Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's just a few minutes to midnight, so we can launch 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 eighteenth published book, and it happened via a chain of accidents that still has me fielding baffled questions. Here's what happened. 

My first book on geomancy, the fourth book I published, was released by a certain rather clueless publisher. I warned the marketing people there that they needed to make sure that their sales staff didn't get confused and think that it was a book on Wiccan feng-shui. Sure enough, their sales staff got confused and marketed it to all the little witch bookstores that thrived in those days as a book on Wiccan feng-shui. Once they got their copies and found out that it was a book on a somewhat fussy Renaissance method of divination, of course, they shipped their copies back to the publisher with irate letters; as a result, Earth Divination, Earth Magic became the first book of mine to go out of print.

Fast forward to 2008. Hot on the heels of the success of The Druidry Handbook and The Druid Magic Handbook, I tried to place Earth Divination, Earth Magic with Weiser. They weren't interested in a reprint but said they'd be happy with a new book on the same subject. So I wrote them a new book that covered exactly the same ground as Earth Divination, Earth Magic, and they snapped it up. Much later, Aeon Books picked up Earth Divination, Earth Magic and brought out a new edition. And that, my children, is why I have two books on geomancy from two different publishers covering exactly the same material, in head to head competition with each other. Most prolific authors end up with some such bizarrerie in their backlist sooner or later...

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

Athena

[(Anonymous)]

Are there any followers of Athena reading? What can you recommend for connecting with her, offerings of items or tasks beyond the orphic hymns?

As a bookish woman with a strong personality, from a matriarchal family, I probably seem on the outside like someone who would be a follower of Athena, but I have not really connected with her. There are a few things coming up in my life that make me want to. When I have tried to focus on her before, I feel most aware of her warlike, stern side, the Athena of the Iliad and the Oresteia. I feel that I can't be up to scratch (I am not very tough, because of medical problems that mean I would certainly have died as a baby in the ancient world), rather than being able to draw strength. This does not feel like an obstacle when I meditate on other gods.

Re: Athena

[ecosophia]

I have a small statue of her purchased at the Nashville Parthenon, which is worth visiting -- it's quite a good replica of the original, complete with a huge statue of Athena -- but beyond that, I don't have any particular suggestions. Anyone else?

Healing Hands Offering

[open_space]

It has been a while now since I've been practicing the methods of the Modern Order of Essenes and I have compiled the experiences and learned lessons with giving Healing Hands to a little more than 100 people in an essay. I will post it next week once I get a chance to edit it, in case anyone is interested.

Last month, I got a little bit sick and did not finish the 21 days for the people that requested healing, only did 7 since I don't like sending healing energy when I'm sick, so they got another 21 days this time around starting tomorrow, Monday. So if you were left wondering why nothing was happening, that was why.

If you would like to receive Healing Hands from me --a method of spiritual healing that can help with health problems and general well-being-- leave a comment here or in the post below. The only request from my side is that you give me an update or two in that period, and that will also keep you on the list for another 21 days. As always, if you have a chronic condition, your health is fragile, or are generally very sensitive with your body, please do let me know because I have to be gentle at first to avoid some side effects that can be uncomfortable.

Healing Hands Offering

Thanks!

Re: Healing Hands Offering

[kylec]

Looking forward to that essay!

[(Anonymous)]

a) For reasons unrelated to occultism, I've decided to learn Arabic; I figured that being able to access more geomancy texts in the future would be a fringe benefit, but it turns out this has had a much faster effect: since I started studying Arabic, my geomancy practice has suddenly become much easier, much more accurate, and much more precise; which I find very interesting given geomancy is originally Arabic. This has gotten me thinking about the link between languages and symbolism, and by extension, occult practices. Do you know if anyone has looked into this?

b) I've had a string of past life memories surface over the last few years. I've had divination done, and it seems that these are accurate past life memories. I haven't been diligent about spiritual practices, although I do a little, it's very undisciplined; I don't think I've burnt any significant amount of karma; and I am at a loss as to what could be driving them to emerge. What sort of factors could prompt around a dozen past lives to emerge in the space of a few years?

If it matters, I seem to be a very old soul; and while the original mistake I made that lead to me getting stuck here is still lost to the fog of time, I can now remember three major mistakes I've made that lead to a lot of negative karma and played a major role in keeping me here far longer than usual.

[ecosophia]

1) I don't know of anyone looking into that, but it's quite possible I simply missed it.

