Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Midnight is  here, 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 about getting goodies from spirits are also 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 fortieth published book, and the product of an investigation that's still ongoing. I happened to notice back in the early 1990s, as a result of voracious reading in odd books, that a surprising number of temple traditions around the world are connected to legends about increased agricultural fertility. I know, that's supposed to be mere superstition -- but it's funny how often "mere superstition" turns into evidence that the ancients knew more than it's fashionable for modern intellectuals to admit. That launched a quest that resulted in this book. I've come to theorize that woven into the design and use of certain specific kinds of temples is a lost folk technology that boosts agricultural productivity. I've collected physical evidence (including controlled double-blind studies) that there are energies known to science that could have been concentrated and put to use with resonating chambers of stone, designed according to specific geometries, filled with volatile organic compounds, and activated with sound waves. What's more, it's a technology that could be rediscovered and put to work to help plants thrive now.

This book was my first progress report on that investigation.  It's about to go out of print -- Llewellyn, the original publisher, still has a few copies left on sale, which you can get here -- but there'll be another edition in due time, and probably a further book not too long after that, as I'm continuing to find relevant data. Yes, there are also other people busy with this; the prospect of a working model, so that the details of the technology can be tested in real world conditions, may not be far off.

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

[(Anonymous)]

Mr. Greer,

I firstly would like to say I’ve been a fan of your books for some time. I have a background in Ceremonial Magick via yours ,Lon Milo Duquettes and Donald Michael Kraig’s writings and have been practicing on and off since 2017. (More off than on in recent years). One of the main things that has led me to this hiatus is that I became involved with a group based out of an occult shop that was local to me at the time. I was on fire for all things esoteric at the time and like many, I tried a lot of different systems without giving them much second thought. (Lesson learned)

Namely the system that has led me to writing you to ask your guidance today was Jason Millers Sorcery of Hekate. At first it sounded like a new exciting flavor of esoteric practice. I don’t judge its effectiveness but did sincerely feel as though many parts of the practice threw caution to the wind. His approach led one to believe that Ceremonial Magicians banish entirely too much and it creates an adversarial relationship with spirits that would otherwise be glad to have a quid pro quo relationship. I had quite a few magical friends around me who were doing the course along side me and so I kept at it. We were mostly doing mandala work, nightly chanting, and monthly devotionals. When the actual work began to start, one exercise we were instructed to do was to invoke a guardian spirit of Hekate’s into a bottle where its sigil and various herbs and items were kept.

Further into the system I got the more I began to feel like my noodle was getting a little fried. Ultimately I finished the course but decided not to continue as it felt like a regression from all the profound clarity, clean energy and pristine aura that a solid year of nightly ceremonial Magick had given me.

We ended up moving states and I brought all my ceremonial Magickal tools with me (candles, incense, etc.) along with this stuff I brought my Hekate altar, along with that spirit bottle. I didn’t reset it up as I felt as though I was no longer interested in being a devotee to Hekate. (I was always very clear that I wouldn’t ever be exclusively).

All of this stuff has been sitting in a chest in my basement for the last several years and I have to say, it’s given my house a rather Saturnian energy. I’ve felt significantly bogged down the last several years. I’ve felt as though my actual Will had been entirely and significantly weakened. I’ve suffered from some level of a chemical depression finding it hard some days to be motivated to do anything. I strongly believe that it’s some sort of stagnant version of whatever remnants of a Hekatean current are left over . We once again had to move and I’m now in a position where it is the last thing in my basement to go and I want to get rid of it, and cleanse myself of any attachments or ill effects it had on me so I can get back to the truly transformative work of Ceremonial Magick.

How can I best get rid of this chest of Hekate stuff?

[ecosophia]

First, thank Hekate for her presence in your life, and let her know that you need to go on to other things. Burn some incense to her as you do this.

Then, using standard Golden Dawn methods, banish individually over each item.

Then, burn those items that are flammable, break those items that are fragile, and otherwise put each item out of commission. Bury the remnants or throw them into deep running water.

Finally, return to regular ceremonial magic practice. Remember to invoke as often as you banish -- daily or twice-daily practice of the LBRP and Middle Pillar exercise is especially helpful, since the first part banishes but the second invokes.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for your reply! Two questions for clarification:
1. Does the breaking/destroying/burying apply to the spirit bottle as well?
2. By banishing individually, am I doing LBRP over each item or is there a specific ritual you would better recommend?

[ecosophia]

1) That above all else.

2) The LBRP would be good, and you could also follow it up with the Rose+Cross ritual to bring the energies back into balance.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry for the barrage of questions. I forgot to ask — I have a statue of her we were instructed to have and recite the mantras in front of…how should I deal with that one?

[ecosophia]

Um, when I gave the advice I did, I didn't exempt anything. If you're going to ask me to repeat what I said for every single item, I may get rather grumpy.

LBRP, banishment, invocation

[jeddak]

Wanted to ask a quick piggyback question on this last point.

I'm a CM neophyte, so this is undoubtedly a very beginner-level question.

The LBRP invokes the archangels, so why do you say that the LBRP only banishes? What am I missing?

Re: LBRP, banishment, invocation

[ecosophia]

You're calling on the archangels to strengthen the banishing pentagrams you're drawing -- you haven't invoked their energies into yourself. (Nor should you, in a banishing ritual.)