Magic Monday
Apr. 23rd, 2023 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
It's getting toward 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. At this point I've finally gone as far back into my Rosicrucian lineage as I can without repeating earlier images -- the other great source of Dion Fortune's lineage, of course, is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and its founders and major figures have already been honored here. So it's time to leap back to square one and start talking about the other end of my Druid lineage -- the one that goes through the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids (OBOD). That was the first Druid order I joined, and the source of much of my early Druid training -- and it exists at all because of Philip Carr-Gomm, this week's honoree.
Philip was a young man on the fringes of the London occult scene when he began studying with Ross Nichols, whom we'll discuss in an upcoming post. (That's Philip with the colossal hair in the photo on the right, being initiated into OBOD on top of Glastonbury Tor.) Years later, after Nichols' death, he made the same mistake I did, asked the surviving older members about reviving the order, and ended up being talked into becoming its Chosen Chief. He proceeded to launch an international correspondence course, write a series of first-rate books on Druidry, and in the process turned OBOD into the world's largest Druid order. He retired from the office of Chosen Chief in 2020, and has been writing books on other topics since then. Did I imitate him when I became Grand Archdruid of AODA? Whenever I thought I could get away with it, you bet, and it inevitably worked. Buy Me A Coffee
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***This Magic Monday is now closed. See you next week!***
Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 03:46 am (UTC)A happy belated Earth Day to everyone!
To Share: I'm trying to work out a seeming parallel between the tales of Woden giving his eye for a drink of the Well of Memory, sacrificing himself to himself to gain the Runes, and getting the Mead of Poetry, and I wrote this post to see if I could get anywhere with it: https://jpowellrussell.com/#woden_s_three_deals
To Ask: I asked last week, but it was rather late in the day, so I'll try again here with a bit more time to breath, for JMG and/or any of the commentariat. On his way to win the Mead of Poetry, Odin runs into nine thralls (slaves) mowing grass for hay with scythes. He takes out a whetstone and sharpens the scythes. All of the thralls want the whetstone and offer to buy it, but instead he throws it in the air, they all clamor after it, and in the ruckus, slit each other's throats. Having created a job opening, Odin goes on to do the work of nine men all summer long for the ettin Baugi, in exchange for his help trying to get a drink of the Mead of Poetry, which is held by Baugi's brother, Suttung. I've meditated on this part of the tale before, but it seems like there might be some allusion (astronomical?) or symbolic implication I'm not getting, so if anyone has any thoughts on where I might look for insight, or ways of thinking about the story, I'd very much appreciate it.
As always, thanks very much to JMG and everyone else here for all that you do.
To any who will have them, I put forth my blessings and best wishes,
Jeff
Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 03:53 am (UTC)Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 04:02 am (UTC)Peter Kruger links Baugi (literally "Ring Shaped") with the "Circlet" in the western fish of Pisces, and now that I look at one of his provided star maps, it looks like that Circlet might be made up of nine visible stars: http://www.germanicmythology.com/ASTRONOMY/SuttungMeadMyth.html
Now, Saturn being linked with Odin would be a bit of a poser, even if that association is right, but certainly some good food for meditation.
Thank you!
Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 04:37 pm (UTC)Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-25 12:21 am (UTC)Thank you, and as you say, much to meditate on!
Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-25 01:31 am (UTC)Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 03:46 pm (UTC)Your article about the whetstone brought an interesting image to mind. Meteors falling to earth would have been a startling sight. If they were iron meteors that would have been a bonanza to smiths seeking iron to work with. Ancient Egyptians used meteoric iron, calling it the 'metal of Heaven'. Norse smith were no doubt aware of the otherworldly origin of this iron and had their own myths, some of it tying into the whetstone stories. Just a thought.
JLfromNH/Aquamarine Addlepated Mongoose
Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 11:22 pm (UTC)Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-24 05:53 pm (UTC)On this last note, if you view each of his transactions as profitable, it is instructive on relative values. True and abiding wisdom is worth more than enduring physical harm and the loss of physical sight (or at least the loss of depth perception.) The Runes, the communication and magic they are capable of, are worth suffering and death - literally, a piece of writing can outlive many writers, so a single life traded for the power of runes is a bargain.
