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)]

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?

[(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!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

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

[weirdtales]

I would certainly be interested in that, too. I've recently picked up the DMH again and started working through it - "funny" how it's helped me with specific problems in my meditations on the Mabinogian a few times already. Learning the Ogham alphabet currently. My wife was quizzing me on the first Aicme last night. Seems like a perfect pairing...

Re: Trump, Miller, and COVID-19

[weirdtales]

FWIW, I cast a geomantic chart on Saturday for the question "Does President Trump really have COVID-19?"

No perfection nor denial of perfection, just F. Minor passing from the 1st to the 2nd and into trine with Puer in the 6th (adjusted for 3rd party). I read it as saying something like "he paid an unscrupulous physician to SAY that he has it."

I don't watch the mainstream media, but a friend who does told me that Trump's doctor is changing the story every time he makes a statement. And I know enough about Trump to know that he doesn't do much of anything accidentally, maybe even including "getting" COVID.

Any thoughts?

[booklover1973]

Do you have an idea what it is why numerology does give only arbitrary results in contrast to other divination systems?

[(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.

[(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.

[(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!

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

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

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?

Circles of Power study groups

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

Are there any groups that get together to discuss your Golden Dawn books like Circles of Power? It seems like there are a fair amount of us, and it would be cool to get together and talk shop sometime and share insights we've had.

If not, any tips for creating such a group? Maybe some sort of Dreamwidth discussion board we could start?

[(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?

Re: Saturn Returns

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Anonymous,

This site also has good information on Saturn return

https://aquarianastrology.org/

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

[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?

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.

[ecosophia]

I call this the 41 cent geomancy oracle -- you take a quarter, a dime, a nickel, and a penny and toss them all at once, assigning the results with the quarter for the top line and the penny for the bottom. It works quite well.

[ecosophia]

If you'll check the Magic Monday FAQ, which is linked in the post above, you'll find that Learning Ritual Magic belongs to a different (and incompatible) system of magical practice. Have you finished everything else in the DMH? There's a lot of work in that book.

Re: Circles of Power study groups

[ecosophia]

I don't know of a group specific to Circles and my other books on Golden Dawn magic. If you want to start one, Dreamwidth is a good place to do it; you may need a paid account, but those aren't expensive and it's a good outfit to support.

Re: Let There Be Light!

[ecosophia]

But you have to be sure they're not the evil Countercandles, which radiate darkness instead of light!

Re: Next steps

[ecosophia]

There's no reference to the GD in the older course either, but if you know the GD system it sticks out in lumps. I also have access to materials from Ross Nichols' time, where the GD references are even more explicit. As for the old course, you'll probably have to contact someone who has a copy, as I don't thinnk OBOD makes it available any more -- but yes, it's worth doing.

[(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

Re: Trump, Miller, and COVID-19

[ecosophia]

Nobody has trademarked the term "Left," you know. I quite understand that people on the factions of the Left that don't have access to power these days are angry at the faction that does, but from a conservative point of view -- and in particular, from my idiosyncratic moderate Burkean conservative point of view -- the similarities greatly outweigh the differences. All factions of the Left share in the delusion that some group of intellectuals or other is smart enough to reorganize human society from top to bottom and have the results come out as something other than a dumpster fire; all factions of the Left, whatever their rhetoric about workers or the poor or what have you, are vehicles by which some group of intellectuals or other seeks power -- the difference at present is simply that the people who control the Democratic Party have gained power, and the people for whom you speak haven't done so, and almost certainly never will.