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. I'm going to jump back here a bit because I managed to trace down another significant figure from a lineage I've already discussed. Bishop Richard, Duc de Palatine was an Australian spiritual teacher and Gnostic bishop who played a crucial role in bringing the alternative sacramental movement to the United States, and strongly influenced both of the bishops who consecrated John Gilbert. Born Ronald Powell in 1916, he became a member of the Theosophical Society and then a bishop in the Liberal Catholic Church. After the Second World War he moved to Britain and founded the Pre-Nicene Christian Church, one of the major fountainheads of Gnostic Christian spirituality in the English-speaking world, and later traveled widely in the USA and elsewhere, teaching students, ordaining priests, and consecrating bishops, until his death in 1977. I've recently had the chance to study more of his writings and have discovered that he was much more influential a source for the Gnostic material I received than I'd realized -- so he's this week's honoree.

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

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG,

In the GD system, given that the work is structured into successive grades of initiation, is it be possible for someone practicing consistently for an extended period of time to 'outpace' a certain grade, even though they may never have been formally initiated into it (either through self-initiation or more traditional forms)? For example, can someone doing a standard course of practice such as the LBRP + MP + divination + discursive meditation eventually perform at a rate above Neophyte, even though they may never have been initiated into it?

[ecosophia]

Good heavens, yes.

The thing to keep in mind is that the grade structure of any order is to some extent arbitrary -- it's one way of trying to see to it that each student in that order gets a good general education in occult philosophy and practice. If a student takes up the basic practices and performs them relentlessly, especially if their practices include discursive meditation and they also put some time into reading and study of occult books, they're going to end up learning a great deal about occultism and achieving spiritual development, whether or not they do it according to some specific system of grades.

[(Anonymous)]

I did a geomantic reading on what the results would be from a hiking event I'm planning. The chart came out exceedingly complicated and I won't ask for an interpretation of it - but it's a good opportunity to ask some questions on which parts of the chart are relevant and which aren't if I want to calculate the indicators for the chart.

(if the image doesn't load, it looks like you can click the link and access the image)

1. Tristitia is in conjunction and company compound with the quesited in the fifth house. I note that Tristitia is also in the seventh house. Does Tristitia in the sixth house, since it is also a significator in this chart, form a conjunction with Tristitia in the seventh house? If that's so, I assume that means I must also include the effects of Tristitia in the seventh house in my calculations
of the indicators and in my interpretation of the reading.

2. Tristitia in the twelth house counts as a translation since it's conjunct with Laetitia in the first and fifth houses, correct?

3. You said in The Art and Practice of Geomancy that aspects only come into play when one of the significators passes to a different house. Laetitia is in the first, fifth, and ninth houses. Do I count only the trine aspect between the first and ninth houses, or do I count *both* the first-fifth trine and the first-ninth trine in my calculations? Same question would apply to the square and opposing aspects between Laetitia and Tristitia here.

4. As Tristitia is a significator in this chart, does that mean Populus - which is in company of houses with Tristitia in the eight house, and is also in company and conjunction with Laetitia in the first house - also count as a significator?

Sorry if this is a lot of questions, just trying to understand what parts of the chart do figure into the calculations/readings and which don't.

Much thanks!

[ecosophia]

The most common source of inaccurate interpretations of geomantic readings is overthinking them. You asked a fifth house question; your significator in the first passes to the fifth, and it's a very favorable figure -- Laetitia. This chart perfects by occupation, the strongest mode of perfection. The answer to your question is "yes" -- and you can stop right there.

Now of course this chart *also* perfects by translation, with Tristitia in the 6th and 12th, and it has Laetitia in the 9th trine both significators. Those simply reinforce the basic meaning, which is "yes." The crucial point, though, is that the answer to your question is determined by the presence or absence of at least one mode of perfection between querent and quesited. The rest is much less important, and when there's a definite answer given by the mode of perfection, the rest doesn't really matter.

[open_space]

Good evening JMG and everyone,

1) We seem to be always a part of something else. The more I look into it and the more I meditate on the symbols of my day as if they were a tarot card the more I realize that I am indistinguishable (symbolically) from things that happen outside of me. Escaping that is like trying to escape life, no hope in that. Would you say then that the way of 'becoming' is more an act of better navigation rather than actually doing something truly by yourself? I don't know if that is a clear question, but I think for most of my life I have tried to distance myself from the world (ugly bullying) instead of trying to engage with it and see what currents I can surf. But it seems to go deeper than that, for example, it is very clear that my family has been experiencing synchronicities related to my occult practice, in their own way.

