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-righth published book, and the last contribution (so far) to the Cthulhu mythos to come from my keyboard. I hadn't planned on writing The Seal of Yueh Lao at all, but there were too many loose ends left hanging when I'd wrapped up The Weird of Hali, and this story took shape as I considered them. It's the shortest of my tentacle novels, a quiet little coming-of-age story with Asenath Merrill, the oldest daughter of the central character of The Weird of Hali, as its protagonist, and a tangled web of events borrowed from H.P. Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers for its mainspring. All in all, it worked surprisingly well. If you're interested, you can get a copy here if you're in the US and here elsewhere.

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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

linen sheets

[(Anonymous)]

There has been comments here about the types of textiles that have affects on the etheric, namely linen and silk. I've recently gotten beautiful linen sheets (70% linen and 30% organic cotton) and they are the most comfortable I'd ever slept in. However I find my dreams have been altered and many of my past experiences which I'd thought were put to rest have been popping up again.

Could this have something to do with the sheets?

Re: linen sheets

[ecosophia]

Hmm! It's at least possible. If you can handle making the experiment, sleep on some plain cotton sheets sometime and see if your dreams change back.

[isaac_hill]

Hello JMG, it was great speaking with you recently to record the podcast - thanks again! Every time I talk to you there are a million things I wish I would have asked or brought up, but this time I'm still thinking about banishing rituals and the source of their power - how much is just the balancing of the elements/direction, how much is invocation of the divine, and how much is the charge of the tracks in space (both personal and collective) or the egregore built around the ritual? Are there other sources of power I'm not seeing? If one were to make a new ritual, as different from the SOP as the SOP is from the LBRP, what would you want to keep in mind? (Say, drawing on an already well established set of symbolism with deep tracks in space)

[ecosophia]

Nobody knows. Seriously, nobody knows. Most of what we know about magic is that certain traditional forms work. Why? That I can't tell you. As for making a new basic ritual, the ones that I've made all copied the form of an existing ritual but inserted different symbols in it -- how you would go about making something completely new is something I can't answer.

[(Anonymous)]

I am in what I'd call a dire situation. To summarize it: earlier this year I developed a subconscious hatred of a shadow aspect of myself. I couldn't see the good aspects of the shadow and accept it for what it was, since I understand this shadow is something I ultimately need to transcend and conquer in myself. This only got worse over the months, as the shadow began driving my behavior to where it's hard to separate my personality and my actions from what the shadow would do. Certainly I lost connection with my Higher Self and what they would do in my situation. So I'm at a point where I am attracted to things and act certain behaviors I *know* on an intellectual and spiritual level I should stay far away from. My thoughts have become so simultaneously bothered and enamored by the aspects of my shadow, that I am it.

A deep cleansing of some sort would seem most appropriate at this time. A friend of mine said that I need to address that deep subconscious need which drives me towards the activities of the shadow. At this time, I don't really love myself and the work I'd need to do to show I love myself, so here I am.

Any feedback from you or other Ecosophians is appreciated. I sense there's nothing else to do but to address the root of the issue.

[ecosophia]

I recommend journaling on this. Give your shadow a voice -- let it write down what it wants to say to you. Inevitably, if you've got a dissociated shadow factor, there's some major imbalance in your conscious self that you're not addressing, and until you address it you're going to have the same problem recurring. Remember, you can't get rid of the shadow, because it's you -- it's the parts of you you refuse to acknowledge. All you can do is acknowledge it and integrate it, or keep flailing around the way you're doing now.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what AODA, WH7 or OBOD mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia.

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this as always.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I have experience with the shield chart divinations from the Celtic Golden Dawn, and would like to learn about casting and reading geomantic house charts. Is there a resource you'd recommend for a relative beginner?

Tim PW

[ecosophia]

Either of my books on geomancy, Earth Divination, Earth Magic or The Art and Practice of Geomancy, are good sources here. (They cover the same material so it doesn't matter which one you choose.)

