Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

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 not be put through.  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 eighty-first published book, the third entry in my series of occult detective novels starring eighteen-year-old Ariel Moravec and her adept grandfather Dr. Bernard Moravec. As I think I mentioned here already, I didn't intend these to be young-adult novels -- I simply wanted a protagonist who was in a good situation to begin occult training, and had plenty of entertaining problems of her own. Nonetheless I was delighted a while back to hear from a reader whose young daughter, a fan of these novels, has begun calling them "Nancy Druid stories." 

In this third installment, Ariel and her grandfather are caught up in a mystery surrounding a strange artifact from pre-Roman Italy, a bronze plaque with wolves and an inset moon of carnelian. The Heydonian Institution wants it for their collection of ancient magical items, but somebody else is after it, too -- and circumstantial evidence suggests that the somebody in question might just run on all fours and bay at the moon on certain nights. As Ariel researches the truth behind the old myth of the werewolf she hurtles toward a dangerous confrontation on the night of the full moon...

Copies? You can get them here if you're in the US and here elsewhere. Owoo! 

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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 post is now closed, and no further comments will be put through. See you next week!***

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

What do I do in order to pray to a deity?

[ecosophia]

Talk to them. Don't grovel; simply sit or stand, whatever's comfortable for you, clear your mind, turn your attention to the deity as you imagine him or her, and talk as you would to a much older and wiser friend. When you're done, remain silent for a time, and then do whatever.

Have you by any chance read The Weird of Hali: Kingsport, the second of my tentacle novels? The way that Jenny prays to the Great Old One Tsathoggua, and her experiences with that practice, are based on my own experiences praying to pagan deities.

Dowsing and common courtesy

[vitranc]

Hi JMG,

1.) You mentioned a couple of weeks ago, in person, that archaeologist are probing ground with metal rods. So I am certain you know quite a bit about dowsing. Would you have any recommendations regarding good starter guides, or books? Does one treat it similar to a divination tool like an Ogham oracle, MOE pendulum, or rubbing fingers?

2.) Obviously earth energies have been on my mind as of late. What is the proper courtesy when approaching spirits of the land? Any recommendations of how to get on their good side; to befriend them?

Best regards,
V

Re: Dowsing and common courtesy

[ecosophia]

1) Dowsing's not one of my talents, so I don't know as much about it as all that. I do know that Christopher Bird's book The Divining Hand and Tom Graves' The Dowser's Workbook are both well recommended.

2) Find out what the local country people do to keep the spirits happy, and copy them. People who have been living on the land for generations pick up a lot of helpful lore on that subject, and it's important to listen to them because earth spirits from one area don't necessarily have the same habits as those from other places.

Thought Transference - Edmund Shaftesbury

[(Anonymous)]

I have a deceased relative who was very widely known in the family to be "psychic", and almost everybody who spent time with her have their own stories about her abilities.

I always thought that she was just naturally born that way, but I recently spoke to one of her very close friends who told me that she actually just picked up a book called Thought Transference by Edmund Shaftesbury and developed her skills/abilities by simply methodically working through all of the exercises.

My questions:

1. Are you aware of Shaftesbury's work? If so, do you have any thoughts about him/his work?
2. Before I try to hunt down his books or find them online (the copyright has long expired by now), do you have any other recommendations in lieu of this particular work?

Thank you!

Re: Thought Transference - Edmund Shaftesbury

[ecosophia]

Good heavens -- Webster Edgerly! That was the real name of the guy who wrote under the name of Edmund Shaftesbury. I have, and learned quite a bit from, several of his books on "magnetism" (aka the life force). Here are some of his works, available for free download:

https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Edmund+Shaftesbury%22

His methods are good, but his books are rather long-winded and freighted with attitudes many people find distasteful these days. Another author of the same era worth reading along these lines is William Walker Atkinson. Here's his book on learning telepathy:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41358

Full Moon

[rhydlyd]

It might be auspicious that this week’s summary is about a red Moon… Did you or the commentariat notice a decline in energy around the Strawberry Moon on 11 June? I assumed I was tired and put down The Dolmen Arch beyond the TOL for a week. Everything, as far as I can telll, is back to normal. Since then, a number of Reki practitioners have commented about low energy, charge crystals and other weirdness.
Any ideas?
Many Thanks!!!
Rhydlydd

Re: Full Moon

[ecosophia]

On the 11th I'd just gotten home from England; I was very tired, but assumed it was the consequence of the trip. I didn't notice anything unusual about it, no.

