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 on the left?  Once again, that's the Monas Hieroglyphica of Dr. John Dee, the great Elizabethan astrologer, alchemist, occultist, and mage. Another version of what it means is over here to the right, which is part of a page from Dee's book: this diagram shows how the emblems of the planets are extracted from the Monad. Yes, there are two emblems for Mercury, the familiar one and a different one; these are the wingless and winged dragons of alchemical lore. If you want to try your hand at solving the riddle of the Monad's deeper meaning, here you go. 

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

[(Anonymous)]

The Druidry Handbook lists the calendar attribution for Alban Arthuan as both Ailm and Ioho.
Is one or the other a typo? (If not, why two?)
Wait a minute… how were the calendar attributions formulated?
Thank you.
Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

1) Because the circle begins and ends on the same day.

2) There's about a year of good meditations in that question, which is why I didn't explain the logic behind that or any of the other symbolism in the book in question...

gods and psychotherapy

[(Anonymous)]

Which gods and planets should someone appeal to for assistance with success in therapy?
Mythology shows gods behaving in ways that don't fit with what healthy post-therapy humans in the 21st century are supposed to do, but maybe they are still relevant anyway. Is it necessary to square that?
Does it depend what the therapy is for? But a lot of therapy is about relationships to one extent or another. This is anyway. So maybe Venus/Aphrodite? I feel like it's more of a Hermes/Odin exercise, but perhaps that's because I find it hard to look into the right stuff, and why I'm doing the therapy.

Re: gods and psychotherapy

[ecosophia]

It depends entirely on what the therapy is for and what kind of approach is used. You might consider journaling, meditation, and divination around that -- you will learn a great dela more that way than you expect...

Hexafoils

[(Anonymous)]

This may be more a question for Violet, but other thoughts are welcome.

1) I have been wanting to put a hexafoil under my pillow but was afraid of the ink rubbing off on the fabric. Would taping another piece of paper over the hexafoil to form a little packet with the symbol on the inside cause any disruption to its function? What about placing a hexafoil on each inside face?

2) Has anyone experimented with different colors of hexafoils?

Re: Hexafoils

[ecosophia]

That's one for Violet. I haven't done anything with hexafoils.

Tony Hawk

[kimberlysteele]

Congratulations on the new book & cookbook publication!

Skateboard celebrity Tony Hawk recently made waves by selling his soul to a bottled water company. Allegedly he signed a contract where the fine print stated that his soul now belongs to Liquid Death Water. He allowed his blood to be drawn in order to create paint for a batch of limited edition skateboards.

https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/08/22645379/tony-hawk-trending-for-selling-his-soul-what-investors-should-know

Hawk is doing everything he can (as you can see in the article photo) to express his own incredulity. He doesn't seem to take the sale of his soul seriously.

Obviously we can only guess what the repercussions of his actions will be, but do you think he'll have to pay the piper in any significant way because of this stunt? To whom did he sell his soul, if anyone? Does his disbelief insulate him from consequences?

Re: Tony Hawk

[ecosophia]

A teacher of mine used to say, "It doesn't matter whether or not you believe in demons. They believe in you." His disbelief is irrelevant, just as it would be if he disbelieved in gravity. In the usual way of things, he'll be fine until he dies, but to judge by the traditional lore, his death may not be as far off as he imagines.

[(Anonymous)]

Someone with Moon square Saturn wants to move home.
What can they do with planetary charity and similar workings?
May Mercury be helpful instead?
The move may not be to a forever home. If the next place is just for a few years that is ok, at least as things stand.
Are there other types of working you'd recommend to bypass this placement?
As you have said, charts are just possibilities.

[ecosophia]

Planetary charity is one of the few kinds of astrological workings that aren't counterindicated by negative placements and aspects. Quite the contrary, if you've got a badly aspected Saturn, planetary charity toward Saturn is going to be especially helpful to you.

