Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's a few minutes before midnight, so we can launch into 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 mine only to a limited degree. Most of it was the work of my wife Sara under the pen name she used then, Clare Vaughn. We sent it to the publisher with the authorship as "Clare Vaughn, with John Michael Greer." The publisher used to make a big deal about being feminist, liberated, etc. -- but somehow that didn't extend to giving a female author the credit she deserved, at least in this case. So my name got put first, where it didn't belong. (We also had to deal with a sustained attempt by an editor to sandbag the book; turned out the editor had a friend who was writing a similar book, and wanted ours to fail.) There are reasons I haven't placed anything with that publisher for years. Nonetheless, Pagan Prayer Beads came out very well. Yes, it's about exactly what the title suggests: how to design, make, and use prayer bead strands and rosaries for the deity or pantheon of your choice. The publisher's kept it in print, too, which is more than I can say for some publishers; if you're interested, you can get a copy here if you live in the United States and at your favorite book retailer if you're elsewhere.

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

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. See you next week!***

Comments

Candle wax and abundance

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you again for running Magic Monday and answering our questions.

1) Perhaps if this bit is allowed, it could be considered practical occultism.
Many regulars here must use plenty of candles.

Do you and the community have some good tips for removing a build up of beeswax and soy wax from waxed wooden furniture with minimal damage? Do many people use tablecloths to protect furniture and catch wax that overflows from candlesticks, or for some is the build up of wax part of the altar setup?

I used to use egg cups for candles, but since I changed to purpose-made candlesticks, which look more dignified and which are easier to make the candles stick in upright, a lot more wax has been getting on to the table

2) I do have an abundance of candle wax on the table, but my second question is about the principle of abundance generally. I can't remember where I first read the idea that the new age principle of abundance was a product of the consumer society and economic booms based on burning millions of years of fossil sunlight, but it instantly made sense to me. I understand that in an abstract sense and I still use it to help me refrain from buying unnecessary things.

But it is in decluttering that I get confused. Therefore advice from an occultist who also knows about collapse could be very helpful.

One of the main ideas behind decluttering that I first heard maybe thirty years ago, and which is still used by practitioners and advice guides, is to stop keeping things just in case and trust that the universe will provide if you need the item again. Which seems to rest on the principle that at the right time either you'll happen to know someone with a big house to store lots of things and who is willing to lend, or you'll have the money to buy another one of the item and it will be available and not discontinued because of supply chain problems. I don't keep everything, I am no hoarder, but there are things it seems wiser to hang on to in the world we are heading into. My health is not too good so my earning capacity is limited, and I hope to move to a slightly bigger home where these things could be kept without being clutter, but I can't do that immediately. If decluttering where I am improves the energy and increases my chances of better work and finding somewhere good to move to, but that could cost me either in the long run in rebuying things later, or in paying for storage, I am conflicted.

Re: Candle wax and abundance

[ecosophia]

1) It's always wise to use an altar cloth to catch the wax. I don't happen to know how to get wax off wooden furniture.

2) Any arbitrary formula applied too rigidly becomes a bad idea. That applies to decluttering just as much as to hoarding. Have you considered using divination to determine which things to keep and which to let go of?

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what QC, CGD or TADR mean, a list of Ecosophia abbreviations.

To ask, I recently read about Moravec's paradox:

Moravec's paradox is the observation in artificial intelligence and robotics that, contrary to traditional assumptions, reasoning requires very little computation, but sensorimotor and perception skills require enormous computational resources. The principle was articulated by Hans Moravec, Rodney Brooks, Marvin Minsky and others in the 1980s. Moravec wrote in 1988, "it is comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and mobility".

This made me think about Ariel Moravec from The Witch of Criswell. A search suggests that Moravec is a Czech/Slovak/Hungarian name for someone with close ties to land. Literally "Mor" means marsh, and "Moravec" means marsh dweller. What would you like to share about how you chose the name Moravec?

Classics of boom and bust

[(Anonymous)]

TAGR is Think And Grow Rich in some forums, so its inverse TADR would be Time to Already Decline Relaxedly.

