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...

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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

[(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.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes. Charming!

But, What are your thoughts on performing this ritual (and others) outdoors, away from an altar, wearing swim trunks or beachwear!?

[ecosophia]

Any competent occultist can do any ritual he or she chooses stark naked in the middle of anywhere. The altars, robes, etc. are conveniences, not necessities.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm all for that.
Any thoughts on doing it in a public place where people might see you?

[ecosophia]

It doesn't float my boat, but if he's fine with it, I see no problem with it. It's not as though any of this stuff is secret any more.

The Spirituality of surfing

[iprescott]

I am not a surfer, but my brother is. He has explained to me that surfing is a truly spiritual experience. In this context, someone performing the LBRP before going in the water, makes total sense to me.

Ian

Re: The Spirituality of surfing

[open_space]

I agree, I've surfed two times in my life and though I didn't do the LBRP but its cousin, the LRP in summoning mode, the moment I stood up and got pushed forward by the force of the ocean while magically charged, sunset behind me, is absolutely thrilling. After being wiped out a few times that is.

[open_space]

He probably is a member of the Order of the Barreling Wave

[(Anonymous)]

😄 *chortle*

—Princess Cutekitten