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? I've decided to trace, as far as I can, my own occult lineages in photos. Juliet Ashley, whose photo featured in the Magic Monday three weeks ago, was a student of at least four significant occult teachers, and this is the third of them, the grand old man of 20th century American occultism, Manly P. Hall. Born in Canada in 1901, Hall emigrated to the US with his grandmother in 1904, took to occultism in his teens, and moved to Los Angeles, where he spent most of the rest of his life. Juliet Ashley was a student and supporter of Hall's, and helped fund the gorgeous first edition of The Secret Teachings of All Ages, the book that made his reputation. If you know Hall's teachings, you'll find them all through the material I received from John Gilbert. 

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

[hippieviking]

JMG and commentariat,

I know there is a limited amount of info but I’m wondering if anyone knows of any good historical investigations of the ancient celtic druids?

Thanks,
HV

[ecosophia]

I wish I did! Everything I've seen in print has been pursuing somebody's fantasy about what the Druids ought to have been, whether that's Stuart Piggott's vision of grunting savages wallowing in primitive superstition, Lewis Spence's vision of clear-eyed initiates passing on the wisdom of the ages, or what have you. Your best bet is probably to read the original source material, which has been published in any number of sources, and make up your own mind.

Magical Name

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

In Applied Magic Dion Fortune says that one's magical name can be given one by one's teacher or can be discovered by oneself. Some websites say that "Dion Fortune" was her magical name. Yet she herself describes the magical name as being composed of "barbarous syllables". So it doesn’t seem that "Dion Fortune" was her magical name. She says about the magical name: "The psychology of the uses of the magical name needs more study than I can give it at the moment without digression. It must suffice to say that its uses are traditional and I have proved its efficacy in practice."

Is there a little more that you can say about the magical name and its uses, and if you yourself use one?

Thanks, Vermilion Addlepated Banshee

Re: Magical Name

[ecosophia]

Her magical motto -- that is, the name she went by in Golden Dawn circles -- was Deo Non Fortuna, "God, not luck" in Latin; like many Golden Dawnies in the class-conscious Britain of her time, she used the motto on her family coat of arms. She mentions in another essay that she used her magical name to formulate her astral body for astral projection, and that's doubtless one of the things she was talking about.

astrological talismans (Saturn, and a practical question); reincarnation

[milkyway1]

Good morning JMG,

And thank you very much for another Magic Monday, and for the insight into spiritual traditions. The guys (and gals) on these photos all have a very nice smile - that‘s probably the best advertisement you could make for following an occult path… :-)

1. About astrological talismans, especially in relation to Saturn:

Would there be any problem if I created astrological Saturn talismans for somebody else, even though my own Saturn is negatively afflicted? Or anything to look out for when I do?

And yes, I will do divination before starting with this project ;-), and also invoke him in an appropriate way on a few Saturdays to establish a relationship - I just wanted to get a general idea about potential pitfalls and things to watch out for especially in relation to Saturn.


2. To you and everybody else, a practical question about talismans in general:

I want to use appropriate stones as the basis for future talismans, e.g. maybe obsidian for Saturn. But I don‘t have the skills or equipment to engrave them with the relevant drawings or text. So my current working plan is to draw/write on the stones with a suitable pen, but I assume that this might wear off over time, and will also probably look like a child‘s work, especially given my level of practical artistical skills.

Does anybody have any experience with getting designs on stones/polished minerals? Any other ideas or suggestions what I could do, or what techniques to use?

Or anybody who has done stone engravings before and can tell me how steep the learning curve is before I invest in any equipment?

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.


3. And, if I may, one last and unrelated question:

You‘ve mentioned before that Mozart is a prime example for reincarnation, in how quickly he picked up on musical skills learned in a previous life. Yet quite a few of us will have learned something like reading or writing in a previous life, but most of us don‘t pick up a book or a pen at age two and just hit the road running. ;-)

So what does it take to remember skills or knowledge from a previous life?

Or rather, more interestingly, is there a way to deliberately remember (or speed up remembering) of knowledge and skills from a previous life, if one suspected having learned something earlier on?

Thanks, as always, and may you and your wife have a blessed week!

