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.

The illustration? One of the two famous drawings from the Aurea Catena Homeri (Golden Chain of Homer) by Anton Josef Kirchweger, one of the last of the red-hot central European alchemists. The two dragons represent the two principles of his alchemy, niter and salr (which of course are not the material substances called by these names) and the metals are shown around a hexagram in the middle. 

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! 

***Brief Update: er, folks, this is Magic Monday, it's not Ask-Me-Anything Monday.  I've had to delete a bunch of questions on things unrelated to occultism. I do an open post on the fourth Wednesday of each month over on my blog for general questions. Thank you for keeping the conversation focused!***

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

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Recently a relative of mine who always seeks attention, bragged on facebook about getting "satanic" tattoos. Seeing the picture it looks like she got on each foot a large symbol covering the entire top of the foot in purple ink. On one of her feet is an enormous Pluto symbol, on the other is an enormous Leviathan Cross. The rest of my family found this freaky and seeing the images turned my stomach. Do you have a sense of what effects these symbols tattooed into the flesh might have on this person?

[ecosophia]

I think it's more important to think about what choosing to have those symbols tattooed into her flesh says about that person. What it says to me is "stay far, far away."

[jprussell]

Greetings!

As always, thanks so much for making the time to answer these questions, I learn a great deal from your answers to my and others' questions.

1. For the purpose of magical safety around children, is using the SOP to transform myself and/or to open a grove considered "more advanced than the SOP" or just another use of the SOP? I won't be getting to either for some months at the earliest, but I also don't expect my toddler to be going anywhere, so I'm trying to plan ahead, especially if I need to work out somewhere away from the house where I can work.


2. You've mentioned in the past that oracles don't much like having their advice ignored, and stop working well if you consistently do so. Does trying to follow the advice of divination, but doing it poorly because you're still learning the system, have a similar effect?


3. Speaking of divination, is there a better draw than the Three Rays for asking the Ogham a yes/no question?


4. In "On the Metaphysics of Sex", you talked about how most humans have a mixture of genders across their subtle bodies. Is there any speculation or writing about whether non-corporeal beings like gods and spirits also vary in gender between planes?

Thanks much,
Jeff

[ecosophia]

1) "Using the SOP" equals "using the SOP" equals "using the SOP." The intention doesn't change that.

2) No, so long as you're making an honest effort.

3) I tend to draw a single few and take that as the answer.

4) I haven't seen any speculation along these lines.

[mollari]

1) You mentioned before that when you pick up serious magical practice it can chase off noxious spiritual entities, and when that happens there's usually a crisis. Last week, someone asked about picking up practice and banishing the spell holding them in a life which sucks; and that it seemed the spell was fighting back.

Is it possible to tell what's just the normal consequences of banishing that spell, and when it's the crisis of banishing an astral parasite? I'm asking because I've been having a lot of problems pop up around around porn (and internet use generally) since I started banishing and had assumed it was the crisis, but I'm now wondering if it's just banishing the spell which made me think spending hours a day online was a good idea.

2) I've got a rather difficult and very complex natal chart with a lot of weird, contradictory, and challenging indicators, and so I'm hoping explore the chart in meditation. Do you have any advice on how to go about this?

3) I don't know if you saw the news, but Pope Francis has essentially banned the Old Rite Mass from being performed in the Catholic Church. I suspect this will be very bad for the church, but I'm also wondering about something else: given the sheer size of the Catholic Church, do you think the effective elimination of the Old Rite will have effects beyond the Catholic Church?

[ecosophia]

1) It's far from certain that the difference is meaningful. A self-sustaining pattern of energies on the inner planes can be experienced as a spell or an artificial elemental -- that is, an energy or an entity. Just keep on banishing!

2) Meditate on the planets one at a time, paying close attention to their house and sign placements. Then meditate on each of the aspects, one at a time. Then see if you can synthesize.

3) Yes, I saw the news. If I understand correctly, he didn't ban it outright, but he made it much more difficult to get permission to do it. The question now is what the response is -- and what happens when Francis dies. We could be fairly close to seeing a major schism.

Uranus in mundane astrology

[tunesmyth]

JMG,
In your most recent mundane astrology entry, you talked about how the mundane astrologists of the 19th century considered Neptune to be malefic. How did they classify Uranus? (I’ll guess malefic, reasoning from possibly spurious first principles.)

