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. (Please note:  Any question received after then will not get an answer, and in fact will just be deleted. I've been getting an increasing number of people trying to post after these are closed, so will have to draw a harder line than before.) 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 image?  That's the tenth card in The Sacred Geometry Oracle. Card 10, The Right Triangle, when upright lets you know that it's necessary for you to work out a proper proportion among the different factors in your life; when reversed, it tells you that the various factors have already settled into a stable relationship and this will limit what you can accomplish. The oak leaves on the sides of the image tell you that this card belongs to the first third of the oracle, which corresponds to Calas, the principle of solidity and materiality.
 

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

[ataulfo]

What was the live-in occult college Dion Fortune discusses her experiences from in Psychic Self-Defense?

[ecosophia]

Good question. I don't happen to own a biography of her so I can't tell you.

Various

[australiandreamer]

1) I have noticed that since I have been doing the spear visualisation (usually sitting and imaging it being a rod of light coming from either throne of God or the heavens … firstly coming to just above my head then secondly flowing /moving down through my head/spine to my groin and then thirdly from there down into the earth where it is then a solid flow from up to down without the segmentation. While doing it I often feel a warmth going down my spine to my groin) that I am getting an ongoing tingling sensation in my groin and a feeling like I am wearing pants that are too tight (which is weird since I am actually losing weight) which can be uncomfortable and occasionally painful. Is this a standard thing to work through or a sign I am visualising wrongly or … ? I could just be sleeping / sitting differently but wanted to check…


2) Are discursive meditation (from here) and the recollection processes (the initial meditation process in Underhill) the same thing – there seem to be a lot of similarities but possibly different focus/outcomes? If they are different would it be best to do one in the morning and one in the evening or are they best to be done only one at a time?


3) When I was a cocky teenager (redundancy much) and not long into church-going I was getting ready to ride my bicycle down to the church for the prayer meeting that night. The weather was looking inclement and my mother was suggesting that I wait until dad got home and he could drive me. We didn’t know when he was going to be home and I didn’t want to be late (which in my terms was ‘less than an hour early’) so I told mum that it was ok and God would look after me. Well half way there the heavens opened and the rain fell down and I told the rain not to fall on me and for the rest of the journey I rode in a dry bubble – could see the rain in front and behind and above and there was water on the road but I was staying dry. Needless to say I had a really good prayer meeting that night (although the folks at the church who were in the ‘miracles ceased when the apostles died’ camp were a little unsure how to respond to my claim). At the time I just assumed God was being kind (and later that if I tried it again he would have let me get wet for being an idiot) – does that scenario fit in with anything from your end? (I also remember being berated for being proud and disrespectful for telling the rain to not fall on a building site at a bible college even while watching the rain and the clouds split either side of us and join back together once past us)

Re: Various

[ecosophia]

1) That's not a symptom I'm familiar with, but then I haven't heard from many people who've worked with this system. Try to relax the area around your groin and let the energy flow out of you as freely as it flows into you, and see if that helps.

2) They're similar but they have different purposes. You can certainly practice both, but one in the morning and one in the evening is probably best.

3) Adolescents do things like that! The energies of sex are also the energies of magic, and it's tolerably common for teenagers who get into any kind of spiritual work to have stories like yours, simply because there's a lot of unstable energy in the adolescent etheric body and it can do improbable things now and then.

[jprussell]

Good evening, and thanks very much for hosting this space and your generous answers to so many questions every week.

1) Mostly for the commentariat, most likely: a friend of mine responded very well to some JMG books I recommended and is now asking about spiritual practices. He's going to get started with The Way of the Golden Section, but religiously, his tastes run Roman, so does anyone have recommendations for prayer practices, sources for religious ritual, or the like for Roman polytheism? I've already pointed him to hellenicfaith.com and recommended Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Publius Syrus as likely candidates for meditation themes, but any further recommendations would be most welcome (he has a decent reading/writing knowledge of Latin, if that helps). neptunesdolphins, might you have some thoughts?

