Another Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's time for Magic Monday again, my intermittent open post on occult theory and practice -- so ask me anything about occultism and I'll do my best to answer it. Any question received by midnight tonight Eastern time will get an answer, though it may be Tuesday sometime before I get to them all. 

With that said, have at it!

Comments

Geomancy and the alphabet

[polyphanes]

Ahoy! I hope you've been well, and I've been enjoying your posts for years.

There was a recent Facebook discussion involving letter attributions to the geomantic figures, and the topic of your works came up. In your book "Art and Practice of Geomancy", you give a set of letter attributions to the sixteen geomantic figures. Tracing it through the literature, I can only find one other instance of the same set of attributions: that given by John Heydon in his Theomagia, the last one that's associated with the AIQ BKR-style Roman cipher (each with an angelic name appended). Why did you choose this particular alphabet system, despite his other sets for the Roman, Greek, and Hebrew systems, or those given by Cattan and Fludd?

Re: Geomancy and the alphabet

[ecosophia]

It was the first one I was able to locate -- there was a copy of Theomagia on microfilm in the University of Washington library system when I first got seriously into geomancy -- and I found that it gave good results in practice. I'm by no means stuck on it, though, and if other practitioners find that they get better results with other letter systems, by all means.

Royal Road seeker

[(Anonymous)]

I downloaded the annotated Lilly to calculate my planetary dignities and debilities. But Lilly’s tables are confusing, in part because I am working with a chart that is nocturnal, and ruling planets are different from the diurnal ones. That’s really annoying. Also the orb of combustion—the footnotes cite varying opinions on the width of the apparent orb of the Sun’s disk vs. being under its Rays. Mars, only 3 degrees away is combust for sure, but is Uranus at 7 degrees also invisible? Mercury, at 10 degrees may be outside the orb. Does it count that Mercury is in another sign and retrograde? Or that Ceres is right next door, subtly connecting it to the Sun like a little choo-choo train of Heavenly Bodies? Also having trouble understanding the ‘point value’ so to speak, of latitude and declination relative to celestial equator and ecliptic. Gah! Not a math-head!

Now, for my actual question: Is there a known rule of thumb, simplified table, or by-planet checklist with one-to-one correspondences of all these multiple factors more suitable for calculating a rough-and ready idea of one’s planets’ relative strength? Is there a Royal Shortcut to Astrology? Even spreadsheets are not helping unravel the tangle here.

Re: Royal Road seeker

[ecosophia]

I don't know of one. Most of the 17th century books give a table of dignities and debilities more or less equivalent to Lilly's (and very often cribbed from Christian Astrology), but that's about as simplified as it gets. It's possible that you're overthinking it, though -- it's meant to be a rough guide, not something you'd do on a spreadsheet. By and large, if any of your planets are essentially dignified by sign, triplicity, term, or face, or accidentally dignified by angle or by trine or sextile aspect, and not in square or opposition to one of the malefics, treat it as dignified; if any of your planets are debilitated by sign, in a cadent house, in square or opposition to a malefic, or peregrine, treat it as debilitated.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
You have mentioned the possibility (can't remember if galabes or ecosophia) that given the different approaches/behaviour of various groups worshipping/praying/connecting with the christ, that different groups might be connecting with something other than expected. Given the limitations and variations in what people perceive, if one is trying to find a deity or patron, how can one be sure what one is connecting to?

Put another way, what approaches might searchers use to avoid being spiritually spoofed (as in where scammers set up websites that purport to be one thing and are actually something else)?

[ecosophia]

Traditional occult theory (we're talking classical theurgic Neoplatonism here, as modified by later students) has it that each of the gods and goddesses manifest on every plane and sub-plane in a form appropriate to the level of manifestation. The lower you go, the more fragmentary and distorted the manifestation, until finally you reach dim demonic reflections down in the grubby underbelly of existence. The Jesus that the Westboro Baptist Church is contacting is a distorted, demonic reflection of Jesus; since they themselves function at a demonic level of consciousness -- as their behavior demonstrates rather clearly -- that's literally the closest they can get to the god they're trying to worship.

As for what you should do -- well, that's simple enough: pay close attention to your own level of consciousness, as expressed in your thoughts, words, and deeds. You will not be able to reach a more perfect manifestation of a deity than your own state of consciousness will permit...

Monotheistic deities

[(Anonymous)]

I think I remember you mentioning that you don't think most deities worshiped by monotheists have made the claim that they are the only god. Would you mind providing your reasoning for that?