Re: Uranus in mundane astrology

[ecosophia]

Malefic as frack. Both the two outermost planets, as they saw it, were too unbalanced and extreme to blend well with any mundane chart -- Uranus is the force of extreme individuality and Neptune the force of pure unity, so both take on unbalanced forms in political terms.

[causticus]

Good evening Archdruid,

Through a series of vague dream experience I got the idea that a deity or deities from a specific pantheon ... let’s call them "Pantheon X"... may have tried to reach out to me in some way or another. So I did a series of divinations to see if I could get any insight on this.

First a Geomantic reading. I asked “Has any deity from Pantheon X tried to contact me?” Using a standard shield chart, I got Fortuna Minor as Right Witness, Conjunctio as Left Witness, and Amissio as Judge. Seems to me like a slightly negative reading, but kind of inconclusive.

The following day I drew three Ogham cards after asking, “What should I understand about Pantheon X and how they relate to me and my situation?” All three cards were drawn upright, the first being Tinne, the middle was Quert, and the future card was Nuin. This reading seems much more positive than the first.

Does it seem like from these two readings put together I had some sort of missed opportunity but if I make a concerted effort to reach out to deities in this Pantheon it may be a very beneficial thing for me? Or am I reading this all wrong?


-Alabaster Eldritch Opossum

[ecosophia]

No, your first reading is very clearly saying "No, they didn't try to contact you, but don't worry about it." The second is saying that they will listen and respond if you choose to call to them.

[extatic]

Greetings,

1. In the future i may wish to undertake a formal training of the GD system. I have been unable to find out is there are any lodges in Australia. Is GD limited to USA or would there be some lodges in Australia?

2. Any tips for a beginner on how to improve Visualisation? I am having quite a difficult time during the rituals to bring images to mind.

3. In your studies have you come across Ra Material The Law of One? If so do you feel these channellings hold truth?

Cheers

[ecosophia]

1) There isn't a single overall Golden Dawn organization these days, just a lot of independent temples. I have no idea what exists in Australia but it would surprise me if there weren't any.

2) Lots of practice. That's the only way I know of!

3) I've seen it but I haven't read it. I don't tend to put a lot of credence in channeled teachings, as so many of them are so dubious.

Compatibility

[christopheremrys]

Greetings, I have a question about the lack of compatibility between the groupings of your work as detailed on the Magic Monday FAQ. About a year ago, I began work on the Celtic Golden Dawn, and recently, I also began working the Dolmen Arch. I tend to work the Dolmen Arch material in the morning and the Celtic Golden Dawn in the evening. I only recently read that these systems are incompatible. From your perspective, is my morning and evening separation enough or would you suggest focusing on one system, completing it, and then moving on to the other?

Thank you for all your work.

Re: Compatibility

[ecosophia]

I would very strongly recommend doing one system, completing it, then going on to the other. They develop different energy centers and flows in the subtle body, and it's best not to mix them.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you know why so many people seem to have gotten into demonolatry over the last couple decades?

[ecosophia]

It's the usual thing -- lots of people want to get results from magic but they aren't willing to put in the hard work to get results the honest way. Demonolatry promises you results the easy way. Of course you end up dependent on demons, and the price of that dependence goes up and up and up, but if you're clueless enough you don't think of that going in...

[(Anonymous)]

Have you noticed a lot of people seem to feel the need to work in that they are vaccinated into every conversation, even with total strangers? Do you know what's going on here? It's really creepy....

[ecosophia]

Remember that the religion of progress is stumbling toward total failure around us. The vaccine is a pledge of faith in Science™, and the people who are saying "I'm vaccinated!" over and over again are saying "I believe, I believe!" in the hope that the great god Progress really will give them the Tomorrowland future they think they've been promised. It's a very common habit in the last stages of a failed religion.

New Transcripts

[happypanda]

I would like to announce 3 new transcripts


Tantra: Power of a Goddess - No. 4 (of 6)
https://happypanda.dreamwidth.org/#entry-6725

Tantra - Bring Your Imagination to Life - No. 5 (of 6)
https://happypanda.dreamwidth.org/#entry-6952

Are Isha Practices Tantric - 6 (of 6)
https://happypanda.dreamwidth.org/#entry-7226

I would like to say that although the questioner in the 3rd transcript asked about Isha the answers were not really about Isha but rather what exactly qualifies as a Tantra and what is a Yoga.

