The Sky Library · Mansion 8 of 28
Al Nathrah
An-Nathrah · The Gap
Span0°00′00″ Cancer – 12°51′26″ Cancer (tropical)
Determinant starsPraesepe, the Beehive cluster (M44), with Gamma and Delta Cancri beside it
A faint cloud of stars, and inside it a hive of quiet company.
The gap at the muzzle of the great Arabic Lion, filled by the misty Beehive cluster. Agrippa lists it as Alnaza or Anatrachya, glossed misty or cloudy, and gives it to fellowship, the mansion of friends and of companions on the road.
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
- love and friendship
- the fellowship of travellers on the road
- driving away mice
Contraries
Afflicts captives and confirms their imprisonment.