ecosophia: (Default)
John Michael Greer ([personal profile] ecosophia) wrote2025-05-18 09:44 pm

Magic Monday

Jerry Shimizu carries a gun. Midnight is upon us 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-eighth published book and nineteenth novel, a stand-alone (so far) tale set in 2095 or so. You could call it cli-fi (the current cute label for climate change fiction) if you like, or deindustrial SF; I'd call it a deindustrial noir Shinto science fiction spy thriller with Gnostic overtones. Jerry Shimizu, the two-fisted, gun-toting, half-Japanese tough guy who narrates the story, and the world in which he lives are interesting enough, at least to me, that he may get a sequel...but we'll see.  If you're interested, you can get copies here in the US and here elsewhere. 

Buy Me A Coffee

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

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

With that said, have at it! 

***This Magic Monday is now closed and no more comments will be put through. See you next week!***
liamq: (Default)

[personal profile] liamq 2025-05-19 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
JMG,

Many thanks for another Magic Monday!

I’ve been wanting to offer incense to the gods of the Druid Revival, either on an individual basis and / or to several of them at once. I have a couple kinda dumb questions about that.

(1) I know that you happen to have experience with Shoyeido incense, which is one of the brands I purchase. Would all of their incense mixtures work more or less equally well as an offering to the Druid gods? Is there one mixture you would recommend over the others?

(2) Is plain old frankincense something that would be appropriate for those particular gods?

joypzyj: (Default)

Somatic Experiencing Dark Void Image

[personal profile] joypzyj 2025-05-19 12:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi JMG.

Awhile back I had a neighbor who was trained in somatic experiencing. He told me he thought it would help with some physical pain and stress I was having at the time. I agreed to try it. He had me set down, relax, and then he said a few words and all of a sudden I saw an image of a black void shaped in the form of a child, that I believe was me. I was overcome with sadness and pain, it was more than I was ready to deal with. It took me a good month to recover. I was wondering if that sounds like I encountered my shadow before I was ready for it? It sort of reminded me of the way Steiner talks about the guardian at the threshold.
I have not done any more somatic experiencing, and I have found practicing the techniques in your Golden Section book and Norman Vincent Peel's The Power of Positive Thinking book,have been far more helpful and effective at getting me to strengthen my will and move my life in the direction I want to go. (Thank you for that BTW)

Investments and geomancy

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
Hi JMG,

1. Could you please clarify what forms of investment you mean when you assign speculative investments to the fifth house and all others to the second? For example, picking stocks seems like fifth house, but bonds seem like second house.

2. How do you approach readings where you've asked whether something you'd like to do would be good for you and the chart perfects but with significators that are generally negative or with negative results indicated (e.g. 4th house having a negative figure), or vice versa? Or for that matter, a great judge and witnesses and a negative but perfecting house chart, or vice versa?

Thanks for magic Mondays.

[personal profile] katylina 2025-05-19 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
Aside from Max Heindel(and Steiner i think?), which occultists wrote about upcoming russian civilization?

Reincarnation

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
Hello JMG! You wrote that "Reincarnation has been a standard part of occult teaching for a very long time, and a large part of the reason is that many people remember glimpses of previous lives, especially once they practice meditation for a while."

I recently had a dream in which a voice said "You died in ____" (place name), or maybe it said "I died in _____. I googled it when I woke up, and there really is such a place. (It's in another country, where there was a genocide a century ago.) I wish I could ask it more details.

Anyway, this makes me wonder things. Like, what precisely is my connection to the person who died? It is easy to say that I am him / her reincarnated, but on the other hand, the situation could just as easily be described by saying that I am only receiving messages from the dead. Either way, there is a sort of spiritual connection--it doesn't necessarily have to be a soul that hops from body to body. Or maybe my whole idea is a kind of psychological symbol, like in Jung or Corbin, and not to be taken literally. Maybe I "resonate" with this time period, without literally having been there. That might better explain all those people who had past lives as biblical characters, or other famous people. I know that you recall some aspects of your past lives. How did you make sense of the experience? Or did you just know?

I also wonder what kind of karma is going on. The whole idea of karma assumes a certain set of ethical values, that in turn assume human biology (life and death and so on). Maybe genocide is wrong even if death is not the end, because of these values. But if we are all bound within a single karmic system, and are subject to the same rules / values, this is kind of like the traditional God who judges people. And if "you create your own reality," then that would apply to karma too, no? I know you're a polytheist--what's your take on this?

It occurs to me that my ideas are molded by certain 19th-20th century occult traditions about reincarnation. If I had gravitated towards other ones--Shinto ones, perhaps--I would have very different preconceptions. Can we ever really transcend our milieu? (Except by dying, I mean!)

Thank you very much for whatever insight you can offer.

Re: Reincarnation

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you very much!

Re: Reincarnation

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
There's also the question of what the "I" would be which had the connection to the person who died, or more generally of which different kinds of "I" would turn out to have which connections to which persons who had died. Now, we don't really have the introspective skills or the information needed to do any particularly good job of breaking open these questions. However, ultimately, such questions would have to find their ground in the same continuum of principles that questions about what the nature and relevance would be of connections between the steps of a present life and details of a past one would also have to find their ground in.

