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 my fourteenth published book, and my first book on ritual magic that wasn't basically a rehash of what I'd learned as a Golden Dawn practitioner.  The Druidry Handbook, my ninth book (and one of my bestsellers), didn't talk about magic much -- its purpose was to help people make sense of Druid nature spirituality, which can be related to magic but doesn't have to be -- and I got a lot of questions from Druids, and people interested in Druidry, who wanted to know how to practice magic in a Druid context. This was my first answer. (We'll get to the others.) Looking back on this project, I'm pleased by it; it sets out a straightforward course of magical training and seems to work well for many students. It's still very much in print, and you can get a copy here if you live in the United States and at your favorite bookseller if you live 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 -- as in, no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Comments

Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

[(Anonymous)]

Good evening dear fellow commentariat and may blessings enliven all who'd receive them. JMG, thank you again for hosting, inspiring, answering, informing. I'm glad you're awake, as I don't know if you click to approve comments in your sleep. :-)

1 It looks like most or maybe all of your books are about timeless topics. You've described in other Magic Mondays how you came across Druidry when it was obscure, and fading into even greater obscurity. Thus making a wide open opportunity for you to help others discover it. Unlike a topic such as "how to troubleshoot the latest version of Windows," things likely don't change much in one lifetime about Druidry spirituality. Does this translate into publishing longevity? It seems Druidry Handbook (with its invitingly mysterious cover) could be continuously reprinted year after year. What's your overall longest-term success with a book?

2 I have an astrology question. I see many people instruct to never start anything new from full moon to new moon. This seems extreme. Are we really to throw away half of all days when we could exercise initiative? Is this supposed to be only a minor factor between otherwise equally auspicious times?

3 I'll want to ask on Frugal Friday for pragmatic tips about dealing with bugs in an apartment. Here, I'll ask if there's a magical way to clarify that uninvited critters should stay out.

By the way, for those who might be confused, Christophe is a different person who also comments here. Our back to back comments here last week were two individual views, not my talking to myself with a typo.

Christopher from California
Mocha Amphibious Moose

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, very much so. I've written a number of books on more topical issues -- my peak oil books, for example -- and most of them are out of print or available only in ebook format at this point. By contrast, nearly all my occult books are all still going strong; some of them are on their third publisher, but others are still with the original press.

2) That's a mistaken approach to astrology. Astrology shows tendencies, not destinies -- thus during the period of the waning moon, it's harder to get something started and easier to finish something up or get rid of something. That doesn't mean you can't start something, just that it's a little more difficult, and if it's something that will be hard to start anyway, you might want to do it during the waxing moon instead.

3) Depends on what kind of magic you know how to do. The Picatrix includes spells for chasing off insects, but you have to be good at medieval astrological magic to use them.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm currently recovering from surgery, and if any Essene healers would like to practice sending some healing my way I'd be most grateful. Thanks, CP

[jprussell]

Positive energy en route!

Overview of The Seed of Yggdrasill and Thanks

[jprussell]

Howdy,

I hope that everyone has had a productive and worthwhile start to the year and is looking forward to a longer-than-usual February.

To Share: Now I have really finished with my reviews of The Seed of Yggdrasill, as I put together an overview for anyone who doesn't want to slog through 12 blog posts to figure out whether you want to read the book or not: https://jpowellrussell.com/#book_the_seed_of_yggdrasill_overall_rundown

To Ask: Nothing this week, just want to express my thanks to JMG and everyone here for the wisdom you share! This is always one of the highlights of my week, and has been a tremendous supplement to the more structured/directed parts of my occult study.

My blessings to all who welcome them,
Jeff

Re: Overview of The Seed of Yggdrasill and Thanks

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the offered blessings and may your week and all its studies be blessed.

Wouldn't 600 leaves make 1,200 pages?

You don't give any kind of explanation what the book is. I surmise that "A massive personal interpretation of the theology of ancient Norse myths" might be it. But this is only a guess from trying to identify, from m many remarks about leaves, that this might be something about a forest.

