Dies Lunae Magicae

[ecosophia]

(That's "Magic Monday" in Latin, for those of you who were wondering...)

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. See you next week! 

Comments

On glass and Etheric charging

[(Anonymous)]

On pages 278-280 of your Paths of Wisdom, 3/e book, you mention the practices of solar and lunar etheric charging.

Two questions:
1) What is it about glass that blocks the charging? Is it simply the fact it's a synthetic material?
2) For properly balancing out charges, can similar charging procedures be carried out with other planetary bodies?

Thanks again for your Magic Mondays.

Re: On glass and Etheric charging

[ecosophia]

1) Glass is an etheric insulator -- not a strong one, but strong enough. (It's an interesting fact that most electrical insulators are also etheric insulators.) Thus it blocks some of the etheric energies that you want to bring into your body in the charging practice.

2) Yes, and you can also do it with earth energies, the energies of many varieties of trees (conifers are especially healthy for humans to work with in this way), the energies of lightning and thunder, and a great deal more.

Encountering Entities in Meditation

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr. Greer,

I’ve been practicing the rituals and meditation as it appears in Paths of Wisdom for the past 5 months or so. In some places, especially pathworking descriptions, you mention that a person might encounter a specific type of entity while meditating on that path. This has confused and worried me somewhat. What if I don’t have this experience? Am I doing something wrong? Does it happen at some point when I am more experienced? How is it supposed to happen when I am creating the scene mentally and just thinking about the concepts? It feels like I’m missing something fundamental. Any light you could shed on this would be much appreciated.

Re: Encountering Entities in Meditation

[ecosophia]

First of all, relax. When I say that you might encounter a particular kind of entity, that also means you might not. It's not a big deal. At five months of practice, in particular, you're still on the bunny slope; don't worry about it if you're not getting dramatic results yet. Those will come in due time. The regular practice of meditation, divination, and ritual will build the foundations on which magical experiences will emerge.

It's a common modern superstition to think that mental imagery exists purely within your mind. In magical philosophy, the imagination mediates between your mind and the astral plane. You'll notice, as you practice pathworking and other imagination-based practices, that things you didn't expect show up and tell you things you didn't know! That's the point of the exercise, and it's why you need the various ways of checking inner plane communications that are mentioned in the relevant chapter of Paths of Wisdom.

Mirrors

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG, and thanks for hosting this!

My question is this: In your experience, are mirrors dangerous to have around during a magic working? I have a large closet with mirrors for doors where I practice my daily work and pathworkings. Recently at a monthly esoteric get together I host, a couple of people were horrified to find out I practice magic with a mirror in the room. They said their tradition (which was some kind of Thelemic offshoot I think) strictly forbade it as mirrors can be doorways for nasty beings. I was sceptical as I've been doing magic in there for about five years now, and the only problem with a nasty being was once and it had nothing to do with the mirror. So, I didn't have anything to say to them besides "Not in my experience." I would think the type of rituals we do in the DOGD would be very adequate to protect againsed that if it were even a possibility. I'd just never heard this bit of lore before. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Dean Smith

Re: Mirrors

[ecosophia]

My thoughts? That the people who came up with that teaching spent too much time reading bad horror fiction. I don't happen to practice in a room with a mirror just now, but I've done it in previous apartments with zero ill effects. Furthermore, regular banishing rituals -- which you're doing in your practice space anyway, as a DOGD initiate -- would take care of the problem even if there was a problem.

scrying

[(Anonymous)]

I have begun some scrying, but in the first session, as I opened the door, I could only perceive utter darkness on the other side.
I was too afraid to go through the door. I promptly closed the door and ceased the session.
Was it the watcher playing games with me or did I omit some essential step there?
PS: I was attempting to scry in the past and perceive what my home town looked like in 1900.
Thanks

Re: scrying

[ecosophia]

You may have opened a doorway into somebody's broom closet in 1900. I mean that quite seriously. Try a more specific focus: say, such and such street at noon on June 1, 1900, and see what you get.

Astral Projections

[(Anonymous)]

Do regular meditations, divinations and the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram help in performing astral projections and if so why?

Re: Astral Projections

[ecosophia]

Nope. They'll lay foundations that will take you to the summit of magical attainment, but if you want to perform astral projection, you'll want to find some suitable exercises and get working on those, too. I recommend the specific methods given in W.E. Butler's book Apprenticed to Magic.

The cauldrons are taking form

[scotlyn]

Hello. Further to my last, about a small development in my SOP practice - which involves visualising the elemental and spiritual blessings as colour filling each of my 3 inner "cauldrons" - I have a bit more to report.

