Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Midnight? Well, it came and went while I was typing merrily away on a novel, and I just glanced up and realized what time it is. So we're getting started just a little late this time.

At any rate, 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 is my sixth-second published book and my first published oracle deck. It actually appeared in a different form, from a different publisher, more than two decades ago, but that was a disaster of such scale that I don't include it in my list of publications. (Somebody from the publisher went to see The Matrix the night before the planning committee met and insisted that the cards for this project, which I'd aimed at the Druid and earth-mysteries crowd, ought to be done in a futuristic rusted-metal, cracked-concrete, and vaguely radioactive style; when I explained the problem, I got a very snotty "shut up, we know what we're doing" in response. Of course it bombed. One of those things...) This version of the cards, by contrast, is plain black on white and very workable; someday I'd like to find an artist who can do the thing in the style I had in mind, with the diagrams traced in the earth, carved onto standing stones, and the like, but I'm in no hurry.  For now, this is a fine version, and there's also another version in print, in red and black, with my enthusiastic encouragement.

The Sacred Geometry Oracle is a set of 33 divination cards, each showing a simple geometrical construction. It's central to my Golden Section sequence of books, and it's also a fun and effective divinatory oracle in its own right. If you're interested, 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 more comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Comments

Mental Sheath

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,
What exactly is the mental sheath? Is it similar energetically to the sphere of protection? Does it reside in the astral plane? How can it be developed? -Water Rabbit

Re: Mental Sheath

[ecosophia]

The mental sheath is one of the four bodies that human beings have. We've all got material bodies, the familiar body made of flesh and bone; we've all got etheric bodies, which are made of life force and include the meridians that acupuncture works with; we've all got astral bodies, which we experience in dreaming; and we have mental sheaths, which are evolving into full bodies. (A sheath becomes a body when it evolves distinct organs.) Each of these is on its own plane, straightforwardly enough:

Material body --> material plane
Etheric body --> etheric plane
Astral body --> astral plane
Mental body --> mental plane

The mental plane's the plane of the higher functions of mind -- it's not the plane of ordinary mental chatter, which is astral. It's through the mental sheath that we begin to perceive things like meaning, purpose, and value. Human souls differ in how far they've developed the mental sheath; pay attention to how easily a person can handle abstract thinking about meanings, purposes, and values and you can see how far along their mental sheath is. As for developing it, that's what meditation is for, though anything that helps you learn reflective, self-conscious thinking also helps.

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning and thank you as always for hosting this space.

I’d like to learn a bit about spellwork and what exactly it is and does compared to ritual. I would guess that it leans more towards practical magic as opposed to the often more theurgic focus of ritual, but apart from that I’ve realized, after more than a year now of studying magic, that I don’t really know what spells actually are and what they’re good for.

I’m keeping in mind Dion Fortune’s description of magic so I know it’s nothing like fantasy fiction, but most of what I encounter of spellwork seems to be treated as little booklets of alleged shortcuts to getting what you want out of life, marketed to teenagers who want to be witches.

On a related note, are you aware of good resources for Tarot spellwork in particular?

[ecosophia]

What's marketed as "spellwork" these days is a very mixed bag, and those little booklets you mention are representative of much of it. It's not a branch of magic I have any experience in, to be frank, so I may not be the right person to ask! What I've seen of it combines simple symbolic actions with a sort of watered-down New Thought approach to setting intentions, and the results are rarely impressive. I'd be interested if anyone else has had a different experience.

[athaia]

I'd buy that post-apocalyptic version! 😳 But then I write post-apocalyptic fiction, so...

[ecosophia]

You can find used copies now and again, if you want. This is what it looks like:

SoP while traveling

[nightsgate]

In a few days I will be traveling on holiday with family for a week.

I do the SoP early in the morning, in a quiet room before the house gets too busy. That will likely not be possible while I'm away.

My tentative plan is to find whatever peace and quiet I can, and do the ritual entirely in the imagination if needed.

Is this the way to go about it? If not, what are the recommendations?

Thank you for Magic Monday as always.

Re: SoP while traveling

[ecosophia]

Yes, you can certainly do that. It's useful, in fact, to do the SoP entirely in the imagination from time to time -- it's a great way to develop you capacities of concentration and visualization.

