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. Papus and Chaboseau, the honorees of the last two weeks, each got their Martinist lineage by a tangle of mostly forgotten figures, so we can jump straight back to one of the founders of the tradition, Louis-Claude de St. Martin. St. Martin was born in 1743 in an aristocratic family and became a student of the elusive master Martinez de Pasqually, learning the distinctive system of theurgic magic Pasqually taught. Later in life, after Pasqually's death, he focused more of his attention on Christian mysticism, studied Jacob Boehme's writings, and penned a series of influential mystical tracts under the pseudonym "The Unknown Philosopher."

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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

Scrying

[(Anonymous)]

I've been studying Carl Jung's The Red Book and it struck me how similar his Active Imagination process is to scrying. Are they the same thing or is there overlap? What are your thoughts on this?

[ecosophia]

There probably were, back in the day, but as far as I know no trace of them has survived.

Re: SoP Question

[ecosophia]

There are telluric powers that are neither demons nor the dead. In ancient Rome people still recalled dimly that Jupiter in the sky was paired, in some sense, with a god named Veiovis who dwelt underground and was the lord of cattle and wealth; the same god was called Veles among the ancient Slavs and, I believe, Beli among the Celts. (Their traditional opposite numbers in the sky were Perun and Bran respectively.)

As for the dead, who do you think John was contacting when he did mediumship? That's who mediums talk to, after all...

[(Anonymous)]

Are there any other topics which come close to getting as many questions which demonstrate a complete mental breakdown?

Re: Scrying

[ecosophia]

They're the same thing, full stop, end of sentence. Jung filed off the serial numbers and put them into his (don't call it a system of occultism, instead call it a) system of psychology.

[ecosophia]

1) Neither one. That's like asking whether engineering is more like football or basketball! Alchemy is its own art, entirely separate from magic of all kinds.

2) If you come up with a way to stop cats from acting like jerks, be it by magic or anything else, you will be a billionaire in a week. I wish I knew of some such trick!

[ecosophia]

Nope. I've literally seen more coherent thought among wokesters screeching about Donald Trump, or fundamentalist Christians losing their cool about occultism.

[(Anonymous)]

The All is Cucumber, the Cucumber is all, world without end, amen.

Anonymous, you just started me giggling at the mental image of a priest reverently holding up a cuke before the faithful.

—Princess Cutekitten

Re: And now a new goddess

[(Anonymous)]

We are already abundantly blessed with such chances.

—Princess Cutekitten

Re: TS for sure W

[(Anonymous)]

So, were you in fact successful?

—Princess Cutekitten

Re: Steps to protect a friend

[(Anonymous)]

He’s an unbeliever in magic, so it may be difficult to obtain. But I’ll ask. If he gives the go-ahead, I’ll do it. Thanks for your advice.

[(Anonymous)]

I have several books that I borrowed from friends over the years and, for one reason or another, tarried in returning. I've been making an effort to return them all, and have returned all but three (each of those three books belongs to a different person). I do not want to contact those three people for any reason if I can help it. With one of them it wouldn't be so bad, though definitely odd. But I must keep the door shut for the other two—-both would definitely take the return of the book as an indication I wanted to renew ties, and I definitely do not.

Do you have any suggestions for settling this debt that doesn't involve contacting these two people? My first thought was looking up the cost of the two books, and making a charitable donation to a literacy group for that amount, with the intent of trying to even the scale.

Thanks for your time & insight.

Re: And now a new goddess

[(Anonymous)]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but it was almost certainly an oblique reference to a recent blog post by John Beckett over at Patheos Pagan.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2023/07/the-return-of-a-storm-goddess.html

"The Coming Storm", "Tower Time" and "The War in the Otherworld" are Beckett's favorite pet cliches. The whole thing strikes me as thinly disguised fundamentalist Christian end times theology. This is ironic, considering his hatred of Christianity, particularly conservative and fundamentalist Christianity. But as an old adage points out, what you hate, you tend to imitate...

[ecosophia]

Get rid of the books -- if at all possible, without receiving any money in return for them -- and pay an equivalent sum to a Mercury charity of your choice. (Better still, round up to a multiple of 8.) That should do it.

Re: Baby teeth & Disposal questions

[(Anonymous)]

I have noticed that they have similar personalities.

