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

[syfen]

Archdruid,

I've only every done scrying after opening a grove, is it possible to scry without doing a full grove ritual?

Regards,

Syfen

[ecosophia]

Yes, but it's usually a better idea to do it in a grove, or at least clear the space with a banishing ritual beforehand.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

Not a question but some info pertaining to the Dogme et Rituel books.

Here is a link to a bilingual version of Eliphas Lévy's Dogme et Rituel with the french and english versions side by side.

https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/daath-gnosis-and-eliphas-levi/dogma-of-high-magic/paperback/product-1k8qg7j7.html?page=1&pageSize=4

This book is available at the great river site, and one can actually peruse parts of the book. I find it to be a better translation than Waite's.

Here is a link for all those who are looking for links to the original french versions and other books from Eliphas Lévy.

https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%22L%C3%A9vi%2C%20%C3%89liphas%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22%C3%89liphas%20L%C3%A9vi%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22L%C3%A9vi%2C%20%C3%89liphas%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22%C3%89liphas%20L%C3%A9vi%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22L%C3%A9vi%2C%20%C3%89%2E%22%20OR%20title%3A%22%C3%89liphas%20L%C3%A9vi%22%20OR%20description%3A%22L%C3%A9vi%2C%20%C3%89liphas%22%20OR%20description%3A%22%C3%89liphas%20L%C3%A9vi%22%29%20OR%20%28%221810-1875%22%20AND%20%28%22L%C3%A9vi%22%20OR%20Levi%29%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29

Hope they can be of use,

Thanks as usual for your involvement in MM,

Sapienter Si Sincere

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this.

[(Anonymous)]

Additional info I forgot to mention,

Lulu is an American company and uses the "location" of the browsing person to determine the currency etc... So that is why the link contains references to Canadian content and currency since
I am based in Canada, I can change the currency to US dollars but not the web address "location" info. Any person based in the USA will be directed to the US based web site https://www.lulu.com and the page chosen in the bookstore will most probably indicate the currency in US dollars.

Sapienter Si Sincere

[flanerieoconnor]

Hi, JMG- one quick question this evening: do you happen to know if there is a traditional set of correspondences between the 7 planets of traditional astrology and the 7 liberal arts? I understand this might be a "fine theme for meditation" (in fact, the question was sparked by the content of a meditation on the path text of the 19th Path, which seems to associate the Sun and Astrology- I seem to also recall seeing mention of an association between grammar and Saturn, possibly somewhere in Frances Yates, but I'm not sure of the provenance), but I was curious as to whether there was a standard answer.

Thanks!
-NPM

[ecosophia]

I'm sure there is but I don't happen to know it. Anyone else?

[flanerieoconnor]

Actually,that turned out to be a much easier google search than I'd anticipated, largely because such a correspondence can be found in Dante- here's one link, for the curious: https://www.google.com/amp/s/heavenastrolabe.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/planets-and-the-seven-liberal-arts/amp/

And here's another, with a different scheme (not Dante's):
https://www2.naz.edu/dept/philosophy/liberal-arts-resources/classical-images-gallery/

Finally, an article link between the liberal arts and astrology as portrayed on the west door of Chartres Cathedral:
https://www.medievalists.net/2011/08/the-seven-liberal-arts-and-the-west-door-of-chartres-cathedral/

[(Anonymous)]

Good evening! I apologize if you've already been asked this before, but I am looking to join an occult group to help hone my practice and studies (and to help build up a great and healthy community of course!) as opposed to sticking to solitary study (i am sticking to the GD system). There's no way to say this nicely, so my question is, are there any crackpot groups I should avoid? I dont want to waste my time and money on people who can't deliver for whatever reason.

[ecosophia]

There are more crackpot groups than non-crackpot groups these days, and most of the serious groups keep a low profile and admit people solely on the basis of personal recommendation because there are so many individual crackpots out there. Yes, I know that's frustrating! Some of the old-fashioned occult correspondence courses out there have GD-style lodges connected to them, so that's one route you might consider exploring.

[(Anonymous)]

I saw in an earlier thread that you said you were a part of sria. Are their courses and practices effective, informative, and worth the price?

[(Anonymous)]

Are there any occult impacts of having a vasectomy?