New Orphic Hymn to Nyx

[kimberlysteele]

Another Orphic hymn is hot off the presses! This time it is the Orphic hymn to Nyx, goddess of night. Here is a link to the YouTube, which includes chords for anyone who would like to cover it. Someone finally covered my Orphic hymn to Hermes on TikTok. It was a young woman who sang it acappella. I found out about it earlier today and I was on Cloud Nine all day.

Regular YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0GIqXp3RPo

Here is the YouTube link that is 120 minutes of the same song over and over:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0GIqXp3RPo

Here is the link on Bandcamp where it is available as a free, high quality download:

https://queeniemusic.bandcamp.com/track/orphic-hymn-to-nyx

Re: New Orphic Hymn to Nyx

[ecosophia]

Delighted to hear this!

big questions on heavy matters

[kallianeira]

Dear JMG and readers,

Once I was walking by a house for sale so was looking closely over the fence. Dogs on chains were being kept in the open and they had gone mad. They had no shelter, short haired breeds out in the wintertime, and they barked at everything. It was horrible to witness.

The pain, despair and outrage of my last few months have not abated. While my sorrow over the loss of my partner is likely to diminish naturally with time and ordinary healing, there are emotional effects from witnessing the awful treatment he received in the medical machine which bode fair to stay with me forever. These are very much sentiments on the lower astral and I want to exorcise them. Let their energy be transmuted into something healthy and bright. Offer it to powers who will do that with it.

I feel swamped by this energy, like a feeding trough for negative entities, in danger of being posioned myself, or going mad. How can people heal from horror? If this is (just) PTSD it is of a far direr kind than the version I had previously met. I am not alone: veterans get it, those who have experienced or witnessed medical malpractice and negligence are legion. People on this list have had such experiences of real horror and trauma. I don't want to call them out personally here, but could anyone point to what might have helped them?

Trauma counselling would not seem to be up to the task.
The Octagon Society work does not appear on spec to be designed to deal with it.
Daily banishing is ineffectual.

Other observations on the subject:
Music transforms, composers transmute suffering into beauty. Listening to much classical music does give me momentary peace.
"Wings of Desire" the film depicts a compassionate angel whose job it is to witness humans' suffering. But not heal it.
Probably other works of art are created under similar circumstances and the empathy contained in them can reach the audience. Tchaikovsky and Brahms come to mind.

What I did last time the awfulness hit me was beg my Guardian Angel to send the energy to beings who would be able to transform it. I did sense some waves of light descending to me at that point, rather than the suffering itself doing anything particular. It has felt slightly lighter since then. But I worry about it coming back.


Addendum to my query from last week re all sorts of things going wrong in my life - I have been reminded that it is not only for me, and not only now; boccaccio mentioned this in February concerning the energy coming down the planes:
https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/316974.html?thread=54075950#cmt54075950
And others on the thread confirmed.

Re: big questions on heavy matters

[ecosophia]

I don't have an answer for you. I'm still dealing with my own griefs, using the tools of meditation and magic; we'll see how that works out.

Recovering from depletion

[(Anonymous)]

Due to a sustained period of great psychological stress lasting easily thirty months, I am experiencing much weariness, physical and otherwise. The causes of stress are thankfully now much reduced, but I still feel drained, and seem to be recovering more slowly than I would like. My vim, confidence and enthusiasm are at a low ebb.

I’m already following a fairly full agenda of ceremonial magic and would prefer not to add to it. Is there any simple, fairly easy natural magic I could use to help restore my vitality?

Re: Recovering from depletion

[ecosophia]

In my experience, what's needed in such times is not magic but the simple, basic things the body needs: absurdly large amounts of sleep, good food, plenty of clean water, and regular massage if you can afford it. Those will do you more good than any amount of spells.

