Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's just past 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. Last week's honoree, Dr. Gérard Encausse, who wrote about magic under the pen name Papus, didn't act alone in reviving the Martinist tradition and founding the Martinist Order; he had the capable assistance of this man, Augustin Chaboseau. Papus and Chaboseau were medical students together, and were startled to discover that each of them had received the Martinist initiation by way of two different lineages. They each initiated the other, and thereafter worked together to preserve and transmit the Martinist tradition. Chaboseau's wife Louise was famous in her own right as a leading French feminist, and one of the first female pharmacists in France.

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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.

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

Comments

Wealth of Nature Review and "Listening to the Wisdom of Your Body" Question

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

I hope everyone here is having a great summer as we draw toward the close of July.

To Share: This week, I've put together my thoughts on our host's excellent The Wealth of Nature: Economics as If Survival Mattered, and as always, I welcome any and all thoughts (though it would likely be better to share them on my dreamwidth, as this would be pretty off-topic for MM): https://jpowellrussell.com/#book_the_wealth_of_nature

To Ask: In a recent scrying, I was given the advice "learn to listen to the wisdom of your body." I've meditated on this, and I'm pretty sure I get the gist, which is that my body has things to tell me separate from my rational/verbal mind, but as a someone who has spent far too much of his life focused on that rational/verbal mind, I don't actually know how to do this. Do you, JMG, or anyone else in the commentariat, have any recommendations for practices, techniques, or the like that might help?

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: Wealth of Nature Review and "Listening to the Wisdom of Your Body" Question

[ecosophia]

Get plenty of massage. One of the most useful things I've found to get the mind out of the way is anything that helps release excess tension, since that's a barrier to body awareness, and massage helps quite a bit with that.

[(Anonymous)]

I saw the exchange about the magical resistance calling up something in the Minnesota woods in the comments of your Wednesday post on ecosophia.net.
Umm… That sounds worrisome to me.
Might you give (or do you have a link to) a summary of the incident in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes?
Also, would you possibly consider moving your comment on the consequences a bit towards the sooner end of sooner or later?
Many thanks.
Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

I don't recall anything about the Magical Resistance in the Minnesota woods! As for my comment, I'll certainly consider it.

Magic Resistance Backfire

[(Anonymous)]

The Magic Resistance famously did a wide variety of workings seeking to remove Trump from office. However, they couldn't admit to themselves that they were throwing curses because they hated Trump because they have an absolute psychodramatic need to see themselves as The Good Guys^(TM), so their actions must be Fully Justified^(TM), so they convinced themselves (change in consciousness in accordance with will, after all...) that Trump was the Evilest Evil That Ever Eviled Even Worse Than Hitler et cetera ad nauseum.

One consequence of this is that the justifications likely found their ways into the Magic Resistance workings, so the target wasn't just Orange Man Bad, but The President Who Serves Foreign Influence. Of course, there's the small matter that, in reality, Trump was none of the things they smeared him with, so all their Fully Justified^(TM) hexes were left hanging in search of a deserving target.

Now, we have a President who certainly seems to be quite deserving of removal under the 25th Amendment, and appears to be neck-deep in an entire political career worth of various foreign bribery schemes. (1) Could the Magic Resistance workings have arranged to satisfy their own prerequisites for the removal of a corrupt President?

A few more loosely related bits:

Some of the known Magic Resistance workings were attempts to curtail foreign influence in American politics. Since a fair chunk of the Magic Resistance were themselves foreign, the alt-right monkeywrenchers probably had considerable effect with an "agree and amplify" technique. (2) Can such a working vulnerable to "may they get exactly what they ask" be fairly described as self-monkeywrenching?

Assuming that those workings did indeed create a barrier to foreign magic affecting American politics, thus trapping magic raised by foreign elements of the Magic Resistance in their own countries, I think I have a possible explanation for something mentioned last week. We know that the MR attempted workings that can be described as mass mind-control spells, with two examples mentioned here of attempts to abolish "vaccine hesitancy" and to convert Trump supporters to the PMC/MR cause. Other commenters have previously noted being asked to help with MR workings by people who otherwise had no use for the occult. This suggests that there may have been workings to expand the MR that may have actually worked. Last week, a seemingly-uninvolved Canadian with bizarre views on euthanasia was mentioned and you expressed confusion that someone not involved with the MR could be affected like that. I suggest that the "trapped magic" thrown by foreign MR members is finding unexpected ways to earth out. (3) Does this scenario seem plausible to you?