Milkyway

Re: astrological talismans (Saturn, and a practical question); reincarnation

[vitranc]

2. I recently undertook a project to construct my Druid stones and received some hard won wisdom while doing so. Somehow there is no manual on making stone talismans and our esteemed host basically told me to „get a rock“. :-) I also had it in mind, that I would make stone talismans. I would break the process down to 3 stages:
a. (optional) if you are not satisfied with the raw stone shape, you can mild them, well grind them down as the case may be. I cut raw milky quartz with an angle grinder and a marble grinding steel file for it. One does have to get some skill with it, but it is possible.
b. Polishing; (optional) I wanted a nice smooth finish, so I used sand paper to grind the sides down. Start with 60 or 80 grain. You do not need water grinding for the first stage even if doing it with a machine. But further grains you should grind down with a wett tool. I used 60 grain, then 240, 600 and finally 1200 grain. One can go to a mirror polish up to 10.000 grain, but for that I would need specialised tools. And the aqua-sandpaper up to 1200 grain I could get at the local hardware shop.
c. Writing. A normal pencil leaves temporary marks, but I wanted something permanent. So I bought a dremel. Look online, mine costed about 60$ + some diamond tipped bits for stone. I drew a symbol with a pencil and then drew along with the tip of the dremel a 1mm grove. It is much simpler then it sounds.
d. Colouring. I did not want to just leave it like that, so I painted the insides of the groves. You will want a none aqua acrylic paint. Go to a local arts and crafts shop, or a local school supplies shop. The paints were landed for metal, stone or ceramic. They should have what you need. I think I got about 12 paints, including metal paints and appropriate fine tipped brushes for about 12$.
e. Enchanting….

Hope this helps. I can elaborate if you need. Best regards, V

P.S. JMG. If per chance the question arises; Is it unwise to post a picture of one’s enchanted Druid stones online, if one is currently actively using them?

[ataulfo]

Banishing has been a concern for me since I began systematic occult work and often, during the imaginative component of banishing each gate in the SoP, there are wispy traces, flecks, etc. that seem to dig in their heels the harder I try to send them off after the bulk of the crud is already gone; they seem to have reflexes or simple minds of their own. At various times I've dealt with this by straining during ritual, resulting in inconvenient 25-minute SoPs. It occurred to me tonight however, that good banishing might be pasteurization rather than sterilization. When you sterilize a medium, say, straw for growing edible mushrooms, the grow will fail unless maintained in sterile surroundings, as certain kinds of contaminants have an advantage when there's no pre-existing microbial community; if one pasteurizes the straw, on the other hand, it's not completely clean, but the mycelium you're introducing has the trophic advantage even if the straw is left in a dirty environment; the remaining microbes have concerns unrelated to yours and outcompete those likely to ruin your project. Whatever irksome astral phenomena I needed to strain to drive off in order to achieve that very clean feeling I sought from ritual--which, come to think of it, might not fall within the natural range of fluctuation for human consciousness (in the same way sterility does not occur in the wild)--are like unhelpful microbes that thrive on sterile straw; but if one banishes merely those manifestations of an element the element in question is capable of resorbing under the influence of an unstrained yet reasonably directed will, you don't feel squeaky clean, but whatever work you intend to follow up the banishing with still has passably neat conditions under which to proceed. The question in this is, is it better to shoot for a more modest change in consciousness with banishing rituals rather than the pure state I was going for? I now wonder whether it may have been excessive.

[ataulfo]

Or, might the wisps be like microbes that are naturally left over after pasteurization, and sending them away might create a fertile environment for imbalances I'm not as aware of?

[ganeshling]

Hi JMG,

A couple of questions today:

1. In 'The Mystical Quabalah', when discussing Geburah, Dion Fortune says the following: 44. The sword, the spear, the scourge, and the chain are all such characteristic weapons of Mars that no comment is called for.

Dion Fortune seems to assume that the symbolism of these weapons is common knowledge for her readers. Not to me. Except for the sword maybe. Do you have any pointers on what these weapons could mean here?

2. In 'The Magician his training and work', W.E. Butler describes how to build and use a magical personality as distinct from one's own. What's your take on this practice? It sounds rather dangerous to me but then I've never attempted to do anything of the kind. Do you have any experience or thoughts on it?