Ecosophia Prayer List

[tunesmyth]

At this page 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 (printable version here). 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.

* * *
This week I would like to bring special attention to the following prayer requests.

May Audrey's friend's daughter Katie, who died in a tragic accident June 2nd, orphaning her two children, be blessed and aided in her soul's onward journey; and may her family be comforted.

May NeptunesDolphins's husband, who is due to have a toe removed on July 1st for a longstanding infection, receive the best medical intervention for his future health; may the procedure go smoothly and without complication; may he heal quickly and to the greatest extent possible before and after his surgery.

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 Pierre and Julie conceive a healthy baby together. May the conception, pregnancy, birth, and recovery all be healthy and smooth for baby and for Julie.

May Viktoria have a safe and healthy pregnancy, and may the baby be born safe, healthy and blessed.

May SLClaire's honorary daughter Beth, who is undergoing dialysis for kidney disease, be blessed, and may her kidneys be restored to full functioning.

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 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 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 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 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 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.

* * *
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

[tunesmyth]

I recently made some rather drastic trims of the prayer list, removing anything older than 3 months (as per the prayer list rules) except for special cases where there was a special arrangement for length made at the time of the request. The following list shares the ones that are on their way out, one last time; to anyone who wants their prayer re-upped, I welcome it.
________________

•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. (2/27)

•May Bill Rice (Will1000) in southern California continue to be blessed and healed of his back injury, and may he quickly recover full health and movement. (2/27)

•May Jim G. in Ohio, who is struggling with atrial fibrillation, be blessed and healed to the extent that providence allows. (2/19)

•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. (2/19)

•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. (2/17)

•May Karen, who has now come home from hospital and her bout with RSV, quickly recover and be restored to full health. (2/13)

•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. (2/10)

•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. (2/10)

•May Matt, who is currently struggling with MS related fatigue, be blessed and healed such that he returns to full energy; and may he be enlightened as to the best way to manage his own situation to best bring about this healing. (1/23)

•May Brother Kornhoer's son's sleep apnea and associated kidney issues be resolved in a way that benefits all involved, as soon as possible. (1/23)

•May Brother Kornhoer's daughter, who is struggling with depression, be blessed and strengthened with mental clarity and peace, and may her therapy be effective. (1/23)


•May Sub's Wife's major surgery in early January have gone smoothly and successfully, and may she recover with ease back to full health. (1/11)

•May David/Trubrujah's 5 year old nephew Jayce, who is back home after chemotherapy for his leukemia, be healed quickly and fully, and may he, and mother Amanda, and their family find be aided with physical, mental, and emotional strength while they deal with this new life altering situation. (update1/11)

•May Mindwinds's dad Clem, who in the midst of a struggle back to normal after a head injury has been told he shows signs of congestive heart failure, be blessed, healed, and encouraged. (1/7)

•May Christian's cervical spine surgery on 1/14 have been successful, and may he heal completely and with speed; and may the bad feelings and headaches plaguing him be lifted. (1/7)

•May FJay and her newborn baby be blessed, and may her postpartum period be restful and full of love and support. May her older child feel surrounded by her love as he adapts to life as a big brother and may her marriage be strengthened during this time. (12/24/2024)

•May Jon's neighbor Eric overcome his difficulties with alcohol and may his cirrhotic liver be healed. (12/13/2024)

•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. (12/11/2024)

•May Kyle's friend Amanda, who though in her early thirties just passed away from brain cancer, make her transition through the afterlife process with grace and peace. (12/11/2024)

•May baby Gigi, continue to gain weight and strength, and continue to heal from a possible medication overdose which her mother Elena received during pregnancy, and may Elena be blessed and healed from the continuing random tremors which ensued; may Gigi's big brother Francis continue to be in excellent health and be blessed. (12/6/2024)

•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. (11/25/2024)

•May all living things who have suffered as a consequence of Hurricanes Helene and Milton be blessed, comforted, and healed. (10/15/2024)

•May Falling Tree Woman's son's girlfriend's mother Bridget in Devon UK, who is now in a rehab facility following a life-threatening fall from a horse some months ago, be blessed and healed and returned to full health. (9/30/2024)