Lastly, in your opening post, you mention a Martinist tradition of not naming initiators and thus needing "slightly less evasive routes". Should that be more evasive, since naming your initiator would be the most direct route, or am I missing something here?

Re: Magic Resistance Backfire

[ecosophia]

All these are interesting speculations. We'll have to see, thoguh, whether Biden does get removed from office. As for my comment, I'm going to be slightly more evasive. ;-)

[(Anonymous)]

Regarding Essene exorcism and associated blowback:

We’re not supposed to talk about our works but in this case things seem to have gone off the rails and hopefully my experience can help others avoid unnecessary mistakes. The ritual was going smooth right up until the end where I invoked the person’s gods to protect them. At that moment there was an electrical explosion outside and the power flashed off and back on. I took it as a sign of success, but the next day I had zero energy. Two days later I was battling one of the worst viruses that I can remember and am still not out of the woods yet.

My competing hypotheses on what went wrong:

1. Didn’t build up enough energy with the breathing technique and ended up draining my own battery.

2. Weightlifter syndrome: stacked on too many plates that I wasn’t ready for.

3. Accidentally invoked the person’s gods when I should have done angels. (Maybe they conflicted with my healer god?)

4. Raspberry Jam: Since childhood I’ve also been dealing with a demonic attachment. I’ve learned to make it go sit in a corner and sulk, but is it possible that mine got removed as well?

5. I have an addiction. It’s a small one but maybe I wasn’t ethically pure enough for the procedure.

6. The other entity was simply too powerful from their ritual work and I got sucker punched, but I haven’t yet been able to verify if host benefitted from the ritual because we are out of contact.

7. I drank a beer after, probably should have just gone to bed but I was pretty excited.

8. This possibility just came to mind and is by far takes the cringe cake, but when I saw him and the other object next to him (a large blue sphere) I thought “okay that must be the entity” but something about his form didn’t look right. He appeared an ashy dark brown and had his shoulders hunched over and eyes closed like he was exhausted and taking a standing nap. Could it be that the blue sphere was actually his soul that got pushed out by the vax, and I short circuited the healing ceremony by attempting to remove something I wasn’t supposed to?

Any insight you have that would help me make sense of the matter is greatly appreciated.

[ecosophia]

Sounds to me as though you tried something you weren't yet really strong enough to handle, and suffered the metaphysical equivalent of a pulled muscle. Get plenty of rest and keep doing the standard Essene healing practices on yourself, and you should be fine.

I'm lending JMG books in the Continental US

[kimberlysteele]

I am making my collection of JMG nonfiction books (and a smattering of others) available for free to Ecosophians in the US who want to borrow them by mail. I had dreams of converting my music studio space partially into a library before I had to shut it down in 2022. Those dreams are not possible to turn into a material space for now but I want the collection to be circulated and I am moving forward despite my lack of a commercial space.

If you are in the continental US and would like to check out up to three of my books by mail, please peruse my library spreadsheet here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v0ELUifXRBoPkWHfA017FZYuIh5DdPvWqh6CS_AH8k0/edit?usp=sharing

Then email me at my Gmail K Steele Studio address.

I will mail the book to you at no charge, though donations would be much appreciated at http://buymeacoffee.com/kimberlysteele

Keep the book for up to three months before mailing it back to me. It's an honor system, so if the book/s are not returned after 3 months, I will ask you to pay for their replacement value so I can re-order them.

I am not taking any book donations other than JMG books at the moment because I don't have the shelf space.

Re: I'm lending JMG books in the Continental US

[(Anonymous)]

Hello! Do you have anything that shows the titles?

Lottery Magic For Not Winning The Lottery

[(Anonymous)]

Is there a category of magic based on buying lottery tickets for things other than winning the lottery?

This week I bought a pair of lottery tickets and spent some time fantasizing about what exactly I would do if I won payouts of various sizes. As I did so, I 'felt' a question that boiled down to "Hey kid, you wanna win the lottery, or do you wanna be lucky?" After thinking about it, I answered I'd rather be lucky.

My tickets came back without a single number matched across 10 plays. However, I felt a burst of energy that helped me see a few things I wanted to change around the house, sort out a few things about my job, a deity I have an on again off again relationship with called me up, and to top it all off I thought of someone who might want a piece of junk collecting dust on my shelf and they agreed to take it off my hands for a small amount that was still a lot more than I've ever won in the lottery!