One way to start there would be to ask, "what policy would I have ideally advised myself to follow, with respect to acting on information about past lives -- or even ordinary memories -- that might unreflectively have seemed to be 'mine', if I'd been 'one' or 'both' of a twin partly conjoined at the brain, or if I were to 'be' 'a' severe epilepsy patient who'd just had a surgery to sever 'my' corpus callosum, or indeed if I were one of two conjoined twins that had been joined at the brain but then surgically separated, or if I were to have transcranial magnetic stimulation suspending the operations of one or another of my mental faculties?"

And then, if you got anywhere with those questions, you might think through, say, the reports about the effects of heart transplants.

I expect that some of the important underlying entities in abstractions like 'I' or 'my past' are smaller context-dependent bits of behavioral tendencies and acquired knowledge and skills, plus little bits of learned information about the typical consequences of loosing or restraining such tendencies. And if I was designing a system of karma, one of my big concerns would be to come up with a way to even-handedly promote or inhibit the propagation or alteration of such little bits of tendency, according to their demonstrated (even if only presumably-inevitably contextual) fitness for whatever larger purpose I might have had in view. Reading between the lines of this universe and its apparent karma system, the corresponding hypothetical larger purpose seems to partly cash out in terms of its implications as something like, "don't waste too much attention trying to work out out how to build systems out of propensities that would be ultimately self-defeating and make the system non-functional if the system were larger", except a lot more Taoist than that formulation might make it sound like.

Maybe that's not speaking to your direct questions, but your questions are partly made out of some underlying questions that are interconnected. I hope I have managed to sketch how those questions are interconnected.

Re: Reincarnation

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
And thank you too! Yeah, the whole bouncing "I" thing makes me think of Buddhist objections thereunto. I used to wonder how there could be ethics with no (absolute) selves, or anything else, but one lama I admire explains that love and compassion arise from dissolving the barrier between "self" and "other." So it works out the opposite to the way I had been thinking!
tunesmyth: (Default)

Ecosophia Prayer List

[personal profile] tunesmyth 2025-05-19 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
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.

* * *

May 1Wanderer'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; may she quickly be able to resume a normal life, and the cancer not return.

May Kallianeira's partner Patrick, who passed away on May 7th, be blessed and aided in his soul's onward journey. And may Kallianeira be soothed and strengthened to successfully cope in the face of this sudden loss.

May Pygmycory find relief from her tendonitis and emotional exhaustion, and receive wise guidance in choosing which matters to address and which to let go. (If you choose to pray for her, she requests that this prayer go only to God as understood from the Christian perspective).

May slclaire's honorary daughter Beth, who is in the hospital undergoing dialysis due to impaired kidney function, be blessed and experience a full recovery to her kidneys.

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

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

May Ron M’s friend Paul, who passed away on April 13, make his transition through the afterlife process with grace and peace.

May Corey Benton, whose throat tumor has grown around an artery and won't be treated surgically, and who is now able to be at home from the hospital, 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 David Spangler (the esoteric teacher), who has been responding well to chemotherapy for his bladder cancer, be blessed, healed, and filled with positive energy such that he makes a full recovery.

May Giulia (Julia) in the Eastern suburbs of Cleveland Ohio be quickly healed of recurring seizures and paralysis of her left side and other neurological problems associated with a cyst on the right side of her brain and with surgery and drugs to treat it, if providence would have it, and if not, may her soul move on from this world and find peace with a minimum of further suffering for her and her family and friends.

May JRuss's friend David Carruthers quickly find a job of any kind at all that allows him to avoid homelessness, first and foremost; preferably a full time job that makes at least 16 dollars an hour.

May Princess Cutekitten, who is sick of being sick, be healed of her ailments.

May Pierre in Minnesota be filled with the health, vitality, and fertility he needs to father a healthy baby with his wife.

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 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 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 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.

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[personal profile] borealbear 2025-05-19 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
If someone has consented to be put on the Ecosophia prayer list, can that also be taken as consent to have the R+C ritual or its polytheist equivalents performed on his or her behalf? Or is that a more serious working that requires its own consent separate from general prayer? Apologies if this is answered in the FAQ or elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything.

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[personal profile] borealbear 2025-05-19 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Understood, thank you.
emily07: A nice cup of tea (Default)

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

[personal profile] emily07 2025-05-19 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[profile] pygmycory: could you drop me a PM? I´d like to know if the Mother of God Mary would also be a "pray-to" option for you because currently "God as seen by christians" is not (yet?) an option form me. Also: I have a recorder booklet with notes where they also discuss the holding of the recorder, probably that is already past your experience level, but if not I could send a picture.
nightsgate: (Default)

[personal profile] nightsgate 2025-05-19 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
To share this week, I wanted to mention a recent experience with geomancy, which I use as the divination part of my daily practice.

