Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Midnight is just a few minutes away, and so it's time to launch a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism, and 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.  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.  And further:  I've decided that questions involving the evocation of spirits are permanently off topic here. The point of occultism is to develop your own capacities, not to try to bully or wheedle other beings into doing things for you. I've discussed this in a post on my blog.

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 was my thirty-fifth published book and my third published novel. It had an even odder beginning than most. I'd just wrapped up a series of posts on my blog about how the United States was heading for disaster, and some of my readers were still giving me blank looks.  I decided that a fictional narrative based on historical equivalents might help make the point. Five posts later, I'd sketched out a narrative. It was simple enough. In the story, a corrupt and incompetent president gets the US into a proxy war with one of its main geopolitical rivals in the hope of seizing an important source of natural resources. Unfortunately the rival power pushes back hard, and US military technology turns out to be hopelessly inadequate in the face of a determined enemy with modern weapons. The resulting crisis sends internal conflicts in the US spinning out of control, as a failed administration desperately tries to keep its grip on power by any means, however illegal, and -- well, I'll leave out the final spoilers, but there's a political assassination in there, among many other things.

Keep in mind this was written ten years ago, and I really did intend it to be fiction.

I got an offer from a publisher to turn the original five-part series into a novel. Sales have been modest but steady, and it's still very much in print; you can get a copy here in the US and here 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 and no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Comments

LGOPs and Wrapping Up DA Lesser Mysteries

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

For my fellow Americans, may you find peace and clear thinking in these increasingly crazy times. If any of you were affected by Saturday's events in Pennsylvania, please accept my blessings.

To Share: When I was in the Army, we learned about "Little Groups of Paratroopers" (LGOPs), and I wanted to reflect on some broader lessons to learn from this historical tidbit: https://jpowellrussell.com/#let_s_talk_about_lgops

To Ask: If things go as planned, I ought to be wrapping up Gradd yr Athroniwr, and thus the Lesser Mysteries of the DA, in the next month or two. Any recommendations before pressing on to the Greater Mysteries, or will this mostly be a personal thing to be determined by divination and reflection?

As always, thanks very much to JMG and everyone else here for all that you do.

My blessings to all who welcome them,
Jeff

Re: LGOPs and Wrapping Up DA Lesser Mysteries

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to hear that you're about to finish the Lesser Mysteries. No, there are no recommendations besides those given in the books. The goal of the Dolmen Arch system, and of most of my instructional books, is in effect to produce Little Groups Of Initiates (LGOIs) with the number of initiates in each group usually = 1. Hit the ground, find your footing, try to figure out more or less where you are, and proceed with your mission!

DPRK Numerology

[sirustalcelion]

Good morning JMG!

Thanks for hosting this space.

Do you (or any of the commentariat) know of a source for traditional Korean numerology?

I'm looking for a source that uses the western calendar and years, but would be traditional enough for North Koreans to use it.

Anything that might remotely qualify would be helpful!

Re: DPRK Numerology

[ecosophia]

I wish I did! I'd incorporate bits of it in my Ariel Moravec novels in which one of the continuing characters has a Korean mother and a serious interest in Korean spiritual traditions. If anybody else has something to suggest, especially if it can be accessed in English or French, I'm all ears.

A turning point.

[guillem66]

I don't know if it's okay to comment about it just now, but looking at the pictures and videos of Trump's attempted murder gave me a strong feeling of dread and, weirdly, of deja vu.

I also have the sense that the ball really was atop the net for him, and that somehow, things turned unexpectedly for the best. I don't know why, but i feel that Trump was destined, or at least very likely to die on saturday, but at the last second it all took a diferent route.

One way or the other, his Spirit has been really strengthened by this.He passed a death ordeal in front of everybody, with the blood to prove it's reality, and acting brave al along. Some days ago he was still an old man, and his glory days seemed more and more a thing of the past. Now his might has returned to him.
A wave of admiration is washing here in Europe also, even if the attackers choose the day previous to the Eurocup final match to do their thing, inadvertedly or not.

I wish he uses his regained power wisely, and may all turn out for the best.Huge blessings for all of you on the other side of the pond.

Guillem.

