Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Midnight is breathing down our necks 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 is my sixth-third published book, and you'll have a little trouble finding it right now, because its former publisher let it go out of print last year. The upsides are, first, that this gave me the chance to revise, expand, and improve it considerably; second, that I was able to give it the title I originally assigned it, Merlin's Wheel -- did you know that authors have no control over the titles and cover art of their books? -- and third, that I had it placed with a second publisher less than 24 hours after the old one let go of it.

The book -- well, it's a sequel of sorts to my earlier book The Celtic Golden Dawn, providing a set of eight seasonal ceremonies inspired by ancient mystery rites, celebrating the legendary life of Merlin around the cycle of the year as a system of spiritual self-initiation. The new version has been expanded so that it can also be practiced within the ritual system of the Golden Section Fellowship and its related traditions, including the Dolmen Arch system and the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose. It'll be out later this year, and I'll make an announcement here and on my blog once it's available for preorder.

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use either of the links above to access my online tip jar; Buymeacoffee is good for small tips, Ko-Fi is better for larger ones. (I used to use PayPal but they developed an allergy to free speech, so I've developed an allergy to them.) If you're interested in political and economic astrology, or simply prefer to use a subscription service to support your favorite authors, you can find my Patreon page here and my SubscribeStar page here. 

 

I've also had quite a few people over the years ask me where they should buy my books, and here's the answer. Bookshop.org is an alternative online bookstore that supports local bookstores and authors, which a certain gargantuan corporation doesn't, and I have a shop there, which you can check out here. Please consider patronizing it if you'd like to purchase any of my books online.

And don't forget to look up your Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature at CosmicOom.com.

With that said, have at it!

***This Magic Monday is now closed and no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Comments

Yoga and mediums

[vitranc]

Good morning JMG,

Doing research on some astrological symbols, that I am using for a meditation project, I came upon a yoga archive, that at the time had the best descriptions. But it also had links to other topics in the archive, like karma, reincarnation, and so on.
I got curious and read several of them. And well… I…
hanging around the various ADR and Ecosophia forums. Picking up druidry, books from Dion Fortune, Levi, Hall, Yeats, Blake,… It struck me, how much of it is the same. For instance your Few notes on reincarnation And Dion Fortunes Trough the Gates of death, are complete, well not copies. It is just, that the structure, themes and guidelines discussed are the same. How much did yoga influence the occult thought in the west?

Lately I have been browsing some online posts by people who claim to be mediums. With a thought on the shape of our times and all the fake news, it occurred to me, that it would be prudent to ask about the dangers of listening to supposed mediums. I have cross-checked the claimed with astrology, as far as an amateur is capable. And have asked my Ogham sticks for opinion on the mater; They thought, that the material was good food for thought, but not to relive to much on it. Still some advice and guidelines, from a person of experience, on how to deal with material gotten from mediums would be appreciated.

Best regards,
V

Re: Yoga and mediums

[ecosophia]

1) Western occultists have had some exposure to Hindu ideas of reincarnation over the last century and a half, but there were detailed descriptions of reincarnation in the West before then, and they also said much the same things. I know this is unfashionable these days, but the suggestion I'd make is that these similarities happen because reincarnation is a reality, and when people do enough spiritual practice to get past whatever dogma they've been raised with, that's what they find.

2) Mediums are an incredibly mixed bag. Some are honest, some are as fake as a millionaire's worries about climate change, and it can be very hard to tell the difference. Your Ogham divination seems sensible to me: you can certainly use channeled material as a source of interesting ideas, but don't assume that it's accurate or rely on it in any way.

Mercury

[(Anonymous)]

Hi again JMG,

I would like to follow up on something you wrote on the Ecosophia January Open Post (and no doubt at least a few times in the past). Just to clarify, I was not the initial person who sought your advice:

1) I just started a business and wanted to start it on Wednesday for Mercury, but for a bunch of reasons I wasn't able to do it until Thursday (and I don't remember the actual hour). Because of bureaucracy, I didn't get acknowledgement until Friday. Is there anything I can do now to retroactively improve the potential fortunes of the business, magically speaking?

