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 famous Rosicrucian emblems of Daniel Cramer. The Latin word on top means "I am illuminated," and the heart with an open eye is shown between a lantern (the same lantern, symbolically, that is carried by the Hermit in the ninth arcanum of the tarot) and a book, in which is written Verbum Domini manet in aeternam ("the word of the Lord endures forever"). 

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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

[(Anonymous)]

I use a small imagined temple to do my LBRP and MP when I can't do them physically. I have it surrounded by a big rose garden and labyrinth. Recently the rose garden and labyrinth were missing, and there was just sandy desert, and that wasn't me. What do I make of that?

[ecosophia]

A theme for meditation. I mean this quite seriously; treat it as a dream, and meditate on it to figure out what meaning it is trying to communicate to you.

Priority of Daily Work, Twice Daily Meditation, Middle Pillar vs Inner Grail, Elemental "Powers"

[jprussell]

Hello!

As always, thanks very much for your time and care in answering these questions.

1. For this one, I know that the right answer is "reorganize your life and your priorities so you can give you daily magical work the time and attention it deserves". That being said, if one does decide to spend less time on magic on a given day, is there an order of priority as to what to do? Is it better to do a shorter version of all three core practices (ritual, meditation, divination), or to pick one or two (I assume ritual and meditation are more vital to do than divination)?

2. Another poster asked on the practical upper limits of meditation, and you recommended no more than two 15 minute sessions, one in the morning, and one in the evening. Does it make a difference if these are on similar or very different topics? For example, Debby the dabbler might meditate on the Ogham in the morning and a tarot major arcana in the evening, whereas Bob the eager beaver might choose to meditate on two different correspondences for one of the fews in the same day. Would you expect these two to have comparable or rather different outcomes, assuming both are already fairly comfortable with meditation and good at setting aside the needed time and following through?

3. It seems that the Middle Pillar exercise and the Inner Grail exercise are roughly equivalent, in terms of having the point of awakening centers in the subtle body/bodies, and yet the MP is introduced very early in GD practice, whereas the Inner Grail is not introduced until rather later in the DMH. Is this because the use of two currents, rather than one, is more challenging/risky, or for some other reason?

4. Perhaps a minor point, but in the Sphere of Protection, for each element we call on the "powers" of that element - does this mean more "strengths, abilities, potentials", or more "spiritual beings of unspecified kind/rank/strength", or is the ambiguity perhaps intentional?

Thanks,
Jeff

Re: Priority of Daily Work, Twice Daily Meditation, Middle Pillar vs Inner Grail, Elemental "Powers"

[ecosophia]

1) Reorganize your life and your priorities so you can give you daily magical work the time and attention it deserves. That really is the only correct answer.

2) It varies from person to person.

3) The Middle Pillar wasn't traditionally introduced early in GD practice. In the original order, you didn't learn it until you reached Portal grade -- roughly two years after you start work. That's longer than necessary, but it's good to put in a few months of hard work before you get to it. The same is true of the Grail working -- and since I have students start that with self-initiation rituals, they need to have the ritual framework down before they do that.

4) The ambiguity is entirely intentional.

Ancestor Veneration and Contact

[brenainn]

I've been reflecting on a lot the past few weeks. One of the things that keeps recurring to me is the loss of several dear family members over the past few years: my father, an aunt, two uncles, a brother-in-law, and others. Is it possible and advisable to create a shrine to one or more of them, and perhaps make offerings and seek some kind of contact with them? I would especially like to do this with my father and my brother-in-law, but I am not sure if this is wise.

Re: Ancestor Veneration and Contact

[ecosophia]

Unless you belong to a tradition that practices ancestor reverence, I recommend praying to the deity of your choice instead, and asking the deity to bless the dead people. Contact between the living and the dead is not generally a good idea.

