Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Midnight is here and so it's time to launch a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism, and with certain exceptions 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 1.3 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-seventh published book, and like everything else I've done for this particular publisher -- Union Square, formerly Sterling -- it wasn't my idea. They contacted me and asked for an introductory book on Druid nature spirituality. I can write one of those more or less in my sleep, so of course I agreed, not least because they're large enough to offer robust advances. It's not part of any series of books, nor does it teach the curriculum of any Druid order; it's a user-friendly, lavishly illustrated little hardback that teaches the complete beginner how to take up the practice of Druidry. Sales have been quite respectable, too. If you're interested, it can be purchased here in the US and at your favorite online or brick-and-mortar bookstore elsewhere.

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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 in a week!***

Comments

Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

In a bit of fortuitous timing for some Magic Monday excitement, regular commenter Jennifer Kobernik (née Richardson)’s water broke roughly two and a half hours ago. In her last update, she said that her baby is still in breech position, and she’s on the way to the birth center now. To any who read this and have a moment to offer a prayer or a blessing, they are most welcome right now.

_______________________________

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 Jennifer, whose water broke a short time ago 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 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, update)

May Peter Evans in California, whose colon cancer has been responding well to treatment, be completely healed with ease, and make a rapid and total recovery.

May Debra Roberts, who has just been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, be blessed and healed to the extent that providence allows. Healing work is also welcome.

May Jack H's father John, whose aortic dissection is considered inoperable and likely fatal by his current doctors, be healed, and make a physical recovery to the full extent that providence allows, and be able to enjoy more time together with his loved ones.

May Goats and Roses' son A, who had a serious concussion weeks ago and is still suffering from the effects, regain normal healthy brain function, and rebuild his physical strength back to normal, and regain his zest for life. And may Goats and Roses be granted strength and effectiveness in finding solutions to the medical and caregiving matters that need to be addressed, and the grief and strain of the situation.

May Other Dave's father Michael Orwig, who has been in the hospital since 1/20 with almost complete liver failure and 20% kidney function, have found the strength to survive and thrive when he recently came off of his 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 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 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 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 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. Healing work is also welcome. [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]

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

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 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 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

[(Anonymous)]

Praying for you Jennifer, hope they can get the baby turned without too much trouble.

Geoff

Etheric Energy

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Mr. Greer!

Hope your evening is going well.
I found myself this evening doing some personal experimentation with etheric energy.

I had previously decided that my own etheric energy can expand into the environment; where I suspect it interacts with that energy of other life forms. I have a few questions for your formidable experience:

1. Is etheric energy, in your system’s knowledge, a type of animal magnetism?
2. Is it possible — as I imagined — to perhaps absorb the etheric energy that exists separately on its own in the environment?
3. Is there a relation of a group’s etheric energies to the (I forget the proper term) psychological makeup of the group?

Thanks so much for helping me out!

Re: Etheric Energy

[ecosophia]

1) "Animal magnetism" was Mesmer's term for etheric energy.

2) You do it all the time, with every breath. If you weren't taking in the life force from the environment you'd die very quickly.

3) Yes, of course.

The Way of the Golden Section

[thereassuringweightofagun]

Dear JMG,

In one of your last entries, you wrote the following:

"The Way of the Golden Section and its sequels teach very little in the way of ritual and even less in the way of magic. They focus on meditation, divination, sacred geometry, and certain other standard occult practices, and their goal is to achieve wisdom, revelation, and enlightenment."

Could you point us to a school or group of works that in terms of learning magic are complementary to The Way of the Golden Section?

Thanks for your help!

Re: The Way of the Golden Section

[ecosophia]

The Druid Magic Handbook is a compatible volume with an effective system of magic.

