ecosophia | Magic Monday

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Magic Monday

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 lineage in photos. We're still tracing Juliet Ashley's end of the lineage. Two weeks ago I posted an image of her fourth teacher, Arthur Edward Waite, the Golden Dawn alumnus who passed onto her the rituals that became the foundation for the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose. Waite, in turn, got his knowledge from the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Last week I posted an image of one of these, the redoubtable William Wynn Westcott; this is Westcott's partner and rival in the project, Samuel Liddell Mathers. Another Freemason with a passion for the occult, and like Westcott a genuine scholar and mage, Mathers didn't have the organizational skills to keep the order together once Westcott stepped down from the leadership, and the Golden Dawn promptly blew itself to pieces in the squabbles that followed. Mathers remained in charge of one of the fragments thereafter, and he and his branch of the order will appear again once I get into some of the other ends of my lineage.

PayPal tip jar link

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 link above to access my online tip jar. (Dreamwidth is having trouble with crosslinks to other sites these days, thus the absence of the usual button.) 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.

***This Magic Monday is now closed--as in, no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***

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Following on from a couple of weeks back about spiritual overdevelopment, what are the consequences if too much spiritual infrastructure is built in areas where people are also trying to live normal lives? Where are some places it's happened?

SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS

What's the lore on this thing, beyond it being a pretty neat two-axis palindrome?

In the Far East where they burn joss paper money and papier mache model houses and other goods for the dead, what effect does it have? Can you actually send stuff to the afterlife like that? If so, does that mean when the Nazis burned the library of that sex research institue, the dead acquired a lot of spicy reading material? :)

Hi JMG,

Is there a way to direct what your next incarnation will be?

I have come to realise over the past few years that I would like to live a monastic life. However, I have a wife, child and house, so this doesn't really seem viable in this life. Maybe next time round?

Good morning JMG,

1) If it’s Turtles All The Way Down, does that mean it’s also Turtles All The Way Up? Until now, I had just assumed that once you reach gwynfydd, you’d be spending eternity in blissful peace and harmony, as a reward for putting up with all the crap down here. Maybe that was just the collective imprint of growing up in a culture that has its roots in Christianity. About two weeks ago, the thought hit me out of nowhere that since the reward for a job well done is a more demanding job, gwynfydd could be... more of the same, just on a grander scale — I dunno, overseeing algae evolution for the PMC soul, fighting demons for the warrior soul, trying to guide humans towards becoming kinder and able to think for themselves for the masochist soul...

I won’t lie, my enthusiasm for graduating this plane was a bit dampened by that prospect. Am I totally wrong with my intuition here, or is this what we’re all moving towards?

2) I’ve been doing the SOP since July, after your instructions on this site, and lately, my visualizations tend to take off on their own a lot: yesterday, I was surrounded by a swarm of butterflies after invoking Air, swirling around me until I got dizzy. The whole scene continued to sway and tilt even after I had stepped away from the butterflies, and it was really difficult for me to stabilize it. Fire often presents me with scenes I didn’t consciously create, often with thunderstorms and bolts of lightning.

I only have your Druidry Handbook, the DMH is on my list, so I’m not sure — is this scrying? Should I stop it? Do something with it? Just observe it?

3) My last question is one I’ve been struggling with for close to four weeks now; I’m alternating between TSIR (this ... is real), and ‘no, this is just delusional self-importance’. Rather than riding that see-saw into the fifth week, I figured I’d ask and be done with.

This experience started with a dream, but the relevant part happened after the dream, in the twilight state between sleeping and waking (so, I’m not asking for a dream interpretation, just to be clear). In the dream, I witnessed two older men conspiring, afterwards one of them infiltrated a Roman fort for some unclear purpose (sabotage, I suppose, but the dream was typically vague on that front). He was spotted on the way out, the whole fort was up in alarm in no time, and some fight happened just outside the gate.

I then slipped out of the dream and into the twilight state, and the old man revealed to me that he was Odin. (Even writing this feels presumptuous...). He was coming to get me/recruit me, and I refused (in a “hell, no, I’ve heard things about you!”-manner). The answer to that was that I had made an oath in a past life, and had I really thought he wouldn’t find me, just because I was hiding in the body of a housewife now?