Thinking of the final exchange upon which you ruminate, Odin offers the thralls technology that will ease their labor and increase their comfort - which is then shown to be a fool's bargain that leads to death by that very technology. (Perhaps an unpleasant indicator of our current predicament.) Then Odin himself takes on nine men's labor for a summer, and not only the labor but their subservience to a Giant master, all for the sake of poetry - which is presented as a profitable exchange! So labor should not be avoided, and technology/ease should be looked upon with suspicion and caution. Even subservience to one's enemy should not be disdained. More complexity is introduced with Gunnlodh, her longing and hope are the final key to poetry. After long arduous labor, the aspiring poet meets an eager audience and sates their desires, thereby gaining mastery of poetry. So, poetic inspiration can be found within any labor or situation, perhaps it is even the direct result of such adversity.
Linking all three, perceptive wisdom poetically inscribed is worth loss, death, or -even more intimidatingly- it is worth suffering a harsh life for.
Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-25 12:25 am (UTC)Re: Woden's Three Deals and Question on Nine Thrall Mowers
Date: 2023-04-25 01:28 am (UTC)Now I must thank you! I hadn't put all this together until you asked about it last week, your posts were the impetus for my reading and this train of thought.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 12:10 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 07:41 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 01:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:18 pm (UTC)The Long Descent
The Wealth of Nature
After Progress
Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush
(no subject)
Date: 2023-05-07 09:00 pm (UTC)A great gift for my birthday!
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:17 am (UTC)I have seen Phillip's Tea with a Druid from time to time, couldn't help but notice how calm and composed he is. Felt kind of envious! When I started doing practices I was hoping to go and find all the secrets of the universe; after meditating for a while and noticing just how much of a mess things are in my head I quickly forgot about that... if I get things in order and get some of that calmness and composure I will call it a win, and maybe a little insight about a thing or two about the universe would be great ^_^
A small question today. I have heard of many philosophers either getting depressed or crazy about too much philosophizing. Do you have advice about how to ponder such things without everything else becoming "meaningless" or going crazy about such or such idea on the other? You personally have studied and written about what I would consider strong and depressing things such as the decline of our civilization and intense spirituality such as magic and occultism but all in all in your podcasts you seem joyful and composed.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:31 am (UTC)Thank you. So it is not so much about keeping something in mind while thinking too much but focusing completely on other aspects. That makes a lot of sense, for the same reason that exercising too much, even if with the right gear and technique will probably invite an injury.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 11:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 07:47 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 11:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:21 am (UTC)Readers may find this interesting.
—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:34 am (UTC)Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 05:22 am (UTC)Among them, I had one in which I was playing a form of Solitaire with an ordinary deck of cards. The cards were giving me insights into the root problems of people who needed blessing and healing. Once each problem was divined in a three-card group, I would bundle them together with an elastic and the person's name on a paper on top, and then put the card deck outside where the Sun would 'clear' their medical and spiritual problems.
Within the dream, I was doing all this at night in my sleep, and didn't remember anything about it until I could not find any decks of cards IN the house, and found several bundles of weathered and faded cards OUTside of the house.
After awakening, I found a couple of references to using Tarot cards in healing work, like this one:
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53141180
Are you or any my esteemed co-readers aware of approaches to healing that involve tarot or other cards? I'd be grateful for any leads for continued study and very interested in hearing about the process of it from anyone who has done this, and the results.
Thanks, JMG, for providing a place to learn about these things!
--Tangerine Insipid Marmot
Re: Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 05:35 am (UTC)Re: Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 11:00 am (UTC)Re: Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 12:25 pm (UTC)That's some really interesting dreams you have going on. I had some doozies myself, though quite different, after the apprentice attunement.
