Earlier posts have explored the magical powers attributed to Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun and Venus along with the general principles of astral magic. We continue with an exploration of the power of the moon.
The Months, Days and Hours of the Moon
The moon is at its most powerful (in Dignity) in June. In April its power is somewhat lessened (in Exaltation). The moon’s authority is reduced (at Fall) in October and is at its lowest point in December (in Detriment).
In Dignity: Cancer (June)
In Exaltation: Taurus (April)
At Fall: Scorpio (October)
In Detriment: Capricorn (December)
The moon’s day is Monday
The hours of the moon are as follows.
Saturday - 7th hour after sunrise or sunset
Sunday - 4th and 11th hour after sunrise or sunset
Monday - 1st and 8th hour after sunrise or sunset
Tuesday - 5th and 12th hour after sunrise or sunset
Wednesday - 2nd and 9th hour after sunrise or sunset
Thursday - 6th hour after sunrise or sunset
Friday - 3rd and 10th hour after sunrise or sunset
GMs can use these more or less propitious times for invoking the influence of the moon to apply mechanical bonuses and penalties to the attempt. The granular rules and numbers involved will be determined by the system being employed but can feature numerical additions or subtractions to ‘casting rolls’ or skill checks, the use of (dis)advantage rules and so on. Many of the talismans, amulets and objects described below specify when they should be created and GMs may wish to rule that these items can only be made (or, at least, begun) at those times or they can impose penalties for not doing so. Note that medieval astral magic was sometimes not internally consistent, and a talisman or power might be required to be cast when the planet itself is in detriment or at fall. Usually this was because the power that was being called upon related to something that was under the sway of another planet or constellation that was then in dignity or exaltation, causing a conflict between the two areas of influence.
The Qualities of the Moon
Nature: Cold and wet.
Image: A beautiful horned woman enclosed in the image of a seven headed dragon with a snake wrapped around her head and each arm; a woman standing on two bulls; a man with a bird over his head balancing on a staff with a tree before him; a crowned young man in a four-horse chariot holding a crook in his right hand and a mirror in his left.
Influence: Water, weights and measures, magic, physiology, ancient things, plant growth and withering, eggs, precious stones, tidal rivers, the sea, abstinence from sex, childbirth, secret knowledge, the finding of lost things, dreams, justice, memory and forgetfulness.
People: Kings, dwellers in towns, messengers, mariners, mothers, graceful people.
Places: Springs, lakes, the seashore, swamps, snowy places and everywhere water flows, roads, aboard ship.
Crafts: Polishing, tanning, minting of coins, sailing, astrology, geometry, arithmetic, midwifery.
Organs: Left eye, lungs.
Animals: `White snakes, mules, asses, cows, rabbits, all animals that dwell in water, all animals that dwell in the air but especially swifts, swallows, all water fowl, all white birds.
Trees, Plants Herbs and Spices: Iris, reeds, cabbages, pastoral crops; cinnamon, ginger, pepper.
Stones, Metals and Minerals: Pearls, marcasite, white crystals, azure, onyx, beryl; silver and all white metals.
Colours: Orange, white.
Vestments: Animal pelts and canvas; spotless white linen or silk.
Suffumingation: Camphor and lily.
Talismans of the Moon
A talisman is used here as a catch-all term for any physical object that must be made in order to employ the powers of the moon. Some will be crafted amulets that function as jewellery, others - as decribed below - can be little more than scraps of parchment or pieces of the appropriate stone or mineral. Inscription is also a term of art, capable of meaning carving, etching, drawing with a quill or stylus using ink or olive oil (the two most common mediums). In some cases, ‘to inscribe’ might mean no more than tracing the proper device or symbol with one’s finger. Generally, the more arduous the requirements and the rarer the ingredients cited, the greater will be the magnitude of rhe resulting effect, and GMs should bear this in mind when the description of each talisman posits differing degrees of power.
For a bounteous harvest - With the moon in dignity (June) and on the day and hour of the moon (Monday at the first or eighth hour after sunrise/sunset) inscribe on a disk of silver the image of a woman standing on two bulls yoked together, one of her feet on each beast. Under the next full moon followng, bury this amulet in the middle of the desired field and it shall bring forth a great abundance of crops.
PCs not generally being the sort to concern themselves with crop rotation and the intricacies of cereal farming, this will probably be a power confined to narrative elements of the story. However, in games that feature some form of domain play, this talisman can be used to generate a mechanical bonus for any system that measures crop production on the characters’ lands.
To journey tirelessly - Steep a beryl in a bottle of ink or one full lunar month. Use this ink to draw upon a piece of parchment made from the hide of a spotless white ewe a man with the head of a bird balancing on a staff holding in his hand a bunch of flowers. Do this when the moon is in exaltation (April) and at her hour. Whoever carries this parchment will never tire on any journey.