1) As a practice, I find it makes it easy for me to visualise sharing the blessings throughout the day. For example, if I am in any situation during the day which may, possibly, result in contention or disagreement, I visualise myself "spilling" a few of my cauldron carried "blessing colours" on the ground between us to create a shared floor of blessing that is equally available to all parties, and within which the possibility of winning some common ground together may be strengthened.

2) I have "discovered" (that is to say, it does not feel like this was "my" idea, but has become clear to me via my daily "visits" in the SOP) that my inner cauldrons have each their own character. My Cauldron of Warming - the lowest one, in my abdomen - is cast iron, matt black, and of the ordinary kind that is associated with cooking and nourishment. My Cauldron of Motion - the middle one, in my chest - is brass, shiny, metallic, warm, and reminds me of ornamentation, flair. My Cauldron of Wisdom - the highest one, in my head - is crystal, clear, transparent, almost as if made of light. The nearest way I can describe it, is that it "twangs" with a vibration of its own.

For myself, I am excited about all this - especially for the ability (which for me is "new found") to share the elemental and spiritual blessings received during the SOP with others. Do you think the SOP is flexible enough to accommodate this type of development?

Re: The cauldrons are taking form

[ecosophia]

The SOP is flexible enough to accommodate just about anything, and what you've described is a straightforward extension of the existing material. By all means keep at it -- and as you share blessings with others, of course, you'll find more blessings coming your own way too.

[(Anonymous)]

You get me interested in astrology and, given its so easy to cast a natal chart these days, i did it and turns out i have both uranus and neptune in the 8th.

Is it true that this placement is good for magic and occultism?

Also, if its not inapropiate for this AMA, what are your thoughts on it?

Thank you,

Guillem.

[ecosophia]

You'll have to tell me more than that in order for me to give a meaningful answer. What sign is on the cusp of the eighth house, and do Uranus and Neptune have any aspects with other planets?

Aspects and Divination

[(Anonymous)]

I've been finding the various aspects (squares, trines, etc.) in astrology fascinating. Have you heard of anyone using something similar in other divination systems, especially sortilege-based ones since those are quite common?

Re: Aspects and Divination

[ecosophia]

The only rough equivalent I know of is in geomancy, where you can have the equivalent of aspects between figures in the house chart. Other than that, no, and I'm not sure how you'd do it -- which doesn't mean it can't be done. See what you can come up with!

Current location

[ferngladefarm.blogspot.com.au]

Hi John Michael,

I'm so easily distracted tonight that it is not funny. And I'm meant to be writing... I'll get there, deadlines are a hard line in the sand.

I spotted your current location and that was sobering. As a question regarding the occult, what do you reckon would be the essential occult tool to get through any future rough times?

Or do you believe that occult techniques are inherently part of being a human and they may assert themselves again in the future?

Thanks for providing the forum!

Chris

Re: Current location

[ecosophia]

Magic is one of the things that makes us human; it's in our blood and our bones. That's why people in every society in human history, around the world and throughout time, have practiced it. As times get tough, in particular, people turn to magic even more passionately than they do in easy times, so magic is guaranteed to make it through whatever the world and our own dumb choices throw at us.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

Thank you so much for hosting these Magic Mondays. I'm finding myself waiting for them eagerly each Tuesday (I'm in Australia) and learning from nearly all the questions and answers posted here. Quite often people ask questions that were already on my mind and I am also grateful to all the participants here.

My question this time is following the discussion that is now running across both of your blogs and multiple posts - the blowbacks from spells.

Last Monday you gave an example of how reckless behaviour may result in a physical injury that might stay with a person until the end of their life. To the best of my limited understanding, a physical part of the injury is basically erased upon a physical death. To the extent that this injury reverberates through the deeper layers of an individuality, it may still resonate in some way with other lives past and future. Does it make sense?

When it comes to spells, it starts to sound to me that a magical working with nasty side effects is not going to be shaken away by a physical death because it targets a deeper level to start with. So would it be correct to assume that a particularly unlucky spell has a potential to reverberate through multiple future lifetimes when the caster might not even have the tools to understand where a particular set of recurring problems is coming from?

And if so, does it mean that people, who use their magic skills to create problems in other people lives, are basically digging themselves into a deep dark place for many lifetimes to come?

