Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

 Midnight is just a few minutes away 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-eighty published book, and -- like some of the other things I've written -- it landed me in a certain amount of hot water. I noticed, not long after I started doing the kind of intermediate astrology that involves tracking transits of planets across natal chart positions, that most of the resulting predictions worked very well, but that those involving Pluto didn't. I then noticed that political and economic predictions involving Pluto -- not mine, in this case -- also flopped spectacularly. That launched me into a research project that convinced me that Pluto is in fact not a planet, but that it functioned like one in birth charts and mundane charts during the short period while astronomers mistook it for one. That led me to write The Twilight of Pluto, which talks about the complex way that planetary discoveries and downgradings relate to astrological prediction. 

The reason this got me into hot water is that Pluto has a huge astrological fan club. It's weird; no other planet has that kind of frankly addictive emotional hold on people. No other planet sees people make one false prediction after based on its movements, and just keep on doing it, without ever noticing that they're making fools of themselves. I didn't get into that in this book, but Pluto fans took offense anyway because I dissed their favorite planet. The book's sales have been slow, though a remarkable number of people seem to know about it. I still think it makes a valid case, I don't use Pluto in my political astrology...and, ahem, my predictions are more accurate than those who do. If you're interested, you can get copies here in the US and at your favorite book outlet 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 further comments will be put through. See you all next week!***

Comments

The Body’s Four Elements

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, Mr. Greer,

I’m interested in any alchemical or magical theories that elevate or transform the elements of the physical body.

Is there such a thing; and if so m can you please direct me to some resources??

Thank you

Re: The Body’s Four Elements

[ecosophia]

That depends very much on what you intend to do with the elements of the body. Perhaps you can be more specific about what you hope to accomplish.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG and commenters,
A good start to the week!

We know that the Cathars, as a social and religious group, were extinguished in the 13th century.
My question is: Did their ideas and way of life persist in any religious or initiatic order?

[ecosophia]

There are several French occult traditions that claim descent from the Cathars, though I don't know them well enough to gauge the accuracy of the claim. The episcopal lineage of the Universal Gnostic Church, interestingly enough, includes one of those traditions, the Johannite Gnostic line:

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/239168.html

There are also several surviving works of Cathar literature, which have influenced many modern Gnostic lineages:

http://gnosis.org/library/cathtx.htm

Thoughts on A Short History of Ethics and Question on Etheric Effects Thwarted by the Red Bag Amulet

[jprussell]

Good Evening,

To anyone who marks it, a very happy Mardi Gras, to be followed by an appropriately somber and reflective Ash Wednesday.

To Share: As the first entry in a planned series on ethics, I've written up my thoughts on Alisdair MacIntyre's A Short History of Ethics: https://jpowellrussell.com/#book_a_short_history_of_ethics

To Ask: I started wearing a red bag amulet three weeks ago.

The first week, the nail turned completely brown in rusted. The second week, it was obviously corroded, but not as much. This third week, it was not quite as shiny as brand new, but not distinctly corroded. From what I've gathered on here, that started out as a rather quick rate of being "used up," which seems to imply that something bad was going on in my etheric environment that has either lessened on its own, or the amulet's been doing its job of reducing, and it hasn't been re-inforced enough to offset. What's not clear to me is whether the "something bad" is/was some kind of especially grubby etheric environment I'm spending time in, an attack (whether conscious or unconscious), or something self-generated.

Any tips on how to differentiate between these possibilities? Specifically, I'm wondering what leads to self-inflicted negative etheric patterns and how to recognize if I might be doing that to myself, as some of my assumptions/understanding of how this stuff work seem to make the other possibilities less likely. 1. I haven't noticed particularly "bad vibes" in the places I've been, which makes me think it's not environmental, 2. I haven't been spending time in close physical proximity to anyone who I know or suspect to be wishing me ill, and I figure such proximity would be necessary for an etheric, rather than astral, attack, and 3. I realized I don't really know what self-inflicted bad etheric patterns would look/feel like, so I don't know what to look for there. Of course, it's quite possible I'm missing something here, such as ignoring the possibility of an attack or something starting astral and then manifesting in the etheric, or over-weighting the necessity of physical proximity for etheric "vibes" or attacks to affect me.

