VI
THE BELIEF IN TALISMANS Bygone Beliefs | ||
6. VI
THE BELIEF IN TALISMANS
THE word "talisman" is derived from the Arabic "tilsam," "a magical image," through the plural form "tilsamén." This Arabic word is itself probably derived from the Greek τελεσμα in its late meaning of "a religious mystery" or "consecrated object". The term is often employed to designate amulets in general, but, correctly speaking, it has a more restricted and special significance. A talisman may be defined briefly as an astrological or other symbol expressive of the influence and power of one of the planets, engraved on a sympathetic stone or metal (or inscribed on specially prepared parchment) under the auspices of this planet.
Before proceeding to an account of the preparation of talismans proper, it will not be out of place to notice some of the more interesting and curious of other amulets. All sorts of substances have been employed as charms, sometimes of a very unpleasant nature, such as dried toads. Generally, however, amulets consist of stones, herbs, or passages from Sacred Writings written on paper. This latter class are sometimes called "characts," as an example of which may be mentioned the Jewish phylacteries.
Every precious stone was supposed to exercise its own peculiar virtue; for instance, amber was regarded as a good remedy for throat troubles, and agate was thought to preserve from snake-bites. ELIHU RICH[54] gives a very full list of stones and their supposed virtues. Each sign of the zodiac was supposed to have its own particular stone[55] (as shown in the annexed table), and hence the superstitious though not inartistic custom of wearing one's birthstone
Certain herbs, culled at favourable conjunctions of the planets and worn as amulets, were held to be very efficacious against various diseases. Precious stones and metals were also taken internally for the same
According to ELIHU RICH,[57] the following were the commonest Egyptian amulets:—
- 1. Those inscribed with the figure of Serapis, used to preserve against evils inflicted by earth.
- 2. Figure of Canopus, against evil by water.
- 3. Figure of a hawk, against evil from the air.
- 4. Figure of an asp, against evil by fire.
PARACELSUS believed there to be much occult virtue in an alloy of the seven chief metals, which he called Electrum. Certain definite proportions of these metals had to be taken, and each was to be added during a favourable conjunction of the planets. From this electrum he supposed that valuable amulets and magic mirrors could be prepared.
A curious and ancient amulet for the cure of various diseases, particularly the ague, was a triangle formed of the letters of the word "Abracadabra." The usual form was that shown in fig. 19, and that
The belief in the horn as a powerful amulet,
especially prevalent in Italy, where is it the custom
of the common people to make the sign of the mano
cornuto to avoid the consequence of the dreaded
To turn our attention, however, to the art of preparing talismans proper: I may remark at the outset that it was necessary for the talisman to be prepared by one's own self—a task by no means easy as a rule. Indeed, the right mental attitude of the occultist was insisted upon as essential to the operation.
As to the various signs to be engraver on the talismans, various authorities differ, though there are certain points connected with the art of talismanic magic on which they all agree. It so happened that the ancients were acquainted with seven metals and seven planets (including the sun and moon as planets), and the days of the week are also seven. It was concluded, therefore, that there was some occult connection between the planets, metals, and days of the week. Each of the seven days of the week was supposed to be under the auspices of the spirits of one of the planets; so also was the generation in the womb of Nature of each of the seven chief metals.