Celtic Golden Dawn, casting the wands in the evening?

[inykane]

Also, my daily schedule is such that I need to wake up before dawn and rush to work. It would work so much better to cast the geomatic cart in the evening. The book says to do it in the morning. Would there be an issue to do it in the evening?

Re: Celtic Golden Dawn, casting the wands in the evening?

[ecosophia]

You can arrange your schedule in any way that works for you. If you cast the wands in the evening, however, ask about how the next day will go.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm the person who's had Allah appear to take an interest in my life, and I think I might have figured it out, but I'd like to know if this sounds plausible to you. I think it's an unexpected interaction between two spiritual practices: my own practice of trying to bless all the food I prepare at my job as a cook, and a Muslim coworker praying over a lot of the food he makes to ask Allah to bless it and those who eat it. As I try to bless the food, I have also been trying to open myself up, and allow any deity which wants to use me as an instrument to bless someone to do so. My coworker is constantly calling Allah over with his prayers; which means he's in the neighbourhood, so to speak, and since he's already there, I think he's been taking me up on my offer a lot.

Some of the blessings stick to me and this earths out as a string of very positive synchronicities around the god and his worshippers. Does this sound plausible to you?

[ecosophia]

Interesting. Yes, that sounds quite plausible.

A thanks for the swimming tips

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John,

Thank you to community members Stephen, Bert, Christopher and Jeff who replied to my query with some great tips on learning to swim. Sorry for not replying, I'm in Ireland so I'm asleep long before the AMA gets going.

Thanks again, Dermotok

Re: A thanks for the swimming tips

[(Anonymous)]

Christopher here. Glad you liked the team's advice! After you swim back from the Emerald Isle, let us know how it goes! :-)

Planets and the gods

[miow]

My apologies if this has been answered before. What is the connection between planets and gods? Are they the same? If, for instance, I do planetary charity for Mercury, am I simultaneously evoking the god Mercury/Hermes?

Re: Planets and the gods

[ecosophia]

People are still arguing about that one. A lot depends on the meaning you give to the term "god." Me, I see the consciousness embodied in each planet as an intelligence -- Bernard Sylvester, and C.S. Lewis after him, would say "Oyarsa" -- who is a representative of the energy of that god in the planetary system.

Witches, Iron, and Dreams

[sdi]

"Third. [...] This is the strong one, and it's not something you use except when you don't have any other choice. Iron. [...] The kind of person who does really bad work, the kind that can't touch salt because it burns them—scratch their skin with iron, deep enough to draw blood, and that'll break their power once and for all. But you'll have your blood on their hands, for what they've done will come back on them, and that's not an easy thing."

---

It became clear to me a year or two ago that I've had a certain witch attacking me for a long time by means of dreams. Since then, I've been using natural magic to prevent the attacks, which has been working beautifully, though of course the amulets degrade over time and require periodic replacement.

December was very busy for me and I misjudged my stores, so I ran out of some of the materials I needed to make new amulets and couldn't quickly obtain replacements due to the holidays. Consequently, the dream-attacks resumed. However, in one of those dreams, I found my pocket-knife in my pocket and managed to cut the witch's arm with it. She had been monstrous, but immediately turned small and plain, and I escaped her before waking. (This was all unconscious, of course—I have never had a lucid dream.)

Dreams can be weird, so I did a geomancy reading on it, and it suggested I haven't seen the last of the witch, so I didn't think much of it... but it's been a while now and the attacks have not recurred. Does the lore you mentioned in The Witch of Criswell hold on other planes, too? Or might something else be going on?

Re: Witches, Iron, and Dreams

[ecosophia]

The lore I mentioned in the book applies to other planes. It may be a while before you have any further trouble with that witch.

Eris

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG-
I’ve been thinking about and learning about Eris for a while now. One of the things that I’ve found out is that the Ancient Greeks regarded her as a malevolent being. I’ve also noted that descriptions of demons as loving chaos and confusion, and being illogical, are similar to descriptions of Eris. How do we know that Eris is a benevolent goddess and not a malevolent being?
-Thanks!

