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 picture?  I'm working my way through photos of my lineage, focusing on the teachers whose work has influenced me. George Winslow Plummer, last week's honoree, was the effective founder of the Societas Rosicruciana in America, but he received his Rosicrucian initiation from Sylvester Gould, who would have headed the SRIA had he lived long enough. Born in 1840, Gould was an enthusiastic Freemason and a student of various occult traditions. When the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor refounded itself in the USA as the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light, he became its secretary and treasurer, one of the three officers of the Exterior Circle who helped Thomas Burgoyne aka Norman Astley and the talented Genevieve Stebbins (later Mrs. Astley) keep the order going. We'll talk about them in upcoming weeks -- and also about another fascinating figure who was the source of Gould's Rosicrucian lineage.

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

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. 

 

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 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

Complete Old English Poems and World Tree Reading Request

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

To those who celebrate it, a very Merry Christmas and/or Boxing Day. For everyone, I hope you're keeping warm and putting a satisfying cap on the year.

To Share: I got as a Christmas gift The Complete Old English Poems, translated by Craig Williamson with an introduction by Tom Shippey. It's exactly what the title says: the entire corpus of Old English poems translated into modern English (including, of course, Beowulf). From the bit of reading I've done so far, it looks like the translations are rendered at least mostly in the alliterative style of Old English poetry. Most of the poems are Christian, given who was literate in the Anglo-Saxon period, but there's also a lot of material for those interested in Anglo-Saxon flavored Heathenry. It also is an attractive weighty tome that will take up a satisfying amount of shelf space.

To Ask: For JMG and/or the commentariat: any recommendations for sources that discuss the idea of a "World Tree" a la the Yggdrasil of Norse myth? I have lots of material on the Germanic side of things, but I wonder if there's any interesting comparative reading to do, and I'd be thankful for any avenues to explore.

As always, thanks very much to JMG and everyone here for your time, care, and wisdom.

To any who will have them, I put forth my blessings and best wishes,
Jeff

Re: Complete Old English Poems and World Tree Reading Request

[ecosophia]

Hmm! I don't happen to know any good comparative works on world-tree symbolism. Anyone else have something to suggest?

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have advice on how to go about maintaining cleanliness on the inner planes? I'm working on improving my hygiene (something I unfortunately let slide as a result of a depressive episode recently) on the physical level, and am hoping to extend it a little further on the inner planes as well.

I have cold showers, banishing rituals, and prayer, along side using more natural cleaning supplies (which are often based on vinegar) instead of the synthetic and unhealthy stuff, but would welcome any other advice you have.

[ecosophia]

Start working on training your thoughts to move in less grubby channels. Most of the clutter that gunks up the inner planes around us is the result of useless negative thinking. If you make a habit of replacing that with a positive affirmation -- details here -- you can begin clearing away the grunge. Yes, it takes practice, but even the first steps can be very helpful.

A practical question

[ecosophian]

Let's suppose I wanted to improve my financial situation. There are mundane means of doing it, which involve planning, basically.

But how can I use magic to help it? The advice I found so far falls into two categories:

1. Summon spirits and/or demons to bring you wealth, no strings attached, pinky promise.

2. New thought and creative visualization. Just imagine yourself rich, already possessing all you want.

How would you advice to go about it, JMG? It is a question that many would like to know an answer to, I'm sure.

P.S. Belatedly I wish you a Happy Winter Solstice, Alban Arthuan. I hope you enjoyed it.

Re: A practical question

[ecosophia]

Neither one of those is an effective method. Going to a demon for help is exactly the same as going to a loan shark for help -- yeah, you'll get help, but the cost is always going to end up being much, much more than you want to pay. Creative visualization will only help you if your problem is a habit of negative imagination, and that's not very common these days -- largely because of the popularity of creative imagination!

Financial planning, all by itself, won't do you much good, either. It's a good idea, but it's hopelessly insufficient. You need more money, not just less waste of the money you have.