To answer your question you might be interested in picking up a copy of Josephine McCarthy's book "Magical Healing: A Health Survival Guide for Occultists, Pagans, Healers and Tarot Readers" It has two chapters on using the "Tarot as a healing Tool." She gives several spreads for reading a persons health and examples on interpreting the readings. In the appendix she gives keywords for tarot that relate to health. For example, for the Page of Swords she has "nerve issues, usually localised" and for the Ten of Pentacles "overgrowth of something, coagulation". Five of Wands is fever or inflammation, and Five of Cups is a fluid imbalance, etc. Her system may be of use to you, and could certainly be expanded on.
She has made the book available as a free download here:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/539af6bee4b0cef061847e36/t/5ee8c501f2f4ab793cf20c2b/1592313097307/Health%2BBook.pdf
...but a hard copy can also be purchased.
The book also has some really interesting information on the use of homeopathic remedies and herbs in a magical way, and how they can be used to keep magicians in balance over the course of their work. She tackles a number of other topics of interest to the occultist, magician, and healer as well.
Justin Patrick Moore / Heliotrope Malodorous Stoat
Re: Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 03:25 pm (UTC)Two books and a web posting are a good start-- I will see what they say and give them a try!
--Tangerine Insipid Marmot
Re: Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 03:42 pm (UTC)Re: Cards and Healing
Date: 2023-04-24 08:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 12:12 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 08:01 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 12:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 11:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:56 am (UTC)I have a couple of historical questions:
1. The earliest reference I cans find to ‘vibrating’ divine names is in the original Golden Dawn volumes. Is this something they invented or does it have earlier antecedents?
2. Does this also apply to the LBRP?
Many thanks
O.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:24 pm (UTC)2) Yep. There's a proto-LBRP in Eliphas Lévi's Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic -- we'll be getting to it in a few months -- and it's pretty clear that it evolved gradually in English and French occult circles, probably beginning in the 18th century.
Dreams...
Date: 2023-04-24 06:06 am (UTC)Last week I had a query about dreams and several persons / posters gracefully provided answers. Many thanks to them! However I could not respond immediately due to time zone differences...
Thank you and Regards.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 06:14 am (UTC)Have there been attempts to associate the seven capital virtues/seven deadly sins with the corresponding planets?
Secondly, in light of the recent drug holiday (without a year context, numerologically adding to a Jovian 6), what planetary associations with various drugs are there in existing literature? Nowadays, all drugs are all lumped into Neptune, but what were the associations beforehand? I suppose opium and its derivatives are Saturnine in nature, and surely the Arabs and Indians knew how to associate cannabis, but what of tobacco from the Americas, among other substances?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:26 pm (UTC)2) Tobacco is an herb of Mars, cannabis is an herb of Saturn, and yes, opium is another Saturnine plant. Those are the only ones I know offhand. Neptune, as I understand it, isn't drugs in general, it's the planet of drug addiction and drug culture.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 08:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 11:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-25 01:19 am (UTC)Graveyard influence
Date: 2023-04-24 06:22 am (UTC)Is there any danger from consuming elderflower cordial made from Elderflowers collected in a graveyard? The Elder tree was growing out of the middle of a broken 1800s tomb.
In your Encyclopedia of Natural Magic I read that Elder is a source of magical protection and that Elder branches were placed near graves to keep the corpse from being inhabited by an evil spirit. But is there a danger of being inhabited by an evil spirit if you drink the cordial, which has gone through a process involving boiling water, lemons and vitamin C?
I ask because since May/June last year my 25yo daughter has been suffering from self hatred, not wanting to be seen by people and has said that she just wants "the old me back" and I don't know what started this off. I'm grasping at straws here.
I have done planetary charity to Mercury (with her permission) but she wouldn't wear a red amulet or consider doing the hoodoo bath. My divination on the question came up The Hierophant, The Devil and The Empress (from a full deck not just the Trumps)
Daisy e
Re: Graveyard influence
Date: 2023-04-24 03:17 pm (UTC)Have you considered the Sun/Apollo (for health) or Jupiter (general abundance, justice)?
Perhaps the Moon is another option.
I wish you luck.
Re: Graveyard influence
Date: 2023-04-24 05:12 pm (UTC)Daisy e
Re: Graveyard influence
Date: 2023-04-24 03:29 pm (UTC)2) Your daughter says she wants the "old me" back, but won't take steps to bring that about? Hmm. I think this is something she needs to deal with, and there may be limits to what you can do until and unless she decides to take action.