Once again thank you for all the work you do! Many blessings!

[ecosophia]

1) I read her comment as saying that these weapons are obviously linked to Mars the warrior god, so she doesn't have to justify the connection. As for what they mean, why, she meant you to figure that out yourself in meditation!

2) This is one of the few places where I disagree sharply with Butler. The practice of manufacturing an artificial personality strikes me as unwise, since that personality can very easily get out of control and lead to ego inflation. Instead, why not work on refining and improving your actual personality?

Harm of New Age Goddess worship

[(Anonymous)]

You are probably aware many women in the west, typically the more educated and well off with feminist views, took to what's known as godess worship. A lot of times they see "the godess" as a symbol and abstraction of feminism, without realizing the spirituality of it all.

I am reminded of your views of how mainstream meditation is practiced, and "what can go wrong". My question is, do you think the same applies here? Do you think there are potentially harmful consequences to bringing back the worship of long forgotten godesses, some of which, judging by their, mythology are not always nice and sometimes do things not suited to modern feminist sensibilities, or is this just a harmless religion with retreats for those with too much money to spend?

Re: Harm of New Age Goddess worship

[ecosophia]

It's a very mixed bag. On the upside, there are plenty of people who've come to think, as some Pagans like to say, that a religion without goddesses is halfway to atheism, and find that approaching the Divine through feminine symbols works better in their spiritual lives. That makes perfect sense to me.

On the other hand, a lot of the people who are engaged in feminist goddess worship are simply worshipping themselves -- have you see the bumper stickers that say, "Back Off, I'm A Goddess"? Anthropolatry, the worship of human beings by themselves, has very serious downsides; in particular, it leads to the kind of ego inflation that makes people incapable of learning from their mistakes or paying attention when the universe tells them that they're wrong. Blind rage in response to anything that doesn't go their way is a typical reaction of people caught up in this sort of toxic thinking.

As for ancient goddesses, most goddesses -- like most gods -- can be invoked without undue danger, but there are exceptions. There are exceptions, however, and some goddesses are definitely included. Those feminist goddess worshippers who assume that any deity who is notionally female is by definition safe, nurturing, and harmless may be in for an unwelcome surprise or two...

Microfiction Contest

[(Anonymous)]

I hope this isn't entirely off-topic as it could be considered magic adjacent, but I thought people should know there is a Lovecraftian cosmic horror micro-fiction contest whose deadline is fast approaching: September 12th. That doesn't leave much time, but then again it's a 500 word limit, so it's definitely still doable. You don't have to scribe the next Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

I myself am trying to think of a story which is sufficiently short and sweet. Hopefully my muse appears soon!

Here's the link:

https://arkhambazaar.com/h-p-lovecraft-film-festival/lovecraftian-micro-fiction-contest-2022/

Re: Microfiction Contest

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this. I've never been able to do microfiction -- 5000 words is about as small as I can get a story! -- but there may be some who are interested.

Finding the right direction; take two

[vitranc]

Greetings JMG,

slow morning...

Reading last MM a thread caught my eye. Re: Finding the right direction

So the first question would be, since you are a successful writer, did you manage to find that secret you needed to find?

But more to the point. It struck a note with me and same as the OP I too have been strugling with this question. Now armed with my meditation and divining skills, which seem to have become a bit clearer lately, I asked and meditated some questions.
What came back was a realisation, that I really do not have a purpose and meaning in life. Fate has conspired to give me a comfortable life despite the numerous tragedies that interestingly served as triggers that ignited self-reflection. And There is a distinct feeling of some force of destin giving just enough oppurtunety for development. But whoever it is, it is holding back and letting me figure it out myself.
It is all Coll, Querth and Duir reversed.
Hey I actually made it to the point where I have to contend with the Watcher. Still working on that one. :-)

Mind you it is not: "Oh my life has noooo meaning" kind of thing. It very much is important, to me. I have to take care of myself. But as to what I do. Open.

2. Given your extensive past life memories, what are your experiences with such opurtuneties? And do you have any advice?
3. The feeling, that I should aspire to find balance (Koad) surfaces, and to especially work on my will. But asking your knowledge of the lore and personal experience, how much can a current personality decide its further development down the line of incarnations?