2) If they're surfacing, you're ready for them. Why? Could be any number of factors.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG =

1) Is it possible to learn natal and horary astrology at the same time?
2) Following on your posts on FF, do you see either one as being more useful than the other as we head off into the Long Descent?
3) Do you have any plans (or even fleeting thoughts) to offer either of those as a service any time in the future?

Thank you for answering our questions. You are appreciated.

David

[ecosophia]

1) Sure, but it'll take you longer and you risk getting them confused, which is not a good thing. I recommend learning one and then the other.

2) Oh, natal astrology is far and away the most popular. This is especially true if you then go on to learn how to do annual progressed charts.

3) Nope. Mundane astrology is shaping up to be my bread and butter.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
Dear commentators,
A great week everyone!

I live close to a beach that is normally empty. I always see a person or two performing some ritual and this time I stopped to watch. He was performing an LBRP on the beach, with swimming trunks and a surfboard nearby. At first I found it quite strange, but then I found the connection with nature interesting.

[ecosophia]

The thought of a surfer dude who's also a Hermetic initiate is irresistibly charming to me.

Translations

[k_a_nitz]

Just a note that with my translation of chapters from one of Weinfurter's works finishing up (the last chapter is up for Dreamwidth accounts), as per my recent announcement I will be posting chapters/sections from another translation, this time on a monthly basis (every 1st of the month), for Dreamwidth subscribers to my dreamwidth blog. (This time I will be leaving the chapters up instead of taking them down with each new chapter.) The new work will be the somewhat scholarly Franz Dornseiff's The Alphabet in Mysticism and Magic (originally published in German in 1922).

A post about the author and some excerpts from a 1923 review of the original in the journal Classical Philology are on my blog here for those who would like an idea of what this work will be about.

My general lack of questions for Magic Monday at the moment stems from my reading of Weinfurter's work on mysticism and some of his comments which I will very poorly summarise as the idea that the answers will come to you when you are ready for them and not before, with the primary imperative being to focus on what you are immediately doing (this emphasis on concentration and action is probably the biggest gift from reading these Magic Mondays too). Such is my path.

Re: Translations

[ecosophia]

Delighted to hear that things are coming along!

Last reincarnation signs

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,
First of all, thank you so much for what you do. I’ve learned so much in the few months I’ve been following you.
A few Magic Mondays ago somebody commented that you know this is your last reincarnation, or the one before the last. What are the signs that one’s reincarnation cycles are coming to an end?

Re: Last reincarnation signs

[ecosophia]

It's not a matter of signs. When it's time for you to know, you'll know. In the meantime, do your best and don't fret about it.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, taking advantage of the question about astrology: Robert Ambelain used the decan figures a lot in his interpretations of natal charts. Where can I find these corresponding figures?

[ecosophia]

Chris Warnock has them in at least one of his books on planetary magic, and of course they're in the Picatrix. I'm sure they're in plenty of other sources as well.

Like a moth to a flame

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I am new here but seem to keep getting drawn back to your site (mostly because I appreciate good writing and new thoughts, and I guess you represent both for me).

I don't know if these questions belong on a Magic Monday thread, but I also don't know where else they should go, so:

1. I happened to listen to an Occultism 101 podcast you gave with Hermitix about four years ago and your comment about how "The human world as such is never going to get any better, because it's doing what it's there to do" has left me a bit confused on a particular thought: does this mean that instead of changing the world or trying to help it or whatever, I should just let the world be and focus on my own best interest (meaning meditation, etc.)?

2. I'm curious what you think about the Hindu concept of Yugas, if you have ever thought of it at all.


Thanks, as always!

Re: Like a moth to a flame

[ecosophia]

1) You can certainly improve certain specific things about the world, and that's a useful thing to do. The problem is that people think the world's going to turn into Utopia, and it's not -- it's always going to be a place of mingled joy and suffering, success and failure, beauty and sickening ugliness. (And your efforts to make it better will be balanced by the efforts of others to make it worse.)

2) Of course I've thought of it, and the related ancient Greek sequence of ages found in Hesiod. I discussed some of it here:

https://www.ecosophia.net/the-reign-of-quantity/

There are many different ways of thinking of that complex, textured reality we call "time," and each of them have something useful to add.

Blessing offer

[milkyway1]

Good morning everybody, and particularly to you, JMG (or still good night?) - and thanks a lot for hosting MM again. I’m very much looking forward to all the interesting questions and answers! :-)

Just a small offer today from me, open to everybody: I offer formal blessings once a week to everybody who requests them. Details are here:

https://thehiddenthings.com/weekly-blessings-11

I practice my blessing skills, so you‘d also do me a favour in joining! :-)

Milkyway

Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

At this link is the full list of all of the requests for prayer that have recently appeared at ecosophia.net and ecosophia.dreamwidth.org, as well as in the comments of the prayer list posts. Please feel free to add any or all of the requests to your own prayers.



