Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's getting on for midnight as I write this, so we can proceed with a new Magic Monday. Let's start things out with a quote again: 

 

"Discipline has long been interpreted as self-control, or as some would say, "the overcoming of the lower nature.' The difficultiy is that such words as 'conquest' and 'overcoming' suggest an entirely inconsistent aggressiveness of technique.  The true metaphysician is not a wearied man wrestling with his lower nature; rather he is poised and relaxed, achieving through realization instead of conflict.  Avoid the process of suffering your way into a spiritual state." 

 

That's from Manly P. Hall's Self-Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization, arguably Hall's best book and one of the classics of the Golden Age of American occultism. (The image to the left, on the other hand, is one of Augustus Knapp's splendid illustrations for Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages.)     

Ask me anything about occultism and I'll do my best to answer it. Any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer. (Any question received after then will not get an answer, and will likely just be deleted.) If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 143,916th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.0 of The Magic Monday FAQ here.

 

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use the button below to access my online tip jar. If you're interested in political and economic astrology, or simply prefer to use a subscription service to support your favorite authors, you can find my Patreon page here and my SubscribeStar page here.

With that said, have at it!

***This Magic Monday is now closed -- see you next week!***

***AHEM. THIS POST IS CLOSED. Please quit with the political bickering!***

And don't forget to look up your Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature at CosmicOom.com!

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I occasionally have a very strange occurrence where I will go out for the day and almost every member of the opposite sex seems to be incredibly sexually attractive. This only happens for about one day every two or three years, but it is really a quite unpleasant and disconcerting experience that tends to have a long after-effect. It is unpleasant because it makes me feel powerless and unattractive (water, water all around and not a drop to drink), and it undermines any sense I have of self-control.

Before I learnt about magic I just used to think that this was merely a statistical phenomenon, i.e. on a certain day all the hot people just happen to come out at once, but I now think that something much odder is going on. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason why this event happens (i.e. I'm not inebriated or anything), but it does seem to be seasonal - it usually happens in late August or early September, which is shortly after my birthday.

Do you have any idea what might be going on, JMG?

[ecosophia]

You might look at your natal chart and see if the Sun aspects your natal Venus or the ruler of your 5th house at that time of year. As for what it is, it's the energetic equivalent of beer goggles -- your energy is ready to polarize, and so it polarizes with anybody even remotely suitable and makes them look hot to you. Treat it as a temporary inebriation.

prayers and all

[(Anonymous)]

So I have a question for JMG and other people with experience...I've never had the experience in my life of being in spiritual contact with a god or a subtle being (maybe once or twice but I'm not very sure) so I was wondering what attitude and type of headspace I should devellop in order to pray with success. Also, how do I really come into contact with those living forces of the cosmos instead of it being me projecting my own expectations of what they should be, or look like, in a sort of wishful thinking ? How do I worship them as spontaneous living forces instead of symbols ? (maybe my questions are a little naïve, im very new to all this :))

Re: prayers and all

[neptunesdolphins]

Well, I can share some observations as a Polytheist. My experience is that some Gods are recruiters for the rest - Odin, Sekmet, Hekate. Odin recruited me and then left. I felt adrift, but I kept reading about Norse religions, and exploring other Polytheistic religions. I set up a basic altar, lit candles, and made offerings of food and incense. Then I was invited to a Roman ritual, and got zapped by Neptune.

It turns out that the Roman Gods wait in the background for people to first get their feet wet and set up devotions. Other Pantheons are like that as well - the Mesopotamian Gods.

I would notice things in fours. When I was in doubt about Neptune, I researched what his animals, etc were. And said to myself, if this God wants me, He will let me know. Later, I was assigned to teach at Navy Elem. School, whose mascot was a dolphin. Then my husband got a cash bonus and bought a Neptune doll. Well it goes on like that....

As for the rest, some are subtle in that you keep getting a nudge here and there. Pay attention to odd nudges. Some are more direct. The Morrigan kept trying to get my attention through ravens and crows eating refuse. Then She threw me out of bed, and then next day I promptly set up an altar to Her.

Remember that They are bigger, older than you are. And respect them.

[(Anonymous)]

What sort of things can carry death energy, and when is it dangerous? I would assume meat has it but can still be safely eaten. What about wearing leather or having cremated ashes in the home?

