Magic Monday
Dec. 3rd, 2023 10:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
It's a little 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 seventh published book, The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. I'd gotten irritated about the lack of decent reference works on occultism, and Llewellyn, the publisher I worked with in those days was enthusiastic about the idea of helping to fix that. It was a fun project, and includes a certain number of quiet and rather abstruse jokes; there are other occult encyclopedias available these days but this one still stands up fairly well -- though I'd make a lot of changes if the publisher was interested. (This also turned out to be the last book I did with Llewellyn for a long while, due to some issues involving their treatment of another project of mine.) If you're interested in the encyclopedia, you can get a copy here if you live in the US, and at your favorite book venue if you live elsewhere.
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***This Magic Monday is now closed -- as in, no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 05:25 pm (UTC)Pluto as 'master of ceremonies'?
Date: 2023-12-04 05:47 pm (UTC)Dear JMG and all,
Following up on discussions a few weeks ago about the waning of Pluto’s influence (as well as your book, JMG), for myself on a personal level I have a different perspective. A few years ago I realized that Pluto plays a striking role in my astrological chart that I’ve never seen discussed, and I wonder whether others here have noticed anything like that. This is in spite of the fact that Pluto has a minimal influence and role in my chart with respect to aspects and placement, nor do I consider myself a Plutonian sort of person.
But Pluto seems to serve as something like a ‘master of ceremonies’ or timekeeper in my chart. Each time transiting Pluto moves into a natal house, the matters of that house move very strongly to the forefront of my experience, and even more so when transiting Pluto conjoins a natal planet in that house. All of this happened long before I had any awareness of astrology, which I began studying only a few years ago, so none of it was self-fulfilling prophecy.
During Pluto’s sojourn in my 9th House, I variously traveled and lived overseas imbedded in foreign cultures and languages, attended university, and studied various cultural and philosophical subjects on my own.
As soon as Pluto crossed into my 10th house, I began my career working for the Army Corps of Engineers as a scientist researching natural resources management for military training installations. I was imbedded in scientific research and military culture and environments, and maintained secret security clearances because of my use of remote sensing data and the locations of my work; the overall cultural context of my work was in many ways quite Plutonian.
Right when Pluto crossed into my 11th House I converted to an unconventional religion, Heathenry. I joined, formed and led Heathen organizations, made many friends and participated in many Heathen networks. All of these were greatly expanded from any such experiences—friendships, organizations, etc—which were largely lacking during earlier periods of my life.
When Pluto crossed into my 12th House I became disabled with chronic fatigue syndrome and seizure-like symptoms, and had to withdraw from work, organizations, computer use, many interactions with others, many activities, and close in on myself for years while I figured out what was happening and how I could best cope with it. My spiritual life was deep and quiet, and while I studied and wrote on Heathen subjects, progress was very slow and my research was very low-tech.
By the time Pluto moved into my 1st House, where it is now, I had figured out how to deal with my challenges and became more active again, expressing my thoughts and experiences through quite prolific writing and self-publishing (Pluto conjoined natal Mercury during this time), and feeling that an exciting new phase of my life has begun even though I am past 70 now.
I’m sorry to go into so much personal detail, but I wanted to illustrate how remarkable I find this timekeeping role of Pluto in my chart, and ask whether others have noticed anything like that with Pluto or with other planets, dwarf planets or asteroids. I’d be especially interested in any insights from JMG. (Of course, all of this depends on what system one uses to demarcate the Houses; I use the Placidus system.)
Do all of us have some sort of 'master of ceremonies,' in the sense I've described, among the astrological bodies, and if so are they all different, or is there something about Pluto in particular that enables this function? If so, is Pluto’s demotion relevant to this function, as you’ve shown how it’s relevant to other functions of Pluto?
I certainly have not noticed any changes since Pluto’s demotion; he keeps right on with being my ‘master of ceremonies’ as I described here! His next timekeeping event in my life is moving into conjunction with my natal Mars in Aquarius, which should make for interesting times!
Thanks in advance for any shared thoughts...
Winifred Hodge Rose
ARCHETYPES vs GODS
Date: 2023-12-04 05:56 pm (UTC)Recently, you stated in MM or maybe it was Open Post:
“Archetypes are not creations of the conscious mind. They're hardwired into the deepest levels of consciousness. We don't create them; in a very real sense, they create us -- they are the fundamental patterns of consciousness from which we construct the world we experience.”
To me, this seems like a good definition of a god or goddess.
What, then, is a god, if not an archetype or vice versa? What is the difference?
What is a deity? What is a divine being?
Thank you,
Will1000
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 05:58 pm (UTC)Thank you
Re: The Soul of the Knees
Date: 2023-12-04 06:05 pm (UTC)I experienced this in a surprising way when working in an office: whenever I approached a certain female colleague, of average but pleasant looks and about whom I had had no fantasies nor indulged in any speculations, my knees went to jelly!
It certainly wasn't strong sexual desire of which I was conscious.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 06:14 pm (UTC)Re: Roman and Greek views of the afterlife
Date: 2023-12-04 06:20 pm (UTC)You might find Hesiod's Works and Days and Plato's Myth of Er (from the last book of the Republic) to be good starting points in these alternatives.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 06:25 pm (UTC)—Princess Cutekitten
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 06:40 pm (UTC)Once we hit the AI Singularity, all the usual rules are supposed to go out the window, as the AI is able to learn everything and do everything that is theoretically possible. Since there are other species of animal out there which are functionally immortal, it should be possible to identify what causes aging, and remove it; along with eradicating all diseases, since individual diseases can be removed. In other words, if you live to see the singularity, you get immortality with perfect health.