If I missed anybody, or if you would like to add a prayer request for yourself or anyone who has given you consent (or for whom a relevant person holds power of consent) to the list, please feel free to leave a comment below.



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

 

Tyler A's wife Monika's pregnancy is high risk; may Mother and child be blessed with good health and a smooth delivery, and be soothed and healed from their recent pains and discomfort in a manner that supports a positive outcome to the pregnancy.



May Deathcap's friend Mike, who has begun a 5 week course of radiation treatment after a nearly fatal surgery for a malignant tumor on his leg, be healed of his cancer and return to full health quickly and as completely as possible.



May new mother Molly M recover quickly and completely from her recent stroke and the lingering loss of vision and slurred speech that ensued, and may newborn Lela and husband Austin be comforted and strengthened through this difficult time.



May John Michael Greer's wife Sara Greer, who passed away on February 20th, be blessed and soothed as she moves into the next stage of her spirit's journey. And may John Michael Greer be blessed and lent strength in this most difficult time.



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 Just Another Green Rage Monster's father, who is dealing with Stage 4 Lymphoma, and mother, who is primary caregiver, be blessed, protected and healed.



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.

* * *
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.



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.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I've been mulling over the issue I raised again last week (or possibly the week before, I forget), regarding getting distracted and anxious during the SoP, because it happened again this morning. I've isolated the crux of the issue: my worry is that, by thinking of someone during a banishing phase, even momentarily, I will either accidentally banish them, or unintentionally send the unbalanced energy of that gate towards them.

Of course, this can lead to a 'don't think about a pink elephant' effect, making it even more likely that I'll think of someone, then get worried about it, and so on!

A calm meditation on the subject led me to suppose that, in reality, the worst that is likely to happen is that the banishing and hence the SoP will simply be less effective, and the other stuff probably isn't worth worrying about. The Ogham, however, gave me a reading of Coll reversed for this interpretation.

I'd be very grateful for your thoughts on this.

[ecosophia]

When I get Coll reversed, it usually means I'm overthinking it, and quite often indicates that I'm working myself into a tizzy about nothing. Please repeat the following words aloud until they really do sink in:

The only things you banish in the SoP are the things you verbally name and consciously intend to banish.

This stuff really works

[(Anonymous)]

A little story from the this stuff really works category. I wanted to move to a small isolated place in the country, ostensibly to get good at magic, whilst also farming. My partner moved with me as well. We survived out there through covid lockdowns, a collapse of revenue, a collapse in at least three of the organisations I worked for, and family drama around us that you wouldn't believe, plus the death of my mother during that time (followed by the subsequent deaths of three other family members, and severe illness in others). My business collapsed, leaving debt we could not shift. Those times led me to a nervous breakdown, an attack of severe proportions, thoughts I don't care to mention, but somehow I held strong.

I was practising, perhaps wrongly, the pentagram ritual outside, which could have disturbed the land energies, although I suspect there may have been a curse involved, such that anything the income from the place touched led to bad outcomes, even after leaving. I started to get a string of bad luck unlike never before, job issues, constant moving to a new job, a miscarriage, extreme morning sickness with my partner, touch and go birth of my daughter. Mental situation was such that I ceased practising, but I started to realise that if there was a curse or karma involved, the only way was to clear anything it touched.

I started to give away one by one any items that had been touched,if I sold anything I gave the money to charity, leaving only my car left. Eventually I had enough money to buy it back from the old business, and my patience and politeness with the tax department debt paid off - they agreed to wipe it (which is almost unheard of). One week later, I closed down all the old company accounts, and on that exact day, my car, which was caught up in the mess, was stolen, and burned out at the river. Pretty sad, but the timing is not coincidental - it's karmic conclusion.

Safe to say, after all that, job offers, income picked up, insurance paid out, and the mental disturbances all cleared up.

Hard to know what it was - probably a number of things under that cosmic eclipse that occurred - some self-inflicted (bad choices and honest mistakes), plus stuff done to me, but hell, if I hadn't had the background I've learned on here, there is literally no way I would have got through alive, let alone wiser. Yes, this stuff works, and even when it doesn't seem like its helping, it lets you get back up again.

Thank you for what you have taught me.

