ecosophia | Magic Monday

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Magic Monday

Midnight is almost here and so it's time to launch a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism, and with certain exceptions noted below, any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer. Please note: Any question or comment received after that point will not get an answer, and in fact will just be deleted. If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 341,928th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.3 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 seventy-second published book and the beginning of a new fiction series. I'd spent years being frustrated by the way that fantasy fiction ignored real magic and fixated on Harry Potter absurdities instead. Once I finished my tentacle novels, that had the inevitable result and gave rise to the first of a series of novels in which all the magic is the stuff real human beings in the real world can encounter. Ariel Moravec, the protagonist of the series, is an eighteen-year-old girl who goes to spend the summer with her grandfather, an occult initiate who spends his time investigating paranormal happenings. Before long she's caught up in one of his investigations, centering on legends of a colonial-era witch and a cascade of very real and vicious spells in the present day...

There are two more novels in the series already in print, a third in press, and a fourth currently being written. It's turning into a very entertaining series to write and, I hope, to read. If you're interested, you can get copies of The Witch of Criswell here if you live in the US and here if you live 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 further comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Hmm! Interesting. I gather Raymond Lautié is someone I need to know more about.

Hi Jeff,

I remember reading about the start of the day at sunset in Nigel Pennick's Practical Magic in the Northern Tradition.

In your process were you considering doing different devotion at night like I mention? Like "Tuesnight" devotion to TYR on a Friday night? I am meditating a bit on what it means to have a different ruler for the night.

This prompts me to ask, did you think of correspondences between the Germanic names and the Latin names, and the gods and planets they represent? I am finding interesting that only Saturn remained in the set of names in English as the non-Germanic god name.

Thanks for you thoughts,
JML

I used a bean from a sprouting mix. I tried some store bought dry beans which never sprouted for me. My guess is a lot of beans and peas from the shelves are treated or undergo some process that make them hard to sprout. Good luck !

I wish there was more readily available material on group souls! Dion Fortune talks about them in a few places, and I've triangulated between that, Oswald Spengler, and my own impressions based on a lot of reading of history and mythology. I agree with you, for whatever this is worth, that Byzantium put a very deep imprint on Russia, at least as deep as the Roman imprint here in the US; it's almost as though once the Roman Empire split in half, the two sides drifted geographically apart, and the west ended up on the far side of the Atlantic while the east ended up in the Dnieper and Volga basins.

As for the prediction, here again, the only place I've seen references to it is here and there in Theosophical literature -- never in detail. Most of what I've written on the subject is my own work, rather than references to older teachings.

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

May Liz and her baby be blessed and healthy during pregnancy, and may her husband Jay (sdi) have the grace and good humor to support his family even through times of stress and ill health.

May 1 Wanderer's partner Cathy, who has bravely fought against cancer to the stage of remission, now be relieved of the unpleasant and painful side-effects from the follow-up hormonal treatment, together with the stress that this imposes on both parties, and may she quickly be able to resume a normal life.

May Ron M’s friend Paul fully recover from the debilitating illness that has rendered him bedridden as well as recover from the spiritual malaise/attack that he believes is manifesting the illness.

May Jennifer’s newborn daughter Eleanor be blessed with optimal growth and development; may her tongue tie revision surgery on Wednesday March 12th have been smooth and successful, and be followed by a full recovery.

May Mike Greco, who had a court date on the 14th of March, enjoy a prompt, just, and equitable settlement of the case.

May Cliff's friend Jessica be blessed and soothed; may she discover the path out of her postpartum depression, and be supported in any of her efforts to progress along it; may the love between her and her child grow ever more profound, and may each day take her closer to an outlook of glad participation in the world, that she may deeply enjoy parenthood.

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 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 and their daughters Joanna and Eleanor 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.

Me too! I have had a hard time finding information about him. I know he worked with naturopath Andre Passebecq and they published health related books, but my google-fu did not churn up much else about him.