MOE online course; blessings

[milkyway1]

Good morning,

And thanks a lot for hosting MM again. I hope you had a good weekend. :-) ("embarassed"? Hopefully not because of the old oracle card design! They do have a certain, uhm, charm... :D )

I've got two offers this week for everybody:

1. I'm going to offer a Modern Order of Essenes online course, starting in February:

https://thehiddenthings.com/modern-order-of-essenes-online-course

It'll be suitable for beginners, but also for people who want to revisit certain things, or who fell off the bandwagon and would like to start over. I.e. everybody is welcome to join, no fee, no obligations, just doing the work and having a shared space for questions and interaction.

Several people have already commented that they intend to participate, and I expect us to have a lot of fun together. :-)


2. And as usual, I will also perform a formal blessing this week and am grateful for participants, as this allows me to improve my skills:

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


JMG, thanks a lot for letting me post these announcements here, and I wish you a wonderful week,

Milkyway

Re: MOE online course; blessings

[ecosophia]

Nah, "embarrassed" because I was so distracted by the scene I was writing that midnight slipped past unnoticed. I try to be more organized than that.

“Projections”; Magical & Otherwise

[(Anonymous)]

Good Day, Mr. Greer!
I have a question regarding use of the astral light, as opposed to the projection of thought forms.

I’m not a magician, but I do like studying the theory of magic for my own edification… I’ve been working with what I believe is astral light in relation to development of the emotions or emotional center, within a Gurdjieffian context. I think I have gotten pretty proficient over the last five years in learning to project emotions generated astrally into another person’s awareness (or at least out into the ethers), as well as projecting the “sensation” of astral light to another person’s sensation.

Recently, I have been working on the “intellectual center” also, to a large degree in context of my Tibetan Buddhist faith. Today, I noticed I was able to project some rather palpable thought forms in front of my body, emanating from my “intellectual center” while I was listening to some Bach. I had just yesterday, for the first time, generated a Buddhist deity, using the substance of astral light. It made a big difference in my sadhana, and it might have contributed to this thought projection today.

Gurdjieff is big on using the emotional and intellectual centers together, and I find when I connect the active emotional to the intellectual, that my “thought forms” seem easier to project: the forms being a combination of both emotion and intellect.

I’ve read Lévi, do you think what I’m up to has any relation to what he is describing as high magic?
And are emotional expressions and thought forms two separate magical techniques, that are also sometimes used together?

(P.S. I’ve attempted a blog entry on sensing astral light, within a Gurdjieffian context, that the readership might look at if they like: https://to-be-able.blogspot.com/2025/01/sensing-gurdjieffs-hanbledzoin-re-96.html )

Thanks for everything, Mr. Greer!

Re: “Projections”; Magical & Otherwise

[ecosophia]

Interesting. What Lévi means by the label "high magic" is the specific body of tradition of Western occultism he teaches, which is of course neither Fourth Way nor Tibetan Buddhism. While some of the underlying mechanisms are of course the same, it's difficult to make exact comparisons between techniques that rely on very different models of the universe of human experience. In Western occult philosophy, for example, thought-forms and emotional patterns are astral phenomena in form and force aspects respectively, so one normally combines them in practice for best results.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what RW, LVX or NM mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia.

There's also a list of published books with the Magic Monday book entries so far.

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this as always.

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 Kevin’s sister Cynthia be cured of the hallucinations and delusions that have afflicted her, and freed from emotional distress. May she be safely healed of the medical condition that has apparently provoked them.

May Viktoria have a safe and healthy pregnancy, and may the baby be born safe, healthy and blessed. May Marko have the strength, wisdom and balance to face the challenges set before him. (picture)

May Linda from the Quest Bookshop of the Theosophical Society, who has developed a turbo cancer, be blessed and have a speedy and full recovery from cancer.

May Jennifer, who is now in the third trimester and 35+ weeks in, have a safe and healthy pregnancy, may the delivery go smoothly, and may her baby be born healthy and blessed.

May Matt, who is currently struggling with MS related fatigue, be blessed and healed such that he returns to full energy; and may he be enlightened as to the best way to manage his own situation to best bring about this healing.

May NPM/Nick's 12-year-old Greyhound Vera, who passed away on 1/20, be blessed and comforted, and granted rest and a peaceful transition to the next life. (1/23)

May Frank R. Hartman, who lost his house in the Altadena fire, and all who have been affected by the larger conflagration be blessed and healed.

May MethylEthyl, who recently fractured a rib coughing, heal without complications, and have sufficient help for the move that she and hers are making at the end of the month.

