I watched a OTO Blazing Star video on talisman creation.
These guys throw in as much symbolism as they can possibly think of, scents, spelling, language/alphabet used, planet intelligence, planet spirit, planet angel, colors.
They go all out
At the beginning of the video they read a quote from Crowley where he says that “most of his talismans were poems”
Did he write the poem and then do all that other stuff
Or is there a different method for using poems as talismans.
like a Kabbalistic one, where they write out bible verses and pray.
How did Crowley turn poems into talismans - poetry seems like an amazing way to show intent.
Hiya OP! I don’t know how specifically it was done, but seeing as it was Crowley I’ll bet the words of the poem have relevant gematria values he assigned to each of the talismans. Poems like that make for air-based magic, so it probably supported at least a Kabalistic connection or other Abrahamic tie as those religions are huge on the air element. Whereas the people you watched the video of seem to be more drawn to classical western esotericism in the form of planetary magic, Crowley’s use of poetry and Kabbalah woukd appear to indicate that those talismans were more centered to movements through or applications of the tree of life. Talismans get much, much deeper than these surface configurations, though! I’ve done lots of work with them, and have even written about their inner mechanics and relationships- do you know what kind of talisman were they making, or just a general anchor and modifier for planetary forces?
If chaos magick has taught us anything, it’s that pretty much anything can become magick with the right intent.
One of the primary advantages of using an already established cosmology or system, in my opinion, is that you get to work with a collective system of symbolism that has had the time to evolve and better match the underlying archetypal forces that drive magick. Western occultism (as well as Eastern and other traditions) has had millennia to grow and develop, and I believe this is why it is such an effective, rich, and deep tradition of magick.
I don’t know too much about Crowley or the OTO’s practices, but so long as they were internally consistent and robust enough to cover any particular situation that may need to be addressed magickally, I would assume that their talismans and whatnot were effective (assuming that their fundamental skills with magick were good as well).
If poetry is how you feel that you would connect best with magick, then I see no reason why not to experiment with it and find what works for you. A book that you may find helpful with this is The Master Works of Chaos Magick by Adam Blackthorne. The author discusses some of the more “traditional” chaos methods, with interesting additions to the old ideas, and, more relevant to you, how to go about creating your own personal magick system.
I like this post a lot, it does well to put things into context…But that’s maybe just because I personally agree with the views. Very tempted to buy this book you speak of tbh.
