As I delved deeper into the knowledge of planetary forces and their influences, I realized that magic is incomplete without precise knowledge of the moon's timings and its effects—especially what is called the Lunar Mansions, where the moon travels through a path divided into 28 mansions, each with a specific and secret influence on magical workings.
I learned that the practitioner—the one who performs the talismanic magic—must be well-versed in astronomical calculations, and their work succeeds only if the moon is in the exact degree corresponding to the desired magical effect.
Here are some of the lunar mansions preserved in ancient books, and their effects on talismans:
The First Mansion: Al-Sharatayn (The Two Signs)
Located at the beginning of Aries, it is a mansion associated with travel and taking laxative medicines, also used to create talismans for protection during journeys.
However, it is also used to craft talismans that sow discord between spouses, inciting enmity and strife.
The Second Mansion: Al-Batin
Known for extracting water, digging wells, and growing crops.
On the darker side, talismans from this mansion can be made to ruin marriages, cause harm among people, and strengthen the bonds of prisoners.
The Third Mansion: Al-Thurayyā
Used for talismans ensuring safety during sea travel, breaking the chains of captives, and aiding chemical experiments and fire rituals.
But it is also a place for talismans that bring grief, misery, and oppression.
The Fourth Mansion: Aldebaran
Holds talismans that cause destruction, ruin crops, create marital strife, and sow fear in hearts.
It is also a place for talismans protecting property and slaves, or controlling them.
---
Each of these mansions is not merely a position in the sky but a gateway to forces that swing between creation and destruction, life and death, joy and terror.
Each talisman drawn or cast at these precisely calculated moments can alter a person's fate or deepen an unhealable wound.
I felt myself drawing closer to the secrets of this hidden knowledge, and every time I raised my eyes to the moon, I felt its gaze piercing my soul, as if it were testing whether I was worthy to bear this secret—or if I would merely become its victim.