Synchronistic dreaming

[vitranc]

Hi JMG,

On another post about OSA somebody mentioned dreaming about you. Well it happened to me. You came to visit me in my house, but it was a modernist house and you looked younger ( no gray hair) and I would assume with a bit more girth. And then you had us sit down behind a small table with some books and papers on it. You asked me if I wanted to join. And you gave me a test by speaking in a language that I did not understand but felt like I heard before. I answered that I will, and the test is there to scare me, since I will learn the language.

1. Is there some significance of you popping up in Ecosophian Forum er’s dreams of Late?
2. Speaking of OSA, I am still on preliminary lessons, but would someone with prior therapy experience and the need to integrate a lot of bad guilt over his own family, have an Easter time going trough the preliminary lessons for the first time? Experience.

With best regards,
V

Re: Synchronistic dreaming

[ecosophia]

1) I have no idea. I've never been able to interpret dreams, even the ones in which I show up!

2) It's possible, but one way or another it's always a rough road. That's why the lessons stress that you shouldn't overdo it -- one to two weeks on each step is enough for your first pass.

[reid_pnw]

JMG,

Hope that you’ve been well. Exciting news about the cookbook, I’m looking forward to getting sometime. Anyways:

1. I went through with the vaccine divination that I asked you about last week. Cleared out the space with the LBRP and R+C as you said. Was a bit of an odd spread in hindsight, but I think I got the gist of it. The outcomes for getting vaccinated weren’t *wildly* negative, and the results for skipping it were isolation-themed (we’re getting hit with vax cards to do almost anything here soon) and more positive for the long term.

I’m curious what you make of this though: Death fell out face up while I was shuffling. I’ve been having a bit of a streak lately where all the cards that fall out feel important, so I’ve been trying to take it seriously.

Obviously I know better than to take ‘Death’ at face value — I spent a few minutes that very morning assuaging a co-worker that’s new to tarot that she isn’t going to die because she pulled it, funnily — but outside of a few questionable guesses all I can really come up with is “either way, things are going to change”. Any thoughts?

2. I’m pretty sure that there would be no blowback from magic you do in (non lucid) dreams, but does raspberry jam come into play? I had an intense dream early this week where I performed a ritual to invoke some seriously dark energies. Specifically ones that I’ve chosen to not work with in my practices, or at least not for a very, very. long time. Generally I wouldn’t worry about this, but it felt very potent.

I have a geomancy interpretation question too, but I’ll save it for the replies because this is already long enough.

Cheers many times over,
Reid

[ecosophia]

1) That's how I would read it!

2) What happens in non-lucid dreams is not real -- it reflects what's real. If you dream of invoking dark energies that may be telling you that you need to watch out not to do that unintentionally -- but no, there's no raspberry jam.

[(Anonymous)]

1) A couple of years into magical practice (Golden Dawn tradition), I get the distinct impression that the magical realm that we perceive with the mind's eye is "more real" than physical reality, as if there was something illusory and shallow about the everyday world. In parallel, I've developed a strong aversion to advertising and entertainment products like movies and video games. Plato's allegory of the cave comes to mind. Is this common or normal, and what do you make of it?

2) Sometimes in the middle of an invocation (could be the MP or a deity invocation, for example), I feel a shiver going through my body and goosebumps. Should I interpret this as a positive sign?

[ecosophia]

1) Good! You're starting to get what's really going on. If you read occult philosophy you'll find that according to that, the world of ordinary sensory reality is the realm of effects and illusions, and the astral realm perceived by the imagination is more real -- though of course there are other realms that are even more real than that. Plato knew what he was talking about...

2) Yes. Your subtle body is responding to the energy you're bringing in.

Tracks in Space, DMH Meditation, Occult Philosophy, Neoplatonists, Fiction, GD vs DMH

[jprussell]

Greetings and good evening! Thanks as always for hosting this and sharing your knowledge.