Best regards,
V

Re: Finding the right direction; take two

[ecosophia]

2) I haven't had one of those in a long time. From what I recall, though, the most important thing is to choose something, and do it.

3) You can't decide, but you can certainly have some influence on what's going to happen in future incarnations.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG, at the end of July I sent an email to the Octagon Society to ask to take the examination, but I haven't heard anything back. I'd like to make sure my email didn't get flagged as spam. Is there another way to contact whoever now runs the group to check this? Many thanks!

[ecosophia]

Did you use office at octagon society dot org? If so, I'll drop 'em a note.

[stcathalexandria]

Appreciate you sharing your lineage of occultism and introducing them!

A bunch of questions and observations as I work through the OSA Probationer materials -
1) The Sphere of Power has provided quite the interesting set of mediations and journaling this past week. It's pretty clear to me that I, personally, and we, in the U.S. have this sphere so out of whack for some time. I also read your chapter in A Magical Education on Magic, Metapoltics, and Reality and it was all I could do not to highlight the entire thing. It seems blinding obvious now that the more technology I use, the less powerful I am, and the less resilience and courage I am capable of. I'm also so much more attentive to what is taboo now. It seems to move blindingly fast these days in our woke media culture.

2)And it leads to me to the saying "ignorance is bliss" which I always took to mean as a statement of sympathy toward those not smart enough to know what is happening. But now it really looks like a way to empower myself. Ignoring the flutterings of the media centric and technology dependent society will give me a contentment that eludes me when I try to be in it.

3) Dion Fortune writes of Geburah and society of the pendulum swinging back when things go too far in the other direction. She also seems to say that it is the work of an initiate to keep things from moving too far in one direction. And yet we aren't having much discussion on the covid board or here in MM on how to empower people. I see a lot of of us laying low or writing letters/emails as our usual freedoms were whisked away by our fellow citizens. I agree with stepping away from the crazy people as many certainly were so in a trance they would have justified anything. I don't even know what I am asking - maybe is the pendulum going to swing back to more freedom? And what is the role of initiates in this?

4) I'm still shaken by how willingly people went along with the agenda they were told to do. Everywhere I saw people both for and against the agenda simulate something that they labeled thinking, but most of the time it had no basis in any sort of morals or ethics. It was all hinged around "the science." I am so weary of the constant examination of the numbers to try to convince people of something that is occurring. Isn't the occurring more significant on other levels of existence? We are still surrounded by people with no grounding in anything of any spiritual basis. I was turned away from Catholic Mass just six months ago for not being vaccinated. We aren't having a science issue here are we?

5) I've been told by my peers that only liberals are in our profession. I feel like the best response to this is "Ha-ha no" and ignore them. I believe they align with liberal because that is the most political powerful group right now and if it switches or flips, they'll just go along with that. I could be wrong. It's a daily struggle to be surrounded by people who hate so much and while stating how much they care about others. Everyday it gets to me and gives me anxiety that I'll be attacked. It's such a crazy struggle. Advice?

Azure Amphibious Flea

[ecosophia]

3) I expect things to swing back the other way, toward more individual liberty, in the years ahead. As for the role of initiates, the work of the initiate isn't in the outward realm of politics; it's in the inner realm where images and ideas are born.

4) "Science" is the current label for the religion of progress.

5) There I can't help you. One of the common effects of Aspergers syndrome is a complete inability to notice, or care about, peer pressure.

[(Anonymous)]

I have a toddler who has just started at school, and we are legally required to give him 11 vaccines. He'll be thrown out of school if we don't vaccinate him, and it's now illegal to home school children here, so the end result is that we may lose custody of our son if we don't vaccinate him. I've spent enough time researching vaccines to realise that they don't work (the sole exception that I know of is the rabies vaccine), and that the massive rise in autoimmune disorders during the past 20 years correlates closely with the ever-increasing vaccine schedule. I'm therefore completely opposed to vaccinating my son.

https://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/disease-mortality.jpg
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/vaccine-secrets/video-chapters/vaccines-can-cause-autoimmune-diseases/