2) You recommended "Orange candle, hour of Mercury on eight successive Wednesdays, and recite the Orphic hymn to Mercury". I can do the orange candle thing, but am I supposed to use a new orange candle every Wednesday, or is relighting the same one every week just as good? Once the candle has been completely run down, do I just toss it in the garbage?

3) Is there any particular way to close out the candle ritual/recite the hymn? Does the hymn get recited 8 times or just once?

4) Is there anything else I can do beyond the candle lighting and hymn reciting?

5) Let's say my business involves warfare or beauty products. Do I perform some similar ritual on Tuesday (to Mars) or Friday (to Venus) because of their connotation to my products? (LOL--and if so, should divorce lawyers running their own firm make offerings to Mercury, Venus, and Mars?)

6) On a semi- (ok, quarterly-) philosophical note, what effect are we really having on the gods when we devote rituals to them? Presumably, we are pretty insignificant to them, after all...

Thanks!

Re: Mercury

[ecosophia]

1) Nope.

2) Depends on the candle. If it's a little candle, use it up. If it's a big candle, snuff it when you're finished with the prayer and relight it again the next week. Yes, the remnants of the candle can be thrown out.

3) By all means come up with something if you want to, but it's not required.

4) Well, what kind of magic do you know what to do?

5) Nope. Business is business, no matter what you sell.

6) You're not having any effect on the gods. You're attuning yourself to the influences that radiate out from them. It's very much as though you were a radio receiver; the receiver has no effect whatsoever on the transmitter, but proper tuning of the receiver allows the signal to be picked up and come through clearly.

Odd Goings On

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Everyone,
I live on a small farm and it is quite private here. We never get people straying into our farm.

I raise rabbits and when they are weaned, I let them out of their cages to run around the barn floor with their siblings. I had to put one bunny in a cage as it is runty and had developed a eye infection. It would be warmer on the barn floor in a huddle of its siblings but I could give it a special diet and medical attention in a cage.

I put it in a cage one evening. The next morning, I came out to tend the rabbits and the little guy was back on the floor with its siblings. Its eye had healed and it looked more energetic.

I examined the cage, which was still closed, and it was in perfect shape and the rabbit could not have escaped. Someone opened the door of the cage and put the rabbit back on the floor and closed the cage door. My husband and I think this was done by magic. Odd things have happened here before involving objects disappearing and sometimes reappearing months later in the same spot they were when they went missing.

I went to put my Bridget doll that I made of sedges (reeds) last year in the fire before I put up the new doll. She spent the whole year on the window ledge by our woodstove and on the first of February, she disappeared. This was a doll about 12 inches high.

In both cases, I felt the intention behind these events was kind. It is still a little odd to me that physical objects and creatures should be moving around like this. Are we looking at an extremely burly house elf or a poltergeist of great power?

Does anyone have any insight into these strange goings on?

Maxine

Re: Odd Goings On

[ecosophia]

You might well have a kindly house elf, or some other kind of helpful spirit. Don't thank it, or it will go away.

Lesser Polarity Magic

[(Anonymous)]

I have been reading your book on Polarity Magic, and notice similar happenings in my workplace-- I am a man working with a female coworker about my age. We are both happily married and appear to want to remain so (I've never discussed this with her, but she seems happy in her marriage too). So while there is some attraction there, we are each highly motivated to not become romantically involved. That said, we are having remarkable success running the business. The people who report to us seem happy and are working well together--
I wondered if this is partly due to an accidental polarity magic working?
So far as I know, she's not a student of magic or other occult topics, so I don't plan to approach her about doing polarity magic workings--
Assuming some polarity magic is happening, is there anything I can do to keep the energies flowing where they will help our team, or (other than being careful to avoid any romantic entanglements) any thing to avoid that could cause trouble?

--Alabaster Gritty Midge

Re: Lesser Polarity Magic

[ecosophia]

Yes, you've got a fine polarity working going on. Remember that most of magic is simply taking something that works in everyday life, and doing it systematically! As long as the two of you avoid getting romantic, you should be fine -- the polarity between the two of you will keep on rising from the material and etheric planes to the astral plane, where it radiates out and charges the workspace with what, back in the day, we called "good vibes."