A journey is probably (though not necessarily) to be defined as any trip that involves the possessor of this amulet being outside their own home for more than one sunrise or sunset. Note well that the terms of the power do not mention anything about sustenance or safety, only about exhaustion. Mechanically, therefore, the effect of this talisman should be confined to awarding a bonus to any check that is required to avoid some weakened condition as a result of physical exertion or, if regarded as more powerful, allowing the bearer to ignore any such effects. It is implied - but not definitely established - that the astral magician can craft these amulets and give them to others, though this might actually be determined by the implementation of any rules governing the power of the magician in terms of level, skill, aptitude and so on.
To promote love - Inscribe the symbol of a crescent moon on a piece of lapis lazuli when the moon is in dignity (June) and at her hour. Any two people who drink from the same silver cup of wine into which the stone is dropped will fall in love and will be loath to be apart.
A great deal of astral magic (and medieval magic in general) was directed towards the conjuration of love and friendship. When these things are attempted and involve player characters, there is necessarily a question of player agency and GMs should - generally - allow that these sort of effects are subject to saves or whatever safeguard the rules allow for when it comes to avoiding emotional compulsion. The mechanical expression of these powers will be some form of charm or fascination that grips the recipients/targets of this power with a level of desire that is contingent on the capacity of the astral magician. Of course, none of this need apply when, for narrative and story purposes, the power is exercised over NPCs.
To gather doves - Inscribe upon a white crystal the image of a woman standing with long hair, each of her feet resting on the head of a bull, facing another woman, standing, crowned and carrying a staff. When the moon is in exaltation (April) and at her hour impress this in to wax to form a seal and place the seal in a dovecote. The cote will draw to it many healthy and productive birds.
As with the amulet to ensure a good harvest described above, outside domain play this will be a narrative effect. But when the group is engaged in some resource management or settlement building activities, then this talisman can provide advantages and increase the results of any mechanical system for determining productivity.
To cure sick children - With the moon in dignity (June) and at her hour, draw upon a lapis lazuli an image of a lion with the head of a man under a crescent moon. Any child who receives this stone shall be cured of all ailments and diseases.
Who qualifies as a child in this context will depend on the culture of the world. Some settings may allow that a child is anyone below the age of 12 or 16 or 18. Actual pre-modern cultures tended to think of childhood less in terms of the age of the individual and more about their social and economic role. A boy of 13 who is apprenticed outside his family home might be a youth, but is probably not a child in the way a 13 year old boy who still lives at home and helps about the house would be. In terms of the effect itself, depending on the power of magic in the setting and that of the magician, this talisman might result in an automatic and complete cure, or perhaps only a bonus to a save to recover from any malady.
To prevent snake bites - On a piece of malachite or a bezoar stone, inscribe the form of a viper with a full and crescent moon above its head when the moon is in exaltation (April) and at her hour. The bearer of the image shall never be bitten by a snake.
A bezoar is the name given to the crystals that can be found on or in various animals. The most valued is that which is formed from the bile of the basilisk, but they are also said to form from the vitrified eyes of stags from India and China and in the heads or intestines of fish and birds. Mechanically, this is simple to instantiate, the only question for GMs being whether ‘never bitten’ is literal (serpents will alwasy miss the bearer) or figurative (the snake attacks at some penalty).
For a puissant memory - Inscribe on an emerald three figures of the moon progressvely waxing and full. With the moon in dignity (June), on her day and at her hour, impress the emerald into a block of incense to create a seal. Any man to whom this seal is given shall have an excellent memory.
The power of this talisman will depend to a large degree on how the quality of memory is iterated in the preferred system. In many cases this will simply be a bonus to the stat that governs remembering things (commonly Intelligence) but other mechanics may include skills, feats or talents that determine how well a character can recall things. In those cases, the possessor can be treated as if they have the relevant ability or, if they already possess it, to improve it according to the rules. Note that it is clear that this object must be given to another and so, impliely at least, cannot be made by the magician for his own benefit.
For forgetfullness - Inscribe on a diamond three figures of the moon progressvely waning and then dark. With the moon in detriment (December), on her day and at her hour, press the diamond into a piece of incense to make a seal. Bury this seal under the doorway of any man’s house and, for as long as it remains undisturbed and he continues to dwell there, that man will be afflicted with a poor memory and absent-mindedness.