Re: A turning point.

[ecosophia]

I think you're right that this will be seen as a turning point. The picture of him standing with fist raised and blood on his face has iconic energy. There's a definite sense that things have shifted -- but I don't claim to know what comes next.

Lévi, Ritual, chapter 7

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, Mr Greer,

I’m slowly reading through Lévi’s High Magic; and got to chapter 7 of Ritual, where he lists the seven ‘magical works.’ The list surprised me, because the works of a magician seemed, though they might be accurate referencing the medieval books, seemed opposed to my own views of what constitutes High Magic.

You and I agree that High Magic consists of Self-Transformation. Lévi’s first section on Theory seems to generally confirm my definition of High Magic. But I personally don’t see myself performing much of what Lévi describes in his second section on Ritual.

Is it me? Am I too idealistic? Or does Lévi get to the intricacies of High Magic later on towards the end of the book?

Re: Lévi, Ritual, chapter 7

[ecosophia]

Keep in mind that Lévi was at the very dawn of the modern magical revival. He was trying to sketch out a framework for reviving a nearly dead tradition. As you'd expect, he had a good grasp of the theory but much more tentative ideas about the practice. It took another century or so of hard work to get the latter more or less clarified.

That said, remember that Lévi was deep into symbolism, and often wrote symbolically when he seemed to be writing in the most literal terms. He was good at that, as good as some of the old alchemists! Think about those seven magical works. What might they mean, if you looked at them in terms of the material in the fist half of the book?

[(Anonymous)]

"Unnerved"... no kidding.

jeff: Thanks for the LGOPs article! Fascinating stuff.

Question: In last week's Ritual of High Magic post, Fra'Lupo made a comment about the significance of a wound to the right ear vs the Picatrix. (comment # 110). I haven't read the Picatrix, so can someone please explain in more detail what the "Picatrix" significance of such an injury is?
Thanks!

- Cicada Grove

[ecosophia]

The Picatrix (Book III, chapter 1) gives it as one of the correspondences of Saturn, the planet of fate.

Next stop Vegas!

[helloolleh]

Holy precognition Batman! Or perhaps they read your script, loved it, got it straight to production!

Re: Next stop Vegas!

[ecosophia]

"And three years down the track
We'll be a Las Vegas lounge act..."

;-)

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John,

1) My Dad is going to the hospital every day for treatment and he is a glass half empty negative outlook person to begin with + an Aries with legendary mood swings from negative to horrendous. What can I do to keep his apartment energetically clean? I've deployed multiple glass jars open tops with kosher salt and two bent nails, but is there more I can do? Can I do anything to help clean him up a bit? He is not receptive to anything esoteric in the least...the only thing I thought of was the salt jars, deep cleaning his dwelling (needed it so badly), wash all the windows for sunlight, fresh air, and warding of some kind maybe??...I don't think he has that much longer and I can see the slow process of giving up. I'm trying to make it more comfortable for him and make him less of a pain in the rear end to be around.

2) Related, is there any occult significance to injuries of the right leg? My mother's had to be amputated due to a rare strange cancer 2 years ago, my father has a giant cancerous tumor on his right shin (not a common type, but known) as of a year ago.


3) Is there a magical consequence to changing your own birth name midway through life? How do you think that would affect someone?

4) What do you think the karmic consequences of giving us your time and knowledge week in and week out answering questions and trying to help people in the way that you do? Is part of finishing the lessons on earth learning to be of service in a genuine way and not just because you think your supposed to or an authority told you to?

5) There was a guy in last week's MM asking about his purpose in life. Would petitioning Saturn to bind/restrict/remove anything that was hindering someone from their goals or destiny or divine providence be a good idea? Or asking for inspiration and assistance in letting fears and inhibitions longing standing to wither away in a healthy stable long lasting way?

Bless you for these Magic Monday's

[ecosophia]

1) You don't have the right to change somebody's attitude against their will. I know, that sucks, but it's true. You can clean the place and do some protective rituals in it, but that's about all.

2) That's really odd. No, not that I know of.

3) It can change your numerology considerably. If you're considering it, pick up a book or two on numerology see what your new name will add up to, and decide whether you like it.

