This is an entry in a continuing series of posts looking at the Moon's position and condition in the week ahead with an eye to the Mansions of the Moon. This is an exercise to help me track the speed of the Moon, organize my thoughts on the Mansions, and think about the practical applications.
All times are for me locally, United States Pacific Time. I will be making note of the Moon's phase, speed, and Mansion position in my assessment. Currently, I'm not considering aspects with other planets.
The beneficial powers of Alnaym include the discipline of riding animals that are hard to tame, speedy travel and making the distance shorter, bring a concerned person home, promoting friendship (Ghayat al Hakim), to tame wild and disobedient beasts, to bring those traveling in wagons swiftly back again, for men to come wherever you wish, for good people to be joined together, fortune in hunting (Latin Picatrix), and the arousal of peace, love, and friendship (Liber Lunae).
The image of Alnaym in the Latin Picatrix is a centaur shooting a bow. The power ascribed to it is for finding and taking whatever you hunt. It is also for taming wild beasts.
The image for Albelda in the Latin Picatrix is a man with a head like Janus, with one face on the front and another face on the back of the head. Janus was the Roman god of the threshold, the place in between, and marked passages. In my experience Albelda is a Mansion of waiting, holding, and immobility.
The Moon ends August 4th in Albelda.
Tuesday, August 5th, 2025. The Moon is in Albelda when August 5th begins. At 10:04am the Moon makes ingress into the next Mansion, Sadahaca, the Lucky Star of the Slaughterers. The phase is Waxing Gibbous which supports works of reticulation and development.
The Moon will cross Sadahaca for 24 hours and 27 minutes. This is slow and it is 35 minutes less than the previous Mansion so the Moon is speeding up. A slow Moon may delay the effects of magic but may also make those effects last longer.
The image for Albelda in the Latin Picatrix is a man with a head like Janus, with one face on the front and another face on the back of the head. Janus was the Roman god of the threshold, the place in between, and marked passages. In my experience Albelda is a Mansion of waiting, holding, and immobility.
The beneficial powers of Sadahaca include the treatment and recovery from disease, the release of captives (Ghayat al Hakim), cure illness, to cause goodwill between allies, to escape safely from enemies, secure against slander (Latin Picatrix), and liberation from restrictions or limits. (Celestial Magic).
The image for this Mansion in the Latin Picatrix is "the figure of a man with winged feet wearing a helmet", a very Mercurial image. Considered together with the title of this Mansion, The Lucky Star of the Slaughterers, this Mansion has connotations of spiritual communication. The slaughterers are those who make the animal sacrifice to the gods. During this Mansion making entreaties to heaven and making offerings to seek favors and boons are greatly enhanced as are devotional acts of giving.
The Moon is in Sadahaca at the end of August
Wednesday, August 6th, 2025. The Moon is in Sadahaca, the Lucky Star of the Slaughterers, at the opening of August 6th. The Moon then moves in the next Mansion, Zaadebola, the Lucky Star of the Devourers. The phase is Waxing Gibbous which is best for works of deepening and ripening.
The Moon will be in Zaadebola for 23 hours and 54 minutes. This is slow but it is 39 minutes less than the previous Mansion so the Moon is speeding up. A slow Moon can make magic last longer but it can also delay the effects of magic.
The beneficial powers of Sadahaca include the treatment and recovery from disease, the release of captives (Ghayat al Hakim), cure illness, to cause goodwill between allies, to escape safely from enemies, secure against slander (Latin Picatrix), and liberation from restrictions or limits. (Celestial Magic).
The image for this Mansion in the Latin Picatrix is "the figure of a man with winged feet wearing a helmet", a very Mercurial image. Considered together with the title of this Mansion, The Lucky Star of the Slaughterers, this Mansion has connotations of spiritual communication. The slaughterers are those who make the animal sacrifice to the gods. During this Mansion making entreaties to heaven and making offerings to seek favors and boons are greatly enhanced as are devotional acts of giving.
The beneficial qualities of the Zaadebola include recovery from disease (Gayat al Hakim), join friends together (Latin Picatrix), liberty of captives (Agrippa), and evil's antidote (Shams al Marif).
The image for Zaadebola in the Latin Picatrix is a cat with a dog’s head. The head and the body are at odds, each wanting to do violence to the other. Ultimately, neither is left the winner. Pitting a group against its leaders for the purpose of destroying the entire group would be a wrathful work that is strengthened in this Mansion.
The Moon is in Zaadebola when August 6th ends.
Thursday, August 7th, 2025. The Moon is in Zaadebola, the Lucky Star of the Devourers, at the beginning of August 7th. At 10:25am the Moon moves into the next Mansion, Caadezod, the Lucky Star of the Lucky. The phase is Waxing Gibbous which supports works of fortification and strengthening.
The Moon will be in Caadezod for 23 hours and 24 minutes. The Moon has tipped past the average speed and is now considered fast. Additionally, this is 30 minutes faster than the previous Mansion so the Moon is speeding up. A fast Moon may magic happen more quickly but may also make effects dissipate quickly.
The beneficial qualities of the Zaadebola include recovery from disease (Gayat al Hakim), join friends together (Latin Picatrix), liberty of captives (Agrippa), and evil's antidote (Shams al Marif).
The image for Zaadebola in the Latin Picatrix is a cat with a dog’s head. The head and the body are at odds, each wanting to do violence to the other. Ultimately, neither is left the winner. Pitting a group against its leaders for the purpose of destroying the entire group would be a wrathful work that is strengthened in this Mansion.
