Medieval Astral Magic for TTRPGs - Part Eight - Mercury
Previous posts have examined the magical qualities and influences of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus and the Moon along with the general principles of astral magic. We conclude with a discussion of the powers of Mercury.
The Months, Days and Hours of Mercury
Mercury is at its most powerful (in Dignity) in May and August. In August Mercury is also in Exaltation. Mercury’s authority is reduced (at Fall) in February and is at its lowest point in February and November (in Detriment).
In Dignity: Gemini (May), Virgo (August)
In Exaltation: Virgo (August)
At Fall: Pisces (Fenruary)
In Detriment: Sagittarius (November), Pisces (February)
Note that, uniquely among the planets, Mercury's strange path across the sky means that its influence waxes and wanes sharply, being greatly increased in August and much reduced in February. GMs should perhaps consider implementing a mechanic that reflects this by stacking any numerical bonus or penalty applied as a result of the planet’s place in the sky when attempting to harness the planet’s influence. Another possibility could be that the power of any talisman created at relevant times of year would be proportionetly increased or decreased as appropriate.
Mercury’s day is Wednesday.
The hours of Mercury are as follows.
Saturday - 6th hour after sunrise or sunset
Sunday - 3rd and 10th hour after sunrise or sunset
Monday - 7th hour after sunrise or sunset
Tuesday - 4th and 11th hour after sunrise or sunset
Wednesday - 1st and 8th hour after sunrise or sunset
Thursday - 5th and 12th hour after sunrise or sunset
Friday - 2nd and 9th hour after sunrise or sunset
The Qualities of Mercury
Nature: Cold and dry, balanced.
Image: A man with a coxcomb standing with wings extended to his right and a cockerel to his left, holding a spear in his right hand and a seashell in his left; a crowned man riding a peacock, a stylus in his right hand and a piece of parchment in his left.
Influence: Knowledge, intellect, memory, grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, geometry, astronomy, geomancy, aviomancy, memory, perception, astrology, oratory, history, books, mercy, lies.
People: Courtiers, merchants, lawyers, scribes, public officials, youths.
Places: Preaching places, craftsmen’s workshops, springs, rivers, lakes, wells.
Crafts: Preaching, poetry, carpentry, geometry, dream interpretation, flute playing, illustrating, all things that require innate talent.
Organs: Tongue, brain and heart.
Animals: Men, camels, wild asses, ruminants, monkeys, wolves, all leaping animals, all those that hunt by deception, swifts, songbirds, ants
Trees, Plants Herbs and Spices: Reeds, cotton trees, flax, pepper, all bitter plants, cloves, all with fruits that have a hard exterior; all medicinal herbs, ginger, spikenar and those that heal the mind.
Stones, Metals and Minerals: Emeralds, magnetite, carved and shaped stones, quicksilver, tin, glass, all those that are combined to make higher substances.
Colours: Blue and multi-colours.
Vestments: Silk of many colours.
Suffumingation: Narcissus, violet, myrtle.
Talismans of Mercury
As with all of the previous discussion of planetary amulets and talismans a few things need to be borne in mind. First are the limits or hurdles that a GM may wish to impose on their creation. Where a throttle is desired on the power of astral magic, it may be that the only times when amulets can be created are those mentioned in the description and it is simply not possible to attempt their manufacture at any other time. A slightly more forgiving interpretation could be that the making of a talisman at propitious times attracts a mechanical bonus to any roll required for success (perhaps with a commensurate penalty to make the same attempt when Mercury is in detriment or at fall). Another potential brake on the making of amulets could be a requirement that the astral magician personally undertakes all stages of their creation, thereby demanding successful skill rolls against crafting of some kind. Bear in mind in this context that words like ‘carve’, ‘inscribe’ and ‘draw’ are employed loosely and could be taken to mean literal carving into the surface of a gemstone or the painting of the image using a stylus and some medium (commonly olive oil). Suggestions on how each amulet’s effects can be scaled are provided below, and GMs should be mindful of how these variations might be employed to mirror the competence or level of the magician.
For a puissant memory - With Mercury in dignity (May and August) and on the day and hour of Mercury (Wednesday at the 1st or 8th hour after sunrise or sunset) inscribe upon a topaz the sigil of Mercury and a full Moon. Whoever carries this stone shall have an excellent memory.