Many thanks and a few questions

[mediawakeboard]

Hello, JMG and commentariat

First of all, I would like to express my gratitute to jasmine and Justin Patrick Moore. A few month back, I took your advice to read Dreaming Ahead of Time and Dreaming True books. This led me to a fascinating rabbit hall of my Deja Vus. Thank you very much

Questions:

• Is a simplistic analysis of planets in retrograde valid for mundane astology? I had a feeling that something is going to go down this week here in Ukraine. When checking for planets in retrograde I have noticed Mars finishes his retrograde phase this week and he was there since early December (approximately when the bombing cooled down and front regained relative stability) I am just starting on your Patreon series on the topic, so I am very very new in all this)))

• In your book on Sacred Geometry each card has 2 paragraphs of explanation (one says "for practical divination" another says "reading"). Is reading some sort of ritual with drawing on a board ? Paragraphs seem to imply that

Also I would like to thank you very much. Your book club on Levy and Occult Workbook really straightened me up this last 3 years. Something electric is in the air at all times here. Making sense of that and channelling it somehow is very helpful

It is an anniversary of the war today, btw. Have a nice day, everybody

Re: Many thanks and a few questions

[ecosophia]

1) In mundane astrology, a retrograde planet indicates that things ruled by that planet will be slowed down or even temporarily reversed for a while, but will pick up the pace again once the retrograde ends. Thus the Mars retrograde is probably involved in the relatively sedate pace of things over the last three months.

2) Er, I'm trying to make sense of this and not getting far. I just checked the book, and there are no such headings in my copy.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG from Sydney! I have a few disparate queries I’d like your advice on. My blessings to you and any readers if you or they will have them.

1. I have magical offerings to Mercury to dispose of – a pack of playing cards, a plastic die and a decent ballpoint pen. What alternatives are there instead of burying them (would rather not for environmental reasons)?

2. Following from that, when something should be disposed of in running water, would the ocean be suitable? Or a flushed toilet (this one gives me the ick so I suspect not)?

3. I’d intended to ask why a pentagram is inscribed in each element’s corner for the LBRP, but I came across an explanation in the sacred geometry section of CGD Bardic grade (which was fascinating) that the 1:phi ratio “represents regeneration and the balanced union of the powers of the masculine and the feminine. It is the great geometrical emblem of balance and harmony.” Does this mean that the pentagram is inscribed because of tradition/tracks in space (“represents”), or is there an objective power to it?

4. Following from 3, I almost always notice a release of tension when inscribing a pentagram in the water corner during LBRP. Does this mean my water is consistently out of balance? If so, is there any way I can work on that?

5. I contacted you before about my upstairs neighbours’ ongoing albeit occasional noise (you were right, sending a note didn’t stop it although they did leave a box of delicious biscuits at my door on Christmas Day with a sweetly apologetic card). I decided to ask the CGD wands what lesson their noise is trying to teach me. Assuming this is a suitable query, the results were:

LW Merch
RW Carchar (lol)
Judge Gwyn

The best interpretation is that to accept the situation and their noise would be a positive? Am I missing anything?

6. I know you don’t do online videos, but this 1994 Jeffrey Mishlove interview with philosopher Jacob Needleman is based on his book “Money and the meaning of life” that might be useful in your potential project about money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPvgm5MMgaM

With thanks for your valuable time and knowledge.

[ecosophia]

1) Leave them someplace where you can expect them to be stolen. Mercury is the god of thieves, and will make sure they go to the right person.

2) The ocean is suitable, the toilet is not.

3) Both are correct.

4) Yes, and you can work on it by practicing that ritual daily!

5) It tells me that you need to learn to get used to such things, and practice placidity and calm (the attributes of Gwyn).

6) I'll take a look at the book sometime. Thanks for this.

Arthur C. Clarke

[(Anonymous)]

(I’d appreciate comments from the commentariat if JMG isn’t aware of any occult influences in Arthur C. Clarke’s writings)

Hi JMG,

Are you aware of any occult influences in Arthur C. Clarke’s writings?

I may be reading too much into a chapter towards the end of the novel “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but it struck me over the weekend as I was listening to the audiobook version that the main character David Bowman’s transformation from human to Star-Child felt similar to comments you have posted regarding the afterlife and "The Cosmic Doctrine."

If I remember correctly, you have stated that after death, we will process our memories in reverse order.