2) What is this medium that seems to reflect things from one brain to another and from one being to another? Is this part of the functions of the astral light? Acting like a sort of fractal perhaps.

3) A geomantic question. I am getting a little confused with loss and gain because that it a little bit like the half empty or half full glass analogy. As an example I tried to come up with, say, if one is having a rough patch and asks a question about if doing X will help improve the situation and the Judge is Colled, could that count as losing the sadness? The same for Llosgwrn and Pen Y Ddraig. The beginning of something is the end of another thing. Or am I just getting tangled in overthinking it?

Music to share: Cymande - Dove

[ecosophia]

1) What I would say, of course, is "what a fine theme for meditation!" I mean that quite seriously. The really big questions -- and this is one of them -- have no straightforward answers, and spending time grappling with them is more important than coming to any fixed conclusion. Yes, I know this answers your question in a roundabout way. ;-)

2) Lévi would certainly describe it as the astral light.

3) You're overthinking it. Try to ask questions that avoid such ambiguities. "Will X help" is fairly good -- if you get Colled, no, X will be a waste of time.

Pathworking

[ecosophian]

Hello, JMG.

Questions:

1. When doing pathworkings on the tree of life, why is it important to return to the sphere of origin?

2. Can I "chain" several paths for a longer journey? Is there a benefit to doing that?

3. There should be a path between Chesed and Binah, but I couldn't find any notes about it. A hint, please?

4. Are there any dangers to pathworking on the tree of life?

Re: Pathworking

[ecosophia]

1) To ground yourself and avoid becoming too spaced out.

2) I don't recommend it. That usually results in not paying enough attention to each path.

3) No, there is no such path. You can't get from Chesed directly to Binah. You have to return to Tiphareth and start from there.

4) If you take the imagery too literally, and forget that it's all symbolic, you can go off the deep end mentally to some extent. That's the only danger I know of.

Astrological Literacy Russia

[(Anonymous)]

You did a podcast last year discussing the astrological timing of the Ukraine-Russian conflict which seemed to suggest the timing was favorable for the Russian side. During the recent Mars retrograde I see the Russians retreated, restocked, and rearmed and now that the retrograde has passed are on the offensive again.

Would this suggest coincidence to you or astrological literacy on the part of the Russians? What do they say again, once is chance, twice is coincidence, and thrice is enemy action?

Re: Astrological Literacy Russia

[ecosophia]

The Russians are behaving as though they've got a first-rate astrologer helping to plan their strategy. It's not just the Mars retrograde; they ducked a Mercury retrograde, too, and Uranus just went direct as well. I'm guessing that the Russians are going to go on the offensive in a fairly big way over the next week or so.

[(Anonymous)]

Happy New Year 🎈, everybody!

🐇

—Princess Cutekitten

[(Anonymous)]

Happy new year, your highness! ♥️ 🐈‍⬛

Prayer Request

[(Anonymous)]

My cat is in the hospital and it looks like her kidneys are not working, possibly from ethylene glycol poisoning. We'll see how the tests come out tomorrow but I'm really concerned she might not make it. She drilled a cat sized hole in my shell and likes napping on a pillow in the corner during rituals. Her name is pronounced MAH-Tuh. Thank you.

Re: Prayer Request

[(Anonymous)]

Prayer on the way ♥️

[kimberlysteele]

I am truly delighted to say that I keep seeing evidence that one of my predictions for 2023 is coming true. The prediction is that we will see a huge wave of interest in serious Western occultism and perhaps discursive meditation cresting in the wake of a dying interest in materialist monotheism.

There are a few things that have been notable here. Number one was Greg Reese of Infowars effectively rehashing/shortening a Mark Passio lecture on de facto Satanism. Now, anyone who is knitting their underpants in frenzied anticipation of a new Satanic Panic should take a chill pill. Passio's schtick is to point out how materialist Christianity and materialism in general is essentially worshipping the other side. Passio is an ex-Satanist who inveighs against Satanism and encourages serious study of the occult.

