Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Yes, Magic Monday's getting a late start today; after a very long four days, I fell asleep on the sofa well before midnight and had just enough presence of mind to stagger off to bed some hours later. Still, better late than never, and 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've finished the sequence of my published books; while I decide what I want to do next, I have some memes to share.)

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use either of the links above to access my online tip jar; Buymeacoffee is good for small tips, Ko-Fi is better for larger ones. (I used to use PayPal but they developed an allergy to free speech, so I've developed an allergy to them.) If you're interested in political and economic astrology, or simply prefer to use a subscription service to support your favorite authors, you can find my Patreon page here and my SubscribeStar page here. 

 

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

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

With that said, have at it. 

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

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, JMG,
I was starting to get worried about you.
I hope everything is alright!

Some random questions about Christianity:

1. I received a Buddy Christ figure, a parody religious icon that first appeared in Kevin Smith’s 1999 film Dogma. Since I find traditional depictions of Christ extremely painful, I decided to use this one. Would there be a significant difference in power between traditional images and this newer version?

2. Also, would Christ be considered an egregore? Are there multiple Christ-like beings that could potentially come to Earth?

3. One last thing: U2 has a song called “40,” which is basically Psalm 40 set to music. What would be the spiritual power of more than 80,000 people singing that psalm together?

Thank you for this space, JMG!

[ecosophia]

1) There's always some risk in using a media-created image for religious purposes, as you might get the egregor of the media franchise rather than that of the deity! I'd encourage you to look for some other nontraditional image.

2) There is an egregor of Christ, or rather several egregors under that name. That's distinct from the being in question. As for the possibility of multiple beings of that type, why, that's a theological question about which religions disagree; you'll get one answer from most Christian theologians and a very different one from most Hindu theologians. Since I have no objective way to find out, I cheerfully admit my ignorance on the subject.

3) None whatsoever, unless they share a common intention.

[thinking_turtle]

To share, for those who wonder what CoP, IR, or LBRP mean, a list of abbreviations used on Ecopsophia.

The list of book capsules is now complete! Until the next book, at least.

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this as always.

[brendhelm]

Which house governs the online pornography industry in mundane astrology? I want to say it's the 5th but could also see the 3rd or 8th.

[ecosophia]

It's a 5th house matter, being an entertainment industry (5th house) and also having to do with sex (also 5th house).

Gardening timing, gardening and geomancy, and resting between actions

[(Anonymous)]

Hello and good morning.

Gardening Timing:

1. When is a fortunate time to transplant baby trees (mainly oak) that have grown naturally, but are in danger of being killed by human intervention?

Gardening and Geomancy:

2. If A) it’s not fortunate to wait for that time, and B) I want to do a geomancy reading to determine the local land’s preferences (in other words, to transplant as soon as possible, or to go tell the trees that an invasive situation is imminent), would I need to be looking for modes of perfection between the 1st and 4th?

Resting Between Actions

3. I’m in circumstances where coming to a complete stop results in interference that deters the rest that is needed to bring work to fruition. I understand why, and I understand the solution, which is to rest long enough to have a stable basis to solve one issue, so that the other isn’t impacted.

I’ve tried to shift to a pattern of more quickly “moving out of range”. This sounds like a Mercury strategy to me, but as the challenge has been getting the necessary rest to build a foundation of physical strength in order to resolve the circumstances, there may be a better approach. Do you have any advice on that?

Thanks!

Re: Gardening timing, gardening and geomancy, and resting between actions

[ecosophia]

1) You want a waning moon in an earth or water sign -- waning, because the young tree needs to put down roots and go semidormant for a little while to avoid transplant shock.

2) If you can't get them in the ground immediately, put them in pots and water them well, then plant them when the moon is in the right place. Yes, you can use geomancy with those houses, but planting them under the right moon sign is better.

3) This is so vaguely phrased that I have no idea what you're asking.

Roommate from hell (hopefully not literally)

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

I'm glad to hear that you merely fell asleep. I was starting to wonder if something had happened to you.

My apologies if this one is too specific for Magic Monday.

For a while now, I've had a… roommate, I suppose. Of the non-human sort.

Going through old notes and messages, I can backdate its first appearance to some time before the 15th of last December, the day I first mentioned my nighttime hauntings to a friend. I don't think they've been going on for long before that but I'm not sure.

