Nine separate characters occupy a square grid beneath a Latin verse of dominion. The French notice places this pentacle under Mars and promises invulnerability to its wearer. [1]
French manuscript, BnF Français 25314; digitized original · BnF Français 25314, manuscript p. 92; digitized scan 54.
Pentacle profile
Tradition and Group
French Solomonic tradition · BnF Français 25314 [1]
Position within the Set
Manuscript p. 92, facing the portrait of the Eternal on p. 93. [1]
Attributed Purpose
Invulnerability for the wearer; the manuscript places the figure under Mars. [1]
Design
A three-by-three square of distinct characters inside a circular Latin inscription. [1]
Source reproduction The pentacle under Mars. Français 25314, p. 92.
The iron pentacle and its wearer
The French notice prescribes a thin, well-polished iron plate. It promises that the person carrying the pentacle will be invulnerable and credits Emperor Charles V with having used it successfully for a long time. The same notice says that it was long kept in Innsbruck. [1]
The design faces a portrait pentacle whose notice specifies lion skin and the day and hour of the Sun. [1]
Nine cells and different characters
Two vertical and two horizontal dividers make a three-by-three grid. The upper row contains rectangular forms with a T-shaped cap, crossed diagonals or a hooked lower stroke. The middle row has an upright triangle, a curved double arc and an inverted triangle, each joined to other short strokes. [1]
Below them, the left-hand cell carries a crossed and hooked character; the other two contain upright triangles with different lower attachments. Each cell holds its own figure. A circular band of Latin surrounds the whole square, beginning after a loop-ended cross at the top. [1]
The verse of dominion
The rim reads “Et dominabitur a Mari usque ad Mare & a flumine usque ad terminos orbis terrarum”: dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. [1]
Mathers prints the same verse of dominion around the second pentacle of Saturn, where it accompanies the five-by-five SATOR square. He identifies it as Psalm 72:8 in English numbering. In Français 25314, the verse surrounds nine graphic characters, while the French notice assigns the object to Mars. [1][2]
French manuscript, BnF Français 25314; digitized original. Manuscript p. 92: complete figure, Latin rim and French notice; adjacent p. 93 for the portrait prescription. Digitized scan 54.
The manuscript page preserves the figure with its Latin inscription and French notice.
S. L. MacGregor Mathers, 1889; printed edition, including editorial restoration of Hebrew characters. Book I, chapter XVIII, second pentacle of Saturn: figure 12 and editorial note, printed p. 59; facsimile PDF p. 68.