The second synchronicity is a bit more personal and has to do with the Orphic Hymns. There was a weird night about a month ago where I went to a local open mic here in the western suburbs of Chicago, borrowed a guitar, and sang some Orphic Hymns because that is what I have ready and practiced. They went over surprisingly well, and since it was a slow night, I did have a moment to explain what they were. There has been another surprising positive development that I will reveal only if it all works out with the Hymns -- suffice to say there is far more interest in a bunch of folk songs about the Greek gods with super-nerdy lyrics than I expected.

The third and fourth synchronicity can be bunched together -- there are a couple of Bitchuters reposting occultists and esoteric materials. One was a link to Youtube occultist Theoria Apophasis and the other was this video that mentions the Essenes and Manly P. Hall:

https://www.bitchute.com/video/wqnDuLix3jIW/

Magic is in the air... specifically Western magic. Fingers crossed that this trend continues!

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this -- all of these are very good to hear.

Annotated Bibliography on Germanish Religion and Request for Sources

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

First off, thanks much to everyone here for all of the wonderful questions and insights you share, and to JMG for answering questions week after week.

To Share: I always love an annotated bibliography, so I thought I might get started on one for Germanic Religion/mythology here: https://jpowellrussell.com/#list_of_books_on_germanish_belief_with_thoughts I'm still adding my thoughts and organizing some of the entries (weekend got busier with kids than expected), but I thought I'd share what I have so far in case it's helpful to anyone else.

To Ask: As large as the list above already is, I'm always happy to add more. So, JMG if you have thoughts I'd love to hear them, but given the subject, I suspect the commentariat might have more: do you know of any works relevant to Germanic religion/mythology you can recommend? Note that I don't expect anyone to go through my whole list linked above to check if a suggestion is already there. Also, to save JMG work in approving comments, feel free to comment on my dreamwidth post here with any such suggestions: https://jprussell.dreamwidth.org/2951.html

As always, thanks very much to JMG and those reading and posting here for your time and thoughts.

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

Re: Annotated Bibliography on Germanish Religion and Request for Sources

[ecosophia]

You've got everything there that I know of -- but of course I'm not especially well read in Heathen sources and scholarship. It's an interesting project.

[(Anonymous)]

Are demons the souls that got stuck in the penumbra in the previous universe? Will that also be the fate of souls that ride the comet in this one?

[ecosophia]

Both of those are certainly plausible hypotheses.

[(Anonymous)]

When people become attracted to the spiritual life, how do they know spiritual virtues really are superior and it's not just like advertising? If the gods are only trying to get people to buy what they're selling, regardless of its actual value?

[ecosophia]

That's an excellent question, and one that can only be settled by the individual. On the one hand, it's always wise to observe the people you know who are practicing the kind of spirituality you have in mind, and ask yourself, "Do I want to be like that person?" On the other hand, as you take up a spiritual practice and notice changes in yourself, it's always wise to ask yourself, "Do I like what this is doing to me?"

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Would it be ok to ask for prayers/positive energy from yourself and/or the commentariat for 2 of my family members?


-Firstly for my wife, who is really suffering with back and joint pain

-Secondly for my father, who has been getting chest pains and insomnia


Any help would be appreciated by all 3 of us (because there definitely isn't any help from the medical establishment!).

Thank you.

Mr. Crow

[(Anonymous)]

Prayers on the way ♥️

Souls of suicide

[miow]

I have 3 questions if I may. The first 2 relate to the spirit/soul of a suicide. I believe you that they hang around inbetween until the date they should have died naturally. 1)while they do, are they apt/able to try and help the living? I've recently had a close friend who committed suicide appear in a dream to me and at the same time pop up on a long forgotten photo in another old school friend's phone. The latter immediately contacted me for the first time in ages (knowing the departed was my best friend)to tell me about the photo. Shortly after this something truly horrible happened which I may very well have helped to prevent. I think my departed friend may have tried to warn me about this event. To repeat question #1, can suicides act like this (eg give a warning/help)?
2) My father was an alcoholic and died from liver disease much younger than he would have if he didn't drink. For a long time I think he communicated with me. Would this kind of death also amount to a suicide?

