ecosophia | Magic Monday

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Magic Monday

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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~~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!***

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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

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

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.

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!

Second the WoH: Kingsport method.
I modelled my prayer practice on that novel and inserted some deities that appealed to me. And TSW.

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.

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

You probably won't be surprised to hear that I have an altar with images of deities on it, where I burn a little incense, place certain offerings, and repeat ancient prayers. They're not in Aklo, however! ;-)

Let me add one more comment here: everyone is psychic. This notion that some people have psychic abilities and others don't is nonsense. Some people simply figure out how to use their innate abilities in early childhood, while others don't, and have to learn how later on. Books like Shaftesbury's and Atkinson's are good textbooks.

Thank you very much--hugely appreciated!

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

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.

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

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.

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?

Delighted to hear this!

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.

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.

Oh no, not at all.
Myself, I had to adapt to being an occultist living with normal people. So I minimised the clutter. I have a candle, preferably bees wax but not necessary, stashed somewhere. That’s it. I just light a candle and make an appropriate sign over it. Then I recite the ancient prayers, translated for my convenience, and pray.
While travelling even the candle can be omitted.
I dream of a peaceful shrine at home… I did have an idea for a project…

Well that day was quite ominous in Austria. I remember commenting on it while we were gardening in the evening.

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.

1. O, thank you. This looks promising. I thought I’d give it a try.

2. Ah, you have just pointed my intuition to some recent happenings. I might have just the right address for this. A local solstice gathering that took place… 😏
2. b) Addendum; should a local earth spirit approach you. What would be the proper way to handle this?

Thank you.

Edited (Addendum to #2) 2025-06-23 06:02 (UTC)

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)

Yesterday at the Musée d'Orsay I found this sculpture of a sassy toadlike being, in a section called "monsters" and couldn't help but whisper to myself...

...Iâ, Iâ!

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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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Magic Monday

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Dowsing and common courtesy

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Thought Transference - Edmund Shaftesbury

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Re: Dowsing and common courtesy

Re: Thought Transference - Edmund Shaftesbury

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Re: Thought Transference - Edmund Shaftesbury

Re: Thought Transference - Edmund Shaftesbury

Full Moon

Re: Full Moon

New Orphic Hymn to Nyx

big questions on heavy matters

Recovering from depletion

Re: New Orphic Hymn to Nyx

Re: big questions on heavy matters

Re: Recovering from depletion

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Re: Full Moon

Ecosophia Prayer List

Re: Dowsing and common courtesy

Re: Ecosophia Prayer List

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