Another of the Martial elections conducted by Monsieur Coppock while the Mrs. was indisposed (like Fiery Wall and ~two~ Mars in Capricorn series yet to come!), Sphere + Sundry is pleased to offer the second iteration of The Forgemaster’s Iron Palm Dit Da Jow. The write-up below has been authored by Austin.

Note photos were taken before the jars were filled to the brim with herbs and good quality rum. The Jow was then left to incubate in silence and solitude for more than one full year before being decanted for public release.

The furnace blazes, the iron glows. Blood burns in the hammer-arm of the blacksmith. Stubborn metal becomes malleable, open to convincing arguments from the hammer and the strong hand that wields it.

Fire, iron, and blood. This is the holy trinity of Mars, as crucial for creation as it is for destruction. While many know Mars as the Warrior, the red planet is equally the Smith. In the Smith we see the constructive side of Mars, the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to shape and re-shape our lives, our bodies, ourselves.

The Smith’s alchemical action occurs at levels both gross and subtle, but is mostly easily witnessed in the  transformation of the body. The layers of effort required to re-forge the body are quintessentially Martial, and there is no exercise regimen as close to the forge as Iron Palm.

Iron Palm refers to a family of limb-training methods which strengthen the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones for both defensive and offensive purposes. Many styles of Kung Fu also emphasize the internal side, cultivating increased qi emission capacity for both striking and healing purposes. Though the training process is incremental, the results, over time, become dramatic.

Though there are many variations, the training is always a dialectic of a daily routine of hitting progressively more resilient materials and a nurturing protocol to facilitate recovery.

Over the years, a great number of liniments have been created to aid in the recovery side. Collectively referred to as dit da jow, they widely used for general athletic purposes well outside of the specific practice of an Iron Palm regimen.

The Forgemaster’s Dit Da Jow is one of these Iron Palm formulae, but with a Sphere + Sundry twist. This Jow was created in a fully ritual manner and at a precisely elected astrological time.

The result is the union of an efficacious traditional herbal formula and the celestial potency of a specifically chosen and ritually enacted moment. As Marsilio Ficino writes in the introduction to The Third Book of Life:

“…do not neglect medicines which have been strengthened by some sort of heavenly aid, unless you would neglect life itself. For I have found by long and repeated experience that medicines of this kind are as different from other medicines made without astrological election as wine is from water.”

This second iteration of the Forgemaster’s Jow differs from the first in its formulation and in the astrological figure under which it was empowered.

Both of the operations took place with exalted Mars in Capricorn trine the equally exalted Moon in Taurus, linking the ironclad strength of Mars to the earthly nurturance of the Moon.

The first operation placed Mars in the 1^st house, with the Moon supporting from the 5^th, in the Hour of Mars. This second iteration has the Moon in the 1^st, with Mars guiding from the 9^th, and in the Hour of the Moon.

The Moon is also with Jupiter in this second election, and in the first lunar mansion, called Ashwini, which is auspicious for the compounding of medicines (for more on the Ashvins, see Asclepius IV: The Divine Coterie).

This is essentially a lunar mansion election, suitable for a wide variety of healing preparations. Luna, however, waxes from conjunction with Jupiter to a trine with exalted Mars, seeding it with steel and pointing it toward medicines of a distinctly martial quality.

In ritual, ideas, images, and words arose from this intersection and overlap of the Lunar and the Martial spheres. That-from-which-steel-arises, the Womb-Forge, the Seed of Steel, the Mother of Iron. The softness out of which hardness is born, the gentleness out of which strength emerges.

This is the dialectic of strength— exertion and rest, stress and restoration. The alternation that creates resilience.

The exertion and stress we leave to you and your lives, but for the restoration, consider putting yourself in the care of the Mother of Iron.

APPLICATIONS 

The Forgemaster’s Dit Da Jow is, of course, perfect for an Iron Limb regimen, but has a number of other uses. Both physically and energetically, it is an ideal pre- and post- workout liniment for any martial striking practice, such as boxing and kickboxing. Pour some into the palm of the hand and rub into the chosen area.

More broadly, it can be used to ready and fortify the muscles, tendons, and joints in preparation for any athletic activity, and to facilitate the swift healing of bruises and other tissue damage. It is excellent when applied to a sore back or muscles, to provide structure and respite. It layers very well with Asclepius IV.

Magically, it is appropriate for works of fortification and the cultivation of resilience and personal power. It can be applied for that reason alone, as a constructively oriented dose of Mars in Capricorn energies.