The Sky Library · Mansion 16 of 28
Al Zubana
Az-Zubana · The Claws
Span12°51′26″ Libra – 25°42′51″ Libra (tropical)
Determinant starsZubenelgenubi (Alpha Librae) and Zubeneschamali (Beta Librae), the old Claws of the Scorpion
The old Claws of the Scales, better at letting go than holding.
The claws of the Scorpion, which the Greeks made into the beam of the Balance. Agrippa calls it Azubene or Ahubene, the horns of Scorpio, and finds almost nothing it favors except the loosing of the bound.
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 redemption of captives
- the loosing of bonds
- the freeing of what is held
Contraries
Hinders journeys, marriage, harvests and trade.