The Sky Library · Mansion 6 of 28
Al Han'ah
Al-Han'ah · The Brand
Span4°17′09″ Gemini – 17°08′34″ Gemini (tropical)
Determinant starsGamma Geminorum (Alhena) and Xi Geminorum, at the Twins' feet
A brand burned bright and small, for pursuits that must not falter.
Named for a mark burned on the neck of a camel. Agrippa lists it as Alhanna or Alchaya, the little star of great light, and gives it to the relentless arts of pursuit, the hunt and the siege, and to the redress of princes.
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
- hunting
- the besieging of towns
- the redress and revenge of princes
Contraries
Destroys harvests and fruits and hinders the work of the physician; choose another hour for healing.