A few weeks ago I cast a chart for a question which I won't repeat, but concerns a part of life I'm feeling stuck in.

The result was illuminating and in a way unsurprising: Carcer as both Witnesses and Populus as Judge.

After chewing on this question and result through journaling and meditation in the weeks since, today I had a breakthrough that added a whole new dimension to my original interpretation.

Without getting into too much detail, this process has shown me that not only am I stuck in my own "inner prison", which alone isn't much of a surprise, but there's a powerful part of me that *wants* to be stuck.

That part identifies with the prison, and fears what might be outside. There's a deep need within me to stay stuck in that neediness, and this works against any attempt at changing. Leaving the prison means a trip to the executioner for that part of my identity, so it fights like a cornered animal.

I thought this was worth sharing as a minor "TSW" success story. Besides the personal breakthrough, it's a little eerie (and exciting) how dialed in the geomantic chart was...

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 02:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Not JMG, but you may wish to look into Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a modality to deal with that part of you. It's a school of therapy that can be self-performed that is centered around dealing with our various parts and seems tailor-made for this sort of thing.

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
Hi JMG,

I hope you can get some rest and tackle that tiredness. I have a practical herbalism matter - I've ground and am macerating my herbs for the CGD Bardic grade exam. I diluted the alcohol with a little water to make it go further, but didn't use distilled water (despite a nagging voice telling me that would be a good idea). Should I throw everything out and start again? (sigh)

My thanks for your valuable time and this incredible space.

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you (phew)!

Salem

(Anonymous) 2025-05-20 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
Not the OP - But wondering - Salem MA? One of my favorite places… between the history, the general occult vibe there…. And the good restaurants…

Do you feel the energies are different there then other towns? Maybe, the real life Adocentyn (or as close as we’ll get in New England…)

thinking_turtle: (Default)

[personal profile] thinking_turtle 2025-05-19 08:14 am (UTC)(link)

To share, for those who wonder what DH, DOGD or HOGD mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecosophia. There's also a list of book capsules so far.

CoP cont.

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
Good morning JMG.

I'm the one who asked a few questions last week about CoP, and if you would indulge me further, I have a few more today.

1) GRH for planets vs Spheres? A GIRH for Venus or for Netzach would presumably use the same hexagram tracing, hexagram color, and vibrated Divine Names. Aside from being fueled by different intentions from the operator, what difference would there be between the two rituals?

2. This one concerns the QC ritual as a framing around other rituals.
a) As I understand, every pentagram ritual begins and ends with its own QC, so LBRP-GIRP would look like QC-LBRP-QC-QC-GIRP-QC. Is this correct?
b) CoP states that during a LBRP-LBRH combo, the QC prior to the LBRH is replaced with the IAO signs. Is there a similar change when the LBRH is followed by the LBRP (as during a closing ceremony)? For example, QC-LBRH-IAO signs-QC-LBRP-QC.

3. The MP ritual and GIRP/H largely seem to take care of the invocatory side of ritual magic, leaving me to wonder what purpose is served by the LIRP/H rituals. Most books seem to only have students practice these two rituals to familiarize them with variants of the pentagram/hexagram formula and to learn the 'feel' of their energies (a valuable learning experience to be sure), only for the rituals to later be shelved as the MP and Greater rituals are introduced. My question; do intermediate and advanced ceremonial magicians ever have a reason to use the LIRP/H?

4. One of the preliminary chapters of CoP states that the symbolic planets are typically used in ritual to affect the astral level and that the symbolic elements are typically used to affect reality below the astral. Am I correct, then, in assuming that the difference between the LBRH and the LBRP is that the first is an astral banisher and the second is an etheric banisher (as opposed to the macrocosmic/microcosmic banishing distinction that I've heard some claim)?

As always, thank you for your time and for hosting Magic Monday.

JR

Re: CoP cont.

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you.
emmanuelg: sock puppet (Default)

Moon the Transformer - Ballard, Mythology of Puget Sound

[personal profile] emmanuelg 2025-05-19 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
Hi all,
The story of Moon the Transformer is now on the Internet Archive, for those who want to read it. Here's a link:

https://archive.org/details/puget-sound-mythology-ballard-19290003/page/68/mode/2up

I've been reading Aboriginal stories of the Transformer to get an idea of the character of the Transformer Archetype, currently at work in the US political system.
In this one, Transformer/Moon goes through the land asking, "What are you doing?" He takes away the weapons of large and dangerous creatures who oppose him, and transforms them into things that will be helpful to humans, when the humans come.
Thus, I'm hoping that the Transformer is using the unwitting and highly suggestible Don T to bring about changes that will someday result in an environment where humans can live.
Is this possibly what the Transformer is about?

Sphere of Protection in German

[personal profile] bendithfawr 2025-05-19 09:11 am (UTC)(link)

Hi JMG and everyone,

since it's been a while, I'd like to post my version of the SOP in German again: https://bendithfawr.dreamwidth.org/

Maybe it helps putting tracks in space if us German-speaking folk are using similar words. I'm currently translating the seasonal rituals from the Druidry Handbook and will put them up as soon as I finish typing them out.