[ecosophia]

It's worth remembering, to start with, that karma usually takes the form of character. Each action you do, magical or not, shapes who you are, and who you are has an immense impact on what you experience in life. When you deliberately hurt someone -- again, whether or not that involves magic -- that act reinforces the character traits in you that make you think it's okay to deliberately hurt people, and so you become more of a jerk than you already were; people then respond to you the way they respond to jerks in general, which does not necessarily get you what you want out of life. ;-)

So someone who uses magic to hurt people, in another incarnation, will still be the kind of person who thinks it's okay to hurt people, will express that in various ways, and will get treated accordingly. Eventually the pain level reaches a point that it sinks in that this isn't a good idea. The original source of the recurring problems may not be evident, but it's always possible for any of us to notice that we're being jerks, to figure out that this is a bad idea, and to choose to do something else -- and every choice, for good or ill, leaves its mark.

Magic leaves deeper marks than many other kinds of action, because it functions on the planes of causation rather than on the planes of effect. The principle is the same, though -- and the fact that magic leaves deeper marks than most other kinds of action means that by performing magical workings for healing, blessing, and banishing, we can accelerate the balancing and healing process in ourselves as well as in the world.

[(Anonymous)]

Can magic get rid of phobias caused by traumatic experiences in previous incarnations?

[ecosophia]

Don't try to get rid of a phobia. Try to learn from it. Your phobias are trying to tell you something; they very often include blocked emotions from traumas in your previous lives -- I certainly have some of those -- but there's always a lesson in there. What's worked best for me is to practice meditation, and use the subject of the phobia -- let's say, spiders -- as the theme for the meditation. Imagine a spider, and think about what it means to you as a symbol; what emotions it calls up -- because there's almost always something else alongside the fear -- and what those remind you of; what memories tie into it; and so on. Over time, this desensitizes you to the object of the phobia, and it also can teach you what's behind the phobia -- including, in many cases, what the past life events are that set it into motion, if that's what happened.

Non human entities

[(Anonymous)]

I recall you mentioned running into one or two non-human entities disguise as humans, can you elaborate?

Re: Non human entities

[ecosophia]

"Disguised as humans" is the wrong phrase. I've met a couple of people who I'm pretty sure are nonhuman souls born into human bodies. That happens tolerably often these days, for a variety of reasons; Dion Fortune has some useful comments about the phenomenon in her book Applied Magic.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm fortunate to spend most of my days outdoors, so I do my daily meditations and rituals (from LRM) outdoors. Sometimes the bugs are distracting, but generally I much prefer and have a better experience outside. One thing I've noticed though is that pressing my bare feet to the ground, whether sitting or standing meditation, gives a much different, and for me, much deeper, better meditations than when I'm wearing shoes.

What I was wondering is, is there some basis in magic for this? (a friend mentioned something called "grounding," but I haven't had a chance to research that yet.)

[ecosophia]

You're tapping into what Druid Revival teachings call the telluric current, one of the two great currents of nwyfre aka life energy -- qi, prana, (ahem) voor, etc. -- that sustain life on earth. The other is the solar current. Your energy body needs contact with both; bare skin absorbs nwyfre more effectively than when you have shoes, clothes, etc. in the way -- thus back in the days when neck-to-toes clothing was mandatory, a lot of Druids were into nude sunbathing. Walking or standing barefoot on the earth is a good way to recharge your energy body, too.

Directing Energy

[(Anonymous)]

JMG - I love that you have this open forum! Thank you so much for giving your time. I have a few questions to ask.

Some context before the questions - I have a 2 year old, so as I understand it, I can't do magical work outside of something like the elemental cross/Sphere of Protection until he is a bit older. Also, I'm studying the bardic course in OBOD. I was interrupted by new motherhood and have slowly gotten back into the coursework (nearing completion).

1) I practice the SoP most mornings before going to my high pressure job and I find it helps. However, after meditating for the past few months on my work related issues, I have come to the conclusion that I need to work on how I direct my consciousness/energy. I am a VERY high energy person and pick up on other people's concerns, taking them on and giving guidance to many people. At the end of the day I need to be able to get the "gunk" off me (I've started picturing it as black tar oil covering a sphere around my heart). I also need to direct my emotions better - a bit more of a poker player aspect, as my role has become highly political in the past few months.

2) My boss is an interesting character. Utterly unable to connect with another person emotionally, so he hires people who are very good at that aspect (he knows what he can and cannot do). However, we've started having chats where I swear if he isn't an occultist, he must have been taught by someone who had some access to that knowledge. He said something along the lines of - 'you need to direct your energy. It's like a sphere. Think of taking that energy and lighting a light bulb. The energy goes where you want it to.' I almost fell off my chair. I just wanted to know what you think of my conjecture based on the evidence provided. I mean, I'm not going to ask him as that would be rude (he's my boss, not my pal). I suspect I'm overthinking it...

Thanks again.