In the following table are shown these particulars in detail:—
Consequently, the metal of which a talisman was to be made, and also the time of its preparation, had to be chosen with due regard to the planet under which it was to be prepared.[60] The power of such a talisman was thought to be due to the genie of this planet—a talisman, was, in fact, a silent evocation of an astral spirit. Examples of the belief that a genie can be bound up in an amulet in some way are afforded
All the instruments employed in the art had to be specially prepared and consecrated. Special robes had to be worn, perfumes and incense burnt, and invocations, conjurations, etc., recited, all of which depended on the planet ruling the operation. A
In The Key of Solomon the King (translated by S. L. M. MATHERS, 1889)[61] are described five, six, or
The First Pentacle of the Sun.—"The Countenance of Shaddaï the Almighty, at Whose aspect all creatures
The Fifth Pentacle of Mars.—"Write thou this Pentacle upon virgin parchment or paper because it is terrible unto the Demons, and at its sight and aspect they will obey thee, for they cannot resist its presence." The design is a Scorpion,[62] around which the word Hvl is repeated. The Hebrew versicle
The Third Pentacle of the Moon.—"This being
duly borne with thee when upon a journey, if it be
The Third Pentacle of Venus.—"This, if it be only
shown unto any person, serveth to attract love. Its
Angel Monachiel should be invoked in the day and
hour of Venus, at one o'clock or at eight." The
design consists of two triangles joined at their apices,
The Third Pentacle of Mercury.—"This serves to invoke the Spirits subject unto Mercury; and
CORNELIUS AGRIPPA, in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, describes another interesting system of talismans. FRANCIS BARRETT'S Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer, a well-known occult work published in the first year of the nineteenth century, I may mention, copies AGRIPPA'S system of talismans, without acknowledgment, almost word for word. To each of the planets is assigned a magic square or
11 | 24 | 7 | 20 | 3 |
4 | 12 | 25 | 8 | 16 |
17 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 9 |
10 | 18 | 1 | 14 | 22 |
23 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 15 |
It will be noticed that every number from 1 up to the highest possible occurs once, and that no number occurs twice. It will also be seen that the sum of each row and of each column is always 65. Similar squares can be constructed containing any square number of figures, and it is, indeed, by no means surprising that the remarkable properties of such "magic squares," before these were explained mathematically, gave rise to the belief that they had some occult significance and virtue. From the magic squares can be obtained certain numbers which are said to be the numbers of the planets; their orderliness, we are told, reflects the order of the heavens, and from a consideration of them the magical properties of the planets which they represent can be arrived at. For example, in the above table the number of rows of numbers is 5. The total number of numbers in the table is the square of this number, namely, 25, which is also the greatest number in the table. The sum of any row or column is 65. And, finally, the sum of all the numbers is the product of the number of rows (namely, 5) and the sum of any row (namely, 65), i.e. 325. These numbers, namely, 5, 25, 65, and
Now to each planet is assigned an Intelligence or good spirit, and an Evil Spirit or demon; and the names of these spirits are related to certain of the numbers of the planets. The other numbers are also connected with holy and magical Hebrew names. AGRIPPA, and BARRETT copying him, gives the following table of "names answering to the numbers of Mars":—
Similar tables are given for the other planets. The numbers can be derived from the names by regarding the Hebrew letters of which they are composed as numbers, in which case (Aleph) to (Teth) represent the units 1 to 9 in order, (Jod) to (Tzade) the tens 10 to 90 in order, (Koph) to (Tau) the hundreds 100 to 400, whilst the hundreds 500 to 900 are represented by special terminal forms of certain of the Hebrew letters.[64] It is evident that
Each planet has its own seal or signature, as well
as the signature of its intelligence and the signature
of its demon. These signatures were supposed to
represent the characters of the planets' intelligences
and demons respectively. The signature of Mars is
shown in fig. 26, that of its intelligence in fig. 27,
and that of its demon in fig. 28.
PLATE 13
[Description: FIG. 26. The Seals of Mars, FIG. 27. his Intelligence, FIG. 28. and his Spirit, from BARRETT's Magus (1801).
FIG. 29. The Talisman of Mars, from BARRETT's Magus]
These various details were inscribed on the talismans each of which was supposed to confer its own peculiar benefits—as follows: On one side must be engraved the proper magic table and the astrological sign of the planet, together with the highest planetary number, the sacred names corresponding to the planet, and the name of the intelligence of the planet, but not the name of its demon. On the other side must be engraved the seals of the planet and of its intelligence, and also the astrological sign. BARRETT says, regarding the demons:[65] "It is to be understood that the intelligences are the presiding good angels that are set over the planets; but that the spirits or dæmons, with their names, seals, or characters, are never inscribed upon any Talisman, except to execute any evil effect, and that they are subject to the intelligences, or good spirits; and again, when the spirits and their characters are used, it will be more conducive to the effect to add some divine name appropriate to that effect which we desire." Evil talismans can also be prepared, we are informed, by using a metal antagonistic to the
ALPHONSE LOUIS CONSTANT,[66] a famous French occultist of the nineteenth century, who wrote under the name of "ÉLIPHAS LÉVI," describes yet another system of talismans. He says: "The Pentagram must be always engraved on one side of the talisman, with a circle for the Sun, a crescent for the Moon, a winged caduceus for Mercury, a sword for Mars, a G for Venus, a crown for Jupiter, and a scythe for Saturn. The other side of the talisman should bear the sign of Solomon, that is, the six-pointed star formed by two interlaced triangles; in the centre there should be placed a human figure for the sun talismans, a cup for those of the Moon, a dog's head for those of Jupiter, a lion for those of Mars, a dove's for those of Venus, a bull's or goat's for those of Saturn. The names of the seven angels should be added either in Hebrew, Arabic, or magic characters similar to those of the alphabets of Trimethius. The two triangles of Solomon may be replaced by the double cross of Ezekiel's wheels, this being found on a great number of ancient pentacles. All objects of this nature, whether in metals or in precious stones, should be carefully wrapped in silk satchels of a colour analogous to the spirit of the planet, perfumed with the perfumes of the corresponding day, and preserved from all impure looks and touches."[67]
ÉLIPHAS LÉVI, following PYTHAGORAS and many
PLATE 14.
