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. I'm currently tracing my Martinist lineage.  That's rendered complex by the Martinist tradition that one does not name one's initiator, so we'll have to go back through less evasive routes. Last week's honoree, René Chambellant, became head of the Eglise Gnostique Universelle on the death of his teacher and consecrator, Constant Chevillon, whom I'm honoring this week. Martinist, Rosicrucian, Freemason, and Gnostic bishop, Chevillon was born in 1880, showed remarkable intellectual gifts in youth, but went to work in the banking industry while devoting his free time to occult and spiritual pursuits. He wrote seven books and many essays about Gnostic theology and practice, and his integrity and spiritual qualities won the respect not only of his fellow Gnostics but of Catholics and nonreligious people. In 1944, he and other leading citizens of Lyon were taken hostage by the Nazis in revenge for activities of the Resistance, and shot to death. He is considered a saint and martyr by most modern Gnostic churches; the day of his martyrdom, March 22, is his feast day.

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.

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

Comments

Robert Ogilvie Crombie

[(Anonymous)]

Olá JMG e todos aqui na Magic Monday,

Espero que estejam todos bem e saudáveis!

Recentemente me deparei com os textos de uma figura interessante, poderosa e inspiradora: Robert Ogilvie Crombie. Que pessoa maravilhosa!

Tem mais alguém com os presentes dele?
E há alguma maneira de desenvolver esses dons e conversar com entidades na natureza?

Obrigado!

Re: Robert Ogilvie Crombie

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this! I can read Portuguese tolerably well at this point but my vocabulary isn't good enough to write my response in it; I hope you won't mind a response in English.

Yes, Robert Ogilvie Crombie -- ROC, as his friends called him -- was a remarkable figure! I never had the chance to meet him but I've spoken with several people who worked with him. There are other people who have the same abilities he had, but the ones I know aren't public about their interactions with nature spirits. They -- and ROC, too, to judge by what I know of him -- would encourage you to develop those abilities yourself. Any system of esoteric training that involves the development of inner perception will give you those capacities, if you give it the daily work it requires.

The Trouble with Authenticity and the DA Solar Plexus Exercise Seven Rays of Light

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

To those who observe it, a very happy Fathers' Day!

To Share: I've had some thoughts on the question of authenticity versus validity brewing for awhile now, and reading a book review of a biography on Augustus of all things finally gave me the key I needed to bring them together. Drawing plenty on our host's post on the topic, of course, I hope I break some new ground on just why authenticity seems so shiny and important to folks looking into alternative spirituality: https://jpowellrussell.com/#the_trouble_with_authenticity

To Ask: In the Dolmen Arch version of the Solar Plexus exercise, it says to visualize "seven rays of light," one for each cantref. Does it matter what direction these rays go? Should they align with the compass points, with parts of the body, or is this something to experiment with?

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: The Trouble with Authenticity and the DA Solar Plexus Exercise Seven Rays of Light

[ecosophia]

My usual approach is to let the rays of light go in whatever direction they want to go. With me, at least, they usually flow toward places, either in me or around me, that need positive energy.

[(Anonymous)]

You’ve written that you think that a lot of the various messes we’re in now, especially those that didn’t exist a decade ago, are the result of the inept use of malevolent magic by the Magic Resistance. I’m still quite early in my studies, and find it a little shocking that I’m already able to recognise major flaws and weaknesses in the Magic Resistance workings; which tells me they are stunningly bad. There is, however, a troubling question I’ve had, given that some of the analyses of the Magic Resistance I’ve seen say their work lacks any kind of source of power, and the discussion in the Cosmic Doctrine about how resisting something can lock something in place, while moving out of the way will things to run to the void, is it possible the various efforts made to combat the Magic Resistance might have played a role in how strong of an effect it had? Might the people opposing it have accidentally provided it with a power it would never otherwise have attained?

[ecosophia]

Excellent! You're paying attention. Yes, and that's why I went out of my way not to fight the Magic Resistance. I tried to encourage people to recognize the disastrous consequences of participating in its antics, but other than that I followed Dion Fortune's advice and built up what I wanted to encourage rather than trying to tear down things I didn't like. Of course there are others who chose differently, but they have the right to make their own choices, even if those are unwise.

[tunesmyth]

Here are all of the requests for prayer that have recently appeared across the Ecosophia community. 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 if before Midnight on Tuesday; or in the comments of the weekly prayer list post.

