Praise be to him, he is Supreme. But I return to our subject and say: know, if you perform your operation during the day, the Moon must be in the Ascendent, and the Ascendent must be in one of the day signs; at night it must be in one of the night signs. If the Ascendent is in one of the signs which rise straight-up it helps the operation and makes the action safe. If the Ascendent is in one of the signs which rise off-line it will make the operation more difficult. The success or failure of an operation is connected to the aspects of lucky and unlucky planets to the Moon. If the Ascendent is rising straight-up, but an unlucky planet is in it or aspecting it, the operation will fail or be more difficult. If the Ascendent is rising off-line, but lucky planets are in it or aspecting it, it furthers the operation. It works the same way with day & night signs if they are not rising in their own category. If lucky planets make aspects with them it balances the effect, and if unlucky planets make aspects with them it makes the effect worse. Whoever makes talismans should know, therefore, about straight-up or off-line rising signs, about fixed & mobile signs, about those signs with human forms, about day & night signs, about lucky & unlucky planets, and he should know what times the Moon is free of accidents, and which sign & planet is good for any given talisman or operation. He should further know about the eclipses of the Moon, for if he performs an operation for the good it should not be during a lunar eclipse nor when the Sun is too close to the Moon. He should know when to wait until the Moon is free of the node. To be free of the MoonÕs node means that the Moon is more than 12 degrees away from the rays of the Sun, and make sure that Mars or Saturn are not in one of these 12 degrees & that the Moon does not conjunct the Head [Caput Draconis] or the Tail [Cauda Draconis] & that it is no closer than 12 degrees to the opposition of the Sun. The worst condition is when the Moon is burnt [that is, within 12 degrees of the Sun]. Also be sure that the MoonÕs motion is not slow or difficult [that is, moving less than 12 degrees in a day]. In this case the MoonÕs movement would be similar to the movement of Saturn. The Moon is most badly burnt from 18d Libra to 3d Scorpio. Nor should the Moon be at the end of a sign; there she is in the precincts [termini] of the unlucky planets. Nor should the Moon fall down from the Midheaven to the 9th House. If you have to perform an operation immediately, without any waiting, then Jupiter & Venus should be in the Ascendent or Midheaven because they protect against the evil of the circumstances.