[(Anonymous)]

I am getting very concerned about the future of my country. I think there's a very high chance it will collapse into either civil war or totalitarianism in the next few years. I know enough history to know I really, truly, do not want to be here if either happens, and as a result I am making plans to move to another country. I've identified somewhere that I will be able to live for at least a few years and am busy making preparations on the material plane.

a) The area in question has a long tradition of local religion and a rich tradition of myths and legends rooted in the area. Do you think it would be good form to read the myths and legends of the people who live there, and reach out to the local gods in advance of my move?

b) My Saturn return is happening this year; am I correct to think that while making these kinds of plans is wise during this time, I should make sure I do not leave until after it has ended?

c) If that is correct, how long after Saturn passes its position in my natal chart should I wait before leaving? If it matters, after crossing, Saturn will turn retrograde and come within a degree of its position in my natal chart again (but not quite reach it).

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, very much so.

2) Yes, that's correct.

3) If you can, wait until the retrograde is over and Saturn is moving away from its position. Within one degree counts as a conjunction.

[brenainn]

1) Will you be doing an astrological chart for the upcoming inauguration? Your very accurate chart for January 20, 2021, was a decisive factor in convincing me of the effectiveness of astrology, and I'm hoping to get an idea of what might be coming our way under Trump's second term.

2) I did a Tarot reading a couple of days ago. I asked the following question, "what might be the result of adding statues of two other deities to Mithras's dedicated shrine?" As part of a vow I made to him, I put together a very nice shrine to Mithras, and dedicated it to him on December 21 (seemed rather fitting). I am extremely limited in space, and the "guest deities" would be in place at least until I finally have more space for additional shrines. I drew three cards (past, present, future) and got Three of Swords, the Fool, and Two of Swords. I interpreted this as a tentative, cautious "its okay for now, because you still have a lot to work through." However, I've never been able to trust my own interpretations (I feel I am too inclined to interpret readings in a favorable light). Any thoughts?

[ecosophia]

1) Yes. I've just finished the first draft of a retrospective of the 2021 inauguration chart, which will be revised and then published here sometime this week -- I figured it was worth talking about my successes and failures -- and the 2025 inauguration chart is next up.

2) If I got that reading I'd take it as a "no, don't be an idiot."

The LBRP and online trolls

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, Mr. Greer.

Recently I've encountered a number of trolls on a crusade against the Golden Dawn system, claiming that it's "empty", that it doesn't work, except when it does, but then again, what it does is the opposite of what it is supposed to do, etc. What unites them, besides the burning need to invade GD-related discussions, is being loud and proud students of a certain school of magic, which they bring up when questioned about their attitude, and which happens to offer a free training course.

I've flipped through that course material, and the author has a peculiar opinion on protection rituals, and the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram in particular, as, in her opinion, they only offend the friendly spirits, do nothing to defend against the unfriendly kind, and in general prevent the build-up of a magical "immunity" if done on a daily basis. She goes on to do an analysis of LBRP where she makes some rather strange claims about it, but it got me thinking: what exactly is the LBRP?

A few remarks by multiple authors on the subject has led me to believe that it's purpose, together with Middle Pillar Exercise, is to start a continuous process of transformation within the practitioner, in LBRP's case by destroying random subtle patterns attached to the matter comprising their bodies, subtle and gross, and can be likened to the alchemical process of calcination. The "heat" produced by this "calcination" offering a degree of protection is a useful side-effect. The Sphere of Protection starts a process of transformation as well, but it is more analogous to going over the material manually, choosing what to keep, and what to throw away, rather than throwing everything into a furnace, which is why it is more gentle, as well as slower to build up.

Am I thinking along the right line, or did I get lost in an analogy?

Re: The LBRP and online trolls

[ecosophia]

Yeah, I've seen that sort of thing tolerably often, usually -- as in this case -- from people who are insecure about their own path and so try to bolster their egos by denouncing what other people are doing.

My experience with the LBRP -- and I did it daily for more than 20 years, before going to the Sphere of Protection -- is exactly the opposite of what that person claims. To my mind, any spirit who gets chased off by a banishing ritual isn't a spirit you want in your life, and the regular practice of the LBRP in particular produces a strong, clean aura that debased spirits can't stand being around. If you want to consort with grubby spirits, sure, it's a problem, but that never interested me.

More generally, it seems to me that all the arguments used against banishing rituals could be used with equal force against washing your hands after using the toilet. Doubtless washing your hands keeps your body from getting used to having fecal bacteria in your mouth, but is that latter really something you want?