* * *
This week I would like to bring special attention to the following prayer requests.

It's a boy! Hippie Viking and his wife are the parents of a new baby; for blessings on the child according to his nature and the nature of the deity prayed to; and for good health for both mother and child. (Original request here)

Tanamous's friend's brother David got in a terrible motorcycle accident and has been diagnosed as a quadriplegic given the resultant spinal damage; for healing and the positive outcomes of upcoming surgeries and rehabilitation, specifically towards him being able to walk and live a normal life once more.

Nicole's (shewhoholdstension) 41 year brother Robert died suddenly in bed on May 15th; for a smooth and blessed journey on the other side. Robert was a single dad and he leaves behind three children: Hannah, Zack, and Jordyn; that they and Nicole be blessed and protected, and find what comfort they can during this very difficult time. (Update here.)

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. (Lp9 gives updates here and most recently here, and says "things are a bit... murky"), and 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 still warranted.

* * *

Guidelines for how long prayer requests stay on the list, how to word requests, how to be added to the weekly email list, how to improve the chances of your prayer being answered, and several other common questions and issues, are now to be found at the Ecosophia Prayer List FAQ.

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.

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this as always.

[jruss]

This is a good reminder especially with some of the issues I'm seeing in Geek/Nerd/Otaku culture.

Forgive me if I've said this before, but I think this is part of the Asatru Folk Assembly's success. They focus totally on their own organization and the gods they worship.

[ecosophia]

Exactly. You can build your own scene or you can tear down somebody else's. You can't do both.

Astral Light

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG! And thanks again for all you do.
Could you expound a bit on the definition of Astral Light and if it could be compared to “prana”in Yogic systems?
From Jill C

Re: Astral Light

[ecosophia]

In occult theory there are several different levels of nonphysical reality that human beings can experience and work with. There are various ways of talking about these; the system I use talks about the etheric, astral, and mental planes or levels. If I understand the Indian concept of prana correctly -- and I'll gladly accept correction if I don't! -- prana is the life force, which flows along the nadis and keeps the physical body alive; this is what occultists call the etheric level, the level of life force. The astral level is one step further from dense matter -- it's the level of dreams, imagination, and visions -- and that's the level on which the astral light operates. The astral light is the substance of the astral level, just as the life force/prana is the substance of the etheric level, and matter is the substance of the physical level.

[lincoln_lynx]

Isn't the Martinist goal essentially dissolution? When I first read up on them that was the sense I got.

[ecosophia]

No, not at all. Martinism has a very distinctly Gnostic teaching. Before our fall into matter, in what Martinist teachings call our First Estate, we human beings were high angelic beings; we lost our place of balance and power in the light of Omneity (the Martinist conception of the Divine) and so descended into matter, but it is our destiny through our wanderings in matter to not only recover our First Estate but to rise even higher than we were. We are all already one with the Divine; in our future state we will be conscious of that, as we were in our First Estate.

Bodies

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings, JMG! I wanted to follow up on last week’s discussion of soul and spirit. I’ve been meditating on this for quite some time and have read many of your writings on bodies but the terminology is still confusing to me. I’ve tried to map them to planes to sort this out. A “body”, as best I can tell, is actually composed of physical matter, plus etheric energy holding it together in a form held on the astral plain. It’s maybe an over simplification of your writings on bodies, and I offer my apologies if I’ve taken too much liberty here. It also seems consistent across different traditions that there is an enduring spirit that joins a body at various points in time (the details I won’t pretend to understand). Then there’s the matter of a soul, which I take to include at least the astral and mental planes. The most artistic version of all this would be a spirit that would encompass the planes of spirit, causal, and divine, and a soul would encompass the astral, mental, and mental planes. I picture three interlocking circles. Could you offer any clarity on terminology here? And what would be a good resource to investigate the differences (and relationships) of body, soul, and spirit?

Re: Bodies

[ecosophia]

Okay, one source of confusion here is that these words "soul" and "spirit" get used by different traditions and teachings in different ways. Very often what one source says is explicitly contradicted by another source! So you need to check with each tradition means by those words.

