Magic Monday

[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.

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

Comments

Good Morning

[wayofthings]

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

I would like to ask you for some guidance on distinguishing between my own thoughts and external entities during communication with beings such as elementals. How can I tell whether the thought forms or images I perceive are created by me or stem from a being that exists independently from myself? Say, for example, I am in the forest and would like to commune with the elemental of a specific plant. Would performing the LBRP be helpful in this regard?

Furthermore, in the context of meditating on past incarnations, how can I determine if the images I experience are genuine reflections of my past lives or merely fabrications of my untrained mind?

Essentially, I am seeking to understand the intersection between subjective and objective reality within the realm of imagination. How can I discern the difference, if any, between these two aspects?

Re: Good Morning

[ecosophia]

That's not an easy thing! Every thought you experience and every image you perceive, whether you think of the thought or image as "yours" or not, is a fusion of material from within your consciousness and material from outside it. This is even true of the ordinary senses -- look at one of those optical illusions that you can see in two different ways, and get it to flip back and forth, and you can get a glimpse of how your consciousness constructs the worl you experience.

That being the case, it takes much practice to learn how to tease apart the internal and external sides of experience. Daily meditation helps a great deal, because that teaches you to recognize the "flavor" of your own consciousness, and thus helps you recognize what isn't from within you.

public transport succubi

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Mr. Greer,

I have a strange story and would appreciate your input on this case.

For work reasons, I travel regularly on long distance trains in Europe.

On one occasion I was already seated, minding my own business, when a woman entered my field of vision and stared into my eyes for an uncomfortably long time - but it was probably only a few milliseconds longer than a normal look, her eyes were a very light brown, and I felt like I was in a zoo looking into the cage of a predator. She wore a gold bee (maybe wasp?) pendant on a chain around her neck, it was made in an archaic style, it looked like something that might have been made in ancient Greece or the ancient Middle East. At that moment, the pendant struck me as very important - I don't usually give much thought to women's jewelry.

After she sat down across from me, I returned my attention to my book, but within a minute or so my heart began to race, I felt somewhat sexually aroused, but did not have an erection. I tried to concentrate on my book and managed to slow my heartbeat and settle down into a somewhat uncomfortable confusion.

At that moment, another woman sitting next to me moved to get something from her bag and brushed against my arm. I had the same feeling that one has in a dream a second before a nocturnal emission, like "oh no, it's coming", at that moment I really ejaculated. With a jump I grabbed my bag and ran from my seat to the bathroom to clean up and put on another pair of pants. I hid in a seat in a corner at the other end of the train.

This experience deeply unsettled me. I spent days banishing several times a day, using every method I could get my hands on to get rid of any malicious magic around me. To me, it was almost certain that the bee woman had something to do with it, perhaps because of a spell or maybe because she was some sort of entity herself.

That was about a year ago, and I haven't had any more accidents like that in the meantime, although I was very, very afraid of it happening again for a time. Perhaps I should add that I am a married man with a regular sex life, have no mental illnesses, and my body is healthy as far as I know.

Now my question: do you have any idea what happened? Are there people who have such a succubus-like effect on their surroundings? Does it have something to do with bee symbolism?

Thank you

Re: public transport succubi

[ecosophia]

I don't know about a bee symbol -- it probably belongs to the specific magical order the woman belongs to -- but yes, this sort of thing is very real. The woman was probably gathering sexual energy for a magical working, and decided yours was available. If you've read Dion Fortune's novel Moon Magic you may recognize some of the details of the method.

[isaac_hill]

Hello JMG, hope you're well. So I've started studying Vedic astrology with Freedom Cole (and I highly recommend his course to anybody who is interested, but fyi it is a big commitment in terms of time, and it's not necessarily cheap.) I'm learning quite a lot and seeing the Western astrology I have studied in new lights. One question that comes up for me though, is in regards to the "age of Aquarius". When looking at the different Sidereal zodiacs, it seems fairly certain that though they don't all agree on the exact positions of the constellations, they all agree that it will be at least several hundred years before the constellation Aquarius rises at the Spring Equinox. Why then, did 19th-early 20th century occultists think that it started in the 1800s? The whole point is the precession of the equinox, right?

