Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's almost 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 and the teachers who influenced them in turn. Last week's honoree, Theodor Reuss, got the idea and many of the teachings that went into the Ordo Templi Orientis from this man, Carl Kellner. Kellner was an Austrian chemist and a successful industrialist who made a tolerably large fortune by creating and patenting a new process for manufacturing wood pulp for paper. He was also, as the photo shows, something of a dandy; let it never be said that all occultists are dowdy!

In his off hours, he was an active Freemason and a student of occultism. A member of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, he also studied with European students of our old friend, Paschal Beverly Randolph, and with several Hindu gurus and a Sufi shaykh. He drew up plans for an occult order that would pass on Randolph's sexual gnosis using rituals like those of Freemasonry. Before he could complete the plan, however, he was struck down with a sudden unexplained illness, recovered somewhat after a long hospital stay, and then suddenly died. (There's some reason to think that he'd been experimenting with kundalini yoga -- not the modern, simplified, safe version, but the old robust teachings that can drop you dead in your tracks if you don't have a guru watching you on a daily basis.) Since I'm not a member of the OTO, my only connection with any of that story is that one of my teachers was taught by a student of a student of a student of Kellner; still, thin as it is, the connection is there.

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With that said, have at it!

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

Comments

God in occultism

[(Anonymous)]

Is there an equivalent to God in occultism?

Re: God in occultism

[ecosophia]

Okay, let's start with some basics.

Occultism is not a religion, and it's not the same kind of thing as religion. Many traditional occultists hold that there are three basic kinds of knowledge we use to make sense of the cosmos. There's science, which we use to understand the material world; there's religion, which we use to understand the spiritual world; and there's occultism, which we use to understand the realms in between spirit and matter.

Occultism deals with the "mind side" of things -- human minds, yes, but also mental phenomena that aren't limited to the inside of anybody's skull. Traditionally it leaves the material world to scientists and the spiritual world to religious teachers -- though of course both scientists and religious teachers sometimes elbow their way into the proper realm of occultism, and quarrels follow. (To be fair, occultists also sometimes elbow their way into the proper realms of science and religion, and yes, that produces more quarrels.)

Many people who practice occultism are also religious people. In fact, in the western world, a very large number of occultists are practicing Christians or Jews. Others, like me, are polytheists -- we believe there are many gods, and revere them -- and still others belong to other kinds of religions. Yes, there are also occultists who are atheists, though not that many of them.

So you'll find that many occultists believe in God, and many occult writings talk about God. That's not because occultism is a religion, it's because many occultists are religious people and include that in their occult writings.

Does this help clarify things at all?

[(Anonymous)]

Has an occultist ever been to space or deep in the ocean? Did they report back anything interesting?

[ecosophia]

I've never encountered anything written by one who did.

[(Anonymous)]

Carl Kellner being an industrialist reminds me of a documentary series on Welsh art. There was a famous Druid who was born to a family of Welsh iron-founders. He took over the family business but lived in a small house and wore very common clothes. He commissioned portraits of his employees and those paintings are the best evidence we have of what foundry workers of the time looked like, what they wore, etc. I can't remember the Druid's name though.

[ecosophia]

That sounds like a Druid!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

I misread certain instructions and have been accidentally performing the Qabalistic Cross with the Air Dagger for almost a year. How screwed am I?

[ecosophia]

Not at all. You might try doing it without the dagger and then see which way you prefer.

Mundane astrology

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning JMG!

Thank you very much for hosting this space again, and may you and your wife have a blessed week!

I'm afraid my mundane astrology studies have brought up more questions... :-)

1. "minor" dignities (triplicity, term, face): I've got a table from Christopher Warnock's site, but of course it doesn't include Uranus and Neptune. How does one deal with those two? Just ignore their triplicity etc? Or how are they assigned?

2. Your post "How (Not) To Read An Ingress Chart" has sent me down a rabbit hole of British and German ingress and eclipse charts, in order to find the start of the First World War in the charts. That's almost like the quest for the grail, and yep, I'm fully aware that this will likely be solved once I know the right question(s) to ask... ;-)

But for now:

In your experience, how do the negative effects of eclipses show in the chart and its interpretation? Do you just take the Sun and Moon to be seriously debilitated, and that's it? Or are malefic influences throughout the chart a bit stronger/more malefic in eclipse charts, and beneficial influences throughout the chart a bit weaker/less beneficial? Or is any effect mostly limited to the place of the eclipse (the sign/house it takes place in), as Green seems to suggest?