The beneficial powers of Caadezod are improvement of cattle and herds (Ibn Hatim, Agrippa, and Latin Picatrix), increase merchandise and make a profit (Latin Picatrix), and victories to armies (Gayat al Hakim).
The image in the Latin Picatrix is a woman breastfeeding a child. In most sources this Mansion is very beneficial. I associate this Mansion image with Amalthea, the nymph who hid and nursed baby Zeus until he was grown and strong enough to confront Saturn. This would suggest to me that keeping plans, projects, or conspiracies hidden from their intended target is accentuated when the Moon is in this Mansion.
The Moon is in Caadezod at the end of August 7th.
Friday, August 8th, 2025. When August 8th begins the Moon is in Caadezod, the Lucky Star of the Lucky. At 9:49am the Moon moves into the next Mansion, Zaadelahbia, the Lucky Star of Hidden Things. The phase is Waxing Gibbous. which supports works of endurance and abundance.
The Moon will transit across Zaadelahbia for 22 hours and 56 minutes, which is fast. It is also 28 minutes less than the previous Mansion so the Moon continues to accelerate. A fast Moon can make magic happen quickly but may also make magic pass quickly.
The beneficial powers of Caadezod are improvement of cattle and herds (Ibn Hatim, Agrippa, and Latin Picatrix), increase merchandise and make a profit (Latin Picatrix), and victories to armies (Gayat al Hakim).
The image in the Latin Picatrix is a woman breastfeeding a child. In most sources this Mansion is very beneficial. I associate this Mansion image with Amalthea, the nymph who hid and nursed baby Zeus until he was grown and strong enough to confront Saturn. This would suggest to me that keeping plans, projects, or conspiracies hidden from their intended target is accentuated when the Moon is in this Mansion.
The beneficial qualities of Zaadalahbia include protection from blights and calamities from heaven (Ibn Hatim), dispatching successful messengers and spies and establishing and stabilizing buildings (Gayat al Hakim), protection of orchards and crops (Latin Picatrix), house protection (Celestial Magic), and companionship, love, and being kind (Shams al Marif).
The Moon is in Zaadelahbia at the end of August 8th.
Saturday, August 9th, 2025. The Moon is in Zaadelahbia, the Lucky Star of Hidden Things, when August 9th opens. At 8:45am the Moon moves into the next Mansion, Al Farh al Awwal, the Upper Waterspout. The phase at the very beginning of August 9th is Waxing Gibbous but at 12:55am the Moon makes an opposition aspect with he Sun and becomes Full. After that the phase is Waning Gibbous, which is wrathful and supports works of withering and decline.
The Moon will be in Al Fargh al Awwal for 22 hours and 33 minutes. This is fast but the Moon is speeding up because this is 23 minutes faster than the previous Mansion. A fast Moon can make magic happen quickly but may also make magic fade more quickly.
The beneficial qualities of Zaadalahbia include protection from blights and calamities from heaven (Ibn Hatim), dispatching successful messengers and spies and establishing and stabilizing buildings (Gayat al Hakim), protection of orchards and crops (Latin Picatrix), house protection (Celestial Magic), and companionship, love, and being kind (Shams al Marif).
The wrathful qualities of Zaadalahbia are to besiege cities, take enemies captive and do evil to them, separate wives from husbands, destroy harvests, to bind any part of the human body so it will not function, and strengthen the prisons of captives (Latin Picatrix).
The wrathful powers of Al Fargh al Awwal include damaging the relationships between partners, restraining a captive and torturing him (Gayat al Hakim), and destroyeth prisons and buildings (Agrippa).
The image in the Latin Picatrix for this Mansion is a woman washing her hair in a basin. This is an image of spiritual cleansing as Al Fargh al Awwal controls the subtle and lustral waters, the holy and blessed waters.
The Moon is in Al Fargh al Awwal at the end of August 9th.
Sunday, August 10th, 2025. The Moon is in Al Fargh al Awwal, the Upper Waterspout, at the beginning of August 10th. The Moon moves into the next Mansion, Al Fargh al Thani, the Lower Waterspout, at 7:18am. The phase is Waning Gibbous which is best for works of diminishment and loss.
The Moon will travel through Al Fargh al Thani for 22 hours and 13 minutes. This is fast and is 20 minutes faster than the previous Mansion so the Moon is speeding up. A fast Moon can make magic manifest quickly but may also make magical effects pass quickly.
The wrathful powers of Al Fargh al Awwal include damaging the relationships between partners, restraining a captive and torturing him (Gayat al Hakim), and destroyeth prisons and buildings (Agrippa).
The image in the Latin Picatrix for this Mansion is a woman washing her hair in a basin. This is an image of spiritual cleansing as Al Fargh al Awwal controls the subtle and lustral waters, the holy and blessed waters.
The wrathful powers of Al Fargh al Thani include damaging the assets of a person you are concerned with, damaging the relationship between spouses, hurting someone riding on a ship, prolonging the captivity of a prisoner (Gayat al Hakim), to impede the building of buildings, and for the destruction of springs and wells (Latin Picatrix).
The image in the Latin Picatrix is a man with wings holding a vessel. Al Fargh al Thani is the Lower Waterspout and represents the waters of physical healing. These are the vivifying waters of life. In Nigel Jackson's Celestial Magic, he suggests Al Fargh al Thani is powerful for operations of prophecy and foreknowledge.
The Moon is in Al Fargh al Thani at the end of August 10th.