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. Five weeks ago I started on the OBOD end of my lineage with past Chosen Chief Philip Carr-Gomm. Having strayed out Vera Chapman's way as far as the Kibbo Kift and Woodcraft, it's back to the main line of OBOD's descent from older Druid orders, by way of Ross Nichols' teacher Robert MacGregor-Reid, Chosen Chief of the Universal Bond, the most influential British Druid order in the early twentieth century. That's him officiating at a somewhat windy Druid ceremony in the photo. He was a Golden Dawn initiate back in the 1920s, and by all accounts extremely knowledgeable about occultism, as well as a passionate student of the old stone circles and megalithic sites of Britain. He played a very large role in making Druidry respected in Britain in his day, leading public ceremonies in various ancient sites.

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use either of the links above to access my online tip jar; Buymeacoffee is good for small tips, Ko-Fi is better for larger ones. (I used to use PayPal but they developed an allergy to free speech, so I've developed an allergy to them.) If you're interested in political and economic astrology, or simply prefer to use a subscription service to support your favorite authors, you can find my Patreon page here and my SubscribeStar page here. 

 

I've also had quite a few people over the years ask me where they should buy my books, and here's the answer. Bookshop.org is an alternative online bookstore that supports local bookstores and authors, which a certain gargantuan corporation doesn't, and I have a shop there, which you can check out here. Please consider patronizing it if you'd like to purchase any of my books online.

And don't forget to look up your Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature at CosmicOom.com.

With that said, have at it!

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

Comments

Ages of Reason and Religiousness, Shani Oates Question

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

Though it has always struck me as backwards that we Americans honor fallen soldiers at the opening of summer and living veterans in the fall, for those of y'all in America, I hope you'll take a moment to honor those who have given their lives for this country in whatever way you find most appropriate. For myself, I'll be making a toast and giving some good beer.

To Share: In what I think will be my second-to-last post on The Decline of the West, at least for now, I talk about ages of Reason and the Second Religiousness: https://jpowellrussell.com/#spengler_s_decline_of_the_west_bit_5_rationalism_and_religiousness

To Put Forth: Have you, JMG, or anyone else here, ever heard of Shani Oates, and if so, do you have any thoughts on her? I found her at Anathema publishing after ordering A Druid in Psychologist's Clothing, linked from here a while back. She has a few books on Odhinn through Anathema that look quite interesting and well-researched, but her self-description as "Luciferian pilgrim" gives me some pause. Here's her "About the Author" page over at Anathema: https://www.anathemapublishing.com/shani-oates

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: Ages of Reason and Religiousness, Shani Oates Question

[ecosophia]

No, I'm not familiar with her work at all. Not surprising, as the end of the occult scene that she works in is about as far from the stuff I do as it's possible to get.

CGD Talismans

[open_space]

1) What numerological basis could be used for the crafting of talismans using the CGD? I see that Regardie uses the Qabalah of Nine Chambers to map letters to numbers and then apply it to a kamea.

For a CGD talisman, the divine names associated with the spheres of the Tree can be used for the sacred words and the intention keyed to the tree and the geomantic figures could be used also for the outer ring but what about the sigil? Pythogorean numerology could be used I assume but I wonder if the kamea would fit with CGD in order to create sigils. Possible or too much conflict because they are planetary?

2) I don't think I say a numerological attribution to the Coelbren if we try to do a similar thing from the hebrew. Was there one at all?

Re: CGD Talismans

[ecosophia]

1) There isn't one. The CGD work doesn't use astrological energies, which are the ones most closely linked with numerology. It's quite possible that in the long run something could be created but it doesn't exist yet.

2) It exists, and is covered in the new edition of my Coelbren book, which will be out in the autumn of this year.

Tarot Cards

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

As part of the LRM work I do (I finished the course 2 years back) I draw one daily card (I find I can't interpret more than 1 card at a time!) and recently I have been drawing the world card reversed up to 4 to 5 times within 1 or 2 weeks. It seems that the tarot cards are telling me I have unfinished business or delays in what I need to be doing or I am procrastinating too much. This morning I got that same card.
Is my interpretation valid or is there something else going on?
Many thanks!

Re: Tarot Cards

[ecosophia]

The cards speak differently to each diviner, so only you can tell what the card is saying to you. You might try journaling, in case it has something else in mind and you're not getting it.