4) I received a lot of help from several people in the course of my studies and I'm paying it forward. Keep in mind that this also increases my public visibility and my book sales, so it's by no means wholly altruistic!

5) If you invoke Saturn for that purpose you'll get what you ask for, with both barrels, straight in the gut. He's a harsh Oyarsa! I'd suggest instead invoking Jupiter, who is the planet of expansion, liberation, fearlessness, and mercy.

[(Anonymous)]

Is the Sphere of Protection alone sufficient protection against competent indigenous evil magic, such as the pointing the bone ritual or the mucky practices that have been resurrected from this cave?: https://www.science.org/content/article/sorcery-australian-cave-may-be-oldest-known-culturally-transmitted-ritual

Or is more required? There is a very clear group of (admittedly rather pale) activists for whom the Frontier wars are not over.

[ecosophia]

I'd recommend adding some physical plane protections as well, such as the amulet or the hoodoo bath discussed in the Magic Monday FAQ. A lot of indigenous sorcery works on the denser levels of the etheric plane, and that's best dealt with using a combination of ritual workings and natural magic.

Blessing offer

[milkyway1]

Good morning,

I hope everybody is fine and well - and I‘m grateful the US (and probably the rest of the world, too) literally dodged that bullet.

Like every week, I‘m going to perform a blessing ceremony again on Wednesday, and would very much appreciate people signing up for it - the more, the merrier, as I work on my ability to handle these energies for larger crowds.

Sign-up for this week and more information can be found here:

https://thehiddenthings.com/weekly-blessings-28

Please feel free to also pass this on to other people who are interested.

JMG, thanks for letting me post my practice attempts here! :-)

Milkyway

Re: Blessing offer

[milkyway1]

An addendum to everybody, if I may:

Given the current situation in the world, I think it wouldn't hurt if more folks would bless others a bit more often. Since I have the strong suspicion that a lot of people would love to do that, but have no idea how to start, I've whipped up a practical guide for everybody:

Blessing: How to Get Started in 9 Simple Steps

The linked essay contains the first three steps. I'll post the remainder over the next few weeks.

It's really easy and simple to follow along! :-)

I hope this will help some people to get started with blessings, or encourage some of you to ramp up your existing blessing pratice. :-)

Milkyway

[eyvindmartinsson]

Hello, and as always, thank you.

1. Last week you gave this answer to a question about karma: "If you've got karma coming your way, you've got two choices. You can meet it head on, deal with it, and get past it, or you can run from it, and have it come running after you with redoubled force."
Being in what feels like a karmic culmination, and wishing to face it, what does it mean to "run from it"? To be honest, I don't really know what "to meet it head on" means either, other than to endure whatever happens with as good cheer as possible.

2. Likely related to question 1; the last few months I've been experiencing a lot of early morning anxiety, which is something new for me. (I have been in stressful life situations before, but never had this problem.) Is there any occult theory on this?

[ecosophia]

1) If you don't know how to run away from karma, be glad. A lot of people, when they see the consequences of their actions piling up, try to avoid it in any way they can -- anything from leaving the situation (via divorce, relocation, changing jobs, etc.) to flailing around trying to find someone to blame and punish for it, to endless whining. Meeting it head on -- why, that's simply a matter of accepting the situation and coping with it.

2) Have you tried journaling to see if you can figure out what's behind it?

Geomantic figures and INRI

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG

A while ago I talked about the possibility of constructing a chart from the geomantic figures correspondent to the 3 forces of INRI (virgo/conjunction, scorpio/rubeus, sun/fortuna major and minor) and so far it does seem to have some promise. for example, the union of rubeus and conjunctio produces albus, which I think fits neatly with the theme of Isis defeating Seth in the myth of Osiris.

However, something that occurred to me is that I am unsure if the figures of INRI, as the Mothers of the chart, should be arranged left to right as it is written, or right to left as figures are usually added in a chart (IRNI rather than INRI). I have learned that in a shield chart the 1st and 2nd aunts and the RW are the same either way, but the rest of the chart is very different. Do you have any ideas?

J.L.Mc12

Re: Geomantic figures and INRI

[ecosophia]

None at all. Experiment with it, cast some divinations about which is best, and make your choice!