As for the LBRP, it's a way of cleansing the astral aspect of yourself, using divine names and the forces they invoke to give yourself the equivalent of a pressure washing. The goal is to scrub your sphere of sensation (that is, your aura) clean of the gunk that adheres to it over the course of life in a society that has no notion whatsoever of metaphysical hygiene. The LBRP does this in a very intense and forceful way; the SoP does it in a gentler way -- soap and warm water, let's say, instead of an ice cold stream from a pressure washer! Both get the job done, however, and the SoP has certain other advantages. As for the alchemical and transformative work, that's what the Middle Pillar exercise and other workings with energy centers inside the body are for.

Occult Philosophy Workbook

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
I have been working on this book for a while and am currently doing the Additional Lesson 4. In paragraph 7, you state that the Gate of the Winter Solstice is set in the Northern sky. Why would the gate be set in the Northern sky when the sun rises and sets in the South? Have I discovered a typo or is there another explanation?
Maxine

Re: Occult Philosophy Workbook

[ecosophia]

It's pure symbolism. North is the traditional direction of winter.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, how do we write permanently on the metal when making talismans?

I've tried correction fluid, water paint, oil paints and all have failed me as they peel off easily and were probably never consecrated in the first place.

Does nail polish make sense on smooth metal surface?

[ecosophia]

You've got two options. First, you can get the kind of enamel paints that model builders use for painting plastic models -- those stick good and solid to metal. Second, you can get a carbide-tipped tool at your local hardware store and simply use it to scratch the pattern into the metal. This is very traditional -- here's the talisman of Jupiter that Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith had on him when he was killed:

[diletpoly]

JMG and Commentariat,

I hope everyone has had a good couple of weeks since last I posted, and either had or will have a Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, Joyous Festivus, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate.

JMG, I'm wondering if I painted myself into a corner as I plod slowly towards initiation in the GSF. I thought I'd be ready for the initiation ritual early next year, after I finish working through the SGO exercises, but in re-reading the preparatory material, I realized that I switched my divination method to geomancy in March of 2024, having done daily divinations using SGO from February 2023-February 2024. Since I've done more than a year of divinations using SGO, I'm sure I would pick it back up quickly, but I'm conscious of your admonition to practice a divination method for a year before going on to another. Is that exclusively? I could easily see myself doing the initiation with the SGO, and a general "how will my day go" daily with geomancy on the same day, but I don't know if this is a bad idea?

It's also worth noting that I crave initiation, and I know it, so it's been my habit to come up with excuses not to initiate, or to push it off, so I suspect that's what I'm doing here.

So, I guess the actual question is, which of these two courses of action would be better:

1. Refresh my memory on the SGO symbol set, then initiate as soon as that is done and I'm otherwise ready.

2. Finish out a full year of daily divinations using geomancy, switch back to SGO in March, and do daily divination using it for some period of time (a week, month, quarter, or year?) and then initiate.

As I said, I'm inclined to delay, but not for any good reason, so I'd tend towards #2, with a 1 month delay before initiation, but I suspect I'm being overly cautious.

PS: I once again composed this in OneNote, since I intended to ask it on the Dec. 16th MM, but I believe I've taken the odd formatting issues into account and it will translate to dreamwidth correctly.

[ecosophia]

Nah, you're overthinking it. You followed the instructions exactly -- you worked with one system of divination exclusively for at least a year, and then you went on to another. That doesn't mean you can't occasionally go back and use the first one! In the long run, you'll probably have a whole series of oracles you can use whenever you like -- that's where I am, for example.

If you feel unsure of your prowess with the SGO, you can certainly cast a couple of readings with it just to get back in the swing of things, but I think you'll find that you can pick it up and get good results with it right away.

[(Anonymous)]

Would you or another commentator be able to recommend the best book(s) on the upstate New York (Burned-over District) religious revivals of the 18th/19th centuries?

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

I'd be interested in such a book, too, if anybody has one to recommend. Anyone?

Season’s Greetings

[(Anonymous)]

No question this week, JMG; I just want to wish all who observe Christmas, Alban Arthuan and/or Yuletide a happy and blessed season.

Oh - and just an observation: over the past few weeks, whenever I go to one of your dreamwidth posts, I see repeating digits in terms of number of comments (for example, today for this post it was '111'). Just sayin'

Ron M

Re: Season’s Greetings

[ecosophia]

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Kek the Frog God was keeping an eye on things here. I, for one, welcome our new batrachian overlords. ;-)

"Salutators"

[guillem66]

Greetings JMG,

In Spain, there used to be a kind of lay, more or less professional healers called "saludadores". I don't know that much about them, but they where recognized and accepted by the church and the inquisition, on the condition of obtaining a license from the local Bishop first.