[ecosophia]

The sky doesn't have fixed boundaries marked on it, and it's only in sidereal astrology that the constellation itself is of importance. In tropical astrology, the kind practiced in the Muslim world and the West, the constellations are more or less arbitrary markers for 30° sectors of the ecliptic, and so the exact boundaries that have to be passed between one age and another are far from clear. The teaching that the Age of Aquarius began sometime in the very late 19th or early 20th century was based on a range of calculations, including those Trithemius introduced in his essay on magical history, De Septem Secundeis (On the Seven Secondary Rulers).

Judson's exercise

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,
My practice is starting modestly with the Judson's exercise and the MOE healing breath meditation that starts with the Sphere of Protection. My question is do you recommend an order to these 2 practices? and also, do you recommend separating them in time? I believe I saw you recommend to another poster not to do the MOE SOP right after Judson's.

Thank you
Tamar

Re: Judson's exercise

[ecosophia]

It's mostly that nobody yet knows how the two practices will mix! I don't think it matters too much which order, but putting some space between them might be wise until the data is in. For example, you could do the MOE SoP, followed by the healing breath meditation, and then start learning how to charge your palms, and then do the Judson exercise to close.

Reincarnation

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,
I have read a great deal about the Second World War and the Napoleonic Wars. I have come to the conclusion that they were essentially the same war twice and that Napoleon and Hitler seem to have been possessed by the same spirit. It is very interesting how all the players would switch roles but still be in the same war with the same, ghastly, retreat from Moscow.

I have looked more briefly at the English Civil War and the American Civil War and that seems very much the same war twice.

What do you think is going on here? Are the wars reincarnating and dragging new people into them or is it that the players have all reincarnated again and are ready for round two?
Maxine

Re: Reincarnation

[(Anonymous)]

What are you reading?

I seem to have a much more positive impression of Napoleon.

UGC and MOE

[iprescott]

Hi JMG,

Do we need to take all of the Orders in the UGC that are referenced in the FHR to be able to take the Master Healer attunement in the MOE?

I have fallen a bit behind in my studies and practice due to the split between my wife and I, with trying to get settled and balanced. A couple of weeks ago, you suggested a letter and wedding ring, and dropping it in a river for release. That worked wonders. Thank you so much.

Best Regards,

Ian

Re: UGC and MOE

[ecosophia]

Good heavens, no. All you have to do to become a Master Healer is to study and practice the MOE material, and complete the Gnostic Lessons given in the FHR. A glance at the other orders won't hurt, but it's not required.

I may do a revised set of the Gnostic Lessons to go along with the MOE papers, just to clarify that.

I'm glad the spell worked well! TSW, as the saying is.

Comment

[(Anonymous)]

After my Rome trip this year, I have been reading a bit of Roman history and it continually strikes me how common death was back then. The sheer child death rate is horrifying, and the constant acts of fate where someone with a role to play suddenly dies of a sudden disease or infection must have felt cruel. And yet romans were very comfortable with killing.

Roman history is large so different shades at different times but virtue and stoicism seem more understandable in such a culture. The fact that later on they faced replacement rate issues with fertility and morality mirrors our own time.

I hope for the safe of future generations that if indeed civilisation is headed for a decline in complexity and standards of living/wealth, I hope we're able to keep some of our medical victories in whatever is coming.

Re: Comment

[ecosophia]

That's true in every premodern society. More generally, when death is common, very few people take life too seriously.