1. Many times, you've stressed the importance of following rituals exactly as-is in order to follow the tracks laid down in space by previous practitioners of that ritual (among other reasons, like safety and efficacy). Is this something that happens more on a scale rather than a binary? What I have in mind is performing the SOP as written in the DMH - some steps are very precisely defined, but others call on you to customize, such as which deities to invoke. My guess would be that it's something like "following the overall structure and only changing the parts that the book says to customize will get you most of the benefit, but you might find things even easier if you follow the exact wording that decades of druids have". Is that roughly right? Either way, I'm sure it's a fine theme for meditation!

2. The CGD gives fairly specific guidance on what to meditate on and for how long. Unless I've grossly misread, the DMH is much broader in guidance on themes for meditation and for how many days to use them. Is this simply another instance of the greater flexibility of the DMH vs GD approaches, or is there some other reason?
a. As a request for some specific guidance, I've been spending 3 weeks learning each gate of the SOP, and I've paired that with 3 days meditating on the element and its correspondences, then 3 days for each few from the corresponding aicme, and then 3 more days on the element. Does that seem like a reasonable course of meditation?

3. I've been re-reading some Well of Galabes posts, and in the comments to "A Plea for Occult Philosophy", you said something about putting together an occult philosophy reading list, but I haven't been able to find that list. If you did put it together, would you mind pointing me to it, and if you didn't, I simply note that such a list would be greatly appreciated.

4. Possibly related: any recommendations on reading order for Neo-Platonist works, especially if interested in the theology of Proclus and Plotinus?

5. Somewhat, but less so, related: How suitable is fiction as a source of themes for meditation? Does it depend on the spiritual depth of the fiction?

6. More of a hypothesis than a question. You said in a recent MM that the work in DMH is more prone to stalling out, where Golden Dawn work is more prone to ego-inflation. I had a thought for a potential explanation: the less gentle effects of GD work give a clearer signal that "This Stuff Works", which can make you feel powerful/important/above the ordinary. The slower, gentler method doesn't grab you and shout "TSW!" quite so much, so you have more time (which hopefully includes meditation and other balancing activities) to become accustomed to the fact that yes, you can do some new things, but no, that doesn't make you lord and master of the universe. Does that sound like it might be part of what's going on?

Re: Tracks in Space, DMH Meditation, Occult Philosophy, Neoplatonists, Fiction, GD vs DMH

[ecosophia]

1) Some rituals require more exact handling than others. The SoP has always been more freeform -- John Gilbert designed it that way.

2) The Celtic Golden Dawn is intended as a very systematic and structured study program, as that's standard with the GD tradition generally. AODA is less focused, so when I created a magical system for it, I followed suit. Yes, your course of meditation seems quite reasonable.

3) I haven't. The problem is that what's publicly available is a complete gallimaufry that badly needs commentaries and introductions!

4) Start with Plato -- they all assume you're familiar with him. Then tackle Plotinus, then Iamblichus, then Proclus. If you have a good library system you may be able to get introductory books on Neoplatonism by modern authors, and those are a good starting place.

5) It depends very much on the fiction.

6) That's part of what's going on, but there are other parts.

Teeth

[(Anonymous)]

A recent trip to the dentist has me thinking about wisdom teeth.

1. Is there any lore around wisdom teeth and magic? Do they help you acquire wisdom?

2. Given what some Taoist texts say about energy circuits that run through the teeth, did you or any other commenters notice a change in their magic after getting their wisdom teeth removed?

Re: Teeth

[ecosophia]

1) Not in the occult systems I've studied.

2) I never had mine removed, so I can't help you there.

[open_space]

Good evening JMG!

I've started to develop a feel for prayer, which I've mostly neglected before but which I think is a good complete to my magical studies and now actually quite enjoy it. I had a few questions.

Is it normal when asking for help to a God for some time to get pointed to another God? As if, I think you might need to talk to this guy too for your purposes. I first thought it was my mind trying to diverge but then something hit me in a way I couldn't ignore and was "oh so that's what that out of place thing meant".

Is HU the Mighty a Sun god or a sky god? I've started prayer to Ceriddwen and I thought it would be a good idea to balance it with him as well.