Re: This stuff really works

[ecosophia]

You're welcome. I'm glad you got out the other side intact.

OTO Gnostic Mass

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Archdruid John,and fellow readers

I am interested to know your thoughts on A Crowley's Gnostic Mass. It is a parody of the Catholic mass. However I am interested to understand the magical symbolisms in this rite.

I enjoy this blog every week and eagerly read through the questions and answers.

Thank you.

Re: OTO Gnostic Mass

[ecosophia]

I don't have any particular thoughts about it, having never attended one. Crowley's work doesn't interest me. You might want to find a Thelemite and ask them about it.

A couple of quesions

[furnax]

Hello, hope you're doing well. I'd like to ask a few simple questions:

1) I've been trying to learn discursive meditation and the SoP from the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose (I felt like I was really needing a ritual of protection and some sort of consistent daily practice), and I came upon this passage

"Breathwork stimulates the vagus nerve, which has a range of effects on the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine glands; if you do it clumsily, you can mess up your health. (I learned that the hard way, and it took about five years for me to get things back to normal. You don't want to go there.)"

I wonder if you could talk a little bit about this breathwork gone awry and how you fixed it, or point to some place where you have previously discussed it. Seems like useful knowledge, y'know, just in case.

2) Is the SoP meant to feel in a particular way? I feel like I'm doing it wrong, though I'm trying to follow the instructions for the opening and closing (still none of the middle bits yet). I ended up with the Christian evocations mostly because of personal familiarity, so I wonder if I have to find some evocations that work a little better for me.

3) I've been unsure whether to ask this because it felt a little silly (and a bit like trying to make myself feel more important than maybe should be the case), but it's worth a shot anyway: I've been following the discussions in the last few Magic Mondays, and I recalled that as a kid I used to see some like "little figures" in the dark, kinda like little shapes floating around (one particularly memorable case was seeing little skulls and getting real freaked out, and hiding under the covers). Eventually it stopped as I grew. I wonder if anyone has had similar experiences and if there is any sort of metaphysical significance to it (I've never thought of myself as particularly sensitive, so I always discounted it as some sort of childhood phenomenon without great importance). My memory is full of holes due to lots of (sadly necessary) repression, so it's hard to evaluate how often it happened anyway.

4) I did the numerology birth number thing for fun and ended up with 11. Does this mean I'm meant to be an occultist, or at least drawn to the occult sciences?

Re: A couple of quesions

[ecosophia]

1) Ordinary rhythmic breathing, such as the fourfold breath, won't mess you up -- that's why I teach it. The trouble I had was with advanced qigong practices I was taught when I was qualifying as a taijiquan instructor; I don't recommend mixing those with any Western esoteric practice.

2) Nope. The SoP is subtle and it's very personal; don't worry about how it's supposed to feel, just keep on practicing it. The subtle senses will awaken gradually.

3) That's extremely common. Most children have a fair amount of clairvoyance, but get it bullied out of them by parents and teachers as they grow up. No, there's nothing especially important about it -- just the subtle senses that all human beings are born with but our culture can't handle.

4) It suggests that you may have certain kinds of potential. It doesn't predict whether you'll do anything with it.

[scotlyn]

Hello, JMG, and thankyou** in advance...

I have been thinking about the scene in Innsmouth where the witch is making an amulet for Owen, and says: "No, no thanks, the spell won't bear it" (or words to that effect).

I wonder if you could comment a little bit more on how a thank you might diminish the power of the spell. I'm thinking along the lines of the way we use a "thankyou" to restore some form of balance after receiving a gift, to express an intention of reciprocating. Whereas the spell might require the maintenance of the "tension" that comes from imbalance. (Like the tension in a drawn bowstring)... but perhaps I'm on the wrong track entirely.

The only other commentary I know on the inadvisability of a thank you, comes from the anthropological literature, wherein Peter Freuchen, a European explorer, was stymied by the generosity of a successful hunter who left him a large quantity of walrus meat. When he tried to express his gratitude, the hunter purportedly said:

"'Up in our country we are human!’ said the hunter. ‘And since we are human we help each other. We don’t like to hear anybody say thanks for that. What I get today you may get tomorrow. Up here we say that by gifts one makes slaves and by whips one makes dogs.’" https://practopian.org/authors/peter-freuchen.html


** Or... ???? ;)

[ecosophia]

I got that from folklore sources. I have no idea what the logic is behind it -- I put it in partly to give the scene a certain amount of folkloric verisimilitude and partly because the character wanted to say it. (My characters are very independent-minded!)

