SPIRITS OF THE PLANETS

By Anna Felixidocious

Animism is a philosophical and spiritual framework that says all things have a spirit - every rock is a person, every plant is a person, every animal is a person, every river, every breath of wind, tendril of mycelium.

Astrological magic is as old as astrology. Our ancient astrologer ancestors took real time data of the movement of the stars in the sky & noted what was happening in the world; as they did, they talked to the planets as if they were living gods casting their rays onto the earth. And as the data grew, so did our ancestors understanding of the voices of the planets. What each planetary spirit liked, disliked, could be mollified or enhanced with. How to ease the restrictive nature of Saturn; how to mitigate the sharpness of Mars; how to sustain the growth of Jupiter; how to nurture the Moon.

The most well known text about astrological magic is called the Picatrix. Originally written in Arabic in the 10th or 11th century, the text was translated into Spanish & then Latin; as the text moved into Europe it was renamed the Picatrix. In many ways, this text is regarded as foundational to many different Arabic and European magical systems.

And in this text, we are introduced to the idea of praying to the planets, talismanic magic, petitioning to the stars. The Picatrix is heavily coded in magical language; it’s fucking hard to read for a modern astrologer, which is clearly stated as a protective measure. This magic is not for beginners. This magic is real. It works and should be respected.

With the new rising wave of interest in astrology, I wanted to share this introduction to the Picatrix & planetary animistic magic with the hopes the mumurations of the planetary spirits speak to those who are to hear. 

We have lost our roots to the Earth, as a species. And as we have lost our roots, so we have lost our connection to the voices of stars. And yet they still speak to us, loudly or with a whisper.

I leave you with the Orphic Hymn to Selene (the Moon) as inspiration for your personal devotions as translated from Ancient Greek by Thomas Taylor in 1792 (from theoi.com).

 “Dress as a child, bring sweet smelling things & wear a ring of silver” says the Picatrix. Sing the hymn to the moon at night, and listen for Her to sing back to you.

Anna Felixidocious is a queer single mother liminal being grown from the banks of the Mississippi. They have studied astrology, tarot, Celtic & American Folk magic since they were a small wild creature losing themselves in murals & trees. You can connect with them on IG @felixidocious & their website GoodWitch.com