Thinking back, I also remember a similar situation a few years ago when I bought a ticket and tried using an affirmation I made up for non-specific 'luck' but with the expectation that the luck would come as lottery winnings. When I got home from getting the ticket, the kitchen pipes had broken at my rental, which ended up being the last straw that got me to buckle down and break myself out of that living arrangement and go somewhere better. I didn't win anything of consequence from the ticket, and it took a lot of work to dig myself out of the hole, but looking back, that was a lucky misfortune all things considered.

I've been thinking about what's happened and I'm a bit on the fence about this entity. The 'luck' is coming in the form of me seeing ways to do extra work and realizing my capability to do the extra work. At the very least, the force feels more balanced than imbalanced. However, shortly after, I had a few visions of a spirit I work with being accosted with a disembodied hand with a knife. It was easily turned aside and the spirit laughed at the assault, but it was still a new bad thing that came along with all the good stuff.

Regardless, I'm concerned about the ethics. While my tickets were just letting the machine pick the numbers, the 'deal' seems to be "these numbers will win nothing, but you'll get alternate fortune." There could theoretically be other people who have the same numbers and therefore necessarily cannot win now either. I can't be sure if they're getting compensated equally, or if they were equally approached, or if the potential number space is so large I don't really need to worry about duplicating someone else's winning draw, but it reminds me of Ender's Game where Ender mentions the setting's warp drives use so little power that he's worried he'll look out the window and see the stars going out since there's no such thing as a free lunch. I don't think a bit of life reshuffling is going to put out the sun, of course, but I'm still cognizant I'm part of a system that I can't keep track of and there's a subtle connection to be aware of that I'm not sure what to do with.

This also suggests the entity and the knife may be two separate things. I seem to recall you mentioning a long time ago that there's a lot of "give me the jackpot" lottery magic floating around to the point that it cancels itself out, and perhaps by agreeing to give up my share of luck, I've crossed someone with incidentally similar numbers and drawn some sort of reprisal conscious or not. Perhaps the voice was even a comedically ill-advised attempt at "stealing" my lottery luck that backfired through shared numbers - if someone bought a ticket and cast such a spell with the ticket involved, the shared numbers would provide an obvious link between us which could have been monkey wrenched by some other entity who walked away laughing and tipped me some luck for my unwitting involvement. Might have to divinate on that.

Regardless, I have my doubts that this type of magic is repeatable. I think it works by starting with the expectation and fantasy of Fortuna Minor and giving it up via spiritual intercession for Fortuna Major, which you then ground out in your life for whatever small but sure profits you can manage. Might be in the same category as a green candle spell. However, if I go in intentionally seeking Fortuna Major, there's nothing really being given up since I wouldn't be sincerely charging my illusion of winning to be sacrificed and the odds of winning themselves are so low in the first place that the material value of not winning is negligible. Also, Fortuna Major is always all around you, so why go out of your way wasting good money on the ticket if your desired result is gains through personal effort?

And, of course, I know Discworld is just a novel, but I feel there's also a grain of truth in that bit where all efforts to call up Lady Luck on command fail messily because that's not how luck works.

I'm thinking that sorting through all the fantasies of winning in meditation might be a more ethical and repeatable means of lottery 'luck' magic. The illusion of all the winnings feels like it compartmentalizes life changing success behind a passive one in a million chance the same way fantasy novels compartmentalize being exceptional behind bloodline or innate "specialness" - you can't be cool until an inciting incident which you may not be qualified for in the first place. Sorting through the illusion to pick out what one really wants and then drawing a line of causation from one's present life to something small and attainable that gives a bit of whatever the fantasy fulfills might bring similar fortune to this Unwinning the Lottery-mancy in a cheaper, more repeatable, package. Granted, I doubt I would have thought of some of the knock-on effects I experienced, and some of the fortune I received was synchronicity based, so they're subtly different spells.

So 1) Is using lottery tickets this way an established form of magic? It feels like something Hoodoo might have experimented with.

2) What is your take on the ethics of the lottery number entanglement situation?

3a) Is a balanced result from a working an indicator of a balanced force behind it, or does one still have to be on one's toes?

3b) Does the knife and voice being separate theory have legs?

4) How grubby is all this lottery magic anyhow? I play the lottery for a bit of sport when the jackpot goes to the moon in the sprit of probable loss but all in good fun with at least a few dollars going to fund social projects, but the more I imagine the astral situation around the lottery with all the greed and desperation, the more my imagination slides towards the maelstrom of Dante's 2nd Circle of Hell or worse.

Re: Lottery Magic For Not Winning The Lottery

[ecosophia]

1) I've never heard of anything like it.

2) Very mixed. I tend to avoid such things myself.

3) Yes and yes.