Mentioning but never defining "Eddic and skaldic poems," "the skalds," "wights, steads," "Kennings, heiti," "the whole Poetic Edda" in your review only mystifies someone not already familiar with Norse myths.

I get the impression that the book really needed an editor's hand. Alas, and with respect for all your slogging, I think this summary essay might, too.

An interesting comparison might be to how myths use multiple gods to represent aspects of one ultimate spiritual unity, between North mythology and other systems also said to do this, such as Hinduism.

I have the impression that I'd be 100% lost from page one of this book, and still missing the forest by the last leaf.

Christopher from California

MOE Attunements: Master and Healer; Blessings

[milkyway1]

Good morning everybody,

I feel like a broken record - but since I don't know if all of you read Magic Monday each and every week, here we go again: :D

1. Last call: MOE Master Attunement on Sunday, February 4th, at 6pm German time

More info and room for questions: https://thehiddenthings.com/moe-master-attunement-on-sunday-february-4th-2024


2. Heads up: I'm going to offer an MOE Healer attunement next, on Sunday Feb 18th. More infos here:

https://thehiddenthings.com/moe-healer-attunement-2024-02

(I'd appreciate an RSVP by at least one person, to know I'll be taken up on it. More details in the post. Thanks!)


3. I offer weekly blessings. These are open to everybody, i.e. not only for MOE practitioners:

https://thehiddenthings.com/categories/weekly-blessings

(I want to practice my blessing skills, so you'd do me a favour in signing up... :-) )


That's it for this week. JMG, you got off lucky - no questions from my end! ;-)

I hope everybody had a great weekend and a wonderful start into this brandshiningnew week!

Milkyway

[guillem66]

This book is a jewel, and just like old books on Magic, you managed a treatise that will only teach it's deepest secrets tho those who are diligent, patient, and good observers ;)I don't regret having spended 5 years working through it!

Your wheel of life with the Ogham fews it's also a masterpiece, that deserves much more attention than it had had.

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted that you spent five years on it. The fact that people are willing to do that makes the effort of writing the book entirely worthwhile.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG. I am a beginner in magick so please forgive me if my questions appear too noobish.

When it comes to Lunar mansions, Picatrix does not give much instruction for it except the talisman needs to be made during the mansion the Moon is passing through. Christopher Warnock is his book writes that mansion work for gain will need to be done during the waxing moon and vice versa. However, and Warnock's book doesn't address this, there will always be a time when the mansion we want to work with appears in the other moon phase. So, if this is the case, how should we proceed?


2. While Picatrix does not provide a method for petitioning the mansion lords, some believe it is possible. Since we know them by name, is it possible to petition the lunar mansion lords?


3. Saturn is in Pisces, that too in its decan, which is peregrine. However, I wish to work with Saturn to get disciplined in my goals. How do you recommend I proceed? Which spirits to evoke? Is there a book of yours that discusses basic practical magick for such goals?


4. Is the method of acquiring a familiar from any spirit is really as simple as asking it? So if I ask archangel Michael for a solar familiar for say, physical healing, will it work?

[ecosophia]

Okay, first of all, if you're a beginner in magic you have no business working with the Picatrix. Put it back on the shelf and spend the next five years mastering astrology abnd working with simpler forms of astrological magic; then you'll have the necessary preparation.

That said:

1) The implication is that you may need to wait anything up to six months until the moon is waxing when she enters that mansion.

2) It's possible to petition any spirit if you have adequate knowledge and experience in working with spiritual beings.

3) The mode of practice I recommend for basic work like this is discussed here:

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/64539.html

4) No. You have to have a good working relationship with the spirit, and the spirit has to decide on that basis that giving you a familiar is a good idea.

Magic Monday Initial Reply

[wizard_in_the_woods_1949]

JMG,

I have both of your Druidy Handbooks! I refer to these as inspiration to pay something back to nature.
We have unincorporated county woods by our house, how fortunate is that? When you sit alone out there invoking
something unscripted it's very much alive all around you. If you leave offerings the squirrels scheme, chuck
nuts at you, and act irreverently. In all seriousness it happened to me from three separate directions, and real close together. Almost comical. At least I think it was the squirrels. I consider those little gifts.
There's also the PAN presence. I'm an adult male. I Believe.