Missing pants

[revert2mean]

Okay, input from anyone appreciated. This is probably way below JMG's pay grade. My mental health is still fine, but ...

Sorting and organising clothes is an endless huge job in my house, which nobody but me does. A few months ago I put aside four pairs of pants in a particular location knowing that they would be needed by a different member of the household in the near future. I know exactly where I put them, what they were, who they were for, and why. So last night the time came to tell that person that there were four suitable pairs of pants available. I told him, went to the third drawer down on the right side in that bedroom and - the drawer was empty. And believe me, we do NOT have empty drawers or cupboards in our house. And it's not as if the pants are anywhere else pants might go. Or as if anyone but me would bother to take responsibility for clothes. And the thought of a human intruder walking all the way through the house to that bedroom and then just taking four pairs of pants is preposterous. SO ... I have to sort of conclude that this may have been done by non-humans. I know how crazy this sounds. But any advice, guidance, courses of action, motives etc. would be appreciated.

Re: Missing pants

[ecosophia]

That's really quite odd...but such things do happen, from time to time.

Red bag amulet

[(Anonymous)]

Would it be okay to substitute the bent nail for an electrical staple? The primary difference that I see is that both ends are sharp. If that's an issue could blunting one end make it acceptable?

Example:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-1-2-in-Romex-Metal-Staples-500-Pack-58978501/205717554

Re: Red bag amulet

[ecosophia]

You'd have to experiment and find out. These things can't be determined on an abstract basis!

Death

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
I have stopped feeling sad that people are dying before their time as I have learned that life goes on in the afterlife and people get as many chances as they need to learn what they need.

Most of this I have learned from you, directly and indirectly, yet I notice that people dying still makes you sad. Are you sad for their families who are left behind to grieve and make do without valued members of the family and similar? Or, are you sad for the people who are dying? If you are sad for the dying, why is that? Is there something fearsome about death that I do not yet understand?
Maxine

Re: Death

[ecosophia]

It's partly a matter of the people who are left, who so often end up lonely and grieving, but death can be a wrench -- especially if you're young and had hopes for the rest of the life that's suddenly torn away from you. It's not that it's fearsome, it's as though you suddenly got dragged onto an airplane and flown to the other side of the world, knowing that you probably won't be able to contact the people you leave behind and may have to wait many years before you see them again. That's not the end of the world, but it can be a harsh thing to go through.

Cell Salt Raw Materials Last Chance

[open_space]

Okay, I've gathered information from several of you to share the costs of acquiring the raw materials for the Cell Salts as described by JMG on his essay on Home Compounding of Cell Salts. I've ordered most of the raw materials, jars to fill and send to you and some labels so that there aren't much problems with the mail.

If you are interested in participating, this is the last chance to do so. Send an email to gustella.adrienne@gmail.com or a personal message here through DW and I will reply with instructions shortly.

Thanks! Homeopathically, Open Space

Re: Cell Salt Raw Materials Last Chance

[(Anonymous)]

I just sent you an email from my proton mail account

thanks for organizing

Atmospheric River

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

Last week, in a reply to a question you said: "Remember that the people who created the model of the subtle bodies we're discussing interacted with "the other side" quite regularly, via any number of standard occult methods. "

(1) Very naive question, presumably meditation and ritual magic would be part of these standard methods?

(2) And presumably there are other methods too. May you partake with us of such methods?

Many thanks and regards!

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, those are among the methods.

2) Astral projection and the various kinds of clairvoyance can also be used; so can mediumship, though that's not recommended these days as it tends to have negative effects on the person who practices it.

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

To everyone who participates in these weekly prayer lists-- both those who pray, and those who request and accept prayer-- my heartfelt thanks for joining in. 

There's now a new optional feature to the weekly prayer list.

After some discussion on the matter, a sizable majority of the prayer list participants who made their voices heard agreed: we are of the opinion that when neither privacy nor modesty is a concern, it is generally more efficacious for the requesters of prayer to provide their real names, location, and even pictures of themselves. This both makes it easier for those praying to focus their intentions, and it requires the prayer requester to put some "skin in the game", opening the gates to more easily let in the powers who answer prayer.