[Description: FIG. 30. The Pentagram embellished according to
ÉLIPHAS LÉVI
FIG. 31. The Hexagram, or Seal of Solomon, embellished
according to ÉLIPHAS LÉVI.]
Magical rings were prepared on the same principle as were talismans. Says CORNELIUS AGRIPPA: "The manner of making these kinds of Magical Rings is this,
Enough has been said already to indicate the general nature of talismanic magic. No one could maintain otherwise than that much of it is pure nonsense; but the subject should not, therefore, be dismissed as valueless, or lacking significance. It is past belief that amulets and talismans should have been believed in for so long unless they appearedto be productive of some of the desired results, though these may have been due to forces quite other than those which were supposed to be operative. Indeed, it may be said that there has been no widely held superstition which does not embody some truth, like some small specks of gold hidden in an uninviting mass of quartz. As the poet BLAKE put it: "Everything possible to be believ'd is an image of truth";[71] and the attempt may here be made to extract the gold of truth from the quartz of superstition concerning talismanic magic. For this purpose the various theories regarding the supposed efficacy of talismans must be examined.
Two of these theories have already been noted, but the doctrine of effluvia admittedly applied only to a certain class of amulets, and, I think, need not be seriously considered. The "astral-spirit theory" (as it may be called), in its ancient form at any rate, is equally untenable to-day. The discoveries of new planets and new metals seem destructive of the belief that there can be any occult connection between planets, metals, and the days of the week, although the curious fact discovered by Mr OLD, to which I have referred (footnote, p. 63), assuredly demands an explanation, and a certain validity may, perhaps,
Another theory concerning talismans which commended itself to many of the old occult philosophers, PARACELSUS for instance, is what may be called the "occult force" theory. This theory assumes the existence of an occult mental force, a force capable of being exerted by the human will, apart from its usual mode of operation by means of the body. It was believed to be possible to concentrate this mental energy and infuse it into some suitable medium, with the production of a talisman, which was thus regarded as a sort of accumulator for mental energy. The theory seems a fantastic one to modern thought, though, in view of the many startling phenomena brought to light by psychical research, it is not advisable to be too positive regarding the limitations of the powers of the human mind. However, I think we shall find the element of truth in the otherwise absurd belief in talismans by means of what may be called, not altogether fancifully perhaps, a transcendental interpretation of this "occult force" theory. I suggest, that is, that when a believer makes a talisman, the transference of the occult energy is ideal, not actual; that the power, believed to reside in the talisman itself, is the power due to the reflex action of the believer's mind. The power of what transcendentalists call "the imagination" cannot be
On the other hand, however, we must beware of the exaggerations into which certain schools of thought have fallen in their estimates of the powers of the imagination. These exaggerations are particularly marked in the views which are held by many nowadays with regard to "faith-healing," although the "Christian Scientists" get out of the difficulty— at least to their own satisfaction—by ascribing their alleged cures to the Power of the Divine Mind, and not to the power of the individual mind.
