Stellar Magic
Stellar Magic by Payam Nabarz
A Practical Guide to Rites of the Moon, Planets, Stars and Constellations
The practical rites and ceremonies in this Liber Astrum are created using a myriad of hymns and tales, drawing inspiration and material from many ancient, classical and medieval sources including: the Hymns of Orpheus, Ovid’s Metamorphoses , Plato’s Timaeus, the Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius, the Greek Magical Papyri, the Chaldean Oracles, the Persian Shah Nameh ‘Epic of Kings’ by Ferdowsi, Scipio’s Dream by Cicero, the Persian Pahlavi Texts, book of Enoch, Bible Ezekiel chapter, Egyptian temples and texts, The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius, the Zoroastrian Yasht hymns, Sufi works of Ibn Arabi and Rumi, the Kabalistic Sefer Yetzirah, the Mithras Liturgy, Persian Burj Nameh, the Picatrix, Hesiod Works and Days, Homer’s The Odyssey, Porphyry’s On the Cave of the Nymphs and Aratus’ Phaenomena.
In bringing these ancient rites into modern times, stellar related material and ideals by modern poets such as WB Yeats, Robert Graves, Sylvia Plath, and esoteric writers such as John Milton, John Dee, Elias Ashmole, Francis Barrett, Rudolf Steiner, Aleister Crowley, Gerald Gardner have also been included, giving a Bardic blend of the ancient and the modern. The rites here ‘set the scene’ and after all the poems and invocations are uttered, the point is reached in the rite where the magus has to make his/her direct connection, and to draw inspiration from the stellar well directly. The rites here are the beginning steps on your stellar journey, it is recommended that you write your own poems and invocations to the constellations and make your Path to the stars.
This is a highly accessible, succinct and practical book on this complex subject. It is written in such a way that it can be used as a manual and workbook for practicing stellar magic or simply read for gaining insight into star lore.
Praise for STELLAR MAGIC -
“In Stellar Magic Dr Nabarz provides both the reader and the practitioner with an invaluable book filled with the rich lore of stars and a series of stunning and powerful rituals to enable a deeper awareness of the effect these have on our daily lives. Drawing on rare and out of the way materials Dr Nabarz has assembled a veritable treasure house of wisdom and lore. This is an absolute must for anyone even remotely interested in Star Lore and for any practicing magician or seeker after truth.”
John Matthews
(Author of many books including Walkers Between Worlds, The Grail Tarot, The Arthurian Tarot, The Celtic Shaman, Taliesin).“Recommended”-Cauldron Magazine
“Payam Nabarz has once again provided reader and practitioner alike with an invaluable tome that will aid its readers for generations to come.” -Michele Burke PaganPages.org
”A wonderfully useful and scholarly grimoire compiled from both a myriad of diverse ancient cultures and sources (Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Persian, Arabic, Zoroastrian, Mithraic, Gnostic, and Sufi) and many modern magicians and poets and esoteric sources as well (even Crowley! He pops up everywhere these days!). It is both an informative history of myth and star lore and a practical guide and workbook for practicing stellar magic. There are opening and closing rites to frame invocations of Orion, Sothis, Perseus & Andromeda, Cygnus, the Pleiades, Draco and the Great and Small Bears, as well as the traditional Seven Planets and the Zodiac. A fascinating read and a genuine contribution to the rediscovery of the Secret Science of the Sages. I like revivals like this!”- Shade Oroboros, Silver Star
5/5 Stars. “A Book that Shines like a Star” -Fr E, Amazon.com
5/5 Stars “Another Cosmic Trip from Payam”-Ms M Berlin. Amazon.co.uk:
“This latest volume from Payam Nabarz amply fulfils the promises made on the cover. From advice on preparation and closure for the performance of any ritual, he goes on to narrate the myths behind the naming and relative positions of the constellations and similarly deals with each of the seven planets, suggesting detailed worship rituals. He guides you through a vast stellar experience encompassing Shamanic, Egyptian, Wiccan, Grecian, Suffic and Mithraic lore then through the Earthly Almanac. As usual his work is expanded by hymns, poems and prose quotations (ancient,modern and self-penned)and numerous original photographs. Payam amply credits his sources (notably his father Bijan Jan for his Persian calligraphy of the Burj Nameh,in the Moon chapter) and as usual suggests mountains of further reading. In short: a magical universe in a roomy “Tardis” of only 200 pages!”
“This is Payam’s first major monograph since the publication of “Mysteries of Mithras”. His devotion to the unconquered one here leading him further in his stellar devotions, mainly in the sense of work with the principal constellations known to the ancient Greeks. Unlike postmodern astrology he aims for a two way dialectic. He begins with a useful précis of the cult of Mithras for those not familiar with his earlier book or like most of us welcome a short refresher.
He then creates his own opening rite based around the four stellar markers known in his tradition as the Royal stars. Nominally these are given as: In the east Aldebaran (Taurus) ; South, Regulus (Leo) South; West, Antares (Scorpio) and North, Fomalhaut (Aquarius).
The idea now is a process of Hermetic ascent through the planets, zodiac and finally the major constellations. For this purpose Payam provides detailed ritual, much of it based on antique sources such as the Theban Magical Library (PGM); Pyramid texts; Babylonian, Orphic, Roman, Greek and Persian religious traditions. Perhaps it makes for some slightly overlong, intellectual invocations that will not suit all temperaments. Even so its easy to take stuff out . . . much more difficult to put it in . . .
Payam makes some reference to the so-called “Ladder of Horus & Seth”, and its undoubted stellar nature, although I suspect this alludes to archaic lunar mysteries. But whatever way one looks at it, it’s a “stairway to heaven”.
What caught my eye was the special altar Payam has developed for use during these rites. He has taken a technique developed in the Golden Dawn Occult Society for work with Ursa Major, where the altar is decorated with candles in the shape of the constellation. Payam has really developed this idea – applying it with some gusto to the other constellations. His customised altar has developed to become a moveable planisphere decorated with the fixed components and plenty of room to, in the words of the popular song, “set the controls for the heart of the sun”.
Magick in general is just now going through a very creative stage; particularly I’d say important work with the old time stellar magical religion and indeed new lunar secrets. I suppose I like to see a slightly bigger nod to Kenneth Grant, whose name is usually linked with this kind of work – especially in connection with the lunar kalas. But as Rufus commented at the recent Thelemic symposium – whether or not one wants to follow Payam’s fascinating trajectory, this is a very handy anthology of astral ritual that most working magi are sure to find useful.”- Mogg Morgan, Mandrake Speaks.