Re: Monotheistic deities

[ecosophia]

I think you're mistaken. Of course we don't know what claims deities have made for themselves -- all we get to hear is the claims made for them by human beings -- but it's entirely possible that some deities have fallen into the famous error of the Gnostic demiurge, and convinced themselves that they're the one and only god there is. As I recall -- my Buddhist readers are welcome to correct me on this -- there's a particular class of 33 deities in Buddhist theory whose karma leads them to think that they're the highest deities and nothing is beyond them; the bodhisattvas and other beings who are far beyond them look upon them in pity...

purpose of meditation

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I've noticed that when I meditate well on an appropriate topic, it's much easier to make a divination immediately afterwards--the meanings of the cards coalesce in my mind as soon as I look, and I often see/understand things I had never grasped before. Which leads me to wonder...is one of the purposes of meditation to open the link between your mind and the plane of 'understanding'? So that you're prepared when you make the divination? And if you do this regularly enough, does that link stay more open all the time?

Also, the whole divination thing is definitely falling into the category of TSW. I have a very scientific job and you wouldn't think the Tarot has much to say about that. But I usually ask 'what is the most important thing for me to notice today" and in reply, sometimes the cards manage to express concepts like 'binary refractive telescope'. Yes--that one was not apparent until I stepped onto the roof of the building and saw the round spinning thing with two horns against the heavens. And suddenly The Wheel of Fortune combined with two other cards with Taurus imagery and a woman standing against a night sky with her arms stretched out (The Hierophant and the Mother of Swords) made so much sense. But seriously. Whoa.

Re: purpose of meditation

[ecosophia]

That's certainly one way to think about it. Meditation has a range of useful effects on your inner life, and most of them will make you better at divination, among many other things. I'm not in the least surprised that Tarot can offer good advice about science; it reliably offers good advice about relationships, which are far more convoluted than any scientific activity!

Clairaudient communication with spritis

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, I am very auditorily inclined. I can imagine sounds, voices, songs in significant detail and loudness. Based on this and the advice of a certain tarot reader, I am thinking about trying to communicate with spirit guides, angels, nature spirits, and possibly gods by means of clairaudience. What precautions should I take to make sure that my adventures in spirit communication don´t end in an uncontrolled hearing of voices? Thank you!

Re: Clairaudient communication with spirits

[ecosophia]

Regular banishing rituals are a must. You may also find it useful to practice clairaudience only in a ritually prepared space -- once your mind gets used to the ritual practice as a preliminary to clairaudience, it won't open up until it gets its familiar ritual.

[(Anonymous)]

How do you discern the difference between a Watcher at the Gate experience versus a signal that you really shouldn't be doing this magical practice? I ask because I finally managed to get a system going where I could wake up before my child (have not had sufficient minutes alone since he dropped his nap about 8 months ago). I woke up super early, did my Elemental Cross and Sphere, and then studied the Druid Magic Handbook to refresh my memory about all the rest. A great morning. By that evening, I had come down with a nasty sore throat and fever (my husband had a very mild version of it) and could not form sound or stay awake well or think well at all. I'm just now recovering. I could probably wake up early tomorrow and get back on the horse, as it were - unless it's some kind of sign that I shouldn't!

[ecosophia]

The Watcher at the Threshold doesn't take the form of random annoyances. It's an emotional and/or cognitive reaction, taking forms such as boredom, disinclination, being suddenly attracted to a whole flurry of other activities, or the various grades of fear. I'd encourage you to keep trying.

Visualization and magic

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG

I have no ability to visualize. Is it possible for me to learn magic?

Eija

Re: Visualization and magic

[ecosophia]

I couldn't visualize worth crap when I started learning magic, either, and it took me a lot of work to get good at it. You can do the same thing. Put five minutes a day into developing your visual imagination -- starting with simple shapes such as a blue circle, a yellow square, and so on -- and that plus regular practice of basic magical rituals will get you the skills you need.

[amritarosa]

Hello JMG,

My question is about the magical properties of glass. Like silk, I've read that it is an energetic insulator. Does that hold for the tradition you practice?

Does glass have its own active energy, or is it neutral? I've not developed my own sensitivity to such things enough to be able to tell, myself, with glass on its own.

I've made some small pouches peyote-stitch style from seed beads for a couple of objects that seem to ask for it. I made the pouches to hang over my heart area in appropriate colors. It feels like the right thing, but I am concerned that the glass may block the energies I want to have near me. The pouches have no lining, are made from beads and thread only, so they have hundreds of little openings in the spaces between beads, so that may be enough. and the top end is open. I wouldn't put just any object in those containers, just the couple so far that seem to be ok with it- a small tektite and a little red "bear" stone.

