ecosophia | Magic Monday

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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~~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. ***

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Happy Monday, JMG.
A few years ago a stuffed animal came into my possession. It was a gift from my out of state mother to my oldest daughter, who wasn’t much more than 2 years old at the time. It was a green cat with a striped pink tail, flowers embroidered on its side, it was, in a word, odd.

As my daughter grew, more and more toys accumulated in our living room. One day, my wife told her that if she wants new toys, some old toys have to go. A bag was put together and to my surprise, the green cat was included. I normally love taking donations to Salvation Army but this time I was hesitant, I felt a Toy Story type of sadness. I should have trusted my instincts for it wasn’t long after that trip, my daughter started asking for the green cat. My wife and mother in-law would dodge the question. When I had enough of that and stated the truth, it was tears and sadness.

I searched online for the same cat with absolutely no luck. I ran back to Salvation Army, discovered their second floor but no green cat. In my searches online, I came across a very charming tiger, a Dream Pet from 1977. I was hypnotized and beyond certain that this new toy could replace the old. The purchase was an ordeal and in retrospect, possibly my first sign. The wait was only a few days but it felt much longer. When the tiger showed up in a repurposed cereal box, I felt triumphant. When my mother in-law saw it, it was an emphatic NO, do not gift that to our baby.

To the Chinese, the tiger represents too much power, he is also considered a guide to the dead. To have such a thing in your possession, you have to be stronger than the force it represents. According to the rough translation I was given, to exert a stronger will can bring great benefit, to be weaker brings misfortune.

For now, my planned surprise gift is no more. That night, after my disappointment, my neighbors cat startled me with her glowing eyes at our back door. I put the tiger up in my office/laundry room and sure enough, a light popped out, and the kitty litter went flying while I was cleaning the box.

Next day I saw a tiger on my daughters iPad and not long after that she had a tummy ache. At this point I’m about to acquiesce and let the tiger go. But before I do, I consider this episode a challenge.

My question is, what practice makes one’s will stronger than a tiger? Meditation, SoP? Any thoughts are appreciated.

It's not a matter of making your will stronger than a tiger. It's a matter of making your will stronger than the entire cultural complex embodied in the image of the tiger. Ain't gonna happen. This is why competent mages work with, not against, the traditional lore of the society in which they live.

Thank you JMG, that makes all the sense in the world but I'm not Chinese. The philosophy I outlined above is relatively new to me.

Working in a western mindset, I'm still not sure what's the best path forward. The tiger has definitely helped get my meditation back on track so I guess I'll start there.

Funny thing is, every time I sit down to start, my cat purrs really keep the focus on feline.

If you have Chinese family members, the symbolism will affect your family even if it doesn't affect you -- and it may affect you, since minds are nowhere near as isolated as currently fashionable notions tend to suggest. That said, the choice is of course yours.

In one very real way it already has. My brother died suddenly last year, a tiger year. I had thought about it often, the cosmic force embodied as a tiger that carried him away to the great beyond. It's probably why this is such a struggle. And yes, after 20+ years of commitment, I'm probably more Chinese than I care to admit. I used to call many of their beliefs superstition but I know better now. If all I can do is mediate on it, it's my light in the darkness.

Fascinating. True!
E

Magic Monday

Eye of the Tiger

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