Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's getting on for midnight, so we can proceed with a new Magic Monday. 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 above 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. 

 

I've also had quite a few people over the years ask me where they should buy my books, and here's the answer. Bookshop.org is an alternative online bookstore that supports local bookstores and authors, which a certain other gargantuan corporation doesn't, and I now have a shop there, which you can check out here. Please consider patronizing it if you'd like to purchase any of my books online. 

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

With that said, have at it! 

***This Magic Monday is now closed. See you next week!***

Comments

Taking up Druidry

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, it's me; obnoxious journal guy from last week.

Background) I've been fairly consistent in my Druidry practice over the last week. The results have been both terrific... and terrifying. I'm both impressed and overwhelmed, and possibly a bit scared. Right out of the box, the SoP was able to induce a massive change in both myself (reaching equilibrium) and the feeling of the space. Almost overnight, a really strong bond with nature formed; and communication with both plants and animals comes really intuitively. When I've taken a day off or started to second guess my decision to practice Druidry, this fades almost immediately. Also, there have been multiple instances where I feel an enormous presence; twice it's identified itself as Hu and once as Elen. Both incidents with the former were clearly benevolent but also immensely powerful; the latter was really strange and somewhat confusing, like it was more interested in mental plane contact but didn't want to manifest any lower. I haven't had any connection to celtic spirituality in the past and my default approach to dealing with spirits is more rooted in east Asian culture. Dealing with them through anything other than prayer feels like a massive slide in the wrong direction and possibly disrespectful. Intuitively, I feel like this entire system is targeting my deepest weaknesses, and getting properly into this is going to require a great deal of pain and suffering.

1) Does Druidry dig up an abnormal amount of past "stuff" to deal with in comparison to other systems? Is it suitable for somebody with an unusual background / karmic debt?

2) I have extensive prior experience in eastern systems, but I haven't been practicing intensively for several years. Is this enough to preclude me from Druidry? Are there some other precautions I should be taking?

3) Are there any known interactions between Druidry and Hypnosis?

4) Is it correct that we don't choose our gods, but rather our gods choose us? How should I be dealing with them / this?

Re: Taking up Druidry

[ecosophia]

1) Western occultism generally does a good job of helping you deal with your unfinished business; that's true of old-fashioned Druidry as much as any other Western occult system. As for whether it's suitable for you, well, you're going to have to deal with it sooner or later; facing it now, willingly, is going to be a lot easier on you than trying to run from it and having it clobber you later.

2) You should be fine. Just don't mix them now.

3) Not particularly. There are some Western occult systems that don't mix well with hypnosis, such as the Golden Dawn tradition, but the third Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America was a hypnotherapist by profession.

4) Relationships with gods are just as varied and uniquely personal as relationships with human beings. In either case, relax and focus on clear communication, and you should be fine.

Two Things

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG,

Wanted to run a couple things by you.

A long while back, I mentioned that it helped my visualization during color breathing to imagine the color spreading inside like pouring colored water into clear. Having run with it for quite a while, it seems to me that as the color within touches the color without through my skin as the finest membrane and I am connecting to that color throughout the cosmos. Sound about right or getting carried away?

Also, it used to somewhat trouble me that I wasn't sure where the energy came from to push out the sphere during SOP, then it occurred to me that we are always receiving the solar and telluric currents. Seem reasonable or should I be meditating in other directions?

Thanks again for providing this wonderful space and sharing your knowledge!

Mint Oscillating Termite
_grey_

Re: Two Things

[ecosophia]

1) About right.

2) Not merely reasonable, but quite accurate.

[(Anonymous)]

1. Reporting back on The Welsh Fairy Book by W. Jenkyn Thomas: From my point of view, quite useful. While the stories are toned down for children, the essential elements are at the fore… so… they end up reading rather like the more cryptic bits of the Bible. I like it. But, that’s just me – disclosure – I find most of the humor and funhouse proportions of The Mabinogion distractions to overcome. The Welsh Fairy Book Index (sacred-texts.com)
2. A while ago, The Wind in the Willows came up here, so I decided to read it. Not really a kids’ book, is it? And… Might you and the commentariat have a few favorite children’s and young adults’ titles for Druid families?
3. Still no break in the cold and wet weather here in Northeast Ohio. The Old Farmer’s Almanac offers no suggestions on how to persuade the weather to cooperate with the astrological best days chart. So… has anyone tried using an array of earth pipes to attract or repel rain?
Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

1) Thanks for this. I'll keep an eye out for it.

