ecosophia: (Default)
John Michael Greer ([personal profile] ecosophia) wrote2022-12-11 11:52 pm

Magic Monday

Mother SerenaIt's a little after 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 hereAlso: 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 picture?  I'm working my way through photos of my lineage, focusing on the teachers whose work has influenced me. Before Sandra Tabatha Cicero, last week's honoree, became head of the Societas Rosicruciana in America, it had two heads, Lucia Grosch and Maria Babwahsingh, who functioned mostly in a caretaking capacity. Before them, the head of the order was Mother Serena, shown in the picture. Her real name was Gladys Plummer, and she was the wife of SRIA cofounder George Winslow Plummer; I have not been able to trace down many biographical details of hers, but she was much younger than her first husband. After his death, she and Stanislaus Witowski headed the order; they married, and she outlived him as well. Her "Lettergrams" and some of her essays are still available from the SRIA bookshop; they show her to be a perceptive mystic and occultist. 

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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 either of the links above to access my online tip jar; Buymeacoffee is good for small tips, Ko-Fi is better for larger ones. (I used to use PayPal but they developed an allergy to free speech, so I've developed an allergy to them.) 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. 
 
Bookshop logoI'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!***
homeopathic_meditations: (Default)

Re: A question regarding Christian occultists

[personal profile] homeopathic_meditations 2022-12-12 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
One very well documented answer to your question is presented by Ft. Agostino Taumaturgo in his book Is Magic Wrong?

The gist of the argument, IIRC, is that the prohibitions in Deuteronomy were originally directed towards specific kinds of magic that delved into dark powers: not any kind of magic but witchcraft and goetia, not any kind of divination but necromancy, etc. It was later generations of clergymen who issued blanket prohibitions towards any kind of magic.

Please be aware that the author is an Christian occultist himself, with all the pros and cons it implies. On the one hand, the man's speaking from first hand experience. On the other hand, rationalization may be an issue.

Re: A question regarding Christian occultists

(Anonymous) 2022-12-12 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Just for context, the Jewish perspective on the same passage in Deuteronomy agrees with homeopathic_meditations' point: the prohibition on divination and magic is narrowly focused on dealings with the dead. No necromancy, no calling upon spirits of the dead for knowledge or power is allowed.

Other types of divination and magic were definitely endorsed; for example, the decorative stones on the vest of the high priest were sometimes used for divinatory purposes.

--Ms. Krieger
open_space: (Default)

Re: A question regarding Christian occultists

[personal profile] open_space 2022-12-13 12:38 am (UTC)(link)

I had my copy open on my pc, the quote from another of his books, that quotes the church's definition is: "“the art of performing actions beyond the power of man with the aid of powers other than the Divine,”

ADA, Brother. The Magic of Catholicism: Real Magic for Devout Catholics (p. 15). Thavma Publications"