Here's a link for anyone that might it find useful. I think this is one of the most honest attempts to come to grips and explain their experience by another person I've come across. These experiences can of course happen anywhere They choose. Attempt to view this as "pantheon" non-sectarian.

If Gods Exist, How Can A Human Be Happy:
http://ansuz.worldash.org/asatru/articles/misc/gods.html

Re: Magic Monday Initial Reply

[ecosophia]

These are among the reasons I'm a Druid! Thanks for the essay link -- I'll check it out when time permits.

Change crystallization

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I've been looking at the way how are changes are sometimes forced onto systems and I'm seeing a certain pattern.

For the sake of example, let's imagine we are trying to make some state to become more democratic. We have a power to constantly talk about how democracy is good and beneficial, but we don't have a power or capacity to force everyone to behave the way we want (or maybe we don't know how exactly how people should behave on an individual level for society to become more democratic). So we bombard people minds with democratic propaganda, and for a time it works - the society indeed starts to slowly become more and more democratic as it absorbs the values. But then at some point as we push it, a sort of crystallization happens: part of society becomes ultrademocratic, while the remaining part becomes very distanced and often moves in the opposite direction of what we want. Further pressure towards democracy that we apply channels towards the ultrademocratic part of society, and never reaches the remaining part, and no amount of direct pressure could shift the balance between the part that is affected and not affected.

Don't take the example too seriously - this is just some example I lived through, and the society parts may be not just groups of people but spheres of life (e.g. someone can be pro-democracy on public, but against it in private life and so on). Similar things I observed pro/anti-vaccines, pro/anti-war and even on a lower scales in organizations or even individual life.

My question to you is -- is there anything you could recommend to read / learn on how to control the process -- e.g. prevent crystallization from happening if I don't want it to happen, accelerate it when I want it to happen, what to do when it already happened etc?

Thank you very much!
Oleg S

Re: Change crystallization

[ecosophia]

Dion Fortune talks about this in The Cosmic Doctrine, in symbolic terms. When you push too hard, too fast, and in too linear a direction, you inevitably get this kind of resistance. It requires a gentler, subtler, more patient, and less linear approach to move any complex system in a desired direction. You also have to be honest about your own intentions; if by "democracy" you mean a system in which your ideas are privileged over other people's, why, you can count on people who disagree with your ideas deciding to reject your agenda by rejecting the label you've given it.

Divination and Magic to Become more Lovable

[(Anonymous)]

A work to become more lovable yourself is alright, but you said that, before doing any work, divination about it must be done first. But you also said that divination tends to be unreliable for emotionally charged subjects--love being one of these.

So, how this problem can be solved? Is it, perhaps, a predicament?

Re: Divination and Magic to Become more Lovable

[ecosophia]

That's when you find someone else who has no emotional involvement in the situation to cast and interpret a divination for you.

[scotlyn]

Hello, JMG. Thank you for this!
My question relates to choosing auspicious ordering days (and ordering ways) to increase the chances of receiving books I order online.

It seems that Brexit has turned the Irish post office into a customs nightmare. There is a postal office which keeps snagging packages received from abroad, and, if they feel like it, they might notify you that you have 5 days to pay the tax/duty on it before returning it undelivered.

This has now happened to a succession of book orders that I have placed, and in these cases, i did not *even* receive any notice from An Post before the suppliers were notifying me of their "return to sender". Ironically, the VAT rate on books is 0%, and the duty on books is 0%, so I do not know to what to attribute this.

Anyway, what is the best day of the week for ordering a book in the hope of receiving it safely (in view of these new added layers of obstinocracy, and are there any "natural magic" type spells that might help.

Thank you!

PS. Please delete the anonymous version of this comment, which I unthinkingly, and too hastily, posted. :(

[ecosophia]

Ouch. An hour of Mercury on a Wednesday is the best day to order such things, but it may not be enough to overcome a deliberately difficult bureaucracy, and I'm not familiar with a form of natural magic that will work in this specific case. In the US you might be able to sic your local congressional representative on the bureaucrat, but I don't know if the TD for your constituency has similar powers.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what LMP, AMORC or IIRC mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosopia.