Guidence on the path of the lonely ones

[vitranc]

Good evening JMG,

If I may, I have some questions.
1. I noticed on the other blog, while following the discussion on Doctrine and Ritual that one of the commenters was writing from the same geographical region as me. I got excited to find someone who also shared the interest in real life and almost wrote you a comment, if you could forward my contact. But when conferring with ogham it advised against it. I dug a bit further and it also advises not to a apply with an organized group. I have the intention to follow the advice, would you have any thoughts on why an ogham Oracle would consistently advise isolation?
2. Since I had quite some time to think about it I came up with a thought and asked the ogham if (because ever since I started Druidry there was a kind of feeling of things just following a kind of path, almost guided) I was being guided by someone. The answer was yes. But the follow up question of “by who” got me a answer “you are not ready to learn”. In your experience and knowledge, what could this mean? And how does it usually go?
3. Lastly a simple question about the SoP. When invoking the Spirit below where does one write the circle. I trace it in front of me, like on a table. But then I move it below my feet so it floats about one feet below where I am standing. Is this right, or should I imagine it in front on table height?

Best regards,
V

Re: Guidence on the path of the lonely ones

[ecosophia]

1) You might ask the Ogham! If I had to guess, however, it's because these days a lot of groups are very troubled and toxic.

2) It can be very challenging to work with an inner plane guide, and a lot of people who try it stop making their own decisions and expect the inner plane guide to do that for them. This isn't at all helpful. Give it time; when you're ready, you'll make contact.

3) I do what you do -- trace it in front of me and then send it down beneath me.

Filling in the blanks for a lunar conjuration

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John
I'm consecrating a lunar talisman tomorrow, but there's one detail I haven't been able to figure out for the ceremony. How exactly should I fill in the blanks of the conjuration example you give in the simple consecration ritual in Circles? I'm guessing the intelligence of intelligences goes in "planetary intelligence", but I'm not sure who should I call where the conjuration says "planetary spirit". Is it the spirit of spirits, or is it Chashmodai? Whats the difference between them?

Thanks as always
JP

Re: Filling in the blanks for a lunar conjuration

[ecosophia]

Yes, you invoke the Intelligence of Intelligences in the space for the planetary intelligence, and you invoke both the spirit of spirits and Chashmodai under planetary spirits. Chashmodai is the specific spirit, but Shad Barshemoth ha-Shartathan is the spirit who rules all lunar spirits, so you call on him and then Chashmodai. (The Moon is so much closer to Earth that more of its hierarchy interacts with us.)

A question about a loaded topic

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG and commentariat.

Firstly. John. since I am asking about the loaded topic of corona vaccinations. If you find this inappropriate for this space, or see potential for unwanted heat. I defer to your mighty Hammer of bane and the wielding of it. This is why I write this question in a separate post.

1. ) JMG and commentariat. Recent life developments have put me on a path where I am going to be in a space where it will be increasingly difficult to operate without getting a corona vaccination. I am therefore in a situation where I am more or less going to have to get vaccinated. We have been living with the vaccinations going on around us for the last 7 months.
- what are your experiences and observations in regard to vaccinations, both corporeal and for those who see more clearly on the inner planes the esoteric?

Re: A question about a loaded topic

[ecosophia]

Very mixed. Some people seem to be doing fine. Others have never been healthy since they got the vaccine. I haven't been in close contact with a lot of vaccinated people so I don't have a clear sense of the magical side of it.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG.

Hope you’ve been well over this past week! Two questions and tiny bit of blabbing.

1. Since around January I’ve had a handful of experiences which I think might be slowly surfacing memories from my previous life. This is all fine. The issue is that they’re from a specific place in a historically significant time period. How aggressively should I avoid information about the time/events for the potential years it will take for these things to work themselves out naturally? I have a few books related to the subject I’d like to get to, but I’m all too aware of what your unconscious pukes up when even slightly provoked.

2. You said something on the Everything Imaginable show that I’m curious about. When talking about divination you said that the universe is always communicating with us, and I think the host missed an obvious question — is it actually communicating with each of us specifically on its own terms, or is the signal we pick up just kind of, well, collateral? It seems to me that it would be the latter probably, but I’m curious what you think.

Blah blah blah:

Out of nowhere on Friday I had a very sudden intrusive thought. It very confidently said: “I am starting to learn the lessons of this life”. I thought about it for a bit and realized that with everything that’s going on for me lately it might actually be true. Just thought this was worth sharing. It felt refreshing to have a bit of positivity bubble up from under the surface for, uh, the first time.

Cheers,
Reid

[ecosophia]

1) Have you considered using divination to figure this out?

2) It's the latter. If I were phrasing it more carefully, I'd say that the universe is full of information flows that we can pick up.

Yet another set of assorted questions

[open_space]

Good evening JMG!

