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. With certain exceptions, 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. Also: I will not be putting through or answering any more questions about practicing magic around children. I've answered those in simple declarative sentences in the FAQ. If you read the FAQ and don't think your question has been answered, read it again. If that doesn't help, consider remedial reading classes; yes, it really is as simple and straightforward as the FAQ says. 

The image?  That's the thirty-second card in The Sacred Geometry Oracle. Card 32, Squaring the Circle, when upright is an omen of success and achievement; when reversed, it tells you that you're trying to accomplish something impossible and you need to accept that you won't get it. The sun in the upper left corner of the image tells you that this card belongs to the final third of the oracle, which corresponds to Nwyfre, the principle of spirit and meaning.  We've completed our passage through the first two of the basic root functions of sacred geometry -- √3, the principle of the vesica piscis and the equilateral triangle, and √2, the principle of the square and its diagonal -- and now we're working with the √5, the seed from which the Golden Section unfolds and resolves all back into unity.

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 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)]

1. I’ve been observing the holidays as written in The Druidry Handbook for two years. Today, before the weekly observation of Lughnasadh, it occurred to me that there is no Outdwellers’ offering mentioned, but it would be a nice touch. So - I tossed a glass of water and a peanut butter cookie (this week’s fresh bread) into the bushes to the north of my altar and proceeded as usual. Nothing to note other than the action felt appropriate. Any thoughts on an Outdwellers’ offering? Do, don’t, quit wasting cookies… ???

2. Three weeks ago, I noticed my sphere of protection was out of sync as it spun on its three axes. After a favorable mention here, I bought Kelder’s The Eye of Revelation (Watt edit). After two weeks of doing the rites, the sync problem is gone, I feel perkier, my desire to be entertained is greatly reduced, and my tastes in food have changed for the better. Any advice on what to watch for in the next few weeks?

Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

1) Outdwellers? That's an ADF notion, not something you'll find in Druid Revival teachings. That said, if it makes sense to you, by all means.

2) Nah, don't let anyone else tell you what to look for. Pay attention and see what happens.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Archdruid Emeritus,

Blessings to you and my fellow commentators! Before anything else, I want to thank you and this community for the advice given in this space which has benefited me.

I’m currently looking for housing in the city I will move to next month. So far, the ones I am looking at are above the budget I have. For the goal of finding a suitable yet affordable accommodation soon, which of the seven planets should I work with? Off the bat, I’m thinking of Mercury and Luna.

[ecosophia]

Those would be good for short-term accommodation but not for a place to live. I'd recommend Venus.

[(Anonymous)]

I found this online just now, and was wondering about the premise behind the "earthquake sickness" of Mexico and its relation to Mexico City geography. https://www.noemamag.com/deep-time-sickness/

Jaundice Intoxicated Weasel

[ecosophia]

Interesting. You'd want to ask someone with a good background in Mexican culture, however, because the entire concept of susto and its various expressions are things that, as a gringo, I'm not equipped to interpret.

Prayer Resources Roundup and Germanic "Four Branches of the Mabinogi"

[jprussell]

Good Evening!

Thanks as always for hosting this wonderful resource.

To Share: Thanks to everyone last week who responded with resources on prayer as a practice. I've collected the recommendations along with a bit of organization/commentary here: https://sanepolytheism.dreamwidth.org/4241.html

To Ask: Does anyone here know if there is a book comparable to The Four Branches of the Mabinogi by Will Parker but for Germanic poetry, such as the Poetic Edda or Beowulf? I've been thrilled with the little bit of it I've referenced so far, and I'd love to see a similar treatment for the mythology I find most stirring.

Cheers,
Jeff

Re: Prayer Resources Roundup and Germanic "Four Branches of the Mabinogi"

[ecosophia]

I'll have to pass that onto the commentariat. Anyone?

ADHD and the occult

[(Anonymous)]

I have struggled to maintain sufficient and suitable focus to practice the occult (including severe intrusive thoughts), and after 20 years of trying to find answers, I have recently been diagnosed with a case of severe ADHD. My case is sufficient to require medication in the form of a low dose of stimulants. I'm a lot better on the stimulants - not zombied out, but much more in control, but still me. It's a definite difference to say, antidepressants.

It seems that the stimulants make up for low dopamine in my brain, and whilst they aren't the answer (as above so below) to the problem, they may give me the stability to start working on the answer (as below, so above).