Of course, modesty and especially privacy are a real concern. Also, everyone agrees that praying on behalf of pseudonyms, or even simply to "anonymous", can be efficacious: as was brought up in the comments of that conversation, two of the most dramatic successes of the prayer list so far were on behalf of pseudonymous handles. 

With all of this in mind, here is what we will try.

(1) For prayer requesters who don't wish to do anything differently, nothing will change. Please continue to only share what information you are comfortable sharing of your personal information with the main prayer list, just as you have already been doing, and rest assured that your prayers will be heard.

(2) *After* you have shared your prayer already on the main prayer list, those who wish to do more to increase the efficacy of their prayers also have the option of sharing information they wish to remain discreet by e-mail. This information will be shared semi-privately only on a weekly mailing list version of the prayer list. It will never appear on the main prayer list page, and nobody will be able to search for your information on the web. If you wish to take this option for your prayer request, the e-mail address to send this information to is: "ecosophia prayer list" with no spaces at the care of the leading email domain of the company whose name is honomynous with the mathematical term for "ten to the power of one hundred".

In the message, you might include:

--the prayer target's real name
--the prayer target's location
--a (please keep it short!) description of what you want others to know about the prayer target
--the prayer target's ambition in life (taking a cue from The Crystal Silence League) 
--a relatively recent photo of the prayer target (if you know how, I request that you reduce this size of the photo if it's enormous)

The first version of this expanded e-mail version of the prayer list will go out early next week. If you are interested in receiving it and you're not signed up already, please send me a message at the aforementioned address.

On a different matter, this is the last week of the month. Anybody who has not given an update on their prayer request within the last month, who has not already arranged a longer prayer duration with me, is subject to the whims of my simple divination, and may be removed depending on the result.

With that, we return to our normal, regularly scheduled Ecosophia Prayer List notice!

What is love?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi!

For a naive question: what is love, (from an occult perspective that is)?

I can have empathy for people and nature but love! That I find difficult to comprehend. It seems such a loaded word much abused and misunderstood.
Any insights welcomed.
Many thanks for your patience and erudition.

Re: What is love?

[ecosophia]

The thing that makes this question difficult to answer is that the word "love" is a dumpster in which a vast number of very different emotional states and relationships have been shoved. In ancient Greek, for example, what we call "love" was divided up into a series of different feelings. Eros is sexual love; storge is love between family members, as parents for children; philia is the love that exists in friendship; agape is unselfish and unconditional love.

From an occult perspective no two of these have the same nature or mean the same thing. It's a complex subject, too -- entire books have been written about the occult dimensions of love.

Books and wisdom

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Archdruid,

Greetings from Poland, I would like to thank you deeply from my heart for your books and podcasts, they made my passion for magic and occultism come back, after some time of losing faith.

I have 3 questions here. I hope it won't be too much :D

1. would you recommend any book/directory for a person who would like to explore the construction of magical machines/magical engineering?

2. what martial art is most based on life force? Or perhaps more specifically, which martial art allows you to direct and feel it the most? ( if there was such a European one, that would be great).

3. Where Can I buy your book about using sacred geometry in fencing?

With the power of inspiration /|\
Best wishes from Poland.

Re: Books and wisdom

[ecosophia]

1) I don't know of a good book that draws together what's known about magical machines. You'd have to read books on radionics, orgone, and so on. It's a subject that needs much more research and synthesis than it's received!

2) That really varies from person to person -- and it also varies from teacher to teacher. Aikido and taijiquan, for example, both work heavily with the life force, but there are teachers of both arts that ignore the life force aspect of it. If you can find a teacher of any of the Chinese internal arts (taijiquan, yiquan, baguazhang, etc.) who also teaches qigong, you can probably count on getting a good training in life force work from him or her.

3) Right here:

https://www.aeonbooks.co.uk/product/the-academy-of-the-sword/38721/

[(Anonymous)]

I was meditating the other day and what seemed like 15 minutes ended up being 6 hours. As cool as the anecdote may be, it was a little inconvenient. What happened? What should I do about it or to control it from a ceremonial magic point of view?

[(Anonymous)]

I've always wondered about this. It can go the other way too-- where I've clearly been in the zone for hours... and the clock insists it's been twenty minutes, tops.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for these Magic Mondays !