May Sub's Wife's major surgery last week have gone smoothly and successfully, and may she recover with ease back to full health.

May David/Trubrujah's 5 year old nephew Jayce, who is back home after chemotherapy for his leukemia, 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. (good news update!)

May Mindwinds's dad Clem, who in the midst of a struggle back to normal after a head injury has been told he shows signs of congestive heart failure, be blessed, healed, and encouraged.

May Corey Benton, who is currently in hospital and whose throat tumor has grown around an artery and won't be treated surgically, be healed of throat cancer. He is not doing well, and consents to any kind of distance healing offered. [Note: Healing Hands should be fine, but if offering energy work which could potentially conflict with another, please first leave a note in comments or write to randomactsofkarmasc to double check that it's safe] (1/7)

May Christian's cervical spine surgery on 1/14 have been successful, and may he heal completely and with speed; and may the bad feelings and headaches plaguing him be lifted.

May Open Space's friend's mother
Judith be blessed and healed for a complete recovery from cancer.

May Bill Rice (Will1000) in southern California, who suffered a painful back injury, be blessed and healed, and may he quickly recover full health and movement.

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 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 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 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 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.

* * *
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]

And thank you for this as always.

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG

Not a question, but I thought you and the commentators would like this article from the Guardian about a new art exhibit about the Tarot.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jan/27/tarot-origins-afterlives-warburg-institute-london-exhibition

J.L.Mc12

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this!

Starting a Druid grove

[bendithfawr]

Brother John Michael,

I'm at the point where I think I'll have to leave my masonic lodge. There's very little fraternity nor freemasonry there. Since on the one hand Druidry feels like my spiritual home anyway, on the other hand anti-masonic sentiment seems to be on a rise here (Germany), I feel that it's probably not worth the time nor risk sticking around and working on turning it around (though I have tried many times).

My idea is to start a grove of druids here instead and got your Druid Grove Handbook for that purpose. The plan is to translate the rituals in there and see where it takes me (and some of the brothers who are also dissatisfied).

Two questions about that:

1. I do like having a male-only space in my life (I'm married and we have three daughters), is it possible to do a male-only grove or would that unbalance the energies in some way?

2. Do you know anything about the International Grand Lodge of Druidism (IGLD), apparently the successor of the Ancient Order of Druids (AOD)? It and its German offshoot seem quite bland and not what I'm looking for at all (ritual, initiation, nature spirituality, magic optional). However, your book is explicitly for the AODA which seems closely related to the AOD/IGLD. Do you think it would make sense to contact the grand lodge about this idea or are they on a different path?

Thank you for your help!

Re: Starting a Druid grove

[ecosophia]

1) I'm very sorry to hear this, but I understand. Some lodges fail to do what Masonry is there to do, and they can be a real downer.

2) It can be done, and indeed it has been done, but the AODA rituals are not well suited to that. Besides...

3) The IGLD (and the AOD from which it descends) is its own system, with its own rituals and practices. No, it's not an esoteric lodge system, but it may be well suited to your needs for a lodge group that isn't Masonic! You might consider contacting the IGLD and seeing if you can get a grove going where you are, and then practice the magical side of things separately from that. One of the good things about being a Druid is that you can belong to more than one Druid order at the same time!

The AODA and the AOD, by the way, have very little to do with one another historically. It's one of the amusing things about Druid history that so many Druid orders have very similar names even when they have very different traditions and teachings!

[(Anonymous)]

Happy Monday JGM

A bit of an Occult 101 question but what is the functional difference between a Word of Power (eg AWEN) and a Divine Name (eg YHVH)? I assume that Divine Names call on a specific power/deity while Words of Power call on a more impersonal form of power.

Take care and thanks again for hosting MM.

[ecosophia]

I've never found there to be any difference at all, to be frank. The Hebrew divine names I worked with in my Golden Dawn days brought through a very impersonal energy.

Planetary Charity for Retrogrades

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't realize that Mars had gone retrograde during which I usually do planetary charity by donating on the first five Tuesdays of a retrograde. I suppose donating on the final five Tuesdays may also be effective enough?

Re: Planetary Charity for Retrogrades

[ecosophia]

I'd encourage you to do it and see what results you get!

[(Anonymous)]

A happy accident I can pass on.

I've been using salt jars containing rock salt, cayenne pepper, and a bent nail. I made them on Tuesdays on the hour of Mars, during last quarter waning moon. Due to a scheduling mistake a while back I missed the last Tuesday, but still wanted to remake them as the nails were rusty and the salt discoloured.