New Homeopathy

[(Anonymous)]

Have you come across something called new homeopathy as taught by Erich Koerbler and espoused by Maria Sagi? https://www.mariasagidr.com/books

New homeopathy seems to approach the topic literally in the sense described by Bill Pulliam (#16) in this post on the Well of Galabes: https://www.ecosophia.net/blogs-and-essays/the-well-of-galabes/two-impossible-realities-a-second-interlude/

Re: New Homeopathy

[ecosophia]

No, I haven't encountered it yet. I'll take a look when time permits.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm working with classic golden dawn material, and am planning to add the Rose Cross to my daily routine. I already have the LBRP and Middle Pillar, and am trying to work out the best spot for the Rose Cross. Could I add it between the LBRP and Middle Pillar, and use the divine light called down during the Rose Cross to formulate the descending energies of the Middle Pillar?

Are there any concerns with doing this?

[ecosophia]

That's a very good practice -- and in fact standard in some GD-descended traditions -- but it can be pretty intense. Have you been doing the R+C ritual weekly, or at some similar interval? That's the first stage to integrating it into practice; once that's easy and comfortable, yes, using it to turbocharge the Middle Pillar is a smart move.

Ecosophia Prayer List, Week of April 25

[tunesmyth]

Here are all of the requests for prayer that have recently appeared at ecosophia.net and ecosophia.dreamwidth.org, as well as in the comments of the prayer list posts. Please feel free to add any or all of the requests to your own prayers.

If I missed anybody, or if you would like to add a prayer request for yourself or anyone who has given you consent (or for whom a relevant person holds power of consent) to the list, please feel free to leave a comment below.

* * *
This week I would like to bring special attention to a few prayer requests.

Nichole Cardillo has a cancerous tumor in her duodenum (in her small intestine) and she's going into surgery on May 1st to try to remove it; for a successful surgery that completely removes the cancer, and for blessings, protection, and a full return to health.

Patricia Mathew's friend Al (Alison Kulp) is in the hospital with a nasty life-threatening MRSA infection; please play for her to be blessed, protected, and completely healed as soon as is possible. (Update here.)

Luke Dodson's friend B, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and is still in serious condition though she's already had surgery; for blessing, protection, healing, and a full return to health.

Lp9's request on behalf of their hometown, East Palestine Ohio, for the safety and welfare of their people and all living beings in the area. The details coming out are still caught in the fog of war (Lp9 gives a short update here, and says "things are a bit... murky"), and various claims of catastrophe and non-catastrophe are flying about, but the reasonable possibility seems to exist that this is an environmental disaster on par with the worst America has ever seen. At any rate, it is clearly having a devastating impact on the local area, and prayers are certainly warranted.

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

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List, Week of April 25

[ecosophia]

Thanks as always for this.

SoP & Planetary Deities

[solarfed]

Good Day JMG,

I stopped doing the SoP last November and am planning to start doing it again here pretty soon.

I am currently doing daily planetary devotional rituals to The Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, And The Sun.

My question is; do you know of a way I could incorporate those deities into the SoP? I have some ideas, but am not positive on it. I was planning to do a bit of divination to determine; but was guided to ask you here first.

Thank you for your time and consideration and all that you do!

Regards,
Sol

Re: SoP & Planetary Deities

[ecosophia]

There's a specific attribution of the planets to the directions of the SoP, so you can use that:

East: Sun
West: Mercury
South: Mars
North: Venus
Below: Saturn
Above: Jupiter
Within: Moon

GSF questions

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Thank you very much for hosting this space again, and for patiently answering questions! :-)

I‘ve been wondering about some small details in the GSF SOP and initiation ritual:

1. For invoking Earth in the SOP, is there a reason we‘re calling on the great bear in the starry sky, and not, say, on the great bear in its rocky cavern? Or is this just something that you have chosen due to personal preference, or whatnot else?

Calling on a star constellation doesn‘t have a very earthy feel… :D

(And yep, I know, it‘s on my list of „to be meditated about“ ;-) - but I‘m still wondering if there is any background I‘m not aware of…)

2. For Spirit Above and Below, the SOP calls on the telluric and solar current instead of the two dragons (which would be the „logical“ choice as associated „animals“). Is there any particular reason for that?

3. In the initiation ritual, is there a preferred direction to turn - clockwise or counter-clockwise? Or does it not matter in this case?