I know a handful of people in the same situation who have forged documents or found various other ways around this, and I'll do whatever it takes to avoid these vaccines. I'm wondering if it's possible to use a little magical influence to help in this process of avoidance; I've never studied magic, but I have studied astrology. I'm wondering if you could offer any suggestions, JMG, as to how I might influence this situation. I'm thinking perhaps to dedicate an amulet to Mercury and seek his protection for my son, or perhaps to offer prayers of protection to Mercury, but as I've no expertise or experience in this area, I'm at a loss as to how I might reasonably proceed. Any advice you might have to protect my son from these unneccessary and dangerous medications would be sincerely appreciated.

[stcathalexandria]

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association may be able to assist you with letters and other non-magical help.

Qs

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

Some questions for you.

1. You mentioned last week that the rising and the sun sign are related across lifetime. Well, I have the same rising and sun, how does it work for us?!

And what does the occult say about how a birth chart is selected by the soul at birth? If someone completely their karmic goals for a lifetime, how does it affect the next chart? I'm presuming you'd keep some things in common about you.

2. How does saturn relate to the nature of time in the material realm? Does saturn actually control time?

3. I need to apply for a visa to move countries for my professional life (setting up a company). Divination suggests venus worship, not jupiter (venus is enthroned ruler of 1st, in my 1st, on my natal, jupiter is in fall), any idea about this?

Also how bad would it be to apply during merc retrograde if one is in a hurry? Should I just wait it out? Would the post merc shadow period be ok?

Re: Qs

[ecosophia]

1) Same as anyone else. You have the same Sun sign in this life as you had last time around. As for how a birth chart is selected, your higher self does that; you don't need to worry about it.

2) Saturn is the lord of measurement, and so he rules time as duration and extension. By "rules" that doesn't mean that he controls it, simply that his placements show how human beings experience it.

3) Follow the advice of your divination. As for the retrograde, wait it out, but don't worry about the "shadow period." Those are a modern invention and I've never found any value in them.

Jungian Quaternios

[(Anonymous)]

Happy Labor Day JMG et al,
Has anyone, to your knowledge, worked with the other three quaternios listed in Aion, and what possible ritual applications for those patterns do you see?

Re: Jungian Quaternios

[ecosophia]

I don't know of anyone who's done serious work with those outside of the Jungian scene, and in the Jungian scene ritual seems to be verboten. As for ritual applications, that's a fascinating question which would take me weeks or months of study to answer. If it interests you, by all means experiment!

Mentalism

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG

I think this qualifies as a magic related question so putting it here.

Do you know of any good resources to learn the skills that old school mentalists/mind readers had? I'm thinking of stage magicians, not ritual magic.

I'm a fan of the (present day) British stage magician Derren Brown who has done a number of very high profile TV specials (he plays real Russian Roulette with a gun in one, convinces someone to push someone off a roof in another, convinces someone else to save an aeroplane, guesses lottery numbers on live TV and so on).

The skills appear to be a mix of incredible memory, hypnosis, suggestion, and absolutely preternatural skill at reading facial expressions and body language and so on - all developed to a very high degree with a strong dose of showmanship added in.

He always emphasises there is nothing supernatural about what he does and he's a committed rationalist (debunks fake psychics on tv etc) but what he does is astonishing.

He's written his own book called Tricks of the Mind:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tricks-Mind-Derren-Brown/dp/1905026358/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8WPSZDN21G6

It's been a few years since I read it and it has some interesting stuff but nothing about what the most interesting aspect of his skills (to me) - the way he can read people like a book. One of his standard tricks is to guess what people are thinking by simply standing in front of them and observing them and their body language when they replay the memory in their mind) - in one example I saw, he accurately guessed that the man was remembering a childhood memory where he had run into a stand of brambles and thorns in a field and hurt himself.

I know there's plenty of stuff on memory skills that you've written about (and so has he in his book), and there's stuff on hypnosis etc but do you know of anything written to build all the skills of the old school stage mentalists of the 1920s/30s and earlier which he's replicating now? Kind of similar to how you can find books by Max Alding about the old school strongmen?