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 Other Dave's father Michael Orwig, who has been in the hospital since 1/20 with almost complete liver failure and 20% liver function, find the strength to survive and thrive when shifting back to breathing on his own on 2/4 (when he needs to come off of the respirator), and may he be blessed with robust healing that allows him to regenerate his failing organs to the fullest extent that the universe allows; may his wife Allyn and the rest of his family be blessed and supported in this difficult time.

May Jennifer, who is now 36+ weeks into pregnancy with the baby still in breech position, have a safe and healthy pregnancy, may the delivery go smoothly, and may her baby be born healthy and blessed.

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 physical condition that has provoked her emotions; and may she be healed of the spiritual condition that brings her to be so unsettled by it. May she come to feel calm and secure in her physical body, regardless of its level of health.

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 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]

Thank you for this as always.

Affirmation for worst-case thinking

[bendithfawr]

Hi JMG,

a friend suffers a form of worst-case thinking, in an unfamiliar situation expecting the worst possible outcome and thinking (subconsciously) that by expecting the worst she can keep it from happening. Consciously she knows that she does this and it makes no sense but she still doesn't dare change it, every time the worst not happening reinforcing the "success" of the strategy.

I talked to her about affirmations and she's open to trying it but we're a little stumped about what actually the issue is. "I'm small and insignificant" (to change the future by her expectations) doesn't work as she's neither and doesn't want to be. "My thoughts can't change the future" is also not quite right since they often do (but by other mechanisms) and is negative, as is "the worst generally doesn't happen".

Have you heard of this type of thinking and do you see an affirmation that points in the right direction? Or just another way of approaching the matter?

Thank you for your help!

Re: Affirmation for worst-case thinking

[ecosophia]

Yes, I'm quite familiar with that sort of thinking -- it's a common habit. It's infectious, in an odd way -- notice how all three of the "affirmations" you've given here are actually negations! (Yes, even the first; it's phrased positively but expresses a negation, i.e., not large, not significant.)

The affirmation I'd suggest for your friend is "the best can also happen." Warn her that that's probably going to stir up all kinds of bad memories from childhood, which she should journal about; when she remembers disappointments and miseries, or simply finds herself getting angry or depressed after reciting the affirmation, she can write out what she's feeling. Suggest that she just let it flow onto the page, being careful not to censor or edit anything; that's a good way to release the bitter emotions from those experiences and free up the emotional energy locked in them.

Affirmations can't overcome that kind of knotted emotions from the past, but they can stir them up, so that journaling (and conscious reflection generally) can release them. It's a useful pairing of tools.

[executedbygandhi]

Hello JMG, I have two somewhat scattered questions for you today:
1. in the state between incarnations, the memory of the past life is processed. Are previous lives also taken into account here? So I see the consequences of actions over several lives, along the lines of: I did this and that in my life before last and therefore had to experience this in my last life?
2. you said in a comment that the abolition of the Latin Mass was a nail in the coffin for the Catholic Church, can you explain this further?

Thank you very much!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[ecosophia]

1) That depends on how far along you are in the process of spiritual development. In your early lives, the processing is purely a matter of going over what happened. Later on, as you become more conscious and reflective, understanding begins to dawn, and that brings in the legacies of other lives. Eventually you can survey all your lives -- but at that point, you generally don't need to reincarnate again.

2) It's not the use of Latin so much as a magically effective liturgy. The old liturgies, up to and including the Tridentine mass established at the Council of Trent in 1570, had a great deal of power to them; Dion Fortune called the Mass the most widely practiced ritual of white magic in the world, and she wasn't exaggerating. The Novus Ordo mass put in place in 1969, by contrast, is magically inert, having been designed by Modernist liturgical theorists who knew nothing about the deeper side of ritual and were trying to turn it into a "community meal" rather than anything more serious. That's why sensitive people have noticed all along that where the Novus Ordo mass is celebrated, the church feels like an appliance that's been unplugged, where a church in which one of the older liturgies is celebrated feels like an appliance that's plugged in and running.

