Pentacle construction
-
I recently stumbled upon a 8 inch wide "marble" disc, and I was thinking about using it to make a pentacle. I've heard pentacles are usually made of wax. So, I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on a stone pentacle versus a wax one (I'm not sure if it is real marble). I currently use a concave wooden pentacle and I'm still weighing the pros and cons of a new, larger and flatter pentacle. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any advice.
-
I think you mean pantacle. Stone would be pretty, and definitely earthy, but not very conductive, which you might want.
-
Thanks for your response. You said "...might want," is there some reason I would not want it to be conductive? Second, what do you mean by conductive and how is wax more conductive? Sorry for all of the questions, but I felt slightly more confused by your response (a symptom of my inexperience I'm afraid).
-
In practice, it seems that "holding an electrical charge" has many of the characteristics of "holding an electrical charge." (Possibly they are the same thing, or a closely related phenomenon, e.g., an effect of the denser, more physical aspect of the human aura.) This becomes even more obvious when you look at the electrical properties of the traditional ways of protecting and storing magical implements (e.g., wrapping in silk).
Wax seems to be an exception to this. It is one of the most electrically resistant substances known. OTOH it has a strong heritage of magical virtue, and subjectively feels to me to be able to take and hold a very powerful charge, especially if the consecrated item is kept stored in silk. (This can't be the static charge of the silk, because the wax is so electrically resistant.) I suspect, therefore, that a different principle is involved with wax: That the key is its maleability and ability to take impressions. In this way, it has characteristics similar to astral substance. However, in making a pantacle of wax, you want to add hardener (as when making candles) so that the initial impression carve into it remains durable. In this way, it is a perfect symbol of elemental Earth.
If I'm reading this table correctly, marble has a very high electrical resistance, similar to that of hard rubber:
www.sapiensman.com/conversion_tables/electric_conversion.htm
(Not my field. I might be misunderstanding the table.)That would mean that marble shares the high resistance of wax (though not quite as high), and lacks the maleability (being a very hard substance). While it would be resistant to change, it wouldn't have the ability to hold an electrical charge. It's not obvious to me, therefore, that it has any particular properties that would make it suitable for a magical implement. It would be more suitable for things that were not meant to take a particular charge, or which were meant to be enduring and long-standing, such as an altar (or altar top), pillars, etc.
-
There are some old observations from mesmerist that oils and fat had this charging potential as well.
It is interesting to analyze the fact that the brain cells are made mostly of fat.
-
FWIW - I know someone who crafted a pantacle from silver-gilt aluminum. It is highly durable, yet relatively light. Also, since aluminum is soft, it was fairly easy to work with.
In any event, it is VERY conductive when it comes to electricity...
-
Remember the high school physics experiment with cat fur and a ball of wax? Wax might not be very conductive, like brass or bronze or something like that, which I think would be better than marble. But wax certainly has an electrical affinity and it can be easily charged through electrostatic induction.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think when you rub silk (or cat fur) on wax, the latter becomes negatively charged, meaning that it gains electrons. Maybe that charge impacts the astral. Maybe the dielectric capacity of wax has correspondences in nature or in our bodies, so that charging the wax pantacle serves as a model of our inner work.
Worth some thought, anyway.
-
Note also that wood, wax and vegetable oil all have about the same dielectric constant. www.engineeringtoolbox.com/relative-permittivity-d_1660.html
This constant (approx. 2.0) is about the same as that of amber.
Note that the word "electricity" comes from the Greek, "elektron," meaning "amber," which was noticed in about 600BC by Thales to hold a charge when rubbed.
And of course, there is a robust magical history of building up a charge by rubbing things.
-
@Ash said
"93.
@David S said
"And of course, there is a robust magical history of building up a charge by rubbing things.
"I have built up a robust browser history from related endeavors.
What?
93, 93/93."
