Lunar Mansion Report, February 17th, 2025 to February 23rd, 2025

   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 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.

Lunar Mansion Report, February 17th, 2025 to February 23rd, 2025

Monday, February 17th, 2025. The Moon begins February 17th in Azubene, the Horns of the Scorpion. She will walk through Azubene until 7:34AM and then will make ingress into Alichlil, the Crown of the Scorpion. The phase is Waning Gibbous which is strong for diminishment and decline. 

The Moon will be in Alichlil from 7:34AM on February 17th until 9:43AM on February 18th. This will be a period of 26 hours and 9 minutes. This is seven minutes longer than the previous Mansion and is longer than the average of 23 hours and 36 minutes which means the Moon is in a slow period and slowing down.  This may make magical effects take longer to manifest but may also make them longer lasting. 

The wrathful powers of Alichlil are isolating cities (Gayat al Hakim), to improve deception, and to besiege cities and villages (Latin Picatrix). The power of expelling thieves will be listed as a beneficial power and a wrathful power.  

The image of Aliklil in the Latin Picatrix is a monkey holding its hands up above its shoulders. I imagine this gesture to resemble a criminal putting their hands up at being apprehended. The monkey and its ability to imitate is a symbol for deception. 

Aliklil is the second half of the Via Combustua which is difficult for the Moon and adds to the wrath of this Mansion. 

The Moon continues to travel across Aliklil until the end of February 17th at midnight. 

Tuesday, February 18th, 2025. February 18th begins with the Moon in Aliklil, the Crown of the Scorpion. She remains in Aliklil until 9:43AM and then moves into Alcalb, the Heart of the Scorpion. The phase is Waning Gibbous which exemplifies decline and diminishment. 

The Moon travels across Alcalb for 26 hours and 9 minutes, well longer than the average of 23 hours and 35 minutes and so is in a slow period. This is the extent of the current slow period. Twenty six hours and 9 minutes is also seven minutes longer than the previous Mansion and so the Moon is decelerating. This can delay the effets of magic but may make them more durable. 

The wrathful powers of Alcalb include creating disagreements among partners (Gayat al Hakim), to conspire against kings, vengeance against enemies, to separate friends, to expel serpents and harmful creatures from a house (Latin Picatrix), and to inflict quarrels and discord (Celestial Magic).

The image for Alcalb in the Latin Picatrix is an adder with its tail above its head. A venomous snake is dangerous enough but with its tail above its head it takes on the defensive qualities of a scorpion and so cannot be attacked from in front or in the rear. 

Curiously, the Latin Picatrix instructs one to suffumigate an Alcalb talisman in stag's horn. There are several instances in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy in which serpents and stags are antithetical to each other. 

The Moon travels across Alcalb for the remainder of February 18th. 

Wednesday, February 19th, 2025. The Moon is in Alcalb when February 19th begins. She will be in Alcalb for most of the morning until 11:42AM and then will step into Axaula, the Sting of the Scorpion. The phase is Waning Gibbous which is best for works of diminishment and decline. 

The Moon moves across Axaula from 11:42AM on February 19th to 1:25PM on February 20th. This is a period of 25 hours and 43 minutes, 16 minutes less than the previous Mansion, which indicates the Moon is in a slow period but is now accelerating. A slow Moon may delay magical workings effects but may also make them last longer. 

The wrathful powers of Axaula are isolating cities, defeating enemies, making a person lose all his money, separation and alienation, breaking and destroying ships, creating discord between partners (Gayat al Hakim), to besiege cities and take them, to destroy the wealth of whoever you please, to expel men from a place, to separate and destroy the wealth of allies, to break and destroy ships (Latin Picatrix), and to annul contracts (Shams al Marif). 

The image in the Latin Picatrix for Axaula is a woman with her hands covering her face. The special power of Axaula is as a purgative, especially to bring on menstrual bleeding. Repulsion, expulsion, and forceful pushing are all under the influence of Axaula. The gesture of a woman covering her face is one of despair.

The Moon will be in Axaula when February 19th ends at midnight.

Thursday, February 20th, 2025. At the beginning of February 20th the Moon is traveling across Axaula, the Sting of the Scorpion. At 1:25PM the Moon then moves into Alnaym, the Beam or the Ostriches. The square aspect that tips the Moon from Waning Gibbous to Waning Crescent happens on February 20th at 9:33AM. This begins the Waning Crescent phase, which is strong for cutting off and abrupt endings.

It will take the Moon 25 hours and 9 minutes to travel through Alnaym, from 1:25PM on February 20th until 2:34PM. This is slow for the Moon but she is accelerating. A slow Moon will be slow to bring magic about but the effects may be long lasting. 

The wrathful powers of Alnaym include worsening the situation of partners (Gayat al Hakim), to bring evil and destruction to the riches of allies (Latin Picatrix), to bring about imprisonment and containment, and destroy ill-gotten gains (Celestial Magic).

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 Moon finishes February 20th in Alnaym. 

Friday, February 21st, 2025. The Moon spends from midnight at the beginning of February 21st until 2:34PM in the afternoon. The next Mansion is Albelda, the Wasteland. The phase is Waning Crescent which is best for hiding things and ending things.

The Moon makes ingress into Albelda at 2:34PM on February 21st and egress at 3:08PM on February 22nd. This is 24 hours and 34 minutes, 35 minutes less time than it took her to transit the last Mansion. She is slow but accelerating. A slow Moon may make magic happen slowly but may also make it more long lasting. 

The wrathful powers of Albelda are for a wife to divorce and never remarry (Gayat al Hakim), to separate wives from their proper husbands, destruction of a place (Latin Picatrix), for the destruction of a person (Agrippa), and creating enmity, hostility, divisiveness, and everything calamitous (Shams al Marif).

The image for Albelda in the Latin Picatrix is a man with a face 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.

At the end of February 21st the Moon is in Albelda. 

Saturday, February 22nd, 2025. The Moon continues through Albelda until 3:08PM and then enters the series of the lucky stars with Sadahaca, The Lucky Star of the Sacrificers. The phase is Waning Crescent, empowering workings of obscuring and ending. 

The Moon will travel through Sadahaca from 3:08PM on February 22nd to 2:58PM on February 23rd. This is 23 hours and 50 minutes which is on the slow side of an almost average speed. It is also 44 minutes less than the previous Mansion. A slow Moon may prolong the amount of time a magical working will take to take effect but may make those effects longer lasting. 

The wrathful powers of Sadahaca include separation between kings and wazirs (Ibn Hatim), separation of spouses and lovers, for a woman to be raped and discord between partners (Gayat al Hakim), to bind tongues against slander (Latin Picatrix), evil (Liber Luneae), and to agitate rulers into wrath and to hide secrets (Shams al Marif). 

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 remainder of February 22nd sees the Moon in Sadahaca. 

Sunday, February 23rd, 2025. The Moon is in Sadahaca at the beginning of February 23rd until  2:58PM and then she moves into the next Mansion, Zaadebola, the Lucky Star of the Devourers. The phase is Waning Crescent which is appropriate for endings and obfuscation. 

The Moon will be in Zaadebola for 23 hours and 6 minutes. This is on the fast side of average. It is 44 minutes longer than the previous Mansion. She is fast and accelerating which can make the effects of magic come about quickly but can also make them dissipate quickly.

 A wrathful Zaadebola has the strength to impose ruin and disease on whomever you wish (Ibn Hatim), damaging assets, causing estrangement between spouses (Gayat al Hakim), divide husbands from their wives, destruction and devastation (Latin Picatrix), and to inflict destruction and wasting (Celestial Magic).

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 will be in Zaadebola at the end of February 23rd.