2) This may be more psychological, but I wonder if there might be an occult dimension: recently, while journaling or meditating on some things related to my spiritual practice, I've had some experiences of very strong grief/sadness. What is odd about these experiences is that they don't come with any clear knowledge of what they are "about" - I start feeling sad, I ask myself "what am I sad about?" or "might I be sad about X" and I don't really get an answer, just the feeling of sadness itself. This has happened both when I'm alone in my house and with others closer (like lying in bed next to my wife), and it doesn't feel like a particularly "alien" feeling, so I'm less inclined to think I'm picking up on someone else's feeling. If it's relevant, I tend rather strongly towards an Air way of handling things, and Water is often characteristically weak for me, and this is something I've been exploring. Any thoughts on how to figure out what this might be telling me besides more prayer, meditation, journaling, and returning to the OSA work I've let lapse?

3) This is only indirectly magical, and certainly not medical: a recent meditation pointed me rather forcefully at the heartbeat as an image, and I'd like to spend some time paying attention to it while meditating. Unfortunately, even when I'm fairly relaxed and paying good attention to my breath, my heartbeat is mostly not perceptible to me (unless I put my hand on my breast or throat or wrist, or when my heartrate is elevated). So, is it common to not be able to feel/hear your heartbeat when trying to focus on it? Are there any exercises, possibly similar to the OGS Solar Plexus exercise, I might try?

4) You've talked about how "superstition" literally means "things held over", things that had a rationale at some point, but now folks do without understanding. When it comes to magical or quasi-magical practices, do you believe that superstitions can be re-vitalized? For example, "knock on wood" is something done/said mindlessly by lots of folks, but if you intend to invoke the wood spirits in the piece of furniture, might you more out of what has become "superstition" to most folks?

5) You answered a question about the altar for the Order of the Golden Section last MM, and it got me wondering about multiple altars. Currently, I have a permanent altar for prayer, and a temporary altar I set up for Druid Grove rituals. If and when I follow the initiation in the OGS, it sounds like another temporary altar, set up on the edge of a space when needed, would work fine, but might you (and the commentariat) please share if you have any practical tips on managing multiple altars for different purposes?

Cheers,
Jeff

[ecosophia]

1) There I can't help you, other than to recommend a close reading of Ovid's Fasti.

2) Those would be my suggestions!

3) Most of us learn to screen out our heartbeat so that it doesn't distract us, and that can take a lot of practice to get past. Will it work for you to put one hand on the other wrist while you meditate, and feel it?

4) Yes, very much so. All you have to do is bring meaning and intention back into it.

5) The GSF altar should be if at all possible permanent, in a place where you can sit facing it in your daily practices. I stick with one permanent altar at a time, and have never had any trouble setting up temporary altars as needed, so I'm not sure I can help here. Anyone else?

[(Anonymous)]

So… I decided to dabble in politics – probably a bad idea, but…
I asked my staves what will result in the US from the Ukraine crisis in the next three months.
When I stuck my hand in the bag, I got a splinter. Ow. Does that mean anything?
Maybe I should have taken the hint.
Anyway – Muin went flying and landed at my feet mostly upright. The next two draws were Phagos and Ngetal. (Arranged left, right, center.)
Might you and / or the commentariat offer an opinion on the meaning of the draw?
Many thanks.
Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

Sounds to me as though the staves didn't want to answer that. Have you tried to interpret them yet?

Helpful Ghost

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
I haven't had any ghosts or coloured globes in my bedroom for a couple of months now. The Sop to clear the bedroom is working really well. One of the ghosts who used to come around and who I pray for every day has done us a good turn. My very beautiful and talented niece was visiting and I hadn't told her about any of our ghosts.

After a few days here, my niece told me she had a woman in her mind for the past few days who seemed to be trying to warn her about something. She described a slender girl with long dark hair in a white gown with long sleeves that were gathered at the wrists. This was the girl I had seen and she had drowned herself at the nearby lake years ago.

It came out that our niece was feeling suicidal and we were able to comfort her and explain that suicide is not a good idea as it can result in being stuck for many years until one reaches the natural time for death. Our niece is back at university and doing well and will visit us in about a week.

In my daily prayers, I always thank the girl's spirit and give her my respect. I think this shows that a spirit can still grow and improve even in this circumstance.

What do you think?
Maxine

Re: Helpful Ghost

[ecosophia]

I'm very glad to hear this! The ghost is clearly trying to make sure that others don't make the same mistake she did -- that may be part of the process by which she resolves her own karma.