Geomancy

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG

It's quite a coincidence that your classic book on geomancy is the feature for this week's "Magic Monday" since I've recently begun doing a daily shield chart instead of my usual tarot readings, motivated mostly by boredom with the latter. So far Geomancy's accuracy has been quite respectable in forecasting my day.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share 2 sources on geomancy that may interest you and the commentariat. The first one is part of a 7-book series on occultism by a British occultist named Gary St. M. Nottingham titled "Ars Geomantica", which is quite similar in general theme and layout to your book, but shorter and more brief, with more focus on the magical aspects instead of the divinatory.

The second resource are some PDFs made by Polyphanes,the creator of the blog "The digital Ambler", which include both translations of older works and some more novel materials, such as didactic poems.

Re: Geomancy

[ecosophia]

I'm glad to see more people doing interesting things with geomancy. When I published my first book, there wasn't much out there but endless rehashes of the Golden Dawn version of geomancy, which didn't work very well. (The Golden Dawn was great at magic but fairly poor at divination!)

Divination and Decline

[(Anonymous)]

Following up on other threads here, you mentioned on frugal friday, astrology as a good cottage industry. What about divination in general? I have divined for myself since I was a teenager, but rarely for others.

Sometimes here and there, for family and friends, but not at all for strangers. What are your thoughts on putting out the wizarding sandwich board for offering divination services in a time of decline?

I suppose I need to get some more practice with diving for others first...

...my wife used to own a restaurant, and even before she owned it, they always had different readers available one or two nights a week. (It was a bohemian affair.) Anyway, she always mentioned the leeches that would come out and get their claws into certain readers. So I know that is a possibility with this, attracting the kind of person who always needs a reading about the drama in their life.

For myself, I always have looked at divination as a key to self revelation, so my interest hasn't ever really been to give readings to others. But it might be useful down the road.

Thanks as ever, and happy magic monday to all.

Justin Patrick Moore

Re: Divination and Decline

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that's also an option. It helps if it's a well-known system of divination, such as tarot, palmistry, or numerology.

2) Oh, granted. Problem clients are a constant risk for any professional occultist; Cat Yronwode has an entire set of lessons on them in her hoodoo course. You can get rid of them fairly readily if you figure out what they want and refuse to give it to them. Unethical diviners do the same thing by asking them to pay for special services that feed their drama, at wildly inflated costs. ("Yes, it's possible to break that curse, but it's going to require a series of twenty special rituals that involve complex, exotic ingredients, so those will be $1000 each. Cash, please, in advance.")

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

Do you know anyone who has written and commented on Shemhamphorasch?

[ecosophia]

I'm sure there's plenty on that in the Hebrew literature, but that's never been something I've studied closely.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello John Greer sir. I appeared on this thread on the Magic Monday held on 3rd March where I asked you a variety of questions and had lots of conversation with you: https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/269432.html?thread=46876280#cmt46876280

My name is X.
One of the key points we discussed was the occurrence of yawning as I begin my daily practice which a few people chimed in to point out in their practices as well. This is great to hear that the body rejuvenates itself by our intoning of the godnames.

However, I'm still very doubtful of my ability for spirit vision scrying. It turns out you can meet any arch/angel or spirit by scrying in spirit vision to its zone, be it an elemental, planetary or zodiacal and you don't need to throw countless cash on grimoiric procedures. I'm just having difficulty confirming it both by experience and divination.
Before I learned geomancy, it looked like all spirit vision scrying sessions were working. The angels were answering while I was questioning.
Then a year later as I added in geomancy to the mix and started asking, 'Was this scrying session authentic?', answers started appearing in both positive and negative.

In experience, the angels would give simple instructions about the talismans such as the symbol they would like, the direction to face, sometimes even the time if I asked, but the results would not appear. It was all a dud and made me seriously question my sanity regarding who I was even talking to. How to reconcile this once and for all?

I have a few more questions about talismans.

Is it true that talismans can be made for anything? If so, what benefits do they have over petitions?

In the final moment of that thread, you mentioned that you made talismans that are still working after 30 years! These metal talismans, one of which you mentioned, is 'not Michael's power that descends into a GD talisman of the sun, it's the power of YHVH ALVH VDAaTh, which is everywhere and in all things, that kindles to increased activity in the talisman.'

I wish to know whether this approach calls Michael, Nakhiel and Sorath to empower the talisman in the name of YHVH ALVH VDAaTh or is it simply skipping these spirits and calling YHVH ALVH VDAaTh directly by the repetition of its name into the talisman?