Re: Eris

[ecosophia]

Eris isn't benevolent. Like most divine beings, she's neutral -- that is, she has her own agenda, and whether that benefits human beings or not is not a great concern to her. The Discordians liked to invoke her because they lived at a time when there was too little chaos; the ancient Greeks mistrusted her because they lived at a time when there was too much chaos.

On masturbation

[(Anonymous)]

Hello,

I'm new to Ecosophia, and I was interested in your thoughts about the effects of masturbation. I'm in my early twenties, and I've been a chronic masturbater since age 11 (though I don't do it as much recently). I have a few issues that might be related to my masturbation.

For several years, I had severe OCD. This involved, among other things, an irrational fear of sexual thoughts about the gods (note that I'm a Hindu), which led to repeated prayers for forgiveness and various other compulsions. I sought treatment last year and was put on escitalopram, and now the OCD is practically in remission. My obsessions sound a lot like the effects of demons that you mentioned, which have only as much power over me as I let them have.

I've noticed that, since 2012, when Venus goes retrograde, something inauspicious often happens to me or my family. Specifically:
- 2012: Minor car accident that led to insurance rates rising beyond our means, because of which we've had to take the bus since then
- 2013-14: Nothing much
- 2015: Diagnosed with severe scoliosis (60 degrees); I still have it today
- 2017: Nothing much
- 2018: My mother had a severe heart attack but survived
- 2020: My mother began to have symptoms of cancer. She passed away in November when Venus was debilitated
- 2021/2022: My father had a severe heart attack but survived. I also discovered this pattern relating to Venus
I've been reciting a mantra for Venus for two years, and nothing happened when Venus went retrograde in 2023. In my (Hindu) birth chart, my ascendant is Virgo, so Venus is my 2nd and 9th lord.

My questions are: Is there something I can do for my scoliosis? And what does this pattern relating to Venus mean? Could it be related to my masturbation?

Scoliosis

[(Anonymous)]

(Not JMG, another reader here.) I'm sorry to learn of the loss of your mother when you were still young. If you haven't worked with a counselor, maybe some sessions to identify any unfinished grief could help.

I've studied Hinduism some as an adult. I notice Krishna with Radha, and Shiva with Shakti. They show sexuality as a positive form of extreme devotion with the divine.

I notice Hindu commenters who say many of these stories are allegories for psychological elements. Things within us all, for us to integrate.

I also notice that I've not found Hindu scriptures that condemn people just for negative thinking without sinful action, like some notorious Bible verses.

If you have any devotional practice with the gods, perhaps ask them to make clear to you how sexuality should be a healthy force in your life?

I have no advice about masturbation.

I can recommend something for the scoliosis.

A few years ago, I had excellent results for a spinal issue. I had treatments from a Pettibon System licensed chiropractor. Chiropractic is often intuitive. Pettibon's team invented a quick, systematic, standardized way for the doctor to assess and manipulate the patient consistently. They include physical therapy with each session. Personally the doctor (not Pettibon himself) was a huge jerk who liked to talk about how wonderful he was and had some bizarre ways he ran his business. But medically the results were very, very good!

If this brand name of chiropractic isn't available, you might get good results from any competent chiropractor but they might not be as systematic. I'd suggest you see if physical therapy is also available, as well as acupuncture. 60 degrees sounds extreme. Insurance might prefer preventive treatment. That could be better than expensive, difficult surgery later.

Question about Lesson 32 in OPW

[slclaire]

I meditated on #1 of Lesson 32 of OPW yesterday. In it you describe the occult understanding of what happens after a soul with a mental sheath has seen as much of the mental plane as it can absorb based on its previous incarnations. But you didn't say what happens for a soul that has attained a mental body during the just-completed human incarnation, except that it doesn't descend all the way back to the material plane and the doors of the mental plane remain open to it (it remains awake on the mental plane).

