Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Midnight is almost here, and so it's time to launch a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism, and with certain exceptions noted below, any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer. Please note:  Any question or comment received after that point will not get an answer, and in fact will just be deleted.  If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 341,928th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.2 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.  This was my fifty-seventh published book, and we're still in tentacle territory. A Voyage to Hyperborea started out as the sixth volume of The Weird of Hali -- that was originally going to be The Weird of Hali: Hyperborea -- but after two complete drafts and four more partial attempts it became clear to me that there was too much story to fit within the series, so I sent Justin Martense and Belinda Marsh to the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn instead, and found a new set of characters to journey to Greenland and plunge into a tale of love, adventure, and loss among the ruins of preglacial Hyperborea. It's the longest of my tentacle novels -- with the exception of Star's Reach, the longest of all my novels so far -- and a good lively romp; it also has the most relentlessly ordinary of my protagonists; despite his Deep One ancestry and his more or less successful struggle to rise to the challenge of the adventure into which he's caught up, Toby Gilman is basically a dweeb. Putting ordinary characters in extraordinary situations is what I do. If you're interested, a copy of the new Sphinx Books edition can be had here if you're in the US and here elsewhere.

(Of all my books, this one -- not, surprisingly, the two shoggoth novels with their composer heroine -- is the one most influenced by a specific piece of music. Listen sometime to the Prelude to Richard Wagner's opera Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) -- it's the sound track to this novel.)

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 more comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Comments

Thoughts on Shadow Tech and Question on Occultism Resource "Wishlist"

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

To all here, may the tonight's full moon bring fulfillment and maximization of what you'd have, and not of what you wouldn't!

To Share: I've written up my thoughts on another book on coming to know your Shadow and how to work with what is within it. As is often the case with me, I found it helpful, but wished for more "hands-on" advice: https://jpowellrussell.com/#book_thoughts_on_shadow_tech

To Ask: JMG, and others here, what kinds of resources do you wish there were or were more of in the occultism/alternative spirituality/magical world? Book topics, correspondence courses, periodicals, newsletters, services, whatever else? As I continue my work, I'm starting to look for ways to do worthwhile things for other folks, so I figured I'd start here and get an idea what folks actually want, so I can start building up the ability to deliver some of that.

Thank you again, JMG and everyone here!

My blessings to all who welcome them,
Jeff

Re: Thoughts on Shadow Tech and Question on Occultism Resource "Wishlist"

[ecosophia]

Hmm. For the American occult community, I wish there were more books translated from other languages -- the English-speaking occult tradition is a very small fraction of what's out there in the world of magic, and since it's probably a lost cause to get Americans to learn to read any other language, translations would help.

I wish there were more ways for information on occult classes, lectures, and instructional opportunities to get out to interested people. Saturday I taught a class in Salem, MA on the first level of the Modern Order of Essenes healing work; it went well and all that, but I've already heard from several people who'd have liked to be there but didn't know it was happening.

At some point it would be good to have a few more self-supporting venues for occult instruction, along the lines of Manly P. Hall's Philosophical Research Society, which has been offering talks and classes on occultism since the 1930s. That would take some serious fundraising but I don't think it's out of reach.

Those are the ideas that come first to mind.

Five Fortune Cookies

[(Anonymous)]

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I have never had that golden nugget as a fortune cookie 'fortune' but I think it qualifies. Maybe I'll put it on my tombstone.

For most of this year, I have been slowly reading my way through the Occult Philosophy Workbook. It's been a pleasure and between what I glean from the lessons and many of the MM comments, I have found that the occult path is definitely a thousand mile journey, a journey that I am only a few miles in. Please consider this a report card of sorts as framed around a set of fortune cookies I recently came across. The first three came on a night I really didn't want Chinese take-out for dinner, my only consolation was a fist-full of fortune cookies, and as I ate them all, I put each fortune aside as I often do. One in particular, I thought appropriate to comment upon here but all three stood out in their own way. In my typical way of saving them, I ended up washing them all by accident. Upset with myself, I tried to recall each as best I could. Two were easy but the third eluded me until my youngest child's laughter brought it rushing back.

May the laughter of the day echo through your heart.

I knew then, why I liked that fortune. It applied succinctly to my life. The other, more easy to remember cookie's fortune, told me another, at least applied to me, self-evident truth.

November is a good month to focus on your goals.