4) Extremely grubby. It's been my experience that when people play the lottery in anything but the most casual way their lives grind to a halt and any luck they might have had trickles away. That's true of any attempt to get something for nothing, but lotteries seem worse than most. That said, buying the ticket and deliberately giving up the chance at winnings might have odd and productive effects -- but I'd recommend careful divination and reflection on the subject.

Celtic Golden Dawn

[hearthculture]

Greetings John Michael Greer,
I hope on this magic Monday that you and yours are well.

I’ve begun work with the Celtic Golden Dawn, and as I continue work with this, I intend to gain some rough familiarity with the welsh language. I was curious about the word mae; having worked with multiple versions of the sphere of protection, I was assuming it referred to a god, or the one life of the universe, or was some other form of invocation. I found that it is just the beginning of a phrase (“there is”) which precedes the naming of the three rays of light. I worked on translating the rest of the rite of rays back and forth and found that the sources of translation I’m using are all confused by the words alawn and plennydd, and come up with quite different words and phrases from those in the book.

1. Are the words in the book a different or older form of welsh, or has there been some modification of welsh to fit within syllabic or other magical requirements to work within golden dawn frameworks?

2. Also, do you have any recommendations for someone who is used to SOP based traditions (Druid Magic/Way of the Golden Section) as they branch out into exploring and learning within the golden dawn tradition?

3. Is it perhaps reasonable to continue a weekly SOP in order to maintain those channels and habits of motion and mind, or would that be likely to muddy the waters of the new practice?

4. Would grounding work, like martial arts, be advisable as a balance to these energies, as was suggested in the way of the golden section; or are there other practices that you would deem advisable/acceptable for someone who is moving into ceremonial magic from study and practice that has heretofore been more mystical and theoretical.

When familiarizing myself with the Norse and Greek deities, in addition to reading myths, I learned their correspondences and in daily life thanked or called to them while performing corresponding activities or engaged with corresponding things. I’m having trouble doing this with the Welsh deities as their correspondences are more narrow and less comprehensive.

5. Any recommendations, beyond meditation and prayer, on how to incorporate the Welsh pantheon into daily life in order to build relationship?

Thank you for this space and for your counsel.
May you be blessed.

And to the commentariat whom I have grown to value as much as my shelves of books; may you be blessed.

Re: Celtic Golden Dawn

[ecosophia]

1) The Welsh used in the rituals is formal and rather old-fashioned. Alawn and Plennydd are very old terms.

2) Set those aside completely and go into the GD work as a complete beginner.

3) Most people find that these don't play well together.

4) That's something you'll need to sort out based on your own needs. Divination is a useful tool here.

5) We know very little about these deities; prayer and meditation are basically the options we've got.

Geomancy

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr. Greer,

I had a question about your Geomancy books. I already own “The Art and Practice of Geomancy” and I was wondering if you recommend also getting a copy of “Earth Divination, Earth Magic”?
I’m not sure if the books cover the same material or if they are complimentary to each other.

Re: Geomancy

[ecosophia]

They mostly cover the same material. I wrote Art and Practice at a time when Earth Divination was out of print and there were obstacles to getting it back into print; fortunately those cleared away later on.

Pure GD framework

[(Anonymous)]

Dear John

I am very interested in your Celtic Golden Dawn System and the work you and your colleague has done on the Heathen Golden Dawn. This has my wondering if there exist a template Golden Dawn framework this is “pure” in the sense of not being tied to a particular symbolism as such?

Can such a system even work or will there need to be a symbolism in place? Can it work with a universal symbolism, i.e., the highest force, the paternal force, the natural force, etc. but unnamed as such?

Re: Pure GD framework

[ecosophia]

1) There's no such template. What I've done, and what the person working on the Heathen GD is doing, is to take the Hermetic GD as a model and extrapolate from there.

2) Such a thing would be sharply limited in its effectiveness. Magic doesn't work well with bare abstractions; it needs the rich fare of symbols, myths, and traditions to generate power in the deep places of the self.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG and everybody,
I just had an interesting experience that might be metaphysical and I would appreciate your comments. I drove my family to the airport and returned to an empty house. I was sitting quietly when I heard a thud. I immediately suspected the cat and ran to look for her only to find her sitting quietly and looking scared. I looked around and realized that a 12-month wall calender had fallen on the floor. I have lived in this house for more than 20 years and always had a wall calendar on that particular wall. I checked the nail and the wall - everything looked fine. I put the calendar back making sure that everything was right. 10 minutes later it fell again. This time the cat was in front of my eyes and not even moving. I put it back again and went to a dance party. Just came back - the calendar is mercifully on the wall.
What could it be? What could it mean?
Kirsten

[ecosophia]

Any number of things can cause that, some physical, some metaphysical. Have you considered using divination to try to figure out what was behind it?

