Book Discussion Has anyone read 36 Faces by Austin Coppock

[Kelodo]

Hi, has anyone read 36 faces by Austin Coppock? If so would you share thoughts and whether you would consider it essential reading.

Many thanks in advance

 

[stalkinghyena]

I have just now heard of this book, thanks to you. It looks like the first printings are out of stock, so I will keep it on my wish list. It sounds like that by the treatment of it, the author does historical analysis of the evolution of the Faces, which I am very interested in. I already have a variety of sources on them, and consider them crucial in the study of astrological magic. It would be nice to have an author who ties them all together in a usable narrative, though I will have to reserve judgement on its essentiality until I read it.

Thanks for mentioning it!

 

[Kelodo]

Thank you! The edition I have found is extremely pricey. I may have to delve into the corners of the Internet to find a pdf to tide me over.
Yes I agree with you re an other author tying it all together.
If you find anything please let me know

 

[stalkinghyena]

If you don't have them, there are two versions of Picatrix in the WF Library, if you do not have them. I believe Book 2, Chapter 11 are good sources for the faces, upon which many modern sources are based. There are also variants.

 

[Kelodo]

Thank you Stalkinghyena, I shall have a look for those.

 

[freetheflowofinfo]

I recently found a handy pdf of the book after searching for it on Anna's Archive.

There are multiple links but the one to zlibrary seemed to be the easiest one to manage downloading from.

Hope the access helps with developing your opinion on the book!

 

[Xenophon]

I recently found a handy pdf of the book after searching for it on Anna's Archive.

There are multiple links but the one to zlibrary seemed to be the easiest one to manage downloading from.

Hope the access helps with developing your opinion on the book!

I was just going to say I found it at Anna's Archive!

Could that be will o' the wisp synchronicity? Or just the mundane ol' search algorithims spitting out the same results for the same keywords? I mean if Al Crowley hadn't squished that butterfly between his buttocks Indian leg-rasseling Chorazon there in the Algerian desert, who knows what my search mighta turned up? Mebbe the Necronomicon in the uralt Arabic, I'm hazarding.

 

[stalkinghyena]

Synchro = yep. I was researching this just last week, hoping for at least a preview of the images. On first skim, not what I expected nor traditional as I have encountered them, though they are interesting and call for a full read. The tables could be useful.

 

[Pyrokar]

E yo... hold up. Faces?
I have never heard about this
Can someone give me a little explanation?
@stalkinghyena ?

 

[stalkinghyena]

E yo... hold up. Faces?
I have never heard about this
Can someone give me a little explanation?
@stalkinghyena ?

Sure thing. For each of the 12 Zodiac signs there are 3 divisions of 10 degrees, giving 36 "faces". Each one of these "faces" is an astrological-magical image, and these have planetary associations.

An example of a face would be in the First Decan of Aries is a restless black man with a red mantle bearing an axe. The second face is a woman with one leg. The third is a man with golden bracelets who is restless and frustrated because he is prevented from doing good.

Ancient magicians would often engrave these images on gems to produce talismans, though other media could be used. The tradition of faces is believed to be rooted in ancient Egypt, and is hinted at in the Corpus Hermeticum, but over time they have kind of mutated into different strains. My go to for the faces is Picatrix Book 2, Chapter 11, with additional powers in Chapter 12. Agrippa also lists the faces, according to "Teucer of Babylon" in his Occult Philosophy, Book 2, Chapter XXXVII, though these differ a bit from Picatrix.

The easiest place for quick reference of these faces is Crowley's 777 Columns CXLIX, CL, and CLI, which gives path associations on the Hermetic TOL. Whitcomb's Magician's Companion Model 36 gives all the same associations in an easier format.

Here is a Rennaissance example from the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara Italy, dated from the 15th century. Note that the bull of Taurus is center bottom and the faces are the human figures around it.

 

[Pyrokar]

Super concise, excellent references even in chapters.
I would give you a medal if i could.
I thought it was something about actual faces hahaha
Thank you for explaining, sorry for derailing the thread.