No, an effective magical method to become wealthy focuses on finding opportunities to earn money. That's the difference between people who start out poor and get rich, and people who start out poor and stay there: the people who get rich are always looking for opportunities to earn more money. You can use affirmations to get your mind primed to spot opportunities -- "I see opportunities to earn money all around me" repeated fifty or a hundred times daily, like a mantra, will get your subconscious going. Then make a conscious effort to follow through, and when you spot an opportunity that you can reasonably pursue, do it. (That's the place where most people fall flat -- they learn to spot opportunities and then just daydream them away.)

It's easy to become as wealthy as you want to be. All you have to do is focus your entire will on that one goal, and take concrete actions every single day to bring it about. If anything gets in the way of that goal, set it aside for now. If you make a buck, think, "How can I use this dollar to make more money?" -- and then do it. Do this day in and day out, and you'll be wealthy far sooner than you can imagine.

[(Anonymous)]

May we all have a better 2023.

And we can always come here. I find JMG’s sites relaxing, inspiring, and educational. Not bad for free.

—Princess Cutekitten

[ecosophia]

Thank you!

Since affirmations seem to be turning into a theme for this week's Magic Monday, I'm going to invite everyone who feels inspired to do this to come up with an affirmation focusing on having an unexpectedly successful and happy year in 2023. Don't share it -- it's stronger if kept secret. Simply come up with one and start repeating it from now until the new year dawns...and see what happens.

[open_space]

No questions today but thought of sharing these two graffities I spotted on Mexico's street. Cthulhu with Quetzalcoatl's feathers I found funny.

Wishing everyone happy holidays and solstice celebrations!

[ecosophia]

Ha! Thank you for these. Would that be Quetzalcthulhu?

Alchemy, Dolmen Arch, Bardon

[realmscryer]

Good Evening JMG!

Thanks as always for this space to ask questions.

1. Are there any concerns with doing The Dolmen Arch and Bardon's Initiation into Hermetics at the same time? Ordered the IIH but won't be getting it for a while. I am about to finish the DA in a few months and plan to immediately repeat the course. My thought was to do the DA in the morning and the IIH later in the day.

2. Plant and herbal alchemy have recently caught my interest as far as spiritual growth and development purposes. Would you expect an alchemist to be of value post-modern medicine? Would the role be similar to one practicing herbal medicine?

Not a question:
Discursive meditation is very satisfying! Even chasing down the rabbit trails of distractions has been valuable for me.

Thanks again!

Eric

Re: Alchemy, Dolmen Arch, Bardon

[ecosophia]

1) That should be no problem. I don't recommend learning two new systems at the same time, but maintaining one by going back through the training sequence, while learning the other -- that's something I've done tolerably often, and in fact will be doing again in the new year. Bardon's system is not one I recommend for beginners, but if you're finishing up the Dolmen Arch you're emphatically not a beginner and should get a lot of benefit out of Bardon's methods.

2) Spagyric medicine -- that's the technical name for the medical use of plant alchemy -- is about halfway between herbalism and homeopathy. I would expect it to be immensely valuable once modern industrial medicine clutches its chest and falls over.

[(Anonymous)]

It is better for me to perform the CGD routine at night, after I arrive from work and I have no time pressure, but I want to have the protecting effect before leaving home, without overdoing things, doing something at the morning. I'm at the fourth lecture now.

What should I do? The work environment is nasty, but the relatively high pay for my country allows me to import your books...

[ecosophia]

You can do a banishing ritual every morning and an invoking ritual every evening, rather than doing one ritual a day and alternating between banishing and invoking. That ought to help you deal with the nasty work situation.

[(Anonymous)]

How would you recommend dealing with a spirit that is:

- seemingly attached to a particular person, and active at their home and other places they stay
- also aggressively targeting their close loved ones with poltergeist behaviour, menacing vibes and touching
- absolutely unfazed that the person has had a daily Celtic Golden Dawn practice for years
- not deterred by natural magic e.g. amulets, vinegar in a bowl, blessing the home with frankincense and prayer through every room

It seemed to be particularly fired up about a recent romance but the activity continued after that ended.