The interesting thing is that the 3rd transcript gives very specific criteria for what qualifies as a Tantra (psst. Levy's book fits all of them from what I can tell!)

After the 3rd transcript I gave 2 separate commentary but assuming JMG will permit it I'll C&P the first of the two here as I think some MM readers might information useful.

Also, as always - questions and comments are appreciated at my blog.

Cheers!

*****C&P of Commentary from 3rd Transcript*****


1st Commentary:

One of the key take-aways I got from this is


1. Tantra is procedural and uses things in one's environment to enhance well-being. [by Dharma tradition definitions - Western Magic definitely qualifies as a legitimate tantra and it's busy building and renewing its own authentic tantric lineages].


2. Tantra thus is a kind of technology.


3. It's governing principle is to use a procedure on living material (if you do A+B you get C) so as to unfold or reveal something which could not be done from the unfolding from that life on it's own.


4. Tantra as a procedural kind of "technology" - if you do it correctly long enough it will evolve into something completely unforeseen and unrecognisable to the practitioners. Once this happens the tantric procedure needs someone of greater wisdom and capabilities than the practitioners themselves to make sure the system doesn't twist into something that's abused and misused.


Now...putting all of the above together I noticed right away this process also describes the many-centuries long fascination of Europeans with the results of their machines and technology. It's as if Europeans wanted the benefits of Tantra (which needs living material to work on*) but wanted to see that same Tantric heightening beyond native capability and benefit happen with use of inert, non-living materials too! Heighten the possibilities of the inert in such a way that it could achieve things that would not be possible when just left to it's own nature. Which is the foundational premise of Tantra. Treat the inert, non-living with the same kind of proceduralness as Tantra does of living materials.

Thus...very weirdly...Tantra evolved into...materialist science! So it was no accident that Sir Isaac Newton was both an Alchemist Mage and a Scientist. And later it twisted again when it led to the Industrial Revolution. Thus, the "surprise tantric plot twist" led to the atheistic insistence that one doesn't need a god or unseen world to explain the world. It happens "mechanistically", "procedurally" and "evolutionarily". Yes, says Sadhguru because this is the very nature of anything Tantric. Over long enough time-frames when correctly done and maintained it will evolve into something completely unrecognisable.

Equally weirdly this in itself signifies something very Tantric-energy-wise was motivating Europeans as they were treating the inert so much the same as the living that they used Tantric proceduralness to unfold latent potentials in the Inert just like any practicing Tantric does of the living! You see something that appears different as the same. Scroll back in the transcript and read where Sadhguru says exactly this about Tantra. It finds the point in polarity that both poles share and sees the differences as the same.** This is EXACTLY what can make Tantra so powerful, potentially beneficial and when it all goes wrong - so debilitating and detrimental.


It was a hugely Tantric-way of seeing the Inert that was the unique gift Europeans brought to the world! Though, as Sadhguru has said - when it goes on long enough and heightens in pitch over time if someone of even greater wisdom than the inventors and users/practitioners doesn't (or can't) step in and guide it then it will invariably fall into misuse and abuse. Which is sadly exactly what has happened. (Sadhguru also had a talk about that too - see commentary #2 - which one can read if you click on the 3rd link to my blog)



This is an example of how a procedural technology used over a long-enough time period will give outcomes absolutely nobody anywhere can foresee. So now inert materials (ex: rare and common metals) give unforeseen results (radios, monitors, trains, jets, telephones, satellites, the internet, etc) one would never guess simply by leaving those inert components to continue in their own natures.


Sadhguru says because of the evolution of modern society’s digital high-tech there will come a twist once again in the far future when the very energy itself will encode information in a way no one on the planet will ever foresee. That means Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, AI, whatever have not foreseen it either! And it will happen in a way that no one, no matter how high their IQ, will be able to guess.


[Final sub-comment: It is, in my opinion, very likely that this evolutionary "twist" Sadhguru talked about will occur long after humanity as a species no longer exists on this planet and it will be Earth's next intelligent species who will be left with having to deal with said "surprise twist" that humanity initiated inert, non-living materials into.]