[ecosophia]

Everything that is living has some death energy -- we're dying every day we live, you know. Death is normal and natural, and unless concentrated, its energies are no problem. The references I've made to death energy are purely in an alchemical context, and have to do with the notion of making alchemical tinctures from fungi, which is a bad idea. Unless you're practicing alchemy, don't worry about it.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Mr Greer

I have two questions:

1) Is there a "silent version" of SoP? Daily practice of SoP, let say on vacations with friends, may be difficult, especially if I want to keep this in secrecy from them.

2) Manly P. Hall writes in a "Self Unfoldment...": "If you already have practiced occult exercises given out by schools, movements or individuals, it is asked that you discontinue during the study of this book. It is impossible to mix systems of metaphysical disciplines".
Is it possible to study "Self Unfoldment.." and practice daily SoP, discursive meditation or divination?

[ecosophia]

1) Sure. Do all the movements and visualizations, and imagine yourself saying and vibrating the words. If you're ever in a place where there's no room to do the movements -- for example, one of those little sleeping rooms on a train -- just visualize yourself doing the movements as well.

2) No. As I noted in response to another post earlier, if you're going to follow the teachings of a book or a teacher, follow them exactly, without any tinkering. Hall says "Don't do any other exercises with these," and he knew what he was talking about.

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG,

I have a few questions:

1. For the vibratory formula of the middle pillar, I'm doing it to invoke the names of God corresponding to the elements, as a series of elemental workings/initiations along with the respective elemental opening/closing and greater pentagram rituals (I have been adding each component gradually, starting with once a week, then progressing carefully so I avoid "overtraining").

When imagining the Name in the Heart center, should it actually be visualized from my left to right on my body, since, if I were viewing myself from the front (like if I'd backed into the Tree), left and right would be reversed? That way the Hebrew letters would be traced on the heart center on my body from right to left if someone was viewing me from the front.

2.For my vibratory formula sequence, what is the best way to use it for invoking Spirit? I could invoke Eheieh and then Agla separately on different days (say, Eheieh 3 times, then AGLA 3 times) or alternatively, both in the same working?

3. I considered invoking each Name into a sphere corresponding to the specific element (Yesod for Water, for example) rather than just the heart, so I get stronger effects from the additional elemental symbolism.

What are you thoughts? Stick with the heart center since Tiphareth is the center of imagination and the conscious mind (and therefore, the best place to balance/invoke each elemental energy?) and that's where the energies should be manifested, before the revolutions of the breath through the Malkuth center? Although, perhaps invoking the Name at different centers for each element could lead to each element being expressed more on different parts of the Self (astral vs etheric, for Tiphereth vs Yesod, for example), so perhaps my idea is a bad one.

4. For the elemental tools, I had previously made and consecrated some according to the instruction from Kraig's Modern Magick several years ago. The chalice I used is metal. I don't know what kind, it looks like steel for the cup part with some sort of alloy for the base. Do you think this is ok for holding an etheric charge for the consecrations? I imagine ceramic would be better suited to holding a charge, but since I already made these (hand painted them myself with all the elemental names and symbolism so it was a lot of work!) I'd like to use them if possible.

As always, thank you for Magic Mondays!

[ecosophia]

Delighted to see somebody working the vibratory formula! That's been neglected by too many would-be Golden Dawn mages.

1) Do it whichever way you like. I've done it both ways with equally good results.

2) I'd do them separately, as they tap into different aspects of Spirit.

3) Use Tiphareth. You need to integrate them.

4) If you've already made and consecrated them, keep using them! Metal is very good at holding an etheric charge -- that's why old-fashioned talismans were so often made of metal.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

What do you think about the Black Athena book and the "Eurocentrism vs Afrocentrism" debate?

[ecosophia]

Academics are always getting into squabbles like that -- it's a standard move in the savage internal politics you get in every discipline. My working assumption in such cases is that both sides are wrong, and the best thing to do is to bracket the whole question until the people involved die or retire and a new generation of scholars can roll their eyes at the whole business and sort things out.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG! When I was a kid I was in an accident, which left me in low-grade chronic pain (a 3-4 out of 10, I would put it as). It doesn't interfere with my everyday life, but it's constant -- it never goes away, not with any medication or analgesic; and next year it will be 40 years since the accident. I am wondering if it was a way for me to pay back karma, or if it was just an unlucky coincidence.