[(Anonymous)]

1. What would be the most appropriate planetary day and hour to make a mortgage prepayment, in order to ensure a swift and trouble-free repayment of the full loan? I’m thinking that the day and hour of Jupiter or the Sun may be suitable, but I'm also considering Saturn given his rulership over real estate.

2. How would you answer the charge that magic is not a viable means of spiritual development because it reliably produces ego inflation, along with self-righteousness, pride, arrogance, and contempt for others, which are incompatible with true realization? To use a Christian analogy (although a comparable one from many other traditions would be suitable), the practice of magic appears to make one more similar to Lucifer than to Christ. It's for this reason that monastic traditions tend to emphasize self-naughting, becoming 'poor in spirit' and thus allowing the Divine to work through the monk, rather than the monk attempting to achieve it him/herself through the ego.

[ecosophia]

1) Saturn rules debts and their repayment. Prepay during the day and hour of Saturn and the whole process will complete itself in a steady, uninterrupted fashion.

2) I'd point out that people who make that claim are showing their ignorance of magic, and also their own unbalanced attitude toward the world. It would be just as logical to claim that farming causes ego inflation -- after all, you're not just sitting there waiting for the Lord to provide! As I've pointed out at some length elsewhere, magic is a way of participation in a cosmos full of divine powers, not a way of manipulation by the ego. But it's remarkable how many people in certain religious traditions forget all about that inconvenient commandment forbidding bearing false witness against their neighbors, and level ignorant accusations about an ancient and sacred art concerning which they obviously don't know the first thing.

Hexagram

[ecosophian]

Today (well, yesterday) I did the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram of the Sun for the first time and when I was done I felt a presence before me. In my mind's eye it was a Christ-like figure in white robes. I was bewildered. Anyway, I offered the figure a blessing and they blessed me in return and that was that. It was my first encounter of such kind and it shook me, yet also left me wanting more.

Re: Hexagram

[ecosophia]

Ahem. "You've taken your first step into a wider world." The spirits of the Sun have that vibe.

[realmscryer]

As I prepare to start Gradd y Gwyddon y Ffordd this week I see some really neat topics in the line up. I am also really looking forward to doing the DA again from the beginning as soon as I finish the Greater Mysteries. This whole experience is great fun. Thanks!

An astrology related question for you. Would you recommend Financial Astrology by David Williams? Or is there another title you would suggest for someone interested in financial astrology?

[ecosophia]

1) You're welcome, and congratulations.

2) I'm only just getting into financial astrology myself and don't have enough background to be able to recommend (or un-recommend) anything.

Heptameron Conjurations

[lunarapprentice]

JMG, in the appendix of your book ‘The Art and Practice of Geomancy’, there is a section on The Heptameron Conjurations.

Could you discuss why, when and how these are used, and perhaps suggest a reference?

—Lunar Apprentice

Re: Heptameron Conjurations

[ecosophia]

You'll find that discussed on page 220, and more generally in the last chapter of the book.

[the_copper_dragon]

I'm suspecting that I got the big C, or at least flu from hell. Needless to say I'm not feeling too hot. I know you've answered a few questions before about practicing magic while sick, but I can't remember when. Is it advisable to stick to things such as the LBRP and MP or abstain all together until the body is more or less able to handle the strain?

[ecosophia]

That's very much a personal thing. I usually keep up practices through respiratory illnesses, even fairly serious ones, but some people prefer to skip them, or to drop the ritual and just do meditation or what have you. If you can do the LBRP and MP, and have a copy of Regardie's The Art of True Healing, the method he gives there for using the Middle Pillar for healing can be very effective as a way of overcoming illnesses.

[booklover1973]

Dear JMG,

Sending blessings to a group of people in the course of a work of political magic is, I presume, thaumaturgy, because one tries to change conditions for other people. But how does that go with the notion that it is always better to change oneself instead of trying to change others?

And then there is the question of archetypes. How does one proceed with political magic if for some situation or country there aren't any positive archetypes available?

[ecosophia]

1) The rule that it's better to change yourself rather than trying to change others is specific to issues in your own life. It's not a universal rule.

2) There are always positive archetypes available. Not all archetypes are limited by culture or nation; you can always work with one of the archetypes that's common to all humanity. (Take the time to read Jung's The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious for an introduction to some of these.)