The mechanical expression of this talisman can mirror that of its opposite descibed immediately above - with or without any save mechanic depending on whether the target is a player character and other considerations. Note, however, that in addition to any loss of a stat, attribute or other measure of memory, this amulet could be interpreted such that it creates amnesia about certain events or people. This is always more difficult to play out with respect to player characters when calling on the player to ‘forget’ something, but is simple with respect to NPCs.
To ease the pangs of childbirth - On a square panel of beaten silver, carve the image of a horned woman with a snake wrapped around her head and each arm, enclosed in the image of a seven headed dragon. Do this when the moon is in exaltation (April) and at her hour. When a woman goes into labour, take this amulet and conceal it within a girdle made of spotless white lamb’s wool. Wrap this about the belly of the mother and she shall safely be delivered of her child.
This is another instance where the effect will be largely narrative for most groups. However, if a mechanic is required it is an easy enough task to apply some positive modifier to the constution check or save against physical trauma.
To suppress lust - On the day and at the hour of the moon (Monday on the 1st or 8th hour after sunrise/sunset) when Venus is in detriment (March and October) carve upon white crystal the image of a full moon above a calm sea. Anyone who possesses this talisman shall have their sexual desire greatly diminished.
In pre-modern humoural theory, the moon’s quality of being cold and wet made it an excellent counter to the hot and dry humours that were said to be the origin of lust. As with all effects that may affect player characters, GMs need to decide whether a charater subjected to this power can attempt to resist it or whether they can opt not to try to do so. When applying this effect to NPCs, it is much more probable that the needs of the plot will determine the outcome. What counts as ‘possession’ is an open question; it may be that the recipient has to have it on their person or, perhaps, it only has to be located somewhere in their property. It is interesting tospeculate whether, rather than only immoderate lust, this talisman could be used to suppress all sexual desire.
To locate that which is lost - On the day of the moon (Monday) and at the first or eighth hour after sunset, take a silver bowl and fill it with pure springwater. When the water has become perfectly still, drop into the bowl a disk of white lead on which has been engraved the image of a crowned young man in a four-horse chariot holding a crook in his right hand and a mirror in his left. Wait once more for the water to settle. When you gaze into the bowl and meditate upon the lost item you seek, its location will be revealed to you.
Functionally, this works in the same way as more conventional spells such as augury or divination and GMs should adapt the mechanics from their preferred system for this effect. Note, however, that it is not clear exactly what is revealed by the talisman. It could be an image of the place where the lost item is currently located or the face of the object’s new owner or the person that stole it or otherwise acquired it when it was lost to the magician. It is for GMs to decide whether this amulet can be employed to locate the property of others or only that of the magician.
To Call Down the Moon
When the moon is full, the magician must travel to some propitious place, having first shaved themself completely so that they are like a hairless child. They should be dressed in unadorned white linen or silk and should wear a silver ring and no other jewellery and carry a silver censer. Within the censer they must burn a suffumigation made of equal parts mastic gum, cardamom, savin, styrax gum, myrrh, spikenard, frankincense, saffron and henna root mixed with good wine. The astral magician should pray with a light and easy heart to the moon and, afterwards, sacrifice a calf by slitting its throat with one deep cut, burning its body to ashes on a large fire.
As before, no attempt will be made here to present a full list of those things that the astral magician can do when he calls upon the power of the moon. Insead, players and GMs should examine the influences, people, places, animals, organs, rocks and plants that the moon has power over and combine them to create effects of suitable quality and magnitude. For example, the influence of the moon might allow that, whenever the magician deals with a mechant, that seller’s scales, weights and measures, rather than being true, always favour the magician. One who calls upon the moon may be gifted the ability to interpet the dreams of kings, to quell stormy seas (or raise them), cause plants to wither and die at the merest touch, summon animals that dwell in water or in the air and employ them as familiars. GMs will wish to assess for themselves the relative power of these gifts. Perhaps ‘minor’ powers are permanent while great effects have limited use or only one such effect can be enjoyed by the magician at any one time.
The Ring of the Moon
Craft a ring of pure silver with not one drop of adulterated material. Into this ring set a flawless pearl flanked by two onyxes without flaw or blemish. This work can only be conducted when the moon is in dignity (June), on her day and at her hours (the 1st or 8th hour after sunrise/sunset). Tarry but one moment past those hours and the work will be irretriveably marred and must be begun again.
The ring of the moon is unsurprisingly sometimes associated with lycanthropy, granting the wearer either remission from the disease or, in some other traditions, allowing the owner to change form as desired. More generally, all attempts to wield the influence of the moon will be made easier and of greater consequence when conducted by the ring’s owner (translating to a mechanical bonus when working the astral magic of the moon or an increase in the scale of the effects or both).
This is right up my alley. Goes good with the enochian magic system I'm using I Avalon.