions to the opposite sex; pleasure, merriment, eating and drinking, plenty of new clothes, etc.
Ill-Dignified: danger of the ‘triangle’ situation; trouble through attachments to the opposite sex; midunderstandings; prodigality; sensuality.
Keyword: Enjoyment
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Maidens in a garden-ground with cups uplifted, as if pledging one another. Divinatory Meanings: The conclusion of any matter in plenty, perfection and merriment; happy issue, victory, fulfilment, solace, healing, Reversed: Expedition, dispatch, achievement, end. It signifies also the side of excess in physical enjoyment, and the pleasures of the senses.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

A marvellous AI-generated illustration for the Three of Cups

Aleister Crowley

The Three of Cups is called the Lord of Abundance. The idea of love has come to fruition; but this is now sufficiently far down the Tree to introduce a very definite differentiation between the suits, which was not previously possible.

[…]

This card refers to Binah in the suit of Water. This is the card of Demeter or Persephone. The Cups are pomegranates: they are filled bountifully to overflowing from a single lotus, arising from the dark calm sea characteristic of Binah. There is here the fulifilment of the Will of Love in abounding joy. It is the spiritual basis of fertility.

The card is referred to the influence of Mercury in Cancer; this carries further the above thesis. Mercury is the Will or Word of the All-Father; here its influence descends upon the most receptive of the Signs.

At the same time, the combination of these forms of energy brings in the possibility of somewhat mysterious ideas. Binah, the Great Sea, is the Moon in one aspect, but Saturn in another; and Mercury, besides being the Word or Will of the All-One, is the guide of the souls of the Dead. This card requires great subtlety of interpretation. The pomegranate was the fruit which Persephone ate in the realms of Pluto, thereby enabling him to hold her in the lower world, even after the most powerful influence had been brought to bear. The lesson seems to be that the good things of life, although enjoyed, should be distrusted.
(From The Book of Thoth)

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiating Hand, as before, holds a group of lotuses or water-lilies, from which two flowers rise on either side of, and overhanging the top cup; pouring into it the white water. Flowers in the same way pour white water into the lower cups. All the cups overflow; the topmost into the two others, and these upon the lower part of the card. Cups are arranged in an erect equilateral triangle. Mercury and Cancer above and below.
Abundance, plenty, success, pleasure, sensuality, passive success, good luck and fortune; love, gladness, kindness, liberality.
Binah of HB:H (Plenty, hospitality, eating and drinking, pleasure, dancing, new clothes, merriment).

Etteilla

Success
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Success, Science, Happy outcome, Happy solution, Victory. – Healing, Cure, Relief. – Accomplishment. – Perfection.
Reversed. Dispatch, Sending, Execution, Completion, End, Conclusion, Termination, Fulfillment.

MQS

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 8

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Abano talks about some of the meanings of Carcer and Conjunctio in the various houses.

Carcer

Carcer in the first means difficulties, preoccupations, melancholy, prison, deep thoughts, secret thoughts.
In the second it means delay in gain and increase, success through toil, but with difficulty.
In the third it means evil siblings, dishonest pleasures, dishonest and disgraceful neighbors, licentiousness with siblings.

In the fourth it means fortresses, cities, stable buildings, inheritance, abudance, hidden treasures, hidden things.
In the fifth it means miscarriage, dead children,1 danger through childbirth, evil children, lame children, or deranged or possessed, womanly pains.
In the sixth it means good, trustworthy servants, gain from animals, long sickness, danger and pain, crying.

In the seventh it means chaste women, stable marriage, good company,2 faithful people, stable peace, people who can keep secrets.
In the eighth it means death, interment, hiding treasures and goods from the dead, funeral or congregation of people caused by a death.
In the ninth it means religion, serving God, hidden things coming to light, long travel or pilgrimage, good monks, just people, faithful Christians.

In the tenth it means a stable kingdom, lordship, palaces, just judges and orators.
In the eleventh it means succession in a kingdom, oppressing enemies, gain with difficulty, hidden machinations, frauds, rumors.
In the twelfth it means dangerous hidden enemies, long imprisonment, death of the inmate.