When burning a colored candle is it better to not burn it if it is not the right day of correspondence or will it just have a diminished effect?

[ecosophia]

1) In polytheist faiths that happens all the time.

2) A sky god. He balances Ced/Ceridwen.

3) Get a plain white candle for everyday use.

SOP

[(Anonymous)]

I am much later and much more inexperienced than others here, but I have been working on the circle of protection, very slowly, so a few weeks of doing the opening and closing, using the christian triad and the lords prayer at closing. This evening I was trying to add the air/east part, but I was very stumbly, I should have had what to say more mapped out. I saw to call on Jehovah, but I am stumbling on how to integrate spirits of air with Jehovah in a coherent way. I have read ahead on the rest and think that it will get more difficult as I have no idea what other names I would use for the other 5 directions and would love some help.

I have found it calming just the part I am doing. And a few things are going better. I have bee dealing with homeowners insurance madness for a year since the wildfire and protection from whatever influence they are under, along with the general madness infecting the greater SF Bay area of California....

I have also been taking the cell salts for about a month, incluing then one round of the 3 days of the extras. I will let you all know how that goes.

Re: SOP

[ecosophia]

I recommend a different approach to the Sphere of Protection. Because you're a Christian, Jesus has granted you, as one of his children, the right to use the Name of Jesus to command the powers of the elements; look up "the name of Jesus" in your study Bible and see what it says. You use a different title of Jesus in each direction, as follows:

East/Air: the Word (John 1:1)
South/Fire: the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2)
West/Water: Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14)
Earth/North: Son of David (Matthew 1:1)
Spirit Below: the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
Spirit Above: the Lamb of God (John 1:29)
Spirit Within: the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

So in the East, after tracing the invoking symbol, you might say: "In the Name of Jesus the Word, I invoke the Air, its angels, its spirits, and its powers, to guide and protect me." Trace the banishing symbol, and say: "And in the Name of Jesus that is above all other names, and with the help of the powers of air, I banish from within me and around me and from all my doings all harmful influences and hostile magic and every imbalance of the nature of Air. I banish them far from me." Change the title and the element for each of the subsequent directions.

On magic and magic will

[(Anonymous)]

US and Global West has a PR problem lately, which is a magic problem ala Culianu. Not that is the only problem but made me realize what the source is of all this situation. The source is of course the managerial class. Which makes it also a magical problem but a will and decision problem.

- Some PR people say that is not a good idea to block people since is a PR disaster, the managerial class orders it and do it anyway.
- People who have battle experience on the ground say is not a good idea to abandon a fortified airbase, but the managerial class does it anyway.
- mRNA inventor, and some immunologists, doctors with experience say is not a good idea to mass vaccinate during a pandemic with un insufficiently tested product, but the managerial class does it anyway.
- Some of economic specialists say is not a good idea to lockdown, but the managerial class does it anyway
- Some IT specialists says is not a good idea to put all the infrastructure in the cloud which usually is one company, one technology, one corporate flavor, even if it has multiple locations, because is a single point of failure, the managerial class does it anyway.
- Some of specialists say that climate taxes won't help the climate crisis, managerial class does it anyway.

So some of the specialists are saying the truth but but many of them that want to still make a penny became flunkies, technical whisperers to moneybags whisperers.

I could keep the list for pages but where I think it is a magical problem, managers do a lot of deciding for us. And people had this outsourced. I saw also into the magical Monday or the COVID open thread people have problems deciding, I think this is what we need to learn: decision work.

In the past letting other people deciding for us was an asset and I think has become a dangerous liability. I think now with a lot of situations mentioned in the above list but you can add yourself.

What does JMG think, what readers think about this? What are the shortcomings of putting into practice my epiphany.


