The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy

of the birth, the five locations of the Hylegs Hyleg: from the Persian word for "giver of life"; these are five specific points in a horoscope—such as the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant—used to determine a person's vitality and lifespan. Once these are noted, let the Characters characters: here referring to the letters of the alphabet associated with numerical values of the letters be projected in their own order and number, starting from the beginning of Aries Aries: the first sign of the zodiac, representing the start of the astrological year. The letters which fall upon the degrees of the aforementioned locations—arranged and combined according to their rank and dignity original: dignitatem; in astrology, "dignity" refers to the strength or influence a planet has based on its position in the zodiac—constitute the name of the Genius.

There is another method: Let the Almutel—that is, the ruling stars—be determined for the five locations mentioned above. Then, let a projection be made starting from the degree of the Ascendant Ascendant: the sign of the zodiac rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth, collecting the letters that fall upon the Almutel Almutel: the planet that has the most essential power or "dignity" over a specific point in a chart. When these letters are placed in order according to their dignity, they constitute the name of the Genius.

There is yet another method, which was much observed by the Egyptians: by making a projection from the degree of the Ascendant and collecting the letters according to the Almutel of the eleventh house. They call this house the Good Spirit original: bonum Dæmonem; in classical astrology, the 11th house was known as the Agathos Daimon, associated with good fortune and protectors. When these letters are positioned according to their dignity, the names of the Genii are formed.

However, we derive the Evil Genius by a similar reasoning, except that the projections are made against the order and succession of the signs This "retrograde" calculation mirrors the belief that malevolent spirits operate in opposition to the natural celestial order. And where for good spirits we project from the beginning of Aries, for an evil one we count from the beginning of Libra Libra: the seventh sign of the zodiac, positioned directly opposite Aries. Where, for a good spirit, we count from the degree of the Ascendant, for an evil one we project