I was reading the first pages of Phaedo last week. At a certain point, Sokratis draws a connection between all the bodily needs and the origin of evil in this material world (such as competition, greed, theft, and wars). In contrast, in the afterworld, these needs do not exist, and the soul can elevate itself. It seems that Sokratis suggests there is no place for evil there. My question is: if evil exists in non-material planes, what is its source? What could fuel greed and competition? What are the scarce resources?

[ecosophia]

It's a common mistake of a certain kind of metaphysical thinker to believe that evil only exists in the material world. Au contraire, most of what causes competition, greed, theft, and wars even on the material plane is ego, not scarcity of resources -- and ego is not a material thing.

Q

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings everyone including JMG,

Had a couple of questions:
1) How do i dispose a couple of renaissance talismans (sun and venus)? I bought them from C Warnock; despite many consecrations, they don't seem to do anything as far as I can tell but I want to be respectful anyway.

2) What does the occult and spiritual traditions have to say about heaven? Is it merely a metaphor for an immanent reality or a real place (probably on another plane)?

Given that buddhists have reincarnation present even in some heavens (perhaps lower heavens), that probably is an astral idea? Not sure a non-reincarnating heaven beyond time fits.

Re: Q

[ecosophia]

1) I'd advise that you give them to someone who wants them. Do it without asking any payment in return, because that cuts the connection to you.

2) The concept of "heaven" as it occurs in Western religious traditions is a jumbling together of two things. The first is that when you die, where you spend the time between lives depends on what we might as well call your moral state. You go to a part of the astral plane that resonates with the condition of your astral body, because like seeks like, and because you need to process the experiences of your life in an astral state that approximates your own astral body's condition. So if you spent your life pursuing selfish ends, abusing other people, and wallowing in crass desires, you spend much of the time between lives on the lower astral, which is pretty miserable -- it's the basis of beliefs about hell. (It doesn't help that you get to review your life as it was, not as you tried to convince yourself that it was) On the other hand, if you spent your life trying your best to follow the teachings of your faith, treating other people kindly, and developing a rich spiritual life, you spend your time instead on the upper astral, which is as pleasant as the lower astral is unpleasant. Again, that's where you need to be in order to process your memories of the life just ended -- and you have the benefit of experiencing just how much you made other people's lives better, by the way.

That's the first thing that gives rise to the idea of heaven. Then there's what happens when you have finally outgrown the need for a material body, and have established a body on the mental plane. At the end of the life where you do that, you don't go into the standard cycle of reincarnation again, you ascend; your material body dies but your other bodies remain intact, along with your personality, and you proceed to a different mode of existence in which many of the hard necessities of material existence no longer affect you. (For example, you no longer need to die and lose all your memories.)

The first of these is temporary, the second is permanent. Neither one is beyond time -- you have to travel a lot further up the path of spiritual evolution before you outgrow time! But conventional beliefs about heaven are based on muddled understandings of these two things.

Incense substitutes

[(Anonymous)]

Hey jmg

Very soon I will be moving into a share house that has banned incense on account of a asthmatic resident, something of a slight inconvenience to my G.D. Practice.
Now, I know incense isn’t strictly necessary for ritual work, but I’m unsure of what the best substitutes would be, and how to use them. Could I consecrate a talisman with vapour from an oil diffuser, for example?
Also I usually use incense as an offering on my altar, and while I assume water and essential oil may be a acceptable substitute, I wonder if you knew of other things I could offer as well?

J.L.Mc12

Re: Incense substitutes

[ecosophia]

In all situations like this I've always used an oil diffuser, and the results have been excellent.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

What is your opinion on the teachings and works of Osho (rajneesh)

And is there any occult relation to ADHD? Or do you ot any other commenter have any tips on how to handle it sans medicine

[ecosophia]

1) I don't have one. I haven't really paid attention to the bumper crop of gurus in the last century or so.

2) Whether or not there's an occult dimension to ADHD is something I've never seen discussed in serious occult literature. IN terms of dealing with it, well, I have ADD alongside my Aspergers syndrome (and some other neurological issues as well), and what's always worked for me is, first, to figure out what makes things worse so I can avoid them; and second, to establish habits that help me cope, and then stick to them like grim death.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,
I was listening to Damien Echols recently, and he was asked if it was OK to do the Middle Pillar Exercise with all ten spheres (implicitly excluding Daath therefore.) He encouraged people to do this, vibrating each holy name and also meditating on individual spheres, or vibrating the associated name numerous times if you wanted something specific.
The names are easily available (in your books for example) but I can find any actual instructions for doing the exercise, including in the Ciceros' unindexed doorstop.
Do you have any thoughts?
Thanks as always

[ecosophia]

You're ready to do that practice when you have enough experience with the standard Middle Pillar exercise, and you've studied the Cabala in enough detail, that you can figure out how to do it by yourself. Whenever you encounter a working that's recommended but not given in detail, you can assume that that's what's going on.