Sacred Geometry

[(Anonymous)]

Hi!

I don't remember if I asked the following question before, but here goes.

Do you think there are any linkages between sacred geometry, ley lines, temple technologies and the life force (the ether)?

Regards and thanks.

Re: Sacred Geometry

[ecosophia]

Yes. You'll want to read some John Michell -- The View Over Atlantis is probably the best intro to his ideas.

Video posted 4 Mo Ago @11 Min Mark Describes Trump Assassination Attempt in Great Detail?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John,

I hope you, and others, will take a few minutes to watch a portion of this YouTube Video, beginning at the 11 minute mark, and supposedly posted on YouTube FOUR Months Ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey0qVzG8_vU&t=787s

I am not an Evangelical Christian and don't really believe in visions of foretelling the future, but in the video the speaker describes a vision he had of an upcoming failed assassination attempt to be made on Trump, where the bullet "grazes Trump's [right] ear".

The video is clearly dated four months ago on youtube. Does anyone here have enough knowledge of Youtube policy to forensically comment on the likelihood that this was not altered since Saturday (nor hopefully at all)?

John, do you have any explanation or opinion on validity and whether a "vision" of such detail could really occur, really be described in such detail so far in advance, and be come true? Did you, via astrology or otherwise, happen to see anything particularly outstanding, in advance, about July 13 WRT Trump and the US elections? If I remember correctly, years ago you commented on Biden having "health issues" and maybe dying in office, but I think that was supposed to be in the first year of his supposed Presidency?

Regardless, is there anything pertinent you can comment about, from your divination practice, regarding the coming election, and the fate of the US in the years immediately ahead of us? I'm down here in Panama, having planned from 2+ years out to be out of the US as much as possible, during 2024 and, especially, during the second half of the year (I got here June 3, having rented a room in an apartment beginning Apr 16). I was actually planning to head back to the US around this time just long enough to reprovision essential medical supplies (originally I was going to fly back last Saturday, but more fortuitous things "came up" to delay me). Now I'm wondering if I should just stay put a little longer;-/.

As I said, on top, I'm not a "believer" in this kind of thing, but thought it relevant enough to post the link and ask the questions. I don't think it necessarily took occult divination to forecast Trump would likely face an assassination attempt; I've been saying things like that for years and Tucker Carlson called for it some months ago. But I am intrigued by the supposed accuracy of the forecast in this particular video clip and whether you, also, possibly expected anything on July 13, or have any other relevant comments?

-gnat

Re: Video posted 4 Mo Ago @11 Min Mark Describes Trump Assassination Attempt in Great Detail?

[ecosophia]

Precognition happens. Plenty of weird events have been predicted in fine detail; did you know, for example, that a novelist predicted the sinking of the Titanic in astonishing detail in 1898?

https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/novel-predicted-titanic-disaster

No, I didn't predict anything specific. The kind of political and economic astrology I do predicts general trends, not specific events.

Trump. Astrology.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning. Thank you for hosting this space. I read most of it every week and rarely ask or contribute.

I am curious about your opinion or analysis of the Trump Event on Saturday in terms of your recent Mundane Astrology Forecast...the Mars/Uranus/Algol trine?

Was the event too early to be considered as a result of the planetary alignment?

Thank you for your opinion.

Rooby

Re: Trump. Astrology.

[ecosophia]

It's well within orb, so yes, the alignment may have predicted it. (I don't think astrology causes events on earth -- instead, the movements of the heavens predict events down here synchronistically.) Let's wait a little while, though, so see if anything else happens; the US chart suggested something sudden a long ways away.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning, Mr.Greer!

1) I think I've read you listing discovery of one's hidden talents among the benefits of occult training. Is there any specific procedure for this? Are those talents related to one's previous incarnations?

2) Can you recommend a source on Martinist movement?

[ecosophia]

1) No, it's just something that emerges, especially if you do a lot of meditation. Yes, your talents are all things you developed in other lives. The reason Mozart could play violin on the concert stage at the age of six, for example, is that he'd already devoted many lives to music.