Curious what your take on glass as a magical substance is.
Thanks!
Bonnie

[ecosophia]

Glass is a liquid. It's a very slow-moving liquid, but physically speaking, it's still a liquid -- that's why it works as an insulator. However, like other insulators, it needs to be unbroken or it doesn't insulate -- so your pouches should be fine.

[(Anonymous)]

How do experiences in past lives influence later ones?

[ecosophia]

In all kinds of ways. Would you like to be more specific?

SOP

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Archdruid,

Could you tell me more about the origins of the SOP (beyond its creation by Archdruid Gilbert) and the more advanced practices in the Druid Magic Handbook (such as the Grail workings, or the Standing Stone enchantment)? Someone on the AODA forums has been able to trace some of the symbolism of the SOP back to the Magickal Order of the Golden Dawn, whose website is still accessible via internet archives. Yet that's about as far as we've gotten.

Kind regards,
Brigyn

Re: SOP

[ecosophia]

As far as I know, the original form of the SoP was created by Dr. Juliet Ashley, the third Grand Archdruid of AODA, and can still be found embodied in the Candidate initiation. The rest of the advanced practices in the Druid Magic Handbook were invented by me, on the basis of extensive practice with the SoP and related ritual. How's that for a simple answer? ;-)

Initiation processes

[ferngladefarm.blogspot.com]

Hi John Michael,

I can smell a changed season in the air here, and whilst it is no longer summer, neither is it autumn. Are things warming up in your part of the world?

A few months back I read a book about a Zen Buddhist retreat (Fire Monks) and they employed an initial initiation ceremony which basically seemed to entail ignoring the potential students for a period of time extending into days until they'd proven their genuine capacity for interest in the retreat. I assume such an initiation process has long historical roots?

I was also mildly curious as to the economics of the retreat as infrastructure such as they had does not come cheap. But alas, we are discussing the occult here, but such thoughts were on my mind as I was reading the book. Sometimes clear sight and a mildly cynical disposition can be a curse! ;-)! As an amusing side story, a long time ago I did ask for that gift, and who would have thought that gifts come with costs? It is clear to me now!!! Oh well...

Cheers

Chris

Re: Initiation processes

[ecosophia]

Very much so. If you want to become a Zen monk, traditionally, you go to the monastery and sit outside the front door. The doorkeeper tells you to get lost. You sit there and meditate. He tells you to get lost again. It rains. Night comes. Morning comes. You're still sitting there. Depending on how grouchy the doorkeeper happens to be, you may be there for a couple of days. If you stick with it, eventually the doorkeeper lets you in, and you begin your novitiate as a Zen monk, which isn't a lot more comfortable than sitting outside the door (though you do get to eat and sleep).

This is what some modern Western occult schools call a "flake filter" -- a way of chasing off people who aren't serious about the work. It's an absolute necessity, because there's an endless supply of people who want to embrace spirituality as a pose but aren't willing to do a lick of honest work, and they will reliably drag you down. I don't take personal students any more, because every single person I had for years who approached me wanting to be a personal student turned out to be interesting in basking in the warm glow of being one of JMG's personal students rather than, say, actually interested in learning and practicing anything.

LRP

[(Anonymous)]

Dear John Michael,

Last fall I had practiced the lesser ritual of the pentagram for a couple of months, and had started to get meaningful messages in my meditations following the steps in your book the celtic golden dawn. My interpretation was that I was given knowledge from ceugant (i.e. during my water-meditation the link between water, Veuns and raspberries appeared, before I later read about it). I also had several quite syncronistic experiences in my every-day life, which indicated that the training lead forward.

One midnight when everybody else in the house had fallen asleep, and everything was silent, both inside the house and outside (I live in a rural area with quiet surroundings), the summoning ritual resulted in unusually powerful (for me) circle. I felt very empowered, and decided to pray for my family before proceeding. The praying gave even more power to the situation, but at the time of the climax of power, a loud noise started very suddenly outside the house. The house was roaring in a very unusual way, and people woke up in the house. It turned out to be an extreme rainstorm, that lasted for just a few minutes before everything went silent again.

For me, it was hard to not associate my experience during the ritual with the sudden rainstorm. The timing was so perfect, so to speak, and I actually got so bothered about other possible implications, that my daily ritual-routine broke. However, since I really missed the conversation with "higher planes", I'm now doing the ritual on a very regular basis again, but possibly with some bad form of fear involved... Any advice or comments regarding that?