"Even a weak argument may contain truth" - Kaula Upanishad
"On the other hand, giving up even a weak argument would be consideration for a settlement, if the dispute was genuine." (For an example, see Simantob v Shavleyan [2019] EWCA Civ 1105). - [found by OP in UK law searching for the above quote on Internets]

Re: On magic and magic will

[ecosophia]

Yes, that's a lot of what's going on. As Toynbee points out, when a ruling elite becomes senile, it stops actually solving its problems and starts managing appearances instead. All the things you listed have happened because the managerial class is paying attention to appearances instead of the realities behind them.

[slithytoves123]

I feel it's my turn to say thank you for hosting these!

I have one question for you and one for the peanut gallery.

The question for you is: I've meditated on the question of why the Cabalistic Cross/Hammer Sign is used at both the beginning and end of the LBRP. The first one I knew calls down divine energy to consecrate the space and get the process rolling, and it seems to be that the ending performance restores balance by pulling divine light down the middle pillar. I'm not yet to the Middle Pillar, but it would seem like, if I'm correct about its purpose, that it's a kind of "warm-up" for the MP. Am I thinking along the right lines here?

The question for the peanut gallery is one I've asked and resolved for myself, and found well worth the effort:

What if JMG says "sike"?

That is, what if at some point in the future, he recants the whole "magic" and "gods" thing (and maybe peak oil!) and says it was all a prank/delusion/way to sell books (take your pick)?

I know when I asked myself that question, it hit like a truck. It's taken some time since then to really ground myself in my own experience with magic and spirituality, but I finally feel like I'm standing on my own feet, however shakily.

[ecosophia]

1) That's basically correct.

2) Er, "sike"??? What on earth does that mean?

[mualmendo]

Back again. I was the one who asked about invoking Aeons in the SoP. I tried it for a while, but something just didn't click, so I've been sticking to the more standard druid deitys which is beginning to have good effect.

But that's not my question. I've run into something that may or may not be an ordeal. For context I plan on making a trip to the cities for a festival, on September 10th. Days ago I had a dream where I was in the house I'll likely be spending my time at, and I had an illness of such intensity that I was desperate and rushing to the kitchen to take some elderberry syrup for it. Then woke up.

I decided to try ogham divination regarding it. First I did the elemental cross and circulation of light - I'm just beginning with the Dolmen Arch so I'm not nearly to the point of the calling of the cantrefs yet. During the circulation I held that nothing could interfere with the results. Then 15 minutes of meditation. Then I did a basic 3 card spread for each of three questions. They went like this:

"What will happen if I go to the cities on September 10th, without changing my diet for immunity?"

1) Coll 2) Fearn 3) Reversed Saille

"What will happen if I make changes to bolster my immunity before going to the cities on September 10th?"

1) Reversed Koad 2) Ailm 3) Ngetal

"What will happen if I make no changes, and stay away from the cities on September 10th?"

1) Reversed Straif 2) Eadha 3) Mor

But as I'm entirely new to this, I don't have any idea how to make sense of these readings. Is there any chance you could help clarify what these readings might be saying?

[ecosophia]

Um, if you're entirely new to a system of divination, don't try to make important decisions using that system!

[(Anonymous)]

I search a lot about Chicago because Culianu was murdered there, I also know it is the murder capital in US. But somehow Google's thinks I want to move to Chicago. And sells me this strange 2 hours surreal infomercial about Chicago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wXB8htl3Zo
PR worked because very talented people worked there, and is the magic of the Empire, I think we are lucky that the managerial class decided to outsource a big part of it to AI. Very lucky.

[ecosophia]

Somehow a lot of us older folks managed to ignore the PR even when it was done by people...

Cats, Crystals, and Reaching Out (Twofold)

[goatgodschild]

Hello, Mr. Greer. It's been a busy few weeks, but I'm glad to settle down and ask some questions that have come up, both in life and in my reading.

1) My cat is aging to the point that she is probably going to have to be put down in the next few months. I am not sure whether I should reach out to Pan or to Bast to ease her passing.

2) There's recently a trend in SJ/Fluffy Bunny circles to focus on how bad it is to purchase crystals or stones of any kind for magical purposes. As much as I don't think overuse of stones and crystals is good, this seems like they're trying to hamstring themselves by cutting off even natural magic to use.