Getting back to where I was a month ago, when I veered off in cowardice from my practices for an entire week and have been revising some of my notes before and after. Something that I noticed is that shortly or probably during that week a lot of bad things happened to me, some sort of bad luck, and I even got sick shortly after. Is it at all possible that me stopping my practices caused my karma to hit stronger or something of the sort?

I started reading Atkinson's The Astral World (Wow, I have underestimated him severely because of the "New Thought" label which seemed New Agey to me) and in there he mentions some things about how occultist explore the Astral World. My question is, can the chord that binds you to your physical body really be severed and broken somehow?

I have also noticed that at different times of the day, some elements seem to be stronger during my LRP. Is there some sort of elemental atmospheric cycle around the land for example?

Lastly, when I banish, the astro-etheric crud has some go somewhere right? Where does it go? If crud, and I am speculating, has some sort of elemental composition I assume that perhaps the pentagrams "undo" the crud and let it incorporate as healthy manifestations of the elements?

When I was a kid, I used to --I vaguely remember this-- imagine a sphere of light around myself when I was scared and my parents when they left home. Now I know that could have actual effects, which I find amusing actually, that my 5 year old me would do that! However, I want to ask, is it safe to do so?

Many thanks in advance, as always

Re: Yet another set of assorted questions

[ecosophia]

1) Yes. That's one of the reasons why it's a good idea to keep doing your practices no matter what.

2) Don't worry about it. That cord's astonishingly resilient; it will break only when your physical body is ready to die.

3) Fascinating. Yes, the elements move through a cycle over the course of the day; the Golden Dawn adopted the Hindu system of tattvas to track this. (You can find the details in Regardie's big book.)

4) The pentagrams dissolve the crud and its raw energies are reabsorbed into the normal cycles of the astral and etheric planes. It's rather like composting, in a way.

5) Fascinating. That's a common magical technique in some schools. Yes, it's safe; I wonder if you remembered it from a previous life.

Etheric & Astral consequences of tooth fillings?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,

All through my adolescent years in the 90s, most of my teeth were diagnosed with cavities, one by one, and then consequently drilled and filled. Do you know if there are any etheric / astral consequences to walking around all the time with those little metallic chunks in my mouth?

Thanks,
Omer

Re: Etheric & Astral consequences of tooth fillings?

[ecosophia]

The astral plane isn't affected by metals, but the etheric plane can be. I don't know if anyone's done a study of the etheric effects of mercury amalgam, though.

Gnomes and Aborted Summoning

[goatgodschild]

Hello, Mr. Greer!

It's been a busy week over here, so here is one question and one anecdote, which may prove amusing or may not.

1) What are gnomes like? Information on them as elemental representatives seems much more scanty than for sylphs, undines, and salamanders. Experiences from the commentariat are also welcome.

2) When I was in high school, my girlfriend at the time wanted me to summon "Luci" (Lucifer), her "real boyfriend". Apparently he was better in bed than I was, and a better kisser.

While I had found a summoning ritual, I was afraid to perform it because I:
a) Didn't want to mess it up and make things worse
b) Didn't want to go to hell, or die and then go to hell
c) Didn't have reasonable amount of supplies
d) Had no directed magical control for such a powerful entity
e) Had done no practice runs

I recommended starting with a low ranking angel, then move up to imp. She was not a fan of this prospect, and got very angry. Turned out, she was planning to sacrifice me to Lucifer after I summoned him, and that was going to allow her to reign at his side as his queen. So she broke up with me for being "boring". And I am very glad she did.

Re: Gnomes and Aborted Summoning

[ecosophia]

1) My contacts with them have been very friendly. They tend to be formal and somewhat rigid in their behavior patterns, by comparison with other elementals, but if you treat them with respect and thank them for their help they can be very helpful indeed.

2) Oog. This reminds me of the 2014 Slenderman stabbing case, where two teenage girls tried to murder a third as an offering to Slenderman. Be very glad you backed away from the crazy person...

Occult is everywhere

[abrahamjpalma]

Good day.

I'd like to share some of my lately observations. It's about seeing what you are looking for. You know how easy it is to find face shapes in almost any random shape, right? That's believed to be because we are instictively trained to find other people. Since I started the study of Cosmic Doctrine, a lot of 'forms' have arisen, though some of them were very explicit, a few of them were subtle and I wonder if it was just me imagining things. Since I am learning about the occult, I see occult themes everywhere.