I'll be at Glastonbury in June, would love to meet some German-speaking ecosophians and learn how you are all dealing with the mess that is currently happening here.

emily07: A nice cup of tea (Default)

Re: Sphere of Protection in German

[personal profile] emily07 2025-05-19 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
...I´m doing the SOP in English (in Germany) - am I setting up differnt tracks, or are they aligned?

Astral weather update

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 10:42 am (UTC)(link)
Dear JMG, and other readers

I was wondering how you, and others are finding the astral/etheric weather at the moment. For me, I'm still oddly removed from it, perhaps on account of the SoP, but I am certainly finding that anything resembling logical thought in my workplace is met with howls of resistance, a lot of baboonery, and outright ostracism. It's as if there is something blocking the connection between basic physical behaviours and the higher aspects of thought. It would be funny if the deadlines and the requirement for serious work stopped as well. Again, it seems to be affecting PMC types more than most.

Re: Astral weather update

[personal profile] rhydlyd 2025-05-19 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
May I suggest that the political situation seems to have an extra dimension this time around as one side has thoughts-and-prayers down pat while the other still actively mocks that method… despite suffering what sure look like the usual effects of anti-metaphysical-ity, including devolving into pre-hominids? As far as baboonery goes, I’ve noticed an upturn in downwardly mobile karens bedeviling the staff at the big-box DIY where I work. Their new schtick revolves around getting minor goods or services as perks to which they are richly entitled – especially if they are not. Double points for demanding the impossible. Invoking droit du seigneur for precision cuts and production runs for free on a creaking panel saw are particularly irksome since they usually escalate to an exasperated manager giving stuff away. So – the lowest rung of the PMC is probably not doing well if they need to visit a DIY to punch down on “somebody, anybody already.” Sadly, hanging an out-of-order sign on the saw has already been rejected. Might you or the commentariat suggest non-mechanical methods that could be applied, ahem, quietly?
Many thanks!

Re: Astral weather update

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah.
Perspective.
I hadn't thought of planetary charity.
Thank you.
R
charlieobert: (Default)

timed chart for Pope Leo XIV

[personal profile] charlieobert 2025-05-19 11:34 am (UTC)(link)
I am following up on a question last week about time of the chart for the start of the new Pope Leo XIV's office.

It is traditional to time that from the Habemus Papam moment, when white smoke comes out of the Vatican. We have that timed to the minute, acc. to NY Times - May 8, 6:07 pm Daylight Time, CEDT. The Ascendant is 12 Libra 24 with Solar Fire.

It is usual to compare that to the Pope's natal chart, but with Prevost we have a birthdate with no time - Sep 14 1955, Chicago IL. Online I've seen a chart for the time the Sun is on the MC - 12:46:20 pm Central Daylight Time, Asc. 3 Sag 50. (That puts the Asc ruler Jupiter in... Leo.) How much weight you give to that is your call.

Re: timed chart for Pope Leo XIV

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, cool. I posted another chart below, because I also saw the papacy is supposed to start during the inaugural mass... but I'm not a catholic. Just someone who went to catholic school and has some catholic relatives.

Mauve Oscillating Lobster Flaneur

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 12:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Apologies if this question has already been asked, but I was reading about Japanese tea ceremonies, and started wondering if maybe they are a form of magical ritual. Are they? And if so, what do they do, magically?

michele7: (Default)

tea ceremony magic

[personal profile] michele7 2025-05-20 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
As a former tea ceremony student, I'd like to add my two cents. The "magic" of tea ceremony is called ichi go ichi e in Japanese. That translates to one time one meeting or once in a lifetime. To me it means to treasure the experience, to enjoy the silence and to realize that the tea ceremony happening right now will only happen this time. Even though each class I attended had the same structure, each class was completely different. There were different flowers in the alcove, different sweets to have with the bitter tea and different moods of the attendees. So, gratitude is tied into ichi go ichi e. We are grateful for the tea, grateful for the learning, grateful for our feelings and grateful for the time together. I'm probably making a mess of the ichi go ichi e concept, but that's the magic. Be in the moment. You can meet a friend for coffee every Tuesday, but every coffee date is special.

[personal profile] jdecandia 2025-05-19 12:42 pm (UTC)(link)
JMG,

This is a rather sensitive topic so I am unsure if you will even be willing to post this. Yet, I still find it a productive question to ask.

In light of recent events in my extended family I wanted to ask you what the occult tradition you come from says about suicide? I have a catholic upbringing and yet I find it really hard to agree with the maxim that it is a sin. Granted, there are more nuanced takes on this in the modern form of Catholicism; the idea that suicide is not love of thy neighbor as the suicidially depressed individual forgets their larger context/import in their community. However, there still remains the idea od eternal damnation.

In the cinematic potrayal of Dracula: Vlad the Impaler showed his first wife killing herself. Vlad’s realization that the woman cannot be buried in consecrated ground and that eternal damnation is her punishment drives him into darkness and evil.

