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 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!*** 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings, JMG. Thank you as always for your help.

1. I had success earlier this year with using the Conscious Willing exercises you've shared. However, this success was during a period where I was unemployed and then working from home. With my new job, I am in an office space with no windows, and it is a struggle for me to remember to practice my conscious willing exercises when I’m in an environment outside my normal home environment. Do you or anyone else have tips for working on conscious willing in new environments? (Should mention I already have a sticky note on my work computer that reads, “Use your willpower,” but I don’t notice it and so it doesn’t work for me.)

2. This is a question for amateur and expert natal astrologers out there and less so for Greer. How concerned should I be about dating people if I find they have some experience with magic and occultism, and my 9th house is ruled by Mars in the 12th house? The interpretation I got of that part of my chart is that I’d encounter obstacles with mainline religions and conflicts with spiritual teachers that could produce enemies (which is why I’m very grateful you answer questions and share your teachings via this online format, Greer). Divination has previously warned me away from most ritual magic because I would never find the appropriate mentor for such work in this life, and divination also warned me away from a group I was going to meet up with which would have had active occultists in it. This is all admittedly disappointing, since I’m a mystic that encountered my Awakening of the Soul via the simple magic of the Sphere of Protection ritual, and I would hope I can find a partner I could relate my experiences to on some relatable level. And since I apparently don’t fit well within a mainline religion like Christianity (not that I didn’t passionately try), I find myself in a seemingly lonely spot.

[ecosophia]

1) Your first task is to will to use conscious willing, of course. You might try some journaling at home; why don't you notice the sticky note?

2) I'll definitely leave this for others.

Excercises...

[emily07]

When I startend doing the SOP I found (as with other things) that whenever I'm away from home i.e. away from self-regulated shedule in known circumstances- I often have the day go by without doing it. That was, because I didn't have a set place and/or time to do it. Now I usually think about the place I'll be going and set a place or time and with a few glitches it worked for me. Admittedly this is also, because the SOP makes me more awake, so whenever I feel tired the: 'have I done my SOP?' thought comes up.
I also take some nutritional thingies and with them it's easy access that does the trick for me, if I let them stay in the carry bag, I'll forget to take them 'on the road'.
Good luck with finding your lever!

[(Anonymous)]

My 2 cents on point 2. Look into Natural Magic. You don't have to go superhardcore into it - but in your case simple folk magic asking for connection may help

[hearthculture]

A thought from my own experience: conscious willing requires consciousness. When I was in a job I was indifferent to, or actively disliked, then a coping mechanism was to go on autopilot - dissociating or turning of parts of consciousness in order to "make it through the day."

You might try starting your conscious willing before going to work, and/or use it for going to work. For example, if you find yourself thinking "I have to go to work," consciously shift this into "Of all the things I can do, I choose to go to work today, I want to complete (insert task.)"