2) Oh, it's a children's book, all right -- one of the very best, precisely because it reaches so deep. The Wizard of Oz and its first four sequels are in the same league.

3) The weather is what it is for a reason. You may be being kept safe from wildfires later in the season! Instead of trying to mess with it, simply change your plans to fit what nature has decided to do.

[(Anonymous)]

Once again, could I have a nickel tour of this week’s Robert Fludd plate? Looks like the music of the spheres drawn by a mathematical progression… maybe?
Thank you.
Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

It's another monochord, this one showing the musical proportions among the four elements. Each element is divided into three parts by a series of harmonic divisions; the Moon represents the upper end, and the Sun turns the tuning peg, the way God turned the tuning peg in the monochord I posted earlier.

Question about the Cell Salt regimen

[(Anonymous)]

I started the cell salt regimen where you take the bioplasma mix (all 12) everyday and then take different salts depending on your natal sign for 3 days out of the month. My question is, does that replace the Bioplasma mix or is that in addition to the Bioplasma mix?

Re: Question about the Cell Salt regimen

[ecosophia]

In addition to the Bioplasma. You take the Bioplasma every day whether or not you're taking the specific combination for your birth date.

[tunesmyth]

In a recent Mundane Astrology lesson over at your Subscribestar/Patreon, you talked about Lunation Charts. You gave basic instructions for how to read lunation charts for the new moon, and mentioned full moon charts in a way that made it sound as if they have inconsistent results.

If so, I have a conjecture as to why this might be. A regular ingress chart tracks the progress of the Earth around the Sun over the course of a solar year, keeping track of ingresses that happen at the natural inflections of the solstices and equinoxes. A lunation chart does the same for the Moon around the Earth— but instead of solstices and equinoxes, these points would be called the four quarters of the moon: New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter.

So, my hypothesis would be that the rules that apply for an ingress chart of a solar year also apply for any other astrological planet, scaled to their own “year”. Thus, in the case of a Lunation chart, if a Quarter is attained in the midst of a cardinal sign, then the chart would only apply for a single quarter. If a Quarter is attained in a mutable sign, then the chart would apply for two quarters, or until the next New Moon. And if the Quarter is attained in fixed sign, then its effects last all the way until the next New Moon. Some inconsistent results in a Lunation chart might thus be due to a failure to apply these rules.

Does this sound like a reasonable hypothesis to you? Is there something I’m misunderstanding or neglecting to take into account? (If this does seem plausible, yes, I do intend to try testing this once I manage to progress a little bit further my astrology studies.)

[ecosophia]

It's a reasonable hypothesis, but as far as I know, nobody's ever explored the possibilities of first and last quarter charts. It seems worth testing.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr. Greer,

Is there a preferred sequence to follow when performing the LBRP in addition to praying to a patron deity? Should I perform my prayers first and then perform the ritual or is it advantageous to pray in the cleansed space?

[ecosophia]

I recommend doing the banishing ritual first, before any other spiritual practice -- prayer, meditation, or what have you. You'll get better results when you've cleansed your own aura and the space in which you're working.

Wand consecration

[(Anonymous)]

Sooo...anyone else try and set their alter on fire in the middle of consecrating a wand (ala COP)? Tried knocking my notes into the oil lamp I use while wrapping the thing.

Other Dave

Re: Wand consecration

[ecosophia]

That's tolerably common. When you invoke the energies of fire, sometimes they get a little playful! I've never heard of anyone having serious trouble, just a little extra flame here and there. ;-)

Concerning the enchantment exercise in DS book 2

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings Archdruid,
I am preparing to begin the exercise of enchantment as is described the first chapter of book 2 of DA. The lesson specifically describes working with a pebble for this exercise. Would it be best for me to go find a rock that I like, or is a ring with a tiger's eye gem suitable to work with?
Regards and appreciation

Re: Concerning the enchantment exercise in DS book 2

[ecosophia]

For now, find a pebble that you like. Leave the ring for later; you can enchant a ring -- in fact, as I'm sure you know, enchanted rings used to be quite common. (Just don't write words in the Black Speech in flaming letters on the ring of your choice!) But for your first few experimental enchantments, use a plain pebble; it's simpler that way, and if you discover you've made a mistake in your choice of enchantments, it's easier to deal with.