In the system I use, human beings have three bodies -- material, etheric, and astral -- and are evolving the fourth, which belongs to the mental plane. These are all bodies, and they do not belong to soul or spirit. The spirit consists of the seed forms of the bodies we haven't evolved yet -- the spiritual and causal bodies we'll evolve in the far future -- gathered around the Divine Spark. The soul is something else again: it's the collected experience of all our previous lives, all the way back to the beginning, which serves as a template for the spirit when it creates the bodies it will indwell in each new incarnation.

Follow-up questions energy vampire

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

A couple of weeks ago you gave me some excellent advice about dealing with an energy vampire:

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/235714.html?thread=41419970#cmt41419970

As soon as I added the red bag (to the daily SOP and Judson exercise), my physical issues got considerably better within a day. Thank you very much for this!!

That has brought up a few more questions:

1. My (homemade) explanation is this: The physical issues were related to the kidneys. I know that in the Chinese system, the life force is seen as being related to the kidneys.

When I decided to severe ties once and for all, the energy vampire felt that and „clung“ to me even more than before, drawing too much life force for my kidneys to handle, hence the physical problems. And when I added the red bag, that interrupted the flow and helped with the issues.

Does this sound like a plausible explanation, or am I completely off the mark?

(I‘m not asking about medical advice, but about the occult perspective on things.)

2. Could the red bags, or something similar, also be used to protect the space within a house or flat, and everybody within it? E.g. by putting one into each outer corner, or at the „center“?

3. Somebody close to me would like to wear a red bag during this time, too, but is prone to fumbling on the nail until the cloth is pierced and the bag is losing salt.

Is there anything else you could recommend instead of a nail in a protective amulet? (If that matters, it‘s a teenager - although I presume people with toddlers might have the same question… :D ).

4. Finally, just wanted to say that all of this, especially the physical issues showing up and going away in such sharp timely coincidence, have been a bit of a shock - I hadn‘t realised that some people could draw quite as much energy from others (and I‘m fairly sure this person isn‘t even doing it consciously). Is this a common thing?

Thank you very much for your help!

Re: Follow-up questions energy vampire

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that sounds plausible.

2) Yes, very much so. I've done this, in fact.

3) It needs to be something sharp-pointed and made of iron to get the same effect. If that's not an option, you may need to look up other protective amulets -- my book on natural magic covers the ground, possibly in too much detail.

4) Yes, unfortunately.

Encounter with the shadow, or something else?

[(Anonymous)]

I believe I had, or what I think, was an encounter with my Shadow, but it also could have been something else. Prior to Covid, I had the grand exciting plans to move to the country, and as well as working damned hard in agriculture I'd get some sort of spiritual revelation. Of course, in my still youthful naivety I thought that this would be all stars, light, and positivity, despite my years of reading your work and other works.

However, I got my revelation. It was the opposite, a battle of spiritual and intrusive thoughts which had me realise that no, I'm not that good, and as a human, I'm well capable of evil. It shattered me, sent me to bed for a couple of weeks shaking, and although I most certainly did not behave badly, I now realise a lot of what Jung and others have said about the shadow, the dweller, and various other little human demons. Encountering them, and trying to integrate them is harrowing.

I can see why people sometimes can't walk or function after these experiences. I certainly couldn't.

Three years on I'm far wiser, and interestingly, those types of people that would once waste my time or abuse me now don't even try, or have largely left my life.

It's got me thinking that something of the secret of the Great Arcanum, that 'terrible' secret is in it, it seems to be when humans have to move beyond the binary of morality, and that's terrifying? Am I on the right track here with this thinking?

Re: Encounter with the shadow, or something else?

[ecosophia]

Sounds like a classic Shadow encounter to me! As for the Great Arcanum, that's certainly a hypothesis worth exploring... ;-)

[wizard_in_the_woods_1949]

Greetings JMG and All,

I had sort of a multi-part question over the last couple of weeks, and the
feedback from JMG and a few others on those has been pretty interesting.
I want to thank JMG and all the other responders for their replies to those
ponderous and possibly cumbersome questions! ;^)

Today, I'd like to put forth the final part of that conglomerate, so I'll
have a lot of stuff for discursive meditation, so to speak.

Postulate:
At the end of a physical incarnation the "persona" (insert traditional name),
is withdrawn from the "physical/etheric" (insert Your traditional names),
and through the so-called "second death" is integrated into the "soul/higher
self, lower genius, et al) so to speak.