(And I suppose the same question applies to the opening and closing of the SOP, turning to/from the altar.)

Thank you very much, and (if you will accept my blessings and well-wishes) may you and wife have a wonderful and productive week!

Milkyway

Re: GSF questions

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that's a good one to meditate on, but there's quite a bit of background. First, the experience of the stars within the earth is important in alchemy and some other traditions -- and of course the placement of the bear against the stars is a reference to the northern quarter (where Ursa Major is located) and also a reminder that the Earth is also a planet in space.

2) Yes. The currents, rather than the symbolic dragons, are important in later aspects of the work.

3) Doesn't matter in the least.

4) Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

First, thank you for hosting this space. Every week I look forward to reading everyone's questions and answers. It's a delightful treasure trove of insights to rummage though. :)

Now, I've been working on trying to put together my questions for quite some time, so please forgive me if this comes off as somewhat muddled and rambling. I'm hoping for any insights you could spare on the topics of reincarnation-related injuries and how to accommodate for these in one's magical practice (assuming it's safe to have any kind of practice at all)


The short-form details:
It was revealed to me that the source of some reoccurring emotional pain and unexplainable dips in my energy levels point back to an injury that occurred during the process of reincarnation; Nothing in this universe is infallible, after all. The injury is severe enough that I regularly have dreams and day-visions of hospital stays, regular "medical" procedures, and extended periods of bed rest.
Finding out about this was a tremendous relief for me and goes on to explains a number of otherwise confusing experiences I've wrestled with over the years. As far as healing it and/or tending to it, I was told that best thing to do about this injury is simply leave it alone as it can never fully be healed. Dealing with it's flare-ups and agitations is just going to be part of my life. ("No more lessons can be learned from this.")
Thankfully I know I'm not alone in caring for this particular condition. I've seen and experienced what could be described as a small team of caretakers that help to bolster my affected energetic bodies, for which I am extremely grateful.



The specific questions I have:
1.) Whereabouts might a reincarnation-related injury (or at least it's most acute effects) be found?
Much evidence points to my Astral body being the most affected but I don't want to simply run with my assumptions and potentially neglect other areas that are less obvious.

2.) What kind of limitations does this bring to a person's magical practice?
I've already come to accept that I simply don't have the fortitude required to safely practice many systems of magic...but are ALL of them really off the proverbial table?
2a.) As I mentioned before I know I have a cluster of very kind and helpful beings who I suspect have been fulfilling the requests I occasionally give out to the universe (albeit somewhat begrudgingly. I would much rather accomplish things myself...) But is there a system I could follow that would help me better work with and/or communicate with them?
For example, in The Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose material you describe ways of interacting with various beings by sending out one's astral form, but this is, naturally, rather dodgy for me. Are there other ways?


Thank you kindly,
~R

[ecosophia]

1) It could be in any body, including the material one. It could also be in more than one. If your astral body seems to be the most strongly affected, why, that may be the one that was most strongly affected.

2) Depends very much on the details of the injury, and that's not a field I've studied in detail. You can certainly practice natural magic -- that's safe for everyone -- and you'll want to experiment with what else might work for you.

3) Talk to them. They know what kind of system they'd prefer to work with!

DA Tree of Light

[(Anonymous)]

I have a question on the Tree of Light exercise in the Dolmen Arch Grade 5. Since the seed goes to the solar plexus, the roots would begin growing from that spot. That means, in my imagination, my solar plexus would be at ground level and everything below that would be underground--it makes sense for the cauldron of earth to be below ground level. But that doesn't leave a lot of my body to serve as the trunk of the tree. The illustration on p. 16 shows the roots growing from about mid-calf, leaving most of the body to be the trunk, but keeping the seed at the solar plexus. But a real seed doesn't move from its original spot. I don't have to take the illustration that literally, but I'm still wondering, should I imagine the roots basically coming from my feet, so that's ground level, even though the seed is so much higher?

Thanks very much.