Re: Graveyard influence
Date: 2023-04-24 05:17 pm (UTC)2. You are right, thank you for the reality check!
Daisy e
Re: Graveyard influence
Date: 2023-04-25 03:44 am (UTC)Maybe it would be good if she visited the tomb, and tried to think through what kinds of sacrifices traded away, in order for a place to be made for things in the world, would be worth it versus too destructive? I don't know, I tend to err in the direction of soft options.
I'm a little confused about who chose the tree and what significance they invested in the choice. It seems like that may be an important part of why things would have happened this way, if that was why.
I think obsessing spirits find it easier to puppeteer identity fractures in the person, taking shadow identities the person has dissociated off. Fixing the problem might involve working out what is going on there. (Wanting "the old me back" could be interpreted multiple ways, but it does remind me of the discussion in the book "Iron John" about the work that needs to be done to develop a coherent identity in adulthood, as this identity no longer comes easily the way a child's does.)
Qs
Date: 2023-04-24 06:48 am (UTC)Wanted to ask you a few things today.
- On re-birth:
1) How did you become sufficiently confident that what you were seeing as past lives was real and unlikely the types of delusions that the astral light reflects back at you? (esp since we now know that past life regression therapies are often/mostly fake).
I often wonder this since even Steiner ultimately bought into everything he was seeing and that makes the thing harder for all of us.
2) Since you have access to these memories, have you found character to roughly be similar across lifetimes, or can you be vastly different in each life? I'm wondering from the perspective of the propensity to do good and evil, and how natural that is to each lifetime.
If in a current lifetime you are living well and positively, but have a lot of negative karma coming your way, I wonder how much of that is recent vs lifetimes ago when one's character was less developed/more prone to negative or evil acts.
3) Thus how much of developed character and spirituality becomes the starting point of the next lifetime, and how much do you have to start from scratch each time?
Re: Qs
Date: 2023-04-24 03:39 pm (UTC)2) There's a very definite continuity of character, but as I think back it's not hard to see myself change and grow, resolve one set of problems and blunder into another, try various things to get past some internal barrier, and so on. It's rather like looking back on one life, but of course there's much more complexity.
3) In my experience you pick up at the start of each life where you left off at the end of the life before. I had a lot of unfinished business at the end of my last life, for example, and it made the childhood of this one kind of a mess.
Re: Qs
Date: 2023-04-24 05:00 pm (UTC)Have you read that Schopenhauer speculative essay where he talks about how past life memories could be some type of bleeding into the representations of others? (I may be garbling this).
Re: Qs
Date: 2023-04-24 06:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 09:44 am (UTC)Reading the posts here I wonder what abbreviations like SOP and LBRP mean. With the kind help of Jeff Russell and Dékete moi sónt at the Golden Section forum I compiled a list of abbreviations. Since it's not limited to the Golden Section, they suggested to host it at Dreamwidth. It's here:
List of Ecosophia abbreviations
Just added the OBOD abbreviation mentioned in the introduction to this post. I hope the list may be helpful to others as well. Suggestions or corrections are welcome!
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:40 pm (UTC)the astral plane
Date: 2023-04-24 11:03 am (UTC)Re: the astral plane
Date: 2023-04-24 03:41 pm (UTC)Paul Kingsnorth Essay
Date: 2023-04-24 11:03 am (UTC)I know you and Paul Kingsnorth have had your differences, but you seem to be pretty good at putting past issues aside and addressing the matter at hand. Have you read https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/p/the-universal ? Do you think he is presenting the subject (if I've got this right) of the Internet attracting dark forces correctly?
Thank you,
Moser
Re: Paul Kingsnorth Essay
Date: 2023-04-24 03:42 pm (UTC)Re: Paul Kingsnorth Essay
Date: 2023-04-24 03:47 pm (UTC)As divine sparks we "move down" from seventh plane (logos) to our material plane. The planetary spirit of the Earth (and IIRC the elementals, though I'm not remembering if I read that or came up with the theory in meditation) seemed to have her genesis on our material plane.