Mechanically this can be instantiated easily as a bonus to or advantage on any relevant stat or ability checks - most commonly Intelligence - with all that this might entail in terms of the number of spells that can be memorised or languages known and so on. However, if GMs prefer a more expansive interpretation of the power of this amulet they could consider that an improved memory allows for a greater chance of suceeding at any task that relies on that faculty. For example, a character who has previously travelled through a particular wilderness (or even just heard it described) could receive bonuses to any skill related to navigation or the location of resources (and so to include sklls such as Survival or Foraging). Note that this is a purely mental effect. Having an exact memory of watching a sword being forged does not grant the bearer the physical skill required to make a blade and, just because you remember the location of a game trail, does not make you a ‘hunter’ in any sense of performing the associated physical tasks of shooting a bow or setting a snare.
To win the mercy of princes - Carve upon a jacinth the image of a man with a lion’s face and bird’s feet clutching a dragon with seven heads and holding a spear. Set this stone in a ring of silver or gold. Do all of this when Mercury is in dignity (May and August) and on the day and hour of Mercury (Wednesday at the 1st or 8th hour after sunrise or sunset). Whoever wears this ring shall be shown mercy by all princes and magistrates.
Many systems will have mechanics that can be influenced by this amulet. It could provide bonuses to reputations or reaction table rolls or to skill checks for social encounters where the desired outcome is escaping the ire of rulers. A more powerful option would be for the owner to be treated as if he has some spell-like aura or ability to Charm or otherwise magically influence a magistrate. In which case this will function mechanically in the same way as that spell or ability, with the GM deciding the exact scale of the effect based on the power of the astral magician who made the talisman. If allowing that this object has a purely narrative effect, the GM might wish to limit its magnitude by holding that any punishment that the owner suffers is very lenient but does not amount to complete exoneration or a full pardon for any and every offence. A clear-cut case of murder that would normally mandate execution might, therefore, result in a lesser sentence of banishment or imprisonment, but not exculpation.
To be free from prison - With Mercury in exaltation (August) and at his hour, draw on an opal the image of a man with the feet of an eagle enthroned, a cockerel above his head and holding a flame in his left hand. Any man who carries this stone will be able to secure his own release from prison.
There are two fundamental ways of giving the effect of this talisman an expression in play. The first - and more powerful - is to give it the narrative power to allow the owner simply to walk out of any confinement. Guards just forget to lock doors and allow the character to pass from a cell and out into freedom without challenge. One limit that could be placed on this power is that it does not grant the owner the ability to do that which is physically impossible - a character cast into a dungeon or salt mine which requires a rope or ladder to escape is not granted the ability to levitate, for example (though the GM may rule that the guards leave any ladder or rope in place). Another - more constrained - way to imagine this amulet would be to allow that it grants the possessor some spell-like ability such as Knock or even, perhaps, Teleport. GMs can increase or decrease the potency of this object by limiting the level at which the effect is granted (where that has a mechanical impact) or the number of uses it has. Perhaps the talisman is exhausted after allowing a single escape?
For the loyalty of scholars - Draw upon an emerald the image of a winged man, arms outstretched holding in his right hand a stylus and in his left a writing tablet or sheet of parchment. Do this when Mercury is in exaltation (August) and at his hour. The bearer of the stone will attract the loyal and diligent service of scribes, scholars and learned men.
In games that feature mechanics for the recruitment and retention of hirelings and henchmen, this amulet is easily incorporated by providing a greater or lesser bonus to any procedure for that mechanic as it applies to the target class of people. One can tweak this effect by holding that it can only be used in respect of a single indivdual, rather than a class of people, or that it places that henchman (or class of hirelings) under some magical influence that ensures complete loyalty to the owner of the amulet. GMs may wish to consider that, in either case, a man who realises that his free will has been removed to some degree will react very badly to such manipulation and exploitation.
For a good reputation - With Mercury in exaltation (August) and at his hour engrave upon an emerald the image of a frog. Whoever carries the stone will be thought to be of good character and repute.
Reputation is something that I’ve been thinking about more broadly recently. The issue with it as a concept in RPGs is that a reputation for ‘being X’ - where ‘X’ can equal any number of things from ‘honest’ to ‘a good thief’ to ‘a killer’ - is entirely subjective. A stolid yeoman farmer will react to a character with a reputation for being ‘a capable cutpurse’ in a very different manner from the local crime boss. Therefore, the power of this talisman lies not in the creation of ‘a good reputation for X’ but rather, in the creation of the sense of whatever reputation that whoever the owner is interacting with considers to be positive. It is then a straightforward process of awarding the bearer of this amulet some univeral bonus to social interactions - be it a modifier to some stat - Charisma - skill, or the result on a reaction table. GMs should perhaps note that this sort of indiscriminate chameleon device has the capacity to create some very awkward social encounters. When a character passes down the street with his wife and encounters a woman of ill-repute, this talisman may cause the latter to regard the character as a libertine who tips well and to approach and enthusiastically engage him accordingly.