[(Anonymous)]

Long time practicer but only recently have been able to pick up reading on hermetic rituals (love your books and translations by the way, can’t wait for more to arrive by mail!) LBRP of course, many invocations and modifications as well. But my main goal is to influence my (non-)reincarnation.
Additionally it seems like there’s a lack of information online regarding modifying rituals as well as hexagram rituals and adding kings(understandable really but one can’t help but turn to convenience first). I feel like I’m bound to come across them in my reading however, so perhaps it’s more about patience in all earnest. But the crossing of the abyss is no small task either! So as much knowledge I can find all the better! Could you suggest some additional books or practices that may better set my focus or other resources that may be helpful? Sorry for being short of hand, I’ve recomposed this so I’m not giving a life’s story. Thanks in advance for any insight!

[ecosophia]

If you're just starting with the Hermetic rituals, my advice is to choose a specific system and practice it exactly as given, without making any modifications at all, until you've learned the whole thing inside and out; then you know enough to monkey around with it. Otherwise, you're like the bad cook who ran out of sugar before making cookies and decided to put two cups of salt in them instead! Pick a specific system as given in a specific book or set of books, and follow it to the letter even when you don't understand why things are set up the way they are -- that way you can count on learning everything the system has to teach you, and having your best shot at reaching your goals.

Middle Pillar Variations

[weilong]

I do the Middle Pillar from Circles of Power each morning. Before starting that, I had done the Middle Pillar from The Art of True Healing. I have recently started doing the AoTH version in the evenings again. I don't seem to be experiencing any problems, but is there any need for caution with doing two different versions of the Middle pillar each day? Aside from differing color schemes, the CoP version has the Tiphareth center near the heart, while AoTH places it at the solar plexus.

Re: Middle Pillar Variations

[ecosophia]

That's an interesting experiment. I've never known anyone to switch between the two Tiphareth centers on a daily basis -- most people have a predilection for one or the other, and stick with that -- so I'm not at all sure what that will do. The different colors, on the other hand, are no problem at all; there's a lot of room for variation there. (Some students work through all four of the Golden Dawn color scales for the spheres, for example.)

[(Anonymous)]

I decided to move back to my hometown from the Capital city but didn't felt to consult divination like Tarot, is this OK from a mage point of view?

[ecosophia]

That's a question only you can answer. One size definitely does not fit all!

cell salts

[(Anonymous)]

I got some cell salts for the experiment and tried them for other stuff on a whim. Actually surprised to get rid of a reoccurring ear infection that I usually fall back on an antibiotic for. It took a little bit longer but I decided to persist and figure it out on my own, seeing as how things could get tight pretty soon.

Thanks for another tool in the tool bag and looking forward to a new book on the subject soon.

Re: cell salts

[ecosophia]

Glad to hear it. While you're waiting for my book -- and it may be a while -- you can download a good general textbook on the subject here, and a good basic introduction here.

Inner Work on the Lower Self, Incarnational Goals, and Not Rushing

[cs2]

When I notice my mental negativity or emotional frustration, I can focus hard on my higher self, inhale, and usually the feeling of closeness to my HS will wash it away. It works better under certain circumstances (in the park nearby, while walking), and I can get it to work about half the time. I liken this to giving penicillin to someone who has never had it before: it floods the system and fixes all kinds of things.

1. Is the above method cheating myself out of necessary inner work? I don't want to shortchange any spiritual growth.

2. My astrologer told me my goal for this incarnation is to love myself. But my Higher Self already loves myself; this is only a lower self problem. I even asked Ogham "Does my Higher Self love myself?" and drew Onn. I'm in my thirties, so what now? I guess I could double down on self-love and make that really clear?

3. In my enthusiasm, I have to keep in mind your advice to not rush this, because my lower bodies need time to adjust. Is there a way to know that I'm rushing, so I can avoid it? I'm recovering from a health issue that is "slow and steady wins the race." I set a goal to be healthy by next Samhuin. Is that the kind of timeline where I won't be rushing my subtle bodies?

4. This month is my three-year anniversary of doing the SOP-Ogham-meditation out of the DMH. I am also partway through OSA and DA. Here is to many more years of work and growth. Thank you for putting these materials into the world and being willing to answer questions about them.

