Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's 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. Along with Louis-Claude de St. Martin, last week's honoree, the inner circle of pupils of Martinez de Pasqually included this week's figure, Jean-Baptiste Willermoz. A very active Freemason, Willermoz played a central role in cleaning up the mess left by the implosion of the Strict Observance (the most important Templar order in 18th century Europe) and created a new order with its own rituals, the Rectified Rite, which survives to this day. Much of what became the ritual of Martinism came from Willermoz's hands.

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

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

 

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

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

With that said, have at it!

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

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

In your opinion, what was the influence of Edgar Cayce in the history of esoterism in
America? In what way is his influence felt today, and do you have any particular opinion of
his work? Thank you very much.

[ecosophia]

He was one of a dozen or so very influential trance workers in the history of American alternative spirituality. Like most of the others, he became very popular in the latter part of his own lifespan and for some decades after his death, mostly by way of popular books; a great many mid-20th century American occultists and alternative thinkers were strongly influenced by him. That influence has faded out somewhat at this point as more recent generations of trance workers have seized the limelight; last I heard, though, the organization he founded is still thriving, and it seems to have an unusually sane attitude toward his teachings, recognizing that some of them need to be taken symbolically rather than literally. A great many of his ideas are still very much in circulation, often at second hand and not always attributed to him!

For my part, I read quite a bit of his material when I was a teenager and found it rather more interesting than the competition. He's also in my initiatory upline -- one of his many students was Dr. Juliet Ashley, who was the main teacher of my teacher John Gilbert. I would have to revisit his writings to have any more detailed opinion of him -- it's been a long time -- but I don't recall spotting anything in his work that waved a red flag, and much of value.

[(Anonymous)]

How fascinating. I read an article the other day by a woman who was born in the
late 1800s, and she thought Edgar Cayce was the bee's knees. Thank you, it's
good to learn something more about him.