Re: Directing Energy

[ecosophia]

I'm not sure where the questions are, but I'll give it a shot...

1) Remember that you can use the SoP to summon and banish specific things into your life. Chapter 5 of The Druid Magic Handbook gives instructions for doing this.

2) He may well be an occultist; there are a lot of us out there. He may also simply have picked up some of the occult teachings that got into various kinds of psychology and motivational thinking over the course of the 20th century. You might try sometime dropping a casual reference to something like energy into a conversation, and see if he picks it up.

Operative mage experience

[fluiddruid]

Archdruid,

what is it like to be a competent operative mage?
And how do you know when you get there?
What's the endgame there, what are the limits of what one can do?
I know it is an awfully broad question, but as somebody who has recently started practicing magic (thanks to you), I am extremely interested in knowing where this road is going.

P.S. I am pretty sure that East Providence is not going to be below sea level anytime soon.

Re: Operative mage experience

[ecosophia]

I'm kind of scratching my head, trying to figure out how to answer that first question. What is it like to be a competent martial artist, say, or a competent musician? Depends on the martial artist or the musician, certainly.

You don't "get there" in terms of reaching an endpoint. There's always more to learn and higher levels of attainment to reach. Nor is there an endgame -- at least, not in this life. In terms of where this road is going, why, that depends on where you take it -- there is no one goal. As a mage in training, you can become whatever you desire, within the limits of the laws of nature (in dealing with the world of phenomena) and the laws of spirit (in dealing with the world of principles). What do you want to become? You can become it, provided only that you're willing to accept the consequences of becoming that.

Getting stuck after death

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, is it true that people who die a violent death can get stuck between the first and second death, roaming the lower astral for months or years? If so, is there any way such a person can be helped by their living family, provided that none of them have any serious magical training, and none of them want to petition any deities?

Re: Getting stuck after death

[ecosophia]

Yes, that can happen, and your options for helping them would require you either to put in some serious magical practice or petition a deity or two. If those aren't options, and you're not in a position to contact someone who will do the work for you, no, there's not much you can do.

[(Anonymous)]

The discussion about astrology and politics got me thinking about something. If you were going to use occult methods to improve an organisation (whether political, business or other), what would you do? If there are many things that could be done, how would you prioritise?

[ecosophia]

That would depend entirely on circumstances. I'd recommend using divination, first to find out if doing that kind of magic would be appropriate and helpful, and then to help sort out the competing priorities.

Found a neat infographic about ternaries

[(Anonymous)]

I love the overarching theme of perceiving the nature of things in threes in The Druid Magic Handbook, Druidry Handbook and others. I found an infographic posted by a friend of mine that sums it up well and I'd like to share it with the gang. It's posted on my website, so it won't be deleted unless I make it so. I did not author it.



Kimberly

Re: Found a neat infographic about ternaries

[ecosophia]

Very nice! Yes, that's the classic Aristotelian take on virtues, which is also the one a lot of Druids use. Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

1. Are Saturn talismans useful for acquiring land and property?

2. I've occasionally had the experience of the image of a particular person appearing very powerfully to me during the practice of magic, especially when my feeling of the power of the magical energy is at a high point-- like during the middle pillar. Is it possible that this image actually represents the thoughts or feelings that the other person is directing toward me?

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, if Saturn in your natal chart isn't in a hostile aspect with the ruler of your fourth house.

2) Might be that, might be the thoughts and feelings you're directing at the other person.

Sun and Moon

[(Anonymous)]

I had an interesting geomancy reading that I wanted your comments on. The reading was regarding a romantic relationship-- whether it was possible with a particular person-- and the thing that made it interesting was that every figure that appeared was under either the sun or the moon. Fortuna Minor turned up in houses 1, 2 (company of houses) and 5; Fortuna Major in 7, 8 (company again) and 11. Cauda draconis in 3 and 4; Via in 6; Populus in 9, 10 and 12. In the shield chart, the RW was Populus, the Left Fortuna Major, the Judge Fortuna Major, the Reconciler Via.

To my eyes the indicators all seemed very positive, barring a couple of negative aspects which themselves occur between positive figures. But I wondered if the fact that only the luminaries and no other planets were involved in the chart had any particular significance.

Re: Sun and Moon

[ecosophia]

Not especially. I trust you realized right away that the answer is yes, and that the other person is probably going to make the first move.

[(Anonymous)]

I've seen the discussion on anti-Trumpers and some destructive spells they're casting, and I also know some Republicans cast spells to try to sabotage Clinton and Obama, while the Democrats casting spells may be happening on a larger scale, and more patently obviously destructive, it happened during both Bush presidencies. I'm curious if you think part of the mess the US is in is a result of the combination of the spells working their intended effects and backlash they cause.