Re: DA Tree of Light

[ecosophia]

Yes, the roots grow down as the shoots rise up, and the whole body from ankles to neck is the trunk. I know that doesn't quite fit the facts of botany, but try to work with it anyway!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

A bit of a dark subject today, apologies in advance. Some recent events in my life have me contemplating the karmic and after-death implications of "mercy-killing". I'm thinking of a wide variety of cases here, from choosing to end the life of an elderly relative instead of keeping them on life-support to putting an animal that was recently hit by a vehicle "out of its misery", so to speak.

My questions are as-follows:

1. Based on what you know about the after-death process, does doing this actually make it easier/less painful for their soul to pass on? In the case of the animal for example, is inflicting a great deal of pain to induce a swift death better than the alternative?

2. My understanding is that taking a life in any form generally has pretty heavy karmic implications. Are cases like this treated any differently?

[ecosophia]

1) Not really. Pain is pain; all at once or extended over a period doesn't make much difference.

2) No. Your intention has some influence, but that's true of any action. If you shoot someone dead to keep them from murdering a child, you've got the karma of killing but also the karma of rescuing the child; if you end the life of an elderly relative and your real motive was that you were tired of dealing with a drawn-out process of dying -- well, you can do the math yourself. If the relative left instructions to be allowed to die, that's a somewhat different matter, since the intention is theirs -- but you still get the karma of allowing it, as well as the karma of loyalty and love.

Astral Projection

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

I'd like to thank you for hosting this space and thoutfully answering questions.

Unfortunately, I suspect I am asking a question about dreamwork, a subject I know you do not deal with much, but since this forum is frequented by other knowledgable and thoughtful individuals, I hope this question will find people with the knowledge and kindness to put my curiousity to rest.

With ths preamble, my question is:

How likely is it that I accidentily learned how to do an astral projection in my sleep?

I had a stresful year during which I came to terms with parting ways with a someone I had romantic feelings for.

At some point I started having intense, vivid dreams with her as a character, and we would sometimes talk, but very little. Then one night, I saw an extreamly detailed picture of her with some people. The next morning I checked my Facebook account, only to find out she has just uploaded a photo almost exactly like what I saw in my dream.

I had then found out that if I concentrate on the intention to see the woman just before sleep, I would often have one of those experiances. But after a couple of times, she told me she no longer feels comfutable with the entire thing, so I stopped trying to have those dreams.

I never tried any dream work, other than journaling on my dreams and the occasional lucid dream. Does this sound like Astral Projection? Is Astral Projection even something that can happen by accident?

Re: Astral Projection

[ecosophia]

Good heavens, yes. When you're asleep, your astral body partly separates from your material and etheric bodies -- that's what dreaming is: your astral senses perceiving your astral surroundings unhindered by your material body. Many people have the experience of taking that further step and projecting the astral body. I don't know a great deal about that, but I've read accounts of astral travels like that, quite a few of them.

Mayan Order Lessons

[brenainn]

Not so much a question as a bit of good news (I think) that I'd like to share here. As I've mentioned before, I've begun the Mayan Order lessons. Thanks, again, for posting the information about the lessons currently available online. But I had a bit of good fortune recently: I found a seller online who had a two volume hardcover set of the Mayan Order lessons (including about 40 or so additional advanced lessons) and additional materials. The books are set to arrive at my doorstep tomorrow. I'm very, very excited about this! I don't believe it was mere coincidence that I found this set for sale. I plan to make scans of the additional lessons and supplemental materials to post online (perhaps on my meager blog here, maybe send in pdf copies to IAPSOP (if they are interested). I'd love to share the blessings that these lessons have already bestowed upon me.

Re: Mayan Order Lessons

[ecosophia]

This is very, very good to hear. The Mayan Order teachings are solid, practical New Thought work, worth preserving and passing on.

For what it's worth, I don't think it's mere coincidence either. You might consider whether down the road a bit, it might be worth taking action to get the Mayan Order teachings more exposure, or even revive the Order in some form.