And indeed it was. I felt a clarity about the path that for most of the year prior, if not longer, eluded me. I realized that my recent, nearly five years now, stint without alcohol wouldn't be the ten years I had planned it to be. I realized that going back to drinking wouldn't be getting out of prison, it would be going back in. The spiritual path that I am making baby steps towards demands that. It must be for the rest of this short lifetime. To be honest, maybe even at that, it may not be enough time, I'm fifty plus two, very soon to be three, moving very slowly with my spiritual pursuits, but in my November clarity, came purpose, drive and determination to over come my real Mt. Everest, my licentiousness. It's my eight-hundred pound gorilla that's always busy rubbing himself in the corner. I've read and re-read the post on the metaphysics of sex, I've read all the posts on will and tried the exercises and throughout, it's been a tale of moderate success always followed by failure. I came to a point earlier this year, that I thought it smarter to just accept my flaw and stop beating myself up about it, pun intended. But even at that, it wouldn't do, I couldn't accept it. In November I had simply added prayer to my meditation sessions that I do at the end of each day. November was a smashing success. With the second or third of December, came a crushing defeat. Nothing unusual in the struggle but painful as it really felt like one giant step forward only to have two, just as giant steps back, all of which brings me to the strangest fortune cookie 'fortunes' I have ever received. It went something like this.

You should communicate with other likeminded individuals going through your same mental struggles.

I had to laugh and then I had laugh again. I have no friends, at least not any I keep in good contact with, I hardly talk to family. My big brother died suddenly in '22 and in many ways, I'm still reeling from the shock. There has been nothing more painful than losing the one person in this world that I could lay bare to, all the struggles of being a middle-aged married man. And at my closest points, I have two young children who I adore and a stressed out wife I could make love to every night but never do. Silence is golden and it is my thread to survival through these trying times. The best silence is the moments before bed that I practice discursive meditation and now finish with prayer. Maybe going too hard with prayer in November led to the inevitable backlash. It's too soon to know but I have tempered it. And with that, I'm coming to a semi-balance that is a real effort to workout, which brings me to the last two fortune cookies. The first's message was simple yet not.

Establish harmony and balance in your life.

Yeah, working on it, fates! I took that in and then promptly recycled that strip of paper. The next and last fortune is the one I have in front of me as I write this, that I will keep in mind as I live out the last years of this life trying to pursue something I know is difficult.

Adversity is the first path to truth.

And that is it, that is my reality, my report card. I'd give me an F+, or at best, a D- but am curious to your thoughts. This going down the spiritual path is not easy nor for the faint of heart. I'm at Lesson 34 and plugging along and as always, grateful for all you do here.

All the best,
Mint Nauseous Piglet

Re: Five Fortune Cookies

[ecosophia]

I don't really have any thoughts on your experiences (and fortune cookie oracles), other than to acknowledge that the path of occultism involves a lot of work and sometimes a lot of heartache. Oh, and I don't recommend grading yourself. One of the things that regular practice will teach you over time is that you can never be an objective observer of how well you're doing at any stage of the work; we all either overestimate or underestimate how well we've done. Keep at it, and let the road teach you how to walk it.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

my blessings to you - and your readers - if you will have them. I have amassed various Mercury altar items for the hours of Mercury this coming Wednesday, and a charity to donate $8 to (which I plan to do eight consecutive Wednesdays at a suitable time). This is to see if I can choose a propitious time to submit a manuscript of my novel to publishers (I have found four with open submissions).

My question regards when to submit the novel: is it best to wait until all eight donations have been made, or simply ask Mercury for guidance while the altar is up?

I think I've just answered my own question, but I'm interested in your thoughts.

[ecosophia]

You can certainly ask Mercury for guidance. You can also be sure to submit it during the day and hour of Mercury; alternatively, if you know your natal chart, you can choose a time when the Moon is applying to a trine or sextile with your natal Mercury or Jupiter, and neither Mars or Saturn are in negative aspect to the Moon or the planet to which it applies.

