Thabit Ibn Qurra election for Wealth and Prosperity

“If, however, the querent does not seek wealth from another person, but desires to advance his business and to have abundant money and be offered a position so that he is easily able to earn a living, seek an image of business.” Astral High Magic, De Imaginibus of Thabit ibn Qurra transl. John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock

Who was Thabit Ibn Qurra?

Thabit ibn Qurra was a Sabian polymath from Harran who wrote on subjects as diverse as mathematics, medicine, astronomy and astrology.  We came across his work in mathematics when we talked about the use of amicable number pairs in an election from the Picatrix for enduring love.

Ibn Qurra’s book De Imaginibus, part of which has been translated into English by John Michael Greer and Christopher Warnock, describes his approach to electional astrology and astrological magic.  Some of it has filtered down into the Western Magical Tradition and shortened forms of his elections can be found in Henry Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

The interesting thing about Ibn Qurra’s elections is that they do not rely on the essential nature of the planet for their effects but instead rely upon the relationships formed by planets ruling houses associated with the desired goal – that is, to use Warnock’s description, they are house based talismanic elections.  

Whereas in the more commonly understood astrological magic we might use an election for Jupiter (link) for wealth and prosperity since Jupiter is associated with wealth and abundance, in Ibn Qurra’s method we seek to elect for a harmonious aspect between the planets ruling the 1^st house and the 2^nd house. 

This is because the 1^st house represents us while the second house represents our wealth.  Ideally we want the Lord of the 1^st essentially strong because we want to be in the best condition to create wealth, and we want the Lord of the 2^nd strong because its dignity correlates with the amount of wealth we receive.  In addition, we want a harmonious aspect between them so that the wealth comes to us easily and preferably with reception.

The material basis and the image

Because this work does not rely on the nature of the planets themselves, the material is less important than we might expect it to be if we were attracting the influences of a particular planet or star.  As such, Ibn Qurra suggests one can use any material, though I would probably use a material you associate with wealth.  Similarly, you can use incense such as hoodoo Money Drawing incense or a blend of material associated with both planets.

No particular image is described for this election, but I would suggest that it depicts you achieving success in your business goals.  This image will need to be constructed at the elected time

Electional conditions

We require the following conditions for this election to apply:

1. The Lords of the 1st and the Lord of the 2^nd should have strong essential dignity (preferably dignified by house or exalted planets)

2. The Ascendant should be fortunate as should the Moon and the Lord of the Moon

3. The Lords of the 1^st and 2^nd house should be joined by a harmonious aspect, preferably with reception

4. The Part of Fortune should be in a good house (Ibn Qurra specifically mentions the 1^st or the 11^th, the 1^st or the 10^th, and Agrippa’s version gives the 1^st or the 2^nd as suitable houses)

5. The Lords of the 11^th and the 8^th houses should be made fortunate

In addition, Ibn Qurra also remarks that these elections should ideally be made under the ascendant of a horary or nativity.  That is, a horary question regarding wealth should precede this magical election and the same ascendant used as the basis for this election, or that the ascendant should be the same as the native’s ascendant. 

I have found that they work just as well without this personalisation, but I do believe that elections work best when they are attuned to one’s own natal chart.  (As an aside, I’ve also found this applies to horary questions – the results are more certain when the horary significators are identical to the natal chart significators.)

An imperfect election for wealth and prosperity from Ibn Qurra

One of the things one often finds with electional astrology is that the conditions described in the ancient texts detail the ideal conditions.  This is especially the case in these house based elections which require multiple factors to be successfully applied.  If one were to wait until all of these conditions were met, it’s quite possible that you might have to wait decades or several lifetimes before all of the conditions are met.  As such, it is quite often a case of balancing various factors and choosing the best election we can find to move ahead with our work.  In this, traditional astrological magick accurately reflects the condition of the world around us which may not be set up to assure us untold wealth and a harem of beautiful concubines simply because we want it. 

This election is set for 02:25 on 22 January 2019 for London, UK and will need to be rectified for your location.  This is an astrological election and not something that can be done by simply changing the time zones.  If you would like for me to rectify this election for your location to enable you to use it, you can order an election from me here.

The Pros:

Scorpio rising, Sagittarius on 2nd house cusp.  Mars, ruler of 1st house, is in his domicile (+5).  Jupiter, Lord of the 2nd house, likewise is dignified by domicile and triplicity (+8).  Jupiter also receives a conjunction from Venus, the lesser benefice, who is dignified by term (+2).  Mars applies by trine to Jupiter.

The Moon is peregrine in the angular 10th house but is supported by applying trines to both benefics.

The Ascendant receives no harmful aspects.

The Part of Fortune is angular in the 7th house and ruled by the benefic Venus who is dignified by term.

Both benefics are applying to conjunction in the 2nd house.

The cons:

The Lord of the Moon (the Sun as the Moon is in Leo) is in his detriment. 

The Lord of the 8th and 11th houses is Mercury who is without dignity and is applying to combustion (although not yet in the same sign).

It is by no means a perfect election, but certainly one that can be used for our benefit.  Given the poor condition of the 11^th and 8^th houses, I would suspect that much of the increased wealth from the successful application of this election would come through other means perhaps through skilful use of money we already possess.

Ritual Suggestions

Ibn Qurra does not describe a particular ritual since he assumes the reader will already know what to do.  He does however suggest certain powers be invoked: the Moon, Mars and Jupiter, the Lord of the Moon, and the Lord of the Hour.  These powers should also be named and depicted on the Image.

The Lord of the hour can be found in a variety of sources from the PGM to the Hygromanteia to Agrippa.  You can use whichever you prefer.  One might also invoke the Angels and Intelligences associated with Mars and Jupiter.