Magic Monday
Feb. 4th, 2024 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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 was my fifteenth published book, and it's the one book of mine that I've allowed to go out of print permanently. The publisher who brought out Monsters was interested in other books in the broad paranormal-weird stuff end of things, and the Atlantis legend was an obvious topic; unfortunately the result was rushed, and not really well thought out. Someday I want to do a proper book on the Atlantis legend, and more generally on the tradition that there were entire cycles of advanced civilization in the distant past -- but this is not that book, and I'm somewhat embarrassed by it.
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***This Magic Monday is now closed -- as in, no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:01 pm (UTC)Re: Astral Chatter and Mental Silence
Date: 2024-02-05 08:02 pm (UTC)Having just had a class which covered the subject, have you had your father's priest out for the Anointing of the Sick? (Often referred to as Last Rites.) Apparently the priests can administer this every six months while a person is too ill to attend Confession, and locally they work with the various residential facilities to make sure the parishoners get it in a timely way.
Perhaps it would give your father comfort, if you can, if you are not already, which you most probably are.
BoysMom
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:05 pm (UTC)Re: 1. Psychic distress and magical practice; 2. The metaphysics of stuff
Date: 2024-02-05 08:09 pm (UTC)There's also an element of not being able to let go of possibilities or understand opportunity cost. Whether it's "I might need some tidbit of information in that newspaper" or "these are materials I'll use for a project in the future"... despite the fact you haven't needed the info or done the project in ten years of holding onto the stuff, and if you did get the chance, you wouldn't be able to find it anyway...
Haven't made any inroads with the relatives, alas, but for myself, I've found it extremely helpful to ask two questions:
1) What is the cost of keeping this thing?
2) Could someone else be using/enjoying it right now?
Stuff isn't free. It costs you in usable space, maintenance, emotional energy... when your house is cluttered, your mind and soul are cluttered too, and it's not a good feeling. It's constant stress, the shame of not being able to let anyone in your house, etc. That's a hefty price to pay for "I might need it in the indefinite someday". Most things are not worth it.
But also, a lot of stuff becomes un-usable if you store it too long. I learned this with baby clothes. Will we have another baby? I don't know, let's put all these clothes in storage. But when we finally did have another baby a couple years later, most of the clothes had yellowed. Unless you've got a super-duper industrial ozone washer setup, there's always some residual protein in the fabric somewhere, and stuff gets discolored and gross. But it was all fine when I put it away, and someone else could have been using it for that next year, if I hadn't tried to keep it!
God tells us that if we have extra when others are in need, and we don't share, that's a sin. I remind myself of this a lot because I'm weak here, PLUS stuff degrades over time-- elastic dry-rots, fabric yellows, book-binding glue disintegrates, the moth and the rust destroy...
It also helps to think of getting rid of high-opportunity-cost stuff as a form of weight loss. Think of all the stuff you own, think of it in *pounds* or *kilos* and then, as you chuck things in the trash, think about what it weighs. Guesstimate. At the end of the day, say "I just lost 100 pounds and I feel so much lighter!"
Re: Atlantis, bug and noise control, awful landlord and bad neighbors
Date: 2024-02-05 08:09 pm (UTC)Re: Plants
Date: 2024-02-05 08:15 pm (UTC)That said, we have plants in every sunny window in our house and enjoy them a lot. They really seem to improve the feel of the place, and since we are stuck with gross old funk rental-house carpet... they've done wonders for how the place smells, also.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:15 pm (UTC)Re: Plants
Date: 2024-02-05 08:21 pm (UTC)Why is 7 years pertinent to demonic issues?
Date: 2024-02-05 08:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:37 pm (UTC)Saturday evening, an unusual event happened at our household. Around 18h00, it was already very dark, my spouse noticed a small bird at one of our kitchen windows. The bird was tapping with its beak on the glass section of one window, and then doing so on the section of another window and another window. My partner instinctively thought than the bird was in some sort of distress, either cold, hungry, fatigued etc., and in its own way was asking to come in from the cold evening. My partner then noticed that the bird was not on any of the window sills, so decided to light up the patio and see if the bird could be seen through the patio door and noticed the bird standing closely to the door looking inside so decided to open the door to see if the bird would want to come in, and the bird promptly flew inside.
At first it flew around the kitchen and dining room, perching on different objects to finally settle down on a storage dresser, behind two baskets. After a while it decided to fly around the ground floor and nest in one of the living room planters while we were having supper in the dining room. After supper it decided to return to the dining room and we promptly closed the lights to let it rest. Our son and I suggested opening the patio door to see if it would choose to return outside, but my spouse insisted that the bird stay overnight until the morning and then let go, well rested. While quietly watching a movie in the living room, we noticed that the bird took flight a few times in the kitchen to eventually settle down on a small loudspeaker installed high on one of the kitchens walls. After the movie we retired for the night and left the bird where it was peacefully resting.