Thanks a lot,

Milkyway

Re: Mundane astrology

[ecosophia]

1) I've yet to see any attempt to assign minor dignities for Uranus and Neptune, but it's an interesting subject that deserves more exploration than it's gotten.

2) I read eclipses as a serious debility for both luminaries, and leave it at that.

[(Anonymous)]

I'd like to start opening and closing a temple once a week as part of my GD practice. Does the following ritual sequence seem reasonable?

LBRP
Opening
MP
Closing
LBRP

Also, is the second LBRP at the end strictly necessary?

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that's a very good sequence. Once you've gotten used to it you might try doing the Rose+Cross ritual between the Opening and the MP, and drawing the divine white brilliance down into the centers of the MP. It's worth doing!

2) Yes. The final LBRP clears away the magical energies you've concentrated during the working, so that you and the space can both return to normal and go about other daily activities.

[denebalgedi777]

Hello,

Thanks once again for providing this space and these answers. To ask:

1. It seems to me there must be a karmic reason for debilitated planets in the birth chart. If the higher self chooses that moment for incarnation, I mean. Any ideas on what these might be?

2. Affirmations: Well, from meditation I realized that one of the major hurdles I have faced in this incarnation -- perhaps related to excessive mutable influence in my chart and intercepted fixed signs, etc -- is not sticking with and finishing projects.

So I thought this one "I persist in my projects until they are completed" would be a good one. What do you think?

At some point I may also have to add one about trying new things as well, since getting risk averse has also been a hindrance.

To share:

3. Given the financial malaise recently, I pulled one Rider-Waite card over the weekend in response to "will there be a serious financial crisis in the near future?"

The result was 2 of Swords upright. I take this to mean that the situation is delicately balanced and there are still things to be determined before a major event will take place, so it could go either way.

Be careful out there!

-Deneb

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, of course! Your debilitated planets tell you what karmic burdens you have to deal with, and your hostile aspects tell you what karmic challenges you're going to face. A good astrologer can very often read your karma quite precisely from your chart.

2) That's a good solid affirmation.

3) Thanks for this -- that seems very plausible.

[davidastrom]

Hello JMG, and thank you so much for this space!

What is your opinion on The Sacred Book of Abramelin the Mage and what is your view on attaining the knowledge and conversation with the HGA? Do you have any recommendations? (I have finished the LRM and have continued training with CoP, but still much a beginner).

[ecosophia]

I'm not a fan of the Abramelin operation as such. Attaining the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, or the Higher and Divine Genius, or whatever you choose to call it, is worth doing, but there are ways to do that which work better for most people. The workings for spiritual development in Circles of Power and Regardie's The Golden Dawn are to my mind far more suitable for this work, not least because you don't have to do them in a single mad six-month rush -- you can start by practicing a ritual of that kind once a month, and then pick up the pace gradually over time.

[(Anonymous)]

Are there any dangers or downsides to developing a stronger will?

[ecosophia]

Yes, if you don't also work on developing a clearer mind and a more compassionate heart.

[kotodama_catalogue]

Hello there! Thanks for doing these each week. Last week you mentioned diamonds correspond to Mars and should be avoided in rings; I can't quite find anything mentioning this connection elsewhere, so I was wondering if you had a resource for the meanings and relations of stones?

[ecosophia]

My book Encyclopedia of Natural Magic covers that along with much else.

Appropriate Response to Sexual Energy?

[(Anonymous)]

Posting anonymously due to embarrassing question.

At work, there's a young lady who I believe is romantically interested in me. The attention is flattering, but I'm happily married. Lately, I seem to be picking up on when she's sending romantic/sexual energy my way. Would an appropriate response be to pray to a deity of love and sex, like Venus, and ask her to bless the young lady and do something helpful with the energy?

Many thanks for this and every week,
Smaragdine Atomic Mermaid

Re: Appropriate Response to Sexual Energy?