N.B.
According to Dion Fortune sometimes etheric "vampirism" is practiced in order
to forestall the inevitable "second death". This is usually a big 'bummer' for
everybody. Once discovered though it's curable enough, if a trifle messy.

Time seriously passes*..., on the inner and outer planes, various and sundry
marvelous conditions culminate to resolve many things, or not.
Eventually, the "soul / higher self" feels conditions are right, and is drawn
toward the dense physical again. Unless, that was the final incarnation needed
to "graduate", and stay on the inner levels. So far, so good...

Which leads to the "summum arcanum" of this whole question, for "me"!
This also has possible "mystical" as well as "magical" ramifications.

Once the "Individuality" is freed from the "necessity" to incarnate, can it be
in actuality "Individual", though of course connected to, and a part of
"ALL THAT IS"? Will there come a time when it's dissolution into ALL THAT IS,
is inevitable? That is in contrast to the mystic's voluntary "Union with God".

When will everyone in this life wave attain the summum? I haven't particpated
in the "Cosmic Doctrine" discussions, hope to though. I'm aware JMG has high
regard for her production of that work. I've studied just about All her work,
while we are all "products of our time" to some extent, she's pretty remarkable.
Unless you're "Mina Mathers"! Thanks JMG for the link to that PhD dissertation!

I'm not asking to have this stuff answered, just garner some thoughts.
Why would anyone want to understand stuff like this? Seems Mighty Strange.
We all likely get intuitive insights from time to time as we practice.
Does anyone practice the "Bornless (Headless) Invocation" on a regular basis?
Or, for that matter even once? That's one you gotta work up to, whew! Inflame!

That's it, no more "dumb questions" from me!

* Ala, Douglas Adams: "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency".
* A Great Book! ;^)

[ecosophia]

Let me see if I can pick out the questions from this.

1) The idea that the self finally dissolves into the Divine is a belief of some mystical traditions, but it's not supported even by most mystics. It's more a matter of realizing that you've been a part of All That Is all along; you don't stop being an individual, you realize what "being an individual" doesn't keep you from being part of the All.

2) Everyone in this life wave will achieve the summum bonum when they get there. There's no fixed time frame. You have all the time there is; have fun.

3) I dunno, I suppose some of us are just curious. ;-)

4) Good heavens, yes. I've done it weekly at certain times in my life for years at a stretch. I know other occultists who do it several times a week. It's potent stuff, but well within the reach of anyone who's learned to do serious ritual work.

[booklover1973]

This time, not a question, but some notes.

A few Magic Mondays ago, or on the Open Post, someone mentioned the possibility thatconjunctions between Saturn and Neptune indicate the end of empires. There were Saturn-Neptune conjuntions in 1809 and in the 1840s. The first may have something to do with the fall of Napoleon, which happened in the years ahead (but the timeframe isn't exact). But for the Saturn-Neptune conjuntion in the 1840s I dont't know a falling empire.

Secondly, I can assert that "The Wisdom and Way of Astrology" from Goswami Kriyananda is a good, solid introduction into traditional natal astrology, and well organized.

[brendhelm]

There were a lot of revolutions and revolts in Europe in the late 1840s, a ratcheting-up of the industrial revolution that among other things set the stage for the US Civil War and other revolts in the 1860s. You could make a decent argument that the 1840s were effectively the end, or at least the start of the end, for the old feudal aristocracy, even if they wouldn't be fully overthrown until World War I.

There's also Mexico to bear in mind. While the official Mexican "Empire" was short-lasting at least in name, in the 1840s Mexico lost a decent amount of its land to the United States, which arguably qualifies as an end-of-empire.

Top of the day

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings everyone, hope you're having a great day.

JMG, had a couple of related questions.

1) Last couple of weeks I suddenly felt like the answers I was getting in horary were wrong, and I ended up not listening to them, and it went well. In fact, I haven't been using divination at all since, on the vague sensation that I shouldn't be using divination for now/I don't trust the answers I was seeing.

Is this some sort of weird test? Do you have any idea what's going on / why it would stop working suddenly?

(This has happened at the same time some of the biggest changes are happening in my life, and I had some major spiritual experiences including reiki 2 initiation.)

I'm not sure what's going on but the answers were completely sketchy sounding and I ended up going with my own intuition and it worked.

2) Do you think fear affects divination? I realised that often in the past I have had some ambient fear associated with my particular questions; this fear has to do with painful experiences in my past but it wells up when I think something similar may happen.

