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Aleister Crowley Diary Entry Saturday, 15 March 1902
Met Astr[ologer]. and Geom[ance]r. Munshi Elabi Bux. He says. "Look hard at point on wall unwinking for many days, gradually increasing time. You will thus obtain hypnotic power even to D[eadly] & H[ostile] C[urrent] of W[ill]."
To Delhi 9.50.
Dreams. 1. Eastbourne return. Magic citation for divorce as co-respondent. On Thunderstorm and wind at Delhi.
The next day, Munshi Elahi Baksh, the astrologer and geomancer, called on me. His geomantic method was interesting. He obtained the "Mothers" not by points drawn in the sand or on paper, but by throwing little brass dice, four on a string, each side of which had one of the four possibilities of arranging points from two to four in number in two lines, one combination on each face. He had two such strings, and by putting them together, one obtained four figures, every possible variety being thus represented. He then proceeded in the ordinary way known to Westerns, though he gave different names to the figures, and attributed different qualities, though usually rather sympathetic: Puer, for example, he attributed to Saturn.
Above I have spoken of the dice as brass, and that is what they looked like; but he told me they were composed of "electrum magicum" as described by Paracelsus, prepared correctly by mixing the seven metals during the conjunction of their corresponding planets.
The same night I went on to Delhi, where I arrived the following morning.
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