Renovating like an Archdruid

[vitranc]

Greetings JMG,

An interesting theme turned its head this week.
My significant other and myself are a bit of DIY nuts. She is also the only one that knows what I am doing when I say that I am going “to go sit for half an hour” :-)
This week we were discussing woodworking projects, and she suggested making a meditation chair. Love her, but it was strange trying to explain to her, that an ordinary kitchen chair is perfectly suitable and has the added benefit of camouflage. For further work; the coffee table is also suitable along the same lines. And for the times that I go in the woods an old square peace of a board is just perfect.

But I also just read the four novels by Dion Fortune, where the characters dedicate whole rooms and houses as working spaces. If I may, as food for the imagination;
a.) How does the practice space of a decades long practitioner and an archdruid look like these days?
b.) Well we do not all have unlimited funds, but what would you set up, if you had the funds of Hugh Patson?

Best regards,
V

Re: Renovating like an Archdruid

[ecosophia]

1) A cluttered spare bedroom that contains many bookshelves, a desk, a filing cabinet, and an electric organ, among other things. I've never had a space that I could set aside purely for magical practice; that space is also where I write my books and blog posts.

2) If I had the money? A plain, more or less cubical room with a skylight, not very large. Off-white walls. A shallow shelf/altar on the eastern wall, with a few ritual items in it. An inconspicuous closet to one side, containing robes and other hardware. I prefer a very spare magical aesthetic -- think Zen monasteries and Shaker churches.

I'd also have a lodge room somewhere for group workings, but that's another matter.

[causticus]

Good evening Archdruid.

1) A few weeks ago there was a discussion here on what happens to people who die prematurely, i.e. by suicide, freak accident, ect. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you said that such people are stuck in this world after 'death' with all their bodies except the material body until the end of what would have been their natural lifespan. I also remember from a discussion much further back (which may not have involved something you said directly...could have been from some of the commenters) that when a person is left wandering around without their physical body, their etheric body still needs to 'feed' (on other etheric energy, presumably?) in order to sustain itself, otherwise the etheric body breaks down; the wandering soul must 'vampirize' the living in order to stay 'alive' (for lack of a better term). I'm confused by these conflicting accounts, or perhaps I'm just misremembering. Is the need to 'feed' postmortem just for souls who expired due to old age? And that those who pass on young are still energetically 'fed' until their natural old age? Finally, do young murder victims have to stick around for many years in etheric/astral form?

2) Sort of related to the above....Going through Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, it seems like the priests were obsessed with avoiding the Second Death and that this avoidance was also a popular religious belief. Do you have any insights into why the Ancient Egyptians were so fixated on this? Could this simply have resulted from a misunderstood remnant of much older practices that had a practical purpose for high-ranking individuals who needed to stick around after death for one reason or another?

3) Would an individual having a mere intellectual understanding of the occult mechanics of death, afterlife, and rebirth have a significant effect on their own death and afterlife experience?

-Magenta Malodorous Owl

[ecosophia]

1) The need to "feed" is a function of an etheric body exhausted by old age or illness. A young and healthy etheric body doesn't need that for quite some time. As for murder victims, that can happen -- that's why murder victims sometimes become ghosts -- but since they didn't choose their state, they have an easier time getting out of it.

2) That's a very complex issue. Egyptian funeral practice was indeed focused on avoiding the Second Death; what happened was that a magical technology with other uses was hijacked to allow the rich and powerful to avoid the consequences of their karma, and then got institutionalized.

3) No, not by itself. Combine it with spiritual practices and it can do a lot of good.

Orphic Hymn to Artemis is live!

[kimberlysteele]

Happy Magic Monday, JMG and friends!

I just released a new Orphic Hymn. Music composed by me for the ancient Greek poetry. I release these for free.

https://queeniemusic.bandcamp.com/track/orphic-hymn-to-artemis

Youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrRHCpsJpjw

Re: Orphic Hymn to Artemis is live!

[deborah_bender]

Thank you for this beautiful recording and composition.

Psychic Training Manual

[(Anonymous)]

I recently read Butler's "How to Read the Aura and Practice Psychometry, Telepathy, and Clairvoyance." I was somewhat disappointed. Although the discussion of ethical issues and other pitfalls is certainly important, I was hoping for more practical advice, like a series of exercises to work on. His advice along those lines amounts to little more than "sit down and stare at the crystal ball until you see something."

Can you (or the commentariat) recommend a good book or other program for training in clairvoyance, psychometry, etc.? Some online searching has turned up "Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing" by William Walker Atkinson, and "Psychic Development for Beginners" by Emily Stroia, which look promising. Any experience with either of those?

Re: Psychic Training Manual

[ecosophia]

I'm sorry to say that's not a field I've studied in detail; Butler's book was quite well suited to my needs. Anyone else?