If it's a relevant data point, I also made up a couple of the jars you've described and placed them on each bedside table, and when I checked after two weeks, the nails weren't corroded at all, and the salt hasn't discolored either. I take this to mean that whatever has affected the worn amulet isn't acting in that space, at least not as strongly, but more likely somewhere else or through some other medium.

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

My blessings to all who welcome them,
Jeff

Re: Thoughts on A Short History of Ethics and Question on Etheric Effects Thwarted by the Red Bag Am

[ecosophia]

If it was something self-generated the nails in the bedside jars would have been affected, since you're presumably spending many hours each night in close proximity to them. The same is true of most kinds of attacks, since the hours of darkness are the most common period for etheric attacks to manifest -- the sun tends to break up dense etheric forms, making attack difficult in daylight. Thus the rusting of the nails in the amulet is probably a function of some kind of etheric squalor in an area you visit, and the change in the effect means that you're successfully clearing it up.

Upper Planes and Flames

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I listened to a podcast you did on monsters. I added your book to my list, it sounds interesting. My question is about something you said in this interview about how etheric beings can sometimes manipulate dust. I was wondering if the etheric plane can do the same for fire, maybe through the electromagnetic field?

I am asking because one of my meditation practices is staring at a candle flame, and when I really get into it, I find the flame can move it ways that feel like a mirror. So it got me thinking, according to your understanding, and if it is indeed possible for the upper planes like the etheric to influence fire, could it be my own etheric body interacts with the flame due to my concentration and contemplation of the flame?

If true, this could prove an interesting tool for my practice of spiritual alchemy, as I could maybe get clues to what my unconscious and subconscious minds are up to.

Re: Upper Planes and Flames

[ecosophia]

Yes, very much so. Fire is the closest form of matter to the etheric, so it's more manipulable by etheric means than most other material phenomena.

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 Cliff's friend Jessica, who is suffering from severe postpartum depression, be blessed and soothed; may each day take her closer to an outlook of joyful participation in the world.

May Other Dave's father Michael Orwig, who passed away on 2/24, make his transition to his soul's next destination with comfort and grace; may his wife Allyn and the rest of his family be blessed and supported in this difficult time.

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 Cliff's friend Jessica, who is suffering from severe postpartum depression, be blessed and soothed; may each day take her closer to an outlook of joyful participation in the world.

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 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

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this as always.

Novels and the Mental Sheath

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG
Thank you for hosting another MM. I have been reading your occult philosophy workbook and have become fascinated with the idea of developing the mental sheath. To this end, can you please recommend some novels that when read attentively would develop my mental sheath? Thank you.

Re: Novels and the Mental Sheath

[ecosophia]

It's impossible to give a list without knowing something about the individual who asks for it! Any novel that makes you think will help build your mental sheath. If it's the kind of forgettable popcorn reading that you read and then barely remember a week later, it's not useful for this purpose, but if it's the kind of story that you think about afterwards, remember vividly, and even reread from time to time, then it's doing the job.

Can you name some novels and some genres that you like? With that as guidance I might be able to be a little more specific.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what OSA, ADF or AS mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia. There's also a list of the book entries so far.

Last week I received an email from Sphinx books saying my copy of "The Carnelian Moon" has shipped. Looking forward to reading Ariel's third adventure!

[ecosophia]

Huzzah! Delighted to hear this. I hope you enjoy it.

[booklover1973]

JMG, I have two questions:

1. Is there a karmic component to what one dreams at night?

2. What is the difference bween "How to Judge a Nativity" and "The Key to Your Own Nativity" by Alan Leo? I believe you have written that these are good introductions into natal astrology, is thir correct?

Thanks!

[ecosophia]

1) Dreams reflect whatever's going on in and around your aura when you sleep, so yes, karma is one of the things that can be mirrored in them.

2) The Key To Your Own Nativity is an introductory work for laypeople. How to Judge a Nativity is a textbook for people who want to become astrologers. They cover much the same territory but in different ways, given their different audiences.

SOP and illness

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG & crew,
I've been doing a morning SOP regularly for 6 months or so now and feel I'm receiving many great benefits from it (thank you JMG for leading me to it in the first place).
Last week I had an illness (probably just a heavy cold) that had me feeling weak and lethargic. I didn't feel I had the energy to get out of bed, let alone the imaginative energy (not the right term, but close enough) required for the SOP. What's the best thing to do in this situation? I like to listen to what my body is telling me, especially with regard to rest, but I also felt I'd be vulnerable without the regular ritual (especially if the illness was coming from a malevolent attack...), even though attempting it with low energy might not yield results...
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

BTW I would soooo be shoving in Walt's line but I'm in the wrong hemisphere...