As someone poorly educated in the occult, I found that reverse-order feature odd, and it struck me as more than a coincidence that Clarke’s Bowman likewise processes his memories in reverse order during his transformation.

Although the reverse-order feature struck me the most, the entire chapter describing his transformation felt like it echoed your writings about the occult, particularly your Book Club posts about "The Cosmic Doctrine."

Again, I acknowledge that I may be reading too much into something that is nothing.

Thanks,
-Eugene

P.S. Before submitting this question, I became aware of the 1985 British television show “Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers” via internet search results. By the reviews, I can’t tell if the show was a hatchet job, or if it tried to give a fair shake to the "paranormal" … I assume the former.

Re: Arthur C. Clarke

[ecosophia]

I've never heard that Clarke had any direct exposure to occultism. On the other hand, one of the things that today's SF authors and pundits do their best to ignore and erase is the huge role that occultism had in SF before the rationalist witch hunts of the 1980s. A great many SF and fantasy authors were up to their eyeballs in occultism, and put huge amounts of it into their fiction. Since Clarke, like most of the writers of SF's great era, read SF voraciously, he'll have absorbed a great deal of occultism at second hand.

Blessed are you, Venus-Cloacina, lady of the sewage

[open_space]

You had mentioned before that it would be welcome to post our thanks to patron saints, goddesses and gods. I thought that if I was going to do that, it would be nice to share some of the story behind it.

I have been doing work with Venus for sometime now, but mostly through prayer. It has really been me the one that has been taking more out of the relationship so I started to grow a little uncomfortable of not giving something back besides prayer time. It occurred to me thanks to your comment, as I posted here some months ago, that a good offering to Venus would be to her aspect as Venus Cloacina, goddess of the Cloaca Maxima in the Roman Empire --their main drainage and sewage system that kept the city clean.

One way to do it today I thought, was to pick up trash from the streets, given that there is no shortage of that. So I was in the middle of calculating costs for supplies, taking longer that needed and overdoing it as usual when in one of my walks I encountered someone picking up trash from the streets with a vest and something that looked like a logo on the trash bags. I stopped her and asked what was she doing. After a quick chat on how ugly things looked in that specific corner, she directed me to the city adopt-a-street program. Ok... I will take that as a: "Yes, I am interested and stop looking for excuses, here you go, free supplies. How many bags would you like?" I came out of an industrial district warehouse with two tote bags choke-full with heavy duty bags, graffiti remover, gloves, safety vests and all sorts of the good stuff. When I was leaving, the volunteer sent me on my way not without mentioning: I had to come and say hi personally, I loved your username. I had chosen the username to be Venus The Cleanser, and she knew about her. Hah! I decided no more questions were needed.

I proceeded to have quite the quest, you really can get to know your city this way, and good gods are there stories in the trash.

Did you know that small grafiti with a good sense of line make good sigils to bless trash containers? I promise it was her idea!

Thank you Venus-Cloacina, for the lessons on the hard realities of the lack of harmony in the public spaces, giving me a sense of how things should flow; the humbleness and the laughs. May your purifying touch spread through the neglected spaces of human indifference.

--Venus The Cleanser

Re: Blessed are you, Venus-Cloacina, lady of the sewage

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to hear this. Ave Venus Cloacina!

[(Anonymous)]

Good Magic Monday, JMG,

A book came into my hands, written by Thomas Clough Daffern, titled The Qabala Runes - A Comparative Philological and Philosophical Study of the Qabala, Ogham, Sanskrit, Greek, Arabic and Runic Systems of Wisdom, published in 2018. Have you heard of him?

I am trying to figure out if this book should be thrown at the wall or entered into my library. It seems incredibly packed with facts I regrettably don't have the background to verify, but in his thesis he seems unaware of older ages of humanity, and has cultures, traditions and history smashed together in head-spinning ways.

