Spica

It’s the day of Venus, and Venus is in Libra as I set my offerings up on the altar, which I’ve adorned with a beautiful emerald green tablecloth for the occasion. I’ve bought freshly baked bread from the local bakery, white roses and cosmos from the florist — and of course, dove feathers from a coop I sourced in England. As I artistically set my altar in place, I can’t help but let a feeling of nostalgia take a hold of me: Spica is no stranger to me. In fact, the first talisman I ever received was a Spica one, and later one of my first materia collections (#2), a simple offering of whipped body butters, was dedicated to this magnificent star. How time flies!

Spica is like one of these old friends who come to define your adulthood, one of those formative experiences that binds you to a person or a place. When I started working with her, I wasn’t sure which direction she would stir me in. At the time, I was between two degrees, unsure if I should get some work experience or go straight into a master’s degree. The future looked bright, but uncertain — I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, still new to the scene as a consulting astrologer, and back in the city I grew up in after three years spent abroad. In other words, there were a lot of question marks surrounding my life and destiny still; and just like a dove bringing back a branch from an olive tree on dry land, Spica was to show me the way.

If you’re unfamiliar with her, Spica is the brightest star of the Virgo constellation — symbolising the spike of wheat that the Virgin holds. 1st century astrologer Manilius assimilated goddess Demeter — deity of agriculture, grain and the harvest — to the Virgo constellation. In symbolic terms, the Virgin represents renewal, the point in the endless cycle of life and death where abundance culminates: a perfectly ripe fruit, a field of golden wheat ready to be harvested, a young woman just starting out adulthood, ready to experience the joys and pain of life. After the harvest, the soil is ready to be tilled, the field is like a blank canvas, fresh and pure for another season. Demeter, goddess of fertility and agriculture, represents just this: after her daughter Persephone was raptured by Underworld god Hades, she grew extremely sad and nothing could grow again. Upon the return of her daughter, who could stay on Earth with her mother only 6 months of the year, Demeter would rejoice and celebrate, corresponding to the seasons of spring and summer: life would appear again, grain would grow and prosperity would ensue. But the other 6 months, devastated with sorrow by the absence of her daughter, Demeter would allow nothing to grow, resulting in the appearance of fall and winter. Thus were born the seasons.

As such, the rise of Virgo season, the last month of summer when the weather starts to get friskier and the last of the grain harvested in the Northern hemisphere corresponds to an ambivalent time. It is simultaneously a moment of grace, a season to be enjoyed as we savour the fruit of our labour, the sunny days and bountiful harvest we have so hardly worked for, but also one of mounting anxiety: soon, the clouds and rain will return, soon the plants will stop growing, soon we may be cold and hungry. We must therefore prepare for what’s ahead. This is precisely what the Virgo constellation represents: a place of ingenuity, of being industrious and smart, of planning for what’s ahead and paying attention to detail. When the Sun transits Virgo, our mind is oriented towards the future, the months ahead and what we will do to make sure we don’t come to lack after the times of plenty.

Naturally, Spica — the brightest star of Virgo — also embodies these qualities. Representing the ear of wheat held by the Virgin, she herald abundance, wealth and prodigality. Like a clever, industrious farmer who prepared his land extremely well and received a bountiful harvest as a result, Spica’s gift comes in the form of both riches and ingenuity. In Vedic astrology, Spica is associated with the 12th nakshatra (lunar mansion), Chitra. The symbol of Chitra is a bright jewel or pearl, and as a result of its association with the fixed star denotes wealth, luxury and brilliance. You see, Spica isn’t just a star of riches and material wealth (although she certainly grants just that to those who ask): she is, first and foremost, a star of brilliance. This is just what “Chitra” means and I find it incredibly fitting, as brilliance can refer to the shine quality of a jewel as much as it can refer to genius and high intellect. This is exactly what Spica is about: not just helping you materially, but giving you the concrete opportunities and tools to shine on your own. Want to make money? Spica won’t just give you a one-time cash windfall, but instead will introduce you to ideas and people who can help you level up your skills, find a better-paying job or even start your own business. In that sense, Spica is like a road paved with gold: the resources and prosperity you find on your way help you learn how to walk that path for yourself.