They were supposed to be able to reliably heal rabies and other ailments by touch, and to withstand red-hot metals, burning water etc.
Aparently,Town-councils routinely hired them, and the documents have survived.


Some of their "traditions" survived among common folk, albeit in an increasingly fragmentary form. For example, a book i've read contains some eye-witness off the power of cutting hemorragies instantly using sacred rhymes, being passed among common, non-professional housewives during the first decades of the XX Century.

My question will be if you know of equivalent lay traditions in England, France or other European countries existing before the arrival of the modern world.

Re: "Salutators"

[ecosophia]

Fascinating. No, I don't happen to know of anything along the same lines.

illness and the etheric body

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG and all the commentariat!

1) I've been unwell for some time now, and I'd like to try affirmations in the hope they might help speed up /boost the healing process. I was thinking something along these lines:
"I am healthy; I trust my body to take care of its own healing process, and take good care of me as a result"
I'm not convinced though. It sounds a bit clunky and perhaps it is too long, but I would also like the affirmation to acknowledge the gratitude I feel towards my own body for carrying me so far (despite the fact that I haven't always treated it well). Any ideas?

2) I read that from an occult perspective, illness is also an affection of the etheric body. So I'm wondering whether it be OK for me to start practicing the SoP now, or I should wait until I'm fully healed?

Huske

Re: illness and the etheric body

[ecosophia]

1) It's much too long. An affirmation should be a single act of will aimed at bringing something about. "Every day I become stronger and healthier" is a standard. It's good to be grateful to your body, but express that in other ways.

2) Yes, you can start work with it at any point, and it may help. As my teacher John Gilbert used to say, "Now is always the acceptable time."

Almuten figuris

[(Anonymous)]

When calculating the almuten figuris you end up with Hebrew letters the spell your holy guardian angels/higher selfs name. Do you think these letters when looked at the tree of life's paths tell you something about your task at hand in this incarnation?

Re: Almuten figuris

[ecosophia]

Try it and see!

Occult significance to suddenly feeling extremely cold?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Is there an occult significance to suddenly feeling extremely cold in specific situations?

I have noticed this occur to me on occasion, but lately last night. I believe it happens when I am dealing with unresolved feelings of intimacy/sexual desire, so I concede this may be purely psychosomatic, but I thought I'd ask, in case maybe I am being visited by a succubus or other related entity.

Thank you,
-E.

Re: Occult significance to suddenly feeling extremely cold?

[ecosophia]

It's almost certainly psychosomatic. You might try journaling about it to get to the root of the emotional issues behind it.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Papa,
why was the woman who got burned alive in nyc not screaming and calmly standing there??? why didn't the cop help her and let the other guy fan the flames??? were they ALL likely in shock??? or are they too attuned to filming and taught to not interfere??? the cop in the footage confuses me. the whole thing does. only one guy moaning in sad horror...

i know you cannot answer for certain but the people in this video are haunting me more than the guy who set her ablaze, and i was hoping you could tuck me into bed with a plausible set of reasons that won't have me as horrified with Humanity. actually i think i've hit bottom but i'd like to know what you know or think about this tragedy.

thank you.

x

[ecosophia]

I wish I had a meaningful answer. The whole set of events is as weird as it is horrible, and I have no idea how to make sense of it.

p.s.

[(Anonymous)]

i think this fits with Magic Monday because there's a lot of unseen "whaaat?" in that video and i'm asking for your help in deciphering what we're looking at.

thank you.

x

Re: p.s.

[ecosophia]

I haven't watched the video and don't intend to. The printed accounts are bad enough!

Brrr.

[(Anonymous)]

I hope those who celebrate the solstice had a wonderful day; and for those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!

Now that I'm distancing myself from my upper middle class family, I'm noticing that a lot of what I used to take for granted is ridiculous. One of the more extreme examples of this is the wretched excess that goes into the way my family has always celebrated Christmas, including things like trips across the world, extreme consumerism, and a host of other extremes. this is problematic enough in and of itself, but I can't help but note the contrast here between the wretched consumerist orgy that I've seen called Greedmas, and the traditional Christmas. In fact, Greedmas seems to revel in all of the deadly sins but pride and wrath; and both tend to appear at the dinner table. Despite just how anti-Christian the entire thing is, most people insist that Greedmas is Christmas, and that it is somewhere between absurd and evil for Christians to suggest that there's a problem with how the holiday is celebrated.