What would your advice be about practising the occult whilst on them? My sense is it's different to the psychoactive drug scenario - ritalin to me feels like the same effect as 3/4 cups of coffee but without the jitters or anxiety.

Re: ADHD and the occult

[ecosophia]

Stimulants shouldn't be any trouble. I have mild ADD and deal with it using strong green tea, which is the same principle.

[(Anonymous)]

After much difficulty I finally finished the OSA preliminaries and started the Law of Acceptance. It's early on but I'm surprised at how easy it is. After references to boxes of tissues and the need for hydration I got the impression it would be grueling. Which makes me think I'm not doing it well.

"Reliving" what happened feels like it falls flat since I don't clearly remember the events that unfolded. Usually only fragments. I also don't remember the actual feelings that went along with the events most of the time.

What I've noticed so far is that after the Breath of Acceptance there's a feeling that I have done a physical activity and my already unsteady hands have gotten shakier. There's more muscle twitching throughout the body as well.

My thinking is that I have a unusual amount of tension and that's why I'm not reacting as emotionally as I should but I'm not sure if it's that or if I'm not doing it well enough.

[ecosophia]

Don't worry about doing it "well enough." Work through the practice, let yourself experience what you're ready to experience, and keep going. The fact that you're getting muscle twitches shows that you're releasing things, whether you experience that directly or not.

Divination reading

[brenainn]

A few days ago, I asked the runes (Anglo-Saxon futhorc) what message Woden had for me about an addition that I've been considering to my personal pantheon of gods and other spiritual powers. This addition is a long deceased leader that I have admired since childhood, and suspect might be a divine being now. Anyway, I drew a single rune: gyfu. I took this as a positive sign about adding this deceased leader to my personal pantheon. Despite some positive developments in my life as of late, I can say that I feel very much like the "broken men who are devoid of aught else" right now. But, since I'm still very new to the runes, I'd like to ask your (and the commentariat's) thoughts about the potential meaning.

Re: Divination reading

[ecosophia]

I'll have to leave this to the commentariat, as I'm not a rune practitioner!

[(Anonymous)]

I was in court recently as a participant in a civil lawsuit. The defendant and I were waiting outside the courtroom. I noticed that the defendant seemed to be emanating something that felt like an earth tremor, like the ground trembling under me. I was able to overcome it by meditating on telling the truth in court, and it passed in about 10 minutes.

I have been to court many times, but have never before felt such an effect; Do you or my fellow readers think it could be something my opponent was intentionally projecting; could it be that I was picking up on his nervousness and anger, or something else?

Thanks for any insights provided!

Turquoise Vitriolic Peacock

[ecosophia]

That's fascinating. Yes, it could have been a magical practice.

[tamanous2020]

Hey JMG,

Thanks for hosting as usual.

1. What would be the druidic way of discerning spirits? I've been reading some of the Ignatian literature and was curious how the more... open minded druid view handles the complexity of the spiritual world out there.

2. Alexander Dugin has an ongoing work called Noomachia. Ever read it? His own occult background does seem to shine through where he goes through and analyzes various civilizations and to what degree/admixture they have of three different principles, apollonian, dionysian and cybellian. Each of his terms seems to correspond with what we might call the spirit above, lunar and spirit below forces in your tradition. Do you think that's a worthwhile method of historical review? Would you ever be interested in doing your own occult history series in the vein of Toynbee or Dugin?

3. One occultist, Greg Kaminsky, has written in depth about why he left western esotericism (WE)/magic behind for Vajrayana Buddhism. Specifically, he claims that the WE field just doesn't give the results it claims to for even long standing practioners. Given your general opinion of the broader "occulture" community, does this hold truth to it? Or is this just a case where the WE path ended up not being the place Kaminsky needed in particular?

4. Which planetary force is best invoked for self discipline, Mars or Saturn?

Thanks,

Tamanous

[ecosophia]

1) There are, as you'd expect among Druids, various ways to go about it. Treating all nonphysical beings with the same sort of courtesy and caution you'd apply to strangers in an unfamiliar city will take care of most of the risks, however.

2) No, I haven't read it. Dugin's on my get-to list but it may be a while. Yes, I've considered writing a book on the theory of history, though as often as not I've thought of writing it as a long novel.