Re: Inner Work on the Lower Self, Incarnational Goals, and Not Rushing

[ecosophia]

1) No, not particularly. If you have to deal with something, trust me, it'll bring itself to your attention.

2) I've never met anyone who had just one goal in an incarnation. Learning to love yourself may have been the most important one; now that you've got that in hand, what else presents itself to work on? Divination, and communion with your higher self, will help you sort this out.

3) It's impossible for me to know that, since I don't know you personally and have no way to check the state of your subtle bodies! Again, divination and communion with your higher self should give you the guidance you need.

4) You're most welcome and thank you. Getting such things into circulation is my most important task in this incarnation -- yes, there's karma involved, a great big mess of it, but I'm getting through the muck one shovelfull at a time.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know if this is fit for magic Monday, I also commented a lot on the BOVID Open thread, I had an obsessive interest into Culianu and it materialised into this Culianu Tarot:
https://archive.org/details/magicianul-eduard-florinescu/mode/1up

cards start at
https://archive.org/details/magicianul-eduard-florinescu/page/n35/mode/1up

The minor arcana is related to Couliano's life and context, the major arcana is the classic arcana in my and graphic's guy interpretation.

Unfortunately is only in Romanian but for a rough machine translation from Romanian:
https://archive-org.translate.goog/stream/magicianul-eduard-florinescu/Magicianul%20Eduard%20Florinescu_djvu.txt?_x_tr_sl=ro&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

For JMG and readers is 2nd of February 2022 17:30 Bucharest time, in Bucharest a good birth time for the Tarot?

[ecosophia]

Fascinating! Thanks for this; I'm not fluent in Romanian but since I'm fairly good at Latin I can pick my way through most Romance languages pretty well. As for the chart, I'll have to pass that to others, since I have a long stack of other questions to field, and don't really have the time to cast and delineate a chart.

[(Anonymous)]

Are Shambala/Aghartha/inner earth civilizations literally real, or is it all metaphor? Or both? In some ways it seems to fit too well as metaphor (inner earth=inner self, etc), but I suppose that doesn't mean it couldn't be both...

Thanks for all you do, JMG- hope you're having a good day!

[ecosophia]

Neither one. (Well, you can use them as metaphors, but then you can use anything for a metaphor.) Shambhala and Agartha are realities on the inner planes; they're not material places, but they certainly exist as astral, mental, and spiritual realities.

[stcathalexandria]

Just a quick note to share that Barnes and Noble has an entire witchcraft section now. I haven't been in the store for years and they've always had an alternative religious section but now its expanded to a whole section of shelves just on books of witchcraft spells. Also sprinkled around the store in every place where they had an assortment of let's say little gift themed gift items, there would be a witch's item.

How seriously can someone hurt themselves and others with this off-the-shelf witchcraft? Is this a possible partial explanation for why people are so out of their minds? Or is this mostly harmless?

I hope whatever is irritating you passes quickly!

Dreary Discombobulated Centaur

[ecosophia]

This sort of thing is inevitable. Scientific rationalism, the de facto religion of our society, has trashed its own credibility -- too many liars in lab coats -- and the mainstream religions have by and large failed to pick up the slack; when most churches meekly shut down their services when told to do so by governments, they made it clear that their kingdom is entirely of this world, and signed their death warrants. So people are turning to whatever other options present themselves, and magic is always one of the options. Some people will hurt themselves or others, and some will take it seriously and get good at it; most people will practice a little magic here and there, the way most people do in most other societies. They'll just get their instructions from Buns & Noodles rather than from the old woman down the street.

Ironically, this new book of mine...

...is from Barnes & Noble's house publisher, and will be on those shelves!

Sacred Geometry Oracle, and a language question

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

Here‘s a very happy and proud newly-minted owner of the Sacred Geometry Oracle - it finally arrived on Saturday. Double yay!!

I love it already. :-) The cards and descriptions are great, and I can see how this would probably be enough material for a lifetime of contemplation.

Now if only the Golden Section book would hurry up a bit… ;-)

Three questions today, if you don‘t mind:

1. I‘ve seen people (including you, I think) recommend wrapping oracle cards into silk.

Does this need to be any special kind of silk? A certain colour? Never-been-used-before? Organic? Handwoven by Tibetian maidens on the night of the full moon? Or will any ordinary silk do? Just wrap the whole box, or only the cards? (Am I overthinking this??)