2) I wish there was a good source! Unfortunately I don't know of one.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning,

I am making pillars for the FHR temple out of clay, and I was thinking spiral columns would be nice. I don't want to interfere with symbolism that will undoubtedly arise later on - is it okay to have the pillars be somewhat decorative in that way?

Thank you

[ecosophia]

You can decorate them however you like. I knew somebody back in the day whose two pillars were glazed pottery trees, one with a light trunk and white flowers in among the leaves, the other with a dark trunk and black flowers.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

1) There seems to be a layer in the OSA work I think I am missing. With the practice of unconditional love, is it possible that a backlash effect can happen, for example, where the polarity switches and you end up unconditionally hating? In practicing this, I've had backlashes where I've felt very far from unconditional love, but nothing so far that has felt like hate, but then again I may also be far from experiencing unconditional love.

The law of strength material gives a bit of a hint where it states that the three positive emotions of joy, happiness, and peacefulness are experienced by our spiritual selves, and that our spiritual selves don't experience fear, anger, and sadness. Presumably, the OSA makes the same assumption for unconditional love. However, if the material world and the spiritual world are different layers of the same thing, then spiritual manifestations of negative emotions would be included in the spiritual plane, too, as evidenced by the negative manifestations of deities such as Mars or the trickster side of Mercury. So why should it be any different for our own spiritual selves?

I have been circling around different aspects of this aspect of the OSA work for some time through reading, meditation, and experimentation, and the best answer I can come up with is that unconditional love is a useful but incomplete idea coming mainly from Christian religious practices, which the OSA would seem to be influenced by. By 'incomplete', I mean that it misses the other half of the binary; i.e. the negative side of the polarity. Which in turn makes me wonder if there is a way to resolve the binary via a ternary that I am just not seeing (which the Law of Strength material I mentioned above would seem to imply).

I'd be grateful for any hints if you have any!

2) At the very end of Plutarch's version of the myth of Isis and Oriris, he discusses the practice of burning three types of incense at different times of the day (for devotional and health reasons). Priests would burn "resin" in the morning, myrrh at midday, and cyphi (a mixture of various materials) in the evening.

Plutarch doesn't say what he means by "resin", and I'm wondering if you or any of the commentariat here knows what Plutarch is referring to? Could it be frankincense?

Here is the relevant passage: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0239%3Asection%3D79

Many thanks!

[ecosophia]

1) Excellent! Keep working on this. Not everything in John's teaching is spelled out in so many words. Some things are in there for students to work out for themselves, because this is the only way to make them meaningful for the individual.

2) The word in the text is ῥητίνη, retine, which means pine resin.

Publication

[(Anonymous)]

Movement in the legal battle at last, thanks to Saint Expedite. Also thank you to JMG for allowing publication of these thanks—our local fishwraps won’t take them any more. Our rulers are spiritually illiterate.

—Princess Cutekitten

Re: Publication

[ecosophia]

You're kinder than I am. "Dumb as a box of rocks" is the phrase that comes to my mind.

[(Anonymous)]

I've formulated a somewhat odd and troubling hypothesis, and would like to know if you see anything wrong with it before I start the research to follow up on this, because I think it will take a whale of a lot of work to investigate properly. I've mentioned in prior Magic Mondays working on a project to investigate the internet as a system of dark magic, and that part of this is looking at the role of pornography in supercharging the internet. Part of my research is looking at opposition to pornography, and one of the things that I found from this is that there is a genre of pornography called "vintage", which is entirely devoted to taking the images and videos from earlier eras. These are chiefly movies from about 1920 on; and then "vintage candids", which are videos or pictures of ordinary people, almost all from when the digital camera was invented in the very late 1950s. Needless to say, plenty of people, myself included, find this whole thing remarkably creepy. Marginally less creepy are the "classics", which are porn films from the earlier days; all of which are also freely available and subject to a great deal of the same sort of unsavoury attention online.

However, this also makes an uncomfortable amount of sense of a few otherwise odd phenomena, including the sexual revolution, which occurred around the same time digital photography was going mainstream. It looks like around that time, there was a sudden influx of astral energies, which inundated a lot of young women, and sent society spinning out of control for a while as it had to adjust to a massive influx of sexual energy being thrown at it from the future.