What I'm not sure about is how a soul in our swarm in that situation, one who remains awake on the mental plane and does not reincarnate on the material plane, obtains a new astral and etheric body. If I understand correctly, because all of the souls in our swarm retain three bodies once they pass out of human incarnation, each soul who has a mental body also has an etheric and an astral body.

1. Does the soul, upon leaving the physical body (dying) for the final time still experience the second and third deaths and then arrive on the mental plane as a mental body only?

2. If so, does the soul then need to receive a new astral body that reflects the lessons absorbed from the previous incarnation? I suppose the process would be similar to the usual pattern of reincarnation, since it does not occur within the mother's body.

3. Still working within the hypothesis of question 1, since there is no physical human being involved to give rise to the etheric body, how does the soul who has a mental body obtain an etheric body?

4. If my hypothesis of question 1 is incorrect, what does happen to a soul who has attained a mental body after it experiences the final first death?

Re: Question about Lesson 32 in OPW

[ecosophia]

There seem to be various ways it can happen, depending partly on the condition of the etheric body, partly on the specific spiritual disciplines involved, and partly on how death happens. In some cases, yes, it's like an ordinary death, going up to the mental plane and then resuming an astral and etheric body; once the mental body is fully active it's possible for the soul to condense a new etheric body the same way it forms the astral body, by drawing on the substance of the plane directly. In other cases, the Second Death never happens because the soul has taken full conscious control of the etheric body and can fill it directly with life from the higher planes; in extreme cases, more common in Asia than elsewhere, the dead physical body literally disintegrates into light (this is the "rainbow body" discussed in Tibetan writings, for example.)

[deansmith]

Hey JMG,

Ive got a couple of questions regarding occult lore, specifically GD.

I’ve been doing some research on the GD cypher manuscripts. I stumbled on the theory that Edward Bulwer-Lytton might have written them. That led me to his work Zanoni, and how that novel was influential on Blavatsky and her development of the concept of The Guardian at the Threshold. I’ve also come across the claim that Zanoni was so influential on Mathers that Moina and close friends even used the nickname “Zan” on him. The references about Blavatsky are pretty thorough as she even quoted the book in Isis Unveiled, but the stuff regarding Mathers and the GD that I’ve found are not so documented, being mostly scraps on the internet.

1. Have you researched this at all? If so what’s your take on the claim Bulwer-Lytton wrote the CM?

2. I’ve found claims that Bulwer-Lytton was a mystic and up to his eyeballs in the occult, and I’ve also seen claims that he was not, and didn’t appreciate all the occult groups of the time claiming him as their own. Again what’s your take here if you’ve looked into it?

I find it really interesting that a work of fiction could be so influential on modern occultism. I’ve acquired a copy of the book, and from what I’ve read so far it almost seems like the later occultist were almost “acting out” some of the characters from the book…

[robertmathiesen]

It's abundantly clear, from Bulwer-Lytton's own published remarks here and there outside of his fiction, that he was intensely curious about occult matters, and some of his private letters (since published) also mention his occult experiments, though he never goes into much detail about them.

This, of course, is not at all inconsistent with his annoyance at various groups which falsely claimed him as a member. The one such claim that I am inclind to accept is Emma Hardinge-Britten's that Bulwer-Lytton was a member of the mysterious group of aristocrats that she calls the "Orphic Circle" and describes in the book Art Magic (which she edited and published in 1876). She herself served as an entranced child scryer in the meetings of that group, and had personal knowledge of its membership.

I have just uploaded to archive.org a short book on this: Bulwer-Lutton as Occultist (1927).

As for the Golden Dawn cipher manuscripts, it is far more likely that they were forged by Kenneth R H MacKenzie, but there's still no absolute certainty here.

Awen

[druidyogi]

Hello,

I have a question about the Awen rays. In your book the druidry handbook you write about each rays name I am trying to understand which ray is which name. Example Gwron extends from southeast and toward the northwest.

Anyways my question is which ray corresponds to which name? And how to understand the two directions tied to the ray.