In the thirteenth it means danger from childbirth, miscarriage, dangers for the mother, long illness, bad in everything.
In the fourteenth it means freedom from dangers and other issues, but after much trouble, leaving all problems behind.
In the fifteenth it means inner strength, delay in getting one’s wish.

Conjunctio

Conjunctio in the first house means an evil disposition, machinations, fraud, cheating, unstable life, a variety of colors.3
In the second it means merchandise, gain through one’s ingenuity, being active, promptness.
In the third it means ingenious brothers and sisters, good short journey and a speedy return, a messenger, false letters, having fun in company.

In the fourth it means good for the father, good inheritance, a beautiful building, ingenious actions, divisions among citizens, killings, rumors, betrayals among them [the citizens]4
In the fifth it means mirth through one’s children, giving birth, false women, a fun evening.5
In the sixth it means good but petty servants, fugitives, various illnesses but not grave, thieves in one’s family.

in the seventh it means iniquitous women, petty women, harlots, false company, thieves, scuffles and brawls, war, a sad marriage, various colors.
In the eighth it means a prisoner being hanged, for the ill man it means death, and likewise for the absent party, desperation, danger of death for women [or through women].
In the ninth it means intelligence, various interests, various journeys, various fatherlands, traveling to acquire knowledge or virtue.

In the tenth it means official documents, judges, litigations, kings, lords, various offices, dignity.
In the eleventh it means promises or oaths, dispatching soldiers or courtesans, instability, wrongful succession, wrong faith.
In the twelfth it means hidden enemies, betrayal, damage through evil animals, infamy, detractions, dishonor, but it is good to buy animals.

In the thirteenth it means good luck in the quesited thing, in marriage and in doing good.
In the fourteenth it means well for litigations and scriptures or writings, for promises and for lordships and congregations.
In the fifteenth it means happy ending and good luck depending on the question.6

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Elsewhere Carcer is given as positive for pregnancies. ↩︎
  2. Usually Carcer signifies solitude. Perhaps, though, if the question is about someone else’s goodness it may indicate a serious character. Needless to say, much depends on the configuration as a whole. ↩︎
  3. Conjunctio’s description is perhaps where Abano is at his most contradictory, possibly highlighting the inherently contradictory nature of this mercurial figure. Keep in mind that Mercury was seen not just as messenger but as patron of thieves. ↩︎
  4. Possibly here Mercury suggests the idea of partisanship. ↩︎
  5. The latin word ‘conjunctio’ can literally means the act of being joined to another in intercourse. ↩︎
  6. Often Conjunctio is taken to means a middling result. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 5

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Abano gives some examples of the meanings of Albus and Rubeus in the various houses.

Albus

Albus in the first house means obtaining the wish, success in white things,1 happiness, success in watery things, good news, letters.
In the second it means increase of wealth, riches, gain in merchandise, usefulness through partnership.
In the third it means obtaining what you wish, good for serving a lord or nobleman, good brothers and relatives.

In the fourth it means gain through the father, inheritance, gain through travel and water, rivers, watery places.
In the fifth it means good kids, good messenger, good news, good letters, honor, good life.
In the sixth it means serious, long sickness,2 tears, servants, animals.

In the seventh it means chaste women, honest woman, pregnant woman, gain through women.
In the eighth it means tears due to bereavement, rain, lots of water.
In the ninth it means gain through travel, problems due to rain (during travel), good news from afar, good messenger.

In the tenth it means good luck, good things from noblemen, or friends, good in any question.
In the eleventh it means good luck through friends and happiness in all you wish.
In the twelfth it means certainty in what you doubt in things of war or armed men, good for animals, bad for the prisoner, success after difficulty.

In the thirteenth it means good change of place, gain through congregation of lords.3
In the fourteenth it means help from friends, freedom from enemies, happiness in what you wish.
In the fifteenth it is good depending on the other figures.4

Rubeus

Rubeus in the first means problems, fear of death and blood, great fights, enmity, ingratitude, rumors, all kinds of problems.5
In the second it means theft, loss of gain, poverty, little gain through merchandise.
In the third it means sadness, loss of blood, enmity, discord among siblings and relatives, evil siblings, blood, traveling by night.