Given that time is fluid on the astral plane, is it possible that when the millions who obsessively use internet porn look at this vintage porn, they are sending some of their astral energy back in time to the people whose images and videos they are looking at? Even if the effect is small from any one individual occurrence, given the millions of people involved and the decades the internet has run for (and the possibility that it might last for a while yet), this could pretty easily build up to a pretty significant amount of energy being sent back in time, if it is possible.

[ecosophia]

You know the basic rule regarding hypotheses, right? The first thing you do, once you come up with a hypothesis, is see how many ways you can think of to disprove it. Then see whether any of those are up to the task. What would convince you that this hypothesis was wrong? If your hypothesis can survive that test, it's worth pursuing.

AI demons and contagion via text and images

[(Anonymous)]

It's discussed to the point of cliche in some corners of the internet that so-called "AI" (be it Large Language Models generating text, or the Diffusion Models that generate images) are probably demonic in nature. LLMs like ChatGPT do tend to the "2+2 = petunia" sort of logic you've talked about, and the images... oog. AI-generated images (especially when photorealistic) give off a very bad vibe. The problem is that the image generators have gotten so much better that there imagery is everywhere and actually getting hard to identify as AI-generated. A lot of places have started tossing in AI-generated art when they can't get free stock images for the articles.

My question is: is this a problem? I worry about demonic 'contagion'. The earlier AI images had a very strong, obvious sense of wrongness that just screamed "look away"-- but these new ones don't. My instinct based on those older images is that yes, pursuing these images is a hazard of some sort. Now I can't tell and it worries me, but you know what they say about 'the devil's greatest trick'-- it makes sense the demons would try and hide their involvement as they learned and the process improved.

That's a lot of intro, but here are my questions three:
1) What you think about the "demonic AI" hypothesis?
b) If yes, could the products of AI be tainted, and what might be the dangers arising from that taint?
iii) If yes, do you think the taint would be carried over after changing forms-- like being printed into books? I was talking about children's books recently and everyone I spoke to thought it was a brilliant idea to get an AI to write the book, and another AI to illustrate it. Many intended to try doing this themselves, though you know what they say about people who talk about writing a book-- they won't. Still, it makes me wonder if we should avoid illustrated books produced after 2023 or so.

Thank you, and please forgive me if this topic if verboten. I know the main blog has banned discussion of AI in the comments but I did not see that prohibition explicitly given here so I thought I'd chance asking.

-Tyler A.

Re: AI demons and contagion via text and images

[(Anonymous)]

If I may: I think there is reason to be wary of these systems regardless of whether or not there is demonic involvement. These AIs are trained to try to manipulate and control people, or using techniques that were developed for this purpose. This inherently means that anything that they will oppose anything that makes people less predictable. Since this includes anything beyond the physical, as well as anything that makes us stand out from the crowd, they will inevitably try to strip us of what makes us human instead of machines. Even without demonic involvement, this seems like a very, very bad idea to me!

I've written about this problem, because I think it is a major factor in why the internet has gone so septic in general, and since these AI systems are the next step in this progression, I expect this will continue to be a problem with them as well: https://taylorburgess.substack.com/p/the-curse-of-the-algorithm

Gardening based lodge...

[kayr]

A couple of weeks ago on a long drive home, I was blessed with an inspiration to start a magical lodge based on gardening. I even thought that the ritual of initiation into the lodge could be based on the story of John Barlycorn. This idea is still rattling around in my head and I am trying to get a handle on the purpose of such a lodge, additional degree initiations and the like. For purposes, the best I can come up with is the esoteric side of gardening. Do you or does anyone else know of any sources that address this? I am sure I need to do more meditate and divination on this idea as my past track record on "great ideas" isn't all that great.

Re: Gardening based lodge...

[ecosophia]

Well, there was an order called the Order of Free Gardeners...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Free_Gardeners

Beyond that, you might consider the writings of Machaelle Small Wright, whose work is about the most esoteric form of gardening I've heard of, and the older volumes on Findhorn.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have advice for someone who's magic seems to have...stopped working?