2. Clearing the deck: Is this really only to avoid the cards sticking together? Or does it also have a spiritual/energetic component to it?

3. And finally, a question which has been on my mind for a while, and has now come out full force with the Geometry Oracle.

I‘m native German, and fluent in English. I don‘t mind at all doing ritual stuff (e.g. the statement you recommend saying before a geometry oracle session) in English.

In fact, they sound a lot better in English... In German, some of that stuff is very stilted and sounds sometimes a wee bit ridiculous to me.

However, I know that I process things differently in German then in English. E.g. English affirmations seem to reach different parts of me than German affirmations.

Hence I‘m wondering what the effect of ritual texts in either language is - does the language used in rituals make a difference

a. for the Geometry Oracle, in particular if I ask the question in German?

b. in general in any kind of magical or occult working?

Maybe other people here would like to chime in with their experiences, too. :-)

Thanks,

Milkyway

Re: Sacred Geometry Oracle, and a language question

[ecosophia]

Delighted to hear it! I know that shipping is still in a serious mess.

1) You can wrap it in silk or not, depending on your preference, and any silk will do. Me, I leave the cards uncovered on my Golden Section altar.

2) Good! Yes, it has an energetic component -- it keeps each card from picking up the energy of the cards next to it.

3) The only thing that needs to stay in the original language is the divine names and words of power in ceremonial magic. You can translate every other part of the ritual work into whatever language you prefer. Affirmations, divination, meditation -- you name it, use whatever language you like.

[(Anonymous)]

I’m wondering if you can speak more on the etheric links of mother & child before age 7, or point to literature on the subject? Specifically, can the child’s etheric body be negatively impacted if the mother has an extremely stressful or dangerous pregnancy, in which the child survived potentially deadly complications? Is a very high strung, anxious, overly alert and verbal child a sign of etheric problems? (She is otherwise physically healthy with no complications from her premature birth.) If so, how can the child’s etheric body be repaired? The child in question is four. I’m considering starting the Juddon exercises with her. I regularly pray for her. Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Original poster here—I meant Judson! Typo. I also bought your book on natural magic, so have that as a potential resource. Thank you in advance!

Astrology

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr Greer

I have a question that is covid related, but is about astrology, so I thought it would be Ok for this blog. There has been speculation about a possible mass death scenario in relation to the vaccines. If this was the case then why can’t astrologers pick this up in the movements of the star/planets?

I am sceptical of astrology, but realise that I cannot dismiss it out of hand without putting the work in to understand it. So please forgive me if the answer to this question is obvious. By the way you may be wondering why a sceptic is asking this question. All I can say is that going into the future is like moving into the dark. You search for any source of light that may guide you. In previous years I could be fairly sure that the next year would be pretty much like the previous year. I don’t feel that way about this year. Even if it wasn’t for the potential side effects of the vaccine, there is still peak oil, and a host of other things ready to make the next few years “interesting” in the Chinese proverb meaning of that word.

Jasmine

Re: Astrology

[ecosophia]

There are three answers to your question, and they all apply.

First, astrologers are human beings, and like other human beings they can miss what's right in front of their faces if it conflicts with their wishes and their beliefs. Do you recall the number of astrologers who insisted all through 2016 that Hillary Clinton was sure to win? They let their hopes get in the way of a clear reading of the chart. That's especially easy to do in what's called "mundane astrology" -- the astrology of politics -- because so many people feel so strongly about that. So quite a few astrologers who bought into the vaccine hype and the stuff the corporate media was saying looked at their charts, and read them through rose-colored glasses.

Second, astrology deals in general trends, and it predicts tendencies rather than certainties. A good mundane astrologer says "there's a high risk of war at this time" rather than being more certain than that, and who the war will be with -- that can't always be determined at all. In the same way, a chart may predict very serious trouble for a certain period without indicating what kind of trouble it is. That's just the way astrology is; human beings have free will, and so the influence of the cycles of time can only tell you so much.

Third, some of us have been warning for some time now that something really nasty is being signaled in the stars. You might find this open post of mine worth reading; it's a set of predictions made for Joe Biden's inauguration, which is the most relentlessly bad mundane chart I've ever cast. Looking back, I can see some mistakes of interpretation in it, but most of it's been pretty accurate -- and it predicts a world-class ghastly mess before Biden leaves office. Draw your own conclusions...