[boccaderlupo]

Thank you for hosting these QA sessions.

Perhaps this has been covered already, and if so, forgive me: Do you have any particular thoughts about the eucharist as a theurgic ritual? Given the apparent surge in interest in theurgy, might be good to consider this quite common Western ritual.

Axé,
Fra' Lupo

[ecosophia]

Dion Fortune called the Eucharist the most widely practiced ritual of white magic in the Western world, and of course she's quite right. Since I'm not a Christian, I don't practice it or attend it, but I recognize its power and value for those who are part of that faith.

[(Anonymous)]

John--

I'm currently working through The Refiner's Fire. The author's review of hermetic influences within the religious landscape of the New England and mid-Atlantic colonies as a precursor to Mormon theological development is particularly interesting. I got the impression that the landscape of the Southern colonies was markedly different with respect to these influences; if that impression is correct, would you have any idea as to why and any notion of resources which discuss this?

[ecosophia]

I think the author was focusing on New England and mid-Atlantic states because that's where upstate New York, Joseph Smith's home ground, got its influences. The South was just as well supplied with religious dissidents and mages; for example, the Moravian Brethren (back when they were a radical sect) had a presence in North Carolina, which is the Salem in Winston-Salem, and of course vast amounts of British and Irish folk magic found a home all over the South.

Picatrix

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG,

Little bit ouf the usual perview question-wise, but I was wondering if you could give me a little info on the Adocentyn Press edition of the Picatrix that you and Chris Warnock put out in 2010. Scarecely any record of it that I can find online. Was it a print on demand edition?

I run the used books section at a store and had a copy come in along side a few othjer versions of your Picatrix.

Cheers

Re: Picatrix

[ecosophia]

Yes, it's the original edition Chris put out. It's now been replaced with a flurry of other editions, differing only in their presentation, also print-on-demand and also sold by Chris.

[jeremys]

Dear John Michael Greer:

1) For the main objective and goal for putting in the time and work for The Golden Dawn you stated: "The point of Golden Dawn magic as I understand it is the union of the lower self with the higher self, and the attainment by that united self with the Higher and Divine Genius, which is the particular manifestation of Deity to that individual. You can spell that "the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel" if you prefer."

Talk about great topic for meditation!

Could you tell me what it is for the Celtic Golden Dawn? Is it to be deeply in touch with the fundamental elemental and nature powers?

2) SRIA- Plummer had initiation rituals for each of the grades that the colleges used and I asked the Supreme Magus if I could have them to modify them to create my own self-initiation rituals, even if I only get access to each one upon completion of each course, but she said as a general rule they aren't something she hands out. Obviously she has a valid reason, but I don't know what it is. So I was thinking the organization doesn't really exist in the physical world, it is really just a website where you can access the teachings, books and stuff and a place to get certificates. I think you agree? So there may not be anything there to initiate into anymore, anyway. I am under the impression, from the response I got that it isn't a thing with them anymore anyway.

What is your opinion if I took the Plummer teachings as wisdom teachings not currently associated with an actual organization, and I came up with my own self-initiation rituals based on AE Waite's SRIAnglica to do after each of the 4 courses, but instead of initiation into the SRIA I came up with some general Rosicrucian current to initiate into? Like initiate into the Zealotor Grade of the "Rosicrucian Tradition" or something like this, with deep reverence to Frater Khei or under the teachings of Frater Khei or the like? Where the Plummer lessons are just lessons independent of themselves and initiation is initiating into a tradition rather than an organization?

Some of your CGD self-initiation aspects gave me some ideas to add to the AE Waite stuff, like in the 4 corners around the alter, consecrating with incense by raising and lowering it going up and down, side to side making a cross and then poking the middle for the rose, purifying with water by splashing the 4 corners of a cross each symbolizing an element and instead of tracing a pentagram, you make a cross, each end point an element and the middle is the rose, for Spirit or Holy Spirit. Instead of the Rite of the Rays in opening the temple you do the Lord's Prayer ritual according to Roch de Coppens book. I haven't fleshed out anything but these are ideas I was toying with.

