The Sky Library · Mansion 14 of 28
Al Simak
As-Simak al-A'zal · The Unarmed One
Span17°08′34″ Virgo – 0°00′00″ Libra (tropical)
Determinant starsSpica (Alpha Virginis), the Virgin's ear of wheat
One bright grain held out unarmed, and worth the whole field.
The mansion of Spica, the unarmed Simak, which Agrippa calls Achureth or Arimet, by others Azimeth, Alhumech or Alcheymech, the spike of Virgo. It is gentle to marriages and to the sick, and it favors the water over 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
- the love of married folk
- curing the sick
- the profit of sailors
Contraries
Hinders journeys by land.
Picatrix transmissions vary the spelling of this mansion spirit between Erdegel and Erdigal; Erdegel follows the Renaissance Astrology text.