The Druid Magic Handbook is on my bookshelf. I really liked chapter one but by chapter three there was too much complexity for me to read on. I had more luck with The Druid Path, which sets out the ideas at a pace that I can follow.

Thanks to our host for providing this space and to everyone for the interesting questions and comments!

[ecosophia]

One of the reasons I was glad to have the chance to write The Druid Path is that by then I'd learned that a less intensive approach to training works better for many people!

amulet for friendships

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John Michael,
I am really enjoying the Encyclopedia of Natural Magic as I have a strong relationship with plants as allies. I am interested in making an amulet to help me create community and more friendships in my life. I moved to a new area and I would like some magical support in this process. I am doing the FHR SOP and divination with the Druid Plant Oracle cards very consistently on a daily basis with lovely success. I have Capricorn sun in the 11th house and the Moon, Mars, Venus and my Ascendant in Aquarius. Mars and Venus are in the 12th house.

Do you have any suggestions about what to include in the amulet? A lot of the plants, elements and stones described in the Encyclopedia are good for love magic and that’s a bit different than building friendships and community. In studying the Encyclopedia, my thought is to make an amulet with Topaz and Vervain. What are your thoughts about whether that would work or is there something that might be more effective?

Thank you for your consideration.

Re: amulet for friendships

[ecosophia]

Making an amulet is like cultivating a relationship -- it's a very personal thing, and not something that can be done to a recipe. (That's why so many people have such poor luck with such things.) If you feel that topaz and vervain is a good combination, go for that -- but I recommend taking your time, feeling your way, and if possible interacting directly with the herbs and stones you have in mind. Let them tell you how to work with them!

Evolution & the Nadir

[(Anonymous)]

Like so many others, we are going to introduce tablet-computers as the more or less sole working device in our school for all and everyone. It's a stupid decision that is going to cause a lot of damage to the children's education. The older students who are already using these devices know why and - as one of them said: You need to be very disciplined to really make use of these devices and not be carried away by all sorts of gimmickry that they provide. That is what's going to happen, of course. It's an open secret that where tablets are introduced, students will spent most of the time watching youtube or playing games during classes.

I think this is a fine example of "trying to evolve before crossing the nadir", that will not lead to evolution but dissolution. You need a solid foundation in manual and mental skills to be able to use a device that has the power to amplify your abilities if you use it correctly. If you haven't manifested these skills solidly enough and try to evolve your abilities anyway, you will ultimately loose more than you gain.

With that in mind and thinking about the role of the nadir in spiritual evolution - how can one be sure not to make the same mistake? And is it generally necessary to cross the nadir in all and everything you do or is it possible to loose a few abilities that hadn't been properly manifested during evolution? I guess if the latter is possible you will have evolved beings that have a different level of "skill" - for whatever that means on higher planes - those that have mastered certain abilities on the plane of matter and those who have not but ascended anyway?

Cheers,
Nachtgurke

Re: Evolution & the Nadir

[ecosophia]

That's an interesting way of thinking of it! If your school was in the US I'd assume that the tablet salesman had bribed the school authorities -- that's how such things normally happen here -- but I don't know if that's true where you are. But yes, it's going to make your students less attentive and guarantee that they'll learn less.

As for your general question, crossing the nadir doesn't require a specific set of skills to be mastered -- it's simply a matter of coming to grips with the limitations and possibilities of the material plane, grappling with them, and being formed and transformed by the experience. No two evolved beings have exactly the same skills, btw, because no two of them have had exactly the same experiences in their lives in matter.

[charlesnapo1]

Hello JMG, I have recently been involved in a dispute between 2 brothers (both my friends) my involvement is just to listen impartiality to their family issues with out taking sides.
I been using an astrological deck as an oracle and been noticing that several times when they have flare up in their relation I get the 8 house card.
So my question is is this an 8th house issue? Other people values and resources?
The 8 th house is always being a house I had trouble understanding beyond sex, death and transformation.
Thank you.

