“You should read these pages,” my husband said as he handed me a manga that he had borrowed that day from a coworker. Without looking at the cover, I was immediately introduced to a young character named Coco who was fascinated with witches. A real witch had appeared on the opened page, offering to help Coco’s mother by casting a spell. The witch asked for privacy as he worked his magic, but Coco couldn’t help but steal a peak. She saw him…drawing sigils. She gasped at the discovery that in her world, magic is not spoken, it is drawn. “It made me think of your paintings,” my husband said as I handed the Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1, back to him.

Coco's moment of discovery, inside Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama.

I had stopped at the post office the day before to mail a prepaid shipping label to San Diego so that my painting What We Had could be returned to me upon the close of the juried exhibition that it had been a part of last month. I wasn’t sure how much postage the envelope I held required, so I waited in line only to discover that no one was at the front helping customers. The Station Manager let those of us in line know that the postal worker who should have already started their shift, was running late but had just arrived in the parking lot and should be in soon. He then came over to me and asked what I needed. I showed him my 6 x 9 inch teal envelope. The Station Manager let me know that he didn’t like to see people waiting in line, so he took it and said, “I’ll just place a stamp on it. Use the dollar you saved to go buy a lottery ticket.”

In that moment I thought of the Venus talisman hanging from my neck, and how this was the second time this month that someone had unexpectedly offered to cover the cost of something I needed. The other instance happened at a public swimming pool that my friend had invited my two children to swim at with her own child. The facility accepted cash only, and I had none. My friend covered the $2 needed for my children to enter, but I was told I would still need to pay $4 for myself since my youngest needed to be in the pool with an adult. My friend had a $20 dollar bill left, but the man at the front said they didn’t have enough change to break it. He then went into a back room for a few minutes and when he came out he said, “This is never happening again, but today I will cover the cost of your ticket myself." He then took $4 out of his own pocket and placed it into the cash envelope.

I had created the Venus talisman I was wearing after completing Austin Coppock’s, Fundamentals of Astrology Year II course this past spring. In it, he covers the crafting of astrological talismans in depth. I used my newfound knowledge on an April morning when Venus was strongly dignified in her sign of Taurus, to carve symbols into a small copper disk.

Holding my Venus talisman, in front of one of my new, yet to be revealed paintings.

The sign of Taurus occupies my 8th House of shared resources and other people’s money. Austin had told us stories of what could happen once you begin using a planetary talisman, and what I had experienced at the post office and at the swimming pool were in line with the power of the talisman I wore. These moments stood out since they were out of the ordinary for me, and that is the point of an astrological talisman - to bring a type of energy into your life that you otherwise wouldn’t normally have access to based on your own natal placements.

On the same April morning that I carved into that copper disk, I had also drawn sigils on the backside of several stretched canvases, consecrating each one with the strong Venus in Taurus energy that was present in that moment. Transforming conventional art materials into vessels for the benefic planet to live. I have since begun to paint a new series on these consecrated canvases. A collection of works that I am building into a new story. A new set of narrative talismans.

Having my art work on an unseen level is what I am after. For this type of magic to be effective however, physical presence is preferred. That is how talismans work best--with direct contact. Although my paintings can certainly be appreciated in print form, there will be more for you there - unspoken, invisible but nevertheless there -  if you choose to sit with the actual work in person.

If something in this stayed with you, my 11th House community is where I share what's coming before anyone else sees it. Join here.