[(Anonymous)]

1. Are you aware of a kind of venue you could find in any mid-size city that would cheaply rent or freely offer space appropriate for individual practice of ceremonial magic on a short-term, even hourly, basis?
2. I'm confused about odor in magic. In ancient Egypt, I've heard that people were barred from entering temples if they had eaten fish or garlic. A friend who practices Hindu tantra says that it's important to take a shower before doing practices from those traditions. The Picatrix insists that the house you invoke perfect nature in be very clean. Yet I haven't heard much about this with respect to Golden Dawn magic and it seems to be most heavily emphasized in pre-modern traditions. Why is that? My thinking so far is that these kinds of odors are disruptive to practices aimed at generating dense, almost material effluvia, yet presumably that would be important with some kinds of Golden Dawn magic, too.

[ecosophia]

1) No, I'm not. It's an interesting question, though. Anyone else?

2) Different systems of practice have different requirements. One size emphatically does not fit all! That's why it's important to pay attention to the traditional requirements of whatever system you practice, and remember that rules from other, unrelated traditions do not apply.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning and thank you for hosting.

Some spiritual traditions, particularly the sort of watered down eastern philosophies that have trickled over to the west in incomplete form, seem to treat the ego as something to be dissolved and rejected. What is the place of the ego, in contrast, in the hermetic/broadly western traditions?

I’ve never entirely understood what its purpose is supposed to be and what it looks like in healthy balance—I’ve seen it described as the part of us that keeps the overall self alive by defining the boundary between self and other, but plenty of creatures with considerably less behavioral complexity than humans seem perfectly capable of self preservation without seeming to have anything resembling an ego.

[ecosophia]

Your ego is simply your self-representation -- your own notion of who and what you are. That's all it is. It can be problematic but it doesn't have to be, and I'm far from sure I believe that it's possible to get rid of it. Can you repress it? Sure, but then you get the inevitable return of the repressed in unconscious form; it's probably not an accident that everyone I've ever met who claims to have transcended the ego was a monstrous egomaniac. The No-Ego Ego Trip is extremely common in modern American pop spirituality!

As I see it, the ego becomes problematic when it's out of step with reality. If who and what you think you are doesn't match who and what you actually are, you end up constantly doing battle on behalf of a self-image you know to be false. That leads to all the usual pathologies of hypocrisy, bullying, and the rest of it. The way to solve that isn't to repress the ego -- that just makes all those pathologies even more unconscious than they were; it's to follow the advice of the Delphic Oracle, Gnothi Se Auton, "Know Thyself." As your self-representation becomes more and more a simple reflection of who you actually are, the pathologies of ego go away, and you're left with a clear and useful sense of who you are and what your strengths and limits are.

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 and/or in the comments at the current prayer list post.

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

May Peter Van Erp's friend Kate Bowden's husband Russ Hobson and his family be enveloped with love as he follows his path forward with the glioblastoma (brain cancer) which has afflicted him.

May Kyle's friend Amanda, who though in her early thirties just passed away from brain cancer, make her transition through the afterlife process with grace and peace.

May Daedalus/ARS receive guidance and finish his kundalini awakening, and overcome the neurological and qi and blood circulation problems that have kept him largely immobilised for several years; may the path toward achieving his life's work be cleared of obstacles.

May David/Trubrujah's 5 year old nephew Jayce, who is starting chemotherapy for leukemia on Monday 12/9, be healed quickly and fully, and may he, and mother Amanda, and their family find be aided with physical, mental, and emotional strength while they deal with this new life altering situation.

May baby Gigi, continue to gain weight and strength, and continue to heal from a possible medication overdose which her mother Elena received during pregnancy, and may Elena be blessed and healed from the continuing random tremors which ensued; may Gigi's big brother Francis continue to be in excellent health and be blessed.

May Jennifer, whose pregnancy has entered its third trimester, have a safe and healthy pregnancy, may the delivery go smoothly, and may her baby be born healthy and blessed.

May Charlie the cat, who has been extremely sick and vomiting but whose owners can't afford an expensive vet visit, be blessed, protected, and healed.

May Scotlyn's friend Fiona, who has been in hospital since early October with what is a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, be blessed and healed, and encouraged in ways that help her to maintain a positive mental and spiritual outlook.

May Annette have a successful resolution for her kidney stones, and a safe and easy surgery to remove the big one blocking her left kidney.

May Peter Evans in California, who has been diagnosed with colon cancer, be completely healed with ease, and make a rapid and total recovery.

May Jennifer and Josiah, their daughter Joanna, and their unborn daughter be protected from all harmful and malicious influences, and may any connection to malign entities or hostile thought forms or projections be broken and their influence banished.