Hi HV,
I put 3 quarts of rain water out in my garden. I add gem stones to the water to make it more magical. I pick the stones by their magical abilities. I leave the water outside for 3 days and take a basin and a cloth out. I pour a quart of the water into the basin and usually add some rose geranium essential oil to the water. Rose G oil is an excellent de hexer.

I take a clean wash cloth and wash myself all over praying, Maiden protect me, mother cleanse me and crone help me to be wise. Of course, you will pick your own Gods and make up your own prayers.

Once I am washed, I take the used bath water to my hazelnut tree and give it to the tree as an offering.

I hope you find this helpful.
Maxine

Hi Noodles...

John McLaughlin would know! I love some Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the Miles Davis records he played on...

Zakir Hussein is great too.

Ambient music of course has a direct through-line to Erik Satie and his concept of Furniture Music. I suppose ambient can be seen as one of his magical creations.

...but for the World and Fusion stuff, I think there could have been a more ritualistic vein of it.

It's interesting to think of genre and such. Some in the millenial and zoomer gens have gotten interested in the whole are of New Age music...

JPM

Good morning and thank you as always.

I've noticed that Circles of Power does not seem to have a specific neophyte initiation ritual. Have you found that regular LBRP/Middle Pillar is adequate in this regard?

Also, I've been reading A World Full Of Gods and wanted to commend you on how good it is. I think you make a strong case and the book deserves a spot on the shelf of anyone who is serious about questions of theism and atheism.

Heavens, yes! That the capital of Russia (Moscow) is the third and final "Rome" has been a major part of Russia's self-identity ever since the late 1400s and the 1500s. (The first Rome was Rome itself, the second Rome was Constantinople, which fell to Muslim armies in 1453.)

Here is how one Russian writer, the monk Filofei [Philotheos], exhorted the Russian Tsar [the title comes from the Latin word "Caesar"] in the early 1500s:

"all the Christian kingdoms came to an end and came together in a single kingdom of yours. Two Romes have fallen, the third stands, and there will be no fourth. No one shall replace your Christian kingdom."

This exhortation has been quoted over and over again since the 1800s in Russian schoolbooks on the history of Russia, to the point where it has become deeply embedded in Russians' consciousness of their historical destiny.

Store-bought lentils (which are a type of bean) sprout easily, but not if you soak them for too long (the 24 hours in the CGD book worked for me).

I can't speak to money and magic (I'll leave that to JMG), but I recently finished reading David Graeber's "Debt: The First 5,000 Years" and found it very illuminating. It discusses the history and relationship of debt and money from an anthropological point of view.

Caldathras

Sorry if this question seems dense, but what sort of corrective input could Dr. Aquino be expected to have received? What would be the wrongness that he would have to face? (fwiw, I’m not too intimately familiar with the man and his views)

Hi JMG,

Are you familiar with Madeline Montalban and her Order of the Morning Star? It's not directly linked to the more well known Stella Matutina.

Years ago, I got a book by David Goddard, which seems to be based on material he learnt from Montalban; the book mainly talks about different rituals to the 7 planetary angels from what I recall, I left my copy at my parent's place IIRC so I can't check right now. I found a private scan of some of Montalban's writings after that but it's lost on another hard disk long ago. I was thinking of it recently and found that Montalban's order taught some kind of Luciferianism in its inner levels, so that makes me a bit leary of it right now.

What, if anything, do you know about her and her system of magic, and would you recommend staying away?

Thanks

I'm not too familiar with the specific beliefs of the Temple of Set, but Satanists generally tend to see the universe as ruled by a divine tyrant against which they are in justified rebellion. I imagine him blinking awake on the astral plane and finding out that there's no divine tyrant, no overbearing celestial hierarchy, and the spirits who are there to welcome him chuckle and say, "Relax. The only person who's going to beat you up here is yourself."

Thank you for this as always.

