On Superstition and the Bonds of Demons

T A B L E II.

Two names are presented here: JAH and EL. The Hebrews dedicated these to a marriage original: connubio dicarunt; referring to the mystical union of divine names; for from unity the first of the composite numbers is created, the number two, containing two units. For this reason, they applied it with a mystical significance to the active male and the passive woman No progress is given without a beginning; the joined pair gives birth. (27). Moses, as is well known to us, was the first legislator of this origin. The Ark was the first spectacle of religion. Furthermore, the characters of the Head and Tail of the Dragon original: capitis caudæque Draconis; these refer to the North and South Nodes of the Moon, vital points in astrological calculations are fashioned according to a heavenly form and have, as the Hebrews assert, their relationship to the rays of the celestial bodies according to a certain number within themselves by a peculiar property of conjectures. Indeed, just as these celestial things harmonize different virtues in the various strikes of their rays—falling upon each other in one way or another—so too these characters, drawn differently according to various gatherings of such rays, suddenly create diverse operations, often much more effective than the properties of physical mixtures. Moreover, the original characters of the Heavens are the writing of Angels, which among the Hebrews is called Malachim Malachim: "The Script of Angels," an occult alphabet used in Renaissance magic where the letters are formed by connecting the positions of stars in the constellations. Through this script, according to the decrees of the Chaldeans and Hebrews, all things are described and signified in Heaven for anyone who knows how to read. Also, various characters, as if constructed from geometric figures, binding the points of individuals together in various ways, are attributed to the Planets and those signs according to the logic of the same configurations from which they were formed.

In the middle, a Planetary Table stands out; at the head of this table are the names of the hours. Now we shall teach the method of using it. One must observe the times in calculating the hours of the Planets; for almost all Astrologers divide the interval of time from sunrise to sunset into 12 equal parts and call those the 12 hours of the day. Then, the time that follows from sunset to sunrise is divided in a similar manner into 12 equal portions, which they call the 12 hours of the night. They distribute the hours to each Planet according to their order, always giving the first hour of the day to the Lord of that day For example, the Sun governs the first hour of Sunday, the Moon governs the first hour of Monday, etc., then to each by progression until the end of the hours of the day. In this distribution, the Magi agree with them. However, in the partitioning of the hours, some disagree, saying that the interval between sunrise and sunset should not be divided into equal parts The author is referring to "unequal hours" or "planetary hours," where an "hour" is 1/12th of the daylight, meaning a summer hour is much longer than a winter hour. They say those hours are not called unequal because the daytime hours are unequal to the nighttime hours, but because the individual daytime and nighttime hours are also unequal among themselves. Therefore, the partition of unequal or Planetary hours has another, more strictly observed logic of measurement, which is as follows: namely, just as in artificial hours Clock hours of exactly 60 minutes, which are always equal to each other, the ascen—

* From the verse "they shall be two in one flesh."