The book can be seen here:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dr-thomas-clough-daffern/the-qabala-runes-a-comparative-philological-and-philosophical-study-of-the-qabala-ogham-sanskrit-greek-arabic-and-the-runic-systems-of-wisdom/paperback/product-23523861.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Here is his bio if you can stomach it:
https://educationaid.academia.edu/ThomasDaffern/CurriculumVitae

Would you mind lending me your learned opinion on this book? I know you can't judge it without actually reading at least part of it, but you may already have heard of or read it. Heck, you may even know the guy.

Thank you!
-Myriam

[ecosophia]

I haven't seen it, or heard before now of the author. His bio certainly suggests that he has a very high opinion of himself! Books like this show up every so often; so far, the ones I've read have been pretty daft, but I suppose this might be an exception.

[(Anonymous)]

A good start to the week, JMG and commenters!

When we incarnate here, we already come with a “programming” established in the natal chart by the “engineers of incarnation.” Regardless of our religious system or beliefs, we necessarily have to go through what is described in the birth chart, correct? Is there any idea of who these “engineers of incarnation” might be?

[ecosophia]

Er, "programming"? "Engineers of incarnation"? Those seem like very awkward metaphors to me.

Each soul, once it rises above the animal level and is no longer guided by the group soul of the species in which it is incarnated, has a personal spiritual guide emanated from the divine -- "guardian angel" is one traditional word for this entity. That entity works with the slowly awakening higher self of the individual to help it incarnate in situations that will help it clear its karma and prepare for a life outside of material incarnation. Over time, the higher self takes on more and more of this work.

As for the natal chart, it inclines, it does not compel. Your beliefs or religious system don't have any influence on how you respond to your natal chart, however -- that depends on your qualities of character and your level of consciousness. At the higher levels of incarnate human existence, the influence of the natal chart is more of a toolkit than a set of preestablished events.

MOE course; MOE Healer attunement; blessing offer

[milkyway1]

Good morning,

I hope you had a good weekend, and so had everybody else. I've got no question today, just offers for the community:

1. For people who are interested in the Modern Order of Essenes: I'm offering an MOE online course. We started a week ago, but it's no problem at all if people join later - you're still very welcome. :-)

The course is suitable both for newbies and for people who have done MOE work before but would like to have some community or a bit more structure. The initial post is here:

https://thehiddenthings.com/moe-course-intro-and-unit-1

If you should have any questions before joining, you can also add a coment to that post.


2. Heads up for MOE practitioners: I'm going to offer a Healer attunement on Sunday, March 30th.

I haven't gotten around to putting up an announcement post for this attunement yet, but wanted to broadcast the date so people can prepare well in advance. For now, if you should have any questions about it, feel free to DM me via dreamwidth or to add a comment to any MOE post over on my site.


3. For everybody: I'm going to perform a formal blessing again this Wednesday, where I will bless anybody who signs up for it here:

https://thehiddenthings.com/weekly-blessings-60


JMG, thanks for hosting MM again! I'm very much looking forward to this week's topics. :-)

Milkyway

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what TCM, J or OBOD mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia. I've also added a list of JMG's small book descriptions.

Thanks for writing The Druid Path, that's the only druid book I read to the end. For the others, there's still a bookmark after the first few chapters!

[ecosophia]

I'm glad you found at least one of them interesting enough to read all the way through!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

You've mentioned jars of salt with bent nails used for home protection against negative influences.


Q1. Is there any danger involved in handling the jars when disposing of the salt?


1a) Can I flush the salt down the toilet?


1 b) Do the jars repel negative influences or absorb negative energy that has already accumulated over time, or both?



Q2. Apart from the SoP and LBRP, what other kinds of banishing/protection rituals have Druids used over the years? Did the old school Druid Revival practitioners have anything along those lines?


Many thanks as always.

[ecosophia]

1) None at all. The noxious energy is absorbed into the salt.

1a) Yes.

1b) They absorb, they don't repel, but they can absorb incoming forces as well as established ones.

2) I've seen very little along these lines in older Druid writings, other than some material on the LBRP.

[eyvindmartinsson]

Greetings!