Am I off the deep end here? Have I gone nuts? What's your opinion?

Thank you so much for your time!
Jeremy

[ecosophia]

1) The Celtic GD is broader in its focus, because Druidry is much more open-ended. The goal of training in the Celtic GC is to have the necessary magical and alchemical skills to pursue your own spiritual development along whatever path seems appropriate to you.

2) The current SRIA is a little more than that. There are two Colleges (local lodges) currently working, one in Florida and one in North Carolina. I understand the caution of the current leadership, though; let rituals like that out into circulation, and in about two weeks you can be sure that somebody's going to have launched a rival organization. I may talk to the Supreme Magus and see if she'd be willing to have me draft some self-initiation rituals based on Plummer's original rites, which I have.

Whether or not anything comes of that, though, you haven't gone off the deep end at all. Self-initiation is always a valid option in occultism; you always have the option of picking up the contacts yourself, using the teachings and traditions you know of, and seeing what you can do with it. You might not want to stay too close to Waite's rituals, though, because those are still in use: his Fellowship of the Rosy Cross was revived some years back, with the help of members of the original order, and is currently active in Britain, the US, and several other countries. That said, you could probably triangulate between Waite's rituals, Regardie's rituals, and anything else Rosicrucian you can find (there's a lot of stuff available in online archives) to assemble a ritual. Just remember to do it more than once!

Planetary... something

[athaia]

Hello JMG, I’ve been pondering this question for several weeks now...

About five years ago, I had reached a point where I was completely fed up with the mess I had made of my life; especially with the way that my emotional ups and downs were totally outside my control and essentially hurled me around like a dinghy on a stormy sea.
Trying to find a way to get out of this mess, I looked at my natal chart and decided that, since both my natal Moon and my South Node were in Cancer, the way to remedy my sorry condition was to focus on the North Node, which naturally was located in the opposite sign of Capricorn. So I set out to live my life the Saturnian way, with daily to-do lists and strict self-discipline, and most of all, emotional sobriety. It helped that I was sick and tired of all the overwrought emotional drama in my life, and had already reached a point where I were just so over it.
Over the years, I noticed some funny effects that went way beyond becoming more self-disciplined: I’ve developed (and I have no idea how, because I didn’t do anything about this consciously) an uncanny time sense: whatever time period I set for myself, I intuitively know when it’s over: no matter if I need to tend to something after five minutes or twenty-three, or forty-seven, I always know when the time is up (usually several seconds before the kitchen timer goes off, because I still like to check this against a clock). I also have perfect timing when I multitask. I was notoriously tardy, always late to appointments — this now never happens, I’m always super punctual. None of the above requires any conscious effort, btw.
There are some equally remarkable, but not so funny effects: all my writing has dried up completely, and I cannot remember my dreams anymore (I used to have a vivid dream life!). I have a Moon-Mercury trine in my chart, so this feels like I’ve amputated a vital part of myself! I live a very isolated life, and feel acutely lonely. One of the wackier side-effects is that I developed an allergy against my (plant-based) hair dye, so I’ve been forced to let my hair grow out, which is completely white (I’m not that old yet, no wrinkles, LOL, so the effect is rather striking — you wouldn’t believe the number of women congratulating me a propos of nothing for being so ‘brave’, or the men commenting, also a propos of nothing, on how good it supposedly looks. Complete strangers, I might add.) It seems as if I’m turning into a little Saturn myself here, something that I did NOT intend!

My questions:

1) What exactly have I been doing here? I didn’t do any rituals or invocations, so I hesitate to call it magic, and I also didn’t pray or make offerings, so I hesitate to call it religion, but I did try to... well.. do things in a way that would ‘please Saturn’. And apparently, doing this did have some transformative effects on me.