For instance, I recently completed a RPG game named Persona 4. This game is rooted in Jungian philosophy and it does not shy about it, there is even a channel in the game with a teacher talking about Jung. The game itself is a bit dull and I had to force myself to finish it just to build up some diligence. In this game, you have to know (as in gnosis) a few people, all shaped by tarot cards. For example, the Hanged is the story of a boy who has lost his sister and hasn't been able to cry for her yet. You progress in his story faster by saying what the boy wants to hear so he trusts you and opens himself to you (that is, don't talk about the dead sister before he is ready). This seems to be a very japanese thing, the art of talking wihtout offending.
Characters go to another dimension by watching an unplugged TV at night, in a way that resembles scrying, but they don't explicitly say so. There, inside the TV, they find the shadows, made out of the desires of people. Characters that face their own shadows, and accept that these shadows are a part of them, become stronger and are able to command their Personas. (Know thyself?)
The final battle is against the goddess that created Japan in mythology and the weapon that defeats her is the Orb of Truth, made from the fragments of memories with the power to dispel any fabrications and lies. After being defeated, she admits to have touched three newcomers to the village with the power to contact their shadows, and I couldn't avoid to think about traveling atoms that attract other established atoms in their orbit. These three characters were foreigners (traveling atoms) but only one of them managed to gather enough villagers (static atoms) in his orbit and defeated the goddess (created a body/mind?).
Nothing of this was explicit. Whoever designed the game knew this stuff very well.

In another TV show (The Irregulars, set in the Sherlock Holmes scenery, but it's about magic), the Magus of a mystical order called Golden Dawn was found dead in the shape of the Mage tarot card. The inner circle is then gathered to choose a new Magus. One of the attendants is called Alan Crowley, portrayed as an egotistic fanatic who believe in magic, but without any powers himself. Spoiler, he was not the assassin.

In an outreach channel called Veritasium, I learned about the E. Coli long term evolution experiment, by Richard Lenski. That was really interesting. At one point, the bacteria developed the ability to feed on a different substance in the growth medium. Since they can 'rewind', they went back to previous samples to find that the bacteria developed the new ability again and again, but not always at the same time. The theory says that when all permutations have been tested, a new genotype arises, but the exact moment is ruled by randomness. It was a personal shock to find the exact same words of the evolution of a Cosmos upon Fortune in the mouth of a reputable scientist. It was, in some sort, the confirmation that genes have memory.

I've also meditated a little about what I learned when I meditate on the visions from the scrying. A metameditation. They are almost always subsconscious thoughts expressed in images. These thoughts I could have thought them in words, which is my usual way. In fact, I don't make much sense of them until I meditate on them and translate the images to words.
It struck me that what I am doing is learning a new language, made out of images instead of words. I am letting my mind express itself in images and learning what they mean in the process. Nature doesn't talk with words. It manifests itself to our senses, but what we get is the raw images and sounds. It is actually saying things, but we can't learn what it is saying since we don't know the language.
If I put them into words, I'm doing a translation of a translation, and thus I am missing much of the message.

Watching a movie with my son is very revealing. Many scenes are full of implicit messages that I can make sense because I have experienced the situations, while my son who is completely fresh is clueless. That leads to him laughing at some scenes and me laughing at completely different ones. But I can't show him what was funny, he just doesn't understand. He needs to experience things and then come back so the message is seen again in a new light. What applies to him, applies to me I guess. I remember well when you said that occult is not actually hidden, the knowledge is there in plain sight if you know what you are looking at. It's just the same reason why my son doesn't get the jokes for adults. I have to experience more things and be attentive if I want to increase my understanding, to attain sageness.

PS. On the subject of translations, how can you possibly translate a calembour? The most famous is from Quevedo: "Entre una flor y una rosa, su majestad escoja", which the artist said to the lame queen of Spain while offering her some roses, who hated being mocked of her lameness. Any attempt at translating will either ruin the joke or the message.

Best argument against reductive materialism?

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Archdruid, I wanted to ask you what the best argument is against the position that all magical, mental and spiritual phenomena are just some type of neurological hallucination. I do not sympathize with the intentions of the people who believe in this type of reductive materialism, but I am a cynical person by nature and find that argument to be deeply seductive and resonant with the cynical parts of my own mind.