For good health - On a ruby inscribe the image of a lion and a separate image of a lion’s head surmounted by the letters A and D. Do this under Gemini (May) on the day and at the hour of Mercury (Wednesday at the 1st or 8th hour after sunrise or sunset). The one who holds this jewel will avoid all sickness.
Here the only question is the scale of the mechanical effect to be permitted. At the lowest end the amulet will provide some bonus to any check or save to avoid falling ill and this bonus can be scaled up appropriately. At the other extreme the talisman will provide blanket and automatic immunity from any malady or disease.
To ensure obedience - On a pyrite stone inscribe the image of an eagle with a laurel leaf in its beak being regarded by the head of a man wearing a crown and set this into a gold mount. This work must be carried out in August, when Mercury is in both dignity and exaltation, on his day and at his hour (Wednesday at the 1st or 8th hour after sunrise or sunset). He who bears this ring or pendant will be obeyed in all his commands.
Note the terms of this amulet make no mention of being honoured or respected or even liked; it simply states that its owner will be obeyed. It is, therefore, not an object that makes the bearer charismatic, charming or eloquent but rather one that nakedly compels obedience to their will. Presumptively, therefore, anyone subjected to the power of this talisman who is not already well-disposed to the owner will be aware that they are being (or have been) subjected to supernatural coercion. The implications of this will vary depending on the mechanics chosen to instantiate this effect. One can imagine a potential sliding scale of effects from a Command to a Geas spell (say) varying in terms of the number of targets, the duration and breadth of the effect, saves and so on. Where the GM allows that some save or resistance to this power is applicable, then the target should perhaps be awarded a bonus calibrated to match the degree to which the command is contrary to the target’s own will, desire or self-interest. In all cases, the target of this amulet’s power who is not an ally of the bearer will deeply resent the owner with all mechanical or narrative consequences that flow from this.
For a good birth - With Mercury in dignity and at his hour, inscribe on a green jasper the figure of a scorpion. Any woman in possession of this stone shall have an easy and safe labour and a healthy child.
Most tables will probably have no need to express the powers of this object mechanically and so it will function primarily as a narrative MacGuffin. This does pompt me to wonder why it is that so few quasi-pre-modern systems and settings concern themelves with the importance and perils of pregnancy and childbirth in the same way that so many of them do not consider in any real depth the question of endemic and chronic ill-health. In any case, where mechanics are required, it is simple to allow bonuses to any check to avoid physical harm or recover from conditions such as haemhorages that are likely to be a result of childbirth. The same process can be applied to any mechanical method of determining the health of the neonate.
To cure agues - Engrave into a piece of marble an image of a hand holding a pair of balance scales when Mercury is in exaltation and at his hour. Impress this image into wax and whoever is freely given the seal will be cured of all fevers and illnesses associated with an excess of blood and heat.
Ague is just another word for fever which, in pre-modern humoural theory, was caused by an excess of heat and the associated humour of blood. Medicinally this was cured by the ingestion of ‘cold’ foodstuffs and herbs or extracting blood through phlebotomy. In the (improbable) event that the preferred setting details or categorizes illness and disease and this includes ague and fever, then it is a simple matter to insert this power as a mechanical cure. In cases where the system does not allow for the mechanical classification of diseases, the GM will have to make the narrative decision that a particular illness is a fever of the kind that can be cured by this talisman. Note that possession of the wax seal does not prevent any malady and so it cannot be retained as a prophylactic against future infection; it only cures a fever that the character is already suffering from and is thereafter exhausted.
To Call Down Mercury
When Mercury is in both dignity and exaltation (August) the astral magician must dress in the robes of a scribe made of silk and fashioned in various hues. He shall carry in his hands a silver stylus and a sheet of unblemished parchment made from the skin of an unborn white ram. On his finger he must wear a ring of solidified mercury (mercury mixed with sulphur to form a substance that is in a solid state at room temperature). The magician should travel to a place associated with the planet’s influence such as a temple, an artisan’s workshop or a spring or well and there sit upon a wooden chair carved in the likeness of a throne, facing Mercury in the sky. In a censer made of solidified mercury place a suffumigation made of equal parts nutmeg, holm oak, cumin, dried cloves, myrtle, bitter almonds, acacia, grapevine branches and squinancy wort mixed with wine. Reverently he must call upon Mercury and afterwards decapitate a cockerel with a fine coxcomb and eat its liver raw.
