Dignified Venus ~ Spica Talismans
I began designing these Venus ~ Spica talismans when Venus first ingressed into Libra. Wanting to create a medallion talisman that contained both the image of Venus and of the Behenian fixed star, Spica, I decided on the image of a dove to represent both. In Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy one of the figures for Spica is described to be a bird. The dove is the bird of Venus, as one of her motifs it was considered a Venusian symbol of love and peace long before it was adopted by the Christians. This choice felt the most fitting with Venus being in the
triplicity of Air, in her domicile of Libra. To further symbolise Spica, I turned the tail of the dove into a blade of wheat, as the fixed star Spica is located in the spike of wheat held in the hand of the Virgin in the constellation of Virgo. At the center of the medallion was set an emerald (the gem of both Venus and Spica) within a star, and on the back was crafted the glyph of Venus as illustrated in the Picatrix, along with the sigil for the intelligence of Venus and the Sigil for Spica, from Agrippa. I carved the talisman by hand from jewellers wax and cast it into sterling silver and made a limited collection of 8 pieces.
These talismans were completed, over two elections during an auspicious week in September 2021. The first election took place on Sunday the 5th September at 2:15pm during Venus hour when Venus conjoined Spica on the midheaven, and the moon in Leo applied via sextile from the 7th house. This election kicked off what was to be a beautiful week of auspicious space and earth weather.
In the southern hemisphere September heralds the beginning of spring, and new life stirred with the change of season. In ritual communion with Venus and Spica I felt myself being soothed, calmed and slowed, becoming acutely aware of my breath, of my movements, and of each passing moment. I slowed my speech as I spoke the words of the invocations and in doing so I could feel the beauty in the words as they formed on my lips. Feeling such a connection with Venus in her glory helped me align to dignified Venusian intention and purpose, uplifting my own natal Venus in Scorpio.
On finishing this first election I meditated on this experience of slowness, and of beauty as experiential rather than object. We so often get caught up in the material of Venus but with Venus in Libra; in the triplicity of air we take flight and enter the transcendent, where love and beauty (as the core aspects of Venus) originate formless, existing within each passing moment. By anchoring ourselves and putting our awareness in breath we can harmonise with our nature and the more than human world, creating space for beauty to emerge. Venus and Spica invite us to enter into stillness so that we can attune to the divine creative force that inspires all Venusian endeavours. The second election took place on Friday (Venus day) 10 September at 7:35am. The moon was conjoined to Spica and beginning its conjunction to Venus in Libra on the ascendant. This was the culmination point of my talismanic working, as I again made my petitions to Venus and Spica I set the emeralds into the centre of each talisman thus bringing them to a state of completion and completed the working with a suffumigation of frankincense, sage and rose petals. While the first ritual was about slowness, transcendent beauty and meditation, the second was about light, joy, connection and immersion in nature.
Agrippa says, that to make a talisman in the image of Spica “conferreth riches, and maketh one overcome contentions, it taketh away scarcity and mischief” and Hermes on the 15 Fixed Stars says of Spica that it, "will increase gold, accumulate riches, bring victory in lawsuits, and free men from evil and anguish."
To truly honour Spica and understand their gifts we should look to mythology. Spica is the fixed star in the Spike of wheat held in the hand of the Virgin in the constellation of Virgo. In ancient Greece she was known as the maiden Astraea. Astraea was said to have ruled upon earth as Queen during the Golden Age. The Golden Age was the first epoch (which corresponds with Satya Yuga). A period of perpetual spring when humankind lived in harmony with the earth, each other, and the more than human world. It was characterised as a time of peace and abundance, free of suffering, want, and violence as Astraea granted her subjects their every desire. The Golden Age came to an end when cruelty as injustice entered the world. Astraea retreated to the highest mountains and her voice grew faint. And as we entered the Bronze Age corruption overcame the entire earth marking the moral decline of humanity, Astraea was the last of the gods to depart and take her place in the heavens where she now looks upon us in reminder of what was and can be again.
What most characterises the goddess Astraea is the peacefulness of her attitude and her generosity; however her gifts of joy, prosperity and protection are not bestowed freely. She turns from the cruel and unjust and bestows her gifts only on those who strive to embody the ideals of the golden age and live in harmony with the self, each other and the more than human world.
These talismans are carved from jewellers wax and cast in sterling silver. They are of substantial weight, are 3 cm (1.18 inches) in diameter and set with a 3mm round emerald. They come on a sterling silver anchor or belcher chain. The completion of these talismans included a petition to both Venus and Spica and a suffumigation of frankincense, sage and rose petals.
Talismanic properties: this is a list of my experiences from working with Dignified Libra & Spica and wearing their talisman, individual outcomes may vary.
- Promotes the engagement of pleasurable intellectual pursuits and sparks creative inspiration.
- Increased feelings of joy and peace.
- Easing of anxieties and worries.
- Assists in embracing slowness and meditative practises.
- Fosters the prioritisation of self- care.
- Increased desire for connection and relationship with both human and non-human persons and to develop custodianship practices; such as gardening and caring for animals.
- A desire for mediation and peacekeeping over conflict and discord.
Note: There is a possibility of decreased productivity especially if you are overworked and in need of rest and leisure. You may find your relationship to work changing, losing interest (and any sense of urgency) in work that you experience to be difficult, challenging or stressful, or just don’t feel like doing. You may find your focus shifts to getting into right-relation with your own natural rhythms. Best to take that into consideration especially considering this is late capitalism, and most of us have been conditioned into workaholism. If you don’t currently have the time to potentially slow down your ‘productivity’ wear during times of leisure or when doing pleasurable work without deadlines to meet.
Invocation to Spica
O Spica, you are the Spike of wheat held in the hand of Astraea. The brightest light of the fair and just star-maiden, who once walked upon the Earth as Queen of the golden age, blessing humankind with abundance. Yet as the golden age faded, so too did your voice. And when cruelty and injustice contaminated the world you soured up to heavens. Away from earth that scorned you, and from the wild ways of men with hands defiled. Astraea, you are harmony and truth, justice and chastity; pure of thought and deed. It was your departure that signaled the beginning of human suffering, as you who are peaceful do not look upon those who live by the ship or the sword.
Astraea, you are the chief glory of the firmament, whence at night you show yourself to remind all that justice no longer dwells in the sublunary realm. As the virgin with the spica, you appear time and again to the poet, visionary, or seeker of truth and justice who searches for you, in the world, in the heavens, or within the self. And so I cast my mind to the stars with the vow to strive to be pure of thought and action, and set aside the ship and the sword. May you look upon me with your favour and reward me with your blessings of abundance. For it is written: those who strive to be pure of heart and abide the lore of the land you resurface the golden epoch as an inner state of joy, piety, and equity in blissful hearts.
*The story in the invocation comes from Greek mythology. In this myth Astraea ruled the earth as Queen during the Golden epoch when humankind lived peacefully, in harmony with nature, before war, violence, and colonialism. The ship is a metaphor for colonialism and the sword for war and violence. Astraea ruled Earth by mild persuasion rather than force, and does not abide force in others. She requires this sacrifice in order to receive her blessings: that one must learn to lay down their arms and meet their adversaries in debate rather than aggression and anger. Also chastity meant of pure thought and action and was not related to sex, that definition came about towards the end of the middle ages.