[ecosophia]

No, if you pray to Venus, you'll end up reciprocating the feelings, and problems will follow! Pray to Saturn, or some similar deity of wisdom and strict limits, and ask him to bless the young lady and guide her to turn her affections in some other direction.

[open_space]

Good afternoon JMG!

I have been doing a lot of journaling lately to try to uncover the reasons for my anxiety which apparently is not as new as I thought. I can now tell that when I get really anxious there is a train of thought that my mind is following throughout the day that eventually gets too big regarding where I want to take my life to and on facing situations that before I just didn't know very well that they existed. Now that it starts settling that I am by myself and have to face foreign situations and challenges I realize that I am very unsuited to those, probably given to my neurodivergence on one hand and on some areas where I am immature on the other.

To my understanding this is happening because some ideas or tracks in my mind are now heavily charged with emotion and have created a rut that pulls, so to speak, and is easy to fall back into and then it spins until it becomes anxiety. I understand what my anxiety is telling me (that I don't like many areas of my outer life and myself) but it is not like I can just get away and run from it, at least not with my dignity and possibilities, so following the urge of the anxiety is not a good idea because it makes fall into despair instead of action. I now have become a little better at catching myself and at relaxing my mind for a while, but the rut is still there. Do you think it is possible to use the emotional energy that I have put into an unbalanced fear of my situation and the state of the world into something that helps me change it in a balanced way? If we see it as an unintentional magical working for example, can I redirect the energy so that I use the desire to change my life productively instead of it creating anxiety by it following a different path or will I have to battle against it until the energy disperses?

[ecosophia]

Yes, you can certainly redirect the emotional energy. Battling against it is unproductive; putting it to work is more useful.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,
In Shoggoth Concerto, you write that the world/universe has no eyes – is indifferent. However, it seems that Nyogtha does have eyes, as do many of the Great Old Ones. Nyogtha cares for and protects his fosterlings, Nyarlothotep visits and intervenes with people at vital moments. Having eyes would also seem to apply to the gods that are commonly recognized – Jehovah, Allah, Gaia, Zeus, Odin, Shiva, etc. These various beings are part of the world/universe, so, I’m not quite sure how to reconcile these different views. If you could provide some clarity with this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you, Will1000

[ecosophia]

You've forgotten the other half of Sho's comment: "The world has no eyes, but we have eyes." You are part of the world, and are not indifferent; so am I; so are the gods -- but the universe is not the gods. The universe is greater than any of the beings who inhabit it, even the divine beings among them.

Fourfold breath

[(Anonymous)]

I've been working with the fourfold breath in conjunction with GSF practice. I tend to synchronize it with my heartbeat, but unless I reduce it to a threefold breath I often run into problems: I begin to break out in a sweat, so then I stop. It is anything but relaxing! (The problem is usually with the pause after exhalation.) Threefold breath, synchronized to my heartbeat, works pretty well, and 20 cycles take up about five minutes. But here I'm modifying the practice; a thing that you often rail against. Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance. I benefit from reading the Q & A here, even when I don't ask anything.

Re: Fourfold breath

[ecosophia]

Don't synchronize it with your heartbeat.

Magic for luck / success in a competition

[miow]

I am taking part in a quiz next week where some money could be won. If not inappropriate to ask here, can anyone suggest a spell/working to help improve my chances? It very much all depends on the questions asked, there is no way I can study for or prepare for the quiz. My experience with magic is limited to basic practices (SOP, daily divination, meditation) and a few more basic practicals out of the MM FAQ over on the other blog. Is there a planetary charity I can do? I'm so anxious about this competition, I entered for a lark never thinking I would be chosen, but here I am and like most people, I could really do with some funds. Thanks in advance for any help.

Re: Magic for luck / success in a competition

[ecosophia]

Planetary charity to Mercury would be a good approach. Also, when you do the SoP each morning, invoke good luck in all six directions and banish ill luck to the four quarters.

[roobyalien]

Dear JMG,

I am a regular reader of the Covid 19 space and have migrated to some of your other spaces. I am very interested in starting a deeper spiritual practice. I am a nature based person-feeling most comfortable in the presence of plants, etc.

Would you kindly make a suggestion about where I could begin. I looked at the Dolmen Arch book, but based on the commentary above-I don't understand whether or not it is a good place to begin.