3) If you do only basic practice (SOP, meditation, divination) is it possible that after some time you start becoming more receptive/attuned to supernatural phenomena (such as in question 1)?

Re: Souls of suicide

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that sometimes happens. It also happens with people who don't commit suicide -- it's quite common for the recently dead to appear to the living.

2) No. To count as a suicide, the person had to actively, deliberately will to die.

3) The basic practices are basic precisely because they do that, among other things.

3 rays of light

[(Anonymous)]

Morning John
I received your book the Druid path last year as a birthday present. I find the Druid grove ritual a delight, simple compared to the full OBOD one, but very effective. I’ve also woven the three rays of light ritual into daily practice. It seems to have enriched itself. I find at the end of the it, I’m surrounded by light from all sides with it concentrated on the centre of my being. I suspect the ritual is working at a sub conscious level in some way. I’m drawn to do it every morning. Is there an underlying idea you had in creating the ritual? I find each ray, is like watching the sun in a wood, with the three rays passing between the trees.
Kind regards
Averagejoe

Re: 3 rays of light

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to hear this. The underlying idea in the ritual of the Three Rays is simply to establish a space of balanced, positive spiritual energies; I tried several variants, found one that worked, practiced it for a while to refine it and make sure it would continue to have good results, and then went on. I do that a lot!

[(Anonymous)]

Is there anything in the occult lore on psychopathy or other personality disorders?

Aquamarine Invisible Moose

[ecosophia]

Not really. The entire concept of personality disorders is quite recent, and it tends to take a while for occultists to respond to new ideas in psychology -- for good reason, since many of those new ideas get chucked out within a generation or so.

Sacred Geometry

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

As a follow up to my flower of life question, the Ad Quadratum and Ad Triangulum systems were used in Western Europe. Are you aware whether similar systems were used elsewhere? For instance in Ancient Egypt, in the Islamic worlds, in Ancient India and China?

Many Thanks!

Re: Sacred Geometry

[ecosophia]

Yes, very much so. Hindu temples, for example, mostly work with a very subtle and skillfully handled version of the ad quadratum system, and ancient Egyptian temples had a whole series of geometrical patterns, of which the ad triangulum and ad quadratum systems were two.

Qs

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG,

Had some questions for you today.

1) Something I've been pondering lately is sort of the correlate to Spengler's morphological civilisations theory, which is the possible idea that great souls incarnate at certain times in certain civilisations much more frequently, and that drives the growth/expansion/creativity phase of that civilisation, before things turn towards a slow collapse. Historically you see great men and women more frequently as a civilisation ascends, while successors are often weak/venal etc.

I certainly felt a tinge of this in Italy on a recent trip, which while having a veneer of beauty, seems in terminal decline, with a very poor culture, stuck in the 50s, greedy, self centered, low trust, etc, despite being the land of both the renaissance and rome, no such energy is there to be found today (and I feel similar about India where I am from, though India seems on the opposite path in terms of finding its way out).

What do you think of this/does the occult have anything to say about this? Do souls migrate between civilisations over the course of time to find the right scope for their karma and then move on to higher planes?

2.In horary, what house would represent the query "which 2nd language should i learn?" L3 or L5?
3. Similarly, if I had to ask "which area or building should i set up my office space in?" what would be the signifier for that query?

Thank you, once again.

Re: Qs

[ecosophia]

1) I figure Italy is still catching its breath -- historically speaking, the Renaissance wasn't that long ago! But it's a fascinating question. Do great eras happen because great souls incarnate, or are there great souls in every era, but great eras happen because certain conditions allow the great souls more room for activity than usual? Certainly, though, souls seek out the conditions that will allow them to work through their karma and get the experiences they need, and that can certainly involve a shift in cultures.

2) I'd treat the first question as a 3rd house issue and the second as a 4th house issue (like everything having to do with real estate).

[(Anonymous)]

Going back to a previous MM you said

"I don't eat raw oysters"

Is that because the oyster is alive and it's bad karma?

"These days I won't accept blood transfusion either."

Is that because of the risks of getting blood from covid vaccinated people? This is something that worries me so I hope I never need a blood transfusion.