I've seen hints of Hellenistic astrological practices which worked with treating day and night differently. I haven't looked at this in any kind of depth, so I'm not sure of anything beyond the fact it looks like it once existed.

1) The LBRP and Middle Pillar are core practices, and should be done daily by anyone practicing Golden Dawn magic, but they're not initiatory in the narrow sense of the word. That work is done by learning and mastering the temple opening and closing ritual and then practicing one or more workings for spiritual development regularly. Israel Regardie used to say that anyone who did the Watchtower Ritual systematically enough would end up with the equivalent of GD initiation, and I took that as a guide to devising the study program in my book.

2) Thank you!

I don't believe I've ever encountered Montalban's work so can't offer any kind of advice regarding it.

That's not an experience I have had in my dreams of the departed. If those were my dreams however, I would spend at least little time praying for the departed (we don't need their permission anymore) or doing something along those lines. It might still be a telephone call from beyond, but one that asking for help, more than showing the comfortable new digs and activities they are getting up to. -JPM

Gotcha, thanks for explaining! :-)

I do, of course, still pray and light candles for that one.

I've followed your advice and have started learning another language. For slightly complex reasons, I chose Japanese. I am at the point where I can read some basic Japanese, and so have had fun reading the the titles of books in a couple of online Japanese bookstores. , but I found a surprising thing when I looked at the equivalent to the occult section: there are a surprisingly large number of books on Golden Dawn style magic. My Japanese knowledge is not good enough to tackle reading these yet, and at my current rate it will be a couple of years before I reach the point I can comfortably read them, so I can't say much about what is in any of them yet.

This is such an interesting cultural phenomena, and one that given I use Golden Dawn magic, one that has caught my interest. Do you (or anyone else) know anything about the Japanese Golden Dawn scene?

Well that's a relief!

I've noticed in every book Ariel has a concern of magical ethics that is brought up for consideration, and then the plot moves on leaving the question open for the reader. For instance, she wonders whether it is appropriate for her to do a spell that results in her getting something. I was wondering if Ariel is ever going to get a dialogue with a more experienced practitioner on one of those ethical questions. I expect they're left as a theme for meditation, but I'm always left wanting her to have someone to humanly connect with about the concern, take the question seriously, and I would expect leave her with more questions than answers but also a sense that the questions are very important to wrestle with.

I love that description of carney hucksters, shystering their rube marks out of their hard-earned wealth. Certainly, all their media barkers, endlessly rounding up the clueless to lure them into their perpetually breathless IPOs, fit that seedy carnival model quite well. The idea of those carney freaks, having foolishly managed to get themselves ensorceled by their own looting shell games, now fervently believing in their own tired spiel provides a glimmer of hope.

Despite all of the elaborate architecture of hype built up around their virtual nothing-burger, I imagine these would-be sorcerers will find themselves ignominiously rolled up in their tattered carnival tents, once their dreary circus is finally forced to move on. I find it delightfully rebalancing to envision our tech-bro titans' reign of digital terror imploding just as sponaneously and precipitously as our gender pitbulls' and identity-politics fetishists' terror reigns currently are.

- Christophe

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Page 4 of 9

Magic Monday

Re: Night planetary hours

Re: Night planetary hours

Re: Bri

Re: Norther Roman Empire

Ecosophia Prayer List

Re: Night planetary hours

Re: Rashes

Re: Silent Records, Geometry and the Horse,

no subject

Re: Norther Roman Empire

Re: Bri

Re: The spiritual nature of money

Re: Suicide of a lefthand path occultist

Madeline Montalban's Order of The Morning Star and associated material

Re: Suicide of a lefthand path occultist

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

Re: Night planetary hours

no subject

Re: Madeline Montalban's Order of The Morning Star and associated material

Re: Dreams about the recently dead

Re: blessing offer; Carnelian Moon questions

Re: Dreams about the recently dead

Japense Golden Dawn Scene

no subject

no subject