The visits started out harmless enough, though quite creepy. Some time after I go to bed and before I fall asleep, so most likely between midnight and 1 AM (though I don't always go to sleep at that time), something starts walking over my back or side, whichever is currently facing upwards. At first, I thought I was just feeling my heartbeat, but it didn't quite match it. The steps always lag slightly behind whenever my pulse accelerates, which tends to happen in these situations. If you imagine a housecat walking on (more or less) the spot before lying down, that's roughly what it feels like, both the movement and the size of whatever it is.

After an indeterminate amount of time of being frozen in terror, I usually manage to roll over and turn on the light, which interrupts the situation. It tends to come back when I turn off the light again, so I started performing a small banishing (not the SoP). At first, this worked great but over time, it felt as though something interfered with me expanding the protective sphere and the ritual stopped working. Granted, that was before I knew that vibrating was a term of art so I did it incorrectly, which might also be an explanation. At any rate, I switched to simply saying the Lord's Prayer, which hasn't failed me so far.

At first, this happened rarely, maybe once a week or fortnight, but then the frequency started increasing. A friend recommended I burn white sage to cleanse my room. I bought the sage but, as I was curious what was going on, decided to give the ghost cat a chance. The next time it visited me, I asked (out loud, after I found the courage to do so) what it wanted and threatened to drive it out with the sage if it wouldn't leave me alone. I got no answer except for the vague sense that I'd misunderstood its motivations and that it wasn't malicious. This gave me a couple of months of quiet, since late February.

Last month or so, it came back once again. In the same night, I dreamt that someone or something had rushed into my room and I needed to stay hidden or turn on the light. I started crawling towards the lightswitch but couldn't move (which is how I know it was a dream). I think the ensuing panic woke me but I'm not entirely sure. This was, I believe, the last of quite a few rather vivid dreams that night, each one more unpleasant than the last, though only this very last one properly qualified as a nightmare. I've had such a dream once before, probably also after a visit of my ghostly roommate, though I'm not entirely certain of that.

Then, nothing, until this morning. I was dreaming of a blackout and that I couldn't turn on the light. Or rather, every light in the house was so dim it might as well have been off. Then I woke and felt something heavy leaning against the back of my neck and head. The heavy thing purred or I imagined it did because, for a brief moment, I thought that my real cat had snuggled up to me. Then I realised that my cat wasn't in the house, nevermind the room. The weight moved (or maybe it had always been there? I felt no steps) on the top of my head. It felt as though I was about to be crushed. I tried to recite the Lord's Prayer out loud but could not move and produced no sound beyond a choked croaking. I then said it mentally and the pressure ceased. I turned on the light. Needless to say, I was quite alone in the room. For good measure, I then repeated the prayer out loud. I briefly considered going back to sleep but was too afraid to keep the light off for more than a second or two.

Needless to say, I will burn the sage today. However, I'm still curious as to what I'm dealing with here. As far as I can tell, the creature produces no sound except possibly that one purr, though of course cats tend to be quiet.

Whatever it is, I see no good reason why it should be in my bedroom. I have considered whether someone might have sent it to attack me, but while there are some people who have cause to resent me and I know at least one of them knows a few things about magic, that alone strikes me as a rather unlikely motivation. Besides, even my paranoia can't explain the timing, since I hadn't talked to any of them for about nine months when the visits started.

Do you (or anybody else) have any idea what this creature might be and what I could have done to draw it to me?

—David P.

Re: Roommate from hell (hopefully not literally)

[ecosophia]

I have no idea what it is -- it could be any of dozens of different classes of spirits -- but getting rid of it is a good idea. You might start by putting a small dish of vinegar in your bedroom, and refilling it regularly -- that keeps etheric substance from condensing to the point that it can affect you this way. Since you find the Lord's Prayer congenial, you might also want to pray one of the standard prayers to St. Michael the Archangel for protection against evil every night before going to bed.

SoP and planets

[delicateswarm]

I've been doing the Sphere of Protection regularly for several months. Out of curiosity, say I was doing a ritual that invoked a particular planet. Could the SoP be used to banish the planets beforehand? Or does it only work for the Elements. Thanks.

Re: SoP and planets

[ecosophia]

Yes, you can use it for planetary workings. The assignments I was taught are these:

East - Sun
West - Mercury
South - Mars
North - Venus
Below - Saturn
Above - Jupiter
Within - Moon

Boxers and sexual energy

[(Anonymous)]

JMG,

Hope you catch up on sleep tonight!

