This post emerged out of a conversation with my cherished peer Briar. As we were pondering pros and cons in welcoming an upcoming talisman, we surveyed different topics and came to ask ourselves a number of questions.

I thought this would be an interesting subject to explore in an article, so that other people might benefit from it. Feel free to continue the discussion in comments if you’d like, for this has no pretention to exhaustivity!

What does welcoming a talisman into one’s life entail ?

If you have no idea what an astrological talisman is to begin with, let me redirect you to Kaitlin Coppock’s excellent « Defining Talismans » before going further.

Now, you might know what a talisman is, and have a general idea of what it can do. But what does it entail to welcome a talisman (that you have not crafted yourself) into your life ?

My teacher Austin Coppock compared it to a graft. You’re permanently amending the fabric of your life to include the talisman; or, perhaps more justly, you’re letting yourself be remade and sutured up by the talismanic spirits so that your connection to their Sphere is more functional.

A well-made talisman, with a pristine election and functioning ritual, will of course bring benefic effects – some of which might be surprising. There may very well be an adjustement period, or permanent alterations to be made into your habits so that the relationship works well for you. For instance, if you were to welcome a Mars talisman, it might be that it brings the need to exercise more (and that you now feel the drive, strength, and motivation to actually do it). A Venus talisman might nudge you to take up a creative practice that you’d neglected and invest more in your relationships. A Jupiter talisman might have « buying lots of books » as a side-effect, etc.

Depending on your natal chart and what’s going on for you at present time, welcoming a talisman might be more or less challenging! While talismanic spirits do not by any means set out to make your life difficult, there can certainly be growing pains or even incompatibilities. Not all talismans are going to be a good fit for you, and that says nothing of the quality of said talismans, or of your own character: simply, as in any relationship, to each their own. More on this later, under « How to choose a talisman ? ».

Welcoming a talisman is, if all goes well, a lifetime commitment and bond. It can happen that a talisman goes their own way for some reason, or that you need to re-sell or gift a talisman. But I would wager that this isn’t the case of the majority of people who purchase a talisman!

As far as maintenance goes, astrological talismans are, in my humble experience and opinion, not particularly demanding. They should be treated respectfully as sacred objects, of course, resting on an altar or a protected, clean space. Consensus is that they like to rest in compatible herbal matter, and you can also fumigate them with compatible incense to vivify and feed them. But they are essentially self-generative and do not need regular consecration to « work ». As with any ongoing relationship, I personally like to check-in regularly, and in the case of a fixed star talisman, for example, do monthly offerings. I consider overall talismans to be quite low-maintenance, especially considering the wealth of benefits that they bring.

How to choose a talisman ?

The first question to ask oneself might be: what kind of energy would you need and would you like as ongoing, durable support to anchor into your life?

There are a number of intricate ways to study one’s nativity to determine what needs support the most, and I have no pretention to teach this in a quick article. I would recommend Austin Coppock’s classes, Kaitlin Coppock’s wisdom expertly distilled in her write-ups and blog posts, Christopher Warnock’s foundational books, and I’ve heard the world of Adira Osland’s consultations designed for remediation, as well as Òscar Moisés Díaz’s « The Mage » session. Overall, if you want to figure this out for yourself, a lot of studying and experimentation over years is required. If you want informed help from someone else, consult with a competent, trained professional. Now that this is out of the way, let’s consider basic factors.

While astromages differ on strictness in that regard, the consensus seems to be that talismans for a natally afflicted planet can be more challenging to work with. I.e., if you have a severely afflicted Moon natally and struggle at present time with Moon issues, welcoming a Moon talisman might exacerbate these issues, even if in the very long run it might be helpful. I wouldn’t recommend setting a super steep learning curve for yourself with talismans ; when possible, it might be much wiser to start acclimating with talismanic materia instead. Not all astrological magic you do needs to be as permanent as a stone-and-metal talisman.

Now, let’s say you know your nativity rather well, you are already somewhat experienced with astrological magic (with or without talismans), and you’re trying to decide whether or not to purchase a particular talisman. Maybe you’ve felt a pull, maybe you’ve always had in mind that you would get this kind of talisman if you found one, … Whatever the case may be, let’s review what can help you choose.

→ What are the characteristics of this talisman ? What is advertised in terms of effects ? What’s the election like ?

→ What are your hopes regarding this talisman ? What do you expect to come up within this relationship, what sort of help are you looking for ?

→ What are your fears or reticences regarding this talisman ? What are you afraid may be difficult for you in bonding with it or living with it long term ?

→ How are you equipped to deal with what the talisman might bring into your life ? Do you feel surrounded and supported to welcome their virtues ?

Let’s take an example. Say you’re informed that a Regulus series of talismans is about to launch, from a talismanic shop you trust. Say you’re a Scorpio Rising with a Regulus Midheaven, and you’ve worked with Regulus before with talismanic items with no malefic fall-outs. Here’s what this process would look like :

→ Vetting the elective and ritual process, i.e. the trust you have in the people involved in making the talisman, and how it fits with your particular set of circumstances both natal and current. Reviewing the particularities of this talisman and election as they’re advertised by the creator. For instance: is this a very energising influence? Which kind of benefits does it generate? This brings us to…

→ Reviewing your hopes and expectations ; perhaps you want to take your work with Regulus on the next level, more visibility around your work, confidence in taking a public role, aid in patrilineal healing, etc.

→ Reviewing your potential reticences ; visibility is not always easy for a Scorpio Rising, and perhaps the permanence of a talisman that brings fame and public honours freaks you out a bit. A Regulus talisman is very diurnal and would likely be too « active » to be in your bedroom, so it’ll likely need an altar in another room, or another way to work things out. If there are some difficulties around sleep and rest, which tools are at your disposal to mitigate it?

→ Which allies may be of help if the talisman’s benefits feel « too much » at first? Do you feel ready for more visibility and to step into your sovereignty, is this the right time for it?

Of course, you could factor in a lot of other things. Any parans to Regulus or conjunctions would be relevant for ascertaining how relating to the talisman might pan out.

Other questions to consider :

• Would welcoming this talisman really enrich your life in a way that’s needed, or are you having FOMO because the talisman sounds really cool?
• Budget-wise, is this a sound decision?
• Can people and/or spirit guides you trust help you make this decision? (sometimes your elevated ancestors might be loudly in favour of a particular talismanic course of action!)

There is much, much more to say on the topic, but I’ll stop here for now and I hope this will be useful! If you have questions, remarks or constructive criticism, feel free to drop it in the comments. I’ve made this post public so it could be as widely available as possible for people who might need it!

If you’d like to have a chat about your natal promise, feel free to book with me over here, it would be a pleasure to welcome you for a consultation. There’s more info about me and my approach here. For more musings on astrological magic, astrolatry, fixed stars and their spirits, devotional hymns and other fun stuff, consider joining my Patreon page on the Puits tiers !