In the fourth it means loss of blood or sebum, loss of inheritance, a bad year, drought.
In the fifth it means evil children, useless study, evil science,6 violence, damange through animals, evil life, good luck in war.
In the sixth it means acute infirmity, fever, choler, problems through servants and animals, theft.

In the seventh it means war, fights, evil marriage, evil wife, perversion of the spouse, bad outcome, except in war, depending what side (of the chart) it favors by its presence.7
In the eighth it means loss of blood, fear of death, infamy after death.
In the ninth it means dangerous journey due to thieves, assassins, public violence, wounds, drunkenness, horrible things.

In the tenth it means tyranny,8 public violence due to one’s lords, evil judge.
In the eleventh it means enmity, discord, evil friends, foes, misfortune, problems, evil servants.9
In the twelfth it means toil, enemies, big misfortune, loss of what you wish, damage through merchandise, loss of wealth, bad for the prisoner.

In the thirteenth it means bad journey, loss through noblemen, hatred from higher ups, misfortune.
In the fourteenth it means useless toil, prison of the messenger, hatred of evil servants, theft, evil men, dangerous travel.
In the fifteenth it means good or evil depending on the figures in the other houses, it is only good in war for the victorious side.10

MQS

Footnotes

  1. This is because Albus, of course, means ‘white’. However, one is left wondering what these white things are, and if there are deeper implications based on the symbolic and alchemical meaning of the figure. ↩︎
  2. In many sources Albus in the Sixth House is considered a symbol of medicine. ↩︎
  3. The idea of lords or masters is given by the Tenth House. Albus, being a figure of Mercury, supplies the idea of connection. ↩︎
  4. Albus cannot be the Judge. See my footnote in Book III Part 4. ↩︎
  5. It is known that Geomancers often discouraged people from reading the chart if Rubeus was in the first house. Here Abano does not mention this rule, but rather interprets Rubeus in the First House as a normal figure. ↩︎
  6. The connection of the Fifth House with science is not clear. ↩︎
  7. As discussed previously, in things of war Abano suggests giving one half of the shield to one party and the other half to the opposing party. ↩︎
  8. In classical philosophy, tyranny was considered the greatest illness of politics, so it is fitting that it should be represented by the most sinister figure. ↩︎
  9. This probably refers to ‘sevants of the king’ as the Eleventh is the second from the Tenth. ↩︎
  10. Rubeus cannot be the Judge. ↩︎

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Conjunctio / Union (Geomancy Figures)

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Name of the Figure: Conjunctio (Union)
Element: Air
Planet: Mercury (retrograde)
Sign: Virgo
Quality: Common
Fortune: Mixed

Conjunctio is a figure of Mercury retrograde. I always found it an interesting figure, as its array of possible meanings is actually quite ample. Its glyph seems to show two arrows converging in the middle. Interestingly, if we believe that a single dot represents an active element, then Conjunctio shows that only the two moist elements (Air and Water) are active. Moisture is associated with pliability and receptivity (remember that Thales, the canonical first philosopher, said that everything comes from Water, and aside from any biological observation, philosophically this means that water can take on any shape.)

Illustration for the geomantic figure Conjunctio, union

Conjunctio represents this mercurial lack of rigidity and convergence toward a middle point. As such, Conjunctio represents all situations that link two things or people together. It is a figure of communication, talking and being good at talking. It is not a figure that favors loneliness and solo endeavors. Togetherness is hinted at.

Because it highlights the two middling elements, Conjunctio is associated with compromise and agreements. It is a very good figure for commerce, employment and for getting out of an impasse, as it indicates moderation and finding commonalities. It is also a portent of marriage. Symbolically, it represents the marriage of various elements, thus showing admixture, mixing things, and all things that are made of various parts.

As it is a symbol of fluidity, it also speaks of exchange of fluids, also known as sex (the word ‘conjunctio’ itself can hint at it). After all, it does indicate unions of all kind. It is one of the double figures, so when asking about pregnancy, if supported by other factors, it can show twins.

On a slightly less positive note, Conjunctio does not promise astonishing results, especially when it is Judge and the question is not about contracts or retrieving lost objects. It is good, it is just not THAT good.