[ecosophia]

"Belief in coincidence is the principal superstition of the age of science." For whatever reason, you have some karma that can best be worked off through the experience of living with pain. That sucks, but if you accept it and recognize that it's there for a reason, you can expedite the clearing process and be ready to go on to your next life in much better shape.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello,

I'm about three weeks into Learning Ritual Magic and have a couple of questions, if I may:

1) Opening and closing rituals. I'm having a little trouble with formulating the intention of opening/closing my inner faculties. I think I'm lacking a concept or visualisation of what this means - perhaps I'm a bit vague on the meaning of 'inner faculties'. Are there any useful wordings or ways of visualising it you could suggest?

2) Attention exercise. I've found adding in the rhythmic breathing quite uncomfortable. Specifically, during the stillness at the end of the outbreath, I get a slightly unpleasant twitchy feeling in the solar plexus area. Could I be holding a lot of tension there, and is this something that should improve with daily practice? Are there any other breathing exercises you could suggest to overcome these tensions?

Thank you.

[ecosophia]

1) Don't worry about that. Do the exercises and let them shape your intention on a subconscious level. The "inner faculties" are the magical senses you don't yet know you have.

2) The breathing exercise is doing its job, I see! Excellent; as you become aware of the tension you hold in your solar plexus, you'll find that it dissolves gradually on its own. No, you don't need any other breathing exercises, as that one is doing exactly what it's supposed to.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

This morning after my daily SOP, I sat down for the relaxation exercise before meditation, and I could feel a point between my eyebrows, just very slightly to the left, at the surface. Not a pain, just a slight and not unpleasant pressure. For a few seconds my mind kept flicking back and forth between awareness of this point, and a sphere inside my head at the center. I remembered then that this might be something to do with the awakening, or sensation of, the pineal gland. Does it sound like that to you?

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

The pineal gland is at the center of the head, a little above the floor of the skull, and more or less between the ears. The point between the eyebrows is the energy center linked to the pituitary gland, which is much further forward. Those two interact in complicated ways -- there's a little tubular opening that allows secretions from each of them to reach the other. You might have had some stirrings of the awakening of those glands, yes.

Christian Druid path

[(Anonymous)]

If someone was interested in exploring becoming a Christian Druid where should one start looking? What sort of path would work? What are the potential pitfalls?

Thanks as always

Will O

Re: Christian Druid path

[ecosophia]

You probably need to find a Christian Druid to talk to, and I'm not one. I don't know of any resources available in print, other than the first chapter of the Gospel of John; there are a fair number of Christian Druids these days, but they seem to be fairly quiet.

Assorted Bag

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG!
RE: "if I ever get a large enough following, I’ll look for a nice small college to buy for pennies on the thousand-dollar bill and turn into a Druid polystery (we don’t do monasteries) and school of ecological wizardry. There will likely be quite a few of them on the market in the next decade or so." -JMG
I will gladly volunteer to join.

Any updates on a possible upcoming book from you about physical cultivation? Really looking forward to hearing your discussion on the topic

Thank you for everything you do

--my name today is vascular bundle alien

Re: Assorted Bag

[ecosophia]

1) I've had a few people express interest, but it's going to take a couple of million dollars,and at least a hundred people willing to relocate and work hard for several years for very little if any pay, to make that happen.

2) It's a possibility, but it may be a while and I have a lot of other books to write. Have you considered doing the work, developing your own writing abilities, and writing it yourself?

Random

[youngelephant]

Hello JMG! Hope you have a magical Monday.
1. How does one develop the mental body and why does it's development allow for choosing the next incarnation? Did some searching around and found nothing concrete. I imagine studying philosophy, occult philosophy so that one can extract meaning out of complex language would develop it. Not sure about the incarnation piece though.

2. Over the last month or so I've repeatedly heard things from celibacy communities about hair and beards acting as a subtle energy antenna/conductor/facilitator/whatever. I think they draw on Eastern religions for those ideas. Is it true? I got my haircut before I saw this idea and didn't get to watch for any energy differences. You have long hair and a beard which makes me think you've noticed something about it. What do you think and what does western occultism say on the matter?

3. More of a fun story/question - Couple weeks ago I had an out of body experience and the first thing I saw was my puppy. We both took off flying with her leading the way. It was great fun. Then last night I was still awake and trying to fall asleep and my puppy was asleep. All of a sudden I see her energetic body jumping on me trying to play. This only lasted a couple seconds before I opened my eyes to see if she was actually awake (she wasn't). When I first adopted her, I swear I was dreaming her dreams. Do all animals leave their bodies during sleep?

Re: Random

[jruss]

I’m interested in the first part myself. I’m almost forty, time to start thinking of the here after and what comes next.

What spiritual work comes over with us? Will training? Magical ability? Powers developed?