I've heard that old school boxers and other fighters were traditionally advised to abstain from sex for [x] amount of days before a fight or during their preparatory fight camp. I think I may have heard also (vague memory) that some rock stars etc had a practice of abstaining from sex before a performance to maintain their energy levels.

Of course there is no basis for these practices in modern science, but I am wondering what the basis could have been (in fields as far apart as rock stars and boxers) for doing it? A lot of people clearly did it and found some value in it? For all I know, a lot of modern fighters may still do it and just not talk about it.

(This is all regarding men of course - I don't know if it works the same way for women).

What could the basis/reasoning have been? Something to do with conserving etheric energy or something?

Re: Boxers and sexual energy

[ecosophia]

Orgasm releases and relaxes, which is the last thing you want before going into a fight! Yes, there's also an etheric dimension. As for rock stars, they're doing polarity workings with their audiences -- I discuss this in my book The Philosophy and Practice of Polarity Magic -- and you need plenty of sexual energy to kickstart those.

Crazy Afterlife Train

[(Anonymous)]

With all the talk of Ozzy's passing, I've noticed a thread of conversation, possibly in jest, indicating that the late rock artist wouldn't be a good fit for the typical vision of heaven and traditional prayers assisting the dead to that end would therefore be misguided. How does one approach sending, for lack of a better word, positive vibes for the dead when, at least in the popular perception, the values of the departed soul are this out of phase with the mainstream religious sensibility most people are working with to send said vibes?

Re: Crazy Afterlife Train

[ecosophia]

Formal prayers are overrated. Simply talk to the Divine as you would talk to a much older and wiser friend, and say what you have in mind in your own words. For example, you might explain what Ozzy means to you, and ask that he get the kind of welcome he would appreciate.

Mercurius

[(Anonymous)]

I just finished re-reading Mercurius for I think the fourth time. Naturally the image you posted interests me; Mercurius wearing a yellow overcoat, standing in a patch of phallic cactus? I wish I had dreams like that.

Re: Mercurius

[ecosophia]

I have some pretty strange ones from time to time, but I haven't had this exact one either. I found it on a Reddit community.

SOP

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

I have begun to do SOP about 1 year ago. I do the SOP fairly regularly. (1) How do I know whether I am doing it correctly? I must admit that I don't have any particular feelings, sensations, phenomena to report. Previous to that I did the LRM course and finished it but cannot report any note worthy phenomena.

My meditations are OK and I do them fairly regularly. I also do tarot cards for daily divination with poor results.
It appears to me that I am a very mediocre student of the occult, not getting anywhere really and that may be I am doing things really wrong.

I study sacred geometry that I find hugely satisfying. I have begun studying the SGO and the way of the golden section and will probably switch to that fairly soon.

(2) So how to assess that one is on the right track or path?

Many thanks

Re: SOP

[ecosophia]

This is a very common question. By and large, nobody thinks they're doing well in the early stages of the work, because it takes months or years to clear your mind and develop your inner senses far enough to perceive what's actually happening. Just stick with the work! It's usually sometime in the first couple of years that I field the equally common panicked email or comment from somebody who didn't think their work was doing anything, and suddenly discovered just how real all this stuff is...

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, this is going around..

Scientists warn massive mysterious object may be surprise attack

A mysterious object the size of Manhattan could be a hostile alien spacecraft and may attack Earth in November, according to a new study.

Earlier this month, experts confirmed the discovery of a rare interstellar visitor—only the third ever detected—hurtling through our Solar System at extraordinary speed.

A draft scientific paper, dated July 22, has proposed that the object, 3I/ATLAS, might be alien technology and could make a surprise attack on our planet.

The researchers suggest that 3I/ATLAS’s orbit is such that it would make it easier for an intelligent alien craft to approach Earth without being noticed.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-warn-massive-mysterious-object-may-be-surprise-attack/ar-AA1JigG1

what effect do you think this rare object will have on earth, if any..?
well, besides a hostile alien attack i mean lol

[ecosophia]

This is just a little unnerving. Those who read my novel Journey Star will know that one of the plot points is exactly this kind of orbit, which allows a space object to approach a planet (in that case, Epsilon Eridani II) without being seen by astronomers! In my book, I'm glad to say, the spacecraft wasn't hostile.

If it's an alien craft, they're probably doing it in the hope of remaining undetected so we don't start flinging nukes at them! As for astrological effects, that depends on whether it becomes visible or not. If so, it gets the same treatment as a comet, and is interpreted based on what signs it passes through and what aspects it makes with other planets while it's visible.