May Ram, who is facing major challenges both legal and emotional with a divorce and child custody dispute, be blessed with the clarity of thought, positive energy, and the inner strength to continue to improve the situation.

May FJay peacefully birth a healthy baby at home with her loved ones. May her postpartum period be restful and full of love and support. May her older child feel surrounded by her love as he adapts to life as a big brother and may her marriage be strengthened during this time.

May all living things who have suffered as a consequence of Hurricanes Helene and Milton be blessed, comforted, and healed.

May Giulia (Julia) in the Eastern suburbs of Cleveland Ohio be healed of recurring seizures and paralysis of her left side and other neurological problems associated with a cyst on the right side of her brain and with surgery to treat it.

May Corey Benton, whose throat tumor has grown around an artery and won't be treated surgically, be healed of throat cancer.

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.

The week of books

[vitranc]

Hi JMG,

Wow, this is a week! With two expected highlights; Mime and Sigfried dynamic on the one hand (more on that later) and Voyage to Hyperborea on the other. This would most probably be my favourite WoH book just judging by the rereads I have made. I like the discussion on love, the pirate ship, the background lore and the descend.
Question, although I am probably embarrassing myself by my lack of literary knowledge, where did you get the inspiration for captain Coldcroft, and his crew? A variant of the Flying Dutchman?

Best regards,
V

Re: The week of books

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this! The Terrible Old Man and his crew came out of a classic Lovecraft story, "The Terrible Old Man" --

https://hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/tom.aspx

-- but Lovecraft didn't give him a name. I spent a while listening for the right name and "Enoch Coldcroft" surfaced. He appeared in The Weird of Hali: Kingsport, since I was drawing on nearly all of the stories that Lovecraft set in that town. Later on, though, I decided that just showing him on land wasn't enough, and the Hyperborea story (in all of its variants) gave him a venue for a more maritime adventure. Yes, some elements of the Flying Dutchman got drawn into the story at that point.

That said, most of the raw material for my tentacle novels came straight out of H.P. Lovecraft, his fellow Cthulhu Mythos writers in the grand old Weird Tales era, or the writers of an earlier generation who influenced him most -- Arthur Machen, Robert W. Chambers, and so on. I soaked my brain in the stories of that era, and put a lot of stuff from them into my stories.

Lottery karma

[sea_spray]

Hi JMG

A recent experience has got me wondering what the karmic implications of winning the lottery are given the tendency of unearned gains to go toxic to their receivers.

Normally when I hear about the latest lottery jackpot I dismiss it as not worth any attention, I had never even bought a ticket. However late last week when I heard an ad for it on the radio it stuck in my head and wouldn't leave. There were also thought's of how It would change my life (not much in many ways since I'm naturally thrifty). Along with thoughts of how I would invest in the start up I'm working at (modern steam engines) and the positive impact I could have on the world though that.

It felt like a higher power telling me to do it. Though I was well aware that it might be my subconscious or a high power using it as a teaching opportunity without any intention for me to win anything.

I decided to go along with it and buy a ticket as I felt like I was being instructed to. Long story short I didn't win anything.

But it got me thinking about the karma of winning prizes and if It would be worth playing around buying the odd ticket at astrologically promising times and leaving the results up to the gods. Which seems to fit well with a retrograde Jupiter aspecting my Jupiter

1 So what is the occult lore about large prizes like that?
2 What would someone need to do to prevent it turning toxic?
3 Does buying the odd ticket based on astrology sound like a bad idea?

Thanks!
Sea spray

Re: Lottery karma

[ecosophia]

I don't know of any occult lore on the subject of lottery prizes. For my part, I've never known anyone who won a lottery prize of any size. What I have noticed is that everyone I've known who made a habit of buying lottery tickets has basically had their life grind to a halt. It's as reliable as anything I know. They stop growing, changing, and learning, and stay stuck in whatever rut they're in. I think it has to do with putting your hopes on pure chance. That being the case, I don't recommend playing the lottery at all.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what EOTCR, LMP or ADF mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia.

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this as always.

Profections

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings, and best wishes for the upcoming solstice!

I have been dabbling in astrology on and off for about 25 years. Suddenly this year, lots of people are talking about profections. I don't remember seeing the word before. The first time, I thought it was a typo. What has happened that has made them popular? Or who has made them popular?