How much memory and such can we bring over?

[(Anonymous)]

You have said that when people try to worship or practise magic calling on pop-culture characters, they contact an egregor, or sometimes malign spirits.

When people worship obscure deities about whom there is almost no historical record barring a name, what are the dangers of something similar happening, especially to inexperienced practitioners?

Could this have been a problem with early revivals of some less-documented pantheons who are now quite popular, for instance Celtic or Slavic?

[robertmathiesen]

Just a small comment on a single minor point here:

The present-day speakers of Slavic languages are not all descendants of a single ancestral stock. In central Europe they come from multiple non-Slavic ancestral stocks: Celts, Balts, Germans, Scandinavians, Finns, Estonians, etc. etc. In North-Eastern-most Europe, chiefly in Russia, where the use of Russian became wide-spread only in historical times, the underlying ancestral stocks include many more non-Indo-European ones than just Finns and Estonians. In consequence of this, the pre-Christian pantheons and religions of the peoples who now speak Slavic languages, so far as we can find traces of them in the oldest records, were many and varied, not a single unified thing. Many or all of these regional variations may not have been Slavic originally. Any "Slavic" pantheon you may find described in books is no such thing in actual fact, but a semi-scholarly blend of disparate pieces of evidence. (The "semi-scholarly" shoe often fits even when some of the authors were eminent academics. The best scholars confine their reconstructions to very small territories or social circles.)

Your post on synchronicity

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, Your post on Jung's concept of synchronicity blew my mind a few weeks back (a familiar feeling; I've been reading your blogs for years and have had my mind blown numerous times). Do I understand correctly that you're proposing (or that Jung was proposing) a scientifically comprehensible basis for the operation of magic? I need to be clear on that because I'm giving a talk on magic to my UU congregation this coming Sunday and I'd like to reference your post. I hope you'll wish me luck in that.

Thank you very much, for the post and for your reply.
Country Mouse

Re: Your post on synchronicity

[ecosophia]

You're quite correct. Jung knew exactly what he was doing, too. His doctoral dissertation was on the psychology of occult phenomena; he was an expert astrologer, and his psychotherapeutic methods use a lot of standard occult practices -- active imagination, mandalas (we call those "talismans"), and so on. Good luck with your talk!

[inavalon]

I’ve had several weird, mildly disturbing dreams recently and each time, I wake up wondering if this has something to do with “astral gunk.” How does one go about cleaning up astral gunk?

[ecosophia]

A daily banishing ritual, of course!

Where to begin

[stcathalexandria]

I ordered the Learning Ritual Magic book on the 30th using the link to your publisher. Now after reading the FAQ I wonder if I did the best thing for myself to start my studies. In the outline of the three different groups I see the progression and wonder if I should have started with a different book. Do you have a matching quiz to type of magical study? I get overwhelmed by the options and worry about making the right choice in general.

Re: Where to begin

[ecosophia]

No, I don't have a matching quiz. Let me tell you a little secret: it doesn't matter which sequence you choose. It really doesn't. Now that you've ordered Learning Ritual Magic, stick with that and with the sequence that follows from it, and you'll go just as far and just as fast as if you'd done either of the others.

[(Anonymous)]

More of a musing than a question... As I mentioned before, I am drawn to the Sumerian Mes and as I meditate on them, am getting many insights. When I first approached them, I understood from what I was reading (Wikipedia, etc.) that they were decrees of the gods to organize civilization (the outer realm). When I asked the Ogham fews if I should pursue this, the answer was Beith reversed: don't bother, it's a waste of time. Yet I continued to be drawn to them, musing about them.

Then I realized that they were about the inner realm, and I asked the Ogham fews if I was on the right path, and got Muin upright.

I see the mes now as a system to open portals in the hardwiring of humans through which the gods may communicate and direct our growth.

Most of the Mes relate to the temple experience that visitors would have, very carefully selected to produce a certain response. For example, specific musical instruments have specific responses in humans: drums produce a visceral response that invite us to action, to dance or go to war. Trumpets wake us up, piercing our awareness to announce something. The harp relaxes us and carries us away to states beyond words. These work because of how humans are hardwired. While these instruments may not be exactly the ones listed in the mes, I find it important that very specific musical instruments are given in the list of mes, and think they were used deliberately in the temples to tap into those portals in the human psyche through which the gods speak. Hence my interest in meditating on how they work.

Also, the list is given in a certain order and it seems to me that order is very important.