Thank you for you contribution to sanity and thoughtfulness during these times.

Rooby Alien

[(Anonymous)]

Not JMG - but you may have a connection to Natural Magic

Mozart

[(Anonymous)]

Earlier you mentioned Mozart's case as reincarnation evidence. (I'm posting here so as not to hijack the earlier thread.) Many classical musicians are noticing that the musical child prodigies are turning up more and more in Asian countries. I wonder if the talented souls are now avoiding reincarnating in the west for one reason or another; and it's not too hard to imagine why.

Re: Mozart

[ecosophia]

That makes sense to me, and for more than the obvious reasons: Asian cultures continue to respect education and hard work, where most Western cultures have lost track of the value of those things and will have to learn them again the hard way. If your karma and your destiny direct you to a career as a musician, Asia's probably your best bet these days!

Vinegar

[(Anonymous)]

You have written extensively on the power of vinegar to dissipate unwanted etheric energies, often recommending hoodoo baths. I'm curious if using vinegar in a spray bottle, misting from head to toe in the shower, would provide the same basic effect?

Re: Vinegar

[ecosophia]

Yes. I use vinegar as a hair rinse in the shower, and that does a good job of stripping away unwanted energies, too.

Question on speed of progress...

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Mr. Greer,

I am making very slow progress with your book Learning Ritual Magic. It's been almost exactly a year since I started and I am only on lesson 7, and I am close to finishing Chapter 3 on Paths of Wisdom. I intend to pick up the pace, but I am often either too busy or too tired.

Are there any negative consequences to going this slow? If not, I will keep at it, probably at the same speed...

Thank you!

Re: Question on speed of progress...

[ecosophia]

Take your time. There are no prizes for hurrying in occult work, and much to be gained by going at the pace that works for you.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG. Do you know of any good resource about the occult interpretation of Lenormand cards?

[ecosophia]

To my knowledge nobody's developed an occult interpretation of the Lenormand deck yet. It's certainly possible to use them in an occult context, but somebody's going to have to work out a way to do this, and some sort of functional symbolic connection between the 36 cards of the deck and some set of occult symbols -- for example, the 36 decans of astrology. You might consider giving it a shot...

[(Anonymous)]

Now that I'm well acquainted with the teachings of your lineage on a wide range of esoteric matters, I've been wondering where the teachings on on death, the afterlife, karma, and rebirth, are originally sourced from. That is, if we're trace this back to a time and place prior to late 19th and early 20th century European and American occult scene.

I've also done a fairly comprehensive survey of the world's great religions and philosophies. My working theory as of now is that what modern western occult philosophy has to say about the aforementioned topics is mostly sourced from Raja/Kriya Yoga lineages, or perhaps just broader Hindu teachings. As one example, when I read what the famous Yoga guru Paramahansa Yogananda had to say about karma and rebirth, the teachings come very close to the things you regularly say. He advanced the idea that the individual soul's development is an evolutionary process (we see nothing like this in Buddhism's take on the matter, among other systems I've come across). As a second example, I had a couple teachers years ago who taught very similar things on karma and rebirth. I found out later that they are disciples of a fairly well known (in those circles) Kriya guru. And of course there's the Theosophical Society who advanced similar views and this clearly rubbed off on a lot of occultists from that period onward.

I'm mostly convinced that any teachings on karma and rebirth from antiquity did not survive anywhere in Europe or the Middle East, thanks to 1500+ years of Abrahamic hegemony; though with the possible exception being underground Manichean groups like the Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars. But those movements were thoroughly stamped out of existence by the high middle ages. The only possible survival of anything from that tradition might be a few Cabala-practicing Jewish rabbis (who later influenced Renaissance Hermeticism) who might have interacted with those groups at some point, but that seems like quite a stretch.

So my question is, what is your take on this matter? Might my Yoga (or some Eastern source) theory be accurate or do you think the source of Occult Philosophy's teachings on death, the afterlife, karma, and rebirth has a native Western source?

[ecosophia]

You might take a look at The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg edited by J. Williams ab Ithel -- you can download it free of charge here:

https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/j-williams-books.html

The writings in it are by Iolo Morganwg, who died in 1826; it contains not only a detailed discussion of reincarnation but also a theory of evolution. The idea of reincarnation was never quite stifled in the West, not least because Greek philosophical writings that affirm reincarnation remained in circulation straight through the Middle Ages.