Am I right to think this is a very dangerous thing to do, and it runs the risk of offending Jesus?

What sort of things tend to happen when a society offends a god like this?

[ecosophia]

Christ seems to be a very, very difficult god to offend. His dad was traditionally short-tempered, but the fact that he hasn't fried an entire generation of liberal clergy with well-aimed lightning bolts for their blatant unbelief and Pharisaic self-righteousness suggests to me that either he's fantastically patient with his followers or he's given up on them as a bad lot!

The Death Penalty

[brenainn]

With Biden commuting most of the federal death sentences to life imprisonment, I find myself wondering what the Western occult tradition has to say about the death penalty. A range of opinions? Or a more uniform opinion for or against? Something else?

Re: The Death Penalty

[ecosophia]

I've heard and read a very wide range of opinions on the subject from occultists. There doesn't seem to be any consensus.

[rhydlyd]

A belated Happy Alban Arthuan! I hope this turning of the year’s wheel finds you well.
I’m still grinding away at The Dolmen Arch. Taking a month to concentrate intently on the Two Dragons Rite seems to have worked. I’m back to meditating on the Triads from the start rather than picking up again. This time is going much better than last.
As usual, I can report elderly people wanting to sponge my energy, strangers unloading their problems to my feeble attempt at a kind ear and friendly receptions from big dogs and even some little dogs.
Here’s where it gets weird: You remember the lumbersexual look from two decades ago when broheims from the financial sector would larp the timber felling American icon? Recently, one of my coworkers called me a lumbersexual. Okay, fine, I look the part and he’s old enough to remember the fad, but I work in a big box DIY conveniently located in an Ohio winter. Boredom and bad temper opened my mouth for me. I replied, “And I’m really excited about Lumbersexual Pride Week next month.”
The joke has grown legs, interestingly including the distaff side of the crew, so – why not? It’s a as good an excuse to wear flannel shirts and eat pancakes as any.
1. So – how do I pick a date in the next few weeks of winter doldrums to actually found a holiday that already includes the yet-to-be Paul Bunyan Breakfast? Suggestions for rites, activities and events are welcome.
2. Since the people who like the idea are blue collar and among the most harmed by the social-issues-go-round, do you think this might be actual punch-up satire from the bottom of the heap?
Many thanks!
Rhydlyd

[ecosophia]

1) Make it the second week in January. That's far enough from New Year's Day that everyone's over the hangovers. Tell everyone that part of the celebration is that guys don't shave -- if you want to get risqué you can suggest that ladies do likewise -- and that everyone wears blue jeans and plaid flannel shirts.

2) It could really turn into something -- but that depends on the subtle currents of collective consciousness. I'd encourage you to have fun with it and see what happens.

[(Anonymous)]

What exactly does one need to achieve in order to exit the cycle of incarnation? Is it the completion of the mental body? What are some examples of practices that help achieve this? Will one know when the mental body is complete?

[ecosophia]

Yes, you need to finish developing your mental sheath into a mental body. You'll know this is happening when you experience your personality as a set of habits of thought and feeling, rather than mistaking it for yourself; when clear past life memories come through without any need to work at getting them; and when you notice that you've spontaneously stopped thinking in terms of this one life and naturally think in terms of a whole sequence of lives. (Another common sign is that reading books written from an enlightened perspective, such as the Tao Te Ching, gets a reaction of "well, duh" rather than "whoa, that's deep.")

As for practices, literally any of the standard spiritual practices will get you there, but meditation is the most effective. Now you know why I keep on suggesting it...

[jenniferkobernik]

In my copy of your Art and Practice of Geomancy book, both Amissio and Caput Draconis have their color listed as white flecked with citrine. Is this correct?

[ecosophia]

Yes, that's what the Renaissance texts I used said.

Inauguration chart

[jruss]

Hey JMG will you be doing a chart on Trump’s second term like you did with Biden?

Re: Inauguration chart

[ecosophia]

Yep. I've already cast the chart and will be delineating it sometime in the next couple of weeks. I've also done a retrospective analysis of the 2021 inauguration chart and will be posting that once I've reviewed it.