I dislike this because I think that fear causes more superstitious behavior, lapses of logic due to the way fear causes the mind to highlight non-important properties of whatever is being examined etc, and thus I want to not experience fear, or have it affected my divination, or my behavior.

Any advice on how to integrate fear is welcome.

(It doesn't debilitate me, I have a strong will and I force my will over the fear, but I want to integrate the fear so that there isn't so much a nervous system overhang in my day to day.)

Re: Top of the day

[ecosophia]

1) Interesting. Was it that the divinations were wrong, or was it that your interpretations were wrong? When I've had things like that happen it was always the latter.

2) Any strong emotion will mess with your divinatory abilities. That's why it's often best to get a reading from somebody else when the subject is one about which you have personal feelings. As for integrating it, usually that's an issue because of unresolved childhood experiences; the Order of Spiritual Alchemy work (available here: https://octagonsociety.org/preliminary-lessons/ ) is one good way to deal with those.

Age factor

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Mr. Greer, I am 48 years old and I am starting my practical studies in esotericism and ceremonial magic without previous experience. I would like to know your opinion about age, if this becomes an impediment to doing exercises like The Middle Pillar, Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and more advanced ones from the Golden Dawn Curriculum and your books. For not having a young age anymore and the respective health, if these exercises can somehow affect health in a negative way. If you have any suggestions for older practitioners like me who are starting their journey and entering ceremonial magic now (or other suggestions for paths because of the age factor), they would be most welcome.

Thanks !

Re: Age factor

[ecosophia]

It's quite common for people to take up magical study in middle age, and it's not a problem at all to go so -- quite the opposite, in fact. So long as you don't have any kind of serious heart trouble or a psychiatric illness bad enough to require daily medication, you'll find that magical practice is good for your health, and it's something you can continue into advanced old age.

On Gurus

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, thanks as always for hosting these. Last week you mentioned paying little attention to the recent "bumper crop of gurus." I've come to see the concept of a guru in an almost entirely negative light because of the recurring patterns of abusive and exploitative behavior that seem to be linked to the guru/seeker dynamic. Do you think there is any reason to believe that this dynamic was ever different or is it simply a matter of viewing the past with rose-colored glasses? Could the spiritual dynamics of pre-Piscean ages give rise to more positive forms of these kinds of relationships?

Re: On Gurus

[jprussell]

Perhaps synchronicitous, but a writer I have gotten some good mileage from in the past, Dave Chapman, just this past week wrote about the problems with the guru relationship in Buddhism, but how the valuable parts of it might be salvaged here: https://vividness.live/evolving-ground-learning-relationship

Fair warning: I haven't read the piece yet, and he's coming at this from a materialist Buddhist standpoint, but he's a careful thinker and reasonable person who takes the concept of "Meaning" very seriously, so maybe this can be helpful.

Cheers,
Jeff

artists and artwork?

[randomactsofkarmasc]

JMG and Commentariat,

The drugstore I use periodically sends coupons to use to get photos/enlargements printed for free (or incredibly cheap). I have been getting occult/alchemical (out-of-copyright) prints made (to eventually frame with refurbished thrift-store frames). Does anyone have any out-of-copyright artists who have occult/alchemical/occult-adjacent paintings that they like? Or a specific drawing/painting? Thanks for any recommendations.

Murky Befuddled Mermaid

Re: artists and artwork?

[ecosophia]

This one is an old favorite of mine:

Modern Order of Essenes

[tunesmyth]

No question right now, JMG, just as a reminder to all. Especially to MOE practitioners and those seeking healing: there is a new forum dedicated to discussions regarding the healing work of the Modern Order of Essenes. Not much activity there yet, so I thought I'd give it a shout out.

Re: Modern Order of Essenes

[(Anonymous)]

I am delighted to see an actual, honest to goodness, proper website forum instead of a social media page. These definitely need to make a come back and I’m definitely going to sign up!

A curious experience

[(Anonymous)]

Hello,

Last week I asked whether it was possible to pray for dead people we have never met.
Your answer was thoughtful as usual when you said: "Sure, but you'd want to figure out why you want to do that."
Allow me to explain why I asked that.

A few weeks ago, in my country, a father in law who had assasinated his daughter in law barely 9 years old at that time was handed a very heavy prison sentence (40 years). It was a terrible tragedy but at least justice was done. The press covered the trial and a picture of the girl with her face blurred was published.