Re: SOP and illness

[ecosophia]

It's really a matter of personal needs. I do my daily SoP no matter what, but that's not necessarily appropriate to everyone; I'd encourage you to experiment and see what works for you. (Thank you for the compliment, btw.)

The subconscious/The Shadow

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning JMG and MM community,

I remembered the gist of what I wanted to ask last Monday, so let me try again.

I have long dealt with a form of mental disturbances that comes and goes in episodes, in fact, trying to work on this is a big part of what led me to try JMG's ternary of daily practices(and get a lot of improvement from it, btw).

Working on this stuff has led me try and think about the nature of my problem, and I have come to realize that the reason it seems to spring on me like possession by Mr. Hyde is because much of it stems from my subconscious, particularly the Shadow components of my subconscious. These destructive mental patterns seem to be the subconscious' way of saying "I have stuff that needs dealt with to, stop ignoring me". For example, I would have sworn my entire life that I do not like being the center of attention, yet I can find no other good explanation for my behavior and choices during some of these episodes than an attempt to put myself into the center of attention, which I think is a subconscious feeling of being ignored bubbling up.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for trying to talk to my subconscious and establish a line of communication that allows these episodes to be avoided or at least mitigated to some extent. Is this a good instance for doing the freewrite journaling I've seen mentioned before? Or maybe try and do dream journaling to see whats there? I know the entire concept of the Shadow is that it is content that we refuse to look at consciously, but maybe try and see it by looking at my projections, or find it by looking where my mind tries to avoid going?

Also, in trying to track back in my journals about the issue, I've come to realize that an imbalance of Water seems to play a role, every one of these over the last year has involved days where Water was involved with my meditation, either through the meditative concept or pore breathing. I am someone who is way too prone to getting stuck in my own head, so it is most likely pulling on Water too much, but I'm still a noob with most of this so maybe I'm misreading that. What practices are there for trying to re-establish a balance in my elemental forces? My diet is already pretty heavy in hot and dry foods, which cause their own problems, maybe I need to be looking at herbs to counteract this? Or are there mental practices that could help, like doubling up Fire pore breathing?

Thank you for hosting MM, there is so much good stuff to learn here every week.

Geoff

Re: The subconscious/The Shadow

[ecosophia]

1) Dream journaling might be very useful for you. The book I recommend -- still widely available on the used market, though I think it's out of print -- is Strephon Kaplan Williams' The Jungian-Senoi Dreamwork Manual. It's packed with methods to enable you to start listening, through your dreams, to the unconscious.

2) If you're having problems with repressed contents breaking through, the last thing you want to do is repress them even further! That's what your proposed measures would do. Too much fire is your problem; you need to loosen up, relax, and let things flow a little more freely, so they don't get clogged by your too-controlling mind and burst out in sudden explosions.

Mindset of ceremonial magick

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

I had a question pertaining to what type of mindset or level of being open to have during ceremonial magic ritual (specifically Golden Dawn/Celtic Golden Dawn)? I come from a mystic/tantric background and in that previous practice, the practitioner surrendered to the energy to merge with and attempt to have some sort of union with, said energies.

Ceremonial magic seems different, and one of the things that drew me to CM was this idea of self empowerment and having my own will and own energy and own mind, contrary to this previous practice of deity yoga/guru yoga and surrendering wholly and merging with.

Is there such thing as "too open" during ritual? Where do we draw the lines? And is such a level of openness critical to causing change in one's consciousness? I'm speaking to the energies and forces one feels while doing ritual. Level of trust in whatever is swirling around?

Thanks for any wisdom you may feel inclined to share with a beginner like me. and thanks for answering our questions

Re: Mindset of ceremonial magick

[ecosophia]

In ceremonial magic you don't surrender to the energies. In some kinds of ritual, the kind that involve invoking divine energies, you allow the invoked energy to flow into you, but you are not "surrendering into" or "merging with" -- your will remains in control of the whole process, welcoming the energy into you, directing it toward your intention, and then releasing it with gratitude. Changes in consciousness happen quite adequately under those conditions!

Q

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG!

