Al-Butain

Definition

Al-Butain is the second of the 28 Arabic lunar mansions — the manazil al-qamar, the stations the Moon passes through as it circles the zodiac. It sits in the tail of Aries, running from 12 degrees 51 minutes to 25 degrees 42 minutes of Aries. Its marker is the star Delta Arietis (Botein), at 21 degrees 07 minutes of Taurus in 2019. The Arabic name al-Buṭain (البطين) means "the little belly," named for where the mansion falls in the figure of Aries; the Latin Picatrix tradition passes it on as Allothaim or Albochan.

In Tradition

In Arabic-medieval and Renaissance-Latin magical astrology, Al-Butain is read as a mansion of reconciliation and calming, carrying the keyword "Universal Soul." Astrologers agree it is governed by a Mercury-Saturn blend (Ptolemy's reading of the tail of Aries) and is favorable for seeking favor from those in authority, easing anger, finding lost items, and healing — but unfavorable for unfinished buildings and for stirring up conflict. Agrippa's Three Books III.24 and Picatrix Book IV Ch 9 name its angelic Lord as Enediel, or Enedil.

In Practice

You find Al-Butain by checking the Moon's tropical longitude against its boundaries — 12 degrees 51 minutes to 25 degrees 42 minutes of Aries, or, if you precess to the sidereal zodiac, 21 to 29 of Taurus. The Moon in Al-Butain marks a window read as good for reconciliation, for winning over someone in authority, and for settling conflict. The Picatrix talisman shows a king seated on his diwan, which frames you as a petitioner approaching with tact and deference. In the Picatrix and Agrippa traditions, this is the timing you choose for guiding a conflict toward peaceful settlement, with the angelic Lord Enediel invoked.

Historical Origin

The 28-mansion system is attested in Arabic astronomy from the 8th-9th centuries and codified in al-Biruni's Kitāb al-Tafhīm (1029 CE). The talismanic, magical reading of Al-Butain in particular comes down through the Picatrix (Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm, 11th-century Arabic; Latin translation 13th century), Book IV Ch 9, and Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy III.24 (1531-33). Its modern English transmission is Christopher Warnock's The Mansions of the Moon (2010, 2019).

Further Reading

• Al-Biruni, Kitāb al-Tafhīm
• Christopher Warnock, The Mansions of the Moon
• Cornelius Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy