Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's just on 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 or comment 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, Violet Firth Evans aka Dion Fortune, had the great advantage of coming of age when the British occult community was close to its apogee, and she had plenty of teachers. Some of them, such as Moina Mathers, have already appeared here; some of them, such as Maiya Tranchell Hayes, apparently didn't leave any photographs behind -- but there are several others, and this is one of them: Frederick Bligh Bond, who was the official church archeologist at the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey between the two world wars, and discovered a whole series of lost features by digs that just happened to go to the right place. Then it turned out that there was no "just happened" about it; he was using spiritualistic methods to talk to the spirits of long-dead monks, who told him where to dig. The church threw a fit and dismissed him, but he went on to publish several volumes about his experiences, at least one of which can be downloaded for free (here). Dion Fortune studied with him for a while and also did trance work with him; her connection with Glastonbury continued to the end of her life, and in fact she's buried there.

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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)]

Good morning, everyone! Happy Monday!

I am writing to provide an update about the little boy named ES that myself and many other wonderful people here have been saying prayers for. Since his second brain surgery, he is now recovering home with his family and appears to be doing well. They have weaned him down from 7 anti convulsants, 3 other meds, and a handful of supplements to 2 anti convulsants only. So far so good and he hasn’t had any seizures since the surgery.

I want to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers and contributions. He and his family has been through absolute hell dealing with this. I am continuing to pray for him and I invite anyone who feels called to do so to continue praying as well. As I have stated elsewhere, I do have permission from his mother to pray for him and solicit prayers on his behalf.

Thanks again for everything ♥️

[ecosophia]

I'm very glad to hear this!

[(Anonymous)]

My parents died decades ago, but I can't get rid of them.
Through journalling, meditation and other practices, I have come to realise how much of my life is still governed by the subconscious need to get approval from my (long-dead) parents, and avoid their criticism, or avoid doing or even achieving things that they would not have understood or approved of. I've reached, I think, the end-point of purely intellectual efforts, and in spite of those efforts they are still there. I don't think I'm literally haunted, but it's as if my parents still possess part of me somehow.
Can you think of any kind of ritual which might, finally, get rid of their influence? I have no photos or mementoes of them, I live in a different country now, and I rarely think of them unless obliged to. Is there anything more I can do? (I can do simple GD-type magic but I don't know how to turn it to effective use in this case.)
Thanks as always for your time and commitment

[ecosophia]

Ritual isn't really well suited for this kind of purpose. You need to dig down into yourself and figure out why you cling so tightly to your parents, and then let go. The methods of the Order of Spiritual Alchemy (available here) might be a good place to start, since you're quite correct that this can't be dealt with by the surface levels of the mind, where the intellect functions.

Dion Fortune and QBL Paths

[(Anonymous)]

I have read Fortune's Mystical Qalabah several times and find it rich and rewarding to contemplate.

But I noticed that she elucidated the spheres and not the paths. Did she write about the paths elsewhere? If so, do you know why not?

Perhaps she didn't write about the paths as these need to be individually meditated upon and experienced?

Thanks.

Re: Dion Fortune and QBL Paths

[ecosophia]

She didn't write about the Paths; in her day it was radical enough to write that much about the Spheres! For what it's worth, that was why I wrote my first book, Paths of Wisdom -- to provide information on the Paths, and the other aspects of the Tree Fortune didn't explicate.

Astral effects - porn and culture war etc

[(Anonymous)]

Not sure if this is quite Magic Monday stuff, but I guess probably is because it's about how our emotions are manipulated, likely on the astral level.

I was thinking about porn (for men - I wonder what the female reaction to porn is and whether it is any different) and the sense of artificial lust and the release that feels empty and unsatisfying, and generally the feeling of "fake" arousal - enough to get you going but not "real" or satisfying.

And then I thought - you know, I get the same feeling in a way when reading about "culture war" type stuff. My emotions get inflamed, I have strong opinions, I get a hit of outrage - but ultimately it's all fake. Nothing actually happens and my life doesn't change. It doesn't even matter which side of the culture war you're on - I think it's the same on both. It feels powerful and satisfying to feel the emotion etc and it sucks up time, but ultimately it feels empty - nothing happens with those emotions.

On the other hand, even the smallest positive actions in my own life on a small scale (exercise etc) have a deep sense of satisfaction and reward even if the immediate emotional hit isn't much (like reading porn or Zero Hedge or whatever).

For eg, I recently organized a social meetup for people with a certain hobby which may also result in some work contacts - it's a very small thing for 15 people in my city, and it has nothing to do with politics. But the small satisfaction of organizing a meetup for enthusiasts of that hobby was far greater?

Re: Astral effects - porn and culture war etc

[ecosophia]

Good! Yes, you've experienced the effects of corrupt magic in both cases. If you want a female equivalent of porn, btw, check out cheap romance novels -- they're the same kind of mechanical stimulation of automatic responses, just on a different plane.

[gullindagan]

I'm working on the corresponding "Macrocosm and Microcosm" piece (from CGD) for the Heathen GD, and thinking about planes. The whole essay is posted here: https://gullindagan.dreamwidth.org/7575.html

But I wanted your thoughts on how I've divvied up the plans, I opted for 3 planes with 3 sub planes each, and to not really going into what I'm calling the "spiritual" plane, but you called the "intellectual" plane. Do you think this works or do you have any suggestions? I think "spiritual" maybe isn't quite right, but it's as good a word as "intellectual" which I think is supposed to be a translation of "Nous". I'm using the three gifts from Odin, Lothur and Hoenir as the structure. Here's the section describing the planes:
"But what is this world? What is the reality that the body is embedded within? Well, in most esoteric traditions they split up reality into multiple planes. Some have seven, some have four, some just have two. In esoteric Heathenry we can say that there are three main levels, with three sub levels each, coming to nine total. These three main levels correspond to the three gifts given by the Odin, Hoenir and Lothur. Odin gave önd, which is “breath” or “spirit”. This corresponds to the highest plane, the spiritual plane, the plane of higher intuition and pure consciousness. Hoenir gave óð, which means “mind” or “feeling”. This is corresponds to the astral plane, the plane of emotions, images, thoughts and feelings. Lothur gave lá and litu góða. This is the gift of blood, vitality, voice and movement. These belong to the physical plane. These planes are a part of our every day experience, though most people haven't been trained to tell them apart.
The lowest, or most outward, sub-plane of the physical plane is pure, unconscious matter. This is the plane represented by the pieces of driftwood. Just a little higher are the etheric sub-planes. They are still part of the physical plane, but they are slightly more subtle. The first of these is the sub-plane of blood, of vitality. This is warmth, energy. You experience this sub-plane when you go up in an elevator and feel a little hiccup in your whole body, or when you feel energized after bathing in sunlight or cold water,. You can also feel the lack of this etheric energy when you're depleted from stress, exhaustion, or overindulgence. The next sub-plane up is the sub-plane of sound and movement. You can't see the sound waves when you hear somebody's voice, but they are there, still part of the material universe. They can be detected and measured.
The astral plane is the next plane, and is also easily observable through experience. This plane is the plane of emotions, thoughts, feelings, perception, memory and imagination. The lowest of these planes is the sub-plane of negative feelings, emotions and thoughts. When you're trapped in feelings and thoughts of self-pity, hatred, and jealousy, when you imagine hurting yourself or other people, you are in this realm. The next sub-plane is of more balanced thought and emotion. This is the realm you experience when you plan your future, read books and think about the concepts in them, or remember somebody fondly. The highest sub-plane of the astral is the plane of abstract images, thought, and exalted emotions. This is where theoretical mathematicians work, this is also where you are working when you're having a really good meditation. This is also where you are when you experience pure joy, or true compassion.
The highest plane, the spiritual plane, is subtle and transcendent, but you also experience it every day, whether or not you realize it. This is the plane of higher intuition, meaning, and consciousness. Have you ever felt inundated by the knowledge that all things are impermanent and that you will die? The emotions belong to the astral plane, but the intuition that triggered the rush of beautiful and transcendent feeling belongs to the spiritual plane. Are you conscious? How do you know that you are conscious? That knowledge, of what you are, the undeniable self-evidence of consciousness, is a glimpse into the spiritual plane. What you are essentially is beyond this plane, but the direct knowing comes from this plane. It's too subtle to split up into three sub-planes that would be meaningful at this time, because we are barely conscious of it at all."

I'm also open to constructive criticism/ideas from anybody, and you're welcome to comment on the original post too.

[ecosophia]

This strikes me as very appropriate and workable. Go with it!

An Abecedary of Occultism

[kimberlysteele]

I had some fun making a TikTok video and accompanying Dreamwidth post called the Abecedary of Occultism:

https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/87946.html

JMG, you are the entry for "J".

Of course my abecedary represents only the lightest smattering of occult subjects. I am hoping it piques the interest of my small but growing TikTok audience.

Re: An Abecedary of Occultism

[ecosophia]

Ha! I've been immortalized. ;-)

OSA & vows to help others

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG & assembled MM community,

I have been very slowly working my way through the OSA preliminary exercises, and I've arrived at Part 3 of Step 1 of Lesson 2, involving asking the divine for forgiveness for each item on the list, and vowing to do something to make somebody else's life easier.

It is a really wonderful instruction, and reveals to me depths of self-absorption that, ironically, are themselves deeply shameful. But anyway, my question is: I'm trying to figure out whether I should keep track of these vows to do something that makes others lives easier, and if so, how?

I feel it would be disingenuous and ineffective to proceed in the work with these vows open-ended and incomplete. But it also seems like there is infinite latitude in how big or small of an act can "make someone's life easier." Does passing the salt at the dinner table count, or letting someone go ahead in traffic? Or, since I occasionally volunteer at a nonprofit organization, do I count separately helping the members of the public we serve, and helping my fellow volunteers in the course of their work?

I know this is a very open-ended question, whose answer may be different for every person, but I'm just looking for a little guidance. In general, when working through these lists in the OSA work, I've been limiting myself to three items on the list per day, more than that and I feel like they don't have time to "set" in my mind.

In the course of writing this, I realize that one criteria could be: "count as fulfilling your vow something you wouldn't normally have done, i.e. going beyond your habitual patterns to do things for others with this vow in mind."

I'm also interested in any and all suggestions for ways to make others lives better. It's not something I've devoted a lot of thought to, frankly.

Thanks,
Rusty

Re: OSA & vows to help others

[(Anonymous)]

Rusty,

With regards to your last question: Have you tried thinking about what would make your own life better? Preferably as you go about your day. That might help you to come up with a few ideas on how to make other people‘s lives better…

Milkyway

Greetings!

[diletpoly]

Well, I'm back after a rather frustrating few weeks of disruption to my schedule, so my questions will be mostly related to that.

1. When last I wrote, I had asked about visualizing the elemental symbols for the GSF SoP as a visualization practice. There was some confusion, and I didn't manage to get it straightened out before the end of the day. My question was, is it OK to visualize the elemental symbols from the SoP outside of the SoP itself, as an exercise in improving your visualization skills, or is it better to use less meaningful symbols for that purpose?

2. As I said, I've had a rather disrupted period. This has caused me to take a step backwards and re-start the meditations for the GSF from the beginning, though not starting from scratch. As I do this with the more, shall we say, simple exercises, I find myself almost dictating my later journal entry, rather than actually concentrating on learning or experiencing anything new. Is this something I should watch out for/try to prevent?

3. I had a few days where I was unable to get enough private time to myself to complete the SoP and meditation. For the meditation, I'm resigned to sometimes just being unable to do it, but I wonder which of the 3 options for the SoP would be best: 1) Skip it, do it again the next day 2) Do it in the real world, but quickly so I don't get interrupted 3) Do it in the imagination, which gives me a little more time to focus on it. Obviously I'd prefer 2 or 3, but I don't know which to prefer over the other.

As always, thanks for hosting this space. I hope to be a more active participant going forward.

The Dilettante Polymath

Re: Greetings!

[ecosophia]

1) Use something different. The elemental symbols should only be used when you want to invoke the elements.

2) I recommend reviewing your earlier entry and then going out of your way to find something different. Getting in a rut isn't helpful.

3) Do it in your imagination. That's useful training.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for keeping this space open to questions.

I asked if my family would be happy and safe living at a property we’re considering buying. The answer was Populus (Judge) with Fortuna Major for both witnesses. My reading is that we would be very stable and, yes, happy and safe there. Do you think my interpretation is correct?

[ecosophia]

In any shield chart reading for a yes/no question, the answer is given by seeing whether there's a majority of favorable or unfavorable figures in the judge and witness positions. You've got two of the most favorable figure there is, and one neutral. That's a strong "yes."

[(Anonymous)]

John--

Relating somewhat to this past week's post on the other blog, I find myself under a "tyranny of the measured" as I battle old programs and patterns of thought. This relates, too, to guidance I was given some years ago now by my patron deity when She commented: "What you think to be important isn't and what is truly important you miss completely." As one recent example, I found myself recently rehashing my lack of advancement at work (to a managerial slot) and the sense that I'm being told that I'm not "good enough" (another old program), even though there may be legitimate reasons for the delay of that promotion (I may not be ready, there are other opportunities coming that I can't see yet, I wouldn't be as happy in the position as I think I'd be, etc.). I have for most of my life measured myself by advancement (from merit badges to championship swim meets to class standing to graduate degrees) and when I hold inner dialogue around the notion of qualitative value may be more significant, there's that voice that says "Only losers who can't hack it think that way. It's just participation trophies all over again."

What (occult) methods would be helpful in countering this voice and these old patterns of thought?

[ecosophia]

To some extent you're just going to have to muscle through it. I assume you've already figured out why you find quantitative measurements so attractive and appealing; that being the case, you'll simply have to keep making a sustained effort to silence that voice and do what you know you need to do.

[(Anonymous)]

Really serious question - I know someone who came out of a disastrously abusive childhood and young adulthood with the gut deep feeling that she was worthless, and who is now on the brink of death. The head of our Circle, J, who has a gift as a mind healer, had been working with her for years, and helped her to the point where she should accept the drawings he was teaching her to do as therapy, and to the point where she could stand up and speak her mind boldly at science fiction club meetings, but she apparently had relapses, and when J called to tell me she was on the brink of death, he also let me know she had relapsed into the self-hatred. The question is - even suppose she has a gentle passing if this illness proves fatal, what will happen to her on the other side, going in feeling like that?

Thanks,

Dijon Curmudgeonly Shrew

[ecosophia]

She's got a welcome surprise waiting for her once she's on the other side. Part of the process of the afterlife is seeing the entire life unfolding in detail, in complete objective accuracy. That's a miserable experience to those who have overinflated egos, as they get to see exactly how badly they behaved and so on -- but those with very negative self-images get to find out how inaccurate those images are. That's why so many religions tell you to dwell on your sins while getting ready for death -- partly it helps you process some of your life in advance, but partly it makes for an easier experience when you get to the other side and get to see your life from a less biased standpoint.

Three Circles and Three Planes

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings, generous host:

I was re-reading the Druid Philosophy lecture in Grade 4 of the DA, which first mentions the 3 circles of manifestion (Abred, Gwynfydd, Ceugant) and then the 3 planes (material, astral, spiritual). I rather thought the circles should correspond to the planes, but in the further details on the planes, only the upper level of the astral sounds like Gwynfydd--the halls of light. So is the rest of the astral plane part of Abred? Or are the circles and planes like apples and oranges, describing different things?

Thanks very much for any light you can shed here.

Re: Three Circles and Three Planes

[ecosophia]

The Circles and Planes are apples and oranges. It's a mistake to confuse them.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have any advice for how to go about resonating less strongly with Pluto? It seems to me that most of the straightforward approaches could end up dragged into Plutonian forms and might even be counterproductive.

I was adopting a "wait until it stops" approach, but I still resonate at least as strongly with Pluto as I did in 2006, and given the discussion last week about the possibility of Pluto as a giant comet, at this point I'd much rather take an active approach.

[ecosophia]

I'm not at all sure what to suggest. I don't resonate with Plutonian energies at all, and of course current ritual magic methods don't address the outermost planets. Anyone else?

Missed this

[(Anonymous)]

Apologies, I missed this in the last comment but I wanted to ask if I want to divine whether the healing breath meditation would be good for me, L9 or does it become a L5/L6 q?

(i'm interested in learning to get my body to relax on command since I have a lot of stress to deal with at work)

Re: Missed this

[ecosophia]

Any question about healing is a 6th house question. Look for modes of perfection between the 1st and 6th house and you'll have your answer.

[tamanous2020]

Hi JMG,

Given Easter just occurred, I spent some time meditating on Christ's Harrowing of Hell. According to Church teachings, as he progressed through Sheol/Hades, he rescued trapped righteous souls all the way back to Adam and Eve, allowing for them and future dead to proceed to Heaven directly post expiration.

Q- Would the following interpretation be in line with a western occultist view?

A) Jesus was able to establish a sort of astral "track in space" where devotees could go to post death as they go through the normal death process etc.
B) Given time/space is more a structure of consciousness, this action from our perspective might also look like it extended backwards into the past as much as the future.
C) That this action was possible given Jesus was a magical adept with a completed mental sheath and retained his sense of self post death. Not to mention his potential linkage/connection to a deity acting through him.

Thanks,

Tamanous

[ecosophia]

That's certainly one plausible way to think about it!

meditation paths for self improvement

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, I am grateful for your continuing kindness in answering all these questions, and hope you will give me some guidance on my glass bead oracle project.

It occurred to me that there are 5 singles, 8 dyads, 8 triads, 4 tetrads (in triangles with 4 points), 1 square and 1 cross with 5 points in the arrangement of the beads, which match the SOP directions with spirit within at the centre. I hope that makes sense. I can't draw it out for you, but if you wish I will create a page and get some diagrams on it.

When I get an unbalanced dyad (both reversed), for example, I realized that I can bring in a third point (any of the 3 others which are balanced) to use in meditation to resolve the unbalanced dyad. For example, if both mind and body are unbalanced because I'm fretting over some physical symptom and going off the deep end about it, I can bring in water, which taps into intuition and the subconscious to explore what's really going on (and get a sense of how the mind can make the body sick), I can bring in fire, which may use will to override the nonsense, or I can bring in the higher self to resolve the issue. Each one is a different method of dealing with the situation by which I can learn more about myself as I proceed, how the various parts of me are connected and how they affect each other.

When the oracle gives me a triad or a tetrad, depending on which bead is upright and which is reversed, the oracle tells me which connections, or paths if you will, I should explore in my understanding of the situation.

I am finding that the meanings of the readings are taking on a much richer interpretation because I am connecting layers of me as I develop this.

When I get singles with everything else reversed, it tends to mean something very specific: the white one means "Trust your higher self. Help from the spiritual world"; the green one only usually means "You need to focus on the material/physical world", "pay attention to your body, rest." When white is combined with green, that generally mean "Healing" and "Blessings".

My question relates to whether the exploration of the connections is somewhat what the Kabballah does. I know next to nothing about the Kabballah, and wondered if it, or another similar system does the same thing? When you talk of pathworking on the Kabballah, I'm assuming one is exploring parts of one's psyche? I realize the Kabballah is a much richer system with an incredibly rich history, but I was wondering if there was a parallel. For some reason, I have no desire to master the Kabballah, if that is relevant, but I would like to know if what I'm doing is similar. Actually, the Tarot does the same thing, right? Except that it goes well beyond the higher self.

Thank you so much for your time!

Re: meditation paths for self improvement

[ecosophia]

Hmm! This sounds very interesting indeed.

The Cabala includes this kind of work, though it also goes well beyond it; the Cabala provides a schematic map of the cosmos, the human individual, and the relations between them. Your project could end up doing the same thing eventually, but don't worry about that now; it seems like a workable scheme in its current form, and will unfold its other potentials over time.