Do you, JMG, or the commentariat here, find them useful?

I am also wondering if you will have something to say about the apparent resurgence of an archetype, perhaps on the other blog. Robin Hood? Though as he is in America, the cowboy? Loki, even? Or is it not a good idea because of the legal dimension?

Thank you, as always, for hosting Magic Monday

Re: Profections

[isaac_hill]

The Hellenistic astrology revival sparked by Project Hindsight, and then popularized by Chris Brennan, has brought Annual Profections back into popular usage. It is a lovely and simple technique, and in Vedic astrology we have the Sudarshana Chakra Dasha, which is basically the same technique, though made slightly more complex (we go from the Sun and Moon as well as Ascendant instead of just the Ascendant). It's a good tool to have in the toolbox, another important layer to give a complete picture and help with predictions. It's best to be used with other timing techniques though, like Zodiacal Releasing as well as transits in a Hellenistic framework, or with Vimshottari and other dashas (and transits) in Jyotish.

Theodicy examples?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

It is my general understanding that the Book of Job and the story of the Garden of Eden are two examples of theodicy.

I would like to ask if there is a comparable equivalent in the Druidry you practice, as I am currently finding the two examples I mentioned above emotionally unsatisfying.

Additionally, I would like to ask if there are "readily-accessible-on-the-internet" comparable equivalents in occultism, besides perhaps the Cosmic Doctrine.

(Just before submitting my question, I was trying to wrap my head around your July 11, 2018 book club post https://www.ecosophia.net/the-cosmic-doctrine-the-forces-of-negative-evil/, and I'm guessing drunk driving is actually negative evil, not positive evil, which is why modern society has yet to be rid of it?)

-E.

Re: Theodicy examples?

[ecosophia]

1) Theodicy is only an issue in religions that insist that there's only one god, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent; given that claim, explaining why life sucks as much as it does is very, very hard to defend. In polytheist religions -- the Druidry I practice is one of these -- that's not an issue, because we recognize that the gods are many, and they're superhuman but not omni-anything. My book A World Full of Gods covers this in quite some detail.

2) I don't know of any -- again, it's not an issue outside of the Abrahamic faiths.

3) No, not at all. Anything that's subject to human choice is positive evil, and the choice to drive while intoxicated is included in that. Negative evil is the basic cussedness of existence, which has nothing to do with individual choice -- for example, the realities of old age and death.

NZ University Funding

[(Anonymous)]

A small datapoint I doubt will surprise you: https://www.science.org/content/article/amid-cuts-basic-research-new-zealand-scraps-all-support-social-sciences

Re: NZ University Funding

[ecosophia]

Not in the least, for more than one reason. The social sciences are ground zero for the replicability crisis, because the scientific method simply doesn't work well when applied to anything as complex as human society; they've produced essentially nothing of use for decades; and they're also the citadel of woke ideology in today's society, so the conservative government now in power in New Zealand is taking the opportunity to cut their opponents off at the knees by stripping the social sciences of their funding. I expect something similar in this country once Trump is in office.

Is This a Type of Magic?

[(Anonymous)]

I have noticed for decades now that if I go for a drive by myself, and I have reading material with me that I am especially interested in reading, and I plan on reading it while waiting during the inevitable red traffic lights, all the traffic lights I consequently encounter are green, one after another.

On the other hand, when I am late for an important doctor appointment or need to catch a flight on time, or whatever, and need to rush (and lack captivating reading material in my car), seemingly every traffic light I encounter is red, I become boxed in by needlessly slow drivers, I become stuck behind school buses that drop off kids every hundred feet, and every factory in town unexpectedly lets out its employees early for no apparent reason.

Re: Is This a Type of Magic?

[ecosophia]

Not magic, so much as a reflection of the basic cussedness of existence. Talleyrand, the great French diplomat of the Napoleonic era, knew this; he's said to have called out to the guy driving his carriage, "Slow down, man! Can't you see that I'm in a hurry?"

Finding purpose/true will

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Can you suggest some techniques or practices, magical or otherwise (my background is Western ceremonial/HD), to find one's purpose?

I do not seem to have a clear idea of what I should be doing, particularly in the career sphere, but more generally I feel like I am just buffeted by fate or circumstance from one event to another without fixed purpose.

Thank you as always for this space and for the opportunity to ask questions,

A.