3) Everyone I've met who made that claim neglected core elements of Western esoteric practice -- above all, discursive meditation and the suite of practices that goes with it -- and most of them, at least in my experience, were still in the honeymoon phase with the new system. I can't speak to Kaminsky's case specifically because I'm not familiar with him, but I've done a variety of Asian spiritual practices as well as Western occultism and I've had better results with the Western methods.

4) Depends on what kind of self-discipline you have in mind. Do you need to motivate yourself to do something? That's Mars. Do you need to motivate yourself to stop doing something? That's Saturn.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John, first thanks for all your DW threads.

Numerologically I am in a year of 5 in the overall year of 6, is satyagraha a good way to go in a year of 5. A lock of conflict around me, but I don't feel I can leave the truth position, is satyagraha a good way to approach this year? Arguably it seem to me that there is a generalised crush on dissent at it seem some of the truth lies there.

Also I have a lot of fire element in my birth chart with both Sun, Venus and Mars in Aries, I don't know what would be a position of strength for me is Michael a good guardian angel?

[ecosophia]

1) Depends on what you mean by satyagraha. If this is a 5 year for you, you're going to have to make things happen and stand up for what you believe in.

2) I'm not a natal astrologer, you know. You might want to get a chart delineation done by a good natal astrologer, and use that for your guide.

What do you expect for your next incarnation?

[team10tim]

Hey hey JMG,

This is an inherently personal question, but I am looking for a very general answer. According to the lore and your personal experience what do you expect your next incarnation to be like after a lifetime of magical practice?

And to clarify, I mean just from magic. Not from writing or charitable works like this blog or any other work you have done in this life. (Although it seems like you will get a nice return from those as a lot of people are very grateful for you efforts)

So what would be the difference for your next incarnation between a JMG that seriously pursued magic and a JMG that still became a writer and blogged about peak oil but did not do any magical practices? Or for a general case of a lifetime of magical practice as far as one can talk about general cases.

Thanks,
Tim

Re: What do you expect for your next incarnation?

[ecosophia]

I'm going to take this question a couple of steps further into abstraction as, yes, that's a very personal thing to ask.

There are two positive things you can do with an incarnation, and you can do either or both of them. The first is to improve your karma by racking up favorable karma and clearing away the other kind. The second is to raise your level of consciousness. These are unrelated to each other -- you can have the best karma in the world and still be completely mired in the material mode of experience, and you can also raise your level of consciousness to quite some extent and still have a lot of wretched karma. Good karma doesn't keep you from being stuck on the merry-go-round of incarnation -- you need to raise your level of consciousness if you want to get off the merry-go-round and do something else.

Magic as I practice it -- theurgic magic -- is about getting off the merry-go-round. Specifically, its goal is to reach the point that you don't have to go through further material incarnations and you don't have to forget each life when it's over. There are many modes of existence above the material level, far more than we are capable of imagining; material incarnation is more or less the elementary school of the soul. I've been there for a while and got held back in a big way for good and sufficient reason -- yes, souls can definitely flunk a grade -- and at this point I'm interested in doing something else with the rest of my existence.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG and thanks as always.
I've seen books on Tantra mentioned in tones of respect on esoteric sites recently, by people who are generally well-informed. (I don't mean the New Age versions but the real stuff). I see from doing a site search that one of the books - by Christopher Wallis- has also been mentioned here. Can you, or others for that matter, say whether there's any likely conflict in theory or practice with the GD tradition? (I'm interested very much in the non-duality/Shaiva tradition.
Thanks for any ... enlightenment.

[lincoln_lynx]

If you practice Tantra proper and not just the most popular aspect of it in the West then undoubtedly there's a conflict.

Crop Circles and Sacred Geometry

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

There was a fascinating discussions 2 weeks ago about crop circles and sacred geometry. JMG said that the "If the old sacred geometers are right...the results can only be good."

(1) Can we have the names of a few old sacred geometers and a few titles of their works?

(2) Could you expand a bit on what you mean that "the result can only be good?"

Many thanks! Much appreciated...

Re: Crop Circles and Sacred Geometry

[ecosophia]

The old sacred geometers didn't write books. All their material was secret, and passed on from teacher to student -- this is true of the Pythagorean Brotherhood, which launched the Western tradition of sacred geometry, and it's equally true of the medieval stonemason guilds that created much of the sacred geometry we've got. Everything we know about the old sacred geometry at this point has been pieced together slowly and painstakingly from scraps and clues. Among those clues are the widespread belief that buildings and other structures created according to sacred geometry principles generate beneficial states of consciousness in those who experience them -- and that's why I suggested the results can only be good.

