Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's nearly 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've been tracing my lineages back as far as I can, and last week took my Martinist lineage back as far as they can be documented. The next step -- and it's the last step in the entire process -- involves a fair bit of speculation, but it's speculation backed up by some evidence. It's been suggested by some historians, Marsha Keith Schuchard foremost among them, that the mysterious Knight of the Red Feather who conferred the Templar lineage on Baron von Hund, last week's honoree, was none other than Charles Stuart, the Bonnie Prince Charlie of Scottish song and story. The claim is that in the years immediately before 1745, when the House of Stuart made its last (and disastrously unsuccessful) attempt to reclaim the British throne, Charles and his inner circle of supporters used various forms of clandestine Freemasonry to raise funds, engage in espionage, and gather arms and supporters for the planned rising. Baron von Hund's initiation was an incident in that process. Martinez de Pasqually, who was honored a couple of weeks back, also claimed to have a charter signed by Charles Stuart as the basis for his occult Masonic order. So it's possible that what lies behind one of the great traditions of Western occultism is a failed political intrigue that got picked up and repurposed by a couple of canny occultists. Stranger things have happened in the history of occultism.

...And with this, the rambling tale of the odd lineages that I've inherited comes to an end. Now I'll have to think of something else to use as illustrations to Magic Mondays!

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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!***

***Please note -- when Magic Monday is closed, IT'S CLOSED.  I just had to delete a flurry of attempted comments posted up to eleven hours after I shut things down. I do need some time to write and do other online chores, you know, so please don't keep trying to post after 12:00 am Monday night/Tuesday morning -- there'll be a new Magic Monday in a week, you know. ***

Comments

Some questions

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

1) have you heard of the white eagle lodge? If yes, what do you think of them/their teachings?

2) To divine if I should do the reverse memory review before sleep, what house signifier should I use?

3) Why is Jupiter justice and Saturn karma when karma is a type of justice? To extend that, Jupiter’s expansion and Saturn’s restriction seem to be related / mirrored, though Saturn’s is highest before the firmament, thus wisdom is closest to heaven?

Curious if you can share some thoughts on their relation and their place in spiritual life.

Re: Puppy vision

[tunesmyth]

Maxine, if you think it would be appropriate, I would like to add her to the Ecosophia prayer list for a length of one month. "May Kameen Johnson's soul be blessed and comforted." Would this be okay with you?

Prayer regarding surgery today

[tunesmyth]

If I may advertise a particular prayer that has just come in, with a short time frame.

Brother Kornhoer's son, who has been on the prayer list for several months for his empty nose syndrome, is getting surgery today to help to deal with the condition. May the surgery go excellently, and may he heal quickly.

(A reminder for those who sometimes combine planetary timing with their prayers: today is Tuesday, which is the day of Mars, who rules surgery.)

Re: Cabala

[randomactsofkarmasc]

I enjoyed The Greek Qabalah: Alphabetical Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World by Kieren Berry. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/650478.The_Greek_Qabalah

Reply

[(Anonymous)]

The usury point has exceptions for trade financing etc:

"§ 5. Whoever lends money, transfers the dominion of the money to the borrower. The latter therefore holds it at his own risk, and is bound to restore the sum in its entirety: wherefore the lender ought not to exact any more. But he who entrusts his money to a merchant or manufacturer in the way of partnership, does not transfer the dominion of the money to him, but it remains his: so that at his risk it is that the merchant trades with it, or the manufacturer works upon it: and therefore at that rate he may lawfully demand a share of the profits thence arising as from his own property.1"- Thomas Aquinas

[(Anonymous)]

I thought so... Thank you.

Is there any way to improve either one with training?

Re: Cabala

[jprussell]

I've long thought that what makes cultural appropriation such an, ahem, "fine" piece of nasty sorcery is exactly that there's a tiny kernel of truth any decent person would recognize, but utterly endless scope to apply it beyond all reasonableness. The tiny kernel of truth is the notion that there's something ill-mannered at best at treating things important to other cultures overly cavalierly - for example, the current rash of PMC psychedelic "shamans" is often pretty cringe. That being said, the line between "valuable cultural exchange" and "cultural appropriation" seems to be entirely determined by what behavior the speaker applying the term wants to dictate, and as such, I've taken to treating the term as part of the Black Speech of Mordor, dangerous to speak even on a sunny afternoon in the Shire.

John Dee

[scottyc]

I'm glad that (Anonymous) posted the question as I've been wanting to ask if you have covered John Dee enochian magic workings on Ecosophia or your other works? I've searched but can't find much.

I have just finished Jason Louv's John Dee and the Empire of the Angels, which I recommend. The book gives biographical details on John Dee and his relationship with Edward Kelley plus has a chapter dedicated to the modern practitioners of enochian magic (focus on Aliester Crowley and Jack Parsons).

I know enough now to believe that Dee was in communication with some beings, angels or beings claiming to be angles but can only say that if I came across beings when scrying, I'd be a little more skeptical....

[(Anonymous)]

1) I don't see it as a conflict. I've been reading JMG's blog since the ADR days, where I enjoyed the discussions of history immensely. I'm not particularly interested in the occult as *a practice*. That's forbidden me, and I'm OK with that. No divination. No magic-- and for all that JMG and others here might consider quite a lot of what we do as Christians constitutes *magic*... it's not a confusing line to draw on my side: no worshipping other gods, His will not mine. Those are the boundaries. But, not being a Baptist or Evangelical or other "everything not expressly permitted is prohibited" sort of Christian, I don't see any particular conflict in talking to occultists and people who worship other gods etc. You do have the most civil and interesting combox on the internet, and so far nobody's told me to go away. In another place or time, perhaps that would not be possible. But in the here and now... traditional liturgical Christians have more in common with occultists than either group has in common with the broader culture. So it's a cozy space and the only surprise is that there aren't more of us here.