Re: Finding purpose/true will

[ecosophia]

There's this very widespread belief in today's world that every one of us comes into the world with a preset purpose. Most people end up floundering as a result, because they can't find anything of the kind. I suggest that the reason for this is that the belief is wrong: some people are born with some specific purpose, but most of us don't bring that kind of burden into incarnation with them.

If you don't have a clear sense that you have some specific purpose in existence, odds are that you don't have one. You therefore have a choice. You can simply enjoy existing and let life lead you in whatever directions happen to come up, or you can choose a purpose by the sheer arbitrary exercise of your will, and get out there and make it happen. Both of those are valid choices.

Thus I suggest that the reason you can't find anything that you should be doing is that you can do as you choose. If you want a purpose, you have to provide one for yourself. If you don't, there's no need for you to get one. That is to say, you really are free, and the universe doesn't worry about whether you do this or that.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, thank you for always holding these threads for us.

There is something I have always wondered for most of my life, and that is: how come the holiday season is so miserable for most people and the world in general? I was wondering if maybe you, as not only an operative mage but also as an astrologer, might have an inkling of an answer to this question? Personally, I have always been at my most melancholic and depressed during the holidays, as have the rest of my family and friends (although personal matters might also affect this), and it seems to me that some of the most tragic world events seem to happen from November to January. What gives? Is this perhaps some kind of bias of my own, or do occult traditions have some sort of explanation about it?

Thanks in advance and have a lovely day ahead!

[ecosophia]

In the northern hemisphere, that's the period when the Sun's energy is at its lowest ebb, and so the life force is weak. To be sure that's what's involved, though, I'd want to hear from people who live in the southern hemisphere -- is the bad time of year for them from May to July? -- and from people who live near the equator, for whom there are no significant variations in the life force at all.

There's another factor that may be involved, though. The late autumn and early winter holidays are the focus of a very large share of marketing and advertising every year, and marketing and advertising is all designed to make you feel miserable -- after sll, happy people don't go binge shopping to buy useless products. So the saturation propaganda of Greedmas may have a role in all this.

[betwixttheworlds]

I have been doing a devotion to Hestia for almost a year now. I don’t really know why, except that I intuitively think that it’s a good idea. The other evening, I decided to use a practice you recommended regarding consulting planetary gods.

I imagined a door with the astrological symbol for Vesta. I imagined a woman sitting next to a hearth. What I did see was a fantastic blueish white light that filled the room and flickered like a flame.

I told Vesta/Hestia that I was there to listen to what she had to day. She immediately told me that she is the kundalini. There wasn’t anything after that but I was so surprised I didn’t know what to do.

I thanked her and left. Since I know very little about the kundalini, I looked it up. I was surprised to read that it is a feminine energy. And it now makes sense that the Roman keepers of the flame were female virgins.

I think it’s possible to use this knowledge to determine the role of the asteroid Vesta. In Vedic astrology the ascendant is important for kundalini awakening. Maybe Vesta passing the ascendent would influence our own kundalini. Shekhina is also a feminine energy in Judaism that means dwelling or setting.

I personally think it has more to do with our fourth house and I will keep my eye out for any Vesta transits on the IC. With regards to magic, it might give a magical ritual some oomph if aspected well.

Tangerine Tangential Cactus

[ecosophia]

Fascinating. That makes sense, though I don't think I've encountered the idea anywhere else.

LBRP and stones/herbs

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning JMG and everyone,

I apologize for being late to the discussion on this, but I didn't see the conversation last week until after MM was over. I had a couple questions about the LBRP reducing the potency of stones and herbs.

1) Maybe I just don't understand what the ritual is doing well enough, but if one is alternating the LIRP and the LBRP, shouldn't the energies that are being banished by the one be getting replaced by the invoking of the other?

2) Assuming that the change isn't just 1:1 addition subtraction, how far away do magical objects need to be in order to not be affected by the LBRP? What would be the best method of shielding them?

3) Is there any way to restore the potency lost in objects that have been in the same room and these practices for a period of months, or are they magically reduced permanently?

Thank you for hosting MM as always JMG.

Sub

Re: LBRP and stones/herbs

[ecosophia]

1) No, because you're erasing a specific energy and bringing in something more generic. It's as though you just erased a cassette tape of music and then recorded white noise on it.

2) If it's in a different room, that seems adequate. If you're concerned, wrapping the objects in silk or linen will help.