And specifically about the astonishing body language/"mind reading" skills he has - I've not seen any resources on learning to read people that well?

Re: Mentalism

[robertmathiesen]

Take a look at:

https://www.deceptionary.com/aboutreading.html

Of the many books mentioned there, I would recommend those by Ray Hyman, Robert Alan Nelson, Myriam Ruthchild and Richard Webster. Herb Dewey and Bascom Jones are highly esteemed in general, but I haven't read their works myself.

[boccaderlupo]

You had mentioned doing a post on Besant at one point. Did I miss it? If so, is there a link?

Thank you, and thank you for hosting these,

Axé
Fra' Lupo

[ecosophia]

If and when I have the chance to get back to my series of blog posts on American occultism, she'll get a post -- but that hasn't happened yet.

Recommended druidry books for kids?

[adara9]

Hello,

Sorry if this is too close to a question re practicing magic around kids.

My 10.5yo daughter is interested in learning more about druidry and possibly pursuing it as a spiritual practice. Do you have any recommendations of books or other resources that would be safe at her age? She's a pretty advanced reader, so I'm more concerned about safety than being aimed at her age group.

Thanks,
Heather / adara9

Re: Recommended druidry books for kids?

[ecosophia]

The book I'd recommend for this is my recent book The Druid Path -- it's written for the complete beginner and includes nothing that could get anyone into trouble.


Besides, it's got a cool cover and plenty of art inside!

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

I've been practicing ceremonial magic in the GD tradition for 3 years, but recently I've taken an extended break (over a month and counting) because I found that I was getting too dissociated from daily life, which I attribute to the dissociative nature of ceremonial magic itself. To elaborate, my practices consisted of the standard LBRP + MP + divination + meditation with the R+C thrown in once a week or so. Doing them fairly regularly, I found that I would become less able to focus on practical daily tasks, start making mistakes at work, become negligent with cleaning, etc. whereas I was highly attuned to spiritual and philosophical topics, the significance of symbols, etc. However, at a certain point one has to focus on the concrete reality of one's life and material conditions, something which I was becoming less able to do. As a result, I'm tempted to leave magic behind entirely if it causes me to become so ungrounded. For what it's worth, I'm also highly sensitive to the effects of drugs (alcohol, caffeine, etc.) so I suspect this might have something to do with it. Do you have any thoughts to offer on this?

[ecosophia]

If magic is making it hard for you to deal with daily life, then chuck it. You're incarnate here on the material plane for a reason, and learning the lessons of material embodiment needs to come first.

That said, the issue may be a mismatch of traditions rather than a matter of magic as such. Once you've been out of magic long enough to have a clear head, you might look at other traditions and see if one of them might be less of a problem for you.

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG & assembled MM community. Longtime reader first time poster here.

I don't practice ceremonial magic, but I'm beginning to become aware of the reality-shaping qualities of language. I get the impression that a very important aspect of magical practice is taking care not to say wrong or harmful words--demonstrated in the precision and specificity with which you give feedback on affirmations here, for instance. I wonder how you reconcile this sort of caution around the use of language with the freedom and sponteneity required to write fiction or poetry?

Thanks,
-Rusty

[lincoln_lynx]

In the words of Hemingway, write drunk, edit sober. What's important is the end product, that's what you'll put out there, just as the affirmation you settle on is what matters, not version 6 you trashed.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

There have already been many words written about the extremely odd lighting and speech of “Joe Biden” last week, so no need to go into that, but perhaps you have a particular perspective on what team Biden was trying to achieve and what they will likely achieve from a magical point of view?

Thanks!

Biden's Philadelphi speech, then Trump

[(Anonymous)]

I'd also like to hear something about the significance of the set design in Philadelphia. Black and red are not colors traditionally associated with the US Democratic Party. The insistence by the White House press agent that the speech was "non-political" is so absurd as to lead to charges of (the verb of the year) "gaslighting". (Another absurdity is characterizing the White House Press Secretary as a "federal employee", not a partisan operator. It was absurd under Trump, and now under Biden. Her job is to make The Boss, his party, and his policies, look good.)

But then, I think Trump meant to describe Biden as "an enemy of the PEOPLE", not "an enemy of the STATE". Does it make ANY sense to call Biden an enemy of the state?