This also shows why predicting what will happen in the future strictly going by what's going on today or what happened in the past is bound to fail. Tantra by it's nature will evolve it's own procedure into something completely unforeseen and this is native to Tantric process. So what is true for the individual is doubly true for society as a whole. Humanity's use of Tantric-processes will evolve into something unforeseen and unless great wisdom and sense of responsibility, restraint and clarity comes then it will end up being abused and misused. Which - as one can see from my 2nd commentary - is precisely what has happened to humanity today.



*yes, I know Tantra and spiritual processes worldwide has always used inert materials in ceremony and ritual but it has never used inert material as the foundational material for the Inert itself to be the thing heightened via the ceremony or ritual procedure. It was European culture uniquely that seemed to stumble upon applying that Tantric procedure of heightening living matter to apply it to the Inert itself that delivered the 'tantric surprise plot twist' Sadhguru says is always the hallmark of any Tantric process that successfully goes on long enough.


**It just occurred to me this is what a lot of mathematicians attempt to do too within their discipline.

Re: New Transcripts

[happypanda]

It was after this 3rd transcript by Sadhguru, when I had time to think on it that it occurred to me this is serious evidence - what the Europeans achieved with their Tantric way of seeing the possibilities latent within the Inert - that more Magic lineages with authentic practices than I ever imagined got successfully passed on in Europe after the fall of Rome and even in the teeth of Christian opposition!

Sadhguru has said that Tantra as it was of old - the super-high level stuff - something along the lines as it was 15,000 years ago - cannot be taught openly these days anymore because humanity is too immature for it. If it were taught openly it would immediately be abused by too many people and humanity is already suffering enough as it is without adding misuse of high-level Tantra into the mix.

I immediately thought of the Magic Resistance and the Chan-Chaos mages when he said that and ended up having to sadly agree with his assessment. :(


He says small groups are being taught higher level Tantra but they all know they are stewards for preserving it for a day in the far future when humanity will finally be ready for it to be more widely taught again.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around a certain type of aspect. If your natal Saturn conjuncts the Grand Mutation should you think of it like Saturn mixing with a Saturnine-Jupiterian energy or Saturn taking the place of Saturn in the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction? (Basically if it would be like a ordinary conjunction).)

[ecosophia]

Well, unless you happen to be the planet Earth, the Grand Mutation only affected you when it was happening, and during that time you had a Saturn return plus a Saturn transit over your natal Jupiter. You would interpret each of those separately and then synthesize them.

[emmanuelg]

Hi JMG and commentariat!

Over on conjunction.dreamwidth.org, I posted a series of geomantic readings on the topic, “Will the House Burn Down This Year?” This is a reasonable question, since it is wildfire season here in British Columbia, we have had record high temperatures, and there are currently a lot of wildfires. The answer to my query seems to be ‘yes.’
(Mothers: Via, Laetitia, Laetitia, Fortuna Minor. See post for discussion comments.)

Question 1 – Nature of Perfection (a ‘yes’ answer) in a Geomantic Chart;
Is a ‘yes’ answer in a Geomantic Chart a firm yes, ie., “yes, no matter what you do, it is gonna happen,”
Or possibly does it provide critically important information, a likely outcome, but not necessarily certainty? This would be along the lines of Astrology’s, “The stars incline but do not compel.”

Naturally I want to know when the house (will? Is likely to?) burn down.
I cast a shield chart first, using Witness 2 as Quesited, decided I should have cast with a house chart in mind, and so re-cast a house chart with House IV as Quesited. Other commenters made a good case for using House VIII as the Quesited. Looking at both charts and collating data for IV and VIII, I get two groups of results; July 9 to 20, and Sept 18 to 24.

Question 2 – Geomantic Time (APG pp. 147-150).
Is the House Chart a better choice for time readings, or could a Shield Chart be used, as above?

Question 3 -- For this particular question, would you have used House IV, House VIII, or something else as the Quesited?

Unlike the people living in the shadow of the dam, I am doing everything I can to prevent the house from burning down, and will continue my efforts no matter what feedback I get on the topic. If nothing else, Spiritus Mundi has made me highly motivated to fix the landscaping and other features that put my house at risk for catching fire. That can’t be a bad thing.

