The Sky Library · Mansion 12 of 28
Al Sarfah
As-Sarfah · The Changer of the Weather
Span21°25′43″ Leo – 4°17′09″ Virgo (tropical)
Determinant starsDenebola (Beta Leonis), the Lion's tail
The tail-star that turns the season, kind to fields and households.
Named for the turn of the heat when this star rose or set, the changer of the weather. Agrippa calls it Alzarpha or Azarpha and gives it to the land and the household rather than the sea, a mansion of crops, plantings and the bettering of those who serve.
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
- prosperity of harvests and plantations
- the bettering of servants, captives and companions
Contraries
Hinders seamen; not a mansion for setting sail.