Another question: is there anything resembling an idea of national karma in any occult literature you're aware of?

[ecosophia]

Yes, that could very possibly be involved. As far as national karma, good heavens, yes -- collective karma is a massive issue, discussed at great length in traditional occult literature.

Vasectomy

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I am considering having a vasectomy. Do you know if, or suppose that there could be any negative consequences to my spiritual or magical practice? Or any positive consequences for that matter? I was thinking of energy meridians and such.

Many thanks,

C

Re: Vasectomy

[ecosophia]

I've never heard of anyone having any significant magical effects from that operation. I know a very capable Golden Dawn magician who's had it, and it certainly hasn't slowed him down! For that matter, William Butler Yeats had it done in old age, when it was an experimental surgery, and he was up to his eyeballs in occultism and doesn't seem to have noticed any particular difficulty.

Royal Rosarians

[(Anonymous)]

From Goats and Roses

There is a group in Portland, OR called the Royal Rosarians. I saw them at a parade last summer. It kinda reminded me of seeing Shriners in parades when I was a kid. I was wondering if it is, or is associated with, a mystery school? Here is a quote from from their website:

"The Royal Rosarians honor our legacy of tradition and are a historically significant organization with a rich heritage of ceremonial pageantry that enhances the image of the City of Roses."

Have you ever heard of them, and if so do you know what other groups/orders/mystery schools they are associated with? The similarity to Rosicrucian in their name does not seem accidental. Thanks!

Re: Royal Rosarians

[ecosophia]

I suspect you're dealing with something about as esoteric as the Shriners, i.e., not at all. Many cities used to have local organizations that helped put on, and then drank their way through, the big civic event of the year, and some of those still exist. On the other hand, since they have a website with a contact email, you could always drop them a line and ask about their history and whether they have any particular religious, spiritual, or philosophical dimension.

[(Anonymous)]

Doing the fourfold breathing I began to get light headed and then faint, seeing bright colors. I have an ongoing experience from childhood that when I stand up, I often get very dizzy and light-headed and then sometimes lose control of my limbs as they shake. A few times I've hit my headed hard as I've fallen on the floor, although I've gotten better at controlling my descent. When this happens I feel like I've entered a different plane and I'm watching my body from outside. When I re-enter my normal state of consciousness I taste electricity. For both four-fold breathing and standing up too quickly, the feeling is very pleasurable but also disturbing. I would describe the sensation as literally 'ecstatic,' being outside of myself. Perhaps it is relevant that I enter other ecstatic states fairly easily, including states of mystic union.

After doing the four fold breathing for a little over two weeks I noticed that my fingers were trembling involuntarily. This made me nervous and so I haven't meditated at all for the past two days. My physical issues have resolved.

My question is two-fold:

1) Do you have a sense of why I may have this reaction to four-fold breathing/standing up too quickly?

2) Do you have thoughts about how I may proceed through this? Does this indicate something that I'm not seeing that may be pertinent to my spiritual development?

Many thanks, JMG. Sharing your perspectives on Magic Monday is extremely helpful for me.

[ecosophia]

1) Do you happen to know if low blood pressure runs in your family? That's what this sounds like to me.

2) You may want to set aside the fourfold breath for the time being, and just relax your body and then enter into the meditation.

[youngmanontv]

Thanks so much for hosting this and all you've done for us. I am beginning daily practice following The Druid Magic Handbook and I have some questions hoping for your thoughts on some aspects of my practice.

1- Is it okay to practice rituals such as Elemental Cross and Circulation of Light more than once per day? If not why?

2- Is it okay to perform rituals before divination and meditation? If not why?

3- Is it okay to sit cross legged on the ground as opposed to sitting in a chair? If not why?

I'm grateful that you do what you do especially online since so many people such as myself can interact directly with you. Thanks again!

[ecosophia]

1) Beginners very often want to pile on the practices. It's not a good idea; you can get "spacy," and set in motion other kinds of imbalance. Once per day is a good pace.

2) I always meditate in a space that's been prepared by a banishing ritual. I don't usually do a divination in the same space, but you can do that if you want.

3) Nope. Crossing your legs seals your aura against earth energies, and that's not something you want to do if you're practicing Druid magic! Your feet should be flat on the floor. The one on-the-floor posture I know of that works well with Druid meditation is the Japanese seiza posture -- kneel with your feet extended flat out behind you, knees separated by the width of a fist, and sit back on your heels. Since the legs aren't crossed this doesn't seal you against earth energies.