My series on the Arabic meanings of the Geomantic figures continues with Albus.
In my book Stars and Stones, I listed the Medieval Arabic names but didn’t explain their meanings. I was more focused on highlighting the work of Christopher Cattan, a Medieval geomancer who was more interested in astrological and elemental attributions. As I pointed out here, Cattan, like many other European geomancers, might have been hamstrung by literal translations from the original Arabic.
Albus Bayāḍ (بياض): Whiteness
In Europe, Albus meant white and it was associated with old age, wisdom, and a static form of mercury. However, Arabs had different ideas about what that symbol meant. Bayāḍ had the obvious colour meanings associated with purity, light, and clarity. It could describe anything from white clothing to the brightness of a shining object. However, the figure could go beyond that.
The meaning of the word
In calligraphy and manuscripts, bayāḍ referred to blank spaces or empty pages in a book. A scribe might call an unwritten scroll bayāḍ. It was associated with the shining of metal, gems, or celestial bodies.
White was associated with moral and spiritual purity, often contrasted with black, which could represent sin, ignorance, or hardship. Poets might use bayāḍ to symbolise renewal, a new beginning, or innocence. This takes us away from the European idea of Albus being the wise old man who sits in the forest and advises the hero but does not take part in the quest himself. Bayāḍ could be innocent and naïve – it could also be the start of something rather than its ending.
Bayāḍ was often (though not always) associated with clarity and detachment; it might metaphorically describe someone emotionally distant or cold-hearted, akin to how modern languages describe “icy” personalities. Though bayāḍ was not the standard word for ice (which was thalj, ثلج), medieval Arabs might have associated whiteness with frozen water, snow, and coldness in poetic, medical, or mystical contexts. However, given the climate of most Arabic-speaking regions, ice was rare and would not have been a cultural symbol tied to bayāḍ.
In Arabic poetry, a lover’s bayāḍ might refer to the beauty of their skin, the brightness of their smile, or the purity of their love.
In medieval marketplaces, bayāḍ could refer to valuable white goods like silver, pearls, fine linen, or even salt. In accounting, bayāḍ al-dafātir (the whiteness of ledgers) meant a debt-free or well-maintained account.
In Islamic eschatology, the faces of the righteous are described as turning white on the Day of Judgement (يوم تبيض وجوه وتسود وجوه – “The day some faces will be bright and others dark” – Quran 3:106). Saints and enlightened individuals were sometimes metaphorically described as possessing bayāḍ, meaning they had divine radiance or wisdom.
In alchemical texts, whiteness was one of the transformative stages of purification, often linked to silver and enlightenment.
In legal and political documents, bayāḍ refers to a space left for future writing. This could be important in readings where something has yet to be decided.
In medicine, the usually positive bayāḍ might refer to pallor, sickness, or skin diseases like vitiligo. Physicians might use bayāḍ to describe clear vision or, conversely, to refer to cataracts (a whitening of the eye).
Some care is needed here as Arabic medicine regarded cold and moist qualities (like those of ice) as being associated with phlegm (balgham, بلغم) rather than bayāḍ. However, a physician might describe a person who is pale and cold to the touch as having a “bayāḍ-like” complexion, indicating weakness or illness.
This means that in a geomancy reading, bayāḍ could indicate blessings, purity, or a new opportunity. White spaces in a book or a missing section of a text could symbolise unknown knowledge or divine mysteries yet to be revealed. It could warn of absence, loss, or a void where something should exist.
Reading
Bayāḍ’s core meanings of whiteness, brightness, or clarity mean that it symbolises purity, revelation, emptiness, or transformation in a reading.
It could indicate a moment of divine revelation, where hidden truths are made visible. It suggests that any confusion will lift, secrets will be exposed, or enlightenment will soon come. Since bayāḍ can also refer to a space (such as blank paper), an oracle showing Bayāḍ might suggest an unwritten fate, an unknown outcome, or a destiny yet to be decided. In some cases, bayāḍ might be linked to loss of memory, forgetfulness, or the erasure of something significant—whether a relationship, history, or personal identity.
Bayāḍ could indicate purification, spiritual renewal, or absolution from past sins. It might mean that the querent is undergoing a period of spiritual cleansing, leaving behind impurity or corruption. The transition from darkness to white could symbolise a new beginning, a major change in one’s life, or the purification of the soul before a great event.
In a relationship reading, Bayāḍ is neither purely good nor bad—it is a sign of potential, purity, and change. It may reveal that a relationship is sincere and fated, but it could also warn of emotional detachment or fading love. Much depends on the querent’s situation and the surrounding symbols in the reading.
For example, Bayāḍ could symbolise a relationship built on honesty, sincerity, and virtue, without deceit or hidden agenda. It may indicate that both partners have pure intentions and seek a deep, meaningful connection rather than mere physical attraction. Bayāḍ might indicate a new romance blossoming or a chance to start over after heartbreak. Since white is often associated with divine favour, bayāḍ in a romantic reading could mean that the relationship is protected and meant to be. If the querent has been longing for stability, bayāḍ suggests a relationship that brings peace, calmness, and emotional security rather than chaos and drama.
Negatively, Bayāḍ can symbolise emptiness or sterility, and suggest that a relationship lacks warmth, passion, or deep emotional connection. One or both partners may feel emotionally detached, indifferent, or uninterested, leading to a hollow or unfulfilling relationship. Just as white can symbolise a blank space, bayāḍ could indicate a love that is slowly disappearing, becoming pale and lifeless. It might mean that the intensity of passion is fading, and unless effort is made, the relationship could drift into nothingness.
If someone is asking about their partner’s emotions, bayāḍ might suggest that their lover is not revealing their true feelings. The person in question may be too reserved, hesitant, or afraid to open their heart, leading to misunderstandings or uncertainty.
If bayāḍ appears in a romantic reading, it might mean that the relationship’s future is still unwritten, uncertain, or undecided. The querent may need more clarity before knowing where things will lead.
In another bleak reading, the relationship may be platonic rather than romantic, built on friendship, duty, or respect but lacking desire and passion. One person may love the other in a pure but non-romantic way, like a spiritual or familial connection rather than passionate love.
If asking about a new love Bayāḍ suggests a pure and promising beginning, but the querent must nurture it to bring warmth and passion. If asking about a current relationship:
It could indicate a time of peace, renewal, or emotional distance, depending on surrounding signs. If the relationship feels stagnant, it might suggest the need for deeper emotional expression. If asking about a past love:
It could mean that the love has faded away, like a blank page where once there was passion. Alternatively, it could mean that the person still holds a place in their heart, even if they do not express it. If bayāḍ appears as an outcome card:
The relationship’s future is unclear or yet to be written, and external factors may influence its development. Final Thoughts on Bayāḍ in Love Divination
Negatively, bayāḍ might signify isolation, sterility, or lifelessness, much like a vast white desert or an empty snow-covered land. It could warn of loneliness, emotional distance, or a barren future. If linked to the afterlife, bayāḍ might represent the pale face of the dead, ghostly apparitions, or the world beyond. It could suggest that someone is nearing death or that spirits are close.
Bayāḍ generally in a Reading
Positive: Clarity, revelation, new beginnings, spiritual purity, divine protection.
Neutral: A blank future, something unwritten, a moment of waiting or indecision. Negative: Emptiness, coldness, loss, isolation, or even a death warning.
Bayāḍ would be a complex figure in an oracle, representing both blessings and voids, beginnings and endings, knowledge and forgetfulness. The meaning would depend on the figure’s placement, the question asked, and the surrounding signs in the reading.
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