•May K from Canada be blessed and supported in their spiritual development, and in making advancements in their life, including finding a pleasant place to live. (2/19)

•May Dominique be filled with hope to get our of her negative mental and physical rut for herself and for her family and may she be filled with love and joy and get on with life and get the willpower to change. (2/14)

•May Lp9's hometown, East Palestine, Ohio, be protected and blessed in the safety and welfare of their people, animals and all living beings in and around East Palestine; may the natural environment there improve to the benefit of all. The reasonable possibility exists that this is an environmental disaster on par with the worst America has ever seen. (Lp9 gives updates here, here, here, here, and most recently, here.) (9/2/2024)

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what ADR, IAO, or DGH mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecopsophia. There's also a list of book capsules so far.

[ecosophia]

And thank you for this.

Fortune; Levi & Yeats

[scottyc]

A comment, not a question. When comparing the works of Dion Fortune (The Cosmic Doctrine); Eliphas Levi (The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic) and W.B Yeats ( A Vision ) I can say the following:

Dion Fortune: What you see is what you get. Even when she (or the Masters from the Inner Planes) are describing the indescribable in The Cosmic Doctrine the subject matter may be dense but the prose is to the point. In two of her novels, The Sea Princess and especially Moon Magic* (both highly recommended), she cannot reveal core occult doctrine and even practices more clearly.

Eliphas Levi : Purposefully oblique and verbose. Sometimes misleading. Even so, a novice, such as myself, can figure out the general thrust of his ideas. A lifetime's worth of meditation material.

W.B. Yeats : Mix equal portions of Fortune and Levi, add some salt to taste and you get W.B. Yeats. His prose is direct and while he's trying his best to describe indescribable experiences and communications I find A Vision harder to understand than even the most guarded words of Levi.

I'm sure the issue is not his prose or the complexity of the ideas and maybe not even in the fact that my education and background in these matters is limited. I'm starting to think that there's a frequency Yeats is broadcasting on I haven't dialed into yet.


* In Moon Magic it is interesting to see concepts related to Yeats works, such as Lilith describing how she wears a mask for her persona and how the male protagonists in the two novels struggle with their circumstances or Body of Fate as Yeats describes it.

Re: Fortune; Levi & Yeats

[ecosophia]

This certainly fits my experience. It's taken me many years to make sense of A Vision.

Ritual feedback

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

One author I’ve been enjoying recently is William Gray, in particular his ideas about making contact with the inner life behind a symbol as a crucial part of ritual. I’ve found this is reasonably accessible in focused meditation, on for instance a sephirah, archangel or element. With a composite ritual like the LBRP, though, I’m less sure about the right approach, as it usually involves pausing and re-stilling my mind before I’m confident in having made contact with any particular symbol in the ritual, which can interrupt the momentum.

Do you have any advice as to the standard of inner contact we are seeking in these types of rituals? Is it more about firm inner contact with each ritual component or the gestalt as a whole? Thank you.

Re: Ritual feedback

[ecosophia]

In complex rituals I recommend meditating on the symbols outside of the ritual, and familiarizing yourself with their inner life that way. Once you've done this, it doesn't take more than an instant of recognition to reconnect with that inner life, and this can be done without interrupting the flow of the ritual.

Congratulations

[white_bear_chronicles]

I was able to see your latest interview on Unheard where you hit it out of the park. I was pleased to see quite a few very positive comments indicating your message is resonating with a wider audience which I find encouraging.
My question has to do with daily banishing and ritual (your COP and POW) in our home where we expect to receive and care for a recovering severe alcoholic relative. I ask because it's my perception that alcohol in excess acts like an etheric solvent washing away life force in the addict and my concern is that ritual magic could distort his recovery. I would consult tarot but I'm just too close to the issue to get a clear result. My prayer life is fairly robust and productive, mostly with Hermes, Christ and the Jewish god.
I will be consulting with the Ogham via K Steel when she returns from break.
I'm able to relocate my ritual space to an outbuilding if that is required.
Al Cahoot has been an angry demon in the presence of banishing in the past when I performed LBRP in his home with his permission. This is my eldest son and we are quite connected, to the point where I begin suffering his symptoms as he begins to fail even though we don't currently live close by. He's currently unconscious in hospital and can't give permission for prayer or ritual or I would ask the community here for help.
Thank you for work in this space that blesses so many.
Gawain

Re: Congratulations

[ecosophia]

In my experience, regular banishings are very helpful to the recovery of anyone who suffers from substance abuse. I don't recommend evoking spirits in the same house as someone in that condition, but if you simply do regular banishings it ought to do you and everyone else concerned a great deal of good.