I know how sketchy that sounds, in an "ask anything about magic" QA ;) I skim the topic posts for discussions of personal interest-- dreams, perception, states of consciousness, Christianity, autism, meditation-- and skip the rest. And now that the search algos have killed all my old sources for gardening, herb lore, and housekeeping tips... I get those here too!

[(Anonymous)]

I have an inkling *what* happened, but I'm also extremely curious about *why* it happened, on the usury front. That has always puzzled me.

[(Anonymous)]

I think we are already inching in that direction. Notice the recent political skirmishes over student loans.

[(Anonymous)]

This may be a personal thing, but somehow I find it difficult to draw a protective circle, take it seriously for the duration of the working, then tread over its bounds when the working is over. I would rather have the circle disappear one way or another when it is no longer needed.

In this regard, I now remember reading the following in the closing ceremony of a FHR temple:

If you used the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, say: “I now release the banishing I placed about this temple, and send its influence to benefit those who need protection at this time.” [...] Imagine the protective energies dissolving and going elsewhere to protect others.

I presume this may be transferable to the practice of the LBRP outside the context of the FHR?

[(Anonymous)]

I don't even charm my onions. I just chat with them now and then, and perhaps pray for their wellbeing. But that is so far outside the pale of modern life, that it is far more comfortable hanging around with y'all than most anywhere else ;)

I mean, I guess I could hang out in Orthodox forums, but last I checked they were overrun by enthusiastic young folks having intense arguments about monophysitism. Sigh. I'll leave that to the youngsters.

Re: John Dee

[ecosophia]

I haven't written about Enochian magic partly because it hasn't been a major focus of my work, and partly because there are plenty of other good books already available on Enochian magic. Thanks for the book reference -- I'll consider it as time permits. One of the reasons I've always liked William Butler Yeats's book A Vision is that the spirits who communicated the system to him said outright, "We will deceive you if we can" -- and he and Georgie Yeats were both extremely careful to check and doublecheck what they received. Dee and Kelley could have used some of that attitude.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

1) In my life, I have come to suspect that my now elderly mother is what European culture used to describe as a witch. It’s difficult to explain why I have that suspicion without getting tedious. But I think it’s fair to say that she has an imbalanced inner life that she can communicate to her surroundings in unconscious, subtle, and harmful ways.

Would you recommend journaling about this, or is my suspicion so stupid that I should just ignore it and move on? Should I just be aware of this without dwelling on it? I’m interested in this mostly to see if any karmic consequence from past lives comes to the surface.

2) This is unrelated, but do you have any thoughts on whether Crowley’s Lam was an astral being of the sort that others have experienced as grey aliens?

Thank you for your books and for making yourself available like this.

[boccaderlupo]

I appreciate your gracious offer. All beneficient prayers gladly accepted, and God bless you.

Axé,
Fra' Lupo

Re: Storied Meditations

[ecosophia]

There can indeed. It's important to be able to do any one of the three all by itself when that's appropriate, but mixing them at will can also be useful.

[ecosophia]

Yes. W.E. Butler's book How to Read the Aura, Practice Psychometry, Telepathy, and Clairvoyance is a good intro to psychic training.

Re: John Dee

[scottyc]

And thank you for the Yeats reference. I'll check it out

Re: Some questions

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, I read some of their books. It's an interesting outfit, and I know of no reason not to explore their system if it appeals to you.

2) I'd do that as a 9th house divination, as it's a spiritual practice.

3) Jupiter is the kind of justice that is generous, balanced, and takes the circumstances into account. Saturn is strict retributive justice -- you did X and you will pay for it to the last farthing. It's worth meditating on the difference.

[ecosophia]

1) Have you done divination on the subject? That would be my first go-to.

2) It seems very likely to me that he was, yes.

Re: Puppy vision

[(Anonymous)]

I certainly will.

—Princess Cutekitten

Re: Storied Meditations

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you. Are there dangers to active imagination or pathworking in the absence of any kind of ritual framework, such as doing so without banishing rituals? How likely is an otherwise well-balanced person to pick up an unwanted entity or have a psychically dangerous encounter through discursive meditation that mixes pathworking?

[(Anonymous)]

Something has bothered me lately, and I'm really hoping you can tell me where I'm wrong. But, since 2020, we've engaged in what amounts to a massive amount of ridiculous cultural posturing over a virus; and in particular, a lot of people on the Left spent much of 2020-2022 acting as if if people did not follow along with their delusions, they would die. I'd like to quote something from Surfing the Astral Light, an essay you wrote about on The Well of Galabes:

"That’s one of the two factors behind ritual magic. The other is applied psychology, and this latter is probably the more important of the two; a vast amount of what can be done through magical practice depends utterly on the use of emotionally charged symbols, dramatic action, and an assortment of other means to reorient the unreasoning levels of the human mind."

There is also the Nocebo Effect to consider; so, a very large number of people on the political and cultural left did heavy rituals to the effect of "We're all going to die (from Covid!) without masks and lockdowns!" So, what happens when we remove the lockdowns and masks? It strikes me that this may, without invoking anything about vaccine efficacy, help explain the rise of Covid illnesses among the vaccinated, as many of them were tied to the left; and they may very well have unwittingly created an emotional link in their minds between living normally, and Covid.

However, when we consider the scale of the thing, it also seems plausible this could create a major amount of psychic energy, which could fairly easily earth out with ADE inducing vaccines; but ADE inducing vaccines which don't kick in right away, but rather only take effect once life is largely back to normal. Is it possible that what happened since 2020 essentially transformed a large swath of society into a large scale magical working aimed at their own death?

Re: What's in a name?

[(Anonymous)]

I thought they were a baseball team.

—Princess Cutekitten