So instead I made them on Sunday, hour of the sun. I discovered that making them with a cleansing and purifying imprint makes them far more effective than with a combative imprint. Everything feels so much fresher and cleaner. Though the initial period after you do it for the first time can be a rough ride, as it actually feels like it's pulling bad stuff out of you. A lot of negative thoughts and compulsive cycles lose their power.

[ecosophia]

Hmm! Thank you for this -- I'll give it a try sometime soon.

George Winston: Rural Folk Piano

[(Anonymous)]

After being exhausted from Winter Field Day with my ham radio club and 21 hours of being out in the cold (though the seafood gumbo I made for the event certainly helped) I tuned in Sunday evening to the local PBS station for an episode of Woodsong's Old Time Radio Hour, out of Lexington, KY. I had just finished a meditation on the nature of the National Soul.. and here comes George Winston onto the piano, playing a rag dedicated to and inspired by Professor Longhair. It was really remarkable to see him play. He played some other numbers from his album "Night" as well on the program. He talked with the host of the show, Michael Johnathon (who I happened to meet at my Great Aunt Lois's funeral in 2023, she was a musician and folk music booster) about his style of piano playing and how it was equally inspired by Ray Manzarek from The Doors and Vince Guaraldi. Winston described his style as "rural folk piano." The whole thing resonated with me after my meditation on national soul material from OPW. May the "rural folk piano" tradition live on.

The episode of Woodsong's can be listened to here: https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/440632?m=false

More about the excellent Woodsong's radio program / live show / PBS television show here:

https://www.woodsongs.com/

I always thought the name for this show was particularly druidy.

Justin Patrick Moore

Re: George Winston: Rural Folk Piano

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to hear this! Winston's one of my favorite pianists and composers, and he's also part of the soundtrack of my life; Sara and I went to a concert of his just before our marriage, back in 1984. It's a source of delight to me that he's still pounding the ivories.

Raspberry Jam

[(Anonymous)]

No question, just wanted to introduce a new twist on the raspberry jam principle: apparently if you gift garden produce to your neighbors and co-workers, then eventually someone will give you delicious homemade raspberry jam...
Gerry

Re: Raspberry Jam

[ecosophia]

Good heavens. Now that's a raspberry jam effect I can definitely get behind!

Affirmation Q

[(Anonymous)]

What do you think of this affirmation:

I relax into the rhythms of my professional life as a ___ and ____.

With new experiences and opportunities, comes some anxiety and uncertainty and nerves -especially when becoming a bit more exposed to the public eye with presentation opportunities and the like. I am not sure I want to do this one all year, as I have other ones I already started and don't want too many. However, I did use this when I had some things to do that were a by-product of some other work I already did. The idea is to relax into these new things that are happening and not fret so much about outcomes.

It seemed to help, I was just curious if you had any further thoughts.

Re: Affirmation Q

[ecosophia]

That's a well-crafted affirmation -- I'm not at all surprised that it helped.

Protection

[(Anonymous)]

This is a repost from January Open Post, My partner (henceforth MP) and I have had diverging political opinions since the Democrats shuttled Sanders aside in 2016. My belief is that neither party is much use to 80% of the population, whereas MP doubled down in belief that the Democrats were the only way forward. This has come to a head with this last election, with MP promising to leave me (after 40 years) if Trump were elected. Trump is now President, but MP is still here.
I get much of my news from various non traditional online sources, for which MP berates me daily for listening to Putin Propaganda. Wednesday, after another such onslaught, I asked how long MP planned to keep it up. MP answered “Until you die”, to which I retorted that such relief couldn’t come soon enough.
Bad mistake.
I soon began to feel light headed, and by the time I had prepared my breakfast, I was nearly fainting. I got some liquid into me, and spent some time with my head down on the table. We are visiting our daughter, and she was concerned that I was having a heart attack, and wanted to bring me to the ER. I warded that off, but soon needed her help to walk to the bathroom. I had the absolute foulest bowel movement I’ve ever had, and began to feel much better. My clothes were befouled, and needed to be cleaned before putting them in the laundry, and I needed a long shower.
As Hilary Clinton found in 2016, TSW. I’m not sure MP actually realized how powerful the curse they made was. I made an amulet per your Magic Mondays FAQ, and have been wearing it since.
I have been somewhat flippant about the amount of abuse I’ve endured in the past 6 years, but no more, and I will be working to extricate myself as smoothly as possible.
1) I plan to seek an astrologer for questions on timing for seeking an attorney, etc, but are there better times to seek an astrologer?
2) I will be in MP's company most of the time in the near future. I suspect the salt vinegar & pepper bath will do little good, since MP will know. I concealed the amulet from MP. Are there other protective measures I can take?