1. Do you think the the exercises in Gareth Knights The Experience of the Inner World are okay to do when living with a small baby (younger than three years old)? I'm very sorry if you consider this answered in the FAQ.

2. What is your opinion on Nightside of Eden / Kenneth Grant in general?

[ecosophia]

1) Please reread the FAQ. I answered that question very specifically, and in fact rather repetitively.

2) Grant was a very odd duck, and his books are even odder. I've never been sure whether to take him as a serious occult philosopher, a really good author of Lovecraft parodies, or both at the same time. His books are worth reading, but I don't recommend them to anyone who's not already fairly experienced.

Chronically Disturbed Dreamer

[(Anonymous)]

Good day to you! I am a frequent reader but rare contributor, so first as always: Thank you for providing this venue for unusual ideas and inquiries.

My question is about dreams: not the specific content, but the mode of experiencing them. I have slowly come to suspect, over the years, that I may not experience them in quite the normal way. Of course I could be wrong, but it seems to me that most people describe their dreaming experience as immersive and natural -- that no matter how weird the dream content is, the weirdness does not register during the dreaming experience itself.

This is not the case for me. I am not a lucid dreamer; I don’t consciously realize that I am dreaming, let alone control the dream. And yet, there is almost always a strong sense of bemusement or even bafflement, no matter what is seemingly occurring – a usually vague but insistent impression that *something is wrong here*, and I need to get away from it. My dreaming self does generally go with the flow of the dream, but feels uncomfortable and out of step in doing so. This experience is long-term, persistent, and pervasive; I can count the truly personal and meaningful dreams that I recall having with fingers left over.

As a result, I have long mused over your teaching that not all of what presents itself in our dreamscapes is personal material – that it is not unusual for oddments from the wider astral realm to insinuate themselves. And I recently found myself wondering if that is not the issue for me. Could it be that I am picking up on the presence of “foreign” material? Though my dreaming mind tries to cover it with a veneer of familiar people, places, and situations, the fit is forced and the seams show; perhaps on some level my dreaming self recognizes and is disturbed by the discrepancies.

Does this seem plausible to you? And if so, does the experience indicate anything relevant about my spiritual condition or development? Is there something particular that I can do in light of it to help my mental sheath along? And of course, if this experience is actually quite common and unremarkable, that would be good to know too, lol. (For reference, I am not a magician, but I study and contemplate occult philosophy quite seriously, have a committed practice of meditative prayer, and try my best to apply the fruits of both to my daily life.)

Re: Chronically Disturbed Dreamer

[ecosophia]

Hmm! That's very interesting. Do you often have the same sense of bemusement or bafflement in any parts of your waking life?

Ether

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG! I have few questions.

1) An energy healer I am working with offhandedly said that qi/ether was electromagnetic. I was surprised because I considered it to be a completely different substance. What could you share about the nature of ether and how it connects to the mental and physical planes?

2) You'd said that ether flows along the nervous system and some neurons are able to connect to it. Is this all or does ether also have a field from which it directly works between the mental and the physical plane, say directly to organs, cells etc (related to what I am sharing below)?

Perhaps you can help me with this: in Chinese medicine they don't really talk about the nervous system or nerves at all, but say that qi moves the blood and provide energy to the muscles. All the important stuff is at the level of qi, and the physical plane is more passive /yin.

Now if we are to think of both qi and nerves as real (as they are), is qi upstream of the nervous system? ie it affects the electrochemical system that regulates the nervous system?

As an example, if someone suffers severely mental or physical trauma that causes blood circulation and muscular issues on the physical plane, how is that stored as "memory" along the planes?

My guess was that the trauma is often stored on the astral levels, along with etheric levels, and because it constantly replays in the background (subconscious) of the mind, it disrupts the flow of qi in the energy body which causes the sympathetic nervous system to activate for extended periods and cause blood flow to slow down.


3) Where do elementals fit in and what is their role?


4) Have you heard of Michael Levin at Tufts who is working on bioelectricity and morphogenesis? He seems to be doing the work to provide formalisation of energy body phenomena and particularly of the interactional dualism framework (tbh its more than 2 substances).