Collapse now

[hearthculture]

When I started my journey to being more sustainable and resilient, the phrase “collapse now and avoid the rush” really resonated. As I continued that journey of learning and action I’ve seen the hard truth of a society crumbling because it cannot maintain its own hyper-inflated infrastructure. It’s been a particularly uncomfortable struggle to realize that collapsing now isn’t about moving onto land and growing a garden and having some solar panels, it’s instead about deflating my own infrastructure to a maintainable point. If my homestead requires water filtration, irrigation, and electric for a/c in melting summers beyond what a few panels can produce, then I’ve just developed new infrastructure to suffer collapsing during the rush.

In the same period I’ve been on a spiritual journey. I’ve just had a glimpse that it is more analogous to the other journey than I had understood. Much of religious and proper magical work seems to be in the interest of spiritually “collapsing now” to “avoid the rush” during the transition into afterlife(s). The practice seems at first glance to be building an infrastructure - look at how hard it is for beginners to just maintain a daily practice (myself included.) After time and reflection that practice is modest and sustainable compared to the psychological, cultural, societal, and karmic infrastructure it helps you separate from. Religious and magical practice seems to create inter-structure and intra-structure respectively. Now I’m on to meditating on how this relates back to my sustainable living journey in the physical world.

Question: is this connection inherent and intended in your body of work? It seems obvious now, yet when I think back it feels like the link between “collapse now and avoid the rush” and druid magic and religion was more of the “live lightly upon the earth” vein… Though, now that even feels like a call to spiritual practice.

Other questions of recent (for you and the commentariat):
I see a divide between people who see a world infused with spirit but don’t physically experiment with that world (even living at a remove from it,) and those who directly interact with embodied world (trade workers, scientists, etc.) but see it as purely material. This is a sharp divide from the classical marriage of practical physics and philosophy. It seems so strange to me. I’ve been toying with the idea that it is all tied to the dominance and cruelty inherent in our environmental-relationship, it drives the spiritual people away from science, and the scientists and workers must avoid spirituality or face the ethics of their actions. What do you make of it?

I’ve recently had a significant tap from the Greek neighborhood (pantheon) of the cosmos. Obviously, we’ve got quite a lot of material. Anyone have some good resources for getting an overview and taking some exploratory steps into the deep end of Greek mythology and religion?

Thank you JMG for graciously hosting us here and being generous with your own understandings and reasonings. Thank you to all the rest of you commenters for the mutual support, and often insightful responses given to one another. Wishing you all a good week.

Re: Collapse now

[jprussell]

On 3), last week, hwistle was kind enough to share Kaye Boesme's blog https://kallisti.blog/ and her book The Soul's Inner Statues: https://kayeofswords.github.io/soulsinnerstatues/

They're a mostly-Platonic take on polytheism, with a focus on the Greek pantheon, so they might be helpful for you.

Cheers,
Jeff

[(Anonymous)]

What's the favourable planetary day/hour to choose a candidate for employment?

[ecosophia]

Mercury. He rules Virgo, the natural ruler of the 6th house of employees.

Magic Monday Question.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr.Greer

A few years ago, I accepted the gift of a small piece or artwork for a (now ex) girlfriend. I put the object in my bedside draw with a few other things and forgot about it.
Shortly after, we had a rather bitter and dramatic break up.
Since then I've had a lot of bad luck and I'm wondering if the object could be transmitting some kind of negative psychic energy causing or contributing to my run of bad luck.
Could you please advise me on what to do?
I've considered setting fire to the small object and the box it arrived in.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Magic Monday Question.

[ecosophia]

Well, do you have any magical training or experience?

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, and thank you for providing this space!

1) I've seen you recommend journaling a lot to get at the root of one's emotional hangups etc. I've been journaling for decades without getting anywhere, so I have to assume I'm doing it wrong. The kind of journaling I'm doing can be best described as 'pouring your heart out on the page, because there's nobody who'd be interested in listening to you', and started when I was a teenager. The closest I've seen to this 'technique' in books is Julia Cameron's (of The Artist's Way fame) Morning Pages, though I don't write first thing in the morning.

I once had Ira Progoff's At A Journal Workshop, but I sold that book some years ago because it was incredibly involved and I felt overwhelmed just reading about his method. Are you familiar with his process (or is anyone from the commentariat) and can give me some pointers? Do you use something like it, or do you exclusively use the dialogue method?