Time to call in the pros?

[ecosophia]

I'd start by finding out who in the household wants the spirit to remain. In situations of the kind you've described, that's usually what's going on.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

1) You wrote earlier to another commenter about the example of focusing the will on earning money, and finding opportunities to do so. If my overarching goal was, instead of earning money, to individuate, then how would I apply a unified will in my daily life to do so?

2) I wonder if individuation is a lifelong goal, and would be better broken up into a sequence of smaller goals? Although individuation seems to imply that at some point everyone's way of doing so will be unique to them.

3) There is a latin term I've seen here before, something like ipsiminus or something, that means something like 'most completely oneself'. I also forget where it comes from, if it is the result of a certain magical or spiritual tradition. Is that the same thing as individuation?

4) Leading from that, is the goal of the mage and the person who wants to individuate the same thing? I always thought that magic is a tool, which can be applied toward this goal, but it isn't limited to that. I ask, because what Levi seems to describe in Doctrine and Ritual is becoming independent of harmful currents in the astral light, which seems to imply some sort of individuation.

Many thanks!

[ecosophia]

1 & 2) That's too large a goal for a single affirmation. If you want to use something like "I take the next step in the process of my individuation," on the other hand, that would be workable.

3) Ipsissimus, "most completely oneself," is the highest grade of initiation in the Golden Dawn system; like the other two supernal grades, it can't be conferred by other people, it can only be achieved by individual efforts. It's individuation with jet fuel in the engine, since its goal isn't simply the individuation of the personality but the individuation of the higher self, the self that continues from life to life and takes on personalities.

4) Individuation of the personality is one of the goals of the mage, and becoming independent of currents in the astral light is one step toward individuation of the personality.

Frater achad

[(Anonymous)]

Hey jmg

Have you ever read the rather innovative essay on sacred geometry and the tree of life called “The anatomy of the body of god” by Frater Achad? If so what are your thoughts?

Re: Frater achad

[ecosophia]

Achad aka Charles Stansfield Jones isn't someone I've studied yet, but he's on the get-to list. Admittedly there are a lot of things on that list!

The winter storm

[(Anonymous)]

Writing from the banana republic the UK has become with my first hand sources unavailable, I have to ask: Is the winter storm and rolling blackouts gripping the US as bad as the news is making out? And, perhaps, more importantly, what are your thoughts as to it being blowback raspberry jam for the not-so-proxy role the US has been playing of late in another cold and dark stricken land on this Earth?

Re: The winter storm

[(Anonymous)]

It's not that bad here in Chicagoland. We had a dusting of snow after a cold snap... Oooh, snow on Christmas...BFD! Michigan got about eight inches of snow a couple of days before Christmas. This is not a big deal. IT IS WINTER. WINTER IS WHEN IT IS COLD AND SNOWY.

[(Anonymous)]

A few more questions about the CosDoc, if I may: On page 62 it says: "Likewise the phases of development [...] are internal and therefore subjective. [...] under the stimulus of feelings arising from internal conditions, and the phase corresponding to the phase of existence which a human soul passes through between death and birth."

If it is true that during the phase between death and birth you integrate past experiences and evolve, and that when you meditate you enter a state where you deal with things that are subjective and feelings arising from internal conditions, could one say then that meditation is an approach to mimic the phase between death and birth to hasten evolution?

Another question linked to meditative, evolutionary states: I know from first-hand experience that you can enter such states "accidentally" and I have a few experiences where I managed to enter such a state more or less voluntarily. But I also know from first-hand experience that there are humans who are capable of putting others in such states if they are willing. In my case, I experienced this in the presence of a healer, who during the sessions managed to do this for a group of clients all at once. There was an openly ritualistic component to this, of course, but I am pretty sure that if I was silly enough to try the same with a group of people, not much would happen. The healer had a strong background in magic, so much I understood by now. And I have to add that I am not trying to ask "how do I do this?" but more "how do I get there?" or "what's behind it?". I understand there comes a great responsibility with such capabilities, so they are probably not developed and even less applied lightly.