This is something I simply cannot wholeheartedly sign off on. Suicide seems to me to take place in the larger context of reincarnation: of larger lifecycles (as in cycles not only within your current incarnation but also tracing the outlines of cycles across lives). Reincarnation, in fact, seems to be the only way to put a sense of justice/meaning that does not pander to empty platitudes. Many friends and families coming from a Christian background have tried to help me by saying it was this person's "destiny" to do so, but I can't help but feel that is very fatalistic.

To circle back to my question:

1. How does your magical training contextualize suicide?
2. Is there anything your magical tradition says can be practiced to help the soul of the individual who suffered?
3. Does your magical tradition speak to how suicide can affect the individual's growth in later incarnations?

I understand the heavy nature of the subject and thank you for your time.

[personal profile] jdecandia 2025-05-19 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you kindly. I suppose I should have searched on this site for a similar question. I do appreciate you taking the time again to thoughtfully respond again

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi JMG,


I came across an interesting video below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd9bXWs1xec


The man in the video says that pagan Gods won't intervene in your life and help you directly. He says several things in the video, but his basic position is that the Gods won't make any big, concrete difference in your life. He states that the pagan myths are basically stories to help you cope with life.



I've seen a lot of people on here recounting stories about Gods/Goddesses making significant changes in their lives. Some people seem to have had extraordinary encounters with deities of different kinds.


I am interested in any comments people would be willing to make on this topic.


Many thanks to you JMG and to anyone else who responds.

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi JMG,


Thanks for that.


Q1. Could you please recommend some sources for getting started with working with pagan deities? Irish one's in particular if that helps to narrow things down.



Also, I would love to hear from other people regarding the original question.


Many thanks to you all.

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)

Hi.

OP Here again.

Any universal resources for such things?


Thanks.
jprussell: (Default)

[personal profile] jprussell 2025-05-19 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Howdy,

1) I also do not have any experience working with the Irish Gods, but I can recommend a few good sources with different focuses that should give you something to get started:

a. The Soul's Inner Statues by Kaye Boesme (available for free online here, or PoD for a hardcopy: https://kayeofswords.github.io/soulsinnerstatues/). Kaye's focus is on the Greek Gods, but she explains basic practices that can be adapted to any pantheon.

b. Devotional Polytheism by Galina Krasskova. Krasskova's focus is on the Germanic Gods, and the specific prayers/practices she recommends in this book are to Them, but she does a good job of explaining the mindset and approach of devotion in a polytheistic context.

c. A World Full of Gods by JMG. This one is less practically focused, but I found it extremely helpful to get over some intellectual hurdles I had to polytheistic belief and worship.

d. The Druid Magic Handbook by JMG. Though not the focus, this book gives a few correspondences for the Irish Gods that might be helpful for getting started with practice.

For what it's worth, here's the short version of what I'd recommend for getting started with polytheistic worship: I) Read the relevant mythology, II) establish a daily prayer practice.

For I), find a collection of the relevant myths (so, Irish) and start reading the stories. If you have a meditation practice, meditating on them can greatly deepen what you get out of them. This will help you get in the right mood and mindset for being aware of these Gods and how They manifest in the world, and there's often a lot of wisdom and insight wrapped up in the tales symbolically. If you're of a more scholarly bent, you might find works of analysis or comparative mythology interesting, but it's possible to get two wrapped up in getting things "right" or understanding them intellectually, and to miss the subtler stuff going on, so don't worry about that kind of thing unless you find it interesting and helpful.

For II), there are a lot of ways to go about this, and the books I mentioned include some of them, but I think it's helpful to start simple and see what works for you. Many folks, myself included, find it helpful to have an altar, but I don't think it's strictly necessary, and some folks get hung up on getting this "right," but again, I think starting simple is a good idea. So, if you do want an altar, find a small table or bookshelf (currently, I use a wooden TV tray from Walmart), put a white cloth on it (I use an over-sized white bandana), and put a candle on that (a votive candle in a glass holder works well). That's all you really need, but if you want to make offerings of some kind, you'll likely want a cup for drink offerings and/or an incense burner for incense.

To pray at the altar, do some kind of simple ritual to open the sacred space (say, say a short prayer while lighting the candle), and then sit, stand, or kneel as feels appropriate and respectful, and say any prayers you wish to. I have a mix of "standard" prayers I say everyday and ad hoc "this is what I would like help with" prayers, and those are also a mix of being directed to specific Gods and Goddesses and to the Gods and Goddesses in general.

To make a drink offering, fill the cup you'll be using with the drink (alcohol is traditional, but lots of folks use others - water, juice, coffee, et cetera), address the God(s) to Whom it is offered, explain why you're giving it, take a small sip of it, and then place the drink on the altar. For incense, do something similar as you light it.

I then like to take some time to try to "listen"/feel for any sort of answer/guidance, sometimes on specific things, sometimes more open ended, for however long feels "right," but I give myself a minimum of 9 deep, slow breaths (since 9 is a sacred number in my tradition). Then I thank the Gods and Goddesses, stand, and leave the candle/incense burning and the drink on the altar for awhile (say, 30 minutes or an hour, but sometimes shorter if I'll be leaving or going to bed), come back, ask leave to dispose of anything left from the offerings (incense ash or what's left of the drink), and then either pour it on the ground outside, or down the sink if that's not an option.