Re: Protection

[ecosophia]

I'm going to be very, very tentative here and just mention that sudden ill health followed by an extremely nasty bowel movement is something that appears in certain well-researched mystery novels as a sign of poisoning.

1) Day and hour of Mercury, or any time the Moon is in good aspect with the planet that rules your ninth house.

2) If you haven't taken up a daily banishing ritual yet, I highly recommend it.

More Questions About Zen

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG-
Last week, I asked you about the Zen SOP. Your response gave me a lot to chew on, and now I have some more questions
1. I've done some research into the concept of sunyata. One Zen teacher stated that it roughly means that things are themselves, empty of any meaning that we assign to it. This is different than the explanation you gave last week, when you said to "Feel yourself to be empty of any inherent existence, and then extend the sense of emptiness outward, dissolving all apparent phenomena into void, so that all that remains of the universe is pure void, and no hostile energies or entities exist because nothing exists."
Unless these are two different ways of trying to explain what is roughly the same concept, a concept which lies just on the edge of human understanding and logic, with words that can at best barely describe the ideas that are trying to be communicated. What are your thoughts on this?
2. If sunyata is the understanding that things are themselves, then how would dissolving all of the meaning from everything around us protect us from negative and hostile forces? Is it because part of their power comes from the meaning which we assign to them?

Re: More Questions About Zen

[ecosophia]

1) Buddhism is much more tolerant of doctrinal differences than most Western religions, and it doesn't surprise me that the concept of Sunyata has many different interpretations! I would describe the insight your Zen teacher gave as an example of tathata, "suchness," rather than sunyata -- but I'm not a Zen master, of course.

2) See my comment above. No, that version of sunyata (or, as I'd say, tathata) won't protect you, which is why I recommended meditating on the other.

[tamanous2020]

Hey JMG,

I hope that the novel is coming along swimmingly!

Background- There's been a lot of recent discussion regarding US territorial expansion into Greenland, Panama and even Canada. It's more than likely that much of this is the usual bluster to push a beneficial deal, as is standard for our current commander in chief, but there is an undercurrent of real desire there from what I see. My main concern is more the change I've noticed in my own feelings and thoughts. I've been a strong critic of US foreign policies since teenagerhood, especially of all the resulting needless wars and immense suffering it's caused around the planet. But now, I have these bubbling feelings of "Heck yeah USA" and "Yeah, we should take what we want or need." My thinking goes towards the answer of "These are at least somewhat logical foreign policy moves for a change, " but the sensation feels...off. It kinda reminds me of the days after 9/11 and how people's minds were affected then.

Q- Would something like voting link me to a political egregore that might help explain why I'm sensing this shift internally? Or is there something going on more in the astral currents that would explain this? (And I'm open to the non-occult idea that I'm just spending too much time with the news.)

[ecosophia]

Nobody's mind is separate from the rest of humanity. That's how what Jung called "psychic contagions" spread from person to person -- and of course these can embrace anything from harmless fads to mass murder. We're seeing a massive shift in the collective consciousness of the US population, and that's propagating in the usual way. You might make an extra effort to think through the problems with the underlying attitudes, and by all means do as you're doing now and share your worries with others -- that's how a lot of us got through the psychic contagion surrounding Covid-19 with our immune systems more or less intact.

Ogdoad/8

[(Anonymous)]

Hello,

Long (dream) story short, I had a dream where I was talking with modern druids about divination, but they kept telling me a word that started with "O". After that dream I have a different one. there is a frog in this dream that has a simply amazing presence(incredibly clear and vivid and I never have frogs in dreams). When I woke, Kek was the first place to start research. Wile researching Kek I see he is part of the Egyptian Ogdoad, which was the "O" word I had forgotten.