In the morning, my partner noticed that the bird was not perched or resting anywhere to be seen in the kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom or the stairway leading up to the second floor or in a room whose door was left open during the night. We both re-searched the area that the bird had access to, and to no avail, except for two small feathers found on the kitchen floor. Not being able to find the bird, or see it or even hear it, we decided to solicit the help of our three cats that were purposefully and diligently sequestered to the basement while the bird was present on the ground floor Saturday evening and night. Also to no avail, even the most experienced hunter of the three cats could not locate the bird, quite the contrary to it behaviour of wanting to catch the bird Saturday when it flew in the house and was to its chagrin kept in the basement. Searching the house more than once did not reveal the whereabouts of the bird.
Here is our conundrum. We believe that the bird is dead, hidden somewhere unknown. The lore on the subject of birds coming into a house is usually, but not always, a portent of a death in the family or one of the individuals. Now since the bird came in and is presumed dead somewhere in the house, this type of omen seems quite ominous.
I believe that, and I might be very wrong, that the bird in question, most probably a juvenile bunting, was an indication of the presence of a land spirit of some kind. It came very close to our heads, and it was not a figment of our imagination since it lost some feathers and pooped on some objects.
An important side note to the situation is that we feed the birds that live around our home generously all winter and spring and numerous kinds of birds congregate to our feeding site every day.
Divination using the sacred geometry oracle produced the following results:
Six questions:
1-Was the bird a benevolent spirit?
Answer: 24 reversed =unexpectedness
2-Is the bird still in the house?
Answer 25 reversed=dependence
3-is it dead?
Answer 1 reversed=hiddenness
4-will it’s death have any consequences on the house’s inhabitants
Answer 4 upright=form
5-Will making an offering to the land spirits mitigate any impact of the bird’s death?
Answer 27 upright=harmony
6-Who might be impacted by the consequences?
Answer 33 upright=unity
I would say that the divination speaks eloquently off the situation at hand and of what to do:
Yes quite justly I cannot predict where the situation is heading nor can I control the outcome… I think that someone else is required to resolve the situation but not really…Definitively there are important things I do not know about…Attention to the home and family circle is a good idea and preparing for potential difficulties very much so…I am planning to do the right thing at the right time in the right situation and the results will unfold in perfect harmony…There is a fundamental unity at work in the situation, and it derives from me whether I realize it or not.
So as to mitigate any possible bad consequences from this unfortunate turn of events I plan on:
1. Burning a five day votive candle so as to honour and help its spirit get on its way.
2. Pray that it as a safe passage to the other side.
3. Make an offering to the land spirits and explain that no harm was meant, that we regret the whole incident.
So JMG, what do you think of the divination results and interpretation? any other suggestions?
Any other rituals worth performing? We are Roman Catholics, but we both believe that creation is comprised of much more than can be seen and that is permitted by the dogma of our church.
Commentariat input most welcome.
One last point: in the event that we finally locate our stumble on the bird’s remains, we plan on returning it to its natural setting in a respectful manner, would that be sufficient?
As always, JMG, thank you for this space and your counsels.
Sapienter Si Sincere
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:40 pm (UTC)Re: Astral Chatter and Mental Silence
Date: 2024-02-05 08:43 pm (UTC)Jill, thank you for sharing these insights about your father's condition. I have not read Fortune's book or essay that you mention, but your application of it to your observations sounds spot-on, fascinating, and of use to mental health as well as magical efforts. The imagery is very intriguing and has a lot of explanatory value!
Since I have no problem with pursuing multiple perspectives on complex phenomena, I'll mention that my take on Heathen soul lore has some interesting perspectives to offer as well. Of our multiple souls, some are life-souls and must stay closely connected to the body during life, leaving it at death. Others are 'wander-souls' or daemon souls, who are capable of exiting the body temporarily and in some cases taking independent action while separated. Though their temporary absence does not cause immediate death, it often causes noticeable changes in behavior, speech, and state of awareness.