Greetings,
Nachtgurke

[ecosophia]

1) Good. Yes, meditation is among other things a way to get some of your work between lives done in advance, so you can clear away obstacles to your spiritual development and make the most of the next time between lives. There are other practices that can do the same thing.

2) I'm not sure what question you're asking here. Yes, this happens; the mechanism is much the same as the one behind the "contact high" you get from being close to someone who's tripping on LSD.

[sdi]

I just wanted to thank to all of you who were praying for my pregnant wife last week. I've been posting updates on tunesmyth's prayer list post, but the gist is that my wife ended up being in a life-threatening situation and has been in the hospital for the last week. She is recovering well, the baby is OK (but I expect complications down the road), and they are due home soon.

Continued prayers for her recovery are welcome. She has some touching stories about interacting with angels, so it's clear that your prayers have been to good effect—thank you all again!

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to hear that things are going well. More positive energy incoming!

[(Anonymous)]

Happy Monday! I hope everyone reading this had a nice Solstice, Christmas, or whatever else you may celebrate ♥️ Wishing you all a wonderful week to come.

[(Anonymous)]

This one is more for the commentariat as a whole, and I hope it is OK to ask. Can anyone recommend a martial arts training group/dojo in the Providence/East Providence area, particularly one open to children?

I'm less concerned about the specific type of martial art than finding a well-run place with instructors who are also doing the inner work of martial arts training and meditation, and bring that to the atmosphere of the place and the style of their instruction, rather than just treating it as an exercise/self-defense program. (Also happy to hear anonymously of anywhere to avoid!)

Many thanks.

[jprussell]

Unluckily, I have no knowledge of the Providence area, but hopefully this guide written by an experienced martial artist describing what he takes into account in selecting a new school might be helpful: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=4508

Cheers,
Jeff

Ingress Capricorn

[(Anonymous)]

I've calculated an Ingress chart for Austria and compared it to your delineation of the UK chart. It has the Moon-Mars opposition in the 3rd and 9th houses respectively, with at least 3 degrees from the MC/IC axis.

I hope this doesn't indicate a war? Might be slightly worse for Prague and Berlin, will calculate those too.

Re: Ingress Capricorn

[ecosophia]

No, if the opposition is in cadent houses you'll be affected by the war but not directly. It normally has to be in angular houses to predict war.

[(Anonymous)]

So I think I have seen the '2+2=petunia' reaction in the wild, which leads me to believe a family member may be posessed. (PMC resistance, branch covidian type, so it tracks.) A positive mention of Ron DeSantis ('He's a great guy') by another relative led to the one I think of as possessed crying out that they were leaving (in the middle of the decades worst snow storm) and calling the police because the second relative had (in their possessed eyes) threatened to kill them. Took the family matriarch an hour or more to talk them down. That was just one incident. Everyone has been on eggshells.

I don't have the chops to tackle any ritual exorcism and couldn't get consent regardless. Will praying for the family as a whole do the poor possessed bastard any good? Or at least help contagion? I figure as a member of the family I am good to pray as hard as for us I can. Does that track? Will it help?

Is there any risk of contagion and will collective prayer help? Finally, I feel drawn to send prayer to St Michael the Archangel. I'm not Christian nor are any of the immediate family. Do you, JMG, or anyone else have any advice for calling on an archangel outside of a Christian setting?

Sorry for the long shpeil and many questions. I'm a rattled and have been waiting for this Monday.

[ecosophia]

You can certainly pray for your family, as you're part of it. As for the Archangel, you don't have to be Christian to invoke him. Just go ahead and pray to him.

Reading Levi

[(Anonymous)]

I just got sucked into your translation of Dogma and Ritual, complete with ordering a tarot deck and a book on Greek mythology. The introduction went down much more fluidly than I ever thought. I’m having more vivid dreams… slightly scared by the goats and so on in the book, though.

