Monday, Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Once again, it's technically Monday now -- past midnight Eastern time -- and here I am on Dreamwidth, so it's time for another 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, though it may be Tuesday sometime before I get to them all.

With that said, have at it!

This Magic Monday is now closed to new questions. See you next week! 

Comments

Sphere of Protection

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG - a question about the SoP, specifically Circulating the Light of the Cross.

I am using the instructions on the AODA website (by John Gilbert). I am having trouble with parts two and three of the Circulating instructions. Can you confirm the instructions as published are correct?

Does the line that goes straight through your body (back to front) rotate at all? Or does the left-to-right light spin in two directions?

Re: Sphere of Protection

[ecosophia]

No, there's a mistake. Some of the instructions have been garbled. I'm not sure when or how that happened; it was correct once upon a time!

All three of the lines rotate. First, the vertical line rotates to form a circle going from above to front to below to behind and then around again to above; then the side to side horizontal line rotates from right to up to left to down and back around to right; then the front to back horizontal line rotates from front to left to behind to right and then around again to front.

Here's where it gets complex. When you have the first line spinning, you have a wheel of light centered on your solar plexus, right? As the second line starts to spin, the wheel turns with it. (Think of the front wheel of a bicycle when you turn the handlebars; the wheel is spinning, and then the spinning wheel turns to one side as well.) So the first wheel turns into a sphere as the second line becomes a wheel. Then, in exactly the same way, as you start the third line moving into a wheel, the second becomes a sphere. Then you turn the third wheel into a sphere. Go through this a step at a time, until you can do it readily; it really does add to the effectiveness of the ritual.

Re: Sphere of Protection

[(Anonymous)]

Is this different than the directions mentioned in your Druid Magic Handbook? Are you describing these rotations from the point of view of the person doing the ritual or from someone looking at the front of the practitioner (as in the diagrams in DMH)? Regardless of the point of view, I thought the second rotation was spinning the equator, so to speak, like a hula hoop around the waist rather than up overhead? The Circulation of Light has always been tricky for me because I'm not so good at spatial manipulation, so I wonder if I may have misunderstood one set of directions or the other (or maybe both?). I know you've said in other places that you deliberately vary the instructions for some rituals so that people don't get the idea that there's One True Way to accomplish the goal of the ritual, but I also get the sense that sometimes these details are quite important, for reasons that are not necessarily apparent to the beginner. Can you clarify the case here? I'm wondering if I've been doing it "wrong" all this time and that's part of the reason it has stayed difficult.

Re: Sphere of Protection

[ecosophia]

There are different versions, and it's a very flexible practice. No, you're not doing it "wrong" -- it's just a bit tricky to master. Keep at it.

Re: Sphere of Protection

[(Anonymous)]

Im using the sphere as provided in the handbook.

Im two weeks into it, i certainly made progres, not just on the ritual but on my imagination focus as well.

The circulation is a challenge, i tried using an Earth sphere prior to ritual, as the axis are already there, but the third rotation is still very vague.

This method of Aoda seems a little more friendly for begginers.

Any hints?

Guillem.

Re: Sphere of Protection

[ecosophia]

Keep practicing!

Re: Sphere of Protection

[(Anonymous)]

Forgive me if I ask a dumb question, but I'm wondering why the wheels are turning counterclockwise in the second and third line. Is this part of the banishing aspect?

Re: Sphere of Protection

[ecosophia]

Nah, it has to do with traditional ideas of energy flow through the subtle body.