The results are verifiable (!) so to me, it seems to be an excellent case for learning about Geomancy, no matter how things turn out. Thanks for any insights anyone has on this one.

--Lavender Crunchy Snail

[ecosophia]

1) I treat such readings as "this is the way things are moving right now."

2) I'd use the house chart.

3) I'd use the 4th house, as it rules houses and real estate. In my experience the 8th doesn't have anything to do with houses -- it rules magic, death, and the movable property of the partner.

Geomancy on job

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I applied for a job and went for several rounds of interviews over June. However, over July, there have been many delays with moving forward. I'm still in contact with the HR guy and he's given me a few updates, but the last update is that the hiring manager went on holiday.

I cast a chart with the question: "Will I get an offer before August?"

Four Mothers:
Puer
Populus
Populus
Rubeus

This gave a court of
RW: Carcer
LW: Carcer
Judge: Populus

Populus as the judge seems to me an uncertain figure at this point, possibly many people are involved in the process. Carcer as both witnesses highlights this delay and suggests that it might continue?

I took a look at the house chart too. As a 10th House matter, there actually is perfection where Puer passes from the 1st to the 9th. But the figures involved aren't very positive: Puer and Rubeus.

I was actually thinking of sending the hiring manager a direct email to ask for updates -- it seems to me that this might represented by the conjunction between the 1st and 9th, but it might ruffle some feathers along the way.

Putting it together, my reading is that taking action on my part (Puer) can help to get me the offer, but there will be additional delays (Carcer) that mean a date before August might be difficult.

Re: Geomancy on job

[ecosophia]

Okay, first of all, I don't recommend interpreting the same reading via shield and house chart -- the results are very often contradictory. Decide which you're going to do in advance, and stick with it.

As a shield chart, this is a pretty solid "no," but the problem isn't you -- the delays and difficulties you've been experiencing are affecting a lot of people (Populus).

[(Anonymous)]

A while back I think you mentioned that aspects between a natal chart and the Grand Mutation might mean something important, but I've since lost exactly what you said. However, I'm suddenly very curious because every single planet in my natal chart is within five degrees of an exact aspect with something on the Grand Mutation, and the Grand Mutation itself is within a tenth of a degree of my ascendant.

In general what do aspects between a Grand Mutation and a natal chart signify?

[ecosophia]

Any time your natal chart has close connections with any mundane chart, that tells you that your life will be strongly affected by the changes shown in the mundane chart. The nature of the effects is shown by the nature of the aspects.

[(Anonymous)]

Brother Greer and Commentariate,

I believe I've mentioned before some lightly magical teaching from a direct sales organization that I sell products from to keep my kids in ballet slippers.

Tuesday last my director had everyone watch a video from one Marc Allen. What I got was that it was sort of the basic rah-rah you can have anything and everything you want together with a pretty solid build an affirmation technique, but I'm lousy at video. (Title Dare to Dream, if anyone wants to look it up.)

It seemed like something my husband might find interesting, I asked, he was, and so I went hunting for the link, and found that the same gentleman has recorded videos titled The Magical Path and Middle Pillar Meditation, and thought uh-oh, does this gentleman know his stuff?

Not my area of study, but I figured I better ask if he's got any sort of reputation anyone here has heard of, or if anyone knows him. His website is here: https://marcallen.com/

(And if the answer is negative, then I have to figure out what, if anything, I should say to fifteen ladies. And my husband, but he's fairly easy, comparatively. So I'm really hoping someone here says oh yeah, Marc Allen's solid, no worries.)

Thanks,
BoysMom

[ecosophia]

I've had some minor dealings with his publishing house, and as a publisher he has a decent reputation. What he seems to be teaching is classic New Thought with a little classic occultism sprinkled on for flavoring. It's useful stuff so long as you don't already have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement!

I have a negative entity attached to me and I don't know what to do

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I have a negative entity of some sort attached to me and feeding off of my depression, etc. It's definitely a supernatural thing, paranormal things have been happening in my house (apparitions, stuff being rearranged etc) and my other family members have experienced them as well. I don't think I can get over my depression until it's gone.
I'm not sure what to do. My mom is in contact with a group of psychics who I'm pretty sure are scammers. I want to be able to exorcise it myself but haven't been given much good advice.