Re: LRP

[ecosophia]

The first enemy of a person of knowledge, to borrow a turn of phrase from an iconic spiritual author of my misspent youth, is fear. You will experience it at various points as you proceed in the work. If you let it bully you into giving up magic, then you give up magic and nothing happens. If you face it and push through, you become a mage. That's the choice, and no one can make it but you.

several questions

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,
I've got a couple of questions.

First, I've started trying to visualize my consciousness as being seated in a sphere of energy in my solar plexus. I began doing this during a moment of boredom, but I've noticed several effects. When I do it correctly, my mind quiets down, my creative energy seems to replenish, and on at least one occasion seemed to take on more substance, as though the emotions that they were feeling had become concrete to my senses. (That's not quite it, but I'm not sure how else to describe it.)
My question is, is there anything to this, or am I fooling myself?

Second, does occult philosophy have any views on end-of-life suicide? For instance, if I get diagnosed with Parkinson's when I'm 60 and the health care system is shredded or nonexistent, does it do any harm to the progression of my soul to check out early? I feel like at the very least, I'd be preventing myself from becoming a burden to friends and family.

Thanks,
Cliff

Re: several questions

[ecosophia]

You're not fooling yourself. Moving the center of consciousness to other points along the body midline is a very common practice in various disciplines -- many East Asian martial arts, for example, have the student shift his or her consciousness to the womb center, to get the specific modes of consciousness you get at that center. As for suicide, it's not usually a good idea to try to duck out of your karma that way; if, as the Druid teachings have it, you have to be all things, know all things, and suffer all things before passing on to Gwynfydd, and you kill yourself to avoid suffering something, you'll just have to do it over again...

Sea water and the telluric current

[reveretaylor]

JMG,

I recently started working at a marina, and since I now spend most days on floating docks and boats, I've found myself wondering whether the telluric current flows differently through water than it does through earth and rock. Would invoking the telluric current on a boat or a floating pier be any more or less effective than doing so on dry land?

I suppose it's somewhat moot for me at the moment, since I'm currently working through the DOGD material, which you've said is almost exclusively solar. Regarding the lesser ritual of the pentagram, how large are the pentagrams that you usually trace? Does size make a difference?

Thanks!

-RT

Re: Sea water and the telluric current

[ecosophia]

I'd have to experiment with it; I don't know of anything on that in the literature. As for pentagrams, mine are usually about three feet across; your mileage may vary, so you might want to try different sizes.

Kuiper belt and asteroids

[(Anonymous)]

In your March 2017 Well of Galabes post, you said about the mundane chart you were discussing: "Yes, I know this doesn’t include Pluto. It also doesn’t include Sedna, Eris, or any of the other Kuiper belt objects; nor does it include Ceres, Pallas, or any of the other asteroid belt objects. More on this in an upcoming post."

Did I miss the post you were contemplating? And in case you didn't get around to writing it yet, would you be prepared to give a short summary of your thinking, particularly concerning Pluto? Thanks a lot!

Re: Kuiper belt and asteroids

[ecosophia]

No, I haven't written it yet. It's not something that would be easily summarized here, though, as it involves some complicated issues in the intersection between astrology and history; I'll see if I can work in a blog post on the subject soon.

The Celestial Art

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, this is not strictly an occult question, but I hope you'll humor me: According to amazon.com, Three Hands Press was supposed to have published a new book including an essay by you in mid-December (The Celestial Art, ed. Austin Coppock & Daniel Schulke). However, it's still listed as "currently unavailable" there, and Three Hands Press don't mention it at all on their site. Do you know what is going on there? Thank you

Re: The Celestial Art

[ecosophia]

Haven't heard a thing from them about the subject since I wrote my essay, so I don't know.

LBRP for polytheists with archangels

[(Anonymous)]

John, I would like to try the LBRP for polytheists you recently posted, but would prefer to use the four archangels instead of four gods. Do you think the archangels would be compatible with a pagan patron deity? Thank you!

Re: LBRP for polytheists with archangels

[ecosophia]

You'll have to sort that out with your deity. It doesn't sound like a good idea to me, but that may be just me.

[(Anonymous)]

I've been looking over the new edition of Circles of Power.

Do you still recommend doing the Middle Pillar exercise with the Tiphareth-Malkuth circulation, rather than the larger circulation from the crown to the feet and back? It feels strange to me.

[ecosophia]

No. These days I do the three larger circulations, using the format from Regardie's The Art of True Healing, and reserve the smaller circulation for the vibratory formula of the Middle Pillar.