3) You'd have to do a ritual of consecration to recharge them.

[jenniferkobernik]

A few nights ago an odd thing happened before I fell asleep. I was visualizing spheres of white light in my knees (not spinning, just stationary) in hopes of relaxing some tension in my knee and resolving some pain in my right IT band. After some time I felt a bubble containing something unwholesome rise up from my knee and travel up my body and away. It actually felt conscious somehow, as if the bubble were a simple entity of some sort. As it passed through my body, I felt sensations of pain, something like heartburn, and a sense of disturbance and wrongness where it passed. I was distracted by those sensations and didn’t notice exactly where it exited or detached from my body, but it was above my heart, maybe the back of my neck or top of my head, and I felt it go up and away from me—it felt more like it was carried away by a rising tide than like it went deliberately. My symptoms didn’t resolve but did get better after that. Any idea what that might have been? I’ve had all sorts of weird energy releases and sensations while meditating, doing ritual magic, and releasing tensions, but never anything that felt like a conscious being.

[ecosophia]

Hmm! That's remarkably odd. No, I haven't heard of anything like that either.

Telepathy & Feral Cat

[kimberlysteele]

I have a small colony of three-ish feral cats who hang around my house. Often, one of the males is not around for dinner. His name is Tommy. When Tommy isn’t there, I use my opera technique of throwing my voice in order to call him. The neighbors love it… just kidding, they don’t.
Lately, I have exercised the technique without making any sound. Meaning, I go through every single mental step of making the sound, but I don’t let it escape my mouth. I’ve done this about five times and he arrives on schedule every time.
Has anyone else ever had a telepathic relationship with a pet or the ability to call him or her from the astral plane?

Re: Telepathy & Feral Cat

[ecosophia]

Cats are highly psychic. Have you ever watched a cat staring at something you can't see? They've spotted something etheric or astral. Witches used to have cats around precisely for that reason -- they're good at seeing the Unseen. Tommy has extended that to listening to the Unheard...

[(Anonymous)]

I saved this article for magic monday

JMG, what do you make of this?
and of course I would like to know what everyone here thinks as well..
I am not catholic but it also says that it has never been done before.
what could this really be doing?

Pope Francis to open 5 sacred portals on Christmas Eve — for a ritual that’s never been done before

https://nypost.com/2024/12/09/lifestyle/vatican-to-observe-sacred-tradition-on-christmas-eve-but-the-pope-will-perform-a-ritual-thats-never-been-done-before/

[ecosophia]

Most new rituals created by the post-Vatican II Catholic church are ineptly designed and have no effect. I wouldn't be too concerned.

Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[kylec]

If you're interested in receiving MOE healing hands this week to help with any physical or mental ailments, please reply here or PM me with your name and any details you wish to share. Those who signed up last week have all been serviced.

I will be taking next week off to travel home for the holidays, and hope to resume in the new year. Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, or whatever you prefer to celebrate this season.

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[jenniferkobernik]

I could use some healing for my hips and legs (especially my right leg), which are currently expressing their displeasure at what is being required of them during the third trimester of my pregnancy, please! And my husband Josiah could use some general healing and peace of mind. Thank you so much!

Paedrig's bad luck

[(Anonymous)]

I have a question for everyone. Did anyone else experience horrible luck this friday the 13th? My vehicle may be completely destroyed - coolant system failed, and by the time I realized it had run hot enough to warp the pistons. It seemed like nothing could go right that day.

Would this be a resonance from the dark energy from the burning of the head of the templars at the stake, compounded by everyone's collective belief that this is a day of dark fortune? Or were the stars just misaligned that day?

Re: Paedrig's bad luck

[ecosophia]

I don't know. I had a good day Friday, with nothing going wrong at all.

Cosmic Doctrine

[kylec]

On page 72 of my version of the Cosmic Doctrine Fortune closes chapter 11 by saying: "It will be seen that the form, or framework upon which he universe is built, has been made the basis of a third type of manifestation--the manifestation of auto-reaction."

First, I'd like to clarify what the other two are. I am reading it as memory and awareness. Is that correct?

Second, does auto-reaction refer to habits, automatic things? Or does it refer to "self" reaction, or the reaction to the projection of the self, by which we come to know ourselves? Or something else entirely?

