Magic Monday
Nov. 19th, 2023 11:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
It's just before 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 1.1 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 image? I field a lot of questions about my books on magic these days, so I've decided to do little capsule summaries of them here, one per week. The book on the left is the current edition of my fifth published book, The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic. I got tired of the torrent of wildly inaccurate books on herb and stone magic, and decided to write one based entirely on medieval and Renaissance sources -- granted, it helped that I'd gotten fairly good at reading Latin by the time I got to work on it. I wrote this before I studied hoodoo with Cat Yronwode, or it would have had much more traditional American conjure in it. It's still a solid book, and one I use myself whenever I need to look up the magical properties of an herb or what have you -- and it's the oldest of my books that's still with its original publisher, for whatever that's worth. If you're interested, you can get a copy here if you live in the US, and at your favorite bookstore if you live elsewhere.
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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.
With that said, have at it!
***This Magic Monday is now closed -- as in, no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 05:11 am (UTC)Life-Force
Date: 2023-11-20 05:14 am (UTC)Dear JMK and commentariat
I am grateful for YOU.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving Day those who celebrate it!
Just started The Secret of the Five Rites and it’s just amazingly great - groundbreaking and well-researched indeed.
The intro histories reminded me of NYC in 2010 when there was a yoga studio on every block. It was then that yogis were having their minds blown as Mark Singleton (The Yoga Body) was making the lecture rounds. Uncovering that the not-very “ancient 2000 yr old“ ashtanga vinyasa yoga flow system really originated in 1930, and was a hybrid of military calisthenics developed to entice young Indian youths into Krishnamacharya’s shala instead of the gym next door was liberating for some (me included) and not-to-be-believed by others.
Our current American Vinyasa classes that now incorporate pilates, classic postures, Sun salutations and even newly made-up postures are the results of this liberating knowledge about the cultural “volleyball “ that is modern postural fitness practice.
Thanks again for this book!
Question regarding the portion in the book where you discuss the “ life-force”/“animal magnetism” -
What were some ancient Western names for life-force?
Marcilio Ficino’s “Spiritus”? Do you think the “Nous” of the Hermetica and other works meant life-force?
Thank you.
Jill C
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 05:17 am (UTC)Re: Life-Force
Date: 2023-11-20 05:21 am (UTC)Not another one of those kids and magic questions...
Date: 2023-11-20 05:30 am (UTC)I'm a breasfeeding mum with a 9 month old baby, now looking to get back on the path. I was doing the golden dawn system before getting pregnant but stopped for obvious reasons. I was thinking about taking up your golden section fellowship, as you clearly state that this is not magic, and thus I think it should be safe for me to do? I wanted to double check that it is safe to do the protection ritual as I know this ritual is often included in magical systems. New to the occult and differentiating all these things.
Re: Not another one of those kids and magic questions...
Date: 2023-11-20 05:35 am (UTC)"If you’re pregnant or nursing, prayer, meditation, and maybe a little light divination is as much as you should do. You’re busy with one of the most powerful magical workings a human being can engage in — the rite that summons a human soul into physical incarnation — and that’s what you need to work on for now."
(It really does help to read the FAQ.)
Once you've finished breastfeeding your child you can certainly take up the Golden Section Fellowship work, as that contains nothing that will be problematic at that stage.
Maximizing vs Satisficing and Grand Psychic Breath vs Solar Plexus Work
Date: 2023-11-20 05:41 am (UTC)I hope all the Americans here have a lovely Thanksgiving this week.
To Share: I have some thoughts on strategy to share this week, which can be found here: https://jpowellrussell.com/#maximizing_satisficing_and_strategy
To Ask: Fairly simple one: if doing the Dolmen Arch work, should the "Great Psychic Breath" replace the Solar Plexus breathing, or supplement it?
As always, thanks very much to JMG and everyone else here for all that you do.
My blessings and best wishes to all who will have them,
Jeff
Re: Maximizing vs Satisficing and Grand Psychic Breath vs Solar Plexus Work
Date: 2023-11-20 05:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 06:49 am (UTC)I hope you are well!
Thank you very much for this space!
1. How can we know and in what situation we should work with planetary entities, angels associated with a certain Sephirot or divine names!?
2. If I want to print the sigil of these beings on paper, what would be the correct dimensions of the paper? A friend suggested 13x13 (I don't know why)
Tks in advance!
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 07:02 am (UTC)I hope you are well!
Thank you very much for this space!
I would like to practice jiu-jitsu. However, I don't see many spiritual elements in this martial art as I see, for example, in Kung Fu or even capoeira. So: how can we “transform” or attribute spiritual factors to an art without any spiritual aspect?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 07:12 am (UTC)2) Any size you choose. There is no specific requirement.
Ecosophia Prayer List
Date: 2023-11-20 07:13 am (UTC)At this link are 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. A printable version of the entire prayer list current as of 11/20 may be downloaded here. 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.