Re: Best argument against reductive materialism?

[ecosophia]

The same logic used by reductive materialists can also be used to prove that reductive materialists themselves are just some type of neurological hallucination. The logical fallacy at the heart of materialism is the claim that experiences of the kind we call "sensory" are by definition objectively real and external to the self, while all other experiences are by definition neither. That claim can't be defended rationally -- any good survey of epistemology will introduce you to the reasons why it falls flat on its nose.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning,

I had a job interview scheduled for this past day of Saturn, hour of Saturn, but it was (perhaps unsurprisingly) delayed. Instead the interview has been rescheduled for this upcoming day of Mars, hour of Saturn.

1) Maybe it's my nerves, but I don't like the thought of interviewing at the hour of two malefics. Is there a way I should re-interpret this, or is there something I can do beforehand to improve conditions?

2) The interviewer (who arranged the time of the meeting) will be in a different time zone, where I believe it will be the day of Saturn, hour of Jupiter when the interview occurs. Does this have any bearing on events?

Thank you for your time and patience in answering our questions!

[ecosophia]

1) Well, how are those two planets dignified in your natal chart? If they're favorable, then that's a good time for you. (I have a well-dignified Saturn and the day and hour of Saturn is always a good time for me.)

2) Only for him. You get the planetary influence where you are.

Miscellaneous questions

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

1. I am close to completing the CGD Bardic Grade, having just a couple of the pathworkings of the work of fire to go. Do you think there would be a significant enough difference in my elemental balance before and after these pathworkings such that it would be best to wait until after them to divine for the herbs to tincture for the initiation ceremony, or would it be fine to do it and start them now?

2. I live in an Australian city in its second full lockdown and I sense that this time has really torn it for a lot of people. The general vibe is about what you'd expect. general fear and unease in the supermarket. There is great division and vitriol between the maskist lockdown supporters and those who are against it, resulting in the first large organised protests here. My wife and I cruised through the first one but this time it is really getting to us, compounded by the fact that our life sucks in a lot of ways that are now in sharp focus, all of which we can do next to nothing about. It's just oppressive here. Is there any emergency magical measures you would recommend beyond those on the FAQ to support morale and fend off fear and depression? We likely still have weeks ahead of us.

3. Further to 2, I have been trying to work out how to get to to a life that doesn't suck for 18 months. I've journalled, done divination, prayed, considered all the ways I am secretly working to keep myself in place and why that would be, and after all that, I'm still right where I was. All these methods have worked for other issues but not to provide any guidance towards a better overall life situation. What gives?

Thanks again for Magic Mondays. They are priceless.

Re: Miscellaneous questions

[ecosophia]

1) You can do the divination and get the herbs started at any time. I'm glad to hear you're doing the work!

2) Go ahead and learn the OIW ritual from the beginning of the Druid Grade. You're far enough along that you should be able to work well with it, and it has very positive effects in situations like the one you've described.

3) It's really simple. Identify the things that make your life suck, and change them. If your job sucks, get a different job. If your neighborhood sucks, relocate. The inner work is important but you can't just do that and expect everything to get better. The material plane is also important, and you can act on that plane as well as on the others.

[(Anonymous)]

You have mentioned before about certain books being dangerous. I like all of your books and translations, but an inner voice is telling me that perhaps I shouldn't own a copy of the Picatrix. Would I be right in saying that this book is one of those spooky and dangerous books that you shouldn't have in your house.

[(Anonymous)]

The traditions dealing with such books usually distinguish between a few different types. The picatrix definitely seems to have more potency than the average mass-market occult paperback, but that isn't intrinsically dangerous. It does however, also mean that its chances of playing badly with something else in your house or interfering with other practices is also much higher than said paperbacks. There are other reasons to not own a book, such as not being aligned to the spiritual tradition it's a part of. Two questions for you: Why do you think you should own a copy? Are there other books you want more and would be better off reading first?