Rising Call?

[(Anonymous)]

What are the various beneficial effects the rising call is supposed to have?

I don't think you've done a follow up post about it yet.

Re: Rising Call?

[ecosophia]

No, I haven't done a followup post -- I've been up to my eyeballs in other projects. (Notably getting the Essene work ready to release in PDF format.)

The Rising Call exercise, for those readers who missed it, is given here:

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/222956.html

What it does is quite simple. Your brain basically floats in a pool of cerebrospinal fluid, which is held in by a set of membranes on the inside of your skull. A lot of brain chemicals flow through that fluid as it circulates. As we get old, however, the membranes get less resilient and the movement of the fluid basically settles into a rut; that's problematic because it keeps some brain chemicals from getting where they're supposed to go -- and that, in turn, makes it more difficult to practice certain esoteric disciplines that work with the pineal and pituitary glands. The Rising Call basically gives an internal massage to the membranes, by gently increasing the pressure on the fluid and then decreasing it again. Do it daily and your brain gets properly bathed in the fluid, the brain chemicals get where they need to go, and the practices that focus on those two glands can function unimpaired.

Franz Bardon; Witch of Criswell (SPOILER ALERT!)

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning JMG and everybody else,

I hope you all had a pleasant weekend and a good start into the week! :-) JMG, thanks again for hosting this valuable space and answering questions.

I‘ve got two questions today, if I may, both stemming from me reading Franz Bardon‘s Initiation into Hermetics:

1. In the book, Bardon teaches a technique to „create“ elementals (as helpers of the mage).

(I‘ve read the German version which distinguishes between „Elemental“ and „Elementar“. The latter are the more advanced and more powerful, and I‘m mainly asking about them - not sure how they translate into English, though.)

There are different ways for a mage to create such an elemental: In the simplest way by „condensing“ an elemental energy, in more complex forms by doing the same, but also creating an astral and mental body etc. (The whole process description is actually quite creepy.)

Now, if I understood Bardon correctly, he seems to suggest that the mage actually „creates“ these elementals, i.e. not only that they are living entities with their own will (e.g. he warns the mage that his elementals might try to threaten or wheedle him into not destroying them, which assumes they have a will and desires of their own), but his choice of words also suggests that these are not „existing“ entities which are called by the mage, or something along those lines, but that the mage actually creates them (somewhat literally in some cases) out of thin air.

So… I didn‘t think (and still don‘t think, somehow), that human beings can actually „create“ the „soul“ of other beings. Making a baby, physically, is one thing - creating the soul which will „inhabite“ it is something else entirely.

I.e. did I get Bardon wrong here? Or am I mistaken? Or was he? Or what else is going on here??

Does occultism show or assume that humans can literally create other beings, including their soul, desires, …?

2. SPOILER ALERT Witch of Criswell

First, I‘d like to state that the next question is purely my curious mind trying to sort out different levels of being, and of entities…

In the Witch of Criswell, the villain had that nasty entity at her service for many years, at least that is what the story suggests.

However, Bardon advises the mage against keeping elementals for years, because he thinks that the longer one keeps them, the harder it will be to destroy them at the end, and also the more powerful they might become and thus take control over the mage.

If the witch of Criswell has kept hers for years, then is that because it‘s some other form of entity (and if so, in which way is it different from Bardon‘s elementals?)? Or because she has used other means to control it (again, different in which way?)? Or would she have switched out her „servant“ from time to time to a new one?

….

Frankly, re-reading that passage in Bardon today in order to phrase the question left me with even more of a creepy feeling than the first time.

If I got him right, and if what he writes is true… who would create a „living“, conscious being, just as a commodity to be used, and then kill it once it has done its job? That‘s truly baffling - and part of me hopes I misread him…

I originally picked up the Initiation into Hermetics as an evening read just to broaden my occult horizon a bit - not sure I wanted it to be that broad, tbh…

Milkyway, still puzzled

Re: Franz Bardon; Witch of Criswell (SPOILER ALERT!)