The reason this hasn’t stopped haunting me is, 1-the exchange happened very rapidly, too fast, I feel, for me to have made this up consciously, the way a fantasy or a daydream usually goes; 2-my reaction was the opposite of flattered. While I couldn’t pinpoint what things I’d been hearing about Odin, my gut feeling is that it’s along the line of him being a wily old b.....t who likes to use his followers as cannon fodder in his wars. I can’t tell you where I got that notion from — maybe from Gaiman’s American Gods. 3-I jolted awake right after this little episode with goosebumps all over my body, which is a reaction I’ve come to recognize as a signal that *something* has indeed just happened.

My own thoughts on the matter, as I’ve been mulling this over for four weeks now, are that why yes, I am a middle-aged housewife in this life (though I also have a paying job, tyvm), and that I feel no inclination whatsoever to become an Einheri or something. I also remembered that whenever I’ve tried Active Imagination, some figure I identified as Odin tended to show up, at which point I always noped out of the meditative state and didn’t pick it up again for long periods of time.

So my question is: Is it possible to make an oath that binds you over many lifetimes? Is this something I can get out of? How do I know whether this isn’t just some meaningless post-dreamstate fantasy? What the hell am I supposed to do now?

(I do use the Tarot for divination, but it's frustratingly vague and ambiguous, to the point that I feel it's useless. Maybe it just isn't the right system for me, but I'm at a loss what else to try. Maybe the Runes, ha...)

(Many MM ago, I asked what in the world gods would need humans for, why they’d even bother with us. I felt deeply wary of the whole god-follower relationship, as if the human, being the naturally weaker part of it, was being used for purposes unknown without being able to see through it, or do something about it. I guess I do have commitment issues in that regard. Wonder where that’s coming from.)

*

Unrelated to the above, I wanted to thank

jprussell for his suggestions on doing Discursive Meditation a few MM ago. I wanted to thank you right away, but timezones make it difficult to catch the tail end of the post, and afterwards, you were busy with more important things ;-)

With the concept that factory-made objects are lifeless, can that be overcome if the people who assembled the production line and programmed the CNC machines really put their hearts into it?

Dear JMG,
Last week you made a glancing reference to an energy technique that you teach and practice:

" It directs energy from the solar plexus center up the vagus nerve to the pineal gland in the center of the brain, and then sends energy from that center down the spine and throughout the body."

Have you written this down in more detail anywhere -I'd be interested in trying it?

Thank you.

When ancient religious sites like pyramids and mounds were being built, how much did the individual workers have to know about magic? Did they have to perform rituals, pray, and keep the right focus and intention while they worked?

Thank you for hosting another week of questions!

I'm feeling very unsettled with the lunar eclipse tomorrow. It's in my natal sign and wonder if that has anything to do with it?

I've also finally memorized the sephiroth and feel ready to proceed with the initiation ritual in LRM. Is doing this post eclipse a bad idea? Should I do it today? I'm kicking myself for not pushing harder to get through the LRM faster. I spent a lot of time journaling and meditating on each part of tree, wanting to feel at home before I proceeded.

As an aside my farmer that I buy chicken from is predicting that everything is going to get way worse post elections tomorrow. He said no matter who wins, it's just going to be waves of problems. I agreed with him as it seems like something still needs to finish playing out. In his world, the avian flu continues ripping through farms and has been picking up in intensity.

Mauve Maniacal Shoggoth

Hi JMG,

I hope you'll post this, as it relates to children, but isn't about performing magic around them.

My question is - why do the fae appear to have so much interest in taking children, and in some cases replace them with a changeling? (Which is, I'm assuming, an etheric construct, which is why they were said to quickly sicken and die)

From a few weird accounts of people who were either released or escaped when they were older, they don't appear to want to harm the children, and in some cases teach them things. But how and why would beings made of etheric energy do this?

Odd question I know,but...I use 2775 ab urbe condita (after the founding of the city i.e. rome) when writing up my notes, and I find it useful to help disassociate my thinking from the group mind of popular culture. It is, after all, just as 'correct ' as saying it's 2022 CE. And just as arbitrary... I haven't gone so far as adopting the Roman calendar. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has deliberately adopted a calendar outside the usual civic calendar, or maybe has a different calendar (e.g. Jewish) and how it effects their thinking and perceptions. Thanks as always for this blog.

