ecosophia | Magic Monday

Current Mood: awake

Entry tags:

Magic Monday

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!***

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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

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.

1, 2) That all makes sense, and thanks. I have something I'm fully ready to start, so no need to wait around a fortnight!

3) Very limited, still getting used to your basic trio recommendation of Sphere of Protection, meditation, and divination. I've not looked into Picatrix or anything medieval beyond some articles about Fludd, but no hands-on applications. I guess this particular episode will need to stay with physical remedies.

That's correct. Generally speaking, if you need to change something in yourself -- and it's not anchored in place by strong psychophysical factors or powerful emotional doublebinds -- you can fix it with simple magic. If you need to change something outside yourself, you need to know quite a bit more about magic to get good results.

Got it. Hopefully by the time I know how to apply anything from Picatrix, this particular problem will be long gone!

For getting rid of bugs: mint. Ants, roaches, termites, and nearly any creature that crawls close to the ground hates mint, and this includes mice. Mint is sacred to Mercury, so it's entirely possible that adding some propitiations to Mercury could help it repel bugs (and mice) from your space. You might try putting some essential oil of peppermint in an infuser or mixing it with water and a dash of rubbing alcohol in a plant mister and spritzing it around the apartment. When my house had mice, I used to sprinkle the essential oil all over the basement and put it on cotton balls in the oven drawer.

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

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

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

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.

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?

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

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

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?

Whew, thank you for laying my confusion to rest. I was beginning to worry that I might have developed a particularly articulate alter ego, which was making a beeline for the keyboard whenever I believed I was simply falling asleep.

That would have been quite the troublesome glitch to try to get properly reintegrated! Especially if it had already grown assertive enough to seek out advice on timesharing based on lunar cycles or disposing of pesky bugs, when, from it's own perspective, I would merely be a bug disrupting its programming.

I am so very pleased to know that you're not some figment of my imagination, run all amok and trying to delete me... Right? No, seriously. I'm right about this... Aren't I? Oh Good Lord, I do hope I'm not just talking to myself here!

— Christophe

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. :(

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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?

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.

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?

Thank you Kimberly!

- C from C

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 8

Magic Monday

Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

no subject

Overview of The Seed of Yggdrasill and Thanks

MOE Attunements: Master and Healer; Blessings

no subject

no subject

Magic Monday Initial Reply

Change crystallization

Divination and Magic to Become more Lovable

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs

no subject

no subject

amulet for friendships

Evolution & the Nadir

no subject

no subject

Ice cold vibes

Conscious thought and the astral plane

Protecting a space during an open house.

Re: Questions about bestsellers and full moons and bugs