The photo above is a throwback to the Sol in Leo operation, created during one of the shining electional moments of the Sun’s time in Leo, 2019…

The Sun is currently passing by its maximum degree of Fall (the 19th of Libra) — the single worst degree of the entire 360 for any planet or luminary, based on the qualities of the sign and how they benefit or harm the objectives and functions of the body in question. This is always exactly opposite the degree of Exaltation.

The Sun has difficulty functioning in air signs because of their multitudinous, temperate, and back and forth nature. It finds its Detriment in Aquarius, whose classical Saturnian rulership limits its ability to beam and brighten, and its Fall in Libra, whose Venus ruled, harmonizing and conciliatory nature makes it difficult for the Self to rise above the relational Other.

Libra is also notoriously indecisive, which is at odds with the Sun’s role as the maximal point of unification and embodied, confident leadership, not just externally, but within our own selves and natal charts.

The talismanic art in astrology is the ability to capture charges at their most desirable. I’ve referred to it before in the context of catching snowflakes, but canning metaphors work equally as well. We harvest when the harvest is good, and preserve things at the peak of their ripeness, so we can continue enjoying the fruits (or vegetables!) of those labors all year round. An entire lifetime, in the case of metal and stone.

The use of high quality astrological materia can be viewed through the lens of supplementation. Maybe we’re treating chronic conditions in the natal chart, often presented in terms of “remediation”.

Having the Sun in its Fall in my own chart, for instance, I’m perpetually Solar deficient, so using Regulus and Sol materia has proved deeply therapeutic and beneficial. I use it on Sundays as a form of ongoing attunement, or whenever I feel negative Libran instincts activate for a little course correction.

[Related: True vs. False Light, Being a Weirdo, and the 12th House in Modern Times]

But we can also treat acute conditions such as transits, where we can’t draw strength or magic from a planet or luminary given its current condition. Libra season is basically Seasonal Affective Disorder for all Solar concerns, so performing Solar rituals and magic alone likely won’t yield good results, and isn’t recommended.

It’s better under transiting conditions like these to supplement with the energies of Sol from its Aries or Leo harvest, instead of asking the Sun to provide what it isn’t under right conditions to offer. That’s one of the ways talismanic materia truly, well… it shines.

Take your magical vitamins, basically. As the testimonials on each offering’s page readily attest, you just may find it life-changing