How to Work with Astro Materia

What exactly is astro materia?

Astro materia is a term used to describe magical goods made during specific elections to prioritize a certain planetary spirit. The type of spirit will vary based on the election. There is materia for lunar mansions, decans, fixed stars, asteroids, planets, and more. The materia has to be made when the associated spirit is in high dignity so as to get the more benfic version of the spirit.

Astro materia can be used like most magical items, in spellwork, in petitioning spirits, in amplifying specific energies and more. Unlike folk magic and eclictically made magical goods, astro materia has very specific rules that must be followed in order for the materia to be beneficial, and these practices are ANCIENT.

Given that I am in the process of building my astro mage skills and sharing materia with y’all, I wanted to write this blog post for anyone who is considering working with materia or wants to request some but doesn’t know how to work with it.

Types of Materia

As y’all may know, I have a plethora of Astro material available for The Celestial Realm members (I do ask for a small donation to offset supply purchase and shipping costs). Given that many folks are still new to astro materia, I wanted to create this blog post to give you all guidance on how to use various types of material. Let’s dive in.

Wax and Paper Talismans

Many astro mages begin their journey with paper talismans as they are low-risk. These are what I currently have the most of and they are the easiest to use. These are wonderful for anyone who is just getting started with astrological magic or remediation as the effects only last about a year-long and using them is fairly simple regardless of energy, time, and space. Wax and Paper talismans are just as they sound, small strips of paper made with wax, and sometimes they contain plant materia and metals as well to make them last a little longer.

Working with a wax and paper talisman is fairly simple. I generally suggest that you utilize them as a representation of the planetary spirit they were created with. So you can use them in meditation or prayer when connecting to a planet or specific planetary spirit. You can also use them to petition these planetary spirits. These are great to work with especially during Retrogrades when the actual planetary spirit in transit is considered more malefic. Wax paper and paper talismans can also be placed on an altar or carried with you.

If you decide that you'd like to begin working with a planetary spirit and you have a smaller budget and don't wish to necessarily get a whole lot of stuff, you can begin with the wax and paper talisman and that'll allow you to connect with a more benefic version of the planetary spirit. I do, in general, suggest giving offerings regardless of the type of materia you use. So presenting even something as simple as a cool glass of tap water or bigger offerings such as fresh fruits, flowers, etc, that are associated with the planets. You can also communicate directly with the planetary spirits that are imbued into the wax paper talisman and ask what types of offerings the Spirit may wish to receive.

Oils

Another common form of Materia is an oil. Some oils are made to be more like perfumed oils, I really enjoy the ones from Black Phoenix alchemy lab. They are made with specific elections, paired with Sphere and Sundry, who is currently the only provider I buy materia from. Oils are wonderful to work with. You can use them with candle spells. You can also utilize them in ritual baths or you can wear them on your skin, especially if they're perfumed. I like to alternate the planetary perfumes I wear based on the ruler of the day. A lot of the astro materia oils won't have as much of a perfume smell because astro magicians tend to work primarily with the herbs and plant materia and less so with essential oils which is what tends to make a stronger smell unless it's specifically a perfume oil. BPAL, for example, makes high quality perfume oils through a perfume-making process and stems from actual plant material.

Tincture

Aside from oils, another type of materia that can be used in a similar way and that is generally affordable is the tincture. Sometimes they're just known as tinctures, or they may be called attuning tinctures. There are two ways to work with tinctures. One is to use the tincture on anything that you might not want to use oil on. So you can use the tincture to anoint types of jewelry that you wear or crystals that you'll be carrying throughout the day. You can add them to your skin as well. I always recommend with the oils or the tinctures that you test out how it works on your skin because certain plants can be irritating to the skin or you may have an allergy to the recipe. Not all magicians list every ingredient used in the materia as there are a good deal of obscure and lesser-known ingredients.

Attuning tinctures are also generally taken as a spirit dose, meaning that some people utilize them by taking a single drop of the tincture at the start of the day or at the start of the time when they want to utilize the energy of the planetary spirit. At that point when you're only taking one drop a day you're not taking it for any kind of medical benefit, you're taking it similar to how you would take an essence to consume the energetic properties of the planetary spirit that is the focal point from when that tincture is created.

Candles

Many materia makers also create candles as they can be used for a good while and are a great addition to a planetary altar. Astro materia candles are prepared just as you would make any materia. Typically there is a mix of of herbs that are mixed into the wax and then strained out. Like oil and tinctures, you may utilize the candle every time you petition the spirit or as an offering. Some people prefer to use these and light them every time they do their general weekly ritual with that planetary spirit or you can use it specifically when you need to call on or petition the planetary spirit.

Body Products

There are also body products especially for Venus or for similarly themed fixed stars. You may see things like body butters, bath salts, hair and beard oils, skin oils, and other things that can be used in very Venusian rituals. These are also amazing for calling on Venusian traits or for building your relationship to your body. Those would be utilized just like you would use perfumes and oils, you would put them on when you want to call on the planetary spirits energy or when you wish to activate a certain kind of energy.

Bath Salts

Bath salts are another common product, sometimes they can be more luxurious and other times they may be used for deep cleansing or clearing. For this reason, the planet that is called on for the bath salts will greatly affect the type of results you get. I am especially fond of making Venusian bath salts but also highly value cleansing ones for the eclipse season.

Metal and Gemstone Talismans

The final items I’d like to discuss are metal and gemstone talismans. There aren't many talisman creators currently, Sphere and Sundry pairs with a metalsmith to create some and I have also had my eye on Psychic Desert. When these are created, these are meant to be used lifelong. You’re encouraged to feed the spirit in the gem/metal and to make offerings through that jewelry item. Tthis is an item you want to think long and hard about before you buy it. If you do purchase one, you want to make sure others don't touch it (this goes for most materia tbh). It's meant to be just used by you for the duration that you have your connection To that planetary spirit. Astro materia is pretty serious and thus, especially for purchases like jewelry talismans, you'll want to make sure that you get it from people that you trust in some capacity.

Disposing of Talismans

Once you have materia, If you decide that you no longer want to work with that materia, you cannot just throw it in the trash, especially if it's an item that you've connected with energetically like a wax and paper or jewelry talisman. If you decide to dispose of an item, you’ll need to throw it into running water. It’s not wise to burn wax and paper talismans or other talismans as it invokes and releases the planetary spirit. Instead, if it’s a paper talisman, allow the energy to expire or toss it into flowing water (a natural body of water).