Bells & Maori War Cries & Freedom Convoys (Oh, my!)

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, JMG, I have a couple of questions this week as I continue to explore the possible magical dimensions of the Freedom Convoy movement against fox mandates:

1 - The bell is one tool which is common in many religions and cultures around the world for cultivating holiness and dispelling evil (it is even used in exorcisms, if I recall correctly). The alloy used for the bell is most commonly brass, but it varies considerably. I have been recently looking at the truck air-horn as an “industrial bell”. Its sound seems to be both powerful (literally shaking your innards if you get too close) and consciousness-changing. My first close encounter with such a horn as a child (which was at very close range and was totally unexpected) was so powerful it felt as if my soul was blown right out of my body for an instant: that memory has always stayed with me. Do you have any comments on bells / truck horns from an occult perspective?

2 - This past weekend the Maoris of New Zealand resumed their ancestral war cry/ritual (haka) in front of New Zealand’s parliament buildings. Many non-Maori Kiwis have learned it and are allowed to join in. The haka was done on mass last November as well (video clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSkmG2nMDxs), but nothing at the physical/social level seemed to come of it. However, as soon as I watched the hakas back in November, I felt that it was a ‘wake-up call’ at a time when no group in the Western world appeared to openly show resistance to the wholesale curtailment of freedoms by governments. (By the way, I have witnessed a haka in person in NZ and no video can possibly do it justice). A lot of other people watched the November 2021 hakas. This pas weekend’s hakas were even bigger and more powerful than November’s. The psychological effects of such war-cries are obvious. I am wondering about the haka’s effects from a more magical perspective and whether they may have perhaps helped kick-start the rebellion against government over-reach (which is the Freedom Convoy movement) at a subtle level. Any musings?

Ron M

Re: Bells & Maori War Cries & Freedom Convoys (Oh, my!)

[(Anonymous)]

I’m not a New Zealander, but the relationship of NZ to the Maori is very interesting to me. I don’t know what it’s like on the ground, but there seems to be far more openness to whites/non-Indigenous adopting cultural aspects of the Maori without it being labeled “cultural appropriation.” For example, the prime minister’s child has a Maori middle name despite all-European ancestry, and the PM appears to regularly adopt Maori dress as a form of respect when visiting their political or religious sites or attending Maori events. I can’t imagine a Canadian, US, or even Australian politician doing this without massive outcry and ridicule, plus accusations of cultural appropriation or appeasement, from whichever end of the spectrum.

Is it maybe because NZ is unusual in having only one, mostly homogeneous indigenous group? Or something particular to the Maori?

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you as always for these incredibly informative Magic Monday's, JMG! I have a very simple question for you and any commentariat who care to get involved. Brigid has been on my mind for some years, occasionally popping into my thoughts, and I had a favourable divination to invoke her along with Ana this past Imbolc. In the process, I realized I have no idea how her name should be pronounced.

I've heard "Breet" (with and without a rolled-r), "Brig-ihd" with a hard g, "Bridge-ihd" with a soft g, and "Brig-ith"/"Bridge-ith" as if the d is an eth. Is there a canonical pronunciation considered proper by revival Druids, and/or Welsh or Celtic pagans (I'm interested in the pagan or Druid pronunciations, not any Anglicized or Christian variants)? She seemed amused and fairly tolerant of any pronunciation, which I was grateful for, but if there's a traditional one that speaks to the fulness of her mysteries I would like to use it.

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

I'm going to have to leave this to any of my readers who actually speak Irish Gaelic. My Druid background is from the other side of the Celtic language landscape -- Welsh, Cornish, and Breton belong to one language sub-family, Irish, Scots Gaelic, and Manx to another, and they don't have much in common. (Fidceall and gwyddbwyll started out as the same word; one's Irish, the other's Welsh!) Anybody care to help?