I would like to put in a request for prayer and positive energy please.

The prayee is my friend, known to my family as "the Oil Lady", so this name may be used by anyone directing energy her way. She has given me permission to bring her situation to the attention of an online group I have described to her as "a diverse but praying lot".

She gave birth 10 days ago, and during the course of it, accepted the offer of an epidural, as she was in a great deal of pain. The epidural was done incorrectly and did not relieve her pain, and the consultant was called to administer it a second time. She eventually gave birth, and also, eventually was released to go home, but had an ongoing headache that would not stop and eventually was taken back into hospital. They have attempted a number of things, including a procedure nicknamed a "blood patch". She is still experiencing the severe headache which is now confirmed to be due to ongoing leakage of spinal fluid due to the epidural. She has been able to keep her baby with her, but is tired, distressed, in pain, and the spinal fluid leakage is unresolved. As an unfoxed mandate resistor, she remains apprehensive about being in hospital at all.

As to me requesting your prayers and positive energies, she said "yes, please, all graciously accepted."

Thank you.

Are there known natural magic properties of limestone?

Do you know anyone who can remember past lives and has read a book a previous version of themselves wrote (or music or art or something else they created)? What's the experience like?

I want to consecrate an amulet, in the CGD tradition, to help me get a settlement out of a horrible court case involving property I unfortunately own with my ex. My lawyers are terrible and this has been dragging on for years. I haven't formulated the intention yet but basically I just want the money I contributed to the purchase back and to be free of the connection.

I was wondering which herbs to use in it. From page 224-225 of the book I was thinking of angelica, mugwort and chamomile, which would be fire. Does that sound good or have you any other suggestions? I've done planetary charity to Jupiter but it hasn't worked - yet anyway (although I might have found a new lawyer who'll at least try to help me, but it's early days). Any other suggestions would also be welcome.

Thank you,

Dot.

Could you either point me to a good resource or provide a short synopsis on what exposing the pineal gland to more light does? IIRC, you previously said that ascetic religions tend to encourage that. I don't consider myself ascetic, but something happened that resulted in short-term hair loss. (I still probably have more hair than many people, but I definitely have less than I used to.) I prayed to my gods for good health and I got the response that my health is good, they just wanted to expose my pineal. I looked online to see what exposing the pineal does and there is a lot of stuff on the internet, a lot of contradictory, and I don't know enough to evaluate if a site is worthwhile or garbage. Thanks in advance.

In The Way of the Golden Section you say to spend at least 1 year with a divinatory system before moving onto a different system. Recently the Tarot gripped me and it hasn't let go. It's been showing me the magic so to speak. Recently after that journey began I found myself in possession of your afore mentioned book as well as the Sacred Geometry Oracle (I purchased both for myself on bookshop.org of course). I read the first and am in the middle of the second and this all while actively involved with the Tarot (RWS version and occasionally the DruidCraft version). I'm considering taking up the study as outlined in The Way of the Golden Section. My dilemma is that I want to continue with the Tarot while also working towards the self initiation in the Golden Section Fellowship. I also value your advice and would like to follow it.

However, I heard you say during your interview on The Wisdom Keepers Podcast that the occult is a smorgasbord...get your plate and get what you'd like. Something like that. Well I'd like to do that, but I'd also like to not handicap myself. I definitely see the wisdom in focusing on one system. Obviously the The Way of the Golden Section is designed to make the most use of the Sacred Geometry Oracle. What would you say to following the curriculum you lay out but for divination using the Tarot rather than the Sacred Geometry Oracle? I also have experience using the Ogham via my Druidry studies but I'm currently only using the Tarot.

Have I misunderstood you? In The Way of the Golden Section you explicitly state to use only one system for a year before moving onto another. In the context it seems you assume the reader is using the Sacred Geometry Oracle and you are cautioning to not move into another system until a year has past. I realize I may be making too much of this and it has crossed my mind to ask the Tarot about it. I plan to do so, but I wanted to ask you about it as well. Thanks in advance.

To your knowledge what's the most a single person has angered a god or gods?

What do you make of the effects of combustion in natal charts? It seems pretty clear that it's not particularly positive/beneficial in mundane astrology yet most modern natal interpretations regard a planet's conjunction with the sun to be more potent the closer they are. I know natal astrology is not your primary focus but would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks for hosting MM.