1) After a chat with a friend who came back from a buddhist retreat where many had intense non-dual experiences, I want to asked you about plato, neoplatonist (as well as say Dion Fortune)'s conceptions of the universe, compared to more non-dual cosmologies in buddhist and advaita.

Why is it that buddhist/advaita practioner seem to report direct non-dual awareness and one-ness, compared to the more hierarchical emanations of the former? I tend towards neo-platonism like you, but I am puzzled by buddhists and vedantists who speak of one-ness, or of gods as mental projections.

How much of our own expectations is "priming" what is perceptually experienced, and can we really look outside so to speak?

These types of people will speak of say look at the horizon and feeling/sensing that the horizon is you also. Even though when my kundalini first woke up, I had an experience of observing myself outside of my body, I don't know what to make of this type of stuff where everything is experienced as one, and I don't know what it means ontologically or epistemologically.

Last, where do these experiences line on the 7 planes, 7-sub levels per level schema of yours. I'm presuming the really non-dual ones are the mental plane or something even beyond that, versus say discursive meditation or any other dualistic personal identity-based meditation of spiritual experience?

Re: Q

[ecosophia]

The experience of "nondualism" happens any time you get a temporary glimpse of a plane where you don't yet have a vesture (a body or a sheath) for your soul. Since the vesture is what defines the distinction between the soul and the cosmos, when you access a level where you don't have a vesture, there's no boundary between yourself and your surroundings. If a cabbage were to glimpse the astral plane, it would have a nondual experience of that plane, since most plants have no astral vesture.

That sort of experience is apparently useful in some forms of spiritual training. Too many Westerners who have it, though, make the mistake of treating it as a glimpse of ultimate reality rather than recognizing it as simply one of many phenomena that consciousness can experience. It can also become addictive, especially if there are things about your self you don't want to deal with -- subjectively dissolving the self in the cosmos is a great way of hiding from those.

Request for Advice: Escape from Q

[winterknight]

Dear Magic Monday Readers and JMG,

I hope you have all been well. I wish I could have come here under better circumstances, but my story is roughly equal parts cautionary tale and a request for advice or help of some kind. In some ways, the cautionary tale is part horror story, as it deals with negative entities and some evil people.

In reconstructing this story from my memory (for it is years-long in its unfolding), I have tried to strike a balance between brevity and comprehensiveness. If I were to go into every detail, this post would be a novelette—maybe longer—but if I were to leave out key facts, the story would be misrepresented. I wish to do neither.

So, dear reader, I ask your forbearance at the beginning, for there is a lot of info to convey in a relatively small space.

The tale starts, as far back as I can trace it, in April of 2017. That’s when I was hit with a very powerful magical attack. I don’t know who did it, nor why they did it. The attack/curse left me almost dead, with very little energy to do anything. I couldn’t think well; it was as if my mind had been starved of energy and filled with something toxic. I felt an enormous blockage in my crown chakra but couldn’t remove it. I would sometimes sleep for 20 hours out of 24, and not by choice. No matter how much I slept, though, the sleep was never very restorative: I’d wake up about as tired as I had fallen asleep. I lingered somewhere between the living in the dead, in those ways.

For convenience’s sake, I called this curse “Disease X,” for it was largely an unknown to me at the time.

In the years since the attack, I sought help from various people—anything that might give me a clue for how to remove Disease X from myself… or anyone who could do part or all of that job for me.

I was not very successful at this attempt, due to my disabled state and to my lack of resources to bear on such an arcane, difficult problem. Certain healers and exorcists were able to help here and there, and, today, nearly eight years later, most of Disease X is gone. Not all of it… but most of it. I am grateful for the help these people gave me. A lot of demonic entities and malign magic were removed from me, thanks to the help of these kind people and because of the exorcism knowledge they shared with me.

However… not everyone I asked was kind or wholesome. I am ashamed to say it, but one of the people I asked for help, when I was at the end of my rope, was an old sorceress whom I knew to be at least somewhat evil. This was back in January of 2022. I was out of known-wholesome people to ask for help at this time, but some of the demonic entities from Disease X were still very much active. I thought that I could ask the old woman for help, and I’d be cured in only 2-3 months, tops, for she was very powerful, in terms of magical abilities.

But my asking her for help was, in hindsight, the most disastrous mistake I’ve ever made in this incarnation. I do not say that lightly. In some ways, she is worse than Disease X.