Anyhow, you might find a different approach works better for you, and as you practice, it might grow/change - adding in specific prayers, finding images of your Gods, specific offerings, different candles for different Gods/purposes, and so forth, but you don't need to jump right in with all that. Likewise for more elaborate seasonal/holiday rituals or worshiping with groups or what have you.

2) For myself, I don't know if I can point to any dramatic "practical" results that have obviously come from the Gods, but I have felt Their guidance on figuring out what to do, where to put my efforts, how to think about what happens to me, and so forth. Perhaps most importantly personally, shortly after taking up daily magical and spiritual work, I had a strong experience of the presence of a couple of Gods, which shook me out of my old materialist worldview and has given me the conviction that there's actually something to all of this spiritual stuff, which has stood me in good stead when things get hard or spiritual practices feel rote or stale or the like. I've also had my share of "coincidences" that seem just a little too perfect not to have something behind them - stumbling on a book that exactly addresses what I need to focus on, connecting with a friend right when he needs it, looking back on life experiences that resonate with the Gods and myths I find most compelling, that kind of thing.

Anyhow, sorry for the long response, but hope some of that is helpful!

Cheers,
Jeff
not_gandalf: (Default)

[personal profile] not_gandalf 2025-05-19 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Since you asked for further comment from the commentariat, here's my two cents: I come at this from a kind of Platonist/Pythagorean point of view... emphasis on Kind of. In my cosmology there is only one God, and then a multitude of Gods, expressions of or children of the ONE (no, I know that's ambiguous. Schwaller de Lubicz says the one insurmountable mystery is the passage from the one to two, or oneness to plurality. Anyway...). So any prayer to a God or Goddess is being directed to the Divine in one of its aspects which, in an indescribable way, is inseparably united with the One. And, and this is a key understanding to me, EVERY PRAYER GETS ANSWERED. Every single one. However that doesn't mean that we can know at all how it has been answered. Even seeming silence from the Divine just means that we missed the answer. But the Divine always responds to our calls in a way that brings about the highest good for everyone concerned. That highest good for everyone part is what makes it all a bit mysterious sometimes.
open_space: (Default)

[personal profile] open_space 2025-05-19 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)

To me that very clearly shows he hasn't tried to refer and relate to them as real beings, once one does that and understands that the gods communicate through the world it becomes more clear and strong. 3/3 of the people I taught how to do it this year got a response or experience within a few days and just last week Jupiter helped me fix a water leak on the roof of my aunt's apartment, It was basically instantaneous, the next day of the ritual and prayer it was gone and it's been going on for years.

Ave Jupiter, god of expansion and compassionate justice!

causticus: trees (Default)

[personal profile] causticus 2025-05-19 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I've seen this youtuber's vids before on a few occasions. He seems somewhat typical of modern pagans who come from a secular rationalist background.

From what I gather, the vast majority of modern pagans don't really believe in the gods, as far as being persons like you or I. Instead they're usually seen as archetypes, colorful personifications of natural phenomena, or some other abstraction that conveniently lacks agency. Honestly I've come to realize that most people don't have faith in anything otherwordly that they themselves haven't yet experienced personally. Even in established faith communities, I think most declarations of faith or belief are performative in nature, unless backed by a personal spiritual experience. Just my cynical two cents ;)

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear JMG,
I've been using the tarot for a while, but always in a more therapeutic than predictive way, and I'm having a hard time using it for prediction. Any book recommendations for predictive readings?

Also, any book recommendations for Crystal works? I have your encyclopedia of natural magic, but wanted something that goes deeper in the subject. I found the book by Hildegard von Bengen interesting, but unfortunately incomplete (there are quite a few stones that we aren't sure of what they correspond to), and mostly everything else I find is too new-age for me.

Can you or the commentariat help?
Thanks!
emily07: A nice cup of tea (Default)

Crystal work book - how good is your German?

[personal profile] emily07 2025-05-19 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi,
there is a Germany book where apparentely they got together a study group to research effects of crystals and other stones which I find well researched and complete. It gives the stones in alfabetical order with a little history, gemnological data and falsifications of them along with action on body/mind/psyche in mostly crisp two pages (except e.g. Turmalin which has too many different forms/colours which also have a bit of differnt working) - also effective as far as I used it. Unfortunately the next time I can read up on the author and title the MM-deadline will be closed for this week. If you (or anybody) is interested I could either post it next week or you could send me a PM.