It just keeps coming

[(Anonymous)]

I’ve just suffered another piece of bad fortune, after about 36 months of pretty consistently awful events: this time in the form of a personal injury. It’s very painful and, for the moment, crippling. It endangers others as well as myself, for I am needed able-bodied by others unable to fend for themselves.

What can cause such a pertinacious flood of evil fortune? And more critically, is there any way to get it to stop?

Re: It just keeps coming

[ecosophia]

You need to figure out what's causing this, and whether you're doing anything to foster it. I recommend daily journaling on themes like "bad luck" and "do I want this to happen?"

Golden Section Fellowship

[thereassuringweightofagun]

Hello JMG,

Can you point me to a list of all the books you are planning to publish with regard to the Fellowship of the Golden Section? Further, you mentioned in one of your appearances on the Toth-Hermes Podcast that one of those books would be about Astrology. Am I correct in assuming that "The Astrology of Nations" is not that book, and if this is indeed the case, can you say when and under which title said book will be published?

Thanks for your help & for providing this forum!

Re: Golden Section Fellowship

[ecosophia]

The books in the core sequence are as follows:

The Sacred Geometry Oracle

The Way of the Golden Section
The Way of the Four Elements
The Way of the Secret Temple (not yet published; out this year)

The Occult Philosophy Workbook
The Earth Mysteries Workbook
The Life Force Workbook (not yet published; probably out in 2026)

In addition, I plan on a series of four books on the quadrivium, which are not part of the core sequence in the GSF but which will be very useful resources for students of the system. Their tentative titles are:

A Book of Sacred Number
A Book of Sacred Harmonics
A Book of Sacred Geometry
A Book of Sacred Ecology

I haven't started writing these yet so I don't have a publication date lined up!

I'd originally considered having a book on astrology in that sequence, but for various reasons decided that sacred ecology was a better way to talk about integrating the mathematical side of the sacred into daily life.

[booklover1973]

Glad to hear about the new version of "The Wheel of Merlin"! I will surely buy it when it comes out. The recommendations for literary reworkings of the Merlin myth were good in regard to the depictions of Merlin, but that doesn't mean that the relevant stories don't have their ewaknesses to different degrees. And in hope to not to be too annoying for rehashing a subject that I mentioned before: the Golden Dawn version of the rituals contain references to the Celtic cabala and other bits of ritual which are not translatable one to one into some other magical systems, so the material in the expanded version of the book will be welcome.

[ecosophia]

I took that feedback into account in writing the chapter on adapting things to other systems. I think you'll find the new version quite workable.

Egregores

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, The term "egregores" has come up repeatedly. I know you recommend a book last week, but is it possible to give a short definition / overview here? I feel a bit lost... even after asking my search engine! Many thanks.

Re: Egregores

[ecosophia]

An egregor is an artificial personality created by any group of people caught up in a common set of emotional experiences. Think of the way that every place you've worked and every group you've belonged to has its own "personality," in a certain sense; that's its egregor.

[(Anonymous)]

I think I figured out the root cause of the spell that has made it impossible for so many people on the Left to grasp that people can disagree with them, even when it is right in front of them. This has to do with one of the bastardized forms of thaumaturgy that plays such a large role in the Western World: PR. PR presents itself as moving the Overton Window or Opinion Corridor by shaping public opinion; but the crucial step is not actually shaping public opinion, but the perception of public opinion. Very few people who aren't immediately impacted are going to make a fuss about vaccines being dangerous if they think everyone else thinks of them as necessary for the survival of humanity; and so cultivating that perception can allow PR to work even if it cannot convince people of obvious absurdities. A handful of people fall for the PR completely, and so end up under a spell, in which no one has whatever thoughts that need to be hidden, no matter how much evidence is presented.

This would also explain why it is a commonplace of Western culture for the last century or so that everyone else is insane (because the perception is that almost everyone else agrees with the obvious absurdities that the PR system lost the ability to actually sell people on); it also explains why so many certainties of American culture are suddenly in such flux: as soon as Trump's victories in the presidential elections revealed that a large number of people have such "radical" views, the entire distortion that the PR industry created of public opinon began to fall apart.

Does this analysis sound plausible to you?