(How about doing a series on journaling like you did for discursive meditation?)

2) How exactly does processing your life experiences after death work? I remember reading some reports from people who had near death experiences, where they saw their whole life from birth to (near)death, realized what they'd been doing wrong, and resolved to do better when they came back. But you said that how one experiences the astral plane depends on one's developmental level, and that most people experience it like a dream. Now my dreams are muddled and bizarre, and I wonder how a life review in that state of mind would work; would you even have a clear idea what you want to do better in your next round?

Related, so this would probably be 2b), how can you make sure that you're lucid when you wake up on the other side? I assume that this processing thing would be more effective the more conscious you are(?)

3) Is there a way to figure out what you intended to do in your current incarnation, so that you can go about it in a more targeted manner instead of stumbling around in the dark (and tripping over things and smashing your toes repeatedly)? Would divination work, or astrology? And if yes, can you point me to some books where I can learn more?

Periwinkle Amorous Llama

[(Anonymous)]

Frankly considering "How could this happen to me?" goes a long way to solve question three, just saying. No, this is not easy; I wish I knew this sooner.

Umbrellas-supertition for the Commentariat

[emily07]

Thank you to all who answered my questions, upon reading the linked articles I decided to file it under what I would call "practical superstitions" i.e. admonitions that were once very much observed to ensure safety, which now may or may not still make much sense:
Berlin (i.e. eastern Germany) was the seat of the government and the emperor so every new "fad" would start there. In those times living quarters would be cramped and the newfangled spring-loaded umbrellas might very verily have caused harm, because nobody was used to them.
Same as not walking under ladders btw: without roofrailings etc. and steep roofs, hammers and other things and persons might very easily fall off, so rather don't pass under ladders in those times.

[(Anonymous)]

John--

My practice thus far has resulted (is resulting) in many layers of who I thought I was peeling away and falling off. This is helpful as far as it goes, but terribly frustrating and demoralizing at times, as it manifests as an endless trail of "nope, not that" in this quest to discover who truly am. Is there any method for taking a more direct path, rather than this meandering through the fog of error and illusion?

Heliotrope Obtuse Gnome

[ecosophia]

What you're doing is the most direct path there is. All the other paths, especially the ones that involve installing some kind of notion of "what you really are" in your mind, are much more roundabout.

A Question about Pythagorean Numerology

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Mr. Greer,

I have started using Pythagorean numerology for daily divination and was wondering how the day number relates to the sum of the time number and the day number.

I know that the day number describes how events will go for the whole world, and I also know that by adding the day number to my time number, I can learn how that day’s events will go for me. But I have realized that the abilities of these two numbers, when considered together, begs a question – how can the world experience events in one way, while I experience the same events in another way? How can the world have the stability of a Venusian day, while I experience the same events as a day of Martian instability?

The only answer to these questions that I have found to make sense is that the day-plus-time number expresses itself in way that fits with what the day number predicts. For example, 7/11/2022 has a day number of 6. Adding my time number brings about the number 7. Would, then, my Saturnine experience of the day come about in a Jovian way? Or is my line of thinking wrong?

Thank you.

Re: A Question about Pythagorean Numerology

[ecosophia]

When you talk about "the world," who is that, exactly? It's everyone out there, whose time numbers run the gamut from 1 to 9. The day number is a general tone that expresses itself in different ways for every person who lives through that day. If the day's a 6 and your day's a 7, you're likely to notice lots of people having a good time (6) and get depressed because you're not (7), or more constructively, as you pursue your intention (7) you may find that other people are unusually willing to help you out (6). Yes, there are other variations, and I recommend meditating on the subject at length.

Q

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I had a positive divination that the sun would appreciate planetary charity from me. Could you tell me how to go about this? Which charities are appropriate and what amounts/how many times?

I will use frankincense, a yellow candle and Orphic hymn to invoke.

Re: Q

[ecosophia]

The Sun's a little difficult, because the people who correspond to the Sun tend to be rich and powerful, and so don't need your help! Lions and eagles are solar creatures, so any charity that supports them is a valid choice; horses are solar, and so any horse-related charity is good; theaters are solar; you can also be avant-garde and support a nonprofit involved in solar energy. You want to make 6 donations of an amount that is a multiple of 6.

Q

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I think I have mild to medium ADD too and I don’t want to take the heavy stimulants.