I originally became interested in magical practices as they had a very beneficial effect on my life, clearing blockages and general gunk that were holding me back and down. I became ever more curious from there and had some amazing results from a variety of magical endeavors.

However, it would seem in the last roughly 2 years, results have dried up and are just not forthcoming. I still do regular cleansings and banishings, but other major workings are simply falling flat, even those rituals or workings that are filled with great energy at the time I'm performing them.

[ecosophia]

Sure. First of all, you need to take a step back and assess what has happened over the time you've been working magic. Meditation, divination, and journaling are advisable here. Second, while you're doing that, what have you accomplished with the freedom you got from the successful magical workings? The old Neoplatonists used to say that ritual magic was the preparatory stage of the work, to be followed -- once the student has cleared away burdens and blockages -- with a refocusing on the quest for wisdom by other means.

Platonic solids in practice

[earthworm_uk]

JMG: “You could conceivably assign the dodecahedron to Spirit Above and the true sphere to Spirit Below. I have no idea how that would work in practice, though.”

Have tried a few combinations and can appreciate what you’re saying about differentiation, though for reason(s) not yet fathomed, am still tending towards dodecahedron for Spirit Below, perhaps because it sits closer to the other elements/solids as part of their flow at the denser levels. I don’t know.
Things have been getting slightly more complex re the dodecahedron morphing (see *** below).

Dodecahedron chosen for Spirit Below, using the possibly incorrect idea that Spirit Above is ‘more complex’ [relatively speaking] than Spirit Below and a spherical dodecahedron above seemed to fit the part for that. Of course, if my thinking is flawed that’ll have to be addressed.
For example, where I have been using the idea that Platonic Solids do not exist as ‘ stills’ per se, but are geometric snapshots/expressions of flow and change manifesting in the world with spheres at either end and that the geometry is a veil of perception, a helping hand for the mind to latch onto or as a stepping stone toward something else.

I do not know what consequences, limitations or potentials might be opened or closed by trying this - bit of a case of try it and see.
Figured I’m working at such a low level that so long as I pay attention properly to maintain balance and avoid personal stupidity, sailing hopefully smooth but ready to adjust rudder, change sails or batten hatches if/when/as needed.

Interestingly I’m getting hints of colour in the Spirit Below - blue green, and thinking about that it occurred to me that the icosahedron and dodecahedron are duals, plus as earth is a planet with a lot of water maybe that is not exactly unexpected.

***Also, of more interest and not sure what to think of this yet, the dodecahedron as Spirit Below shows signs of morphing into the spherical version. Whether that is because one of the combinations experimented with was pure sphere above and below I don't know - but the use of differing colours of the spheres has been helpful in maintaining differentiation with no obvious issues as yet.

Do you or anyone else have any cautions/tips regarding maintaining dynamic balance whilst working with the lunar current and tree of life practices etc?

Thank you.

PS Looking up stuff in regards to this, the boxed Dolmen Arch volumes are delight to open and handle!

Re: Platonic solids in practice

[ecosophia]

Interesting. I'll look forward to hearing how this works as you proceed.

Fate Hot Spots

[(Anonymous)]

One thing that is weird, is that I was writing about "hot spots" in fate and destiny patterns just this past week and a half. It seems we have had just such a hot spot here in the U.S.

Re: Fate Hot Spots

[ecosophia]

I won't argue!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello,


1. Is the Dolmen Arch suitable for beginners?



2. I've read that the LBRP can cause problems when you start to use it, and also if you stop using it. These problems seem to involve general life issues getting difficult. Does the SoP cause similar issues? I'm trying to improve my life in several ways, and I don't need more problems occurring due to magical practices.


3. Which of your Druidry books would be the best to use for Irish Druidry?


Thanks in advance for your help.

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, but it can be difficult going if you have no previous experience in occult practice. If that's true of you, you might consider working through The Druidry Handbook and The Druid Magic Handbook first.

2) No, that's one of the good things about the SoP. It's gentler and more balanced.

3) All of them except for The Celtic Golden Dawn, which has a specific Brythonic pantheon, should be workable. The two books cited in 1) above, since they use the Ogham for divination, might be well suited to your needs.