[(Anonymous)]

There are stories of saints who choose to take on the karma of the whole world. They very quickly sicken and die. You'd think there'd be some good karma down the line for doing that. But since the outcome is so predictable, would they get suicide karma as well?

[ecosophia]

The literature on that end of mysticism doesn't address that, but since they're accepting their own karma (which is after all part of that of the world) they presumably work off any negative karma from their own act before they die.

[(Anonymous)]

You don't believe in millenarianism but do think Vine Deloria was right that in past ages far more powerful magic and religious phenomena happened. What do you think are the most significant kinds of spiritual events that could ever happen on Earth?

[ecosophia]

I have no idea. I've got a pretty good idea of what seems to work in the present age, and in the ages I remember from previous lives, but beyond that? I'd be guessing at random.

[(Anonymous)]

Questions about the Sphere of Protection:

1. In the closing are you supposed to imagine the sphere of light in your head like in the opening, or just the one in the solar plexus?

2. What's the difference between the Earth element and Spirit Below?

3. Does it mean something if some of the elements have a more noticable effect and the scene is easier to visualise?

4. In the Druid version how much power do the animals like the Hawk of Morning and Salmon of Wisdom have? Are they equivalent to angels?

[ecosophia]

1) Just the solar plexus.

2) What a fine theme for meditation!

3) That's very common. Most people are at least a little unbalanced in favor of some elements and against others. As you practice the ritual, you'll find that this evens out.

4) Different people report different experiences on this subject. Pay attention to your own experiences and see what works for you.

Mouni Sadhu’s Concentration

[(Anonymous)]

I’ve been on the first step of Mouni Sadhu’s Concentration for the last week.

I’m not sure how deep a sense of concentration is required.

Do all verbalisations have to completely cease for it to count as one “block”? Or does it count if verbalisations/other mental chatter arise as long as I just keep paying attention to the second hand?

I’ve been going with the second interpretation for the last week and kept going with it until I realise my focus has dropped completely off the second hand. I can last 11 minutes this way.

The “audio” exercise is harder for me, I can repeat a sound for about 4 minutes until I realise my focus has dropped.

Re: Mouni Sadhu’s Concentration

[ecosophia]

That's one of the subtle variables of the practice. Now that you can focus on the second hand for 11 minutes, see how long you can do so without any verbalizations at all.

Not for posting

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG,
Wanted to let you know that https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/ is posting again. He wrote a free book about the limits to growth on the planet and is trying to get it spread around as much as possible.

All the best,
Brigyn

Re: Not for posting

[ecosophia]

I know! This is delightful news -- and timely, too, because the price of oil is ratcheting unsteadily upwards again...

[cutekitten]

Hi JMG,

Since there’s a lot of magic in my epic, I was thinking of launching it on the Summer Solstice, which is also a holiday in Reality as well as a magical day everywhere, even in our increasingly unreal society. My question is, is there any reason the Summer Solstice would be a bad day for this? (Other than making my cast of characters work on the holiday. 😄)

Over here in Unreality, you know how overworked most American women are in December. We were once forced to work Xmas Eve, with only the legal minimum notice—and no, we were not a retail business. Even women who had applied for that day off way back in January had their leave canceled. The moral? Form unions, folks. Form STRONG unions. (We were actually organized, but our local was in bed with management.)

[ecosophia]

It sounds like a fine day for a book launch.

Return to course

[(Anonymous)]

Some months ago i stopped doing course outlined in Learning Ritual Magic. I've had no real progress since, so i want to return to LRE, how can i do it?

Re: Return to course

[ecosophia]

By picking back up exactly where you left off and doing the work.

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings,
Based on your recommendations, I have picked up Ivy Goldstein-Jacobson’s Horary astrology book (among others by her), and it has been neat casting a chart for the moment a given question pops up, and delineating answers from it.

You have mentioned electional astrology from time to time, and I would like to hear recommendations for texts on that branch of astrology.

[ecosophia]

I don't really have a good text to recommend, unless you're asking specifically about magical electional astrology -- that is, the timing of talisman consecrations. In that case Chris Warnock's Secrets of Planetary Magic is a good starting place.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG

Two brief questions, if I may.

In last week’s MM, someone asked you about mixing chakra work, asanas and mudras with Western occultism.

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/129560.html?thread=15197464#cmt15197464

Your response seemed to be negative for all of these. Yet I had thought that you had talked more positively about mudras in the past. For example:

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/76274.html

I’ve found mudras very useful for things like back pain and insomnia. Can they be combined in fact with western occult practice if done on an occasional basis?