[(Anonymous)]

*sigh* and here I was so flustered about this Bardon chapter that I forgot all my manners… :-)

Thanks, and: Whatever has been tiring you out, I‘m hoping that either it has resolved itself by now, or (if you want it that way!) may it resolve itself soon so you can rest and recover.

All the best to you and your wife,

Milkyway

[lukedodson]

For JMG and commentariat: I would be curious to know if there is any research into different meditation/prayer postures around the world?

I am aware that the cross-legged 'lotus' pose is not practised in Western meditation as it closes off the energy centres connecting the legs and feet to the earth, which is interesting, and makes a lot of sense from my own experience - something about sitting cross-legged under a tree, while relaxing, never felt fully connected to me.

There is Power In The Posture of Prayer

[(Anonymous)]

Ooo, your timing is perfect!

No expert me, but I wanted to share my recent discovery (data point of one).

In recent weeks I have on occasions spontaneously put my hands together in the "prayer posture", and noticed that there seemed to be an improvement, in quantity and quality, of the flow of 'energy' or 'power' (it's probably actually the 'Spirit') through me.

This reminded me of the various Chi Gung postures my teacher taught me, which cause the chi to flow through my hands, etc. He and I don't know why it works, only that it works.

Having noticed this about the 'praying-hands posture', last night I tested the full prayer position-- kneeling on my knees (Japanese Tea Ceremony style, with feet fully extended), hands palm-to-palm, fingers together and pointed upwards. I immediately noticed an even stronger flow of that pleasant, ineffable phenomenon ('Spirit'?) through me. Oh, and by the way, I faced east while doing it. I said a little prayer while in this posture, and it felt quite good.

As I child, somewhere I "learned" that this position was one of self-humiliation; probably not helped by the rhetoric of Calvinists saying, "sinner, get on your knees and grovel to God for forgiveness for your existence!" So I avoided this posture for my entire life, not wanting to abnegate myself.

But now I find that no, it's actually like Christian Chi Gung.

• Cicada Grove

RFK Jnr - Charles Eisenstein

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG

May I recommend to you and the commentariat this conversation between Charles Eisenstein and Robert Kennedy.

The cover, among other topics, the loss of connection with nature, the tragedy of the commons, Carl Jung and daily meditation.

I don't even live in America, but the thought that a man like this could become your next leader fills me with a hope for the future I have not felt in a very long time.

https://soundcloud.com/charleseisenstein/why-we-care-charles-and-kennedy

Darren

Re: RFK Jnr - Charles Eisenstein

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning JMG,

I have a question that touches on the gray area between magic and psychology. People often find that connecting things they want to do with their identity and sense of self can help them achieve more--for example, if you want to get better about exercising regularly, it can help to think of yourself as the kind of person who stays active and makes time to work out; you may be less likely to drink if you think of yourself as someone who doesn't drink, etc.

I've also seen the negative side of this more times than I can count, such as with people who identify so strongly with their traumas and mental health challenges that they cannot let them go ("that's just how I am, this is who I am, etc ad nauseam). Similarly I think many people would be better off avoiding natal astrology simply because they can get over invested in their sign to the detriment of deeper self-knowledge.

With all that being said, what kind of role do you think identity plays or should play in the study of magic? Since the various western mystic traditions seem more interested in balancing the ego rather than dissolving it, I would assume there's a useful place for it to some degree or another. Should positive affirmations, for example, be part of early magical practice?

[ecosophia]

Identity is a crutch. A crutch can be useful, especially when you're just learning how to walk with a damaged leg, but the goal should be to do without it as soon as you reasonably can. Thus I teach the use of affirmations, but I also encourage people to practice journaling and the practices of the Order of Spiritual Alchemy, which are intended to replace identity with self-knowledge.