[ecosophia]

Yes. I think there may be more to it than that, but you've certainly sketched out an important part of the problem.

An interesting effect of an amulet

[earthworm_uk]

Over the last year we have used forms of the red bag amulet to good effect as part of a layered 'armoury' in going into an 'unstable' environment where the general atmosphere has been improved and where potential weird behaviour that always materialised before (over years!), did not do so. First time success could perhaps have been chance, second time coincidence but with a third time (Christmas 2024) the needle on the meter was seriously pointing at TSW

It has not been something we've talked about with anyone we know and unexpectedly, an amulet was made over this last weekend and given to someone in great anxiety (panic attack level) and had quite a striking result!
As soon as they put it on, they seemed immediately calmer - almost like a a steel shutter had been brought down (or drawbridge raised) on the emotional crap storm they had been weathering.

There are a number of potential factors that could have played a part, but one of them is that the amulet was made by two people who did different parts of the job but both with a focused intent.

It never occurred to me (fool!) that the fashioning of an amulet could benefit from the two polarities and energies of the makers to make the sum of the parts even more effective than a single person making the thing.

Of course, it may not be that (or just that), perhaps we're just better at it now having used a couple ourselves, but the effect was really quite startling and different to the amulets made before for us.

The person is big into psychology and the like, gave him your description of 'changing consciousness in accordance with will', described the use of the amulet as 'super-psychology' in using material things to help one cause changes in one's own way of thinking - e.g. suggested every time he noticed or thought of the amulet for it to be a prompt for an affirmation (I am emotionally resilient and grounded).

Thing is, affirmations take time to work and this was like a switch was suddenly flipped. Extraordinary to witness and a very pleasing result all around.

Re: An interesting effect of an amulet

[ecosophia]

Fascinating! I wonder how much of the anxiety was either (a) a matter of etheric forms he was generating himself through worrying and intensely visualizing the things that made him anxious, or (b) the less pleasant possibility that someone was deliberately sending nasty energies at him.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG and everyone,



Q1. Have you ever read the work of Philéas Lebesgue? Jean Dubuis mentioned him briefly in his work. I've always admired Jean Dubuis, so I would like to know more about Philéas Lebesgue since he actually met him.



Q2. Didn't Robert Ambelain write about Druidry? Is his work any good on the topic?



Q3. What were the main influences on the Druid Revival worldview? Is the kabbalah a big influence? What would be the best resources to study on this topic?



Thanks for your help.

[ecosophia]

1) No, I haven't, and you've inspired me to go looking.

2) He did indeed! Au Pied des Menhirs is a very good summary of Druid Revival teaching.

3) The Cabala didn't find its way into the Druid scene until it was brought there by refugees from the breakup of the Golden Dawn in the 1920s. The older Revival tradition was a wild mix of Celtic traditions, ancient Greek Neoplatonism and Pythagoreanism, and various oddments of mystical Christianity. As for resources, the anthology I edited, The Druid Revival Reader, is a good intro to the older strata of the tradition.

Donald Michael Kraig

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Mr. Greer, would you recommend ‘Modern Magick’ by Mr. Kraig for very new beginners? I’ve heard it’s really the place to start with by a lot of occultist, including Damien Echols, who claims your book ‘Learning Ritual Magick’ is foundational in GD work.

Re: Donald Michael Kraig

[ecosophia]

Yes, it's a tolerably good place to start.

MARS vs VENUS as goals for space travel

[(Anonymous)]

I read recently that you thought the Moon landings brough a lot of lunar energy to the Earth.
In the unlikely event that we actually send people to Mars, what kind of effect could we expect?

Maybe send should send people to Venus instead? (LOL in know it is too hot and there is too much acid in the air and that it would be very unpleasant for the people going there)

Re: MARS vs VENUS as goals for space travel

[ecosophia]

If we made a connection to Mars via space travel, I'd expect many more wars, but also a forceful revival of classic masculine ideals of strength, self-mastery, and hard work in society, since Mars rules all those. Venus? In that case you could expect a lot more art and a further increase in the feminine aspects of society.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what WON, CGD or UB mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia. There's also a list of JMG's books.

