Pentacle of the Moon: Calm Waters Ward

Among the seven sets of pentacles catalogued in Book I of the Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis), the Pentacles of the Moon are set apart by their specific, practical promise: several are recorded as serving "against all perils and dangers by Water," offering protection to those who must cross, sail upon, or otherwise place themselves at the mercy of moving water. Each pentacle in the Solomonic system pairs a geometric figure — typically a hexagram or heptagram — with divine names of power ringed around its circumference, most commonly Shaddai El Chai and AGLA, alongside the sevenfold names associated with the Moon's governing intelligence, traditionally given as the archangel Gabriel in the wider Solomonic and Hermetic correspondence tables.

To construct the ward according to the grimoire's method, the pentacle is inscribed on virgin parchment in silver — the metal of the Moon — during a waxing lunar phase, when the Moon's influence is described as growing rather than waning. The names are lettered in a clean, unbroken hand, since the Key of Solomon insists throughout that the power of a pentacle lies in the correctness and sincerity of its inscription, not merely its geometry. Once lettered, the pentacle is fumigated with frankincense and myrrh and set beneath open sky or window to draw down the Moon's light directly onto the ink.

In practice, this pentacle is not a one-time working but a carried talisman: consecrated once under the proper conditions, it is worn on a silver cord against the chest or kept in a pocket whenever the bearer travels by boat, ferry, or swims in open water, or simply wishes to steady an anxious crossing. The Key of Solomon frames such pentacles as doorkeepers of the watery path — quiet, ongoing guardians rather than dramatic one-time invocations.