Target, transgenderism, and Satanism

[(Anonymous)]

JMG - In today's Washington Post is a fairly long article explaining the awkward position of Target stores, which initially put up a display of "Pride" themed apparel, including trans-friendly bathing suits for adults, and pride-themed clothing for children. (Somehow, some observers conflated the two into "bathing suits for transgender toddlers", but that seems to be an exaggeration.) A product designer, described by Reuters as "a gay trans man", became a focus of outrage when his personal on-line store was found to include Satanic-themed merchandise, such as a bit of jewelry with a drawing of a goat's head and the caption "Satan respects pronouns". In his defense, the designer says that he can't actually be Satanist, because that would mean that he believes the Bible, and since he's actually atheist, the "Satanist" stuff is ... well, what? Cultural appropriation? Now that the right-wing of the culture wars is upset about the Pride merch, and the left wing is upset about it being removed, is it just a matter of time before the Satanists express their outrage at being used in a mocking way? I'm thinking that Satan's probably pleased with the publicity. Your take?

Lathechuck

Re: Target, transgenderism, and Satanism

[(Anonymous)]

Target seems to have miscalculated the demographic numbers for the respective groups-- trans and trans-friendly, vs those who find it offensive. It's the same kind of mistake that the beer manufacturer made (I forget which beer, but their sales dropped like a ruptured rock after their new trans spokeshuman appeared in various ads).

It would be just like The Bad Guy to throw a trans cat among the chickens, then sit back with a bag of popcorn to watch the chickens try to peck each other to death.

Something

[(Anonymous)]

I was looking at your post on mundane chart of the saturn jupiter conjunction, the first in the age of age in a while.

1) One thing I feel happens with a more spiritually active life, atleast a balanced one (unlike evola etc), is that one feels more democratic in spirit; that as souls we may be at different parts of our journey but we're trying to go a similar place, and its a path of struggle and challenge, and that each spirit has a natural self-ownership (which they may or may not be able to express at that point), reflect in karma.

So the progress of democracy in the political sphere over the last 300 years must have felt to many a correct teleological direction (for the likes of Fukuyama even the end of "history"), the advance from landed male republicanism to universal suffrage a positive development in our self-conception as a specifies.

Yet, in a way foreboded by the mundane chart, the murmurs of discontent are rising, and now I regularly see both oppositional structures getting strong and presenting themselves as a vision of political life (CCP, Erdogan, Saudi Arabia etc), but also discontent with democracy itself within its citizens—complaints of corruption, capture, foreign agendas etc, all used as a pretext to justify radical alternatives.

The worrisome ones involve reduction of rights all the way to a Caesar figure, which more and more people, popularly on the right but surprisingly in the middle and left are starting whisper about. There is a building notion that only a singularly powerful executive figure ala Augustus can reform the polity and state enough and save the republic (or the facade of it).

Trump felt like a fake-out of this desire from his audience, but a future stronger figure seems more likely now than ever before, especially if the mundane chart is right about the enthusiasm for democracy weakening. Though in the American context it still seems difficult given the professional distance of the army, to have a tyrannical executive, the forms such a person takes here is more akin to FDR or Lincoln as they assumed much stronger executive control over the government and reorganised the relationship of the state and society.

The fact that technology and government are in support of each other in the mundane chart does seem to indicate a rise of state capacity again for big problems, maybe even the erosion of rights.

If we are lucky, it may just mean devolution of power to states.

It's sad to me that political ideas are receding to older forms.

1) Do you see this type of thing as likely?

2) Does the mundane chart support major changes in finance, banking, and money? From my line of work I see a big change coming in how money and finance is organised, how credit works etc, but I was trying to figure it in the mundane chart.

(Uranus in Taurus is one possible sign).

Re: Something

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, it's likely, for reasons that Oswald Spengler traced out more than a century ago, and Vico described two centuries before that. Democracy in theory means rule by the public; in practice, it means rule by the rich, since those with money can always buy votes. Thus democracy turns into kleptocracy, which bankrupts itself and gives way to some form of monarchy. If we're lucky, some of the forms of local and state democracy will be maintained.

2) Yes. With a weak and afflicted Sun ruling the 2nd house of money and a very strongly placed Mars ruling the 5th house of speculation, the next 199 years are going to see quite a bit of change in those sectors.

Chritians Saints

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG and other members of the group.

I hope you are well and healthy.

Thank you for opening this space.

I've read about Christian saints in other posts, but I'd like to know which saints (Orthodox or Catholic) would be the most suitable for us to work on affective and emotional need.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Chritians Saints

[ecosophia]

I'll have to leave that one to my Catholic and Orthodox readers, as I haven't studied saints at all.