Ecosophia Prayer List

[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 until midnight Monday, or any time at the post linked above.

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

Mindwinds's mother Nancy has been diagnosed with adult hydrocephaly, in which the cerebro-spinal fluid is not properly circulating and is putting increasing pressure on her brain, and she is scheduled for surgery to correct the condition on July 27 in Missouri; for a successful outcome to the surgery, and for blessings and healing.

Steve T's brother Matt is currently in the hospital after a sudden violent seizure, and his daughter is having extreme panic attacks; they were both in a terrible car accident last fall. Steve asks for prayers for Matt's recovery of health; for the emotional and psychological well-being of the rest of the family, including his wife Megan, his daughter Diana, and his young son Jake; and for the lifting of any spiritual harm afflicting the family.

Freddy, Ganeshling's neighbor's 10 year old son, hasn't spoken since a traumatic hospital stay a few years ago; for Freddy to start speaking again and to help him develop into a functional adult.

Tamanous'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.

Lp9's hometown, East Palestine, Ohio, for the safety and welfare of their people, animals and all living beings in and around East Palestine, and to improve the natural environment there to the benefit of all. The reasonable possibility exists that this is an environmental disaster on par with the worst America has ever seen. (Lp9 gives updates here and also here.)

* * *

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.

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this as always.

UGC; Old Hag

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning JMG and everybody else,

Hope everybody is having a good start into the week! :-)

1. Are the Gnostic Lessons you‘ll be posting for the UGC the same as the Gnostic Lessons from MOE/FHR, or are there any significant differences? (I.e. do I need to re-print and compare every word carefully, or can I simply continue with my existing printouts?)

2. On which planes does the Old Hag „live“? There is certainly a strong etheric component to the phenomenon, but also some material plane (shuffling sounds) and astral plane (feelings of dread) - but does that mean the entity itself exists on these planes?

And in general, how does one go about figuring out on which planes an entity exists?

Thank you very much for all you do here! If you may have them, my blessings to you and your wife, and may you both have a wonderful, healthy and productive week!

Milkyway

Re: UGC; Old Hag

[(Anonymous)]

Forgot about my third question, sorry:

You haven't posted any links to podcasts in a while. Is that because there haven't been any recently, or did they fall by the wayside? And if the latter, would you mind listing the podcast names so that one could find them?

Thanks,

Milkyway

The Hebrew Alphabet - Morse Code Magic?

[inykane]

So, due to your consistent advice, I am sticking to "Learning Ritual Magic" and resolutely avoiding the temptation to start delving into additional practices. I could elaborate on a number of positive surprises that this study has gifted me with, but that I am sure is just how it works. AND having browsed through the book several times, you would not know that by merely reading the book. Little by little, the practice is changing my life for the better.

As for the questions:

1) The course utilizes the Hebrew alphabet. I find it a little difficult to distinguish some of them (Beith & Kaph for example), so I went on to other sources in order to learn the alphabet. It appears that the alphabet used in the book is some sort of elaborate and pretty version of it, which differs somewhat from both the modern cursive hebrew and the printed version. When memorizing the correspondences, I would like to draw tham, but it is a little tough when I am not sure how to do it.

Can I use the modern printed version? Or does it matter? If not, where could I find the correct way?

2) Do you know of a magical system that would use the morse code as magical symbols? I do not mean merely the static visual representations, but the rhythm itself. Somewhere down the road, once I get my own foundation well established, I would like to work with such a system. I imagine many applications with wind instruments, body movements (hand gestures, dancing) and chanting. It would also be easy to mark almost anything with the visual representation. Or simply by arranging items in a row based on their size etc.

Could this be done? Do you see any problems that might arise?

Re: The Hebrew Alphabet - Morse Code Magic?

[(Anonymous)]

Not JMG

1) Have you seen worksheets online for writing Hebrew letters? It can be done more simply than most of the fonts used in books. Try something like this: https://hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Alphabet_Practice.pdf

Divination working

[abrahamjpalma]

Good day, JMG and friends.

A few days ago I had an experience that I can't find anywhere else to share it. It must be regular stuff for you, but it means more than I expected for me...