As with previous examples, the aim here is not to provide a detailed list of those things that can be achieved using the influence of Mercury, but rather to present a series of considerations and suggestions that GMs and players can use to arrive at their own interpretation and instantiation of those powers in the context of their own rules’ set and setting.
First and most obviously, this ritual should probably be complicated and demanding. Unless the setting and tone of the campaign is very high fantasy and high magic, GMs should resist the temptation to hand-wave the gathering or manufacture of the required ritual objects or the social and other practical barriers to conducting a long and complex sorcerous rite.
The reason for (probably) constructing these hurdles is the requirement to balance effort and reward. Anything that is sought by calling directly on the power of a planet should be orders of magnitude more powerful than those same effects achieved through lesser rituals such as the creation of talismans. How that greater effect is measured will vary. In some cases this will mean that the phenomenon is of longer duration (perhaps even permanent), is harder to resist (targets either receive no save against the effect or any save is at a severe penalty) or of greater impact. Most notably, perhaps, a magician can, through this ritual, imbue himself with the power of Mercury, allowing him to manifest abilities without the need to possess any amulet or talisman.
A quick consideration of how this might look in the context of the amulets already described above offers a number of practical examples. Through calling down Mercury the magician might receive a permanent and signifcant increase to any statistic, attribute or ability related to memory. He may always receive the most improbable indulgence of princes and judges or simply walk free from any attempt to restrain or confine him. The rite may allow the practitioner to be a magnet for scribes and scholars who flock to his service and can always be counted on to be extremely loyal, or he may have a preternaturally ‘good reputation’ that is not functionally different from having a permanent and universal charm-like aura. He may be entirely immune to disease or capable of issuing binding and irresistable commands to others.
This list can be expanded by constructing powers through selecting or combining the elements of the planet’s authority in terms of areas of influence, people, crafts, organs, animals and so on as listed above. Thus a magician could perhaps call upon Mercury to acquire superlative talent in the fields of rhetoric and oratory, to gain supernatural influence over wolves or songbirds, to cure (or cause) afflictions of the tongue, the brain and the heart and so on.
The Ring of Mercury
Under Virgo (August), on a Wednesday at the hour of Mercury (1st or 8th hour after sunrise or sunset), craft from a lodestone (magnetite) a ring. Inscribe upon it the image of a man seated, holding a book, with pupils at his feet. If any work is carried out for even a moment outside the permitted hours, the whole object will be irretreiveably marred and must be begun again.
The bearer will have great powers of intellect. Rivers, seas and all their occupants will be well disposed towards him, as will all rulers of nations. All the works of Mercury will be greatly facilitated.
The wearer of the ring of Mercury must never eat - whether knowingly or unknowingly - any creature that dwells in water and, if he does so, the power of the ring will be forever lost.
Here too the balance that should be considered is one between required character effort and the consequent reward. Some factors that GMs and player may wish to consider could include whether, in a ‘levelled’ system, the magician can create a ring of Mercury that is ‘level appropriate’ in terms of its power and the difficulty of construction? Can the character make a single ring that then scales up in power as he advances in level (or some other metric of competence) or does the ring need to be re-made?
These questions also go to the magnitude of the ring’s effects. The scaling of power with respect to intellect/memory and winning the favour of princes has already been discussed in the context of the relevant amulet and the ritual of calling down the planet. It is suggested that, all things being equal, the power of the ring of Mercury should sit somewhat below those capacities gained by calling down the planet but could be equal to, lower than or above the level of effects granted by talismans, depending on the power of the crafting magician.
Rivers and seas being ‘well disposed’ to the magician could have a mechanical expression where there are rules for travel and weather which can be modified in the character’s favour. More narratively (and more powerfully) this could be interpeted as the character being incapable of being drowned in rivers and seas - instead being washed ashore even after the most violent flood or storm. The same variability can be employed when dealing with creatures that dwell in water. This can be interpreted to mean only that predators do not attack the bearer or that creatures will assist him to the best of their ability - dolphins carrying himto shore and so on. At the most extreme degree, it might mean that the ring’s owner can summon water-dwelling beasts or even employ them as familiars.