[(Anonymous)]

Yay Magic Monday! Your explanation of how level of deity resonates with level of devotee’s consciousness got me wondering. Short story:

I recently set up an altar to Thor. After giving it a final look over I headed out to my kitchen to get dinner underway. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw through the back window what appeared to be an older man, quite transparent, with shoulder length gray wavy hair, rough knee-length tunic with simple rope belt, loose trousers, and very simple shoes, walking away. His back was angled toward me, and he looked stooped from years of labor. My first thought was that perhaps deities have entourages at many levels. Would this be so? If so, reasonable to assume my piety level is about on par with a Viking Age farmer? It sure seems like that is what I saw, before he vanished into the back fence.

Thanks in advance for your generosity, JMG.

(OtterGirl)

[ecosophia]

Where do you live? It may have been a Viking Age farmer...

I ching and Tarot

[degringolade]

So, odd and kind of a rookie question:

Is this the place to ask about things like I Ching and Tarot?

A lifelong rationalist who currently feels like it might not have been that good an idea.

Re: I ching and Tarot

[ecosophia]

You certainly may, if you like.

SOP advice

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, JMG. First of all, I’d like to thank you for Magic Mondays: it is of inestimable value to that portion of your fan base who have occult questions.

I’d just like to sound you out about my varied experiences with the SOP. I started practicing the Elemental Cross and Circulation of Light two years ago and expanded to the full SOP, by the book (your book on Druidry, of course!) about 1 ¾ years ago. Same place, same time, at least 360 days per year. For the past year or so, however, I have wondered about invoking Hindu deities instead of Druid gods, since I have been a practicing Hindu for over 40 years (no offence to Druid gods – I have been able to imagine them well, and even feel them, but they just aren’t the “same family” that I identify with). But I could not come up with a combination of Hindu gods and goddesses that “felt right”. Also, when performing the Circulation of Light, I have tended to “go big” – far beyond my body to encompass my house and property, which has always felt like an effort. Also, I am a strict vegetarian.

Then, over the course of the past ½ year, I felt gradually more drained of energy; this could be for a variety of reasons (2017 was a roller-coaster for me and my family), but I felt that there might be something wrong with my SOP practice. So, I went down to just the Elemental Cross and Circulation of Light for a couple of months and then went back to the full SOP, but this time with two changes: (1) using what I feel is the right mix of Hindu god and goddess names; an (2) making sure that the energies that I project in the Elemental Cross and Circulation of Light flow “through” me from above and below, rather than “from” me outward. So far this has felt better – and I hope that I am on a better track.

Do you have any comments on my “draining” experience or suggestions regarding my “new” practice?

Thanks a million!

Ron M

Re: SOP advice

[ecosophia]

That's a reasonable thing to do when a magical practice isn't working for you. Magic doesn't always go well with a vegetarian diet -- that varies from person to person -- so you should be ready to rein back on magic if you have the same "drained" feeling again. As for your choice of deities, though, the SoP is designed to work with literally any deities you choose, so that should be fine.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, JMG!
These Magic Mondays have been fascinating, thank you.

My questions are about visualization. When I first started doing ritual, the visualization seemed pretty much fine. (I was a serious daydreamer growing up, so I'd had plenty of practice creating mental images.)after a month or so, though, some part of my mind started sabotaging the images. My spheres of light would explode, or the earth I was standing on would go up in a cartoon mushroom cloud, or the angels would make rude hand gestures, that sort of thing. It was always very jarring and unsettling. I was working from "Learning Ritual Magic" at the time.
So here are my questions. First, is that something that's really problematic within a ritual, or just one of those things where I have to buckle down and keep practicing until it resolves itself? Secondly, are there any non-ritual practices I could do to improve my mental discipline so my brain stops trolling me? It happens outside of ritual, too, although it's easier to ignore.
Thanks!
Marie

[ecosophia]

Practically everybody has this happen at some point in their training. Just keep on pushing through it.

Reincarnation related

[(Anonymous)]

Does a person normally get reincarnated in the same geographical area?

Re: Reincarnation related

[ecosophia]

Not necessarily. There's a huge amount of variation from case to case.

[(Anonymous)]

Is there a budgeting aspect to how you use your life energy/qi/prana/nwyfre/etc?

[ecosophia]

Nwyfre is a flow, not an accumulation; you don't have to worry about using it up, unless you've got blockages to deal with. (If you do, systematic relaxation, regular massage, and/or a course of treatment with a good acupuncturist will take care of that.) You can work to increase the rate at which it flows into you -- breathing exercises are the standard method here, along with relaxation -- but no, you don't have to budget.