Common Keyword: Communication, convergence, agreement, compromise, contract, document, contact, convene, congratation, sex, exchange of fluids, moderation, temperance, middling outcome, mediocrity, retrieval, discovery, coming into contact with someone or something, mixing, admixture, multiplicity

Conjunctio in the Geomantic Houses (these are only examples. Use context to guide your interpretation)

HousePossible Meanings
FirstFlexible, able to compromise, intelligent, communicative, moderate
Seconddocuments, money-related paperwork, business contracts, retrieval of objects, buying and selling
Thirdnews, documents, social contacts in the neighborhood, contact with one’s siblings
Fourthreal estate contract, discovery of hidden treasure, talking to one’s father
FifthWriting, moderation in pleasure, sex, conception, twins
Sixthcatching an illness, taking meds, buying animals, agreement with servants
SeventhMarriage, business contract, social contacts, acquaintances, theft
Eighthmoney through marriage or business
Ninthlearning, studying, books, talking with spiritual people
TenthJob contract, agreement with one’s superiors, moderate leader, talking with one’s mother
EleventhTalking with friends, new frends, help
Twelfthbuying large animals, middling prison sentence, unable to let go of self-harming behavior
Thirteenthable to compromise, good at talking, sociable, past middling results
Fourteenthindecisive, without moral compass, future compromise, future middling results
FifteenthMiddling results, obtaining something, union
Possible meanings of Conjunctio in the various Geomantic Houses. Note that this is not meant to be exhaustive, and it only serves to jog your interpretive muscles


Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Albus / White (Geomancy Figures)

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Name of the Figure: Albus (White)
Element: Water
Planet: Mercury (direct)
Sign: Cancer
Quality: Common
Fortune: Mixed (mostly good)

Albus is a figure of Mercury. It is formed by three couples of points plus a single point in the Water line. If we take odd points to mean the element is active, then Water is the only active element here, with nothing else to stirr it. Therefore, one could take it to symbolize the calm waters of the stilled mind. Also, it is customary to see the shape of an upright cup or goblet in the elemental configuration of Albus. This could link it further to the idea of holding in your thoughts and energies and let them decant.

Illustration of the geomantic figure Albus

Broadly, especially in a more modern interpretation, Albus is often linked to wisdom, knowledge and reflection. It represents the intelligence-aspect of Mercury, and after all, one of the many traditional images of Mercury or Hermes was of an old man. It can stand for all situations where the querent (or someone else) reflects or studies or plans a lot. Nothing will be rushed and instincts are not to be followed without first thinking about what we are doing.

Other common associations of Mercury also come to the fore. Albus is said to be a very good figure for commerce and wealth. Broadly it could show investments. Furthermore, it is obviously a figure of communication, and can therefore be linked to messages, letters, phone calls, etc. It also rules books and sciences.

The idea of whiteness can also indicate purity, honesty (which is not always a given with Mercury) and chastity. Some old manuscripts also link it to women and to old people, possibly due to this connection with chastity which was supposed to be the virtue of (especially) women and the destiny of old people. I’m more inclined to see the connection with old people than with women.

Common Keywords: Old people, wisdom, maturity or maturation, study, learning, communication, knowledge, reflection, meditation, medicine, healing, purity, honesty, water

Albus in the Geomantic Houses (these are only examples. Use context to guide your interpretation)

HousePossible Meanings
FirstOld person, Honest person, reflective, studious, good news
SecondMerchandise, Commerce, Money, Financial planning
ThirdCommunication, Letters, Messages, Good relationship with siblings
FourthOld relatives, Good lineage, Gain, Inheritance, Watery places
FifthGood messanger, Good ambassador, Good children, Twins, Writing
SixthGood medication, Good servants who know what they are doing
SeventhCommercial partnership, honest relationship
EighthTears, Gloominess, Money from other people
NinthGood for travel, Inner journey, Reflection, Study, Good science
TenthGenerally good news, Wise rulers or boss
EleventhMoney from above, Helpful friends, Serious hopes
TwelfthLong imprisonment, gain through large animals
ThirteenthAbility to reflect, Good business sense, Chastity, Talent, Study
FourteenthLack of reflection or business sense, There will be gain or study
FifteenthAlbus cannot be Judge
Possible meanings of Albus in the various geomantic houses. Note that this is not meant to be exhaustive and it only serves to jog your interpretive muscles

MQS