During my Spica journey, I made another interesting finding: in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Renaissance mage Cornelius Agrippa mentions that Spica makes someone “successful in lawsuits”. While I haven’t had the opportunity to experience this for myself firsthand (and I hope it remains that way!), I’ve noticed something even more interesting: Spica seems to facilitate all bureaucratic processes. Whether it be labyrinthine taxes, an extensive visa request, a problem with your local government or administration that involves tons of paperwork and hours of your time wasted in unwelcoming grey building — Spica can help! My favourite manifestation of this was when I made a student visa request during COVID and the lockdowns in 2021. At the time, the borders of the country I wanted to study in were still closed to non-citizens, and I was uncertain as to whether they’d reopen in time for me to start my course — or whether my visa would be granted. I was informed that the standard visa wait time for my country was 2 to 6 months. After consecrating my Spica talisman and making an explicit request to that end, the visa was granted to me in… 3 days! And it was announced that the borders were reopening for students and essential workers just one week later. This was followed by a prosperous business period which allowed me to add additional funds for the move to my new country!

I believe this was in large part due to the person who took care of my visa at the embassy. They were coincidentally in to study the same thing as I did, and were extremely nice to me as a result. I shared my concerns about my visa being granted, and I wouldn’t be surprised if my request found itself at the top of the pile! This is just the sort of thing that Spica does for you, and I’m immensely grateful for her assistance during this process. This is just to give you a glimpse into the star’s immense powers, and so that you can see what she’s capable of: great opportunities and nudges in your favour right when you need them. The Spica collection I wanted to craft needed to embody this sense of brilliance, of resourcefulness combined with genuine abundance and prosperity.

In order to honour Spica in a way she most liked, I decided to use her colour: since the gem associated to her is emerald, I opted for an emerald green cloth and candles of a similar shade. In addition to this, all major fixed stars have an herb and image associated to them. For Spica, it is sage (here we’re talking about salvia officinalis, which can commonly be found in kitchens around the world and originates from Northern Europe, not salvia blanca (salvia apiana) which is endangered and which Native American groups have requested non-Natives to stop harvesting). I opted to use sage as the incense I would burn to consecrate my Spica offerings. For the image, I opted to follow Cornelius Agrippa’s description of the talismanic image that should be used for Spica: “under the Spike they made the image of a Bird, or of a man laden with merchandise; it conferreth riches, and maketh one overcome contentions, it taketh away scarcity and mischief.” My image represents a man carrying merchandise and gifts in a large bag on his back, followed by a dove - a bird associated with Venus, which rules the Moon in Libra in my chosen election.

Once the basics of my election were chosen, I had to decide on offerings. Since Spica represents the sheaf of wheat of the Virgin, it only seemed natural to offer ears of wheat, as well as ground flour and a freshly baked bread from my local bakery — symbolising abundance, the fresh fruits of the harvest and the feast after a lovely summer. I also consecrated genuine emerald chips which were to be used in the collection’s oil vial offerings, and I managed (through great coincidence and luck, as is characteristic of Spica) to source a dove coop in England, of which the owners sold the feathers after duly sterilising them. For a collection themed around the dove of Spica, I couldn’t have dreamt of a better offering! Fresh white flowers, as well as the symbols and sigils of Spica, were also set and offered on the altar.

Now comes a step that is absolutely essential to true astro-magical working: timing. With astrological magic, you cannot just perform your working at any time: several electional factors must be selected in order to make a true, functional talisman. The time I selected fulfilled every criteria: Spica (located at 24°10’ Libra) was rising on the Midheaven. The Moon, which was unafflicted and waxing (increasing in light) was applying to conjoin this exact degree in the sky and her ruler, Venus, was in her own domicile, thus strengthening the election even more. Under this beautiful election, the working was performed: emerald talismans were engraved and consecrated at the elected time, wheat germ oil (a wink to Spica as the sheaf of wheat) combined with herbs renowned for bringing luck, riches, happiness and victory in court were combined to create this collection’s oil and herbal blends, and more sacred magic was performed — whose secrets are kept between the magicienne and her working.

The result is a tremendously lucky, auspicious and abundant collection whose powers only await you! I’m excited for you to discover the offerings I’ve curated, and for Spica’s prosperity to bless you. Enjoy!