You may remember that Nyan Cat plaque I made for a friend. Well, being me and all, I decided to emblazon and charge it with a sigil for my friend’s benefit, because what good would a Nyan Cat do just lying on a shelf? (Be completely awesome and a wonderful conversation piece, obviously.) So I decided to artsy up this sigil as well and post it to the interwebs. The intonation associated with this sigil is “MUNES ILTER JEK” (moo-nehs eel-tehr jehk), if you’re so acoustically inclined.
Also, according to friends, both this and the last sigil I posted back in October look like hats. What an odd trend. I claim it looks like…okay, no, it also kinda looks like a hat. Whatever.
In other crafting news, I decided to remake my black-handled dagger based on the Key of Solomon. I was using a dinky little 6″ one that literally my hand would envelop (I’ve got big hands), so I decided to use a slightly larger dagger this time around and did it a little nicer with a dremel and more patience with the metal engraver (picture’s up in Crafts). Also, in preparation for making a talisman per Fr. Rufus Opus’ Astral Warrior handbook, I’m in the process of making a Table of the Moon, a 9×9 grid of numbers that add up to the same value in each row and column. These magic squares, also called kameas, are powerful planetary talismans in their own right, and I made one for my Saturn talisman consecration a while back. This, however, is three times the size, and of course I’m only working on it during lunar hours on Mondays. Next Monday I’ll be inlaying the kamea with silver leaf, painting over the wood in purple, and applying a few layers of finish. I pray I never have to do this shit again; if I do, I’m taking RO’s advice and just drawing the damn thing out on paper.
It’s kinda funny; I was recently chatting with Haniel, the angel of Venus, and asked him to reconsecrate my Venus altar talisman. He said nope; basically, I don’t have a need for the extra Venus power, since there’s so much Venus around me as it is. I just thought he referred to my being very Venusian astrologically (Taurus rising, Libra sun, Venus almuten, etc.), but the Unlikely Mage pointed out that, no, I’ve been making omgsomuch crap lately. Looking back, he’s right; I have been crafting an impressive amount of this stuff in the past month or two, and it’s also true that one of Venus’ powers is that of generation and creation. Although I tend to make stuff with the intent to use them (Venus in Virgo, after all), the stuff I make tends to be nice and look nice. In this sense, I suppose one of the purposes of the altar talismans I made is to help balance things out in my life; if I’m already good to go in one area, that particular talisman won’t need to do much. Alternatively, that talisman is doing its job by having me bring about its influence into manifestation. Either way, nifty.
So, how’ve you been? Read any good books lately?
The Digital Ambler 
Very nice! :)
I myself am looking for a good dremel tool to engrave wood and metal with (maybe even glass, I haven’t decided). What make/model/whatever would you recommend?
Interesting, you mentioned Haniel as a “he”, and it reminds me of how ambiguous the appearance of angels (or any spirit, really) can be. For example, to me Haniel appeared as the eye area on the face of a beautiful woman. Made no sense to me until I asked why that appearance was chosen. And then to others, such as yourself, Haniel appeared male. Stuff like this is why I prefer staying gender-neutral (ie “it”) when talking about them. ;)
But I wonder how much of it is expectation on the part of the conjuror? Accounts of evocations of Venusian spirits I’ve previously read (including one of Haniel), put them as appearing female, so it could be that’s what I expected…
But anyway, I wanted to ask…what do you use for leaf? I’ve been semi-avoiding gold or silver leaf out of uncertaintly of how to do it well, and what kind of product/tools I should use.
Once I do get a dremel, I plan on making another Table of Practice and accompanying wand (I left off the same phrase as you did), using some of the techniques mentioned by Frater Acher here: http://www.myoccultcircle.com/opens/Table_of_Practice.html
I’m trying to figure out how best to fill in the inscriptions once I do so. ;)
I use a Dremel 7700. It’s decent, and definitely a good starter set, but it doesn’t have the kinds of tips you’d need to do something like Fr. Acher’s absolutely marvelous Table of Practice. Plus, it only comes with one battery, so you’d need to take breaks once every so often to keep it charged or get a second one as backup.
So far, the angels as I’ve interacted with them are male, if there’s a distinct gender at all; Haniel to me is definitely a fancy lad, and I’ve noticed jewelry and very long fine hair before. Other spirits are notably female (the earth and water elemental familiars introduced to me by Auriel and Gabriel, respectively). I’m sure part of how they appear is based on the conjurer’s expectations, but I also keep thinking of Venus and Venusian spirits as female, and I want to refer to Haniel as a female, yet Haniel appears as a male. Of course, I’m sure most ideas of gender fly out the window when we start talking about nonphysical entities, so to each his own, I guess.
As for leaf, I just use gold or silver leaf pens from Michaels for inlaying engraving or woodburning with; it’s much more convenient that way, even though you may not necessarily get the glossy reflective look as you would from real leaf. I plan on learning how to apply real leaf when I get to things like goetic seals or stuff, when a leaf pen would be wasteful and wouldn’t look as good.
I almost bought a pyrography set the other day, as I have this fantasy that I’ll actually create some interesting wands, plaques, etc.. with it. Of course, I’d probably just end up with scars. Your talent, though, does inspire. Even if Nyan cat haunts my dreams.
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bahaha, I’m imagining having to explain that plaque in 20 years when nobody remembers the meme anymore.
I feel you on the talisman, though. Even photoshopping one together to print during one of my PMP windows was tedious as hell.
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