A car and a driver walked into a bar...

[hearthculture]

Good Afternoon,
After being questioned and finding myself stumbling through a overly long and complex explanation, I've been reaching for an analogy for the physical, etheric, and astral bodies in order to more simply explain them.

Please check my work on this attempt: The physical body is like a car, a complex system that is inert material but has potential capability. The astral body is like a driver whose imagined destination, and intention to get there, have the potential to provide the car with direction. The etheric body is like the fuel - turning the car and driver's potential into active capability; and it is also the throttle, steering gear, and gauges - an interface for the driver to exert their will while understanding the inner state of the car. All three are necessary for purposeful locomotion, and there is constant feedback coming from both the driver and the car, but always mediated through the gauges and steering and powered by the fuel.

Much modern suffering happens because we live in a dualist context of body vs spirit, with some people walking around refusing to acknowledge the usefulness and purpose of their "car," while others live in their "cars" so fully they deny there is a driver, and everybody who seeks a middle way without guidance (occult/esoteric teachings) often ends up driving their "car" around without calibrated gauges or throttle controls, sputtering about with poor quality fuel and stinky smog coming out of their tailpipe.

To extend this, the mental sheath is like a travelogue of maps and experiences that the driver records and refers to, until at some point the documentation is so complete that the driver ceases bothering to drive at all and moves on to other activities (transitioning from physical incarnation into a mental body.) Another problem we face is that increasingly we as a society are no longer taught to make our own travelogues (personal gnosis,) but instead referred to mass produced maps, which have no local flavor and are often out of date.

Science gives us car repair manuals, religion gives us motorist laws and seasonal racetrack days, and occult training spans the gamut from driver's ed, to vehicle maintenance and fluid changes, to cartography class.

(Before I subject others to this analogy,) does this track with your understanding?

I'm certainly open to thoughts and corrections from the commentariat as well.

Thank you as always for this space and your guidance. :)

Re: A car and a driver walked into a bar...

[ecosophia]

That's one way to think about it, yes. Another metaphor is a radio playing a song. The circuits are the physical body; the electricity flowing through the circuits is the etheric body; the signal being picked up and transmitted by the radio is the astral body; and the meaning of the lyrics belongs to the mental sheath.

Question about Ogham

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, I bought 3 copies of your books, I'm Spanish and interested in Druidry.

The Druid Magick Handbook is one of my favourite occult texts because the point of view of how druids relate to environment and how can he heal it through his actions.

My question is: I've read on Wikipedia a different assignment of some Fews of the Beith aicme, it differs from the Druid Magick Handbook.

I suppose you switched the places on purpose, but it'd be nice if you confirm.

Thanks for your dedication to Magick and your books,

Have a nice day!

Re: Question about Ogham

[ecosophia]

There are two ways of assigning the fews in the first aicme; I didn't invent either one. Wikipedia uses one, I use the other.

Astrological Calculations

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG, I am working on an astrological computer program. Can you recommend any resources for creating calculations or algorithms to determine planetary movements/positions (ideally in real time)?

Re: Astrological Calculations

[ecosophia]

That is so far over my head I'd need binoculars to see it. ;-) Anybody else?

[(Anonymous)]

My best hours for writing and creativity seem to be in the middle of the night, and my theory on that is there is less interference from the thought patterns of the city residents when everyone else is asleep. When I stay up late writing it really messes up my circadian rhythm though. I suppose I could try getting up super early instead, but sometimes that doesn't work out with my late job. Any recommendations?

[ecosophia]

If I knew some way to deal with this, I probably wouldn't stay up until three in the morning studying occult texts quite so often, and then get up bright and early at ten am!

Chapter 18

[stcathalexandria]

Happy MM once again!

Question about Chapter 18 in LRM and the ritual exercise that finishes on p. 256. It says "For the first two session you devote, follow this practice with the complete MP exercise in you joined physical and visualized bodies, and then banish in both bodies, return to the chair, and close as before."