Some references/links for those curious:

"The whole body is a transduction system converting cognitive content into chemistry — We are psychobiological information processing systems"
https://x.com/MitoPsychoBio/status/1887445382227017783

"What Bodies Think About: Bioelectric Computation Outside the Nervous System"
"Bodies have bioelectrical patterns that store information "memories" separately from genomic, anatomical states. These bioelectrical patterns play a huge role in developmental processes, so that being able to control them is basically like a holy grail of regenerative medicine. It also offers interesting new insights for AI and cognition."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjD1aLm4Thg


"Where Minds Come From: the scaling of collective intelligence"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44W9Mw4AGT8

"“What if medicine could harness the body’s innate healing ability with precision, using technology to direct the body to repair damaged tissues and organs, or even regenerate them entirely?”
https://t.co/2StfGcwA1C

Re: Ether

[ecosophia]

1) The etheric realm has a complex relationship to electromagnetism, which hasn't been explored in adequate detail. Until we get a better understanding of the etheric, questions like this will have no good answers.

2) The etheric body penetrates and acts through every cell in the material body, including neurons. The etheric body also has its own organs, channels, and structures distinct from the material body. It's not a simple matter!

3) That's a good subject for an entire book. Fit into what? Their role in what?

4) No, I wasn't aware of him. Thanks for the heads up.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

In geomancy, is there any extra signification to a reading where figures mirror eachother on the same level of the Shield chart? For instance, if the 1st + 3rd Nieces match, and the 2nd and 4th Nieces match, and thus the Witnesses match? Or on the other hand, if the Nieces are all different but the Witnesses match?

This has come up several times in the past two weeks, which have turned out to be very challenging.

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

Not in general, no. If the witnesses are the same, then the judge is Populus, and that does have a signification; in my experience, when Populus appears as judge, what's happening is part of a collective process and the individual has very little influence over it.

[(Anonymous)]

I appreciated our host’s suggestion of the book Touches of Sweet Harmony last week. I’ve found so many wonderful books through Magic Monday over the years.

JMG and commentariat, would you suggest other books that are, to put one way, “in the mood of Magic Monday”?

I’ll start:

Strange Tales from Japan, a collection of folklore about ghosts, demons, land spirits and so on, by Nishimoto Keisuke, a Japanese folklore collector and scholar:

https://www.tuttlepublishing.com/japan/strange-tales-from-japan

The translation is very good, though unfortunately Tuttle (the publisher) chose a very horror-film cover.

The stories are really good though. Very short, with lots of details on traditional ways of dealing with various land spirits, ghosts, and so on. Lots of details on kami, on healing remedies, and so on, all embedded in short, well-written (and often very entertaining!) stories. Authentic!

And affordable—Tuttle keeps their prices reasonable.

[ecosophia]

I'll gladly toss this one out to the commentariat.

Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[kylec]

It's that time of week again. If you would like to sign up for healing hands, please reply here or PM me with your name and request. I do need at least an online alias if you are posting anonymously.

For those who are unfamiliar, healing hands is a spiritual healing modality performed at a distance. It's free and you don't need to do anything other than sign up and be willing to accept healing.

Thanks!

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[vitranc]

Hi Kylec,
Might I request some healing energy this week.
Best regards,
V

Planetary Charity and Electional Questions

[(Anonymous)]

I'm in a situation where I need to hire a new lawyer to correct mistakes my now-deceased lawyer made when setting up the legal framework for a business I run. I only learned of these mistakes after he died when I was searching for a new attorney and more than one that I interviewed said something to the effect of "how this was done isn't right". Although I'm dismayed at this, I obviously need to get it fixed. My main concerns with hiring a new lawyer are that he does fix things properly and that I don't incur any more costs than needed since I already paid the first lawyer for his (unknown to me) shoddy work. I also hope to mitigate/avoid any potential ramifications from the poor work of the first lawyer.

1) Would it be Mercury and/or Jupiter that I should appeal to for success in this endeavor?

