Kamea of Saturn

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Laurel	12 Aug 2002
This is a ~very~ odd question, but I've been searching for the answer on my own for a while with no success and I thought someone might be able to answer it because Aeclectic has some of the wisest and most knowledgeable souls I know in the various magical arts and crafts. (If you are asking what the heck a kamea is, the short answer is that its a magic square and the foundations for making certain types of sigils and talismans. Each planet's kamea has certain dimensions depending on where the planet corresponds on the Tree of Life. Saturn=Binah=3=3x3 squares. Mercury=Hod=8=8x8 squares) The traditional Kamea of Saturn looks as follows: 4 9 2 3 5 7 8 1 6 So that all the columns equal 15, the total sum being 45. My question is why does the Kamea have this ~specific~ arrangement, as opposed to any other that would also provide for all the colums equalling 15, the total sum of 45. Is there a reason beyond the earliest Key/other source we have for the planetary Kameas does it in this way? I've been puzzling over this, trying to determine a specific esoteric reason why this Kamea must begin with the "1" in that position, and so on and so forth. But I can't find any written explanations in my personal library or online. Obviously, moving the numbers by say flipping the square so that it looked like 834 159 672 would drastically change the sigils even thought it still has the same mathematical values, hence why its a good idea to have a single consistent format. But the reasoning behind why the specific traditional format (816 as bottom row) was chosen eludes me, and its been driving me crazy, not knowing. Laurel

raeanne	12 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Laurel ... 4 9 2 3 5 7 8 1 6 So that all the columns equal 15, the total sum being 45. ... I don't have an answer to your question, but I do want to point out that it isn't just the columns that equal 15 but the three rows and the two diagonals as well. Like you said, just rotating or flipping the square does not change the math.

jmd	12 Aug 2002
Strictly speaking, the sigils are formed from the 'magic' squares of each of the planets. The Saturnian square is any 3 X 3 magic square, but most authors copy each other, following earlier investigations of beauty. As a side note, it is also worth mentioning that for the 3 X 3 (unlike the Jupiterian 4 X 4, the Mars 5 X 5, etc) has only ONE possibility. The two versions posted are merely amongst the reflections and rotations possible. To elaborate, each of the possible magic squares results in various figures, some of which are more harmonious than others. It is a combination of this, and the authority of previous authors, which has slowly established some kind of tradition. I do not have access to it at the moment (as it is on a shelf at home), but there is one book which deals wonderfully with Kameas. If for any reason I do not post its title soonish, please PM me to remind me.

The Kamea of Saturn thread was originally posted on 12 Aug 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.