Re: I have a negative entity attached to me and I don't know what to do

[ecosophia]

I'm sorry to hear that you're not getting good advice! Fortunately you have a lot of options.

First, I'd recommend that you start taking regular protective baths of the kind described in the Magic Monday FAQ. Those are used in traditional Southern conjure to get rid of noxious energies. Take one once a week at least. (This is apart from your regular showers or baths or what have you.)

Second, you might want to consider taking up the practice of the Sphere of Protection, a ritual that's intended to strengthen and cleanse your subtle bodies and chase off hostile entities. It's designed to be learned a step at a time. You can find the instructions here -- scroll down to the bottom to get started.

Those two between them should take care of the problem.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

3 Q’s plus some blabbing.

1. What is the esoteric function of crying? Correct me here, but I think I read you say somewhere that yawning is part of your etheric body ‘refreshing’ — is crying similar? I’ve been going through my culmination (and some other stuff I mention below) and I’ve just been fountain the past couple days. I know that I’m processing a lot of stuff, but I’m just wondering what’s happening beyond the physical here.

2. I got a tarot reading from an “interesting” lady on the street and I’m not sure how seriously to take it. I’ve never gotten a reading from anyone other than myself before this. After she dealt the cards she told me she “always manifests positive readings” for people. Some of what she said felt quite relevant, but she also said some pretty bizarre, well, “stuff” would be the polite word for it. What do you think? Is there like a rule of thumb for ignoring a tarot reading, or do the cards just show you what you need to know regardless?

3. A few years ago I had a really, really, bad mental health period and in the middle of it I treated someone very stupidly. I didn’t do anything heinous but I still have some residual embarrassment about it (I’ve been journalling, don’t worry). The divination I did said “yeah, you should probably do something”, but I didn’t realize until afterwards that I don’t have their number or any way to contact them anymore. Obviously it’s not right to do magic for someone without their consent — Is there anything you can recommend here? Just generally praying for their wellbeing would be out for that same reason right?

I can’t talk about it much, but I undertook something magically heavy for me this week. I’ve been having a bizarre couple of weeks, and after some hints from the universe, serious reflection, and divination, I decided it was the right thing to do. It’s already been very difficult, and frankly I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, but I’m dealing. I just want to say thank you — I wouldn’t have gotten to this point if you hadn’t been very kindly putting up with my questions since i started posting here.

Cheers,
Reid

[ecosophia]

1) You know, I don't think I've ever seen a discussion of the esoteric dimension of crying. It's clearly purificatory in nature -- salt water purifies, and tears are basically salt water -- but beyond that, well, research needs to be done.

2) What the cards show you is one thing. What a randomly chosen "positive" tarot reader makes of them is something else again! File the improbable details away somewhere as unproven, and take a look at them again in a couple of years.

3) One thing you can do is do some serious planetary charity on the other person's behaif. Saturn is the planet who governs debts of all kinds, so make three payments to a Saturnine charity during the day and hour of Saturn, offering those up as a repayment of the debt you feel you owe to the person. They then get the benefits of the offering in whatever form Saturn chooses -- and what Saturn chooses will be exactly right for that person. That's a magically ethical way to deal with something like this.

4) You're most welcome! I know the feeling -- and sometimes it's a necessary thing to go through.

[(Anonymous)]

The night before last I had a dream about a method of achieving immortality. It involved replacing a portion of a person's blood with a special kind of water. It worked and made them immortal but left the person watered down, diluted, and without any passion. Is there any precedent for that in mythology or occultism, or is it just my subconscious doing its thing? :)

[ecosophia]

I think it's just your subconscious doing your thing. Have you considered meditating on it?

[(Anonymous)]

You've described how magic in fantasy novels is different to the real thing. What do you think of magic realism?

[ecosophia]

As in the Latin American literary genre? Enormous fun, but misnamed -- in terms of magic, it's not realism.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I’m having an ongoing issue in work. There is a lot of turbulence with my boss and his inability to act in our charitable foundation’s best interest. These might even have regulatory consequences. That’s all I’ll say in this forum

I wonder how does one address situations like this magically, if at all. Is it best to shield oneself with the typical magical hygiene regime, which I already do, or do you use magic to unveil what is going on? In which case I think there would be a lot of blow back.