As it goes, I'm performing the Sphere of Protection almost daily. And some meditation on occult themes, almost daily except on weekends. However, I'm lacking behind in divination: it exhausts me. Since I'm doing everything I can to keep my practices secret, my divination consists on interpreting dreams whenever I can remember them reasonably well, and scrying, then meditating on the images, and that's taxing for me. Last Thursday I was scrying on the outcome for a soon to happen travel. We are going to the village of my grandparents and there's family there, with some drama I will spare you. Just say t's always akward to visit. But we buried my father last year, and we wil be staying in an appartment this time, so things may be different this time.

In my scrying I asked: How it will come these holidays? And I got three images: A carnival mask (the same that decorates my aunt house), an hybiscus and a big dragonfly.
Meditating on it, I matched the hybiscus with my mother and the dragonfly with my father. My mother gave me an hybiscus long ago and I'm trying to give her back some seedlings from it. The hybiscus is also called the pacific rose. The dragonfly comes from one of the happiest memories I have with my father, when he took me to the river being a child. My parents divorced when I was a child, and it was not a friendly divorce. But the symbols also mean "peace". I've come to realise that the scrying is multifaceted, so many of the second meanings are there 'in addition to'.
So far, so good. That's a good insight forecasting a peaceful travel, and after my father's death, probably there will be less drama.

However, right the next day, in a pot plant just in the front door of the office where I work, I saw for the first time in more than twenty years, a big orange dragonfly. The exact same dragonfly I saw in the scrying. It was seeking shelter from the heat and was very still on the plant. So still that it was very easy to see. I took pics and send them to friends, who were also happy for seeing such a big bug. Ok, the dragonfly is real, the pics and the messages are still there to prove it happened in Friday. Then I checked the diary: The scrying page was written on Thursday, as I remembered, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't making it up.

Isn't this a marvel? I am sure I would have remembered if I had seen this dragonfly before the scrying. As I said, it's more than twenty years since I saw one outside of a zoo. I dream of one and then next day here it is!
Good thing is that I didn't freak out. But it gave me some to think about, seriously.

I later meditated on the experience itself. It seems to me that by scrying I was telling the universe that dragonflies are attached to the memory of my father and in response it sent one real dragonfly, maybe it's a shade of my father's spirit who sent it, or the bug just felt the pull from the image I created in the astral and came to fill it. Or both.

An alternative explanation is that the future can actually be seen in advance, but this contradicts how I think forecasting works. I think we input the images of known facts and speculations, consider how they might evolve without the conscious mind prejudices, and get a stream of posible scenarios. I find it easier to accept that a living being is attracted to an astral form than to accept that reaction precedes cause.

I am just grateful for being able to speak my mind on this topic, and I would gladly read your thoughts, if you may.

Re: Divination working

[ecosophia]

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is TSW -- you know, "this (ahem) stuff works." I'm glad it worked so positively for you.

Second, remember that the universe is not obliged to obey the limits of our theories...

The Five Rites

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG

Would you be willing to give some details about what's going to be in your upcoming book on the Five Rites?

When I saw it mentioned in your last Ecosophia blog, I pre-ordered it immediately, which is something I rarely do! But I've been practicing the Five Rites for years, and often wondered what their origins were, having never been convinced by the story of their Tibetan provenance.

And yet... I am also a long-standing practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, and, if you squint your eyes, there is no denying the similarity of some of the Five Rites with cognate practices in the magical movements of "trul'khor" (Tibetan energy yoga). The Sixth Rite, in particular, is strikingly similar to a posture I learned in the context of Dzogchen training, where the aim is to short-circuit the thinking mind by holding an isometric pose (while retaining the breath) past the point of physical exhaustion.

My working hypothesis is that the human energy body, as with our physiological body, is almost identical, cross-culturally, and that collections of practices for cultivating this energy body are constantly being discovered, lost, and re-discovered, and were and are known to every human culture in history (including our own).

I also think that the cross-fertilisation of ideas and practices along the Silk Roads of Eurasia were more formative than we generally reckon, and that the influences did not always travel in one direction. Not everything is a ancient mystical secret from the mysterious East; there were influential teachings and practices that flowed from west to east as well.

Have I hit near the mark, or am I completely off-target?

I'll totally understand, by the way, if the answer is, "Have a bit of patience and read the book when it's published!" That's more than fair. And cultivating patience as a virtue is never not a work-on for me.

Anyway, very intrigued by what you have to say on this matter, either now or upon publication.

Be well,
Seán

Re: The Five Rites

[ecosophia]

The Five Rites certainly weren't Tibetan; they were invented in the occult community here in the United States in the 1930s, and published in two somewhat different forms in 1939. That said, there's good reason to think that the people who devised them were influenced by what was known about hatha yoga, in particular by the Suryanamaskar (sun salutation) exercise, as well as a range of Western movement disciplines.