Magic Monday

[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, current only to 7/14). 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, selected from the fuller list.

May MindWinds' father Clem be healed of his spinal, blood and cardio infections and returned to good health and wholeness; and may he and his family keep up a robust sense of humor and joy in each others' continued company.

May Marko's newborn son Noah, who has been in the hospital for a cold, and Noah's mother Viktoria, who is recovering from her c-section, both be blessed with good health, strength, endurance, and protection, and may they swiftly they make a full recovery.

May Brother Kornhoer's son Travis's fistula heal, may his body have the strength to fight off infections, may his kidneys strengthen, and may his empty nose syndrome abate, so that he may have a full and healthy life ahead of him.

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

May Jack H.'s father John continue to heal from his ailments, including alcohol dependency and breathing difficulties, as much as Providence allows, to be able to enjoy more time together with his loved ones.

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 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 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 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: Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this as always. I'd like to ask for an additional name to be added: Sebastian Greco, the 12-year-old son of a good friend of mine here in Rhode Island, recently suffered a head injury. He seems to be doing fine but he, his parents, and I would appreciate prayers for a prompt and complete recovery with no lasting problems.

Characterizations of Prometheus and Rhea?

[sirustalcelion]

Good Morning JMG,

I'd like to share, for those who do video, a lecture by Michael Ward on how he believes that CS Lewis used the classical planetary personalities and energies successively and deliberately in each of his Narnia books, using Aslan to represent their energies each time. I don't think this information will be that surprising for this commentariat, but I found it worthwhile to meditate on the planetary natures as they appear in that narrative form.

The lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDpD-oTrlGE

Ward's list:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Jupiter
The Horse and His Boy - Mercury
Prince Caspian - Mars
Dawn Treader - Sun
Silver Chair - Moon
Magician's Nephew - Venus
Last Battle - Saturn


Along these lines, my question is on the Promethean (Uranian) and Rhean (Neptunian) characterizations. Are there any real, or better fictional, characters you can think of that exemplify either current?

For Prometheus we have the titan himself and Johnny Appleseed, but are there any others you can think of?
For Rhea, I'm drawing a blank. Every mystic I can think of fits better in some other archetype, and the titan herself doesn't take center stage in any myths I know.

My goal would be to deliberately reference and evoke those archetypes in art and narrative.

Thanks for your help and for hosting this space.

Re: Characterizations of Prometheus and Rhea?

[ecosophia]

Ward's book Planet Narnia is also well worth reading. As for planetary characteristics, for Prometheus, every mad scientist in literature and legend, every inventor and pioneer, and every interesting madman is an image; think Victor von Frankenstein, Thomas Edison, Tom O' Bedlam, Emperor Norton I, and the list goes on. Rhea? You're missing the obvious. She's the big-bellied, big-breasted Cosmic Momma in all her infinite variations. She's the Egyptian goddess Nut, the Babylonian monster-goddess Tiamat, and all the other feminine images of infinite space.

Past Life Divination

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, have you found that divination can determine facts about one's past lives as well as the current incarnation? Do you have any recommended techniques for how to approach this? I was thinking that methods with close connections to divine powers could work better for the purpose. Thanks.

Re: Past Life Divination

[ecosophia]

My experience with artificial methods of recalling past lives has not been good. The standard advice, and it's valid, is to wait until you're actually ready, at which point ordinary meditation will start bringing back memories. Don't rush the process! Do you really want to recall, in gory detail, how your last life ended? That's not uncommon...

Natural magic questions

[jflylynn]

Hello Mr Greer

Firstly your suggestion last week to start a weekly ritual bath and nightly sphere of protection have yielded results already. I am already finding bad habits easier to resist and my general outlook feeling better so thank you very much for those recommendations.
First question: As with most young men of my age (early 20s) who struggle with relationships I’ve found my biggest hurdle is mustering up the courage to act on what I think I am seeing, up to and including psyching myself out of girl who was puckering her lips at me after we slow danced (yes I am that hopeless) your book has an infusion for curate that I am gathering supplies to try but I was also thinking about pursuing a sort of passive boost with an amulet. I’ve selected Basil Garlic and bloodstone to be kept in a red pouch on the upper right arm under the influence of mars. I don’t think I’ve made an error in this selection but a double check is always appreciated.