I didn't flesh it out enough, but I saw a symmetry when thinking about the planetary spirit in relation to us. Perhaps in the same way we're moving down through the planes, she's starting in the material and moving her way up. AI definitely seems to fit in with this pattern.
All of this is worth some more meditating though!
Re: Paul Kingsnorth Essay
Date: 2023-04-25 01:29 am (UTC)https://readoldthings.dreamwidth.org/67654.html
Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Date: 2023-04-24 11:14 am (UTC)I need to make some changes in my life and I have identified that deep feelings of powerlessness and helplessness are an obstacle that is getting in my way in several different challenges I am facing. Please can you advise on what I might do from a basic occultism or natural magic perspective? Directions for specific meditation topics, prayers, journalling, herbs or other natural substances, affirmations, or whatever you recommend would all be welcome. Or whether you think this is not something to address in this way, if that's what you think.
I have realised I have a lot to sort out in my life and I know need to get to the root of some of these problems. I haven't yet seen what I need to do to address this deep difficulty and I got an intuition from my prayer time that it might be good to ask for help from you here on Magic Monday. I know I can receive divine help if I can open myself up to it, and I know I also have to put in effort myself to make real change and let that divine help in and allow it to change me. I'm struggling to understand what might best help me with what to focus on in the way of addressing and changing this sense of powerlessness and helplessness.
Positive energy would also be gratefully received. Also if others here who are kindly intended would like to send energy or add your prayers to my own that would be welcome too, I know I welcome the opportunity to pray for blessings for others posting here when people ask for that (and I love Tunesmyth's weekly prayer list).
Where I'm with magic/mysticism/occultism: I have been practicing SoP daily for almost exactly one year, and was using a banishing ritual of the cross daily for about six months before that. I finished part 1A and part 1B of the Society of the Inner Light correspondence courses last year so I have done a bit of basic discursive meditation, but I've not felt able to pursue their courses further. I have recently begun using a few herbal teas for incorporating blessing into my house cleaning as recommended by Violet on her dreamwidth blog. I have a devotional relationship with the deity I call Saviour, the Holy One. I have been attending a traditional Church of England worship service for two months in the parish where I live here in middle England.
Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Re: Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Date: 2023-04-24 03:47 pm (UTC)Re: Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Date: 2023-04-24 06:15 pm (UTC)Also massive thanks if people here have been sending blessings, may you be also be blessed.
Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Re: Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Date: 2023-04-24 07:21 pm (UTC)Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Re: Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Date: 2023-04-24 07:41 pm (UTC)Re: Vermilion Funicular Lorax
Date: 2023-04-25 06:13 am (UTC)I wasn't sure whether to take this as a sideways request to have a place on the prayer list. As you are aware of the Ecosophia Prayer List but haven't directly lodged a request there, I'll leave it be for now. But as you settle on a plan of action, do feel free to request a prayer from the prayer list that you feel will help you make the change you desire.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 11:34 am (UTC)The quote is
"The Hebrew verb "to know" is the verb that Moses uses to render carnal knowledge of man with woman.
Knowledge is a wedding, a union of the known and the knower.
Knowledge is love."
The author (in other areas) discusses alchemy, so the wedding in the quote could easily be an alchemical wedding.
But, I am not Christian or Jewish, so I could be very off-base with my interpretation. (And I have not meditated on Daath nearly enough to even begin to unpack the deeper layers.)
Regardless, it seemed like something I was supposed to share.
response
Date: 2023-04-24 05:13 pm (UTC)Funny that this quote inverts my basic instinct (to know) on its head, completely different from what the Christian interlocutor who proselytised love as the supreme force had in my mind I think.
to know
Date: 2023-04-24 05:23 pm (UTC)The verb the quote references as 'to know' is yod-dalet-ayin (that's the root of it; Hebrew works with three letter roots of basic meaning, and conjugates them in all kinds of ways to creatively diversify and inflect the meaning.)