Can any occult practice help with motivation? ESP with tasks I don’t enjoy. How do you manage yours?

Re: Q

[ecosophia]

Lots of strong green tea and a carefully cultivated habit of dealing with necessities are what works for me. It's good will training to write out in advance the chore you're going to do tomorrow -- just one, to start with -- and then do it first thing no matter what.

Cats and sphere of protection

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,
recently while I was practicing the sphere of protection my black cat became intensely interested in my practice. I was starting the calling of the air when she jumped onto me and perched on my shoulders. Luckily I didn’t lose focus or drop her, but I found it very interesting how she has reacted in days after this. Even though she is an indoor cat, she had brought a mouse to me and she will accompany me anytime I do ceremonial magic. I’m sure it helps that I am a follower of the Egyptian pantheon, specifically Bastet, but this is quite fascinating to me. How are cats affected by magical practice? If I start the Celtic Golden Dawn will they be as interested?

Thanks as always!

Re: Cats and sphere of protection

[ecosophia]

Most cats adore ceremonial magic. Back when we had one, any time I started to set up for a magical ritual, she would come scampering in, curl up under the altar, and sit there purring and radiating kitty bliss. Yes, they like the Celtic Golden Dawn material -- in fact, the only magical practice I've ever done that cats didn't like is Enochian magic, which sent ours into the back of the closet to hide. (That's one of the reasons I stopped doing Enochian magic and don't recommend it.)

Soul Loss

[alexandermarcus]

JMG,

What do you (or the Western Occult traditions more generally) have to say about the phenomenon known as soul loss? That is, how is it understood from the Western Occult perspective, and how is it overcome?

If soul loss is one of those "it depends entirely on what you mean" terms, then what i mean is: an absence or diminution of meaning, purpose, and value in one's life, and/or a weakening or severing of one's link to "the world" and "the self."

Thanks.

Re: Soul Loss

[ecosophia]

In Western occult terms that's a weakening or disruption of the link between your lower self and your higher self, and it's pretty much the normal state of affairs for most people in a modern society. Much of Western magical practice is oriented toward reestablishing and strengthening that link.

Incubi and succubi

[(Anonymous)]

Your Monsters book (third edition) contains only two mentions of incubi and succubi: the section on the Reginald Scot (just a list of several monsters) book and this section of the bibliography:
Gooch, Stan, Creatures from Inner Space (London: Rider, 1984). An uneven but interesting study of various preternatural phenomena, with particular attention to incubi and succubae. Gooch claims that the whole range of preternatural phenomena are tulpas produced by human psychic capacities, and although his arguments are not always convincing he makes a strong argument for this in some cases.

From Liber Null, written by Peter J. Carroll, comes this quote:
Incubi and succubi are preexisting entities created by other peoples' pathological sexuality. Incubi traditionally seek sexual intercourse with living females and succubi with males, often in sleep. However both forms are almost invariably male though succubi may make some slight attempt to disguise themselves as females. Unfortunately they are both predatory and stupid, with little power or motivation for anything but sex.

These are my questions:

1) Do you agree with Carroll's opinion, that incubi and succubi are a sort of astray tulpa? In your book, you wrote this:
What sets tulpas apart from other denizens of the world of the uncanny is that they have no existence on the levels above the astral—the mental and spiritual planes. They are mindless, in every sense of that word, and their behavior is a matter of going through mechanical routines [...].

2) I'm also sort of baffled about why they would be "almost invariably male." If they are "receptive", so to say, to sexual energies, I think they would be "female." What do you think about it?

Re: Incubi and succubi

[ecosophia]

1) Gooch and Carroll both belong to a peculiarly British school of thought that insists that everything in the nonphysical world must have been put there by human beings. I consider that view to be as mistaken as it is misguided. The universe is more complex, interesting, and richly populated than that! Sexual tulpas certainly exist, but so do spirits that were not created by human beings -- and some of them feed on the sexual energies of human beings.

2) Here Carroll is quite correct -- I suspect he read Lodovico Sinistrari's book on the subject. Incubi and succubi don't have sex on the material plane; they stimulate the human nervous system using astral images and etheric energies, so their victims typically have erotic dreams of fever-dream intensity resulting in orgasm and followed by a sick, exhausted feeling and (very often) various illnesses. Clairvoyants who have witnessed them note that whatever feverish dreams they stimulate in their victims, they themselves appear to have male genitalia, though succubi can have some female characteristics otherwise.