Let me explain…

The old sorceress, whom I’ll call “Q” for shorthand, is highly abusive. For whatever healing she gave me, she gave me at least twice that much in suffering, either at her hands directly or at the hands of the negative entities she uses.

The sorceress seems to have some obsession with me, and that obsession has sexual overtones. For the past two years, I’ve pleaded with her to let me go, but she will not. Being “magically linked” to her (if that’s what this is) feels like being near a black hole: She is something dark, uncaring toward me, ruinal, hard to escape from…

I seem to have inadvertently become one of her “possessions,” for lack of a better term. In no particular order, Q’s abuse toward me has taken these forms:

A) Sexual abuse in dreams / the astral.

B) Verbal abuse. I can sometimes hear her in my mind, and she forces her messages onto me against my will and with my protest. Some of the messages have been very harsh and lewd. Others, nonsensical. All of them have been distracting and troubling. For years, I have tried to reason with her via these messaging attempts, but she cannot or will not use reason. Sometimes her demonic entities will say awful things to me, including threats, projections, gaslighting, and insults.

C) Holding me in confinement (in the astral? I am unsure if this is the correct level of reality) within her “HQ” or “domain” against my will, using demonic entities as something like jail guards.

D) Psychological abuse. Despite my adamant pleas to be let go, she will not let me go, but continues to force herself on me.

E) Use of malign magic on me. Q *has* removed some of Disease X from me, but she sometimes uses malign means to do so, or she uses them on the side (i.e., not to heal, but for other purposes). Some of the magic she does on me does not at all feel good or healing, but oppressive, dark, and controlling. For example, one thing she sometimes does to me feels like filling my head with negative energy: It feels like she has placed some negative entity there (maybe herself?), and there is the definite feeling of pressure in my head when she has done it, and my mind feels clouded, cramped, and uncomfortable.

F) Extensive and sustained surveillance of me. This one is hard to describe, maybe even hard to believe, but it feels like she has somehow linked her mind with mine, or at least extensively tapped it. Like a dark cloud over me, she is aware of my thoughts and intentions. I have no privacy from my abuser and her “henchmen.”

In mid-2023, I turned toward Zen Buddhism, not really having had a religion of my own in the years of my Disease X illness/curse. I have discovered that certain Buddhist mantras are effective at repelling Q, but I haven’t found a way to free myself from her. That is, mantra-repetition can keep her at a distance and dispel some of her malign magic, but it doesn’t keep her from returning to me, and (at least so far) it hasn’t uprooted her from me.

I don’t have the realistic option of letting her have her way with me unopposed, due to the abuses she enacts when I let my guard down for too long. I have no choice but to try to become free of her, but this is a time-intensive and dangerous undertaking….

I am not at all confident that she would leave me alone if Disease X were removed from me. Because of her obsessive personality, I expect that she would continue to “possess” and abuse me for the indeterminate future, maybe even beyond this incarnation, no matter whether Disease X were on me or not.

Having a bit of Golden Dawn experience in my past, I thought to try the LBRP and LBRH, but these are not effective means of holding her back or preventing her return. (To be sure, these rituals *are* good at helping me feel better, for they clean my energy and make tranquil the energy of the surrounding space, but she is not held back by them.)

So, the cautionary tale’s basic moral, as I see it: No matter the circumstances, don’t ask evil entities for help! You might get way more than you bargained for, and not in a good way. (Seems like a no-brainer now, but I didn’t know it then.)

But also the request for help: Do you have any advice for what I can do in my present circumstances vis-a-vis Q? How ought I to proceed, in your opinion? I can do Buddhist mantra-recitation to keep her back, but this option is expensive in terms of time and effort. She abuses me daily, and it takes a long time to repel her (up to 30 minutes for each of her attempts on me, and she makes many attempts at me each day, some seemingly benign, some wicked). I haven’t figured out how to free myself from her.

My current means of extracting myself from her grip are prayers and mantras. They hold her back, and her negative entities have attacked me verbally and magically for trying to protect or extract myself from her (and from them), but I don’t know of better means than these. I am open to your ideas and suggestions.

I’ve been trapped with her for about three years, as of the writing of this post. I would rather not spend the rest of my incarnation with her. To be treated like a sexual possession and prisoner, rather than as a person, and by a demonic and very irrational human, is an awful fate.