2) What would I look for in an electional chart to choose a good time to retain this new lawyer?

Thanks,

FSH

Re: Planetary Charity and Electional Questions

[ecosophia]

1) I'd choose Jupiter for this.

2) Depends on your natal chart. If Jupiter's dignified or neutral in your natal chart, make sure that he's at least neutral in the electional chart and that the Moon is applying to him by trine, sextile, or conjunction. If he's debilitated in your natal chart, choose a different planet and try to elect a good time for that planet.

Geoff Gifford

[ecosophia]

Dear Geoff (offlist),

I can't edit comments here, so I've had to delete your entire comment. If you'd like to repost in two parts, one to put through and answer here and one labeled "do not post" for me personally, that would be helpful.

Re: Geoff Gifford

[(Anonymous)]

Hey JMG,

I'm a an early person's early person, and in trying to reconstruct my first comment I have lost some of it over the day. The section directed to you was the important point anyway.

It's funny, I had almost made a dreamwidth account as part of what I was discussing with pseudonyms, but I saw that you are going to be migrating to another platform so I decided not to bother. Ah well, maybe it will come back to me in the pre-dawn of next Monday now that Im back to practicing.

The part I do remember was kind of related to whether the Watcher is personalized to every individual? Does it come for everyone along a predictable path or does the Watcher show up differently for each? Is the Watcher mostly just about trying to prevent you from walking the Path unless you really want it?

I'm mostly wondering if for me The Watcher is manifesting as impulses to give in to my worst thought patterns and behaviors which leads to isolating myself from everyone and not doing my practice, whereas for other it might be that meatspace sensation that had a good comment chain a few months ago.

It just seems too much for coincidence that I started falling back to bad patterns right after I was getting really good results through my meditations. Kind of a "take the blue pill and you wake up where you were" offer(sorry for the movie reference).

Anyway, thank you for everything you do with your work and for hosting this space for everyone to learn.

Geoff

Cosmic Doctrine Progression of Swarms Through Planets

[kylec]

I hit a few snags in my understanding of The Cosmic Doctrine.

1. What planes are each swarm currently on? For example, I think we, the 4th swarm, are on the 7th, 6th, and 5th, and developing a mental body on the 4th. The Lords of Mind have three bodies, which planes are working on right now? How about the Lords of Form and Flame? I assume the latter is on the 1st, only.

2. I understand each planet has a keynote based on what body the Lords of Flame were forming when it originated. So they made a 7th plane planet, then moved on and made a 6th plane planet, then a 5th, etc., and those planets will fill in the other bodies around those keynotes. But let's take the planet formed with a keynote of the 5th plane. Then the Lords of Form show up with a 6th plane body and working on the 5th. There is still no 7th plane contact. Does that planet have to wait for the Lords of Mind to show up with three bodies, 7th, 6th, and 5th, before it gets its 7th plane body?

3. If so, that means the 1st plane keynote planet is still lacking a number of bodies, and until the 7th swarm completes its trip, there will be at least some planets lacking a body or two on a certain plane?

4. Or does, say, the Lord of Flames split out into 7 subgroups and each one works on a planet at the same time, with each subsequent swarm also dividing itself between the planets, so we don't really move planets, but the bodies of the planet increase?

It might be easier to answer all these at once if you have a handy chart of which swarms are on what planet/plane, and their route of travel. I do understand this is not literal and we don't mean the actual planets, but even in the metaphorical system I'm having problems seeing how the swarms move.

Re: Cosmic Doctrine Progression of Swarms Through Planets

[ecosophia]

1) No, our swarm is entirely on the 7th, and we'll remain here until all of us have evolved past the need for a 7th plane body.

2) No, they built all the bodies of each planet while they were there. It's just that one of them, the one corresponding to the bodies the Lords of Flame built for themselves, has a special imprint.

3 & 4) No and no.

Polarity and Arousal

[kylec]

Thinking about the polarity of bodies, I wondered if the fact that men are very easily sexually aroused by women, and can consummate with no foreplay other than a nod of permission, is because we are etherically negative and the basic presence and polarity is enough to get us going? Meanwhile females need to receive astral stimulation in most cases (charm, conversation, a nice date) to get to the same level of arousal that a man can achieve at a glance.