The author also has at least one of the 3 special druid senses as nearing the end he describes (with picture and all) the most best healing stone of all which is the precious Trendit - of course it is the stone that embodies the current trend.
best wishes, Emily07
Edited (added data) 2025-05-19 21:14 (UTC)

(Anonymous) 2025-05-20 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
I’ve found benebell wen’s Glossary of Gemstones and Crystals helpful.

https://benebellwen.com/2016/08/03/gemstones-and-crystals-glossary/

Pope Leo XIV Inaugural Mass Chart

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 01:42 pm (UTC)(link)
As per last weeks note, the new pope assumes his papacy during the inaugural mass, which was held yesterday in Rome, at 10 AM, Rome time. Here is a chart for the event and an attempt to sus a few things. A very minor attempt. Haven't practiced political astrology at all besides reading JMGs posts!

astro-charts.com/chart/6154e2ef4

What I note is there are no placements between the 2nd house and 6th house. Everything is clustered between the 7th house through the 1st house.

If the pope can be considered as the Sun as ruler of the Catholic Church, then he is Sun in Taurus in the 11th house. The sun is conjunct Uranus, though Uranus is in the 10th house. I'm not sure if the Sun is dignified or not here, based on the aspects. But I would say with the Pope will have power to bring through reforms, especially with regard to Uranus being conjunct.

Meanwhile the Moon, representing the laity, are in the sign of Aquarius, in the seventh house, conjunct Pluto, during the years of his waning influence. Moon in the 10th house may suggest a favorable time between the average catholic and the institution. With Pluto in the seventh house, this may mean that over the next ten years, as the influence of Pluto fades, the radical policies that some parts of the church were caught up in will wane influence. I'm just spitballing there... but

Saturn is in the 9th house, which, if dignified according to JMG: "It also brings success to conservative religious movements." So some of the excesses of liberation theology may wane, while tradtional catholicism may wax.

Again, just bull shaling at a glance. I need a lot more practice.

Mauve Oscillating Lobster Flaneur

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
just for fun..

captain kirk wants president trump to make pluto great again!

Legendary actor shockingly comes out in support of Donald Trump with space plea

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14717495/Legendary-actor-shockingly-comes-support-Donald-Trump.html

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Didn't someone work out that if Pluto were a comet, it could be expected to take a billion souls? If there alien souls who sense it is about to bring them back, that intuitive sense could explain a lot...

q

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear JMG, wanted to ask more about your vision from last week.

1) Does this suggest that the creation myth and the abrahamic religions are related to this group of souls?
I read someone recently say they did a remote viewing and it suggested to them that all the abrahamic religions are not from this earth, and are externally implanted, whereas the religions natural to this earth are those that are more incongruence with nature and the seasons (that seems to imply more of the nature based pagan religions?)

I didn't really take this seriously but based on your vision it seems to match.

2) There are a lot of folk myths floating around on the internet that are pseudo-gnostic in nature, and believe the world is prison etc. Perhaps they are all being influenced by this strain?

3) If you are comfortable sharing, what implications did you see in this vision from how these souls have interfered or affected human evolution or human life? (It seems like it would be negative?)

4) Similarly, annunaki myths, giants etc, genetic engineering of humans all seem related to this idea. Your comments are welcome.

5) Judaism seems most life-affirming but Christianity seems closest to this dislike of earthy life /flesh. Is it possible that christianity was hijacked by these souls?

Re: q

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Well,,,,,
it would make for a cool plot for a future story. (just saying )

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Two and a half questions this week, and thank you as always for your time.

1) I'm thinking of getting the "Astrology of Nations" when my book budget refills. Orignially this was because it looked interesting, but then I noticed a couple weeks ago on Frugal Friday you suggested political astrology as a potential side hustle. I feel some pull to that idea. Is your book suitable as a sole text to learn from, or are there other texts on astrology one would need to consult as well?
(I'm vaguely familiar with how to cast a chart, using a computer at least, but never really learned how to interpret it for natal or electional purposes, if that helps frame your answer.)

1.b) Followup to the first question, once I get your book I was thinking of casting a series of historical charts in order to get a feel for the patterns involved-- post-dicting events that have occured, if you will. I can't think of any other way to learn the technique. Do you have any suggestions to refine that, something different to try, or is it covered in the book?

2) Completely unrelated, but how do you decide what book to write next? Communing with your muse, market research, some kind of divination, a combination or something completely different? I do shortform freelance writing and at that scale it's easy to just arbitrarily pick a topic. To write a book is more daunting, and I find myself feeling like Buridan's ass, paralyzed by choice.

vitranc: (Default)

[personal profile] vitranc 2025-05-19 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Might I piggyback of this. I have been meditating on the elements in my natal chart. There is a aspect pattern in it, that I would like to understand. It is a Yod. How does one interpret it? Any suggestions, or source recommendations would be welcome.
kylec: (Default)

[personal profile] kylec 2025-05-19 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
1. I realized that when I consecrated my sickle, it was sitting on the altar during the closing of the temple which includes banishing. This made me think maybe I messed up an need to reconsecrate it since it wasn't in a linen bag or box. But I saw the instructions specifically said to close the temple, then after that it says place the sickle in a box. So the ceremony seems to suggest that putting it in a lined item should be done after the banishing to close.

Do I need to re-consecrate?

