WHEN the soul of the world, by its virtue, doth make all things (that are
naturally generated, or artificially made) fruitful, by sealing and impressing
on them celestial virtues for the working of some wonderful effect, then
things themselves not only applied by collyry, or suffume, or ointment,
or any other such like way; but when they are conveniently bound to, or
wrapped up, or suspended about the neck, or any other way applied, although
by ever so easy a contact, they do impress their virtue upon us: by these
alligations, &c., therefore, the accidents of the body and mind are-
changed into sickness or health, valour, fear, sadness or joy, and the like;
they render those that carry them, gracious, terrible, acceptable, rejected,
honoured, beloved, or hateful and abominable.
Now these kind of passions are conceived to be infused no otherwise than
is manifest in the grafting of trees, where the vital life and virtue is
communicated from the trunk to the twig engrafted into it, by way of contact
and alligation; so in the female palm-tree, when she comes near to the male,
her boughs bend to the male, which the gardener seeing, he binds them together
by ropes across, but soon becomes straight, as if by the continuation of
the rope she had received a propagating virtue from the male. And it is
said, if a woman takes a needle, and bewray it with dung, and put it up
in earth in which the carcass of a man has been buried, and carry it about
her in a piece of cloth used at a funeral, no man can defile her as long
as she carries that.
Now by these examples we see how, by certain alligations of certain things,
also suspensions, or by the most simple contact or continuation of any thread,
we may be able to receive some virtues thereby; but it is necessary to know
the certain rule of magical alligation and suspension; and the manner that
the art requires is this, viz. that they must be done under a certain and
suitable constellation; and they must be done with wire, or silken threads,
or sinews
of certain animals; and those things that are to be wrapped up, are to be
done in the leaves of herbs, or skins of animals, or membraneous parchments,
&c. For, if you would procure the solary virtue of any thing, this is
to be wrapped up in bay leaves, or the skin of a lion, hung round the neck
with gold, silk, or purple or yellow thread: while the sun reigns in the
heavens, so shalt thou be endued with the virtue of that thing. So if a
saturnine quality or thing be desired, thou shalt in like manner take that
thing, while Saturn reigns, and wrap it up in the skin of an ass, or in
a cloth used at a funeral, especially if melancholy or sadness is to be
induced, and with a sad, or ash, or leaden, or black silk or thread, hang
it about thy neck; and so in the same manner we must proceed with the rest.