The banishing seems in conflict with the previous directions to never banish while doing the inner planes. Should it read invoke or something else? And does "close as before" mean drawing the visualized lodge back in and doing the closing gesture.

Thank you for any clarification you can give.

Re: Chapter 18

[ecosophia]

The instructions are different for different phases of the work, so follow them as given. As for "close as before," yes, that's what it means.

Surfing the Himalayas

[(Anonymous)]

Back when I was a kid in the 90’s I was a “paper boy” with a walking news paper delivery route and while working I would listen to the local rock station. A recurring commercial stuck with me until recently. The commercial was advertising a book called “Surfing the Himalayas” by Frederick Lenz. I think it stuck with me from childhood because the commercial pronounced the title, “surfing the him-AH-lee-ahs” .

I am reading it now after reading JMG for years. The story has a snowboarder bump into a Buddhist monk in the Himalayas. The monk, then proceeds to instruct the snowboarder about how Buddhism has come from the ancient Atlantean civilization, and that he is supposed to teach the snowboarder how to meditate, and then the snowboarder will in turn go on to teach millions in the west. The meditation technique opens up the practitioner to experience their previous lives memories, and that they of course are an immortal soul. All of these simple facts are presented quickly and directly. There’s nothing remarkably new in the book for me at this point, but it would’ve been all those years ago.

Ever heard of it?

Re: Surfing the Himalayas

[ecosophia]

Nope, but then I wasn't listening to pop music in the 1990s!

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

Is it ok to teach my 15 year old the Sphere of Protection? With all the astral crud flying around these days, I wondered if a ritual like this would be ok for her to try, or if she's still too young for that sort of working.

Thank you,
Tim PW

[ecosophia]

If her periods have started she's adult by magical standards, and yes, she can take up the Sphere of Protection. I started doing the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram at age 16 and it didn't harm me any.

[(Anonymous)]

1) I was doing some divination regarding the possibility of mRNA vaccines being introduced into livestock feed. The Ogham indicated that it was kind of a done deal, the program would go through and resistance would be futile, but the mRNA vaccines wouldn't harm anyone, and also I would get good results from banishing the stuff from my personal food supply.

Which all seemed a little suspicious, after what people were seeing with divinations on the Covid vaccine. Has anyone else tried divining on the same subject?

2) I'm trying to figure out how to do a talisman consecration using the DMH methods. It seems like I could adapt the method used to enchant the stones of the circle, so that I'd be breathing in the color of the few and then imbuing the talisman with it.
Or I could try to call up the Telluric, Solar, and Lunar currents and enchant the talisman with those, but it's not clear from the book at which point I would declare the intention of the talisman. The wand, cauldron and crane bag seem to be general working implements, while Ogham magic is for more specific intentions.

Do you have any advice on how to do this?

3) I've been getting stocked up on meditation material, in case social upheaval makes it hard to get ahold of books. Some of the material is on the Cabala. When meditating on the Cabala, can I keep my current polytheistic SOP, or would I need to switch to a Judaeo-Christian form?

Thanks,
Cliff

[ecosophia]

1) I haven't, precisely because so many divinations over the Covid vaccines were dubious. I'm sure it will be tried; the question is how long livestock operations will keep doing it, given the likely death toll among the animals.

2) I used the Druid Wand working, and inserted the statement of intention at the point in the ritual low down on page 163, 2nd paragraph from the bottom.

3) Nope. I was doing a Druid SOP all through the period that I studied John Gilbert's Cabalistic teachings. The Cabala is a Jewish reworking of Greek Platonic and Pythagorean traditions, which is why it's proven so useful in polytheist magic.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you know what sort of emotions are associated with the eyes? For as long as I can remember I've had pain behind my eyes and I'm sure the origin is emotional in nature - but despite years of emotional work and journalling the pain persists. I've been practicing the essene hand reflexology and the eye zone is so very tender!

[ecosophia]

If the pain persists despite plenty of emotional work and journaling, why do you think that it's emotional in nature? That suggests to me that something else is probably involved.