Yod-dalet-ayin has quite a broad sweep of translations. It generally means 'to know', and our English sense of the meaning of the verb to know has been influenced by the King James translation of the bible, which did accurately capture that in certain contexts, yod-dalet-ayin can indicate carnal relations. It can also indicate Divine knowledge. And it's used in treaties. And a whole lot of other places!
But the Bible generally separates love and sexual relations. The word for love would be aleph-hey-waw. And it doesn't mean "to know", but rather is related to the root word for gift.
Just something to think about. I suspect a better original text to analyze for linguistic clues on Christianity and love would be the Gospels. The earliest manuscripts we have of those are in Koine Greek (although it's unclear if the authors originally wrote them in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic.)
--Ms. Krieger
Questions about the DMH system
Date: 2023-04-24 11:35 am (UTC)1) Out of all the Celtic and Druidry-adjacent deities, I feel most drawn to Cernunnos. Could I substitute Cernunnos for Hu in the elder god role for the Elemental Cross while keeping the book's suggested configuration of Hesus/Ceridwen/Niwalen for the other slots, or would that be inappropriate or unbalanced in some way?
2) The grove opening and closing ritual given in the Druidry Handbook is very similar to the one in the DMH, but also has optional instructions for using an actual sword during the ritual. If I were to go to the effort and expense of getting a sword, could I also use it in the same way for regular grove rituals as part of the DMH training, or is the sword more of a special flourish best left for the holy day celebrations?
Thank you for your time!
Re: Questions about the DMH system
Date: 2023-04-24 03:50 pm (UTC)2) You can use a sword in the DMH grove rituals -- I did -- but not everyone has access to that kind of hardware, which is why I made other arrangements. So the choice is yours.
Re: Questions about the DMH system
Date: 2023-04-24 08:00 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
Re: Questions about the DMH system
Date: 2023-04-24 11:52 pm (UTC)Re: Questions about the DMH system
Date: 2023-04-25 02:08 am (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 12:12 pm (UTC)In the course of our discussion I had to call a halt as I was feeling more and more angry about this subject and it dawned on me that my reaction was somewhat over the top and indicated something that I was feeling deeply, but didn't know what it was.
I decided to meditate about this and started out thinking about the male and female energies as polarities on a continuum and that people just placed them selves on it as they felt them selves to be. Sometimes you can get a very strong impression that some one is the opposite gender from what their physical body presents and sometimes the impression so seamlessly matches the physical body you see that you don't notice. The word "gaydar" came to mind. I didn't think this was a problem for me, but while I was thinking of this the words "uncanny valley" popped into my head and I did a mental double take and wondered if that is what is what is really bothering me. Another thought I had was that there may be another component of someone expressing the opposite gender in their body that is sincere and one that isn't and perhaps that is the source of my "uncanny valley" feeling. More meditation is forthcoming.
If it is, I will have to come to terms with it, but I would like to ask if I might be accurate in my impression of these male and female energies and how they fit into bodies. And also if anyone else has encountered feelings of "uncanny valley".
If I have offended anyone with the above, I have meant no offense. I am trying to deal with this for the sake of my friendship with my asexual friend with whom I was having this discussion. This friend has always presented as female to me and I accept that asexual is what she feels, but maybe she is just being generous by accepting my use of "she" and I am being curmudgeonly when I tell her it feels just as respectful to use someone's name as some pronoun that doesn't seem to match to me.
Thanks for your consideration.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:29 pm (UTC)Also, "uncanny valley" is exactly my reaction to a trans person, so I think you're on to something.
--Aquamarine Coruscating Toad
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:05 pm (UTC)First, one of the things that's odd about the current fixation on pronouns is that you don't use them when talking to the person in question -- only about the person in question. In English our second person pronoun, "you," is genderless; only in the third person do we get into "he," "she," "it," et al. So it's not about being polite to the person, it's about the person trying to control how other people talk about him/her/whatever.