I wonder what happens if a book goes out of print and the previous publisher doesn't "let it go".

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this as always.

It all depends on your contract. If you're a writer and have the brains the gods gave goldfish, you insist on a reversion clause in the contract -- i.e., a clause that requires the publisher to revert all rights to you once the book has been out of print for some fixed period of time. I've always insisted on those, which is why I can get the rights back and place them with someone else. If you don't get a reversion clause, a publisher can take your book out of print and then just sit on the rights, and you're screwed. One of the things that makes the big corporate publishers so toxic these days is that they offer "reversion clauses" with various loopholes -- a lot of authors have tried to use the reversion clause and found that the publisher won't return the rights to their books no matter what. My guess is that they're using the notional value of the book rights to play games with the paper value of the company.

Mental Plane

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

Thanks for your clarification last week that thoughts are of the astral plane. That unlocked a lot. In my meditations this last week on the Cosmic Doctrine and your own writings, I have developed this rough understanding of how the planes relate. I'm going to relate it to a personal goal of mine, which is developing greater clarity in my writing. My question: is this close enough to be reasonably functional, or is there anything you’d say is worth adjusting? - Tony C.

- Abstract mental (above the veil) - the Platonic Idea (so to speak) of clarity in writing.

- Concrete mental (above the veil) - the Platonic Idea of a clearly written short essay.

- Astral - Hod - My particular thoughts about what form clear writing should take including specific instances that spring to mind. These thoughts, if meditated on, can give intuitions of the form, structure and limitations of clear writing - a reflection of its Geburah aspect.

- Astral - Netzach - My particular identification of how clear writing should feel to the writer and reader. Through this, I can get intuitions of the power of clear writing, its reason for being, and the ways in which it drives to manifest - a reflection of its Chesed aspect.

- By synthesizing these in meditation, including studying the etheric sense that clear writing creates and physical manifestations of it (Yesod and Malkuth) and then attempting to recreate these, I should be able to cause “impactation” (in Dion Fortune’s sense) of the idea, and then if successful, allow its physical manifestation to sublimate into a deepened understanding of it.

Re: Mental Plane

[ecosophia]

That works quite well.

MOE Healing

[kylec]

Happy to report that all who requested healing hands last week have been serviced and the list is open once again. If you want another round, or would like to try it for the first time, all you have to do is reply here or via PM with your name and request. Thanks!

Re: MOE Healing

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Kylec,

Since you are offering, I'd be grateful to receive some healing hands. I impinged my right shoulder about two weeks ago lifting some dumbbells and the like at the gym in a session I should have eased back on a bit. I'm giving it some of my own healing hands as well as treating it with tiger balm, and some exercises /stretching to strengthen it, which has been helping. It's not the worst shoulder pain I've had, severe or constant... but it is effecting me.

Thanks for your attention to my right shoulder and arm.

Justin Patrick Moore

[kylec]

I'm reading your book on polarity magic and have a success to recommend. I tried the solo method for redirecting energies of sexual arousal up to the solar plexus and found it worked exactly as described and was easy to do on the first try. This maybe due to previous experience with healing hands, central ray, etc but I think anyone could learn it.

While I have nothing against, ahem, directing them to the physical plane now and then, it really is useful to be able to sublimate those energies when they're bothersome. I recommend the method in the book to all who need something like that in their toolkit. Soon I'll work them upto higher energy centers once I have the solar plexus down.

Other than helping awaken those centers, is it advisable to use these solo energies for basic works like blessing and healing? Or is the unpolarized energy too unbalanced?

[ecosophia]

You can certainly direct the energy to blessing and healing work -- Dion Fortune recommends that, in fact, in her book The Problem of Purity, and it's a form of polarity work to direct it to some other being who needs it.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,
Some time in the past couple months you mentioned a good introductory astrology text besides Parker's Astrology - it was something like "Understanding Your Natal Chart." There are several books with similar titles. Would you mind refreshing my memory? Thanks
P.S., ordering a copy of "Astrology of Nations" in the near future as well.

[ecosophia]

If I recall correctly, it was The Key to your Own Nativity by Alan Leo.