Individuality/Divine Spark interaction

[(Anonymous)]

Good morning everyone, happy MM.

I have been wondering what the relationship between the Individuality and the Divine Spark is, since they both seem to interact with the Personality in the same way, in the form of guiding its evolution.

Is it just a matter of the Individuality representing the concepts of the Cosmic atom, and the Divine Spark representing the pattern of the Cosmos that the Logos is forming, so the interplay between them is basically where epigenesis can happen as the atom and the Logos reach an equilibrium that "works" for both parties?

Also, is the guardian genius the same thing as the Divine Spark, or is it a different entity altogether?

Thank you for hosting this forum JMG.

Geoff

Re: Individuality/Divine Spark interaction

[ecosophia]

This is a little complex. In Cos. Doc. language, the seed atom -- the reflection of the Cosmic atom that forms the core of the self -- gathers other atoms around it, first of the 7th plane, and then of each of the planes subsequently as it works its way down the planes. The seed atom also dances in rhythm with the Solar Logos, and the tracks in space laid down by that dance become what Fortune calls the Divine Spark. So at the human level, you've got three enduring parts of the soul, distinct from the lower vehicles that begin and end in a single life: the seed atom, which is the core of the whole thing; the Divine Spark, which is the Logoidal imprint (and is also called the guardian genius or guardian angel); and the Individuality, which consists of all the layers of atoms belonging to planes higher than we've awakened yet, and is the prenatal form of the immortal body we'll have when we're finished with material incarnation.

Intelligence and the mental sheath

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, do you think that a person's intelligence and cognitive ability roughly scales with the development of their mental sheath? I was interested to read that IQs in the mid-high range, 120-130 are associated with higher social status while the really high IQs at 140+ are inversely correlated with social status and income, often due to such people having difficulty relating to others. You've mentioned that the mental birth tends to distance a person from society as they develop toward an existence that transcends incarnation. Thanks.

Re: Intelligence and the mental sheath

[ecosophia]

There's some correlation but it's not close. There are plenty of people with very high IQs who have very little capacity for reflective thought and self-knowledge; they've simply developed a lot of skill in manipulating words and images, i.e., astral forms. There are also people of quite modest IQs who have achieved a great deal of self-knowledge and capacity for reflection, and are well on their way to the birth of the mental body.

As for the IQ thing, I resemble that remark. ;-) There are, in my experience, at least three factors involved. First, average people are acutely uncomfortable with the very intelligent and will quite often close ranks against them, shutting them out of status and income. Second, many very intelligent people are smart enough to see through the wealth-and-status game and deliberately walk away from it, realizing that the benefits are not worth the costs. Third, high-functioning autism of the type that used to be called Aspergers syndrome very often yields high intelligence and low social skills, and the presence of a lot of us Aspies in the 140+ contingent tends to skew the results!

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I've been doing the SOP for years, but in the last couple of months in particular I've been having more trouble than usual dealing with distracting thoughts, boredom, and doing the SOP by rote and without feeling. I've just stuck with doing the SOP daily anyway to just push through it, but it's been a struggle to do the SOP with a reverent, engaged spirit.

I'm trying to avoid forcing away and thereby repressing the distractions and boredom but I also don't want to let this distraction become a habit. Any advice?

Many thanks in advance!

[ecosophia]

This is very, very common -- enough so that most people who do serious magical training encounter it several times in the course of their practice. (I certainly have.) It's a sign that you're approaching a breakthrough into a higher level of functioning. Keep struggling; what's on the other side is worth the effort.