As the body deteriorates from advanced age, illness, or injury, the life-souls find it more difficult to access and metabolize the different forms of life-force that they each ‘specialize’ in and mediate to the body and its activities, but they struggle on while life is present. The wander-souls, on the other hand, may choose to wander off for periods of time since they are having trouble interfacing through the body and into the social and material world because of physical damage to brain and body. This causes the person to behave abnormally for two reasons: (1) the absence of these souls which provide many of the capacities we use for everyday thought, activities, and interactions, and (2) a subconscious effort to call or gather these souls back to the body, using continuous streams of speech and perhaps memory expressed through speech as a ‘tether’ to the souls, and using rolling, gathering or plucking hand movements, among other things.
My article “An Anglo-Saxon Charm Against a Dwarf: Shapeshifting, Soul-Theft, and Shamanic Healing,” discusses some of these phenomena. (HeathenSoulLore.net) A shapeshifted dwarf is trying to steal a person’s soul(s) by bridling the soul(s) and drawing them away from the body, causing the victim to become dumb, chilled, and stuporous. But then the dwarf’s sister appears, apparently a spirit-master or shaman, gives her brother an ultimatum, and gives the healer a galdor or incantation and other aids to oust the dwarf and heal the patient. Victims whose souls are thus “hag-ridden / troll-ridden / witch-bridled” as so forth generally behave very oddly, may lose or become garbled in their speech, and become exhausted, then paralyzed, then die, if not healed. I think this illustrates some of the impact caused by wander-souls wandering off when the body is not able to sustain their physical connections to This-World, as both the result of and the cause of disabilities and abnormal behavior.
Well, these are interesting phenomena, and I have lots to think about thanks to your contribution, Jill!
Winifred Hodge Rose
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:46 pm (UTC)Dunno if she had any nonstandard religious practices, but her writing is 10x better than most of the dreck out there written for children, and worthwhile on that score alone.
I do know that some of the "magic" problems she works through in the books are sort of a metaphor for the challenges of dyslexia-- I don't know if she had it herself, or was just very sympathetic toward it. There's a pretty strong running theme in her books of bright kids who can't quite manage whatever the standard education methods are, and frequently wind up looking dumb. I gather she was also not a fan of boarding schools ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:47 pm (UTC)3) I also think of the devotion network as a network, in which the saints could put their strength and requests to work. What would be other ways of empowering the Saints? Geographical proximity to the devotee?
Re: SoP + seasonal rituals
Date: 2024-02-05 08:48 pm (UTC)Another quick question, if I may:
I've noted that the description of the SoP has changed substantially over the years. The latest version of the SoP I know of is the one published here at Ecosophia, which is also the one taught in the FHR documents and in the Way of the Golden Section. That version differs markedly from the one taught in the Druid Magic Handbook and in the Dolmen Arch, especially as regards the Opening and the Closing phases.
My question : are these different versions equivalent? (yet with your caveat that the Closing stage of the latest version needs regular practice to become really effective.) In other words: would it be acceptable to focus on the latest version of the SoP (Ecosophia/FHR/GSF) and go on using it in a DMH or DA context later on?
Thank you!
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:53 pm (UTC)Two currents
Date: 2024-02-05 08:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 08:56 pm (UTC)Re: Neverending Story
Date: 2024-02-05 08:58 pm (UTC)German Romanticism is where it's at! (I put a volume of Holderlin's poetry on hold this morning ; )
JPM
Re: SoP + seasonal rituals
Date: 2024-02-05 08:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 09:06 pm (UTC)Re: Update on temple technology research
Date: 2024-02-05 09:07 pm (UTC)Re: Why is 7 years pertinent to demonic issues?
Date: 2024-02-05 09:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-05 09:09 pm (UTC)There's a pair of wrens nesting in my garage, where I hang my laundry to dry. A couple times a week, I barge through that door with a basket of wet clothes and surprise the poor things, which go fluttering about and then leave for a bit. I've been trying, instead, to talk to them when I come through the door: "Hi Wrens! It's me! Don't be scared!". I get less panicked fluttering that way. This week, I took down a towel, and a wren was on the other side of it. I apologized when I heard the fluttering and thought he'd gone up to the rafters, but no he followed me back in the house. We did some strategic turning lights on where we wanted him to go *to* and off in rooms to encourage him out of... and he did finally go back out. I think he'd have been lonely in the house-- the pair of them roost together. Anyway, all done in general good cheer. The next day I was out in the garage hanging clothes, and whistling some tune or other, and the wren *whistled back*!-- I'd never heard more than a wee chirp out of them before, but this was a several-note call, repeated a couple times. I think he was chatting. Wish I knew what he was saying! Hasn't done it since. Maybe it was a thank-you?
Anyway, if you ever have to do it again, they'll often go from a dark room to a lit one, and you can sort of guide them through the house that way- bonus points if you've got an outside light to help them get out the door at last.