2. I'm thinking of starting a small patio herb garden in pots to grow herbs useful in natural magic. I'd like to pick a few that are very commonly useful, and can't just be easily purchased when needed. I have no interest in love magic, but a range of things like healing, protection, blessing, personal transformation, etc. would be good to cover.

What five or seven herbs would you recommend as generally good to have?

For starters, I'm considering angelica and cinquefoil. For the latter, I can't seem to find the exact species listed in your Encyclopedia of Natural Magic, but fruticosa seems common. Does that species work the same?

[personal profile] milkyway1 2025-05-19 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Not JMG (and not pretending to be him... ;-) ), but if I may add my practical two cents: Some plants won't work well in pots, Angelica included. Angelicas can grow to a surprisingly large size, and usually have long taproots. They wouldn't be happy in a pot.

Milkyway
kylec: (Default)

[personal profile] kylec 2025-05-19 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks. Looking into it, angelica also prefers a colder climate, and as Milkyway said, has a long root so that's out. I will look for my local varieties of cinquefoil.
deansmith: (Default)

[personal profile] deansmith 2025-05-19 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey Kyle,

FWIW, since I’m working in the same system as you I thought I’d chime in.

In my work in the CGD system, anything consecrated with the energies of the ToL (as in the working tools formulas) or spiritual presences “above” the elemental doesn’t seem to be affected by banishing in my workings. Anything that I’ve consecrated elementally, be it by the formula of consecration, or conjuring an elemental spirit, does seem to get weakened a bit (but not necessarily completely) by banishing.

Also, linen not only protects, it also amplifies over time the energies already consecrated into an item (which makes it great for ritual robes as well) from my experience and experiments.

Hope that helps,
/|\ Dean
kylec: (Default)

[personal profile] kylec 2025-05-19 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you, Dean. I did put it in linen as soon as the consecration was done. That makes sense about the energies above the elemental not being affected. I will put anything done elementally in linen or silk prior to closing a temple.
kylec: (Default)

Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[personal profile] kylec 2025-05-19 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Hello! I'm offering healing hands again this week for all takers, new and frequent. This distance healing modality is compatible with every other practice as far as I'm aware, and it requires only that you reply or PM me your name and request, and that you are willing to heal. Have a great week.

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
In need of healing for my toothgums. Thank you really much!

Denis Tezza
open_space: (Default)

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[personal profile] open_space 2025-05-19 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)

I'll sign up again. (And yes, during the what, year now?, that I have been receiving healing from you I have practiced two different magical systems (and yoga) and no problems were noticed in either case.)

Thanks again!

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I am in need of healing following surgery on my left hand. My name is Michaela. Thank you deeply.
vitranc: (Default)

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[personal profile] vitranc 2025-05-19 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Hallo Kylec, I would welcome some healing hands this week.
Thank you,
V
causticus: trees (Default)

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[personal profile] causticus 2025-05-19 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I can use some healing for some neck issues I've been having that's been causing dizziness and disequilibrium issues.

Thank you!

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[personal profile] team10tim 2025-05-20 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
Hello,

My name is Tim. I would like to be added. I'm starting a multiday fast for general health tomorrow and would like healing of my body's immune system and maintenance systems.

Also, if this falls within the purview of healing hands, I help letting go of bad habits.

Thank you.
hwistle: (Default)

New Tarot

[personal profile] hwistle 2025-05-19 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi John,

I hope it's ok to share this, if not just send this email back to the Unmanifest!

Italian painter and tarotist Valentina de Luca is crowdfunding a beautifully crafted new Marseille-style deck. Every card has been meticulously hand-painted in a beautiful Italian masters style, no AI or collage here.

If folk are interested, here's the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matronuatarot/the-matronua-tarot?ref=user_menu

Manuel

(Anonymous) 2025-05-19 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
An interesting experience to report with toddler. This happened right before her third birthday. She was sitting on my lap, facing away from me, deeply absorbed in drawing at a table. Since she was so quiet and absorbed, I decided to silently pray a bit. I didn’t verbalize this in any way. Within 30 seconds of me starting to pray, she whipped around, stared at me, and said, “Mama, what are you praying about?”

She had observed me praying at our family altar many times during formal prayers, and I suppose she could have noticed a subtle change in my breathing, but I didn’t consciously change my breathing or practice meditative breathing.

Would you agree that this ability to notice silent prayer suggests my daughter likely has a more than usually developed mental body or mental sheath? She’s also indicated she can see ghosts (though this has since stopped) and she saw Christ appear in the eucharist at a Latin mass just after turning 2. (That has not been repeated.)

She’s also a normal toddler, with normal toddler meltdowns and goofiness and such. Physically she is extremely robust and “in her body” (more so than my older child, who is very petite and dreamy). But also very attuned to the unseen. She can also read her grandmother’s mind and will ask her about things my mother has only been thinking about, but hadn’t verbalized.

We’re Waldorf homeschoolers, so I’m confident we can give her a good, safe environment to grow in, but I’m wondering if you have any insights or thoughts, specifically about helping with developing the mental body in children? (Not forcing it, of course!)

Thanks!

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