Thank you very much in advance for any advice. 🙏🏼

Re: Request for Advice: Escape from Q

[ecosophia]

It's a useful cautionary tale, but I'm sorry to say I don't have any particular advice for you. Since stories like yours are starting to pop up here, I think it's probably time to explain why.

Stories of the kind you've posted are legendary among professional occultists, and not in a good way. Two of my teachers taught me about this sort of thing at great length. They told me the signs to watch out for; I'm not going to name those, for obvious reasons, but your story has nearly all of them. They also explained that it's an utter waste of time to offer advice or help in such cases.

What my teachers said is that when somebody comes to you with a long, involved story of spiritual and magical persecution that persists despite repeated visits to occult professionals, one or more (and quite often all three) of three things are involved. The first is mental illness on the part of the supposed victim. The second is masochism -- the victim, that is, gets some emotional payoff from the persecution, and thus is motivated to make sure it continues. The third is a version of that classic interpersonal game, the Rescue Game, in which one player, the Victim, gets attention by parading their sufferings and the other players, the Rescuers, are expected to do something about those sufferings -- subject, of course, to the rule that nothing the Rescuers do can actually help. This would end the game, and the game must go on.

You can read about the same thing at great length in books about the occult scene written in earlier eras. In the hands of dishonest occultists, it was a lucrative racket; they would do rituals and the like for such people, for pay, in the serene confidence that the mark would be back in another week or two for another round. Honest occultists would do their best to direct such people to therapists -- though it's only fair to say that a good many therapists, then as now, play their own version of the same scam.

The reason my teachers were so insistent on this is that anyone with even a basic knowledge of occultism can clear away a magical attack. There are plenty of good books on the subject, of which Dion Fortune's Psychic Self-defence is of course the most famous. Thus the long story of the person whom nobody could help is a dead giveaway, and in this case one of many. Since I don't propose to get into a second-level Rescue Game by trying to rescue you from the habit of playing the Rescue Game, I'll simply apologize for the fact that I can't help you, and send you on your way.

[(Anonymous)]

Can one be disliked by their guardian angel? I know it’s a being that exists to direct each individual on their spiritual path, so it’s always there for protection and guidance when we listen to it. It could well just be my imagination and delusions getting to me, and I’m someone who struggles with separating the wheat from the chaff in my thoughts, but I’ve had a few odd events occur that give me the sense my angel doesn’t think well of me. Stuff like the word “seething” coming to mind when considering seeking divination aid. Although my life has gone down a very downhill path of late and I fear I’m not looked upon well by Divine beings in general.

Outside of magic and planetary charity - which I already know are *not* appropriate for me - what can I do to improve relations with Divine beings?

Also, I’ve been suggested to join church on a regular basis, and part of me sees much value in finding an existing community and tradition to fit myself within. But as someone whose spiritual and life experiences do *not* fit at all within Catholic orthodox teachings and who furthermore feels like I’ve probably practiced the Christian faith in past lives and it’s old-hat and want to do something else this time (I have only one past life memory so this is more just me expressing murky feelings from my subconscious than expressing anything based on fact), another part of me feels no strong connection to going through the work, and that part sometimes wants to resist strong involvement in it. There’s no doubt deeper subconscious issues at work here. How can I work through this?

Please note that my circumstances are such that ritual magic and direct work with the Divine through that is not an option.

I welcome Ecosophians’ recommendations.

[ecosophia]

Two comments.

1) Angels are beings of unconditional love. No, your guardian angel doesn't dislike you. It may want to bend you over its radiant knee and give you a good spanking, but that's another matter!

2) That is to say, you won't use silverware but you're too proud to eat with your hands, and then you complain of hunger...

dreary comment

[walt_f]

Okay, I gotta ask about the unconventional ordinals. "This is my sixth-eighty published book." You mean sixty-eighth, but it sounds like a poetic way to write eighty-sixth. The previous ones have been "sixth-seventh," "sixth-sixth," and so on. Probably one copy-pasted typo now compounded with another.

Also, a comment I missed the window to make last week, Union Square Publishing really came through on the cover art for The Druid Path, IMO! I might have preferred it printed in regular matte ink instead of the foil, but I'm still getting a copy to face-out on my shelf (and to read, though I already own and use your main druidry books).