Onto a topic about spirits:

I found a conversation of you and a GD member on a large Reddit thread where you mentioned to him that you have had spirits reach out to *you* instead of the other way around as usual. This has never happened to me. The only one person I know to whom this has happened is another GD practitioner that was having a very lucid spirit vision scrying session where a zodiacal angel appeared to him and attacked him and after succeeding the ordeal, the angel offered its services to him which he still reaps to this day.

Is this how it's supposed to happen after an intensive period of daily practice for a few years?


- X

[ecosophia]

1) Spirit vision can be tricky. It's best to start by doing a whole series of standard pathworkings or tattwa visions, so you get good at it, before trying to get in touch with spirits that way.

2) The standard GD approach is to invoke the divine name and then work down the planes through archangel, intelligence, and spirit -- but it's the divine power moving through the hierarchical relationship that charges the talisman.

3) It takes lots of time and lots of practice, and the spirit has to have some reason to want to approach you.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those wondering what GD, UGC or DH mean, a list of Ecosophia abbreviations.

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this as always,

[(Anonymous)]

I would like to thank Saint Expedite for some speedy help.
I would like to thank JMG for providing us a space for these kinds of posts.
I would like to make unDruidly gestures at our local Gannett fishwrap for no longer accepting thank-you-Saint-Somebody ads. You’d think they’d want the ad revenue.
Thank you, JMG, and everyone else for your patience. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Magic Monday.

—Princess Cutekitten

[ecosophia]

I'm entirely willing to see regular commenters place thanks to St. Expedite, etc. here.

Journaling

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings ADJMG!

My question is when did journaling come about? I noticed that some psychologists have their patients keep a journal. Another thing contemporary psychology stole from occultism?

Re: Journaling

[ecosophia]

It wasn't invented by either of them. Keeping a journal is a very old practice, dating back to the use of commonplace books by students in medieval schools. The kind of journaling I teach evolved from that in various ways; I got it from an occultist, but it's been used in psychotherapy for a long time too.

[(Anonymous)]

A follow-up to my question last week about the brewing Gamergate II – A poster offered the fact that Zoe Quinn’s handle was “Eris” when she set off the first Gamergate fiasco. Thank you, and a-ha, sez I. An ultimate insider and codekaren using the name of the patroness of chaos while helping prop up Business-as-Usual might earn some divine pushback. When I ran my theory past a gamer who is familiar with Gamergate, he found my theory quite acceptable, and he suggested some pushback might be playing out as Quinn and her pals are hit by the Streisand Effect for their continued efforts to hide their continued efforts. This might also explain why Helldivers 2 players (according to my unscientific straw poll of players) are acting like the Discordians I knew in college – boots-first all-in enthusiasm with no regard for safety or consequences, fanatical mutual support and rigorous (pronounced, “hilarious”) group self-policing. All of which might be contributing, btw, to reviews of the game from the usual insiders that Helldivers 2 players are bad guys playing (wait for it) bad guys.

Since I’m in the midst of events here in a Red corner of Red State, Flyover Country, I’d really appreciate some help analyzing my observations in order to avoid a sterile circle. Might you and your commentariat opinionate on how these events in general and the possibility of a divine patroness in particular connect to both the overt and occult trends of contemporary partisan politics, second religiosity and decline?

Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

I'm going to beg off this one. Trying to keep track of this kind of squirming mess of competing people and interests is something that takes a lot of time and effort, which I don't have in limitless supply just now!

[industrialchemy]

My question is about determining the beginning of a project, for timing purposes.

I will be self-publishing a short book soon. The major steps coming up are submitting it to the printer for the any final formatting revisions, finishing and publishing the sales page, and then actually beginning to sell the books once the previous two steps are complete.

I intend to have the first one done this week. But between Mercury being in retrograde and the eclipse, April is looking like a really bad month to start anything, especially writing- or business-related.

So is sending the book to be printed the beginning, or when I open up sales? If it weren't for the astrological concerns, I would probably be aiming for mid-April to be ready to sell. May 1 is the first Wednesday after Mercury goes direct again. That's a little later than I'd like, but if there's likely to be difficulties in April I can make it work.

I appreciate your time and guidance.

[ecosophia]

It begins when you decide it begins. That's one of the secrets of magic. Do a little ceremony this week, as soon as the manuscript is done, and declare that the beginning. Have a zero-th birthday cake for it, if you like! Focus your intention on that moment being the point at which the dream tumbles forward into reality, and it will be.

You can do it on the day and hour of Mercury, too, if you like!