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 via slightly less evasive routes. The last two honorees, Constant Chevillon and Robert Ambelain, both received part of their many lineages from this week's honoree, Jean Bricaud. Bricaud was a student of Papus and a leading figure in the French Martinist movement, as well as a major figure in the French Gnostic church of the time. He became head of the Martinist Order on Papus' death in 1916, and played a significant role in many other alternative spiritual scenes of the time. He died in 1934.

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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

Re: Religion or set of ethical beliefs?

[ecosophia]

The confusion between religion and ethics is mostly a habit of prophetic religions, i.e., those religions that were founded by a prophet, visionary, or messiah. Religions that grow up naturally among a people, like most of the old pagan faiths, don't have that habit. You can still find branches of Christianity that focus on worship and meditation rather than moral lectures, but you sometimes have to look hard, and Protestant churches are rarely a good place to start.

Re: Religion or set of ethical beliefs?

[sanctuaryofroseandchalice]

Dear JMG:

I'm not the Original Poster, but I would like to piggy-back on this question if I may. I'm an Anglo-Catholic occultist looking for a sacramental church which focuses more on worship and meditation than on moralism or political activism as the means of salvation. (To be fair, I'm all for cultivating virtue-ethics and engaging in works of charity, so long as they're voluntary). I've considered the high church end of Continuing Anglicanism, as well as certain jurisdictions within Liberal Catholicism. Do you or anyone else here have any suggestions? Anything to avoid? I've also considered the Apostolic Church of the Golden and Rosy Cross, led by Masonic scholar Piers A. Vaughan. I think he's in your neck of the woods, are you familiar with his work? Thank you so very much in advance. May the peace and blessings of the Boundless Mystery be upon you.

Sincerely,
Sanctuary of the Rose and Chalice

Re: Religion or set of ethical beliefs?

[ecosophia]

Piers is in New Jersey, but yes, I've met him, and I highly recommend him: a very pleasant and thoughtful man, and also a serious occult scholar. I don't really have a lot of contact with the rest of that world -- I met Piers in a different context. Anyone else have a suggestion to offer?