Christo-Pagan Relations with Christocentric Christians (Repost from Levi discussion)

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Everyone.... JMG already chimed in on the following over at Ecosophia. This is a repost of something I posted for the Eliphas Levi book discussion, but I thought I'd put it up here too, so anyone who doesn't go over there for the Wonder-full book discussion could have a stab at it. The question is about relating to Christians as an occultist and Christo-Pagan type person.:

Wearing the Mantle of a (formerly?) Dominant Religion

I was curious what other people’s thoughts are about “remaing silent” and what I’ll call “wearing the mantle of a dominant religion”. Levi says to participate or not, “without impiety.”

I have a lot of Christian family and many Christian friends. Because I know the Bible some, better than some who’ve never read it, and not as well as those who’ve devoted themselves to studying it deeply, some people have just thought I was a Christian without me ever saying I was. I went along with it because it’s often easier to blend in this way, rather than be like, well actually, no, I’m a Universalist Occultist/Mage who believes, as far as I can tell, that there is a Divinity, but that there are differences between Divinity and Deity. I see the Divinity as the One, perhaps as a Neoplatonist would, but then below that are all kinds of Deities and a whole ecology and swirl of spiritual beings (including us because the universe is alive, etc.).

Yaweh, Christ, etc. are part of this “world full of gods”. I have a connection to Christ because I was raised Christian. Also had a “Christ acceptance” experience through a member of an esoteric Christian/magical group where I live, but it was a brief association. But “wearing the mantle” of that religion full-time as it were, never did seem right, and there have always been aspects I get the “ick” factor I get from Christianity (no offense meant on any of this to the Christians here).

Yet I share the belief in a “creator”, and I have encountered deep strains of gnosis within the B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth according to the gospel of Wu-Tang). So I always feel with these friends as if I’m skirting around something.

I guess it would be fair to say I could be considered a Christo-Pagan, religiously. But how do Christo-Pagans relate to their Christian friends who would really dislike it if they know they also pray to other gods besides Christ, have a relationship with Elen of the Ways as much as Virgin Mary? And even some Christians would say you’re an idolator if you light a candle at Mary shrine in a local cathedral where you aren’t even part of the congregation. Because Catholics, well they have a pope, and all those shrines and that’s “wrong”.

One of the main problems I’ve always had as someone who was raised in a church that was the “one true religion” even amongst other Christian denominations, is that “believing correctly” was more important than what you did in some cases. Of course you were expected to obey the law – a very legalistic church that kept as many Old Testament rules as they could find. Christians often, very often, point to their interpretations of the Bible as proof of the soundness of their doctrine. But it’s not like the Bible is the only book that contains truth out there… there are many books, and the book of nature and religions that aren’t of the book seem more open to intertextuality and not always thinking theirs is the only true way in the universe. Who is to say the Bible is the only book to be believed (well, Jehovah’s Witnesses say that for example… though I belonged to a different sect/cult).

Anyway, I quit going when I was a teenager, the same time my occult interest ramped up. The numerous splinter groups within Christianity, and many who believed there splinter is the only right one, struck me as hubris. Of course every other non-Christian religion was wrong on top of that, if not actually Satanic, because the deities of other religions are actually demons in disguise. That’s the thinking I’ve encountered more often than not.

And yet I do find truth, with a lower case t, in the Bible. There’s a shale ton of magic in there. A shale ton of mysticism. My magical & some visionary experiences have been proven “true” by Bible verses that I later came to understand in a new “gnostic” way. These have helped me to relate to and accept the Christians in my life in a different way.

Didn’t Levi also something along the lines of one religion for the people, another for the initiate? I’ll have to go back and find it in an earlier chapter.

Are these interactions with devout Christians a place where “to keep silent” is a virtue? I like to have conversations about spirituality with some of them. When it strays into dogma and “believing right” is when I get squirrely. What do others think?

Know Wonder

(Writing under an occasional pseudonym for this comment just in case the Witch Finder Generals ever comes looking for me.)

Re: Christo-Pagan Relations with Christocentric Christians (Repost from Levi discussion)

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Know Wonder,

Since you asked, I thought I'd offer a brief answer: what is in my own heart and my own mind is my own business to share or not, as I feel so moved. I tend to keep my metaphysical beliefs, ideas, and understandings very, very private. I find that it is wiser so. People can misunderstand, and worse, people tend to gossip and you can easily get a reputation you do not deserve.

In any event, what people say they believe and what they actually believe may or may not be the same thing, you will never know for sure.

Amaranth Puckish Kumquat