Is this compatible at all with my Druidic (SOP) practice?

Re: Reading Levi

[ecosophia]

Entirely compatible. Modern Druidry has drawn quite a bit from the same Western magical traditions that Lévi helped revive, and the SoP in particular shows the presence of his ideas.

Don't worry about the goats, btw. They're there for purely symbolic reasons, as Lévi explains further on.

[(Anonymous)]

A couple of questions about magical protection.

1. How do things like red bag amulets and witch bottles discriminate between bad things to stop, and good things to let through?

2. If there are multiple kinds of magic protection and something nasty turns up, do the defences trip in a sequence or activate all at once? Do some only respond to certain types of threat and stand down for others? If the threat is particularly bad, are less powerful defences useless or do they still contribute a bit to stopping it?

[ecosophia]

1) They don't. Red bag amulets break up any outside etheric pattern that's sent toward you -- you'll want to take it off when receiving spiritual healing, for example. Witch bottles attract and discharge any magical working sent your way, for good or ill.

2) The various methods of defense tend to affect different aspects of a magical attack. Etheric devices like the red bag amulet break up etheric patterns; other magical defenses work on different planes, or in different ways. I haven't noticed them being set off in sequence, but then my defenses are always active and usually dealing with something. There's a lot of noxious magic, and a good many noxious people, in the occult scene these days!

Qs

[(Anonymous)]

Happy holidays everyone!

Dear JMG,

1) Asking if I should learn and practice the sphere of protection regularly would be a 9th house question correct? Not an 8th house question?

2) Do you use void moon rules in horary, and if yes, which specific rule do you use?

3) Should I read "on the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason" before World as will and representation as Schopenhauer himself suggests or is WWR easy enough to get started with? Not sure how much Kantian philosophy I need to understand to have a good time.


This is for everyone, but random trivia: my divination very clearly said saturn and not uranus is the ruler of Aquarius.

Re: Qs

[ecosophia]

1) I'd treat it as 8th, but your mileage may vary; in my readings Uranus very consistently rules Aquarius!

2) Yes, and I use the classic indication -- the last major aspect inaugurates the void.

3) I'd start with WWR, and go on to the Fourfold Root next, before rereading WWR.

Cell Salts

[stcathalexandria]

Thank you for hosting another MM!

Question about the updated Hyland's cell salts - It looks as if the product has been "improved" and one tablet in the 100 dose bottle (now short and round instead of a taller rectangle) equals 4 tables of the previous package. In examining the ingredient list, it looks like the same dosage of all the salts. Cary's experiment I've been following is 6 tablets in the morning, so it looks like I'll be doing a pill and a half. Does that math sound correct? The new tablets seem to have more of a coating on them and are less crumbly than the previous ones.

https://hylands.com/products/hylands-bioplasma?variant=40288304365638

In checking the details of the product page though, it looks like they are bringing back the 500 and 1000 count bottles under the old dosage. That wasn't there a couple of weeks ago when I ordered from them. I usually buy from a local shop but they said they couldn't order the old dosages and bottles anymore when I asked. Perhaps they brought it back due to demand?

Are there other manufacturers of the cell salts in the U.S.? I've taken them daily for 16 months now and noted some significant changes that I attribute to them. In case Hyland's messes with them again, I might want to switch manufacturers.

Second quick question - are you taking a January blogging break this year?

Re: Cell Salts

[ecosophia]

1) I'm in the process of researching other suppliers of cell salts. Yes, there are several, and in the new year I plan on ordering some of their products and seeing how those work. It's also not all that difficult to make your own; I'm currently studying old books on pharmacy with an eye toward posting an essay on how it's done.

2) Nope. Things are moving very fast right now. If I take a break at all it'll be later in 2023.

[(Anonymous)]

Last year, you mentioned in passing that, in addition to mundane astrology predicting the Queen's death, someone you knew had predicted (divined) that 2022 would be "a funeral year."