[ecosophia]

Each house has two different sets of meanings. There's the meaning that it has by itself, and the meaning it has in relation to other houses. The 8th is the house of death, change, and magic -- that's the meaning it has by itself. It's also the house that follows the 7th, and so it functions as the 2nd house of the 7th -- thus it represents another person's money and property. That's true of every house, btw -- the 4th house, for example, represents the money and property of your siblings if you have any, since it's the 2nd of the 3rd; the 6th house represents the money and property of your children, and so on. Yes, it gets complex!

If the 8th house is coming up, I'd tend to think there's money or property involved in the dispute between the brothers, possibly (since the 8th is the natural house of Scorpio) money or property they aren't talking about...

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG. Is there any occult dimension to the phenomenon that is known as "post-nut clarity"?

[ecosophia]

Sure. Orgasm releases tensions and stress patterns in the etheric body, and when those interfere with thought, it's a source of clarity. Aleister Crowley used to use it deliberately to get into meditative states -- he called it "eroto-comatose lucidity." Wikipedia has a surprisingly good article on it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eroto-comatose_lucidity

Ice cold vibes

[(Anonymous)]

Hey,

on a few occasions when being near certain people I have experienced what I have no other name for than a vibe of «ice-coldness».

It’s been many years since now but I still remember it, one was a politician and the other was someone who later got headhunted for a position high up in the government. The first was a short and random encounter, the other was saying hello at work.

Being leaders and public figures I guess they develop a certain «hardness» so to speak, but the feeling I got when near was something un-normally ice cold about them.

Do you know what this could have been? Can it be something with their etheric body, and if yes what exactly? Has anyone else experienced something like this?

Re: Ice cold vibes

[(Anonymous)]

This comment says the same thing: https://www.ecosophia.net/november-2023-open-post/#comment-104703
"Though not directly related I had an experience that somehow seems relevant. In the late seventies I had a long layover at O Hare airport in Chicago. I decided to take a walk outside. As I was going along a wave of what I can only describe as satanic evil washed over me from behind. I turned around and there behind me was Henry Kissinger with two bodyguards. I immediately turned to my right and returned to the airport building."

Conscious thought and the astral plane

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning, generous host:

The astral plane is described as a place we visit in our dreams, but I'm wondering where conscious, ordinary thought falls in the scheme of planes. It seems non-material, and not etheric either. Is ordinary thinking also part of the astral plane? What about our awareness of physical sensations? (I might be overthinking this, but I'm also genuinely interested and a bit confused.)

Thanks much.

Re: Conscious thought and the astral plane

[ecosophia]

Spend a little while paying attention to your thoughts. Do they take the form of words? Images? Secondhand sensations, like memories? All these are phenomena of the astral plane. What makes thinking complex is that those words, images, or what have you are attempts to express a pattern of meaning, and meanings belong to the mental plane. So thinking at its best bridges the gap between those two planes.

As for your awareness of physical sensations, you become conscious of a sensation when the nerve impulse is converted to an astral perception.

Protecting a space during an open house.

[(Anonymous)]

I am an artist and will be having an open studio in a few months. This event will be similar to a holiday open house, where people come and go during a set timeframe. Most of the attendees are friendly, but I expect that a couple in attendance will act friendly but secretly harbor ill will. They tend to be pathologically resentful of others’ perceived successes. Not allowing them entry won’t really work in this social setting. Will the Sphere of Protection extend throughout my studio space, or what do you recommend?

Re: Protecting a space during an open house.

[ecosophia]

You can certainly do a SoP with the intention of banishing hostile intentions, and get good results. You might also consider, though, right after the open house, mopping the floor using hot water in which a cup of vinegar, a quarter cup of salt, and a tablespoon of good hot red pepper has been dissolved. Start mopping at whatever place in the studio feels most central and important to you, and end at the front door. A floor wash, which is what this is called, is an old hoodoo method to purify a space of evil influences.

Strengthening of the will

[autpaxautbellum]

Dear JMG,

I’m currently meditating upon the triads in the third grade of Dolmen arch. In particular, regarding the development of Will as one aspires to Gwynfydd, there are a couple things I have question upon..