Journaling question

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
For some time now I've wanted to start one of the magical trainings your books have to offer, but every time the Divination was so-so. Finally I decided to let a certain Stichomancy (first post on that MM) tell me, what I need to do. The first post talked about psychology, and I took it to mean that I should start journaling to get to the root of my problem. This I duly did (ca.2.5 Werks ago) and boy what surprises and unknown roadblocks lay on my way to happiness! Now I finally have a handle that up until now appear to give me exact the solution that I need. Illuminating! :)

Two questions:
First: usually I write once or twice a day loosely according to your directions, but today on my way home I asked myself a "why..."-question and my subconscious supplied the answer(which was very important to me because it related to my motivation to get to action).
Will this lead me eventually to too much " daydreaming" and should I restrict those questions to the actual writing time? I had been writing before I went on my way, maybe too little closing down? or is all well?

Second:
In order to study your work I got several of your books,including some of the Miscatonic-Press, and while I'm not sure if I get back to magic in this lifetime, I'm loath of letting them go. Maybe kind of like the harpenist in the Shoggoth Concerto, but also a bit: I might not be able to lay my hands on them again, if I'm ready to start. any advice? Oh, of course: meditate on it and then do a divination, on which you meditate again.
(Dang and here I was thinking I could get away with handing over responsibility, sheesh!)

Thank you for your time & work!
Emily07

PS: data-point: I did a hodoo-bath-floor-wash in a friends flat (After stating to the late inhabitant, what we were about to do and why) and before they couldn't seem to get that floor put together and now they can.

Because I did this by chance (i should sleep there and it felt a bit ghost haunted) I only afterwards checked "Monsters", where you state the vinegar-bowl-seven-days thing. During the wash I left out the room where the late Person used to sleep, so that he has a place too. Divination afterwards told that maybe the vinegar bowl might be a good idea, but it should not be done by my friends.
So maybe a third question: said (oldish) person had his wife dying next to him (while both Werke asleep) a time ago, moved to another room for sleeping and later went during an Operation that didn't work out, and apparently he had an inkling that it wouldn't.
What is the right this to do? Go there again, explain that he is dead, set the vinegar and order a mass/ prayer done for him? (He was roman-catholic)
The explain that he might move on part does not yet work out in my head. How could I go about this respectfully?

Re: Journaling question

[ecosophia]

1) Most people do much too little daydreaming -- that is to say, they spend too much time attending to their outer lives and not enough attending to their inner lives. One of the points of journaling is that it teaches you how to live in both worlds at once.

2) Meditate on it and then do a divination, on which you meditate. ;-)

3) That's what I would do. The mass and prayers will help; let him know that you're arranging for them.

Grounding

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG

I am working through the DMH system. I developed a version of the SOP to bring the vital force into my body. I have been using this for some months with good results.

Listening to a podcast by Damien Echols where he talks about grounding. He describes bringing chi into his body but then expelling chi back to the earth for cleansing. This makes sense as it makes use of the Law of Flow.

I know Damien is using the GD system. But is there an equivalent concept in the DMH system?

I was planning on developing my own grounding exercise but don’t want to mess around with the system as taught.

Re: Grounding

[ecosophia]

There are a series of workings with the telluric current in the DMH system, which you'll get to in due time. Don't add anything to the system until you've finished the course of training in the book -- once you've mastered it, that's the time to start doing new and innovative things.

Serendipity and cell salts II

[(Anonymous)]

On the June 27th Magic Monday, I mentioned that I was going to cut out brown fizzy water and cruciferous veggies to prevent excess sulphs and Phos during my monthly Carey cell salt protocol. It seemed to work, I did not get the uptick in chronic pain with the protocol that I had noticed in previous months. So next is to try leaving out just one, brown fizzy water next protocol, and cruciferous veggies the one after.
Cyan Grimy Chicken
aka
Jon from Virginia

Re: Serendipity and cell salts II

[ecosophia]

Interesting! Thanks for the data point.

planetary aspects

[(Anonymous)]

I had a conversation with someone who mentioned they didn't have a good relationship with a certain deity because that deity's planetary aspect in their natal chart wasn't good. Have you found that planetary aspects are indicative of a relationships with and/or between deities? My interest specifically is with Mercury, the Moon, and the Sun. I've been working with Hermes since the Intro to High Magic and it has been going very well. For Litha, I honored Apollo and Artemis (and that continues to go well, too). And then after the comment about planetary aspects, I looked them up on my natal chart and found that Mercury and the Moon are combust (both within 4 degrees of the Sun). Considering their relationship as deities in Greek mythology and then considering their relationship in the symbol for Azoth (and considering some of the insights they have provided me), it is intriguing to say the least. But I've not found very clear information about what exactly a combust aspect means. (The Sun absorbs the characteristics? The Sun 'burns off' the characteristics? And then different sources have different degrees of what combust is?) (Or maybe it means that the deities just like hanging out with each other...)