I read the article and as any normally endowed human being I was sad for the unfortunate girl but relieved that justice was done.
However within hours of reading the article I felt a very deep sense of profound sorrow and sadness which moved me to the point of tears.
I am a man of 58 with a normal and stable emotional life with wonderful kids and wife. I never cry. Terrible murders like that are not common in my country but are no longer rare, alas. In previous cases I was not moved to the point of tears.

This time was different. At first I put it down to the fact that the victim reminded me of my youngest daughter who is alive and well!
But I was not entirely convinced and I pondered on why I was so distressed with a gut wrenching feeling that I was staring at some abysmal but banal evil.

As a practioner and student of LRM of several years, I wondered if some memories of my past lives were not breaking the surface there? Or is it something different or am I delusional?

Now I am not going to go into knots over this episode, I noticed that the emotional charge has gone done with time though I still feel sad at times.
I am quite aware that there is the danger of creating false memories there, so this is why I won't do anything to boost this experience.

Anyway, your views are deeply appreciated and thank you for your time, energy and expertise.

Regards from a far away land.

Re: A curious experience

[ecosophia]

That may well have to do with past life memories. With something traumatic along those lines, it's usually best to do as you've done and not work with the experience; when you're ready for it, it will surface.

[(Anonymous)]

John--

I have begun a (perhaps indefinite) period of celibacy. Circumstances in my life permit and support the decision at this time. I would like to learn more about proactively channelling the sexual energy otherwise dissipated through masturbation into more constructive applications in my life. Are there any practices, exercises, or references you could recommend?

[ecosophia]

Yes. There's a good practical method for redirecting the sexual energies in George Winslow Plummer's Rosicrucian Manual, pp. 44-45; it's out of copyright, and you can download the whole book for free here --

https://archive.org/details/rosicrucianmanua00plum/mode/2up

This seems to work better for most people than the more famous exercise introduced by Dion Fortune in her book The Problem of Purity, which is also out of copyright:

https://archive.org/details/b29814777

[thinking_turtle]

For those who wonder what HOGD means, the list of Ecosophia abbreviations is available! Now updated with BOL and DF.

Last week I finished The Witch of Criswell. The book can be held in one hand and the cover is stiff enough to read while lying in bed. The pages are thin but not so much that the text shining through becomes troublesome. I loved the division in chapters of roughly 10 pages. That's the amount I can read in about half an hour. That made it easy to read a chapter before bed. I noted with some wonder that Ariel can read two books in a single day.

I enjoyed the recognizable aspects of high school in the story. Each chapter had many things to meditate on, and the plot kept me curious about the next chapter. My mind rejected the traffic accident as overly dramatic and unlikely.

The finishing paragraphs were fun! I've been working on reducing my mobile phone use and wish I could copy Ariel's solution. Highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to the next installment!

[kayr]

Good Morning all,

I finally got my Earth Pipe installed at one corner of my vegetable garden that puts it roughly in the center of my gardening space. JMG, I know you had one for your garden in Maryland, how long was it after you installed it before you could see it's effect on the plants growing there? Also, did you notice how far the effect spread out from the earth pipe to the surrounding area?

Thanks much.

P.S. If anyone else has installed an Earth Pipe in their garden, I would live to hear from you as well.

[(Anonymous)]

Please keep us posted on how it goes. I have a vegetable garden and would love to try this. What instructions did you use may I ask?

Thanks,
JH

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG,

I've recently got back into more focused occult study and practice after a long break and have found that I have developed a noticeable aversion to meat (especially eating it). The aversion isn't intense - I can handle it, eat it if needs be, etc. But there is a definite subtle pushback against consuming it. I've sat on this for a couple of weeks and checked other physical markers and everything is fine. So I was wondering if you'd ever heard of such an overlap between occult practice and aversion to eating meat?

[homeopathic_meditations]

Interesting. Have you noticed if this is any meat or just factory-farm meat? Are there any animals you tolerate better than others?

