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Magic Monday
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 these days, so I've decided to do little capsule summaries of them here, one per week. The book above on the left is the current edition of my sixth published book, Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings. These days books on investigating reports of monstrous entities are all over the place, but that wasn't the case in 2001, when this first saw print. I happened to be doing a lot of investigation of certain entities in the Puget Sound area in the years just before then; I thought it would be interesting to get some of my experiences and ideas in print; the book was a pleasant project to write, and it sold like hotcakes -- and, er, I may have some very small share of responsibility for those books on sparkly vampires, because unless you happened to spend time in the stacks of old university libraries full of mostly forgotten anthropology publications, this was for some years the one place in print you could find out that there's a very lively werewolf tradition among the native peoples of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington -- you know, near Forks. If you're interested, you can get a copy here if you live in the US, and here if you live elsewhere.
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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!***
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(Anonymous) 2023-11-27 09:01 am (UTC)(link)Last week I asked you a question about mysticism, and it wasn’t until after MM was closed that I saw that Robert Mathiesen had responded to my question as well. I would like to thank him for his very thoughtful reply.
Robert, I appreciate your taking the time to write to me. I’ve never heard the terms kataphatic or apophatic, or even thought about these different approaches to mysticism or magic. You’ve given me much to research and meditate on. I’d like to understand the nature of mysticism and magic, their differences and overlaps, so that I can better forge a path for myself that will no doubt include both.
I have a great interest in the Christian mystics (I just ordered two books with the complete writings of Teresa of Avila) and will add the other resources you suggested to my must-read list.
I really enjoy reading the Christian mystics, even though I’m not Christian. I’m attracted in some ways to Christianity, particularly Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox with their rich histories, established traditions, rituals, prayers, etc.. And I’ve noticed that Eastern Orthodox has gained some popularity in the last few years, if the more public conversions of people such as Paul Kingsnorth and Martin Shaw are anything to go by. Sometimes I think it would be easier to follow a mystical path if I were Christian, but as far as I know, they wouldn’t welcome a polytheist.
No matter. I will continue to read and be inspired by the writings of mystics of all faiths. I think we’re all pointed in the same direction anyway. I just have to get over the feeling that I’m playacting Christianity when I borrow concepts and practices from their rich tradition. I’ve realized that the mystical (as well as monastic) life that I long for will need to be somewhat (re)envisioned as I go along. Fortunately, others with similar longings are paving the way with new writings (such as the wonderful little book “Polytheistic Monasticism” in which our esteemed host has an article) and pagan monastic communities popping up here and there. I am grateful for these new paths being forged.
Thank you again for your reply. I always enjoy reading your posts here and on the Ecosophia blog, and I am inspired by the knowledge and wisdom you so generously share. You and JMG are truly gifts in my life.
Happy Solstice to you both!
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I took the terms kataphatic and apophatic from the English translation of Vladimir Lossky's The Mystical Theology of the Orthodox Church, especially chapter 2; they go back at least to the 500s CE. Since you are well-disposed toward Orthodoxy, you might have a quick look there. (I am not Orthodox myself, but I spent my 'teens and early twenties in Berkeley, where many of my best school-friends were Russian Orthodox. Later on, my graduate studies were in Slavic linguistics, with particular emphasis on Church Slavonic, which is the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox Church. So I am fairly knowledgeable -- for an outsider ...)
In Roman Catholic mysticism the two kinds are sometimes called via positiva ( = katapatic) and via negativa ( = apophatic). Very generally speaking, Catholicism seems to me to favor kataphatic theology and mysticism, while Orthodoxy strongly favors the apophatic approach.
And thank you for your compliment.
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(Anonymous) 2023-11-28 12:24 am (UTC)(link)I'm glad you saw my reply. I sent it early this morning before work, and in my grogginess I forgot to add my signature--"Magenta Befuddled Dragon" as I called myself in my first post, aka Kelly in the ordinary, non-Pangalactic world.
The terms "via positiva" and "via negativa" seem familiar to me, perhaps from Evelyn Underhill's book on mysticism which I read a few years ago. I'm currently reading her shorter book, "Practical Mysticism," which I don't expect will get into such details. I'll have to revisit her longer book.
I've just requested a copy of Lossky's book (the state where i live has a great interlibrary loan system). I see he has a few others that look good, too. I appreciate the recommendation. I'm looking forward to exploring these resources and ideas you have suggested. Many thanks again!
Kelly
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