If I can’t fix it is there any other protective measures I can put up?

I keep thinking this is a case of just sticking it up and dealing with it, but it’s getting to the point that if something doesn’t happen there will be a major upset.

Anyway thanks, and feel free not to post this comment if it’s not right for this forum.

[ecosophia]

In your place I'd use magic to protect myself, and then burn some incense and invoke the planet Jupiter (who governs charity and also law) on his day and hour weekly, asking him to intervene and make things work out for the best. Anything more direct than that would risk serious blowback.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, I'm working through TKIO and this is the first time I noticed the definition of magic as "the art and science of causing changes in consciousness in accordance with will." As you said, you took this from Dion Fortune and when I searched I saw you've been using this description for quite some time.

Seeing it for the first time in this book, my first reaction was actually that I'm being pandered to. It sounds a lot like, well these rascals call it "magic", but it's really just psychological tricks and sleight of hand, nothing that couldn't be explained within conventional scientific endeavour. I don't think that's what you meant, but it's a possible reading. So I'm curious - is this controversial? Are there magical practitioners who resent having their work lumped in with activities like political and commercial advertising? And did you choose it intentionally to ease general readers into your work who might be put off if you went full archdruid on them?

All the best! - Treefrog

[boccaderlupo]

Magic is 80 percent self-psychologizing and 20 percent magic.

Axé!
Fra' Lupo

Improving accuracy of divination

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

Thank you for all of your help on these Magic Mondays. I am trying to improve the accuracy of my divination readings. Apart from a lot of regular practice, what would you recommend to improve the connection?

Re: Improving accuracy of divination

[ecosophia]

I find that daily discursive meditation is very helpful, especially if you meditate on the symbols of the oracle you're using.

Biography on a tarot deck

[(Anonymous)]

I am working on a very interesting magician's biography on a tarot deck with a pretty good graphic artist. My problem is that I am a very bad writer (dyslexic, although know grammar, I am somehow bad grammar sponge if I don't look closely over it). Would it be right to write it as excerpts or quotes. What alternative do I have? I tried to get a poet friend to help me but he is not interested or knowledgeable in the subject he said.

Re: Biography on a tarot deck

[ecosophia]

I'm trying to parse this and not making any sense of it. Are you making a tarot deck using imagery out of someone's biography? Or what?

I can tell you that you can only do excerpts or quotes if you have been given the right to do so by the owner of the copyright.

Neighbors

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG, our next door neighbors are well known as unpleasant people. we seem to be having more run ins with them lately,screaming and cursing at a friend with here children present for parking next to their lawn etc
Is there a way to use some kind of sweetening spell to reduce this conflict?
I've considered trying to get them to move on but don't want any blow back if that is not appropriate. What would you suggest to help in this situation?

Re: Neighbors

[ecosophia]

Well, what kind of background do you have in magical practice?

Sage advice from a green Wizard

[(Anonymous)]

Honored druid,

I remember reading in an old Archdruid report post, that wizards in the past were learned men with a broad assortment of knowledge, so they could advise the people. I would seek such sage advice.

The peak oil theme has been rearing its head on your main blog again and I do not doubt its coming. What advice would you have for a middle aged engineer working for an automotive corporation for the situation ahead? I really doubt the promoted stability of the arrangement.

Re: Sage advice from a green Wizard

[ecosophia]

I'd encourage you to begin picking up the skills and knowledge that would enable you to do some other kind of engineering that will be useful in a time of energy shortages and economic contraction. There are plenty of options -- people, and businesses, will still need engineering skills all the way down the curve of decline.

Hmm -- I'm also remembering that a lot of automotive companies in the 1970s went whole hog into fuel-efficient vehicles, and some of them did fairly well as a result. If you can, you might want to see how your company weathered the energy crisis of the 1970s, if it existed then. If not, looking into how other companies managed the period might be worthwhile. When the next oil crisis hits, if you can go to management and say, "I've spent the last year looking into how our firm dealt with this last time, and here are some things that worked and some things that didn't," you might make yourself a very valuable asset to the company -- with corresponding impact on your job security et al.