Many thanks 🙏🏻

Re: Awen

[ecosophia]

Please look at the diagram of the Three Rays of Light on p. 51 -- specifically the central image of the Tribann. Imagine that east is at the top of the page. The line that goes like this /, from southeast at the top to northwest at the bottom, is Gwron. The line that goes the other direction \ , from northeast at the top to southwest at the bottom, is Plennydd. The one that goes straight | is Alawn. If you get confused, go to page 54 where all this is explained with little diagrams.

Cold water and etheric energy

[(Anonymous)]

When using cold water to absorb etheric energy does it matter if you cover your whole body? I'm thinking of a shower versus washing the dishes, for example.

Re: Cold water and etheric energy

[ecosophia]

If you only get your hands into cold water the only etheric energy you'll remove will be what's on your hands. Assume that etheric energy is like mud -- if you get splashed with it, you probably need to wash all over.

[(Anonymous)]

Preparing my second set of SOP rituals in the grove, wanted to try Method #2 according to DMH (the one that includes a little elemental working).

The theme would be making myself more lovable. I’ve thought about it quite some time and found the changes I want to make in my behaviour. Now I have a collection of two qualities to enhance and two to banish for each element, and four of each for fire.

I wanted to make it a water working, but now I’m hesitant to switch to fire. Or to split it up into several workings with several elements, looking at the number of changes I want (it has to be said that some of these changes seem to be at least partly effective already, due to the karmic lessons I’ve had during the time of thinking about the working! - and according to feedback from people who have known me for many years)

What do you recommend, wise arch druid?

[ecosophia]

Have you considered doing divination to resolve this question? That should be your go-to resource.

[(Anonymous)]

This is the person who just asked a question about making herself more lovable. In this case, what would be the action to perform right after the ritual, to set the desired effects in motion? Flirting? Writing a love letter?

[ecosophia]

Behaving in a way that contradicts your least lovable habit, whatever that happens to be.

Ego

[(Anonymous)]

My natal chart says that I have a tendency to have an overblown sense of my place in the world. I can certainly see a lot of this as a part of my worldview in my younger self. It still creeps into my worldview at times but thankfully life has given me enough swift kicks in the rear that it is more subdued. What would be the intended life lesson to this as part of the evolution of my soul? Is it to strengthen confidence-with the swift kicks being a means of keeping my ego in check, or am I totally off track in my interpretation? -Croatoan

Re: Ego

[ecosophia]

It may be founded in a dim sense of what you are capable of being.

[(Anonymous)]

First of all, I hope you don't mind me pontificating on my past lives, and how they contain knowledge I didn't have, which keeps checking out and lining up with the facts. This is probably a well-worn path for you, but for me this is a profound discovery -- until recently, I was unsure about death & the afterlife (although I sensed there was more to it than the atheist materialists claim), but now I'm certain of reincarnation, and am much better oriented in a spiritual sense. Knowing this life is one link in a long chain, continuing before and after my current self... it's a glorious discovery, almost like being "saved" in a non-Christian sense.

Anyway, I was reading a book about the pre-Columbian civilizations awhile back, and I was struck by an image of a gold mask depicting Xipe Totec. It was just like this, but with different lighting: https://vk.com/wall-181025252_50746?lang=en

It gives me a strange, uncanny feeling that's hard to describe, so much so that it sticks to me years later. I wonder why that is, and if you have a take on Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed One (whose statues were dressed in flayed human skins, I believe), and if there are other deities I should be careful around. I find that when I "sense" things to this extent, it's usually for a good reason.

--xcalibur/djs

[ecosophia]

1) I know the feeling.

2) That's not a pantheon I know at all well, so I'll have to encourage you to find someone who knows more about it. As far as I know I had no contact with the Mesoamerical civilizations in any of my previous lives.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG and commentators,

Has Heptameron been studied? Are there books, texts or articles about this treaty?

[ecosophia]

It was used very extensively in the Renaissance. I don't happen to know whether there's been any particularly useful study of it in recent times.

Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

The Ecosophia Prayer List celebrated its one year anniversay on December 22nd! In the last year, there were many more prayer requests than I originally anticipated, but I'm happy for it. Several people reported serious illness recovering faster than doctors expected, including cases which weren't expected to turn around at all.