This is all so nonsensical that it's hard not to suspect sinister forces at work. It's chaos in both houses.

Lathechuck

Just curious

[(Anonymous)]

Mentioning Los Angeles - have you ever visited the Philosophical Research Society library ?

Re: Just curious

[ecosophia]

No, unfortunately! I'd like to -- but not enough to go to Los Angeles.

A Truss for the British

[(Anonymous)]

According to the Beeb, Liz Truss was announced as the winner of the Conservative leadership contest at 12:30 BST. Can we use that as the start of her “reign”? If so, then she’s actually in surprisingly good shape; Sun in the 10th, trine Moon and Uranus, with only a distant and separating square with Mars as a negative. Since the ascendant is in Scorpio it at least suggests that public animosity towards her will wane.

That’s not to say that it’s an easy chart, but considering the circumstances it could be a whole lot worse.

Re: A Truss for the British

[(Anonymous)]

She will not become prime minister until she is appointed prime minister by the Queen, and that will be sometime tomorrow (Tuesday) at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

[(Anonymous)]

With the recent uptick in discussion around here about the v a x, I decided to do a geomantic divination on whether or not I can expect to see my life significantly shortened or otherwise debilitated by taking it. I'm ashamed to admit that I did get the two shots between July and September last year, but I did so under the assumption that the virus and the v a x posed a roughly similar (and minimal) risk to me as someone who is young and healthy.

What I got was Fortuna Major for both the Left and Right Witnesses, and Populus as the Judge.

Do you think I'd be right to interpret this as meaning that I'm likely to be spared serious debilitation from the vaccine and that my life will continue unaffected?

[lincoln_lynx]

For what it's worth, many people reported strange results in divinations surrounding the v a x.

[jprussell]

Good AFternoon!

To our American friends, a very happy Labor Day! Thanks as always to our host for this wonderful resource, and to the commentariat for sharing their knowledge.

To Share: For anyone interested in Germanic mythology and/or poetry, I was introduced this past week to "Hrafnagaldur Odins", which means something like "Raven Magic Song of Odin". It's a poem that was long included in the Poetic Edda, but more recently, it's dating has been controversial, and it seems that most scholars conclude from some internal clues that it was more likely a consciously antiquarian composition from the 16th or 17th century. Whatever its date, it has some interesting takes on several Gods and Goddesses - what I have so far found most interesting is an implied link between Idun and the world-tree Yggdrasil and possibly also with the Norns. I expect it to provide many fine themes for meditation down the road. You can find the complete text in Old Norse with a scholarly translation, along with pretty extensive commentary in this PDF. ;

To Ask: Not exactly esoteric, but do you have any opinion on Graham Hancock's works? I read Fingerprints of the Gods years back and at the time found the arguments pretty convincing. Afterwards, I read some skeptical materialist takedowns of his work that I found convincing then, and now that I'm re-evaluating many such things, I'm wondering if it'll be worthwhile to re-visit his stuff.

Thanks very much,
Jeff

[hwistle]

Jeff, you will probably enjoy this then: https://store.sigurros.com/album/odins-raven-magic-2

Manuel

Parents in a year of 5

[(Anonymous)]

I am in a year of 5 and my parents are increasingly bellicose, 2022 is an year of 6 so whoever starts a fight... I lose because if they lose I lose, if I lose I lose.

Technically I was out into the world trying to avoid the stuf but this year brought me home, where I have a little bit of homestead that I started when our grandparents lived, now they own it but I am caught in the middle.

I am around in my 40s and they are in their 60s...

Re: Parents in a year of 5

[ecosophia]

Er, asking advice on interpersonal relations from someone who has Asbergers syndrome is unlikely to do you much good. About the only thing I can suggest is to add up their name numbers and find out what number of year each of them is having, and see if that gives you any insight.

Preferences

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,
I have noticed that I am attracted to certain magical items such as rose quartz bath water over, say, garnet or citrine bath water. This is not logical but I have noticed this strong preference. Is this magic's way of communicating?

Hugs from Maxine

Re: Preferences

[ecosophia]

Might be, might simply be a personal preference. Either way, why not go for it?