FWIW as a datapoint: since someone else downthread asked about energy vampires, that was what prompted the exchange with the oak tree. We were on an obligatory visit with faraway relatives, stuck in the house for a week, and as always happens when we visit there... we were all lethargic and kind of depressed. I don't have any special abilities when it comes to figuring these things out-- for all I know they just have poor ventilation and low oxygen in the house-- but I was desperate for some relief, and found that the further I was from the house, the better I felt. So I found a friendly oak to sit under each day and work on my homework (an extensive stack of liturgical music I needed to learn), and each day I'd ask Jesus and his Mother to bless the tree, and I'd thank the tree for its hospitality. Harmless little yellow bugs came and perched on the pages of my book while I worked-- the tree sheltered a thick blanket of moss and seemed to hold court with a whole mini ecosystem of tree sprouts, insects, lichens, and fungi in the tiny domain under its branches. I was careful not to step on the tree sprouts, and by way of thanks, I'd break up any dead branches into small, digestible pieces and leave them on the ground for the fungi. By about day 3 the situation indoors was intolerable-- no sleep, no energy, no will to do anything (until I forced myself outdoors). And for crazy synchronicity reasons, I have to back up a little-- I had been reading Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, and finished it that morning. A major plot point in the story is a manky feather, gifted by a supernatural being, tucked into a hat, and used later to free someone from an enchantment. And for anybody who doesn't know, Anansi is a spider/god/trickster character in African folklore. So anyway, I got out there, made my usual petitions, moved out of the way of a very large brown spider (I was raised never to harm spiders-- we leave them alone, or relocate them when they move into a bad spot. Hippie parents and stuff), and then went and put my head against the trunk and sort of... I dunno. Listened to it mentally. Felt for its patterns (This is how I talk to trees-- but I lack words for what happens). Spent some time with it, then talked to it about the house situation, and asked if it could help. I opened my eyes and on the moss at the base of the tree was a raggedy, vivid blue jay feather I hadn't seen before. So I picked it up, thanked the tree, tucked it under my bandana, and wore it around for the rest of our stay. Three nights running, I still couldn't sleep... and then remembered, kicked myself, and put the bandana-with-feather back on and went right to sleep. Wore that rig around like a magic helmet until we left. It helped a lot.

No idea if any of that's useful to anybody else, but I highly recommend treating trees with respect, and trying to make friends. Always be polite ;)

[(Anonymous)]

This is basically what monks are doing when they get up for midnight offices. I have tried it myself, when unable to sleep, and can report that an hour or two of intense prayer/meditation followed by maybe two hours' sleep is as good as the canonical 8 hours.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know how it feels (ask the tree...), but depending on the species of tree, trimming even to the point of cutting the whole trunk off near the ground can stimulate new growth. Some trees can live practically forever if they are cut down periodically.

[taylorrose]

As always, thank you.

[jenniferkobernik]

JMG,

I have a sword amongst my family’s personal effects which I suspect to be associated with a fraternal lodge. Would you be able to help me identify it based on these pictures?—I am hoping perhaps Masonic rather than KKK (we are a Southern family), but would like to know if possible. Thank you!

Liquor Store

[(Anonymous)]

I remember a while back there was some discussion about how working in a liquor store might generate bad karma.

I've recently had to take a job at a liquor store for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is my old retail job was becoming intolerable and generating waves of people quitting due to micromanaging and insane managers. If there was another job I would have taken it.

What kind of bad karma will I be generating, and is there any way to counteract it?

Re: Norse equivalents to Saturn

[(Anonymous)]

So far as it goes, this seems to be a fit for Hel or Hela, to whom the vast majority of the dead go after passing away from things like sickness and old age. Is there a reason to avoid Her?

[kimberlysteele]

Clearly you have been spending time in my garden. I planted one sad little cucumber plant in late spring and I've hauled 60 cukes out of it in the last week. It has announced plans to invade Poland...

[(Anonymous)]

Regarding profiting from the actions of your (known) enemies, would that show up in the chart as Jupiter in the 8th house?

I have Jupiter in the 12th. Does that mean I would profit from the actions of hidden enemies?

[(Anonymous)]

That sounds a bit like the 'state of consciousness' is similar to what Albert Ellis describes as a 'core belief' in REBT therapy, a deeply set belief that one isn't always aware of.

Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

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

If I missed anybody, or if you would like to add a prayer request for yourself or anyone who has given you consent (or for whom a relevant person holds power of consent) to the list, please feel free to leave a comment below (if while this Magic Monday is still open) or at the link at the beginning of this post.

* * *
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.