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T.H. BurgoyneIt'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 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. Sylvester Gould, last week's honoree, was an active member of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, one of the more interesting occult orders of the late 19th century. (After many reorganizations, it's still around as the Church of Light aka Brotherhood of Light.) The H.B. of L., as most people called it back in the day, was founded by two British occultists, T.H. Burgoyne and Peter Davidson. The photo is of Burgoyne. It's also the photo of another gentleman, one Captain Norman Astley, who took over the reorganized H.B. of L. in America from Burgoyne, married another H.B. of L. adept -- the remarkable and talented Genevieve Stebbins -- and helped Benjamin Williams aka Elbert Benjamine aka C.C. Zain re-reorganize the H.B. of L. into the Brotherhood of Light aka Church of Light. Yes, Burgoyne and Astley were the same person. It's a complicated story. But Burgoyne and Peter Davidson, whom we'll be talking about next week, were among Sylvester Gould's teachers -- and behind them stands another and a considerably stranger figure.

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With that said, have at it!

***This Magic Monday is now closed. See you next week!***

archetype after image

Date: 2023-01-02 02:25 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Hello John Michael,

Have you ever heard of something like this?

I practice karate at a few different dojos, with one sensei in particular being my Sensei as I really resonate with his teachings and always perform well in this class.

One day after class a few students were hanging out, waiting for the sensei as sometimes we would train a bit outside. Sensei came around the corner with one of the students, the couple affectionately holding hands, and in between him and I something disappeared. It left an outline behind, royal blue with black, angular in its lines, like a samurai crouching very low and wearing a hat that reminded me of an overlarge graduation cap. The loss of whatever had been between us created a void that left me speechless for a couple of minutes.

At first I wondered if I'd been overcome by jealousy, but I wasn't interested in Sensei personally and jealousy didn't explain the samurai aura. Over the next few months I chose to notice the archetype of the Sensei in between me and him during training, and then also with a higher belt sensei when I qualified for advanced training in another dojo.

I think that I saw an image of the Sensei archetype, somehow, as it left the space between us.

Live from Pelican Land,
Phosphorescent Translucent Troglodyte


PS. Please give my best to Clare.
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