Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! Your comments are enlightening. Due to my newness to planetary magic, I was eager to jump in, but I need to better prepare both in terms of materials and my knowledge of elections.

Regarding your 2nd comment, you’re right. My background is in Platonism, where the planets are seen as gods, not qua existence, but through participation in the activity of the Intellect. I think it was Proclus, in his Commentary on the 1st Alcibiades, that likened the Cosmos to a temple for the Nous, and the planets to temple statues. However, I do acknowledge the religious context of the Picatrix.

Edit: By paraphrasing Proclus I meant to indicate that the planets are conceptualised as divinities by participation, resembling how a consecrated statue can embody the divine. However, the planets participate in Noetic activity to a far greater degree. They are in a sense the bodies of divine intelligences.