Re: planetary aspects

[ecosophia]

Planetary aspects can be reflected in relations between deities, but the converse is also true. The fact that you've had fine results from invoking Hermes, Apollo, and Artemis makes it very clear that your natal chart isn't hindering things -- so don't worry about it.

I Ching

[degringolade]

Thanks again for the course on Levi.

As I work through "Doctrine and Ritual", I think that I can sense a parallel between the Tarot/Kabala and the I Ching.

Are you aware of any books that address this idea?

Re: I Ching

[ecosophia]

Aleister Crowley did a book on the I Ching which tried to shoehorn it into his version of the Cabala; I didn't think much of it. I don't know of anything else.

[(Anonymous)]

1.) Is it appropriate to do planetary charity during pregnancy, or best to stick to simple prayer for the time being? I am extremely cautious after past loss and difficulty so tend to think perhaps best not to, but I thought I would check for your opinion.

2.) For problems with an editor and publishing house dragging their feet on fulfilling contractual obligations, my guess is Jupiter would be the planet to invoke, rather than Mercury? (Though, communication does come into play as one of the problems in this situation...) This could very well continue to be a problem for years to come (contracts...) so I will file away your thoughts on this for future use if now is not the appropriate time for me to do planetary charity.

Thank you so much!

[ecosophia]

1) You can certainy do planetary charity while pregnant. Some women invoke the Moon using planetary charity for a safe and easy delivery, and seem to get good results.

2) Yes, because you're trying to influence someone who controls the situation and to get them to act fairly, Jupiter's the one.

The Catholic Church, Magic and religion

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

There has been several posts here about the magical dimensions of the old latin ritual of the catholic mass and its subsequent replacement by a new mass which appeared to be much less efficacious in bringing down energies.

Would it be possible in some future to have a post on ecosophia on the matter?

I find the history of the catholic church fascinating, although I am not a catholic. The questions that I asked myself on the matter would be, for instance:

(1) What types of energies are drawn to earth by the latin mass, etheric, astral or other?

(2) How come is the new mass so less potent?

(3) How come the church shot itself in the foot?

(4) Was it by sheer stupidity, ignorance or willfull intent? If willful, does it mean that the catholic church has very powerful ennemies that have been able to penetrate it to its highest levels?

(5) What were, are and will be the consequences of such a change?

(6) I have not seen this downfall in the magic potentency of the catholic church discussed anywhere less. Any sources on the matter?

Many thanks

Regards

Re: The Catholic Church, Magic and religion

[(Anonymous)]

Former catholic here. These are all really good questions, but also ones that involve things that the church really doesn't like to talk about. But as a catholic turned occultist:

1) The church HATES having any of its actions understood in light of a separate framework. Formal doctrine divides existence into material and spiritual, there were more graduated models used in the past but they have long since fallen out of favor. Using Greer's scheme, the effect seems to be primarily on the higher planes (mental) with a weaker but pervasive astral effect. Effects on the etheric plane seem to depend on both the celebrant and the context of the mass.

2) The original mass was created by skilled ritualists who knew what they were doing and then practiced it thoroughly and systematically for centuries, building up a huge amount of force in the process. The new mass was created by people who don't seem to know what makes rituals work and modern teaching on that point seems to be immensely confused. All this is aggravated by point 3.

3) The Council of Trent brought the full spiritual authority of the church down in support of the idea that the mass WILL be in Latin, and proclaimed an anathema against anyone who says otherwise. It is entirely possible that when the second vatican council tried to convert the mass into vernacular, they accidentally excommunicated themselves.

4/5) I can't say why this happened. It is an excellent question but also one that falls well outside the purview of us mere mortals. The church does indeed have powerful enemies, and it is also quite fashionable to blame them for such things. The uncomfortable truth of the matter though is that the Roman church's greatest adversary is most likely itself. During the reformation, the church's response to widespread corruption was to double down in the spiritual elements that caused the reformation in the first place, and they only cracked down on corruption in the church only insofar as it weakened papal authority. The same process, transposed to the key of post-modernism, appears to be taking place now.