Creation of Gods

[neptunesdolphins]

The My Little Pony discussion on the main blog got me to thinking. Do pop culture icons become Gods as people like Taylor Ellison and Christopher Knowles think they do? Or is a being who uses that form to relate to humans? Or something else.

Re: Creation of Gods

[ecosophia]

No, they just create egregors, which have power so long as people pour emotional energy into them. Once that slackens, the egregors lose power, the limelight moves on, and people go, "Them? Yeah, I was into that back in the day."

That's the secret dynamic behind the rise and fall of pop-culture Wicca (as distinct from the British trad Wicca, a very different animal). "The Goddess," the notional deity of pop-culture Wicca, was never more than an egregor, charged by the enthusiasm of teenage fans and a lot of casual sex at Wiccan gatherings. As such things do, it peaked and faded out; that was when a great many pop-culture Wiccans turned, as the foolish have so often turned, to those real but malevolent spiritual entities who are always willing to give temporary power, for a price. The frightful moral collapse of pop-culture Wicca from "an it harm none" to wallowing in cursing and demonolatry followed promptly.

Red Bag Amulet

[mistyfriday]

At the start of the year, when I began the painful process that has led to filing for divorce, I made several red bag amulets. I used red cotton cloth to make a bag with a fold over style closure and sewed paracord into the seams to make it a necklace. I filled it with kosher salt and a small bright nail bent at an angle somewhere between an L and a J. I Made several larger versions of the bag and placed one my car, several around the house.

This has been the most emotional time I've been through in a long while and yet when I look in the bags the salt is still a bright white and the nail only has slight dulling where the metal is bent. The one in the car and the one I wear seem like they should at least be subject to humidity stress, but they look the same at the ones in the air conditioned house.

Do you have an idea on why these are staying so pristine?

Re: Red Bag Amulet

[ecosophia]

Because the red bag amulets absorb etheric (life force) patterns, not astral (emotional) energies. The fact that the amulets are still in good shape is a very good sign, and shows that -- painful or not -- the two of you aren't throwing nasty energies at each other.

Vagus Nerve System

[(Anonymous)]

Welcome back from your travels John, and I hope you had a nice Solstice as well as potluck weekend.

I saw this image in the book Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana:

https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/preview/YW/YW010/YW010423V_The-brain-in-right-profile-with-the-glossopharyngeal-and-vagus-nerves-and-to-the-right-a-view-of-the-base-of-the.jpg

Looking at that image gives me a rather strange sensation and idea of self!

I thought it might be of interest to those working with the GSF system. The book itself looks pretty interesting too.

Here is the publisher's blurb...

"An intense conversation, a spat with a partner, or even an obnoxious tweet―these situations aren’t life-or-death, yet we often react as if they are. That’s because our bodies treat most perceived threats the same way. Yet one approach has proven to be incredibly effective in training our nervous system to stop overreacting and start responding to the world with greater safety and ease: Polyvagal Theory.

In Anchored, expert teacher Deb Dana shares a down-to-earth presentation of Polyvagal Theory, then brings the science to life with practical, everyday ways to transform your relationship with your body. Using field-tested techniques, Dana helps you master the skills to become more aware of your nervous system moment to moment―and change the way you respond to the great and small challenges of life.

Here, you’ll explore:

• Polyvagal Theory―get to know the biology and function of your vagus nerve, the highway of the nervous system
• Befriending Your Nervous System―attune to what’s going on in your body by developing your “neuroception”
• Using Your Vagal Brake―discover key techniques to consciously regulate the intensity of your emotions
• Connection and Protection―learn to recognize and influence your internal cues for safety and danger
• Your Social Engagement System―find ways to create nourishing relationships with others and the world around you
• Practices and guidance to gently shape your nervous system for greater resilience, intuition, safety, and wonder

Through guided imagery, meditation, self-inquiry, and more, Anchored offers a practical user’s manual for moving from a place of fear and panic into a grounded space of balance and confidence. “Once we know how our nervous system works, we can work with it,” teaches Deb Dana. “We can learn to access an embodied, biological resource that is always present, available, and there to guide us toward well-being.”"

JPM

Re: Vagus Nerve System

[ecosophia]

Interesting. I'll put it on the look-at list.