[ecosophia]

1) I dislike killing things when I don't have some good reason to do so. When moths get into my apartment, for example, I catch them in an old rice-measure cup and put them outside. (They've gotten used to that; the last couple of summers, I've literally had moths come fluttering over and land on the desk in front of me, and wait patiently for me to take them to the window and send them on their way.) I'm perfectly willing to eat meat, and I've slaughtered animals for food, but I insist on doing it in as quick and painless a way as possible -- I've always felt that a food animal should only have one bad day in its life! Dying between my teeth does not qualify; besides, oysters are so much tastier when breaded and fried. ;-)

2) That among other things. There are also a lot of bloodborne diseases these days, and I'm far from confident that the medical industry does adequate screening.

Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

To those who are interested, here are all of the requests for prayer that have recently appeared across the Ecosophia community. Please feel free to add any or all of them to your prayers.

If I missed anybody on the full list, or if you would like to add a prayer request for yourself or anyone who has given you consent (or for whom you hold power of consent) to the list, please feel free to leave a comment below and/or at the prayer list page. If you are an anonymous commenter who has previously attempted to post to the prayer list page, I just discovered a couple of days ago that I'd had my blog settings set such that anonymous comments weren't able to post. My apologies to anyone who had problems. If you try again now, you should be able to get through.

Finally, if there are any among you who might wish to join me in a bit of astrological timing, I pray each week for the health of all those with health problems on the list on the astrological Hour of the Sun on Sundays, bearing in mind the Sun’s rulerships of heart, brain, and vital energies. If this appeals to you, I invite you to join me.

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[ecosophia]

Many thanks for this.

From last week’s Magic Monday

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG and commentariat,

I want to thank everyone for the positive energy, prayers and well wishes for SP in Connecticut. She had a successful surgery with no complications and is recovering at home.

Many thanks to tunesmyth for posting on your dreamwidth prayer list. When I tried to reply there I got the message that this account has disabled anonymous posting.

Blessings to all

Re: From last week’s Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Very glad to hear this!

Connecting with Ancestors and Spirits of house and land

[iprescott]

Hi JMG,

I hope your New Year has got off to an amazing start. I am am looking for a way to connect with my Ancestors and the spirits of house and land. I am not exactly sure of how to start. I have a plan to erect a home altar, which I believe is a beginning. I do plan to gives offerings to my Ancestors and Spirits of house and land at this altar. I call upon my ancestors to lend me their presence and Aid before I start my SOP. Could my ancestors be considered a part of Spirit within for the SOP? Are there any other practices I should consider?

As always, thank you for hosting MM and everything you do for us here.

Ian

Re: Connecting with Ancestors and Spirits of house and land

[ecosophia]

Ancestor work isn't something I've ever gotten into -- let's just say that I didn't get along very well with most of my incarnate ancestors, so pestering the discarnate ones didn't seem very respectful -- and my work with nature spirits has always been in the context of ceremonial magic, which I suspect isn't what you have in mind. I'll have to ask other readers for their suggestions. Anybody?

“Queer Gnosticism”

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings, JMG! Author James Lindsey has written extensively about Critical Theory and other social phenomena. Lately, he has been talking about CT in terms like “Queer Gnosticism”, describing “spells” practitioners use to further their cause. Being an avowed atheist, he is new to this realm. Perhaps he does actually intuit the grubby magic practiced by followers of “woke” in particular and the Religion of Progress generally, but lacks the knowledge of how to describe it properly. All this is a data point, but it made me think, what god or pantheon is the Religion of Progress interacting with? My own sense is that there is some death-obsessed cult driving this but I couldn’t guess at what deities are involved. It also has an odd parasitic quality that allows it to latch on to other organizational systems as anything can be “progressed”. I’m stumped as to what’s behind it.

Re: “Queer Gnosticism”

[ecosophia]

I'm sorry to see Lindsay picking up Eric Voegelin's use of gnosticism as a polemic term; he's got a distorted understanding of the nature of gnosis, and it weakens what might otherwise be a solid critique. As for the religion of progress, that leads into interesting territory. One of the things that happens routinely in the late stages of a civilization is that worship increasingly gets directed away from actual divine powers and toward egregors -- that is to say, collective representations created and charged by a culture, with no connection to the transcendent.