[(Anonymous)]

I've meditated for several years now. I dabbled in a few techniques including discursive meditation and ended up settling on something that is equivalent to the Essene healing breath meditation (although I had never labelled it that before, it was just what felt intuitively good to me).

I keep having periods of time (months usually) where during meditation I have these dramatic releases of energy. My whole body goes hot in the process and it's extraordinarily uncomfortable.

The best explanation I've received is that I'm releasing repressed emotions from an earlier point in my life.

I was wondering if this sounds familiar you? I wanted to check if it's safe. My body is progressively feeling more relaxed and calmer. But there seems to be no end to it and it makes meditating itself quite hard. I can now feel the energy in my body some days and I know it will release when I relax.

[ecosophia]

It might be an emotional release, and it might be any of several other things, some of which could be problematic. My suggestion is that you find a competent practitioner of Chinese traditional medicine and arrange to have a general checkup. If anything's wrong, they'll be able to identify it and treat it.

sick

[(Anonymous)]

I have a sinus infection and a fever from working to hard last week. I also only did one or two of my daily RM/meditation sessions. Today I tried to do some yoga which helped a bit from the soreness, but I don't feel like doing meditation at all. Did you say something about not to do magic when you are sick?

Re: sick

[ecosophia]

Each person needs to decide whether they're up to magic when they're ill. I do my daily practices no matter what, but then they make me feel better when I'm ill. Your mileage may vary, of course.

One way or another, best wishes for a prompt recovery.

Spiritism and Sacrifice

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, JMG:

I have a friend who is initiated into a few different traditions, one of them being Espiritismo, which is heavily influenced by Kardec (Spiritism). I'm wondering if you've ever delved much into Kardec's writings and if you have an opinion on his worldview. Was Kardec accurate in regard to progression of the soul, mediumship, reincarnation, etc.?

My friend is also initiated into Palo Mayombe, which is a tradition which occasionally uses animal sacrifice, as do a lot of the other ATRs like Ifa, Vodou, etc. I'm wondering your view of this from an occult standpoint. (I am a meat eater, so I find it hard to condemn since I indirectly contribute to animal death, although I've never gone hunting).

Re: Spiritism and Sacrifice

[ecosophia]

1) I've read a few of Kardec's books but I'm not at all an expert on the subject. I know that he was very highly regarded by many occultists in his time, however.

2) The African traditional religions have been practicing animal sacrifice for a very long time, and I assume they know what they're doing. I don't recommend it in my tradition, but then it isn't something we do. On the other hand, I've slaughtered animals for food -- I think everybody who eats meat should have that experience -- so I don't condemn the basic activity.

Planetary charity clarification

[(Anonymous)]

Hiya JMG--

Thank you for your assistance. I appreciate it. I need a clarification about planetary charity. A planet like Mercury covers a wide array of activities/areas of influence. If you need help with a medical issue, for example, does that mean you want a medical type charity and if you want help with a business/career related issue, you pick a business type charity? Or can you pick anything that Mercury rules, regardless of why you need assistance? I'm needing help with better communication. I wanted to pick a theater related charity-- communicating with an audience--though I think that's more Venusian, probably as it's related to the arts. Just not sure what to pick.

I need some help from Mars to help me with my procrastination/lack of focus issues. I struggle with donating to warrior type charities; always seem so very depressing. So I was thinking maybe animals. Chris Warnock's site indicates that big cats like Leopards, Tigers, Panthers are Martian. I was thinking of finding a big cat charity of one sort or another-- would that be a good choice? Or maybe Eagles or horses?

Thanks again--
MJ from MA

Re: Planetary charity clarification

[ecosophia]

In my experience, anything that's appropriate to the planet is suitable, whether or not it has anything to do with the assistance you're asking for. With Mercury, I tend to make donations to a charity that helps children with speech, language, and reading issues -- that seems to work pretty consistently. In the same way, you can certainly donate to a Mars animal charity; aside from the ones you've mentioned, wolves are Martial, and so are all birds of prey, so a raptor rehabilitation center would be a great choice, and so would be a wolf charity.