The first is ENship and relates to the role the priestess or priest (the term relates to both sexes) played. The early Sumerians were ruled by the god or goddess of their city, and the same person was both priest(ess) and ruler.

However, the second Me, Godship, made no sense until I read that the En invoked the patron god to take possession and then channeled that god to rule through her or him.

The symbols of the crown, staff, garment, throne, etc., seems to trigger in humans a response that would reinforce this, and continues to this day except that they are applied to other humans and have hence becomes symbols of oppression in some cases.

Interesting to me is that Shepherdship is above Kingship in the list, meaning that the god is interested in taking care of his sheep (a concept the Christians took and ran with), not lording it over the way we've come to think of kingship.

I won't go on, but you get the idea. I feel I have just scratched the surface in a very amateurish way. I am not a scholar, and don't have time to pursue this study. I have no wish to recreate what the Sumerians did, but I am interested in understanding how it worked for them. So I will continue to muse on it as I go about my day.

I welcome any thoughts you may have, and any gentle suggestions on the direction I should go in, or books to read. I have no doubt you have pierced through to a much deeper understanding of this, if not of the mes themselves, then of other systems that say the same things, and that you would recognize in the mes.

Thanks, Myriam

[ecosophia]

I don't have any particular thoughts, nor should you be asking me or any other person for guidance here. You've chosen your path; now follow it, and let the path show you where it wants you to go.

Geomancy and LRM

[(Anonymous)]

Good Morning Mr Greer,

I'm currently working through Learning Ritual Magic and was wondering if it would be advisable or inadvisable to begin learning geomancy from Earth Divination, Earth Magic?

Frater Nobody

Re: Geomancy and LRM

[ecosophia]

It's neither advisable nor inadvisable. You can do that if you want, or not. It certainly won't hurt, but you'll still have to finish all the work in LRM in order to reap the rewards of your labor.

The King is Orange

[neptunesdolphins]

I know little about the "King in Yellow" until I looked it up.

That got me to pondering about the piddletwits that I knew. They refused to utter Trump's name or even refer to him as "President." They had all sorts of names for He who is Orange. At first, I just figure it was like the people who had names for Obama like Obumer. But those people did call Obama, Obama from time to time.

Whenever I would refer to Trump in conversations with them, I felt like I was crossing a taboo. Especially if I said, "Donald Trump," "Mr. Trump," or the President. It was like I was ushering in a dread presence in their lives.

However, they would talk endlessly about the Orange Guy as if he was sitting on their heads. Or as I put it - owning their heads and charging them rent for their own heads.

What was going on? If they uttered President Trump's name, would something awful happen? Would they be invoking His Dread Orangeness?

But if that was true, then why all of the rituals and curses to get rid of Donald Trump? I don't get it.

I also noticed that the humor contests in the Washington Post also do this - never refer to the Orange Guy except by odd names.

Does the Dread Orange One have powers that are beyond my ken? I just thought that Donald Trump was a human being who is the U.S. President. Are these piddletwits creating a God or are they picking up on something?

Heliotrope Palpitating Raccoon

Re: The King is Orange

[(Anonymous)]

I wonder what would happen if you were to insistently refer to him as "the 45th President of the United States of America, Mr Donald J. Trump" to these people. Please experiment and find out.

[(Anonymous)]

before I started LRM, I was practicing lucid dreaming. I've abandoned those practices in full focus of LRM, but I still dream journal everyday. Outside of the benefits of documentation, how can this be beneficial to future Golden Dawn training?

[ecosophia]

You can use lucid dreaming for every purpose that the standard Golden Dawn system assigns to scrying and pathworking. W.B. Yeats did that -- he found he had no talent for scrying, and so worked out an elaborate system of inducing symbolic dreams. I don't think the details of his system have survived, but once you've finished LRM, consider resuming lucid dreaming and trying to use it to explore the elements and the Tree of Life.

CGD meditation

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG ! So I've been doing the daily practice of the CGD for about a month now and its been going very well ! Im wondering, is that ok if I meditate with my eyes closed ? I never really feel sleepy during meditation and have been doing it that way with consistant good results so far (like goood insights that I did not expect !). If I keep my eyes opened I get distracted by the stuff thats in my room...