3) Speaking of which, I have been thinking of reaching out to the first deity I ever encountered, Ganesha. However, I've been uncertain whether he is a deity I can or should reach out to again, seeing as he can be interpreted as being from a closed system. Thoughts from you and from the commentariat?

4) Something I have noticed in my readings of Dion Fortune is the focus on being reached out to individually by the practitioners of a magical tradition. I do not know if I have not been reached out to because we didn't have much of a magical tradition where I grew up, or if I shouldn't worry about being chosen in that way. I want to keep developing myself, obviously, but I don't want to be presumptuous on that.

Re: Cats, Crystals, and Reaching Out (Twofold)

[ecosophia]

1) Why not pray to both of them? Polytheism is convenient that way.

2) I hadn't heard of this yet, but I'm not even slightly surprised. They're abandoning magic now that it's no longer acceptable as harmless dissidence.

3) I know a lot of people who aren't Hindu who worship Ganesha. I've also met a fair number of Hindus who think this is wonderful, as long as it's done respectfully. I'll ask my Hindu readers to chime in on this one, but as far as I know, it's fine.

4) Don't worry about it. That was a part of 19th century magical culture that hasn't aged well. Pursue the practices honestly and steadily, and you'll be doing everything you need to do.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG & Commentariat!

1) The Eights?
On Thursday the 26th of August, my day was filled with the number '8.' Everywhere I went, everywhere I looked, I kept noticing 8's, mostly in multiples. Three 8's, five 8's, maybe as many as eight 8's though I am going from memory now. Oh, I just checked my calendar- 26 Aug was the 238th day of the year--Not too surprising.

I feel like someone is trying to tell me something. Is there any external significance to a whole lot of 8's showing up, or (as seems more likely to me) is there something related to '8', already in my life, that I need to look at or look into? I have not done any magical workings lately, other than the circle of protection described in Dion Fortune's book on magical defense.

2) On Friday the 27th, I was cleaning up a corner of my yard, in which my neighbour threw a bunch of sticks and debris. I raked up a glass jar with a black top that contained a pale muddy-looking substance with solid clumps in it, and some clear liquid that looks soapy. I suspect my neighbor may be an amateur practitioner of magic. Does the description of the jar and its contents match any sort of magical bottle/spell of which you are aware?
2A) Assuming it is some sort of spell directed at me, what would be a safe way to dispose of it?

Thanks always for your valuable insights, and those of your readership!
Signed
Palpitating Cobalt Troglodyte

[ecosophia]

1) 8 is the number of Mercury. You might consider burning an orange candle on Wednesday, Mercury's day, and asking him to help you understand what he's trying to say to you.

2) Yes, it sounds like an amateur bottle spell. Bury it in your front yard, as close to the street as possible -- that's the standard hoodoo way to get the energies to disperse.

Question

[(Anonymous)]

I have a request for insight/ perspective I seem to have a constant foresight pattern where if I write a poem or do something creative I will find something extremely similar already done within a short time of creating it or it will come into the public sphere in some way . Is this common, I've wondered if it is helpful or just frustrating. Also I have painted things and people only for it to become manifest in some way in my life. I have not done specific magical training but dabbled a lot over the years. Will that help channel it? And what can this mean, is it a common thing ?

Re: Question

[ecosophia]

It's very common, because very few of our thoughts are actually ours -- they come from the collective consciousness of our community and our species. Your imagination may be more open to the collective consciousness than usual. Whether or not you take up formal magical training, you can use that: paint and write only those things you want to see in the world.

Divination with unintended extra cards

[(Anonymous)]

Yesterday, I asked the Ogham a question and placed the cards, then interpreted the answer. As I was putting away the cards, I noticed there were two cards (stuck together) in the ray of knowledge, not one.

When this sort of thing happens, what is the best way to proceed? Take the card that was on top, the card that was at the bottom, include both in the interpretation, or place the cards again?