- Dreary Oscillating Snail (*sigh*)

Re: dreary comment

[ecosophia]

That's a kind of typo I produce tolerably often when I'm in a hurry -- I swap the lat letter of two adjacent words. (Imagine "adjacent words" being written "adjacens wordt." This time I didn't catch it, O Drearg Oscillatinl Snaiy!

Glad you like the cover. Union Square has a great art department.

Aphantasia

[(Anonymous)]

Some of us are completely unable to create mental images.

Do you have any general recommendation for practice on that case? For instance with the SoP?

Thanks

Re: Aphantasia

[ecosophia]

Imagine what it would be like if you could create mental images, and go with that.

Edwin C. Steinbrecher & Astrology

[(Anonymous)]

Out of curiosity, are you familiar with the work of Edwin C. Steinbrecher, in particular, his book, The Inner Guide Meditation?

If so, he has a section later in the book where he talks about people he calls "adepts," in relation to their natal charts. These are people who have no planets or points placed in an element or modality. He suggests that such people have an innate mastery over the things represented by that element or modality in their chart, rather than any sort of lack. For example, quoting his paragraph on Fire Adepts:

Fire Adepts (Neither the Ascendant, Sun, Moon, nor any planet in fire signs) are experts in areas having to do with Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, the first house, the fifth house, and the ninth house (e.g., spirituality, initiation, love, creativity, performing, appearance, play, joy, all new beginnings, higher education, children, way-showing for others, philosophy, foreign travel, religion, theater) in terms of helping others with concerns of these life areas. However, their expertise cannot be applied to their own lives until the Adept is brought into consciousness within themselves.

Are there similar ideas in other forms of astrology you've studied? Or rather, since I know you focus primarily on mundane astrology, is there any special significance you've seen to a lack of placements in either an element or modality?

Re: Edwin C. Steinbrecher & Astrology

[ecosophia]

I read Steinbrecher's book many years ago, as it was recommended in one of the books on ceremonial magic I studied back then. I didn't find the method congenial, so set it aside. As for his astrological ideas, hmm. The people I've known who had no placements in an element or modality didn't show any sign of that, but I'm not a natal astrologer so my exposure to such things is limited.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

1) Is there an occult term for the 'neutral observer', meaning that part of yourself which is able to watch emotions pass through without repressing them, or which is aware of being aware?

2) Do you happen to know how closely, if at all, John Gilbert's Tarot system is connected to Manly Hall's? I ask because I seem to dimly remember that you once said that John Gilbert drew on Manly Hall's work. I might not be remembering that correctly, though.

Thanks!

[ecosophia]

1) That's your self, your soul, who you really are -- or as much of your higher self as you can experience yet. Pay attention to it, especially in meditation.

2) The major influence on John's tarot was Paul Foster Case, probably via the B.O.T.A correspondence course, which I believe John studied. John also drew extensively on Manly P. Hall's work, but Hall's tarot material was hard to come by until recently.

Seiza posture

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

How does sitting seiza affect energy flows in one's body?

Re: Seiza posture

[ecosophia]

Like most Asian meditation postures, it cuts the lower centers off from the telluric current by turning the soles of the feet upwards and overlapping them -- the crossing of the big toes accomplishes that latter. Because the feet are under the hips, it strengthens the flows up the back of the torso and is very well suited for circulating the qi.

Astrology

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG!

My most likely natal chart would have Neptune in the twelfth house conjunct the ascendant. What effects would that have on me? Planets near a house boundary are supposed to affect both houses, but the twelfth house represents secrets and the unconscious and the first house represents outgoing personality.

I'm confident that Uranus is in my first house since it appears to be a dominant influence on my personality.

Patrick

Re: Astrology

[ecosophia]

Ahem. That would depend on every other detail in your natal chart, and in particular the zodiacal placement of Neptune and any aspects that it and the 12th and 1st house rulers make to any other planets in the chart.

You'd probably also need to ask a natal astrologer for help with that one.

Cultivation of Virtues in Western Occultism

[(Anonymous)]

Steinbrecher-anon here again; apologies for the second post, but another question came to mind.

Various schools of Buddhism have meditations for cultivating the Brahmaviharas, four mindsets or virtues: metta, karuna, mudita, and upekkha, i.e. friendliness/loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.

The most common version I've seen involves repeating a set of four phrases with the breath, visualizing specific persons or classes of persons. For loving-kindness, you might say, "May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at peace," starting with visualizing yourself, people you feel positive towards, people you feel neutral towards, people you feel negative towards, and ultimately all beings.