[kylec]

Forgot to ask my other polarizing question. You mentioned to avoid virgin goddesses in polarity work. In the Welsh Celtic pantheon that means Olwen, but I remember hearing that Elen may also be a version of Olwen. And Sul was called Sulis Minerva. Minerva is mentioned as one to avoid. I also assume old women like Ceridwen may not polarize as well.

Is there a goddess that would be well-suited to those works? I am not planning to do godform work, just asking for a better grasp of polarity in the Welsh pantheon.

[ecosophia]

No, you can polarize with both Olwen and Elen, since they marry in the course of their mythic narratives. By "virgin goddesses" I mean goddesses like Minerva, who are permanently virginal. Sul falls into that category; the Romans recognized that when they equated her with Minerva. Ceridwen does not -- in the myths, she's married and has children, and she's also the original of the Loathly Lady in the Arthurian legends, who turns into a beautiful woman and marries Gawain.

The best way to gauge the potential for polarity work with a deity is to get familiar with his or her myths and legends. If they marry, or have less formal relations, they're appropriate for polarity work, and the more central marriage or mating is in their legends, the more appropriate they are. (Thus Olwen and Elen are both well suited to the work, since in both legends the marriage is the central plot engine.)

Dolmen Arch index and geomancy query

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, I have something to offer if you’re interested. As part of my Grade 7 review of the Dolmen Arch, I compiled an index and an annotated table of contents. There’s just so much material in the course, and it can be hard to find particular topics. So I did this for my own use first, and thought I might as well share it if others would find it useful. I have the hardcover edition, so if the paperback has different page numbers, that would limit its usefulness. But anyway, if you’d like to see it I’d be happy to send you a copy. I’m sure it leaves something to be desired, since I did it by looking at the hardcopy (i.e., no search function). I’ve been a copyeditor for many years, but this is my first attempt at an index.

A quick question on geomancy, as I've been studying your book on it. You don't mention flipping a coin to generate the mothers, but it seems like a natural tool for that. I tried flipping one coin and also designating a set of 4 different coins, one for each element, and then throwing them all at once to generate one figure. I did a few readings that way, but it's too soon to know what the outcome of the situations will be. Is there any reason not to use coins this way?

Re: Dolmen Arch index and geomancy query

[ecosophia]

1) Thank you for this. I wonder -- would you be willing to have it put it up on a website somewhere? That might be the best way to make it available to the people who are interested. If so, drop me a comment marked NOT FOR POSTING with your email and I'll be in touch.

2) Good heavens, yes. I've tolerably often used what I call the 41¢ oracle -- a quarter, a dime, a nickel, and a penny, which determine the first, second, third, and fourth line of the figure.

[(Anonymous)]

Good afternoon and thanks for hosting!

I found a place near me that offers introductory blacksmithing classes in which you learn how to make a basic iron knife. I’m thinking that this would be ideal for use as a magical sword (GD style) since I’d have made it myself. Is there anything you would advise doing as part of the crafting process to get the best results? The consecration process would be entirely separate but I would guess there might be a magical aspect to the crafting as well.

[ecosophia]

What a fine idea! The important thing is to keep your intention in mind while you make the knife. With each blow of the hammer and each other action in the process, focus on the idea that the knife will banish hostile spirits and bring the divine white brilliance to banish the darkness of ignorance and evil.

Synchronicty

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG and all!

When reading your jung post on the other site, I thought to myself, "I really should read some Hesse, and lo there was a copy of his "Journey to the East" on the charity table in the local supermarket, which usually only holds trashy romances and similar. I also in another, 'think it and it happens' momemt, I got invited along to a meetup of likeminded women recently... do you believe in this kind of meant to be' 'on your right path' stuff or is it a bit too Paolo Coelho for you? (Btw in case you don't know PC wrote a new-agey novel called The Alchemist, which was v popular with young trendy alternative types in the uk in the early 2000s, and made 'symchronicity' a buzz word amongst them)

Re: Synchronicty

[ecosophia]

This sort of thing happens to me quite often. That's one of the reasons I take Jung so seriously, as he and his physicist friend Wolfgang Pauli invented the concept of synchronicity.