Although often confused in everyday language, talismans, amulets, and seals correspond to distinct symbolic logics.
Their difference lies not only in the object’s form, but also in its intention, mode of action, and relationship to the sacred.
Talismans, amulets and seals
The Talisman
Attract, Channel, Align
Main Role
A magic square becomes a talisman not solely through its mathematical structure, but through its ritual, symbolic, and intentional use.
When it is inscribed, consecrated, or worn to produce a specific effect (protection, luck, spiritual influence), it is fully talismanic.
Uses
Planetary magic square engraved on metal.
Jupiter talisman for abundance.
Islamic Wafq accompanied by invocations.
Islamic Tradition (ilm al-ḥurūf and occult sciences)
The magic square is called wafq or awfāq (قافوأ).
It is used as a written talisman, often accompanied by Arabic letters, divine names (al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā), and Quranic verses (in some schools).
Classical References
Aḥmad al-Būnī (Shams al-Maʿārif).
Al-Ghazālī (symbolic use and spiritual).
Andalusian and Ottoman magico-astrological manuscripts.
Functions
Protection against evil.
Healing.
Opening of paths.
Material or spiritual success.
In traditional Islam, the square is talismanic only if it is subordinate to divine invocation and a spiritual ethic.
Western Hermetic and Magical Tradition (Renaissance)
The magic square is a planetary seal, and is therefore associated with a planet.
It is often engraved on the metal corresponding to the planet.
Saturn → lead,
Jupiter → tin,
Venus → copper,
etc.
Uses
Astrological talismans.
Amulets of planetary influence.
Theurgic work (harmonization with celestial intelligences).
The Amulet
Protect, Repel, Neutralize
This is an object intended to protect against a negative influence: bad luck, the evil eye, illnesses, invisible attacks.
The magic square becomes a protective device. It does not attract a particular force, but stabilizes the space and repels influences perceived as chaotic or harmful.
The square acts as a wall of order.
Symbolic Mode of Action
Numerical order neutralizes disorder.
The square imposes a fixed structure.
It symbolically closes the gaps.
It relies more on the presence of the symbol than on a complex ritual.
Traditions concerned
Popular and Sufi Islam (hijab, taʿwīdh).
African and Middle Eastern traditions.
Domestic or bodily use.
Uses
A 3x3 square worn against the evil eye.
Written on paper, folded, sewn into fabric.
Without strict astrological timing.
The square repels and neutralizes.
The Seal
Authorize, command, structure
Main Role
A seal is a symbol of authority and connection.
It does not directly protect or attract by itself: it identifies, fixes, and seals a force, a name, or a principle.
The square becomes a symbolic enclosure.
Symbolic Mode of Action
The square defines a sacred legal framework.
It prevents the dispersion of the invoked force.
It acts as a cosmic signature.
The square is often secondary to the seal it contains.
Related Traditions
Western ceremonial magic.
Practical Kabbalah (indirectly).
Scholarly theurgy.
Uses
Planetary seal inscribed in the center of a square.
Square used as a stabilizing base.
An object not worn, but used in a ritual.
Squares and Magic
It is the symbol of the created world, of the fixed, the solidified, of the Earth, while the circle is the uncreated, the subtle, the permanent, movement, Heaven.
The square is a boundary; it is a totality in itself.
The birth chart was presented in the form of a square until the 19th century.
The ROTAS Square
"The square is the figure of space, the circle is that of time, of eternity." »
Numerical Squares
There are several families of magic squares:
- Even-based squares: Jupiter/4, Sun/6, Mercury/8, Earth/10, etc.
- Odd-based squares: Saturn/3, Mars/5, Venus/7, Moon/9, etc.
- Kabbalistic squares: their base is the number of their Sephirah.
Creating the square
Cabalistic circle of Saturn
The so-called "Natural" square is constructed
We place the consecutive numbers from right to left and from top to bottom.
We construct the "starting" square
Base: 3
Number of squares: 9
Planetary number (sum of each row, column, or diagonal): 15
Secret number (sum of the numbers in the square): 45
Equilibrium number*: 10
* For each number written in a square, there is a complementary number written in the symmetrical square. The sum of the two numbers is called the "Equilibrium number."
The hidden sign is obtained by connecting the numbers in each row of the Natural square in order.
Row 1: 1, 2, 3 Row 2: 4, 5, 6 Row 2: 7, 8, 9
For Saturn:
The secret sign is obtained by connecting the numbers in each column of the Natural Square in order.
Column 3: 1, 4, 7 Column 2: 2, 5, 8 Column 1: 3, 6, 9
For Saturn:
Quelques carrés planétaires
SATURNE : [3|9|15|45] - structure, time, protection
4 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
8 |
1 |
6 |
JUPITER: [4|16|34|136] - abundance, justice
MARCH: [5|25|65|325] - strength, courage
SUN: [6|36|111|666] - radiance, success
VENUS: [7|491175|1225] - love, harmony
MERCURY: 8 - intelligence, communication
MOON: [9|81|369|3321) - intuition, dreams