The classical world was full of those -- temples to the emperor, temples to abstract qualities such as Peace and Fortune, and so on. Progress is one of ours, though there are others; Dialectical Materialism had quite a few worshippers back in the day, nations have their temples, and half of what went wrong with pop-culture Wicca is that while the old traditional Wiccans worshipped deities, the pop Wicca launched on its way by Starhawk and Margot Adler worshipped an egregor, "the Goddess," who was basically nothing more than the projected self-image of Second Wave feminism. One problem with egregors, in turn, is that their emotional and spiritual charge depletes, they turn into clichés, and after a while it becomes painfully clear to everyone that there's nobody home. The other problem is that their followers so often make promises the egregors can't keep.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning, everyone!

Last week I shared a post requesting prayers for a little 2-year-old boy undergoing serious brain surgery (with his mother’s permission). His surgery took place on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 as scheduled. The surgeon was able to successfully remove an abnormally formed piece of his brain that was causing serious and repeated seizures.

The day after surgery, he sat up and smiled and hugged and kissed his mother. He is in very positive spirits and is talking and moving with good strength. He’s very stable and everything is looking great. This kid has basically been living in the hospital for several months now and has taken it all in stride.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and positive energy, with special thanks to JMG and Tunesmyth for hosting this forum and the prayer list. I do find it’s made a difference and this family is finally seeing an end to all this and are hopeful for a return to normal life. I’m not sure when he gets to leave the hospital and go home but hopefully sooner rather than later.

Thanks again ♥️

[ecosophia]

I'm very glad to hear this!

SoP Banishing with Spirit Above

[(Anonymous)]

I've been learning the SoP one element at a time over the past 8 weeks and am in the middle of Spirit Within. During the initial week of Spirit Above, I had a few breakthroughs in understanding with regard to the deity associated with it and thought our relationship had improved, however this week I've been having issues where I picture the deity along with all the other symbolism of Spirit Above when I invoke the purple gate but then the deity's shape involuntarily shifts and appears to be an unsavory completely different being with whom I'm not familiar. It hasn't actively tried to hurt me, its just a shocking transformation and visuals and then it just observes.

Even though its not a Christian SoP, as a recovering Christian, I believe this is likely due to Spirit Above being associated with a heavenly Father figure of some kind and when I bring the energies of Spirit Within into play I'm bringing my problems and blockages associated with heavenly father figures along with it and its tainting my Spirit Above invocation. I've noticed grumpiness with Christianity and the desire to mentally punch Christian straw men ideas around surfacing recently as well, so I think that adds confirmation to this interpretation.

My first instinct is since this doesn't appear to be immediately hostile that I should meditate on it and pray to the deity involved to see if I can't resolve these blockages, however:

1) Is adding a formula to the SoP to banish my blockages with regard to Spirit Above ever appropriate or do I have to just focus on invoking and wait for the logjam to sort itself out?

2) I've had some familiarity with pentagram rituals in the past and traced a solitary banishing pentagram in the middle of doing my SoP to get rid of the intruder a few times since I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use the circular Spirit Above symbol in banishing. Will this hurt anything and is there a better practice if the SoP dredges something up in the realms of Spirit that I'm not presently able to handle and need to send on its way?

3) Not directly related, but you've mentioned a few times having people pray for your conversion to their church and track icky energies into your life. In a similar situation, would banishing these with the help of Spirit Above make sense or is that covered by a different element/not a good use of the SoP?

Re: SoP Banishing with Spirit Above

[ecosophia]

1) Just keep on doing the work and let the logjam sort itself out.

2) I don't recommend this. Just keep doing the practice.

3) Instead of trying to banish them, you might try invoking energies the people praying for you can't handle. I find that earth goddesses work well for me, though I know people who like to invoke the equivalents of Aphrodite and Pan in such situations.

[boccaderlupo]

Thank you for hosting this space, as always.

A data point, if it proves useful for anyone: I had previously complained of finding the Mercurial spirits incommunicado for a time, but as of last Wednesday, commerce with them abruptly resumed (with no changes of praxis on my part, so far as I could tell). I am going to chalk it up to Mercury's retrograde motion, as it seemed to correspond with that same period of relative quiet. But it will be interesting to compare with other such periods, and as always interested to hear if anyone else had similar experiences.

Axé,
Fra' Lupo

[ecosophia]

Hmm! Interesting. Thank you for the data point.