The 1980s was when the first major breakthroughs in computer technology started affecting day to day life; and also when the cult of Safety-ism first started. I doubt very many people have consciously worked out the implications of these ideas; but if someone believes in the singularity, and that death is the end of everything, then making huge sacrifices to stay alive to see the singularity is worth it. Further, given the pace of advances in computer technology, it makes some intuitive sense to figure it could continue to absurdity.
Further, the closer the Singularity is expected to be, the more drastic measures are worth taking, since they can afford to be a lot more disruptive and a lot less effective, and still come up as a net positive. Past a certain point, even risking the flu is too high a risk; but the conscious mind simply cannot handle the obvious absurdity of "Avoid the flu!", so the subconscious mind has to find another way to justify it. Claiming it's a different disease would be one way to do it!
Now, the turning point to my mind is then likely to be something that looked like the start of the AI singularity; and in fact, on February 13, 2020, just before the Covid panic got underway, just such an event occurred when Microsoft demoed the Turing Natural Language Generation, an LLM that appeared to be able to carry out conversations with people. Other LLMs were released shortly after; and the result could easily be that people's subconscious minds incorporated this as "singularity is near!", in which case, the Covid panic in China provided a convenient way to justify avoiding all risks until the AI created immortality.
This also explains why the Covid panic has fizzled out: as time passed and the AI singularity has failed to appear, people's subconscious assessments of the likelihood of it happening soon have dropped. The further away it is, the less actions like avoiding the flu can be justified.
a) Does this analysis seem plausible to you?
b) If this is the case, do you have any ideas for how to go about helping people move back to sanity?
Re: Subtle manipulations through occult training
Date: 2023-12-04 06:47 pm (UTC)Winifred Hodge Rose
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 07:03 pm (UTC)What is the planetary correspondence for Onyx?
My wife bought me a silver signet ring with onyx for Christmas and I was curious what effect it might have on me.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 07:08 pm (UTC)I've been reading some of the Weird Of Hali series and am really enjoying it. While it's clearly epic fantasy, I am curious whether there may be real-life inspiration for a few of the magical practices performed by humans. I have a couple questions/comments about the practices of the Chaudronnier family, and I apologize if they turn out to be silly.
1. Are the voolas of the Mao game based on any existing divination method? It feels like a very realistic approach to a long-carried tradition, with nursery rhymes for children to learn it etc. I thought of the Rune poems, but wonder if there are more layers.
2. Dividing the year between White (solar?) and Green (telluric?) daily ceremonies seemed like an interesting practice. Obviously with the SOP we invoke both currents daily. Is separating them based on any historical tradition etc, or just a really cool idea for an ancient family practice?
Thanks and have a great night
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 07:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 07:32 pm (UTC)barn work now smooth/evergreen cleansing ?
Date: 2023-12-04 07:48 pm (UTC)- I was gifted a christmas tree friday night, I have it out in a bucket of water and was thinking to bring in today because When I go up to it, the fragrance is so good. I used to wait until a few days, or week at the most, before christmas to bring the fresh tree in, and I wonder that there is some natural magic component to having that overall fragrance at that time ( solstice and Christmas) and that the timing is actually lost by having them in early, as much as the water is added, they do dry out. I would imagine that even if someone doesnt have a tree in that garlands or a vase of branches should still be done ? Do you know of any protective or good spiritual outcomes from having fresh evergreen in the house and what times are most beneficial ? Tell me more about solstice/Christmas evergreen. OF course when all that scent is in the air, I should realy do the songs and prayers I know ( right now I am thinking of the kids song my kids brought home from Waldrof school, " from the forest, bring the boughs, of spruce and fir and pine..")
Atmospheric River
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 07:58 pm (UTC)Re: Geomancy
Date: 2023-12-04 08:27 pm (UTC)It's crucial to keep in mind that magic is not omnipotent. Especially in the early stages of training, there are a lot of things that your magic won't be able to accomplish yet -- or at all. That's why divination is valuable as a guide, and it's also why it's essential to focus on the basic daily practices of the system of magic you're learning, and on other workings for the purpose of magical and spiritual development. Those are the exercises that will build strength and skill in magic so that you can eventually accomplish great things.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 08:27 pm (UTC)JLfromNH/Cyan Odiferous Mushroom
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 08:29 pm (UTC)Re: Earth Energies
Date: 2023-12-04 08:35 pm (UTC)2) One hypothesis that I'm exploring is that the formation of the lunar current is the whole point of the temple technology.
3) You don't find a lot of etheric magic in the English-speaking world, but it's quite common in Europe. Franz Bardon's book Initiation Into Hermetics is a solid intro to European etheric magic.
4) That's like asking "what effects can be had by manipulating electricity?" (Look around you at everything electric in sight.) Etheric energies, the fundamental forces of life, can accomplish an astounding range of things.
Re: Geomancy
Date: 2023-12-04 08:36 pm (UTC)I now only have two talismans in operation one of which I'm sure is not working, the other I casted a reading for but could not come to an interpretation owing to my introductory skills with geomancy. Of course, I just need to continue learning geomancy and the answers will pour forth.
Re: Philosophical druidry
Date: 2023-12-04 08:39 pm (UTC)You know the signs at carnivals that say "You must be this tall to ride the carousel"? There is no sign on the entrance to Druidry that says "You must obsess about nature this much to start on the Druid path."
Re: Mystical infulence
Date: 2023-12-04 08:40 pm (UTC)Re: Etheric energies
Date: 2023-12-04 08:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-04 08:42 pm (UTC)