Second, you're quite correct that there's something to male and female that isn't limited to the material body. In occult philosophy it's taught that human beings have multiple bodies, each on its own plane of being; these bodies each have their own gender; and they aren't all the same gender as the material body. In most (though not all) cases, they alternate -- thus a person with a male material body will usually have a female etheric (life energy) body, a male astral (emotional) body, and a female mental sheath, and a person with a female material body will usually have a male etheric body, a female astral body, and a male etheric sheath. (The soul, the center of consciousness that inhabits these bodies, has no gender.)
Third, the "uncanny valley" is a real thing. You get some people whose subtle bodies aren't arranged as described above, and they feel different. That's one of the factors behind "gaydar" and the like; a great many gay men, for example, have female instead of male astral bodies, and if you're at all sensitive, you can perceive that as a difference in feeling.
As for your friend, well, since I have Aspergers syndrome I'm not the right person to ask for advice on how to deal with people!
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-25 12:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-25 12:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-25 12:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 12:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:07 pm (UTC)Initiation Complete
Date: 2023-04-24 12:48 pm (UTC)I completed the initiation ceremony in LRM last week. I found it incredibly moving and instantly realized that I made the whole journey way harder than it needed to be. I went through the book 3 times from the beginning constantly berating myself for not doing it perfectly. It was only on the last time through that I said to myself that 'perfection is the enemy here, done is good' and finished the book.
Keeping the magical journal was essential to completing the work. Reading back through it I feel like I'm reading the words of a completely different person. Looking forward to working through COP and POW.
Alabaster Ponderous Mandrake
Re: Initiation Complete
Date: 2023-04-24 04:09 pm (UTC)Picking up where I left off
Date: 2023-04-24 12:54 pm (UTC)I've recently gone through a breakup of an 8 year long relationship, and during the worst of it ended up completely dropping my occult practices (so far mostly SOP and meditation, not daily divination but enough to round out the big three, and starting some of the meditative work in the Way of the Golden section.) Being past the worst of it I'm jumping back in. So far it's been great: I still need to rebuild habits, but am using the lull to reorient some of my practices closer to the WGS.
I had two weird experiences while meditating however. The best way to describe them is "unintentionally scrying." With both of them there wasn't a portal (the method you describe in WGS.) It'll start out as a normal meditation, some imagery will come up as a result, but then the imagery becomes more vivid and seems to take on a life of its own. Both times it led to some pretty profound insights (both during the actual experience, and using the method you outlined of meditating on what you've experienced in your scry.) Is there anything else I should be keeping an eye out for if this happens? I want to build up my habits a bit more before getting more serious about a scrying practice, but if it just happens like this it feels ok to gather what I can!
Second question is about a particular symbol. Bare, dark trees were in the imagery in the second scry. When taking a walk one day a particular tree "called out" to me and I immediately made the association. I had a chance to meditate under it and ended up continuing this little meditative adventure I'm on.
It turned out to be an American Elm tree. In the past I've seen you comment on the different "personalities" of various tree species. Is there anything special I should know about Elms?
Re: Picking up where I left off
Date: 2023-04-24 04:13 pm (UTC)2) I haven't had much chance to interact with American elms yet, and of course the older material I work with is mostly European and doesn't discuss American trees. Treat it as you would any other older and wiser friend, and see what you can learn.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 02:29 pm (UTC)Now, I am aware that this is a product of mathematics. But it also strikes me as significant, and yes, it has become a regular theme for meditation.
But none the less, can you give me an idea of what it means to have the same figure in the right and left witness resolving to pobl? Does it mean something like the repeated figure is emphasized but it resides in the public sphere of the querent rather than in the personal? Or does it mean something like the madness of crowds but with the tone of the madness revealed by the repeated figure?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 02:36 pm (UTC)I wonder if you came across this post on Substack:
https://luctalks.substack.com/p/the-coming-age-of-weird
It's not long but I will summarize briefly. The idea is that empires are all about control and that this includes the paranormal. That enchantment never really leaves it just gets excluded and attempted to be controlled by the prevailing powers.
But like sand, the more the grip the more slips through the fingers. And that the flurry of chaos at all levels of our society, aberrant behavior, bizarre displays, illogic and flights from reason are all symptoms of this "leakage."
Thoughts?