Second, I have been doing the Lesser Banishing Ritual and the Middle Pillar Exercise with the Egyptian pantheon and Regardie’s recommendation for Egyptian words of power. I‘ve also been reading your book Paths of Wisdom with great interest. In your discussion about Third Stage meditation (pp.296-7 in my edition), you mention repeating the divine name attached to Malkuth, which I assume is “Adonai”. If I try to use this meditation, should I use an Egyptian title instead?

Thank you for your valuable efforts.

[cutekitten]

Hi Anonymous,

Can you share the mudra for insomnia?

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

When meditating on the results of scrying, does it help to research the meanings of the symbols that appear? I know that the purpose is to figure out what the symbols mean to me, but sometimes it has helped to look for mythology, for example, to delve further into them, as these symbols likely have semantic resonance on the astral plane. This is especially pertinent when I see images that don't have a particular meaning for me.

For example, when scrying Duir, my guide was an enormous centipede made of lava, and I don't attach any particular symbolism to the centipede, so I looked it up, and found that centipede are important to both Egyptian mythology (the god Sepa) and Chinese mythology (where they are a natural enemy to snakes, which IS an image that has frequently occurred in my scrying sessions).

I imagine that I just have to be careful not to get too drawn into doing this and keep bringing this back around to what the symbols mean to me, but I wanted to double-check?

Many thanks!

[ecosophia]

This is one of those things where the personal factor is very important. Some people get good results by looking things up, others get distracted by the outside information. I like to get everything I can out of a set of symbols and then, if there are puzzles remaining, hit the reference books -- but your mileage may vary.

Freedom

[(Anonymous)]

It is frustrating to deal with friends, family, and so many others who think that my conservative views are some kind of personal moral failure. Logic does not work against doublethink, and I end up feeling lonely and finding solace in online videos that get me worked up about how liberty is dying.

The advice I got from meditation was to ask myself if I want to be right or do I want to be free, and then take the next logical step towards the latter.

It is difficult though because it feels like I should stand up for what I believe in before it is too late, but I need to find a way that is not a waste of time pointlessly bringing up negative emotions and destroying relationships

Any suggestions?

Re: Freedom

[ecosophia]

I'd encourage you to reflect on the idea that "standing up for what you believe in" amounts to getting into arguments with family and friends that you know will just result in a miserable experience for all concerned. You might consider instead finding a community, online or off, where you can discuss your political views with people who can handle them, and stop having political conversations with those who can't.

You may find, if you do this, that your friends and family start pushing back, trying to get you to defend conservative views to them so they can denounce you and feel morally superior. Don't give them that pleasure. Roll your eyes, say something like "Why bother? You just believe whatever the corporate media tells you," and walk away. Distance and silence are powerful tools. Learn to use them.

Numerology (humour)

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, JMG. I hope your study of numerology is progressing well.

You may recall sometime back, when you raised the topic of numerology, I had mentioned that South Asian culture can be kind of goofy about it. Well, in case you and the rest of the commentariat are ready for a good giggle, I present the following announcement made by a numerologist in India (which was included in various local language Indian newspapers yesterday):

“If you use the changed spelling of CARONAA and COVVIYD-19 by affixing the same to either doors or in public places or by typing the banner in all public places, CARONAA will be disappeared from not only from Ananthapuram District, but also from the world. This is guarantee as it is divine power as per NUMEROLOGY.”

Pure genius! And a lot better than the “magic” attempted by the politically correct movement to transform the world by replacing ‘bad’ words with ‘good’ words. Now you can just spell your problems away!

And why stop with viruses? It’s high time to fill the world with big banners filled with words like FAAMIN, WARRE, DETH, and FASHISM. Just imagine all the pernicious evils that can be effectively banished though alternative spelling. I think that I’ll start a big banner spelling WOAK today!

(Please keep in mind that I fully respect numerology as an occult science and wish all serious – as opposed to silly – numerologists all the best in pursuing said science)

Thanks, as always, for hosting this wonderful forum and sharing your occult knowledge so liberally – and thanks to the commentariat for asking so many interesting questions.

Ron M a.k.a (for today) Lavender Shabby Durian

Re: Numerology (humour)

[booklover1973]

In Myanmar it gets even weirder. The military government there introduced a while ago money bills with the denominations of 45 Kyat and 90 Kyat, because of local numerological superstitions (Kyat is the local currency).