Of course the real question involved in this "transcendental theory of talismans" as I may, perhaps, call it, is that of the operation of incarnate spirit on the plane of matter. This operation takes place only through the medium of the nervous system, and it has been suggested,[73] to avoid any violation of the law of the conservation of energy, that it is effected, not by the transference, as is sometimes supposed, of energy from the spiritual to the material plane, but merely by means of directive control over the expenditure of energy derived by the body from purely
I am not sure that this theory really avoids the difficulty which it is intended to obviate;[74] but it is at least an interesting one, and at any rate there may be modes in which the body, under the directive control of the spirit, may expend energy derived from the material plane, of which we know little or nothing. We have the testimony of many eminent authorities[75] to the phenomenon of the movement of physical objects without contact at spiritistic seances. It seems to me that the introduction of discarnate intelligences to explain this phenomenon is somewhat gratuitous—the psychic phenomena which yield evidence of the survival of human personality after bodily death are of a different character. For if we suppose this particular phenomenon to be due to discarnate spirits, we must, in view of what has been said concerning "mediums," conclude that the movements in question are not produced by these spirits directly, but through and by means of the nervous system of the medium present. Evidently, therefore, the means for the production of the phenomenon reside in the human nervous system (or, at any rate, in the peculiar nervous system of "mediums"), and all that is lacking is intelligence
In illustration of the real power of the imagination, I may instance the Maori superstition of the Taboo. According to the Maories, anyone who touches a
Dr HADDON[77] quotes a similar but still more remarkable story of a young Congo negro which very strikingly shows the power of the imagination. The young negro, "being on a journey, lodged at a friend's house; the latter got a wild hen for his breakfast, and the young man asked if it were a wild hen. His host answered `No.' Then he fell on heartily, and afterwards proceeded on his journey. After four years these two met together again, and his old friend asked him `if he would eat a wild hen,' to which he answered that it was tabooed to
There are, of course, many stories about amulets, etc., which cannot be thus explained. For example, ELIHU RICH gives the following:—
"In 1568, we are told (Transl. of Salverte, p. 196) that the Prince of Orange condemned a Spanish prisoner to be shot at Juliers. The soldiers tied him to a tree and fired, but he was invulnerable. They then stripped him to see what armour he wore, but they found only an amulet bearing the figure of a lamb (the Agnus Dei, we presume). This was taken from him, and he was then killed by the first shot. De Baros relates that the Portuguese in like manner vainly attempted to destroy a Malay, so long as he wore a bracelet containing a bone set in gold, which rendered him proof against their swords. A similar marvel is related in the travels of the veracious Marco Polo. `In an attempt of Kublai Khan to make a conquest of the island of Zipangu, a jealousy arose between the two commanders of the expedition, which led to an order for putting the whole garrison to the sword. In obedience to this order, the heads of all were cut off excepting of eight persons, who by the efficacy of a diabolical charm, consisting of a jewel or amulet introduced into the right arm, between the skin and the flesh, were rendered secure from the effects of iron, either to kill or wound. Upon this
In conclusion, mention must be made of a very interesting and suggestive philosophical doctrine—the Law of Correspondences,—due in its explicit form to the Swedish philosopher, who was both scientist and mystic, EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. To deal in any way adequately with this important topic is totally impossible within the confines of the present discussion.[79] But, to put the matter as briefly as possible, it may be said that SWEDENBORG maintains (and the conclusion, I think, is valid) that all causation is from the spiritual world, physical causation being but secondary, or apparent—that is to say, a mere reflection, as it were, of the true process. He argues from this, thereby supplying a philosophical basis for the unanimous belief of the nature-mystics, that every natural object is the symbol (because the creation) of an idea or spiritual verity in its widest sense. Thus, there are symbols which are inherent in the nature of things, and symbols which are not. The former are genuine, the latter merely artificial. Writing from the transcendental point of view, ÉLIPHAS LÉVI says: "Ceremonies, vestments, perfumes, characters and figures being . . . necessary to enlist the imagination in the education of the will, the success of magical works depends upon the faithful observance of all the rites, which are in no sense
With regard to these stones, however, there is much confusion and difference of opinion. The arrangement adopted in the table here given is that of CORNELIUS AGRIPPA (Occult Philosophy, bk. ii.). A comparatively recent work, esteemed by modern occultists, namely, The Light of Egypt, or the Science of the Soul and the Stars (1889), gives the following scheme:— Common superstitious opinion regarding birth-stones, as reflected, for example, in the "lucky birth charms" exhibited in the windows of the jewellers' shops, considerably diverges in this matter from the views of both these authorities. The usual scheme is as follows:—
Jan.=Garnet. | May=Emerald. | Sept.=Sapphire |
Feb.=Amethyst | June=Agate. | Oct.=Opal. |
Mar.=Bloodstone | July=Ruby. | Nov.=Topaz |
Apr.=Diamond. | Aug.=Sardonyx. | Dec.=Turquoise. |
In this connection a rather surprising discovery made by Mr W. GORN OLD (see his A Manual of Occultism, 1911, pp. 7 and 8) must be mentioned. The ancient Chaldeans appear invariably to have enumerated the planets in the following order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon— which order was adopted by the mediæval astrologers. Let us commence with the Sun in the above sequence, and write down every third planet; we then have—
Sun | Sunday. |
Moon | Monday. |
Mars | Tuesday. |
Mercury | Wednesday |
Jupiter | Thursday. |
Venus | Friday. |
Saturn | Saturday. |
Saturday | Lead (=207) |
Mercury | Mercury (=200) |
Sun | Gold (=197) |
Jupiter | Tin (=119) |
Moon | Silver (=108) |
Venus | Copper (=64) |
Mars | Iron (=56) |
Similarly we can, starting from any one of these orders, pass to the other two. The fact is a very surprising one, because the ancients could not possibly have been acquainted with the atomic weights of the metals, and, it is important to note, the order of the densities of these metals, which might possibly have been known to them, is by no means the same as the order of their atomic weights. Whether the fact indicates a real relationship between the planets and the metals, or whether there is some other explanation, I am not prepared to say. Certainly some explanation is needed: to say that the fact is mere coincidence is unsatisfactory, seeing that the odds against, not merely this, but any such regularity occurring by chance—as calculated by the mathematical theory of probability—are 119 to 1.