AV
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:11 pm (UTC)Nature seems to be about a month to 2 weeks behind schedule. Those annoying carpenter bees which should've been hovering and buzzing and drilling back in March - have just barely begun to show up now. Maybe the really cold winter punched them in their little bee faces? Good.
The grass has been slow to grow too (not that I'm complaining) and I'd estimate in general the grass is about 2 weeks behind where it normally is.
The kudzu should've been vining and twisting and being its usual nuisance by now, but it is just beginning to sprout. And it's almost May. I think the really cold winter may be responsible? Not sure. Estimate it's a month behind where it usually is.
The privet hedges and crepe myrtles seem to be convinced frost is behind us as they're fully leafed out and back in action. They are some of the few things that seem to be on schedule.
The weather in general has been colder than normal - by now I should be thinking about shorts and t-shirts but I'm still shivering in long pants and hoodies. And it's almost May.
The weeds that make those "round spiky purple flowers" seem to be on target to bloom in June, the way they always have done. When those start blooming, I mark that as the end of spring and the start of summer.
That concludes this Nature Report.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 07:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 09:58 pm (UTC)I leave them alone if they're on land that's not my responsibility (otherwise it's weedwhack them if they're young, mow them if they're not, blast them with glyphosate if they're in the ditch), and they can grow to 6 feet or so before they put out those spiky blooms. I've seen them do this enough times coincident with the beginning of summer, that I use them as a marker for it.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-25 12:34 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 03:13 pm (UTC)Hope you're well!
1. I was recently reading some Buddhist texts and was meditating on the tradition's insistence
A)that desire in and of itself causes suffering and
B) when a practioner reaches buddhahood, they no longer desire or suffer.
Q- In the western tradition, when a being no longer reincarnates to the physical realm, ie attaining a mental body, do they still have desires and/or suffer? (My initial thought was that desires have been transformed towards a positive, spiritual direction but not eliminated).
2. Have you ever utilized the Ars Notoria system for rapid learning? If so, what was your experience?
3. How difficult is it to maintain a positive egregore in a religious or spiritual organization? Is it simply a matter of maintaining right practices? I can't help but see how many groups in the modern day, both mainstream and fringe organizations, appear to have gone septic in the last few decades.
4. Is there any rare occult book(s) that you've been on the lookout for but have been unable to find/source? Always happy to be an extra pair of eyes for you.
Tamanous
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 04:57 pm (UTC)2) No, until recently I didn't have access to a set of complete notae, and since those finally became available I've been up to my eyeballs in other occult projects!
3) It's simple -- but simple is not the same thing as easy. All you have to do is maintain and enforce a strict code of ethics, and discipline or expel those who violate it. That's more than a lot of groups are willing to do these days!
4) Funny you should ask. Yes, I'm trying to track down a set of pamphlets written by Dr. Edmund Berridge under the pen name "Respiro," which introduced the teachings of Thomas Lake Harris to the occult community. I'm pretty sure that they're ancestral to the system of polarity magic practiced by Dion Fortuhe. The titles are:
Internal Respiration
The Divine Incarnation
The Adept of the Logos
The Evolution of the Cosmos
Harmonic Life on Unfallen Worlds
The Inspired Word
The Secret of Satan
Reincarnation
Counterparts
They were advertised for sale in occult magazines in 1918. Any help tracking them down would be very welcome!
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:18 pm (UTC)And this might be a stupid question, but how do we know if they are, or are not, right with what they say about desire?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 06:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 05:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 06:06 pm (UTC)Here's two book links for Respiro that might be what you're looking for:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=16157248442&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-tile2&searchurl=ds%3D10%26sortby%3D17%26tn%3DBrotherhood%2BNew%2BLife
And
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1331335319&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-tile9&searchurl=ds%3D10%26sortby%3D1%26tn%3DBrotherhood%2BNew%2BLife
Additionally,the Israeli Library Institute, looks like it may have some scanned copies of additional pamphlet volumes (though I don't know if it'd be in English or Hebrew) or how their lending might work.
https://www.nli.org.il/en/books/NNL_ALEPH990034590950205171/NLI
(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-24 06:22 pm (UTC)