Sapienter Si Sincere, I tried to write back during last week's MM but must have missed the deadline. Thank you for the offer of prayer (Lilac and her dog sounds good), the info on clearing space, and the link for consecrating salt. I didn't know about that! I like the Catholic blessing too. My family background is Catholic...it is comforting.

I hope things are well with you.

Lilac lily-livered cheeseball

Good morning. I have some personal concerns about the lunar eclipse that's coming early tomorrow morning--it turns out that it will be exactly inconjunct my natal moon. I know you're not a natal astrologer, and you don't know my chart. It just seems like an aspect with an eclipse isn't going to be a good thing, and I wonder what kind of effects it might have. Other than extra attention to my SOP (and I don't do much in the way of magic), I'm wondering if there's anything I can do, or what to watch out for (avoid walking under ladders, etc., LOL). Thanks very much for any advice or insight you can give.

Hello JMG and Commentariat,

Greetings on this Full Moon.

To share: I belong to a couple of Golden Dawn group on the book of faces and the following healing Ritual from the Whare Ra Temple that was in New Zealand was posted. I hope some will find this interesting and to thers it may be old hat:

Over the years, we hear about how complex Golden Dawn Ritual is. Below is a transcript from a
rather simple, yet effective Healing Ritual from the Smaragdum Thalasses Temple (Also known
as Whare Ra to some). This is a fine example of the simple rituals that could and were used.
The author of this Ritual is unknown, though it could very likely be one of the Felkins.
A Simple Healing Ritual
Place an unlighted candle on a table or altar, preferably in front of a photograph of the person
you wish to help.
Sit in silence for a few minutes, using four-fold breathing.
Stand before candle and make the Sign of the Cross upon yourself, with the words: "In the Name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Pause briefly and then say: "I, (Motto), of the Order of the Smaragdum Thalasses, do, with the
Divine permission, light this candle, that it may be a focus of the True Light for the helping and
healing of (Name)."
Make the Sign of the Cross upon the candle, light it and then make the Sign of the Cross upon it
again.
Imagine yourself as a channel for the Divine Light and project this Light upon the candle three
times with the 0=0 Saluting Sign.
Stamp with the left foot and give the Sign of Silence.
Sit and relax. Close your eyes and visualise clearly the person you desire to help, not as he (or
she) now is, but as you would wish him (or her) to be - radiant with life and health in every
aspect of his (or her) being.
Stand and close with the Adoration from the 0=0 Grade:
"Holy art Thou, Lord of the Universe.
Holy art Thou, Whom Nature hath not formed.
Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty One.
Lord of the Light and of the Darkness."
Extinguish candle after ten minutes.

To Ask:
I have been using the LBRP and MP in my FHR work. I am currently at the grade of Seeker. Is there a way to begin to use the SOP in my work (instead of LBRP and MP) as to not interrupt the flow of my twice a week FHR temple opening and closing work?

Good morning JMG and commentariat,

This isn't a question so much as tawdry entertainment, but: http://digitalambler.com/2022/11/07/dump-the-rotten-soup-a-note-on-gordon-white/

Mage fiiight!!

Thanks for the answer last week about rene guenon.I look forward to posts on traditionalism and its deviation.

About the my questions you couldn't answer last week:I am living in the country, I living alone because I need to meditate but I am a beginner on these topics.

I have read quite a bit on these topics for years but it's my first time practicing this,Do you have any tips?

I am reading Theosophia Practica by Johann Georg Gichtel and others books(paracelso, giordano bruno, agrippa, levi,rene guenon, but as a plugin) do you have any tips?

Thanks

Trump's mother is from the Orkneys, which seems rife with stories of Seal People and Fin Folk. Often when people discuss how Trump seems to avoid the worst of the hate of the Magical Resistance, I wonder if his Orkney bloodline have anything to do with it. There are times when I think that he may have some connection with the Seal People. I am not sure. Anyway, I guess it adds to the pile of conjecture of how Trump seems to be able to withstand the worst of it.

Any thoughts?

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sator square

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Incarnations

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Fae

what year is it for you?

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Amulet and herbs

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multiple divinatory systesm

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combustion

Thank you

Lunar eclipse

Happy Magic Monday

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Pondering Trump and the Orkneys connection