Smaragdine Oracular Worm
(heh, fitting! - Eldritch Piglet)

Re: Divination with unintended extra cards

[ecosophia]

When that happens with me I treat both cards as relevant to that place in the reading, the one on top being earlier in time than the one on the bottom.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John
I have been doing a (mostly) regular routine of LBRP & MPE with Hellenic deities as originally posted here, for getting on to 2 yrs now. It has created significant change in my life for the better. This is mostly noticeable through a much quieter (like flipping the OFF switch, actually), more stable and positive psyche...and also through the fact that I seem to be much more adept at avoiding my usual routine of regular catastrophes (physical or social) – not all of them self induced I might add (at least not from this life).
As to my questions:
1) I have occasionally tried out the Christian versions of the BRC and MPE that were originally floated on this blog a while back – being raised a Catholic and intrigued by the concept of Archangels, I felt this might be interesting to experiment with... is this in anyway problematic?
2) I have also noted with interest the GD version of the RCR you posted a link to some time ago, and have performed it every now and then over the last couple of years.
Is it ok to continue to do so?
3) From which original tradition are the deities invoked in the GD version of the RCR, and also the GD version of the LBRP that you linked to recently?
(I’m guessing the divine names in the LBRP are Hebraic and related to Cabalistic tradition, but the deities in the RCR seem to me to be a mix of Egyptian, Grecco-Roman and Hebraic names...a) is this correct? B) how did that come about??
4) Again re the RCR, how does one pronounce the ‘words’ I.N.R.I, L.V.X or I.A.O? Should these be phonetically sounded as individual letters?
Lastly, you posted a reply to a commenter the other week that read thusly:
“All the outer planets challenge us -- we can rise to that challenge or fall. Neptune, as the planet of unity, challenges us to face the events of our time as spiritual forces; otherwise we plummet into the false unity of drugs, psychosis, and the delusions of the mass mind. To solve a Neptune challenge, heightened states of consciousness are essential, and spiritual, religious, and/or magical practice open the doors to that.”
I have Neptune in my mid heaven, opposed Sun, Jupiter and most all of the inner planets (all conjunct Sun except Venus and Luna) - with Uranus and Pluto (conjunct), opposing Saturn (conjunct moon) and lazily filling up the rest of the sky....
Data Point – yes, it’s been quite the challenge so far 
With many thanks as always
Tony_A

[ecosophia]

1) Talk to the gods you worship about that.

2) See #1.

3) The Hermetic GD, which I assume you're referring to, comes out of the Hermetic tradition, which is a fusion of Greek, Egyptian and Jewish traditions that originated in Alexandria more than two thousand years ago. That's why the jumble of symbolism!

4) You say the names of the letters aloud. "Ell, Vee, Ecks" and so on.

5) Thanks for the data point.

[(Anonymous)]

Have you notice the ID in URL of this post: 144777

[ecosophia]

(Waves hi to Kek)

AMSR

[(Anonymous)]

1) What's going on with ASMR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASMR), from an occult perspective?

2) I've always been able to produce these sensations on command (tingling, mild to moderate euphoria), just by thinking of and/or imagining awe-inspiring things. Is this beneficial for magical development?

3) Why (or why not)?

Re: AMSR

[d_mekel]

I'm curious about question number 1.

[extatic]

Greetings John,

I have been going through some of your older posts on here and came across the Cell Salts experiment thread. On that thread you extended the offer to help a few people identify their Natal Sun. Could I trouble you for your help here?

Date of Birth 25/10/1987
Time of Birth 12:34 PM
Place of Birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

[(Anonymous)]

Your natal Sun is in the 1st degree of Scorpio :)

An egregore with the gods

[cs2]

Is it possible to attune one's mind toward the gods and circumvent having the join a human egregore? I'm having trouble finding an egregore I'm willing to join, considering people are so stressed out these days. Thank you.

Dreary Pungent Pug

Re: An egregore with the gods

[ecosophia]

Yes. That's what mystics do.