Are there practices in Western occultism that could be used to such ends? I'd think the cardinal virtues: temperance, courage, justice, and prudence, would maybe make more sense in a Western occultist setting. If not, would it be misguided to try adapting that basic Buddhist practice to other virtues? What would one need to look out for, from an occult perspective?

Re: Cultivation of Virtues in Western Occultism

[ecosophia]

The classic way to practice the virtues in Western society -- well, until we forgot all about the virtues during the First World War -- is to choose one virtue at a time, work on it for a set period in daily life, and then go on to the next. Here's Ben Franklin's account of his version of this very common practice:

"My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues, I judg’d it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time; and, when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on, till I should have gone thro’ the thirteen; and, as the previous acquisition of some might facilitate the acquisition of certain others, I arrang’d them with that view."

Here was his list:

"1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dulness; drink not to elevation.

2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."

It's an effective and worthwhile practice, and you could do much worse than imitate Ben.

[slithytoves123]

The reason this got me into hot water is that Pluto has a huge astrological fan club. It's weird; no other planet has that kind of frankly addictive emotional hold on people. No other planet sees people make one false prediction after based on its movements, and just keep on doing it, without ever noticing that they're making fools of themselves. I didn't get into that in this book, but Pluto fans took offense anyway because I dissed their favorite planet.

A couple of thoughts on this:

1a) Isn't Pluto the planet of addictions? Since it's the planet of division, and an addiction is a division of the will against itself (one part of the will wanting the thing, the other wanting to give it up), it seems like it would rule that phenomenon. If so, that might explain the attachment.

1b) Also, this suggests that addictions might be less of a societal problem in about a decade or so, or at least they'll be widely recast back into the old model of a bad habit. (Ex: How many people truly can't control their craving for alcohol/cigarettes/porn/sex/video games vs. how many don't actually want to give it up at all but want to save face by convincing others — and themselves — that they do but can't?)

2) While I now acknowledge that Pluto had to go, and am even grateful for its demotion, I still think the way it was demoted was shameful for the International Astronomical Union.

The new definition of a planet is very hand-wavey: they don't define what it means for a body to orbit the Sun (the obvious definition is when the gravitational barycenter between the Sun and the body is inside of the Sun, but that's not the case for Jupiter), nor for what it means for a body to have cleared its orbit. Plus, the decision to make the adjective "dwarf" on "dwarf planet" an alienating adjective such that dwarf planets are not planets is quite odd.

But perhaps I am splitting hairs, which strikes me as a very Plutonian thing to do.

[ecosophia]

1) Yes and yes.

2) Well, there's only so much you can expect from scientists these days!

Blocked energy centers

[(Anonymous)]

I've heard continuous problems with tension in certain parts of the body may have an occult dimension where someone has blocked up this or that energy center with emotional baggage. If this is accurate, could you point me to a good introductory text about what problems are typically tied up where? I'm assuming what should be done with the information is targeted journaling and relaxation exercises, but if such a text has additional advice on clearing this or that blockage, that would be a bonus.

Re: Blocked energy centers

[ecosophia]

It's been a long time since I've read anything along these lines. Anybody else have a suggestion?

Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[kylec]

I'm offering healing hands in the Modern Order of Essenes tradition to anyone who would like a little boost. Please reply here or PM me with your name and request. Note that you can sign up as many times as you like. You only need to put in a new request each week to keep your name on the list.

Thanks for helping me practice this healing modality.

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[vitranc]

Hi Keylec,
I would welcome some healing energy this week.
Best regards,
V

Ceres and Romanticism

[(Anonymous)]

The Twilight of Pluto was a very good book. If I recall correctly Ceres was the astero-planetoid that heralded its brilliant flash, influence, and fade.

Now with the techlash gathering steam as reported here: https://wisdomofcrowds.live/p/good-romance
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/we-really-are-entering-a-new-age
...with each of those offering additional links...

...what planetary influence do you think a new Romanticism would fall under? Neptune?

Thanks,

JPM

Re: Ceres and Romanticism

[ecosophia]

Well, to some extent Ceres has regained some ground; she's advanced from asteroid to dwarf planet status, and I've found her effective in some astrological applications. It amuses me to think of her like this:

But Neptune is the planet that rules what Romanticism has turned into -- less earthy, much more fantastic and dreamlike.