***HEAR YE HEAR YE***
At the end this year I will pruning all prayer requests which were made before July 1st, 2023 from the list entirely, with the exception of any that my own intuition tells me ought to be kept on the list. I make no claims to the infallibility of my intuition, so if your entry is one of those, and you would definitely like it to remain on the prayer list, please send a note updating your request.
(Also, if you think you might be interested in having anyone pray in support of your own self-improvement, please have a look at the Ecosophia Prayer List Autumn Special.)
Here is a selection of prayers from the full list.
May the brain surgery that Erika's partner James underwent for his cancer on October 16th have gone successfully; and may he be blessed, healed and protected, and successfully treated for all of his cancer.
May Kyle's friend Amanda, who though in her early thirties is undergoing various difficult treatments for brain cancer, make a full recovery; and may her body and spirit heal with grace.
May Jeff Huggin's friends Dale and Tracy be blessed and healed; may Dale's blood and spinal fluid infection clear up sufficiently to receive a heart valve replacement; may his medical procedures go smoothly and with success; and may Dale and Tracy successfully surmount these difficulties.
In the case of Princess Cutekitten and the large bank who is suing her, may justice be done, with harm to none.
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.
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.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 07:14 am (UTC)Re: Ecosophia Prayer List
Date: 2023-11-20 07:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 07:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 07:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 08:11 am (UTC)One more question: are there differences between working with these entities at different planetary times of the day? For example, would Venus be more amorous on Friday morning, while Friday night would be more associated with lust?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 08:11 am (UTC)Ogham
Date: 2023-11-20 08:20 am (UTC)What are your current thoughts on the Ogham script? Also, you once did a Pacific Northwest version of the corresponding flora…will you do one for the eastern United States as well?
Best,
Thomas
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 08:23 am (UTC)1) In the mid- to long-term future, it might be a good idea, if your town or local community has enough people with the skills that help coping with whatever the future holds in store. In the little rural town where I live, there are a lot of houses that are currently inhabited by one or two elderly people, which means that in two decades from now, most houses will change their owner or remain empty. I was asking myself whether it would be a good idea to work for the village finding the people it needs to make our community thrive or at least weather the storms as good as possible. There's obviously a material side to things which we have already started working on, but I have the feeling that this is a quest which could particularly benefit from magical assistance.
a) The ethical question: Is it appropriate for me to do such a working? It will be next to impossible to get consent from the villagers because it will largely impossible to communicate to them what I am trying to do. On the other hand, I am an elected representative (though not the mayor) of the village, if that helps.
b) The practical question: This whole working will take a few years. Right now I am doing a regular SOP, divination and meditation, not more and I will have to learn the necessary magical skills one my children are old enough. So there's plenty of time for preparatory work. Can you give a broad hint what level of magical skill and experience I will have to aim for to successfully undertake such a working?
2) My last question https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/252680.html?thread=44424712#cmt44424712 turned out to be rather complicated. I'm still thinking a lot about "definitions". The words Individuality / Higher Self are used in a rather manifest way since you can interact with them. From Fortunes definition, it sounds rather unmanifest, very much like the tracks in space with the matter carving and filling them washed out. Likewise, Fortune seems to imply a very iterative approach to things ("one evolution after another"), though it seems to me that there might be parts of our evolution that might have reached equilibrium and are already part of the Individuality, while others haven't. Which would make the Higher Self as an entity that seems to teach you more plausible since in Fortune's definition you would not be able to learn anything new from it, if I understand it even remotely correctly.
Ok, I hope that wasn't too much ;-) Thanks a lot!
Cheers,
Nachtgurke
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 09:13 am (UTC)A question that has been on my mind for some time is to what extent computer games, especially first-person shooters, can influence subsequent births.
Imagine someone playing Soldier for a few hours every day, perhaps developing a certain enthusiasm for the subject of war. Can something like this increase the tendency to take part in armed conflicts in subsequent births?
ExecutedByGandhi
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 09:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 10:01 am (UTC)Curiously is one able to regain or regenerate lost life force?
If the answer is yes then how?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-11-20 11:21 am (UTC)Do you know if the quartz novaculite as any peculiar magical properties, or will it just be the same as any other quartz? I have some novaculite whetstones which I love and they made me curious.
The significance of physical sensations
Date: 2023-11-20 11:37 am (UTC)I've always been highly susceptible to the ASMR effect to the point I can induce it just by reading certain things and in childhood I figured out how to do things that seem similar to some qigong exercises, inducing and controlling feelings of tingling or heaviness. These kinds of sensations often manifest during meditation or rituals.
I've read sources suggesting these are signs of effective energy work and other sources suggesting they're just nervous static and a distraction. What do you think? Are these something productive to cultivate or a distraction? Given my propensity for ASMR, do you think there is any energetic basis for that effect or it just another way of tickling nerves?