2) I feel that I created quite a bit of imbalance, and wonder what I could do to correct that a bit. Not just bringing back a bit more Moon energy to revive my writing, but I feel the need to have a bit more Sun and Venus in my life to counteract the loneliness and depression of my Saturnian lifestyle. I’m thinking of going the same route as I did with emulating Saturn, but while I can think of activities for almost all planets, I draw a blank when it comes to the Sun. The only thing I can think of is something like stage performances, but I’d like to have something I can do on a more daily basis. Any suggestions?

3) Would it be a good idea to start doing planetary charity, or reciting the Orphic hymns? Or would that put things into overdrive?

Thank you for providing this space! I’m learning quite a lot here.

Re: Planetary... something

[ecosophia]

1) You invoked Saturn in the most effective way, and got what you invoked. Saturn isn't all that impressed with rituals or offerings; he wants to see you walk your talk.

2) Now that you've got the Saturnine parts of life down pat, you can start balancing Saturn with other planets. To activate the Solar aspects of your personality, you need to become a little more flamboyant and a little more focused on expressing yourself.

3) That's possible, but it can be pretty potent. Are you up for invoking all seven planets, each on its proper day? That way you can keep yourself in balance. The Orphic hymns and seven colored candles will do the trick.

A good resolution

[(Anonymous)]

A few months ago I reported an urgent rental emergency with the threat of possible eviction. It was a horrible situation, generating extraordinary anxiety and stress. Now it is resolved.

For many months we - my family and I - have been suing our slumlords landlords. We won.

We won BIG.

The axe is off our necks. The relief is fantastic.

I think it likely that we were able to obtain a lawyer - in itself practically miraculous - in part due to certain ceremonial magic I was practicing last year with much assiduity. But I’m not doing that now.

I believe our thumping victory was greatly aided by my more recent practice of the teachings of another sage whom I learned of on this blog. I prefer not to mention his name at this time, as that would disclose the nature of my practice, and that does not feel right while certain details of our case, though it is generally resolved, and very much to our advantage, are still being worked out. I just want to let it be known that a potential disaster has been averted, at least in part, by practices that I learned of here.

Re: A good resolution

[ecosophia]

Huzzah! I'm delighted to hear this.

Vampires and Werewolves

[rcastle]

Hello JMG

I know you’ve mentioned vampires a couple of times. And I think you’ve also mentioned werewolves. I have never treated either of these very seriously, which is the reason why I can watch old vampire movies, but not horror movies, not that I watch either nowadays. But horror movies have always given me nightmares, which my mother told me and I didn’t believe her, but realized she was right and stopped watching them at age 10. Vampire movies didn’t seem real, so I wasn’t afraid of them. But it seems I may have been wrong.

Do you mean vampires that drink blood? Or psychic or spiritual vampires or some other version I don’t know how to define?

Similarly with werewolves. Do you mean real physical transformation, or a transformation where someone behaves like a werewolf at certain periods of the moon?

Are the vampires anything at all like the popular idea in old movies?

Lastly and most important if such creatures and beings or humans or spirits or whatever they are exist, how do I avoid them? How do I protect myself from them?

How do I recognize them?

Where are they most likely to be?

Are there certain countries or lands I should avoid?

Or are they everywhere?

Thanks.

Re: Vampires and Werewolves

[ecosophia]

Both of them are very rare these days. If you're interested in the details, I recommend my book Monsters, which gives vampires and shapeshifters a chapter each.

cell salts

[ritaer]

I am almost out of Bioplasma in the 3x and 6x formula and none of the companies you listed in an earlier post seem to carry that formula. However, if Hylands new tablets are equivilent to the old one in which 4 tablest were the routine adult dose and 6 tablets were the dose for the Carey protocol I am thinking that 1 1/2 of new = 6 of old. I have a pill splitter so am thinking of doing that.

In the meantime I have emailed to Bee Healthy asking whether they would consider making the 3x and 6x formula. Maybe other readers who are doing the protocol could do the same and give them an idea of what kind of market they would have.

Rita

Re: cell salts

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this. I'm still looking for a good source, so if you get a positive response, please let the list know!