The Sky Library · Mansion 2 of 28
Al Butain
Al-Butain · The Little Belly
Span12°51′26″ Aries – 25°42′51″ Aries (tropical)
Determinant starsEpsilon, Delta (Botein) and Rho Arietis, in the belly of the Ram
What the earth has swallowed, this small belly remembers.
Agrippa calls the second mansion Allothaim or Albochan, the belly of Aries. It is a keeping station, one that holds what is hidden and does not easily let go, whether the held thing is treasure or a prisoner.
The Spirit of the Mansion
the square of Jupiter, 34 in every line
a small fire keeps the sill; on the far side, the pin at the heart of the plate answers a touch
Agrippa and the Picatrix transmit different names for the mansion spirits; both are given.
What the number square means
The grid is a kamea, one of the planetary magic squares from Agrippa's second book; every planet has one, from Saturn's three by three to the Moon's nine by nine. In a true square every row, every column, and both diagonals add to the same number, and Jupiter's adds to 34 in every line. Count any line and see. Practitioners engraved these on talismans as the planet's signature written in number, and the gilded cell marks this mansion's own number.
Elections in this mansion
- finding hidden treasures
- recovering what is buried or lost
- holding fast what must be kept
Contraries
Agrippa gives it to the retaining of captives; it is contrary to any working for release.