My question: I see Ogdoad is in relation to Egyptian and gnosticism, but are there any connection with druidry or other spiritual/religious paths? I'm also seeing the number 8 a lot, so I'm trying to take these clues and put them together.

thanks,
dream sleuth

Re: Ogdoad/8

[ecosophia]

The word "ogdoad" simply means any group of eight. In Druidry, the obvious ogdoad is the cycle of eight festivals around the wheel of the year, each of which is assigned its own deity -- though, Druids being Druids, there's no consensus on which deity goes to which festival! You might also be interested to know that in Martinism, a school of Christian occultism, 8 is the number of the Christ...

[(Anonymous)]

I know in general, you are not supposed to make major life changes during a Saturn Return; and that in cases where Saturn retrogrades back over (or even just really close to) the natal position, it's best to hold off until after it turns direct again. However, I have a question about a possible edge case.

I'm one of the Canadians looking at leaving, and realizing things could get ugly a lot faster than expected. I was looking at December, after my Saturn return, but realized if I push things and get lucky, my plan could get me out in August instead. There's a specific day I'm looking at where Saturn will be more than six degrees away from the natal position, in another sign, and applying a sextile to my natal ascendant and Uranus; and my ninth house ruler and natal will be positively supported as well by sextiles and trines. In fact, aside from the fact that technically my Saturn Return has not ended, this chart is an exceptionally positive one for long distance travel.

Under those circumstances, could I still make the move safely, or will the fact it is technically occuring during my Saturn Return still come back and haunt me?

[ecosophia]

If the rest of your chart is favorable, I'd say go for it, but leave yourself plenty of extra room for obstacles and delays.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG and community,
I was wondering how does one determine the energetics (warming vs. cooling, moist vs. dry) of a new food or substance? Trial and error, careful observation? Is divination appropriate for this? I read the essay on elemental healing in "A Magical Education" recently and it was helpful for getting over a nasty bug, so I'm looking into getting the Culpeper books to start learning and tinkering a little more. In particular, though, I was wondering about the energetics of coffee, tea, cane sugar, and hibiscus flower. My searches haven't been successful so far - most places seem to suggest that they'll do whatever I want them to do!

Many thanks y'all!
Andy T.

[jprussell]

If I may, while I suspect our host is going to say "through careful experimentation," if you're looking for some further guideposts along the way, The Humoral Herbal deals with this in a fair amount of detail and gives a few examples lacking in Culpepper and the like.

If I remember right (that book is currently boxed up, so I can't check) Tea and Coffee are warming, as is cane sugar, for what that's worth. Interestingly, Chicory is cooling, so mixing some into coffee can be a good way to lessen its warming effect, if you're after that. Not sure on hibiscus, though.

Cheers,
Jeff

Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[kylec]

Thanks to everyone who requested healing hands last week. Those requests have been filled. You can sign up again as many times as you like.

If you have never signed up before, this is where I practice the spiritual healing modality I learned through the Modern Order of Essenes. It's appropriate for a wide variety of physical, energetic, and mental ailments. All you have to do is sign up with your name and your request here, or via PM. The healing occurs at a distance and nothing more is required of the recipient.

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[vitranc]

Hi Kylec,
I would be thankful if I could receive some healing energy this week.
Best regards,
V

Thoughts on Blessing: the Art and the Practice and Question on Sources on Egregores

[jprussell]

Good Morning,

To any who mark either, a happy Lunar New Year and/or a blessed Imbolc!

To Share: I read David Spangler's Blessing: the Art and the Practice and wrote up my thoughts on it here: https://jpowellrussell.com/#book_thoughts_on_blessing_the_art_and_the_practice

To Ask: Egregores come up here and over at the main blog quite a bit, and I feel like I've picked up a lot by osmosis, but do you have any recommended sources on getting a more in-depth understanding?

As always, thanks very much to JMG and those who read and comment.

My blessings to all who welcome them,
Jeff

Re: Thoughts on Blessing: the Art and the Practice and Question on Sources on Egregores

[not_gandalf]

Mark Stavish has written a book on the subject, called, remarkably, "Egregores". It had a LOT of currency in French occult circles, so the book "The Tarot", by Mouni Sadhu has loads on the subject. Those would be good places to start.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John Michael,
I hope all is well.
I've been recently given a Talisman of health to wear as often as possible.
I do my version of the polytheistic LBRP daily;given the effects you've mentioned of disempowerment, I put it in silk bag during the LBRP; but I wonder if it would be OK to wear it at that time ?
Lurksalong aka
Mocha Funicular Mosquito

[ecosophia]

No, if you wear it during the ritual it'll gradually lose its effect. Put it in the silk bag just before you begin your ritual and put it back on after you finish.