One piece of feedback that I've gotten is that some people are overwhelmed by the sheer number of prayer entries. This is completely understandable; there are indeed many, and is a bit daunting even to me. I think some new tactics are warranted to manage the list.

First of all, as I've been warning I would do for some weeks, I've removed all old prayers older than 6 months (with a couple of exceptions that my intuition encouraged me to keep). Next, I am revising the policy regarding how long entries remain on the list:

• Except where specifically requested otherwise, all prayers for the dead will come off of the list after a month and a day. 
• The same goes for prayer requests for pets: a month and a day, unless specifically requested otherwise. 
• All other prayers can remain for 3 months without an update (though updates are appreciated). This will be a harder line than I allowed before. I reserve the discretion to allow certain prayers for longer, when serious medical issues or the like are involved.

As before, updates on how things are going with what you've made a request about are always appreciated. Every time you do, if your prayer is not yet resolved, the 3 month clock starts over.

As I've changed the terms, all entries that are currently remaining on the list are grandfathered in, and safe from such removal until the Spring Equinox.

May the coming year be filled with blessings for all!

* * *

This week I would like to bring special attention to the following prayer requests.

May the surgery for Yuccaglauca's mother Monica's malignant mass be safe, successful, and conclusive of the matter.

May Frank Rudolf Hartman of Altadena California (picture), who is receiving chemotherapy, be completely cured of the lymphoma that is afflicting him, and may he return to full health. 

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.

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.
 

* * *
Old 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 to be found at the Ecosophia Prayer List FAQ. (It does not yet accord with the new policies I've listed above; I'll update it soon.)

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.

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this as always!

Astrology of outer planets and of collapse

[(Anonymous)]

As you practise traditional astrology, and consider that Pluto's influence is receding, do you see any value in the idea of 2024 as a new era because the outer planets are all moving into new signs?

Are you planning to post any longer term forecasts or historical comparisons as well as the regular ingress charts? I know you may be too busy.

Would it be possible to predict future falls in population based on generational features of natal horoscopes, and has this been examined for the deadlier historical periods such as the 14th and 17th centuries?

Re: Astrology of outer planets and of collapse

[ecosophia]

1) I'm rather a traditionalist in my mundane astrology. As I see it, we entered into a new era on December 21, 2020 with the grand mutation of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction cycle into the element of air, and we have a couple of other important outer planet conjunctions coming up. The movement of the outer planets into new signs is important, but it happens tolerably often.

2) I'd like to, but we'll see if time permits.

3) That's an interesting speculation, though it's not one I've seen discussed. You might consider looking into it and seeing what you find.

Q

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG, have you done the breathwork exercise at the end of the Psychology of the solar plexus and the subconscious mind? If you, what were your results and if you have any advice on how to do it?

A few other questions from the book:
1) what does she mean by polarization / cell polarization etc?

2) Quotes I'm slightly confused about:

a) "From the solar plexus we receive our visions called faith, and when we register them in the field of consciousness of our physical brain, and work them out through scientific human reasoning into tan- gible expression, then they become facts."


b) "We are all familiar with the umbili- cal cord of the new-born child; it is the cord between the child and its supply while in its unfoldment stages; this cord on the external plane stands simply as a symbol of the other sub- jective cord;-" as above so below." Those who can see the finer etheric bodies can easily see an etheric cord passing from each individual, connect- ing him with the finer currents of the universe; it is always present while one is alive on this plane, and as long as it is not disassociated, resuscita- tion of those who appear to be dead can take place.
Over this cord there is continually passing in and out through the reins, or solar plexus the impulses we call life. All sight, hearing, feeling, and emotion, all subjective sensations are the product of the activity of these currents acting upon the solar plexus brain and nerves and through these upon the physical brain and nerves.

c) "All sight, hearing, feeling, and emotion, all subjective sensations are the product of the activity of these currents acting upon the solar plexus brain and nerves and through these upon the physical brain and nerves. Sound comes to us through the solar center, and the nervous systems register it in the localized hearing centers."