Of course there are plenty of exceptions. Just wondering if the generally slower fuse of women is an effect of needing arousal to transit the astral first, where men get the direct connection of the etheric.

Re: Polarity and Arousal

[ecosophia]

Yes, exactly. Most men are receptive and therefore responsive on the etheric, but positive and therefore less responsive on the astral; with most women, it's the other way around.

Lords of Flame

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG.

My recent meditations on the topic of the Lords of Flames feel like I am staring at a vast chasm in the sense that I'm not sure how to even start navigating these ideas.

If the Lords of Flame never had any bodies (defined in this case as an interface allowing a soul to perceive and interact with its environment), then I fail to grasp how they managed to learn or accomplish anything such as the shaping of our physical solar system. Conversely, the involvement of bodies with the Lords of Form and Mind makes meditation on these Lords more accessible to me.

I can grasp the notion of a Divine Spark shaping some physical substance to form a physical body to allow for specialized involvement with the physical plane, but is it possible for an unenbodied Spark to extensively mould and shape substance within a plane? I feel like I could meditate deeper on the Lords of Flame if I knew this, but ultimately, not knowing the answer to something that presumably occured billions of years ago is not going to hinder my work in this life, though I am curious.

Thanks as always for hosting MM.

JR

Re: Lords of Flame

[ecosophia]

A body is an enduring interface allowing a soul to perceive and interact with its environment. The Lords of Flame could temporarily "possess" substances and direct them, but the connection dissolved as soon as a Lord of Flame turned its attention to the next task. It was just as necessary for substances to get used to being vehicles for consciousness as it was for conscious sparks to evolve the ability to enter into substantial forms; the Lords of Flame accomplished both those tasks, and made it possible for the Lords of Form to create the first enduring bodies for souls thereafter.

[(Anonymous)]

On Thursday, February 20th, last week, I kept finding myself overcome at random by waves of sadness, despair, and almost grief, without any discernible reason (no such issues in my life, and no hormonal or bodily reason). At several points I nearly found myself crying.

This doesn’t generally happen to me (I am not a moody person) and I found it bizarre. I worried I was having a premonition of some tragedy.

Today I think I found the answer. I live less than 3 miles from the site of the tragic Station Night Club fire in West Warwick, RI (moved here last year from elsewhere in RI) and I read about memorial ceremonies to mark its anniversary today. I guessed immediately that the actual anniversary had been Thursday, and it was. (It happened February 20, 2003.)

I live in an older, working class neighborhood full of people who have lived here for generations. (For example, all our immediate neighbors are RI natives who have lived in our neighborhood all their lives.)

I’m certain now that I was picking up on the general grief of people in my neighborhood. 100 people died and hundreds more were injured, the vast majority of them very local to this area. The first firefighters on scene were from my neighborhood. And so on. Certainly it is the worst event in the history of our community.

This kind of thing happens to me fairly regularly. I could write several more examples. But I’m wondering—do you have any advice on managing this? At times it is debilitating.

I do have a discursive meditation and prayer rule that I follow almost daily but it seems to have heightened these experiences for me. I don’t exactly what to deaden this ability, but maybe channel it better.

Thank you.

[ecosophia]

That makes sense. If you know that something like this is coming from outside you, it's possible to "lean" against it, so to speak, and acknowledge it without letting it affect your own state too greatly.

(The 20th was also difficult for me, but for a more personal reason -- that was the first anniversary of my wife's death.)

healthy conception and pregnancy working

[(Anonymous)]

Hi.

If I were to do a working for healthy conception and pregancy, goes that fall under the realm of the moon? I was also wondering about Venus since Venus connects to nature and thriving.

Thanks.

Re: healthy conception and pregnancy working

[ecosophia]

Yes, that's primarily lunar in nature. You can also invoke Venus, since she rules conception (for obvious reasons) as well as the points you make.