Cosmic Doctrine

[(Anonymous)]

John,
I’m continuing my progress through your excellent commentary on the Cosmic Doctrine and have reached chapter 22. The CD makes it clear that each swarm cannot progress up to the next plane until it is free. But I’m a little unclear how this applies to human death/reincarnation. When we die we leave our material bodies, but do we not cross over to the lower Astral plane as we do so? How does that work in Fortunes metaphor as we yo yo between the two planes over many lifetimes. Also, is it not likely that more than one swarm end up occupying each plane? It seems to me unlikely that we have to endlessly wait until every single member of our swarm is ready to move to the next plane.
Kind regards Averagejoe

Re: Cosmic Doctrine

[ecosophia]

Ahem. "These images are designed to train the mind, not to inform it." If you take the Cos.Doc. as a literal description, rather than a set of images meant to train the mind, you'll land yourself in any number of confusions like this.

Geomancy shield chart question

[(Anonymous)]

Hullo JMG!

I hope you are well,

I find myself interpreting a geomancy chart I have a strong emotional investment in.

I asked the geomantic oracles:

“Would you say it is a good idea to get my blue belt?”

1M Tristwych
2M Merch
3M Fordd
4M El’w
1D cyswyllt
2D bendith Fawr
3D cyswyllt
4D Fordd
1N Colled
2N Colled
3N el’w
4N carchar
RW pobl
LW Bendith Fach
J bendith fach

I have a strong attachment to my Jiu Jitsu gym and want to at least get my blue belt, but ever since I departed for a time and returned I’ve had injuries that have prevented me making much progress. I also feel a lot of imposter syndrome. “Everyone else here is so cool! I wish I could be as cool and good at this as them!” Despite the fact that everyone has been nothing but friendly and supportive. (Aside from a brief period where I was asked not to roll when I shared I did not have them cvd vaccine) I enjoy the practice, but I also feel a lot of self imposed emotional pressure to be “good enough” by showing up as much as I possibly can.

At first glance I interpret this chart to mean I’m simply going with the flow, and getting the blue belt would be a minor if temporary blessing. Two bendith fach as left witness and judge being a weak yes.

But with the bardic grade geomantic input, two bendith fach and one pobl have a much darker interpretation. “disputes and illnesses, fevers, discords, envy, madness, and the loss of the thing asked about; it is unfortunate in questions concerning illness.”

Do you think the above interpretation suggested for multiple occurrences of bendith fach is applicable in this chart? (I’d like to believe it’s not but don’t want to delude myself) Do you have any insights for me?

I also cast one more chart with the question “would you say it is a good idea to not get my blue belt?” RW llosgworn y thraig J carchar LW Pen Y Thraig. Which I interpreted as a difficult ending makes space for a new beginning. I can post more details on that one if you feel it’s applicable.

Thank you so much for your time and wisdom!

-WindMan

Re: Geomancy shield chart question

[ecosophia]

This is why it's very often a good idea to ask someone else to do a reading for you when you have a question that you have strong feelings about. The answer the chart gives is "yes." Bendith Fach means success via another's help, and Pobl is an indication of something in which you're simply part of a class or group. If your sensei considers you to be qualified to take the blue belt exam, it's respectful for you to take it, and not to put your own judgment ahead of his/hers!

As for the double Bendith Fach, that reflects your own tangled feelings on the subject; you're feeling discord over this, and envy of the people who you think are doing better than you are. Don't let that slide into madness...

[(Anonymous)]

There's a dust-up going on over in Carnac France over the removal of some large stones thought to be menhirs to make way for a DIY hardware store. To make it clear, these stones were not part of the main Carnac site which I believe is under UNESCO protection. It's not even clear if these stones were really associated with the Carnac monuments themselves. But never mind. The mayor who gave the OK for the demolition is catching all sorts of flack including death threats and politicians are trying to make hay out of it all.

I guess my question is how long does a sacred site stay sacred if it's no longer in use and nobody remembers what was done there? Is there karmic blowback if you know the site may have been important at one time but go ahead and build your hardware store anyway? Or is the controversy in France all just a tempest in an etheric teapot, especially given that nobody knows if the removed stones were really part of the Carnac complex or just something that somebody erected at a later time for non-sacred purposes?

JLfromNH/Fuchsia Choleric Armadillo

[ecosophia]

It really depends on what kind of sacred site, how it was consecrated, and what kind of work was done there. If it was a genuine megalithic site, that stays sacred until the stones are destroyed or removed, and the blowback isn't just a matter of karma -- sudden violent thunderstorms tend to spring up when a genuine megalithic site is tampered with.