Is she suggesting that all perception is etheric via the solar plexus into the physical brain, or only the subjective parts we call consciousness (such as color etc)?

Re: Q

[ecosophia]

1) No, I haven't.

2) These are all excellent themes for meditation. No, I'm not just being annoying! When you don't understand a passage in an occult book, meditate on it. Go through it word by word and explore what the author might have meant by it. You'll end up with the rare gift of being able to make sense of ideas that don't come naturally to your mind -- which gives you huge advantages in dealing with the world.

Best Planetary Offering for Teachers

[(Anonymous)]

Happy Monday, and thank you for taking our taking our questions.

As a teacher, which planet would be the best one to make offerings for to better myself as a teacher, and what are its planetary hours?

Re: Best Planetary Offering for Teachers

[ecosophia]

Mercury is the ruler of education, being among other things the natural ruler of the 3rd house of schools. His day is Wednesday. The planetary hours vary depending on your latitude and the time of year; there are plenty of online planetary hour calculators that can tell you what they are for your location and any given Wednesday. https://planetaryhours.net/ is one.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you know of any good books on the Egyptian goddess Isis and how to worship her?

[ecosophia]

I don't happen to know anything along those lines. Anyone else?

Relationship with the Divine

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG

I have begun practicing magic within the last month. I do the SOP in the morning and candle magic with the Roman pantheon in the evening. With that said, I have a question and an observation.

1) According to my natal chart, my Mars and Saturn placements are rather poor, and judging by my own tendencies I'm inclined to agree. My work ethic could certainly use some work.

I've been thinking about Saturn a lot lately. I'll hear a stack of papers fall and find some paperwork I inherited from my mother. In the moment, it felt like a tap shoulder, so to speak. When I bring my mistakes to Saturn, it's like my thoughts are led away from moralizing, and towards responsibility. "Ok, you made a mistake. Deal with it", is what I hear in my thoughts.

Getting to the question, I could certainly use some Saturnian energy in my life, but I've heard that getting involved with a planet in detriment/fall is a risky idea. I feel a connection, one that I'd like to pursue. What should I consider if I'd like to pursue such a connection? (Working with the Roman pantheon seems to complicate things!)

2) Onto my Observation. I remember doing the SOP on a winter's morning. At the closing of the ritual, I opened my eyes and at my feet I see an orange ball of light. I saw it for a good second. Since everything was covered in snow, I don't know what this could have been. Is any of this ringing any bells? Maybe I'm just a little to antsy to experience something beyond the material world...

Anyway, thanks for your time,
Azure Undulating Moose

Re: Relationship with the Divine

[ecosophia]

1) If you've got a planet in detriment it takes serious magical chops to work with its energy metaphysically without running into trouble. On the other hand, there's always the simple but effective route of making changes in your own life to embrace a more productive approach to Saturnine energies.

2) Things like this happen fairly often to people in the early stages of their magical training; "astral static" is the phrase one of my teachers used for them. Record them in your practice journal and then see if anything else similar happens; most of the time it won't.

[(Anonymous)]

You've discussed Ceres placements having indications; but I wonder if it's more. I've always felt like I was being "driven by a different drum", to use a metaphor for it, than everyone else. There's always been things in my life which most people can't make sense of; I've always been eccentric, but not in the standard Uranus in the first fashion: it's more as if I'm being driven by things which most people cannot even imagine.

I've realized that if Ceres matter, maybe all the dwarf planets do, and I just added in Haumea, Makemake, and Eris, and all three of them closely aspect some sensitive point in my chart; as do Pluto and Ceres. Further, all of these (except Pluto) are in houses where my chart doesn't seem to match me.

Do you know anyone who has looked into the astrology of the dwarf planets yet? In my case, it looks like my chart cannot be read without factoring them all in.

[ecosophia]

That's a good question to which I don't know the answer. The difficulty with Haumea, Eris, and Makemake is that none of them has been known and tracked for long enough that their influence can be predicted with any certainty; it'll take a few more decades before astrologers can say what exactly they rule.