Re: Cosmic Doctrine

[ecosophia]

Okay, that's Chapter 11 in the Millennium Edition and Chapter 10 in the revised edition. The first two are awareness, followed by memory. The third is consciousness, which Fortune differentiates from awareness. You can be aware without realizing it, but consciousness is reflective -- you are conscious that you're conscious. "Auto-reaction" is self-reaction, the self reacting to itself and so changing itself.

The Trump Enigma & Scottish Rite Connection?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John, I know you've commented on Trump's connection to Norman Vincent Peale before, but I never took the time to look into that, nor Peale's story. Today I started reading an article about how Wokism (or whatever) infected the Democratic party and its faithful and that segued into some backgound about Trump and, in turn, Peale.

I guess you knew Peale was a >33rd< Degree member of the Scottish Rite? I didn't.

https://brownstone.org/articles/the-democratic-party-changed-while-we-stayed-in-place/

Excerpt: "The Trump Enigma
My view on Trump has evolved, though not in the way many might expect....

But there’s so much more to this story. His connections to secret societies and the occult run surprisingly deep. His Trump Tower penthouse is essentially a Masonic temple, designed as a replica of Versailles with deliberate esoteric symbolism throughout. His mentor was a 33° Scottish Rite, and Roy Cohn’—master of blackmail and dark arts—shaped his early career. Most intriguingly, his uncle John Trump was the MIT scientist tasked with reviewing Nikola Tesla’s papers after his death—papers that allegedly contained world-changing technologies, from free energy to more exotic possibilities. I don’t know what it all means, but there’s clearly more to this story than the “orange man bad” narrative we’re fed." (links to sources on some of these statements are visible in the original article).

So, with that as an intro, just finding this story, and the election "miracle" behind us, here are a couple of questions:

1) Question: Might there be a follow-up to your "King in Orange" book and/or do you have anything further you might be able to add, or conjecture, NOW with regard to this crazy year and Trump?

2) For myself, my joining a Masonic lodge turned out to be a dead end. Nothing remotely spiritual, or even "positive thinking" in the local lodge. And, besides, I've moved on from that Blue State.

Question: Is Scottish Rite sufficiently distinct from mainstream Masonic lodges to be worth investigating? I guess I am asking if Norman Vincent Peale was actually a product of his extensive Scottish Rite experience or if there was much more to his background than that? Have you considered doing a bio of him, as you have of various other "occult" teachers? I'm trying to reset my "spiritual compass" now in fairly profound fashion. "Normal" Christianity doesn't do it for me; esoteric Buddhism didn't work out (although I learned a lot I may want to revisit); and independent polytheism hasn't drawn me in, at all. Can you say anything more about Scottish Rite and Norman Vincent Peale's path/legacy?

Thanks,
-gnat

Re: The Trump Enigma & Scottish Rite Connection?

[ecosophia]

Yes, I saw that. There are a lot of 33rd degree Scottish Rite Masons -- every local body of the Scottish Rite elevates somebody to that rank every year or two. Among the 33rd degree Masons I found in a quick search were presidents Harry Truman and Gerald Ford, astronauts John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin, golfer Arnold Palmer, and John Elway, the famous quarterback for the Denver Broncos. I don't imagine you'd consider any of those to be profound mystics or wizards! Norman Vincent Peale was an important writer in the New Thought field, most famous for the book The Power of Positive Thinking; it's a worthwhile book if you've had no previous exposure to the power of mental attitude, but I wouldn't call it profound.

As for the Scottish Rite, it's like the rest of Masonry: there are deep teachings woven into the old rituals, but you have to look long and hard to find anybody in the organization who's even interested in such things. Most Masons treat the Craft as a social club or a venue for charitable work, and go through the rituals by rote. The leadership in most jurisdictions is hostile to anything even remotely close to esotericism. A lot of Scottish Rite Masons are devout, churchgoing Christians who would be horrified if they realized what's actually in the rituals they perform.

[(Anonymous)]

Is there any benefit to repeating prayers verbatim as opposed to saying them spontaneously? Since Hurricane Helene hit my town I've found myself praying again every night, it seemed like the right thing to do, so to close each day I light two candles on my altar, stand between them, and pray. I touch on the same general themes each time, so I wondered if it would be better to formalize each section, or improvise - - or if that matters.

[ecosophia]

It seems to be one of those things that varies from person to person, so by all means do whichever works best for you.