6) It comes up from time to time, but is rarely discussed so openly or as the topic of conversation. Beyond that, its deeply fashionable in the church to deny that there is any kind of problem. When I was in school (catholic education) the brothers were complaining about the newly re-translated English mass that the students (including myself) picked up on it. It not working right was a definite subtext of these conversations, but never explicitly stated. I also know that some exorcists have very publicly complained that the new rite of exorcism doesn't work so they went back to the (no longer ordinary) old one.

[d_mekel]

I've been working through the greater hexagram and pentagram where I feel comfortable doing them and they are consistent. I've also gotten used to the energy and don't feel drained a day or 2 later. I'm going to start the rose cross ritual Sunday. Would this be OK to do once a week every Sunday?

[ecosophia]

Yes. Many occultists do this.

[mollari]

Just a data point on the potential magical qualities of the vaccines: I know two people who've gotten fly infestations shortly after getting the vaccines. Given that flies are often traditionally associated with demons, this seems like a very bad sign...

Mandatory volunteers

[(Anonymous)]

What I find particularly strange is the insistence to get the vaccine, but also stressing that it is voluntary to get it. So far (to the best of my knowledge), no country has outright made it mandatory, which, aside from public outcry, implies to me that there has to be a degree of permission. Given that all demons have to some extent be 'allowed' into one's mind, it's ringing some alarm bells. Not to mention the fact that there are eerie similarities with the Book of Revelation's Mark of the Beast (cannot buy or sell things without it, etc)

Strangely, in about 2018 I came up with the plot of a book where a virus could infect people with demons. Perhaps it's not the virus, but the cure...

[mollari]

Last week you wrote:

"The thing I look for is bizarre illogic and mental rigidity. Demons are not native to our universe and they don't get the way things work here. Ordinary logical fallacies are one thing, but when demonic influence is involved, you get "two plus three equals petunia" levels of weirdness, combined with an oddly mechanical quality -- it's as though you're talking to a defective CD player rather than a person, and it spits out bursts of words that never quite relate to the subject of the conversation."

This made me think of the vaccine evangelicals I know, who insist with a straight face that the side effects are just people catching Covid right when they get the shots; who say in the same breath that I need it because otherwise I'll spread Covid without knowing it and that I'll die without it; who repeat all of these arguments ad nauseam; who insist that if I cite someone's data I must agree with them that it makes sense to get the shot, even when I'm saying something like based on Health Canada's own data the shots are more dangerous than the disease for me given my age and health; and I could go on and on.

You also mentioned a quality for demonic interactions in On the Metaphysics of Sex: "there’s an emotional tone to demonic activity that, once recognized, is never forgotten: hot, inflamed, confused, excited, murky. Finally, the actions they inspire in human beings are always self-defeating and self-destructive."

I've had this feeling whenever I've talked to a vaccine evangelist. And the self defeating and self destructive aspect seems to fit quite well as well. The way they are risking their health to address a bad flu, and then insisting everything will be fine if we just get more people to it, is truly freaky to watch.

We also have the evidence that something is tampering with divination results to encourage people to get the shots, and given the apparent scale of it I don't think whatever it is is human. For example: https://tunesmyth.dreamwidth.org/629.html

Given all of this, is it plausible that these shots are somehow or other linked to demonic activity? Aside from cutting off all contact with the vaccine evangelists, are there any other steps I could take in order to protect myself if it is? (For what it's worth, one of them is my mother; I don't know how strong that connection is, but in a lot of traditional sources it's claimed to be quite powerful)

amen

[(Anonymous)]

= amen to the above comment =

Dear John Michael Greer,

There are some good sociological and political explanations for this phenomenon, some of which I have read on your blog, and which seem to me apt. However, the trance-like way so many people in my milieu (urban professional) talk about the jab seems to me seriously, seriously creepy. I am actively avoiding many of my family members and friends because of this. It's like they have been hypnotized, they have to talk about it, they have to know everybody's vaccination status, and judge (harshly!!) accordingly. I am beginning to ask, what are we living in, some whacked-out digital-everything version of the DDR?

Would you comment further on possible occult dimensions? Any more advice?


Viridian Befuddled Diplodacus