The sixth rite is among the pieces of evidence for this; it's a straightforward borrowing of the uddiyana bandha exercise from hatha yoga, which (unlike most yogic practices) was well described in English language literature at the time.

That said, your basic thesis is correct: we're all working with very similar bodies, and with a series of traditions dating back very far into antiquity about what you can do with the body. The Five Rites were crafted by people who paid close attention to the effects of exercises, and who drew inspiration and ideas from many other people who could be described in the same terms. It's not at all surprising that similar practices should emerge all over the world under those circumstances.

Necromancy

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG

This is more of a question in the genre of , "am I the odd one".

I've been working with chthonic forces for a few years now, it's mainly ancestors worship but also summoning the dead at crossroads, some natural magic based on cemetery materials, using "energy of the dead" and asking them for advice and support, to what is worth mentioning, with good results.

After my work with them I always feel full of energy, peace of mind and in good humour. I have not observed any health problems, nothing bad happens around me. I have a very strong Jupiter (in Pisces, 12+ in minor dignities) in the XII astrological house, which is in retrograde, when I was born, could this be its effect?

Re: Necromancy

[ecosophia]

Good question. I know that African and African-diaspora traditions do a lot of work with ancestors and the dead, and apparently have very good results from that; if you're working in one of those traditions, and getting good results, that's a worthwhile data point.

Etheric feel of bioplastics

[sea_spray]

Hi JMG

If I recall correctly you've mentioned before that plastics feel like rotting fish on the etheric level.
Would you be able to comment on the etheric feel of bioplastics made from more recently grown plant's?
I'm thinking in particular of the PLA that many 3D printers use which is advertised as biodegradable, though that is only under ideal conditions and it often has additives that may hinder the process.

Thank you
Sea spray

Re: Etheric feel of bioplastics

[ecosophia]

To me -- of course I can't speak for anyone else's psychic perceptions! -- bioplastics feel like autumn leaves, dry straw, and the like. They've got a gritty quality but they don't have the slimy feeling. On the other hand, bioplastics that include a lot of noxious additives feel like autumn leaves that have been sprayed with sludge...

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what DOGD, AODA or UB mean, I offer a list of Ecosophia abbreviations.

To ask, I'm now wearing the red bag from the FAQ as a way to prevent myself from radiating negativity. Now I wonder if the red bag stops me from radiating positive energy as well as negative energy. What are your thoughts?

[ecosophia]

No, the red bag will keep you from projecting etheric forms -- it's purely an etheric device. You can radiate positive energy on the astral plane all you like.

Astrology

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning John Michael Greer,

Thank you in advance for you hosting this event of , "Magic Monday", I recently pre-ordered your new book on occult physical exercises (5 Tibetan exercises), I can't wait for it to arrive, I'm sure it will be great.

As for my questions:
1. where can I read how to invoke and evoke the virtues/blessings/energy of the planets? If additionally it would be without using Christian names it would be perfect! :D (I have nothing against Christianity, it's just not my vibe).

2. astrological charity, how to fix a weak sun (in Libra) and moon (in Scorpio)?

3. if in my birth horoscope I have a strong Jupiter (in its rulership) but when I was born it was in retrograde, but I can't find information if it's good or bad.

Re: Astrology

[ecosophia]

1) Here's a good introduction to planetary charity:

https://www.renaissanceastrology.com/planetarycharity.html

Chris Warnock's book Secrets of Planetary Magic, which you can order here, is a solid guide that will take you further.

2) Do planetary charity to the Sun and Moon, of course!

3) One of the most common bad habits of beginners in astrology is thinking of things purely as "good" or "bad." Retrogradation is a debility -- it weakens the planet's capacity to act outwardly in your life -- but it also redirects the planet's influence inward. You can learn to treat it as a strength. The same is true with every other accidental debility -- for example, squares and oppositions in your chart can become a source of strength if you work with them instead of against them.

[(Anonymous)]

Good day JMG, hope you are in good health and mood today.

I was wondering if there is a way to see physical spirits/energy? I have often heard from my friends who have been in the occult longer than me that there are people who simply by virtue of birth can see spirits as they were physical, I was curious if it is possible to train something like this in myself? And if so, do you happen to know where I can find information on this subject?

Thank you in advance.

[ecosophia]

W.E. Butler's book How to Read the Aura, Practice Psychometry, Telepathy and Clairvoyance is the source I recommend for this.