[ecosophia]

Nope. I know a fair number of occultists who have had one, with zero impact on their magic.

[booklover1973]

When does your book about Pluto come out?

[ecosophia]

Sometime in 2022. I don't have a date yet.

[(Anonymous)]

1) A weird story from working at the library today, that I'm going to try to tie into occultism:

One of our regular patrons walks in and starts telling us about her trip to the hospital yesterday, courtesy of anaphylactic shock from a bee stinger. The first hospital the ambulance took her to refused her, because they had no space. The second hospital took her, but she got one of the last four beds. Apparently elsewhere in the city, emergency care places were turning people away.

When I asked why, she said there were simply so many accidents yesterday.

Chances are, this is just a weird and irrelevant story. But it got me thinking about your lunar eclipse chart - is it too farfetched to wonder if this is the onset of the public health crisis you predicted? *Dons tinfoil hat, retreats to basement.*

2) Do you or does anyone know of a decent book on Hindu cosmology? The fragments I find on Wikipedia are fascinating, but trying to read them on Wikipedia is like trying to eat a telephone book.

-Cliff

[ecosophia]

1) That's utterly fascinating -- and yes, it could indicate that. Anyone else?

2) I'll toss this to my Hindu readers. Any suggestions?

[brenainn]

I'm not sure if I'll word these questions correctly but here goes:

1. I've noticed that many of the Gods that I'd like to offer dulia to, and form relationships with, are associated with the life force. I'm wondering if it might be advisable to create a personal practice with a primary, possibly exclusive, focus on these types of Deities?

2. I feel drawn to several pantheons at this point, while maintaining primary devotion to the Holy Trinity. Perhaps selecting similar Deities from the different pantheons might be easier than trying to honor all the members of multiple pantheons?

[ecosophia]

You can do either or both of these if that's what you feel called to do. They're known options.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

My employer and I have just submitted a dossier to help me get a work permit so that I can stay for another year or two in my temporary city and country of residence. The dossier gets submitted to two govt. agencies, one of which I've heard can be somewhat capricious.

I'd like to make a planetary offering in support of this. I was thinking of making an offering to Mercury on its planetary hour on Wednesday. I would donate to a charity in my current city that helps the children of immigrants. Does this seem like the right way to do it?

Also would you or your readership have any other advice on this? E.g. I'm trying to find information on the colour of candles that I should light.

Unrelated, I'd just like to mention that I recently finished reading your novel 'Retrotopia'. I thoroughly enjoyed it. To take up one of its many ideas - with all the criminal hacking of corporate and government data that has been happening recently, I'm wondering if some people might find themselves amenable to the idea that centralizing all our sensitive data, then playing the resource-intensive cat-and-mouse game of securing these data from hackers, is maybe not the smartest way to go. Gonna start slowly picking away at my peer group (: A great book for our times anyway!

[ecosophia]

Bureaucracies are ruled by Saturn, not Mercury, so if you want them to favor you, burn a dark blue (indigo) candle on the hour of Saturn on a Saturday, and make three offerings to a Saturnian charity -- any help to the poor is Saturnine, as Saturn rules poverty, but you can also donate to a home for the elderly. I'm glad to hear you liked Retrotopia!

[(Anonymous)]

Oh wow, I was really off. Glad I managed to get the question in before midnight. Thanks a million!

[(Anonymous)]

A lot of other people have said that when they pick up occult work their interest in porn fades away. I've picked up occultism, and have found the opposite: my desire for porn has gone from bad to insane, and it is bad enough it is starting to interfere with my life. Do you know why this could happen? (LBRP, CGD)

[ecosophia]

Hmm. No, not really -- have you tried journaling about it?

[brenainn]

I had a similar situation. Even after taking up occult work, my addiction to porn remained very ingrained (and it derailed much of my early practice). After a lot of reflection, I realized that a demon had gotten attached to me and was helping to fuel my issues. I can't say if that's the cause of your situation or not (I second JMG's suggestion to journal about your issue). I used many of the methods mentioned by JMG in his "Monsters" book to make life as uncomfortable as possible for the entity. I do not think the entity has completely buzzed off to the depths of Hell but I'm now on the road to recovering from my porn addiction. And while there's an occult aspect to porn, of course, the material-bodily component is a powerful one, too. You might consider some of the information on this website: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/.