The Clavicula Salomonis, or Key of Solomon the King, consists mainly of an elaborate ritual for the evocation of the various planetary spirits, in which process the use of talismans or pentacles plays a prominent part. It is claimed to be a work of white magic, but, inasmuch as it, like other old books making the same claim, gives descriptions of a pentacle for causing ruin, destruction, and death, and another for causing earthquakes—to give only two examples,—the distinction between black and white magic, which we shall no doubt encounter again in later excursions, appears to be somewhat arbitrary.
Regarding the authorship of the work, Mr MATHERS, translator and editor of the first printed copy of the book, says, "I see no reason to doubt the tradition which assigns the authorship of the `Key' to King Solomon." If this view be accepted, however, it is abundantly evident that the Key as it stands at present (in which we find S. JOHN quoted, and mention made of SS. PETER and PAUL) must have received some considerable alterations and additions at the hands of later editors. But even if we are compelled to assign the Clavicula Salomonis in its present form to the fourteenth or fifteenth century, we must, I think, allow that it was based upon traditions of the past, and, of course, the possibility remains that it might have been based upon some earlier work. With regard to the antiquity of the planetary sigils, Mr MATHERS notes "that, among the Gnostic talismans in the British Museum, there is a ring of copper with the sigils of Venus, which are exactly the same as those given by mediæval writers on magic."
In spite of the absurdity of its claims, viewed in the light of modern knowledge, the Clavicula Salomonis exercised a considerable influence in the past, and is to be regarded as one of the chief sources of mediæval ceremonial magic. Historically speaking, therefore, it is a book of no little importance.
Readers acquainted with mathematics will notice that if n is the number of rows in such a "magic square," the other numbers derived as above will be n2, ½n(n2 + 1), and ½n2(n2 + 1). This can readily be proved by the laws of arithmetical progressions. Rather similar but more complicated and less uniform "magic squares" are attributed to PARACELSUS.
It may be noticed that this makes equal to 326, one unit too much. Possibly an Aleph should be omitted.
For a biographical and critical account of this extraordinary personage and his views, see Mr A. E. WAITE'S The Mysteries of Magic: a Digest of the writings of ÉLIPHAS LÉVI (1897).
H. C. AGRIPPA: Occult Philosophy, bk. i. chap. xlvii. (WHITEHEAD'S edition, pp. 141 and 142).
FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS: The Antiquities of the Jews (trans. by W. WHISTON), bk. viii. chap. ii., § 5 (45) to (47).
The publications of The Society for Psychical Research, and FREDERICK MYERS' monumental work on Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death, should be specially consulted. I have attempted a brief discussion of modern spiritualism and psychical research in my Matter, Spirit, and the Cosmos (1910), chap. ii.
Cf Sir OLIVER LODGE: Life and Matter (1907), especially chap. ix.; and W. HIBBERT, F.I.C.: Life and Energy (1904).
The subject is rather too technical to deal with here. I have discussed it elsewhere; see "Thermo-Dynamical Objections to the Mechanical Theory of Life," The Chemical News, vol. cxii. pp. 271 et seq. (3rd December 1915).
For instance, the well-known physicist, Sir W. F. BARRETT, F.R.S. (late Professor of Experimental Physics in The Royal College of Science for Ireland). See his On the Threshold of a New World of Thought (1908), § 10.
VI
THE BELIEF IN TALISMANS Bygone Beliefs | ||