Practicing Magic With Others

[(Anonymous)]

Mr. Greer, I appreciate your openness and generosity with your teaching on so many levels. I have been following your Occult Philosophy workbook since January 1 and have also been working deeply with Aidan Wachter's techniques (mostly from Weaving Fate) since June of last year. I have observed changes in myself and in the world from this work. And it has shifted my worldview immensely.

Up until this point, I have been practicing alone and that has been fine. But I am starting to feel the need to congregate and learn from others as well, and I have no idea where to start. I just moved to Southeastern Massachusetts and given that it may be close to your neck of the woods, I think, would you have suggestions for groups, bookshops, people, or online forums that serve this area from which I might find opportunity for in-person discussion and workings?

Many thanks again for all that you do.

Sincerely, RS

Re: Practicing Magic With Others

[ecosophia]

I haven't encountered much in the occult scene locally, and what there was appears to have folded up with the Covid shutdowns and not started up again. I really, truly don't want to have to take on the work of starting something up -- been there, done that, used the tee shirt to mop up the mess -- but yeah, it would be helpful to have something local for occultists.

[(Anonymous)]

When working independently without a lodge, how does one know when they’re ready to try the more advanced workings?

[ecosophia]

Take it a step at a time. When you've gotten to the point that you can do your basic practices easily by memory, and begin to sense results from them, add something a little more demanding. When that's easy and effective, add one more thing. Keep going until you've learned it all. You can also use divination, of course, if you're uncertain at any step.

Black Sun

[(Anonymous)]

Last week’s question about the Black Sun reminded me of this site I stumbled over a few months back.
https://www.thetoolsbook.com/the-black-sun
The name of the ritual gave me pause due to historical associations. In the video the therapist explains that they picked that name because it symbolizes the hidden power of an eclipsed sun. The explanation seemed a bit glib, but I tried the exercise and it seemed effective but couldn’t shake the weird historical associations with the Nazis and so I stopped.

Re: Black Sun

[ecosophia]

Eclipses in astrology are always malefic -- that is to say, they bring trouble and pain. The "hidden power of an eclipsed sun" is thus not something you want to mess with! The connection with National Socialism is another mark against it, of course; a symbol doesn't mean whatever you want it to mean, it means the sum of what it's meant for every person who's put energy into it -- and if a large number of the people in question wear jackboots and armbands and like to do evil magic, staying away is a good idea.

Spiritual paths toward resilient communities

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

In the wake of the Canadian trucker protests and various other medical freedom movements, I got to thinking. A major obstacle for any such movement comes in the form of infiltrators, saboteurs and informants. It often seems that the organs of government dedicated to these functions are the most robust out of all of them. Accusations of "shill" and "agent" destroy many projects before they can even get out of the gate.

With that in mind, could there be any spiritual counters to the formidable resources dedicated to undermine such groups? Such as group practices that affirm the sincere shared purpose of the members and make the group inhospitable to anyone who joins with ulterior motives. Of course, such practices may have as a precondition some shared spiritual framework among the members, which would be difficult to apply to a movement as diverse as the Canadian truckers. It was moving to watch them assemble to sing "Oh Canada" but an agent provocateur can still probably sing well - there needs to be something more to it than that.


Can you comment on the ways in which you see honesty and loyalty manifesting in the higher planes compared to bad faith and deception? Would it be easiest to use a ritual which will simply fail in the presence of an insincere participant? Of course, in a large group such simple pass/fail testing is less efficient.

Thanks for any thoughts and for these weekly Q&As.

Re: Spiritual paths toward resilient communities

[ecosophia]

This is one of the many reasons why it's important, in any kind of magic, to focus entirely on bringing positive energy to what you want to build up, rather than directing negative energy toward what you want to tear down. People who are in a group under false pretenses, especially if they're agents provocateurs who are there to lure people into committing crimes, will usually find that positive focus intensely uncomfortable, and will either back away fast or loudly insist on trying to change the focus to negativity; in either case, they can be identified and excluded that way. Alternatively, they may be drawn into the groupmind and change their loyalties. Did you ever read G.K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday? It's the story of a policeman who was told to infiltrate an anarchist group, only to find out that every other member of the group was also a policeman and every one of them had become a convert to anarchism...

[lukedodson]

Hi JMG,

I have had a few experiences of divination 'glitches' - on occasion, they have led me into trouble. All good training for the intuition, in the end. IIRC, you have suggested getting a 'second opinion' from another oracle if the situation calls for it, but would that not risk offending the guardian-spirits of the first oracle?

[ecosophia]

If the guardians of the first oracle misled you, they've got to be prepared to handle your getting a second opinion!