INTRODUCTION

Illuminating the Quinaries

THE NAMES OF THE ANGELS of the Shem HaMephorash, which means “the Explicit Name” of God, are formed from three consecutive verses in the book of Exodus (14:19–21). There are 72 such angels, collectively having mystical significance in the Jewish esoteric tradition known as Qabalah. Similarly, 72 demons are described in an infamous grimoire on nigromancy (demonic magic) known as the Ars Goetia, which is the first of the five books comprising the Lesser Key of Solomon. Sometime during the early modern period, these angels and demons were organized into pairs, and each pair was assigned to a 5-degree arc segment of the zodiac called a quinary—one angel and one demon per quinary.1 The zodiac is divided into 72 such quinaries. The angels and demons rule and govern their respective quinaries, through which they emanate their astrological influence on the seven visible planets and from the planets to terrestrial life on Earth, or the sublunar world.2

According to the qabalistic and Solomonic grimoire traditions, each of the 72 angels of the Shem HaMephorash3 and the 72 demons of the Ars Goetia4 have a set of significations and attributes, as well as a scope of influence and activity unique to them. An array of topics such as memory, fertility, and divination, as well as activities such as finding hidden things, avoiding shipwrecks, and aiding in the study of the liberal arts, fall under the purview of the various angels and demons. And through the medium of the planets, their influence spans all aspects of terrestrial life.

In a traditional astrological figure (or chart), the seven visible planets are arrayed against the twelve 30-degree signs of the zodiac. The natural expression of each planet is modified by the quality of the zodiacal sign in which it is found. Consider a placement such as Mars in Pisces on the tenth house, for instance. The hot, dry, active energy of Mars is tempered by the cold, moist, passive mutability of Pisces, rendering the planet’s expression significantly altered in the context of the native’s career, symbolized by the tenth house. Similarly, each planet in an astrological figure resides in one of the quinaries and is therefore under the dominion of the angel and demon of that quinary. The angelic and demonic rulers of the quinaries bestow their influence upon any planet found within the cusps (borders) of their 5-degree segment of the zodiac.

For example, suppose a given chart shows Venus at 6 degrees Capricorn on the seventh house. This planet is in a quinary ruled by the angel Poiel and the demon Gremory because this pair has dominion over 5° 00'–9° 59' Capricorn. The astrologer will note that Venus’s natural significations—love, beauty, the arts, and so on—will be modified by the influence of Poiel and Gremory. Angelic Poiel “serves to obtain what one wants,”5 and demonic Gremory “procure[s] the Love of Women.”6 Clearly, there are positive, romantic auspices for our hypothetical native (the subject of a natal chart) in the context of the seventh house of romantic relationships. This is the essence of quinarian astrology.

This method may be applied to natal astrology, as in the example above, as well as to other astrological domains such as electional and horary. Electional astrology is used to decide the most auspicious time to set a cycle in motion. For instance, suppose you were planning a boating trip; you might choose to set sail at a time when the quinary ruled by the angel Ieiaiel was rising because Ieiaiel protects against storms and shipwrecks.7 That would be a favorable election, an auspicious moment to commence your voyage.

Horary astrology is used to answer specific questions. A chart is cast for the moment the question is understood by the astrologer. Suppose the querent asks, “Will I get the job at NASA?” A figure is erected, and the astrologer finds that the midheaven (symbolizing the querent’s profession, reputation, and status) is in the quinary of Morax, the goetic demon who rules over astronomy.8 Clearly, this would be a favorable factor in the overall horary delineation.

Despite having a body of clear and defined significations and a ready applicability to astrological analysis and chart delineation, the quinarian angels and demons have heretofore languished in the shadowy environs of the qabalistic and Solomonic grimoire traditions—underground and out of the reach of your typical astrologer. Having been cloistered away in the arcane world of Western occultism, they have never been incorporated into the mainstream astrological current. This book is an attempt to finally present quinarian astrology as a practicable system.

This book contains the names, attributes, sigils, and seals corresponding to each quinary, as well as the zodiacal degrees governed by each of the 72 angels and demons in an easy-to-reference, sequential arrangement. The quinarian pair governing each 5-degree segment of the zodiac is listed in order, beginning at 0 degrees 00 minutes Aries, all the way around the zodiac to 29 degrees 59 minutes Pisces—from the alpha to the omega of the ecliptic. The astrologer need only observe the zodiacal degree of the planet, part,* or angle under consideration, consult that quinary in the reference section of this book, then use the significations and attributes of the angel and demon to enhance their delineation of the placement.

Quinarian astrology is not some trendy new technique—its component parts have been embedded in the tradition for centuries. This book marks the first time the quinaries are being presented as a practicable delineation technique.9 The astrologer now has unprecedented *The part, also called Arabic part or lot, is a theoretical point, usually the distance between two planets, projected from the ascendant. access to the body of significations attributed to each of the angels and demons, enabling them to add further nuance to chart interpretation. The scheme of zodiacal rulership is also made clear—one need only know the degree and sign of a planet to determine its quinary, and then assign and assess angelic and demonic influence. In the two-thousand-plus-year history of horoscopic astrology, there have been very few innovations and only a handful of lost techniques that have been reconstructed.10 The component parts of this quinarian delineation technique are historically and philosophically grounded in the most esoteric corners of the Western astrological tradition, which is why they have managed to elude systemization—until now.

It should be remembered that all serious astrological analysis is multifactorial. The quinaries are not a substitute for the common methods of interpretation; they are supplemental to them. The delineation of planets configured in signs and houses is central to the art, but delineation is enhanced when extended techniques such as the quinarian approach are applied. The angelic and demonic dimension afforded by the quinaries simply sheds further light on the existing placements in a figure. When several techniques are wed in this manner, a fuller picture emerges from the puzzle of astrological symbolism; the astrologer’s hypotheses are accepted or rejected; and the true nature and character of the chart reveals itself. The depth and complexity of astrology is made clear in such a methodological synthesis.

This book is an attempt to bridge two worlds—the astrological and the magical—as these domains are mutually beneficial and, to some extent, activate each other. The qabalist, ceremonial magician, or Solomonic exorcist, approaching the subject with experience in their specialized corner of occultism, will see the underlying cosmic unity that only a developed sense of astrology can make possible. While most magicians working within the grimoire tradition will be familiar with elections, this book may inspire them to apply the angelic and demonic significations to natal and horary astrology. The modern astrologer, not typically conversant with the other Western esoteric traditions, will gain access to a new angelic and demonic dimension to their work, which they may then utilize in chart delineation, adding further detail and nuance to their art. This sort of exposure may even lead the intrepid astrologer into operative magical experimentation, such as the construction and consecration of talismans. For what is magic but the enchanted technology by which we accentuate the positive and mitigate the negative terrestrial effects of the stars and planets?

This book was written with the practitioner in mind. It is intended to aid in the practical synthesis of astrology and Western occultism by situating the 72 quinaries at the intersection of the two, in their rightful astrological context, and establishing them as a practicable technique. This is not to say that the quinarian lens should be the only one applied but, as most astrologers can affirm, when an astrologer gains similar results from applying several techniques, they are likely close to the truth. Using the quinaries as one of several metrics employed in judging charts has enriched my personal astrological practice.11 And, reciprocally, astrological proficiency has greatly enhanced my magical practice, particularly in terms of navigating astrological weather and engaging cosmic momentum in an operation. I feel confident that both the magician and the astrologer stand to gain by this peculiar quinarian synthesis of astrology and magic.