Charitable Giving

[mistyfriday]

I've seen a lot of advice planetary charity involving cash donations. Can the donation of clothing and household goods be used in the same way and if so what kind of items would appeal to which planets?

Re: Charitable Giving

[ecosophia]

Hmm. It really depends. Clothing and household goods would be good offerings for Saturn, not so much for the others, though fashionable clothes could be a good Venus offering.

Moving SOP

[rexford]

Morning JMG,

I have points to share and a queation to ask about doing the sphere of protection while walking, or being in a car.
I think walking works as long as you can stop here and there depending on the phase of the ritual. Though people likely find it strange as you're going about painting shapes in the air.
However in the car it's something different I feel. The car is easily enveloped in the sphere at the end, however it does feel a little strange trying to connect the solar current to the Earth's core while going 80 km an hour.
First I'm just wondering if you have any understanding that the SOP must be done in a stationary place. I have limited time and want to get about an hour of practice in daily.
Secondly, how would you describe the way a car might benefit from being part of the sphere of protection? Can a car develope subtle bodies? I know you've mentioned before that it may be part of humanities work to form relationships with machines.

Thanks

Ian

Re: Moving SOP

[ecosophia]

1) Okay, first of all, I hope to the gods you're not doing the Sphere of Protection while driving! That's a good way to transcend the material plane a little too abruptly and messily than you may have in mind...

More generally, no, I don't recommend doing the SoP while moving. You won't have an easy time connecting to any of the energies if you're not in a stable relationship with your surroundings.

2) Cars and other machines can develop egregors, which are artificial personalities. The SoP won't help that along much, though; your basic car hobbyist, who cares about the car and does basic maintenance himself or herself, will get much better results.

Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[kylec]

If you are in need of any kind of healing this week, I'm offering healing hands--a distance healing modality from the Modern Order of Essenes. All you have to do is sign up by replying here or PM'in me your name (an alias is fine) and request, then be willing to heal. If you have questions, please do ask.

Re: Modern Order of Essenes Healing Hands

[open_space]

Hello Kyle, I would like to sign up again please.

How much of astrology is divination and how much of it is objective?

[isaac_hill]

As you know I've been studying astrology pretty intensively for a few years (that actually may be an understatement), both traditional Western, and in a lineage of Vedic astrology. I have lately been trying to understand how much of astrology is actually just divination, and how much of it is objective. Highly respected western astrologers such as Geoffrey Cornelious have the opinion that astrology really is just divination, and when speaking to some Vedic astrologers, they basically have the same idea: the ganita/astronomy/mathematics side of astrology is pure science, but the interpretation is pure divination, and thus, the astrologer's connection to their ishtadevata, and other spirit contacts, are more important than technical knowledge for really powerful interpretation. Obviously, a connection to the tools of divination, whether tarot or runes or stars is important for correct divination, but there seems to be a very objectively true aspect of astrology beyond the astronomy parts - for instance, I just did a research project looking at 14 charts of people with Tourettes, and I found that ~90% of them had an afflicted Venus, ~80% of them had an afflicted Mercury, ~90% of them had an afflicted ascendant/ascendant lord, ~80 percent of them had a connection between the badhaka (a particular planet that shows unseen obstacles, you can see spirit possession, black magic, and such things from badhaka) and the 2d and 3rd lords (about 80% for 2d, 80% for 3rd, and most had both) among other significant things... I know that's not a large sample size, but it is pretty objective. What are your thoughts on how much of astrology is actually divination?

Re: How much of astrology is divination and how much of it is objective?

[ecosophia]

My mundane interpretations are a free mix of out-of-the-book objective rules, a good basic knowledge of politics, and intuition. How much of which? I have no idea. There's certainly some divinatory aspect, since machine-generated delineations are usually pretty bad, but I have no idea how to quantify the different contributions.

