should I write about sigils and kameas and magic squares?
because I've been slightly obssessed with the topic lately, and frankly it's fascinating. or maybe I'm a huge nerd that thinks fun with math is a good time. esoteric math!
...fuck it. I'm gonna do it.
so a magic square is a fun thing that happens in math where you have a table with an equal number of rows and columns, and in that table each row, column, and corner to corner diagonal, adds up to the same sum. that sum is called the 'magic constant'. the number of rows/columns is the Order of the square.
some squares are extra fancy, and may have other subsets that add to the same sum; say a four by four square in which every subset of four squares adds to the same sum. (check out the Chautisa Yantra, it's great.)
our ancestors looked at this sort of fun with math and thought something like "this is so neat, it must be meaningful." or maybe that it's such an interesting pattern it must be derived from a higher power. and thus, magic.
each magic square has a minimum value for its magic constant, and if you try to build a square with a lower constant, you have to use fractions instead of whole numbers, or even negative numbers.
when folks get started messing with making talismans, for some reason, they start with the Saturn square. I get it, it's easy. the Saturn square has three rows and three colums, uses all numbers 1 through 9, and has a constant value of 15. it's cute, and simple, and graphing out your sigil on it is easy.
see? that's the Saturn Square. Order 3, Constant 15 (and if you add up all the digits, it adds up to 45).
but that's just getting started!
by the time of the writing of the Picatrix, and Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1500's) magic squares up to Order 9 were known, and had been assigned to planetary and luminary bodies. (luminaries are the sun and moon.)
because the modern planets cannot be seen without a telescope, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (a planet in my heart!) don't have magic squares assigned to them.
with the rise of machine computing, we have found higher order magic squares, including up to Order 260 or more. which is good, because the idea of doing that much math makes me kinda want to whimper.
Jupiter, Order 4, constant 34
Mars, Order 5, Constant 65
Sun, Order 6, Constant 111
Venus, Order 7, Constant 175
Mercury, Order 8, Constant 260
Moon, Order 9, Constant 369
while most instructions for making a sigil will tell you to assign a number value to your letters, add 'em up, and keep adding until you get a single digit, that's really only super useful for the Saturn square, where none of the digits in it are higher than 9.
if you're using a different square, you don't have to reduce your numbers to single digits, though you do need to be aware of what the upper limit for the value of individual points in your square are. how do you figure that out? take your Order and square it.
an Order 4 square has an upper value of 16. an Order 7 square tops out at 49. and so on!
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I'm currently experimenting to attempt to figure out what higher order squares should be associated with Uranus and Neptune (Pluto's not a priority right at this moment for me, I figure it'll be obvious once I assign those first two.)
you've doubtless noticed that all the squares from 3 to 9 have been assigned to something, without skipping one and leaving it unassigned! logically, this means Order 10, 11, and 12 squares can be assigned to Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. the problem is: those lower order squares aren't assigned to the planets in order. so we can't just say "oh, Order 10 goes with Uranus, cause it's next in line".
want to join me in experimentation? here's an Order 10 square, constant 505:
might be Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. dunno!
it's clearly time to FA and FO.
(yes, I've spent the last week pickling my brains with magic squares. you're welcome.)