Firstly, I’ve been considering the topic from the point of view of the cantrefs. As such, one can envision the evolution through Abred towards Gwynfydd as journey from a state of Green / Earth / passivity to one of Red / Fire / will - wherein the end state (Gwynfydd) has no Earth (body optional) and Fire (will) dominates. However from a practical point of view, during the course we have been learning to balance and equilibrate the cantrefs with the opposite energies - which seems at odds with telemetry of ever increasing Fire / Will. I suppose one could do this by also continuing to strengthen Earth (to maintain the balance), at which point there is a sudden discontinuity where Earth drops out and one suddenly exists in Gwynnfydd reality? I’m guessing the Gwynfyddians have a different cantref model than we do after all 😄

Secondly, In terms of increasing the will, it seems to me effective to use the Will to modify character and behavior (instruments of Fate) to achieve one’s goal. For example, doing the course work at a similar time is easier than at random times, so habit is doing some work in your favor. However is that actually increasing one’s will? Or to the contrary should one seek out more difficulty (e.g. doing course work at random times). Or does the answer change as one advances in will power?

I hope these are sensible questions, they have certainly been on my mind. Thanks again for this wonderful course and the time and information you share here.

Re: Strengthening of the will

[ecosophia]

1) Good heavens, no -- Earth is not just the material plane. It's a basic principle of existence that operates on all planes, including the highest. You're also not seeking a state of imbalance, all Fire and no Earth -- it's simply that in many incarnate people, Fire is the weakest of the elements. Plato says somewhere that we have one part of fire, two of air, three of water, and four of earth; one way to think of the work is that you have to get all four elements up to four parts, so you need to develop a lot of will, quite a bit of intelligence, and some sensitivity.

2) Since most people have so little will, habit is valuable to strengthen it. Eventually, when you no longer need it, you can do without it.

Freemasonry

[(Anonymous)]

I know several male spiritual practictioners are freemasons and it's something that keeps coming back to me in synchronicities this past month. I have a plethora of spiritual practices I've been working on for 3 years now. I've been focusing on the theurgical aspects, but anticipate well over 5 years of further practices as well as work and a family. In the past, some of the local freemasons I've met werent great people and I dont care for being a part of groups. I dont really have close friends b/c I choose so. I can make them easily, but my wife really covers all bases.

I'm in my early 40's now and figured it would probaby be by my late 40's that I would be able to give the proper time to freemasonry. By that time my kids will be adults.

JMG,
I was curious how old you were when you joined? If any other commentariat would like to add to your experience as a freemason and what degree you've made it through I would appreciate it.

Re: Freemasonry

[ecosophia]

I was 38 when I was entered, passed and raised a Mason in Doric Lodge #92 in Seattle. I'm currently a 32° Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in the Scottish Rite, a Knight Templar in the York Rite, and also a Knight Mason and a Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priest. My Masonic experience has been something of a mixed bag, as any interaction with a group of people is bound to be; I've found some lodges well worth participating in, and others a complete waste of time. All in all, though, it's been worth doing.

St. Phanourios

[(Anonymous)]

Recently, I visited Greece and returned with a small icon of St. Panourios. I am not Orthodox but I was visiting a religious store to pick up some gifts and souvenir items.

The icon for St. Panourios appealed to me and while I was at the register the nice ladies there started telling me about the items I purchased. When I admitted I didn't know who the saint was, one of them looked amazed that I could go through life and not know this saint!!. "You don't know??".

St. Panourios is the saint of lost items. This belief started when his icon was discovered intact after a monastery was looted by raiders. There is also a tradition of baking a cake associated with him.

Link below for full details.

When I travel I hide certain items at home, just in case and take notes on where I put them. Sometimes I hide them two well. There was one item I didn't take a note for, I was looking around but later, when I unpacked the icon, I placed it right next to where I found the item. Later, I hung the icon on a book shelf and I found records and paperwork that I had long forgotten about.