Art and Design

[rhydlyd]

Since discussion here often touches art history, and I’m sensing amiss-ness: What has gone wrong with automotive design lately? Painted bumpers, no trim and flat, drab colors make sense on work trucks… but… sportscars? Since when is trendy synonymous with apathetic and lazy? Worse, I just saw the same bland grey treatment applied to an ’80 El Camino. Ick! (The first thing I thought was that your pal Dr. Noyes decided to fix up a barn find.) Lack of energy now might be explainable. Using the same vibe-lack to erase the past? Disturbing.
So – Is this just the lack of energy of a low economy, the fade-out at the end of an era, or is something bigger and worse-er at work?

Re: Art and Design

[jenniferkobernik]

I don’t like cars at all and cannot recognize the major brands by sight, and I still find the blandness of recent sportscars depressing. Also, many cars now have large labels in weird fonts that look aftermarket but aren’t. They have to be actually trying to make them ugly, right?

The Pentagram of Purification by the Spirit, or of the Elevation of the Earth a gift from the FCD

[open_space]

There has been some talk around here before, about being able to lean against noxious energies sent or around you to be used and transmuted for personal growth instead of just banishing them, by using the skills that meditation teaches, and that has been of interest to me for a few years now. Even though I do not know exactly what other people's experiences are with that, when I stumbled upon this ritual from my school as I go through the grades the idea immediately came to mind.

After some talks with Jorge Nájera, the director of studies of the school in question, La Fraternidad del Círculo Dorado, a Mexican offshoot of Dolores Aschroft's Servants of the Light, I convinced him as part of an on going project to start sharing it with other people in this corner of the occult community. The project in question is a translation of a manual by Jorge using the school's system which is very relevant to our times: The Shadow of the Tree: The Cabalistic Work with the Vices aka, the Qlippoth. It is not so much about redeeming demons but more about working with our own vices, which hide the Light according to Cabalistic doctrine, and how to let it flow and trickle down following the map of the Tree of Life.

The main ritual of this course is called The Pentagram of Purification by the Spirit and the philosophy around it is one of spiritual ecology --each energy has its rightful place in the Universe where it has a proper expression, so instead of pushing out or disintegrating unbalanced energies, it transmutes them and sends them to its proper level in ourselves to be used for our own personal development. It has two characteristics which make it of particular interest. Firstly, it manages to send the energies to their proper level by keying the tracing of the pentagrams with the inverse order of the descent of power through the Tree of Life (picture below) and secondly, it balances the martial qualities of the pentagram by adding a Venereal, that is of Venus, correspondence through the geometry of the pentagram itself and the numerical values assigned to it in classic gematria, which very much makes it feel less pointed and sharp, though not by any means less powerful. If it all, it is the strongest banishing ritual I have tried, but it doesn't leave me either pumped, nor tired but rather feeling very clean, light and peaceful. We are living pentagrams, after all. It is my wish to share this with you all, that it may bring Light, Life and Love to you and around you.



You can find the translation in full in PDF format in the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xaf_ihTIRQSkfUvjkUht49xjwn_XHS6V/view?usp=sharing

And as soon as the material in the book is available I will let everyone know as well.

Any questions or thoughts, feel free to contact me by direct message over here :-)

Re: The Pentagram of Purification by the Spirit, or of the Elevation of the Earth a gift from the FC

[ecosophia]

Hmm! Thank you very much for this.

[jenniferkobernik]

I recently came across this organization, and thought some folks here might be interested in it as an option for planetary charity to Venus:

https://thefriendsofvintageroses.org/

They work to preserve old rose varieties which are in danger of being lost, to provide public access to their historic rose collection by sharing it with various public gardens, and to educate the public about the historical, cultural, and scientific importance of the rose.

For those who would like something a little more hands-on, there's the Save the Rambler Initiative by Heirloom Roses:

https://heirloomroses.com/collections/save-the-ramblers-initiative

Those interested might consider planting and registering one or more of these old rambling rose varieties as a devotion to Venus.

As a bonus, the old roses generally grow vigorously on their own roots (rather than being grafted) and need far less maintenance or toxic inputs than some modern varieties in order to thrive.

(JMG, I have no affiliation with either of these organizations, and mention them only because I am often on the lookout for good planetary charity options, but if this skirts too close to your "no selling things" policy I apologize.)

[ecosophia]

These are well worth adding to the Venus list for planetary charities -- thank you.