2)There's something I have been feeling more intensely with the practice going along...Its a type of sensations that are felt like emotions but that are much richer and textured. They are like a sense in that they arise when I see or imagine something specific and they can be very diverse and complex, kind of like a rich smell or taste. It can be like a "vibe" or an atmosphere from a moment or a place or something like a field oozing from a single object like a tree or a building. Those sensation feel often meaningful, interesting and pleasurable, its very very rare that they bring disconfort or tedium. They were very common when I was a kid and Ive felt them a lot less since my teenage years.(or was less aware of them) They really are like fields that re-enchant the world. I realized that there were one of those sensations attached to each of the 4 elements and that it was easy to "link" them to their triangular symbols. Ive been also visualizing that when calling the 4 gardians in the LRP and it added a lot more punch ! So what is that thing ? Upper astral ? Synestesia ? Just me describing in a pretentious way feelings that everyone is conscious of all the time but simply badly articulated in modern languages ?

Re: CGD meditation

[ecosophia]

1) Some people get better results meditating with open eyes, some with closed. By all means do whatever works best for you.

2) You have unusually active astral senses; that usually means that you practiced occultism in a recent life. Good; you'll have an easier time with the whole range of magical work.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

For the millionth time, thank you once again for this fantastic weekly resource.

1) Why is randomization considered important in divination? Why shuffle the cards or scramble the symbols instead of presenting the unconscious with the images that we want to manifest? I imagine the latter case would be ineffective and defeat the purpose of the divination, but why is this so? Do the deeper layers of the mind like to be surprised by the outcome? Is it a question of greater emotional investment in an uncertain outcome?

2) This is a question for JMG and the commetariat, but I’m wondering if anyone has any resources for more intermediate psychological astrology. Much of the material that I’ve come across is introductory, retreading the basics in different ways. I’m looking for something that focuses more on the art of chart interpretation once the basics have been learned and assimilated: how do you grasp the overall meaning of a chart instead of playing around with the individual pieces?

3) In a similar vein, does anyone know any good resources on divination from a Jungian perspective? Particularly Tarot or astrology as those are my main systems at the moment.

4) When vibrating words of power, how important is it to make each syllable equal in length? I noticed that I usually hold the last syllable for a longer period, for example, "Ye-ho-waaaaaaaah" Is this a mistake?

[ecosophia]

1) Because it's not actually random. When you shuffle the cards, the shuffle is controlled by unconscious micromovements of your hands. That way the deeper levels of your mind can control which cards come out. They're not surprised -- they know exactly what they want to communicate to you. Remember that divination is a way of listening, not of talking!

2) That isn't something I've studied, so I can't help you. Anyone else?

3) Well, there's a book collecting everything Jung wrote about astrology -- would that be helpful?

4) Experiment and see what results you get!

Wedding Preparations

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG!

I hope you're doing well!

I'm making the handfasting amulet from ENM and I have a question.

It's a bit late in the season for Yarrow flowers where I live. I gathered some that have browned, but not yet gone to seed. Still suitable for the amulet? Should I use another venutian substitute?

The couple and I have also settled on some fairly traditional ceremonies from some "American Marriage Ministries" materials, and there is no death symbolism aside from some halloweeny headstones in the reception areas, which I don't believe will affect the ceremony. (Though the bride does choose to dress in black)

It's going to be a small affair with mostly just family present, and I think its going to go well!

The couple has also requested that I smudge them, and the general area of the wedding, with sage. This is something I haven't done before. Do you or the commentariat have any suggestions for this?


Thank you JMG, and everyone, in advance!

-WindMan

Re: Wedding Preparations

[ecosophia]

The yarrow should be fine. As for smudging, that's something I've never done. Anyone else?

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings,

In the Magic Monday FAQ I came upon this question: "I think I’m being targeted by hostile magic. Is there something I can do to keep myself and/or my loved ones safe?"

A group of people close to me have recently been placed under a curse by someone who has been antagonistic towards them since their college days. I don't know any details of this curse and the person who placed is is undoubtedly suffering from some form of mental illness. None of the people in the friend group with whom I am associated are interested in the occult and have most likely not taken it seriously. I, however, am somewhat concerned.

The answer to the FAQ question I quoted above seems to be oriented towards personal protection, but it does not specifically address the protection of others. Would the technique it describes be of any use in the protection of a small group of close friends or family? If not, is there anything I can do?

[ecosophia]

There's very little you can do for people who aren't willing to protect themselves. If you have a relationship to a deity, you might consider praying for them.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,

Is there anyway to communicate with dead people? Or do malevolent beings always interfere?

Thank you for your time.

[ecosophia]

The dead are busy processing their last lives and getting ready for their next lives. Don't pester them; if they want to talk to you, they will.