As I'm not Orthodox I'm not sure how they go about asking the saint and giving thanks to the saint. Anyone one that has insight into that I would appreciate it. I'll research but always best to hear from those that know.

Many Greeks take their icons seriously and when one visits a church, you'll see the faithful give the icons two kisses, just like kissing someone on both cheeks.

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Phanourios

Re: St. Phanourios

[methylethyl]

The name is Phanourios, starts with an "F" sound. Generally the way that works is, you need to find something, you can't find it (like, I have done this when my toddler lost my car keys. Had been missing for days. Really really needed them back), so you say a prayer to St. Phanourios. He is very helpful. After you find the lost item, you bake a Phanouropita ("Phanourios" + "cake/bread" but in Greek bread is "pita") and you take it to coffee hour at church and share it with everybody. This is how you say thank you. If you are not Orthodox, I suppose you could bake the Phanouropita and... figure out someone else to share it with, out of gratitude to the saint? It is not hard to find recipes online. There's different ways to bake it but it's basically some variation of a spice cake.

There is some fun trivia about St. Phanourios. There's not a lot of evidence that he actually existed, and it's possible the found icon was an icon of St. George that somebody mis-read. Nobody really knows. But if it was really St. George, he seems happy to help you find your lost things, even under a pseudonym ;)

Offerings

[open_space]

Hello all,

If you have a question you would like to ask geomancy or the tarot I can give you my interpretation here:

Divination Offering

If you would like to receive Healings Hands, a method of spiritual healing from the MOE, for a period of 21 days or would like to give an update, you can do so here

Healing Hands

If you would like to get the raw materials to make yourself a set of cell salts for your own or as part of the Carey protocol or the Secret of the Five Rites (or both) I can send you a set of the minerals for a small fee if you leave your information here:

Raw materials for cell salts

That would be all, thanks!

Q

[(Anonymous)]

1) I am going to conduct a charity/petition towards mars to request help with work. I bought a red altar, the right incense, and a red candle, but does anyone have any additional advise on how to conduct it successfully?

2) Going to start learning the SoP (Sphere of Protection) from this link by JMG:https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/57125.html

I'm wondering if I can request someone here to put up a quick video to show the movements. It would be mighty helpful.

(I've seen another video but it looked slightly different from these instructions

Re: Q

[ecosophia]

1) Mars likes decisiveness. Make up your mind about how you want to do it, and then do it.

2) There I can't help you. Anyone else?

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG!

Do you know if Butler’s book “ how to read the aura and practice psychometry, telepathy& clairvoyance” should be taken in the order presented or can I jump in with how to read the aura first even though it is presented last?

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

They were originally published as four separate books, like this:

So you can do them in any order you like.

Chronic Illness and Karma

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for your time, as always.

Is there anything you happen to know about the karmic dimensions of chronic illness? I've been fighting a debilitating medical condition since I was a teenager, one that involves chronic pain that many sufferers describe as "excruciating". The mainstream medical treatments available are generally both very painful and not very effective either. I am extremely fortunate to have discovered that being extremely disciplined in my diet allows me to control my illness to an extent, which has afforded me the ability to live a more or less normal life, with the occasional flare up here and there. However, lately, I've been worried that perhaps this illness will follow me into subsequent lives, and am wondering if there's anything else I should be doing to ensure that the karma around this is cleared up properly? Is there anything else I should pay attention to besides simply managing and living with it? Or is it possible that I am thinking about this in entirely the wrong way?

Any insight you could provide would be very much appreciated, but I understand if this is out of your wheelhouse.

Re: Chronic Illness and Karma

[ecosophia]

This is something a lot of occult writings mention. What you're doing -- bearing up and living the best possible life despite a difficult medical condition -- is burning off karma, not storing up more of it. The fact that you've already found a way to mitigate the condition through the conscious action of disciplined control of your diet shows that you've already gotten the upper hand over the karmic burden, and it should be over and done with by the end of this incarnation. It's possible that you may find an opportunity to help other people, possibly by sharing your experience with others who have the same illness; that would be worth doing, as it will create positive karma to tip the scale the right way. But in your place I'd be confident that my future incarnations would be free of the karmic burden.