Riches and honour are the promises of Mathers’s fourth Jupiter pentacle. A branching sigil, the angel Bariel and a silver engraving made under Jupiter in Cancer give this wealth-bearing design its particular character. [1]
Mathers 1889 · Book I, chapter XVIII; printed p. 62; figure 21, Plate IV; plate PDF page 73
To acquire riches and honour and possess abundant wealth; its angel is Bariel. [1]
Design
A branching magical sigil beneath IH, with Adoniel, Bariel and a small four-compartment square, enclosed by Psalm 112:3. [1]
Source reproduction The 4th Pentacle of Jupiter. IH crowns the branching sigil; Adoniel and Bariel accompany the small quartered square. Mathers 1889, Plate IV, figure 21; notice on p. 62.
Riches, honour and Bariel
The fourth Jupiter pentacle brings together material prosperity and honour: its notice promises the acquisition of riches and the possession of much wealth, and names Bariel as its angel. The requirement attached to it is unusually precise. The figure is to be engraved on silver in Jupiter’s day and hour, while Jupiter is in the sign Cancer. [1]
Silver makes this figure an exception to the chapter’s usual metal for Jupiter, tin. The book also preserves distinct timing rules: chapter VIII describes general pentacle preparation under Mercury, while chapter XVIII assigns metal engravings to their own planet’s day and hour. This pentacle’s individual notice adds Cancer to the Jupiter timing. [1]
The branching sigil and the quartered square
A tall magical character dominates the drawing. Two diagonal branches rise from its vertical stem, each ending in paired loops and crossed by shorter strokes; tiered crossbars finish the stem below. The Hebrew name IH, which Mathers renders Iah, stands above it. Mathers calls the central form a magical sigil. [1]
The smaller square at lower left is divided into four compartments. Bariel’s letters are arranged around it; the full name also appears to the right of the central stem. Adoniel is written beneath the square. A small six-pointed star marks the top of the circular verse band. [1]
Wealth in a righteous house
The circumference carries Psalm 112:3. Mathers translates it: “Wealth and Riches are in his house, and his righteousness endureth for ever.” Its wealth belongs, in the psalm, to a person who reveres God and delights in the commandments. Later lines describe lending, giving to the poor and lasting honour. The verse thus brings an ethical setting to a figure whose short notice is chiefly concerned with obtaining prosperity. [1][2]
The same verse surrounds Jupiter’s second pentacle, but the two designs do different work on the page. The second arranges divine names in a six-pointed figure and links wealth with glory, honours and peace of mind. The fourth gives prominence to a branching sigil, Adoniel and Bariel, and its own silver-and-Cancer prescription. [1]
S. L. MacGregor Mathers, 1889; printed edition, including editorial restoration of Hebrew characters. Book I, chapter XVIII, printed pp. 61–62; figure 21, Plate IV (PDF p. 73); construction context: chapter VIII, pp. 39–41, and chapter XVIII, pp. 56–57