That phrase stuck with me throughout 2022, because not only did we all see a big funeral for a head of state, but also because 2022 has, for me personally, indeed been a "funeral year." I have been to more funerals/wakes/memorial services in 2022 than in at least the past five years combined, if not more, and that's not counting the memorial services to which I was invited but didn't go, or the wakes my spouse went to without me.

My question is, does the person who predicted that 2022 was going to be a funeral year have anything to say about 2023 predictions that you can share?

[ecosophia]

No, not that I've heard.

magic, simplicity, and complexity

[(Anonymous)]

I was reading a book about solomonic magic. It was interesting, but I was struck at how involved and complicated doing its operations were as far as assembling materials and conducting rituals.

Nothing against such an approach, but due to my busy life as teacher and parent, I don't have the time or energy to put all that time into magic practice.

Now for a couple question.

1) To what extent is more better as far as doing rituals and connecting with gods and angels?

2) I'm curious if you might share your thoughts in general about Solomonic approaches to magic.

3) I know it's a huge question, and I gather that these days it's not your magical focus, but could you please make some suggestions for praying to/working with/learning from angels and archangels? I have finished Learning Ritual Magic but have a 2 year old and thus need let Circles of Power go for now and be simple in my approach until she is older.

Thank you,

Puce Elongated Ungulate

Re: magic, simplicity, and complexity

[ecosophia]

Okay, I'm going to preface this by saying that I don't practice Solomonic magic; I've read all the classic texts, of course, but it's not a system I work with. It's also not a system I like. Keep that in mind, remember your mileage may vary, etc.

My take is that Solomonic magic is a method of making spirits do magical work for you because you're not willing to do it for yourself. To my mind, that's a very bad idea. It makes you dependent on the spirits, and even if they don't happen to be malicious -- as many of them are -- they don't have your best interests in mind, and they can and will mess with you.

All that hardware and ornate ritual? That's what you have to do to get effects, again, if you're not willing to put in the effort of daily practice and of changing your own consciousness to change your workd. The clutter is unnecessary if you learn how to work directly with consciousness and magical energy, which again, you can learn through the right kinds of daily practice. I used to do Golden Dawn magic, which pound for pound has as much hardware and ornate ritual as any magical system in the world. I got good results with it, don't get me wrong -- but I get better results now, with much less hardware and much simpler workings.

As for working with angels and archangels, if you've got a two-year-old in the house, your best approach is prayer. That doesn't involve any hardware at all, just a simple willingness to interact with spiritual beings. If you have a copy handy, my book Paths of Wisdom has a discussion of prayer in it you may find useful.

[lukedodson]

Hi JMG,

My mother told me an interesting story the other day: sometime when I was very young (or possibly not yet born), she was speaking to her homeopath about trying traditional Chinese medicine, as a TCM practitioner was operating in the same clinic. The homeopath sternly warned her away from combining homeopathy with TCM.

Are you, or other readers, aware of any contra-indications between TCM and homeopathy? If so, does anyone have any ideas as to what the reasons might be?

Many thanks,
Luke

[ecosophia]

Hmm! I haven't encountered that before. You probably need to ask a trained homeopath about it.

Watching your breath withouth your breath being aware of it?

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, when I focus on my breath I immediately start breathing manually. When not focusing on my breath I am not really aware of it.

Is it possible to watch your breath while not focusing on it as in breathing manually? In other words, is it possible to watch your breath without it «being aware» you are watching it? If yes, how exactly, perhaps meditation? And is this something one should try to do?

One time, maybe a year ago, when awakening from sleep, for a few seconds I was able to do this, very briefly. I was suprised about the high rate of breathing, not really hyper-ventilating but not far from it, if I recall correctly.

Thanks.

TTF

Re: Watching your breath withouth your breath being aware of it?

[ecosophia]

Is it possible? Clearly, yes, since you've done it. Is it an ability you can cultivate and make use of? I have no idea. I don't think I've ever seen a discussion of that subject.