Second: Another topic dear to most young men, working out. Now I understand nothing but hard work will get me in better shape but I imagine there is a lot of practice around making the work you’re doing more effective. I imagine a meal or potion would be the most appropriate way to harness these effects but I’m new and a little hazy on the details especially what elements and astrological forces should be invoked. Any advice would be helpful.

May God or the gods or the whatever deity you follow bless and keep you.

Re: Natural magic questions

[ecosophia]

1) That's a good start, certainly.

2) One bit of natural magic I know of is to get a garnet, and steep it in your protein drink the way you'd steep a tea bag in hot water. Then pour off the protein drink and drink it, and wash the garnet. The stone will charge the protein drink with Martial energies of strength, courage, and will, and assist you in the hard work ahead of you.

SOP related questions

[scottyc]

JMG,

As always, thank you for these Magic Mondays.

Last week I stumbled across J. Edward Cornelius' Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board . I have no interest in testing or taking up the Ouija board but I'm finding this book gives insight into the background and even "technical" workings of magic, to include the Way of the Golden Section's Sphere of Protection (SOP).

Please excuse the multiple items but hope you can give confirmation I'm on the right track or point me in the right direction with the questions / statements below:

1. The author states that John Dee assignrd colors to the cardinal directions (i.e. the four watch towers and its associated "cloath" thrown on the ground). The colors were different than those assigned to the cardinal directions today. It seems the Golden Dawn wanted to "reflect the more traditional astral or "western" elemental Flashing colors (certain colors placed side by side "flash" and attracts elementals). By the wording it seems the Golden Dawn resurrected a color system older than John Dee's Enochian colors.

2. Unlike a Ouija board in which any entity may present itself, when calling the elements during the SOP we are being very specific on the type we are calling (e.g. "By the yellow gate...") which drastically decreases risk. Also the symbols we draw during the SOP bind the elementals, similar to a magician's circle and when reverse the symbols we release the elementals back through the gate.

3. During each calling the act of intense imagination is what calls in the elementals? Lighting up the astral plane with our thoughts?

4. Cornelius warns against electric lights & devices being used during the Ouija ritual and should try to reduce the amount of electrical currents in the space being worked (i.e. pull out cords from sockets). By extension, I guess this applies to most magical practice. Do you think that electrical currents would affect the SOP and Way of the Golden Section temple openings and closings?

Re: SOP related questions

[ecosophia]

1) There are easily twenty different ways to assign colors to directions. These are two of them.

2) Yes, exactly.

3) It's not just one thing that invokes the elementals -- the combination of all the components is necessary.

4) I've never found that to be necessary at all. Don't assume that the conditions needed for one kind of working also apply to others!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,


Q1. In a Martinist document (legitimately available online for free) I've seen a protection ritual that involves saying only 2 prayers: the 91st Psalm and St. Patrick's Breastplate.

This seems like a very brief protection ritual. Would something this simple work? Or have certain details been omitted?


Q2. It seems to be common knowledge that things like the LBRP and SoP will eventually produce noticeable sensations of different kinds. This is good since it shows you that the practice is working. Would I experience something like this using the ritual mentioned above?


Many thanks in advance.

[ecosophia]

1) If it's done not as a rote formula but as a prayer to the Divine, with intention and feeling, yes, it would work very well. Which document did you get that from, btw?

2) You'd have to give it a try and see.

[(Anonymous)]

My sympathies for being tired after a long ride... we came home from Brittany at 3 am this morning and yes, the sofa is tempting...

Speaking of Brittany, I've had one fascinating experience I'd like to share and also a related question to ask: One day we visited a tiny Island which has one of these small, sturdy granite chapels you find everywhere in Brittany (for those interested - a bit like this: https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/foto/chapel-saint-michel-des-monts-darr%C3%A9e-north-brittany-lizenzfreies-bild/1478787166 ). The chapel is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and while it is all grey rocks from the outside, it has a simple but wonderful interior with a statue of the Virgin Mary and lovely windows producing a dim, but golden light. There were a handful of tourists like us around and when we entered, a few elderly ladies started to sing what was obviously a hymn to the Virgin Mary (I'm not a Christian and I speak very little French so I can't tell more details). I have to say this was probably the most stunning experience I have ever had as guest in a church. Even after leaving the building I felt like being in some kind of golden bubble for some time.

Later in the evening I thought about the experience and for a brief time, I entered this "golden bubble" again - but this time I got also a fiery, angry sensation. At first I was confused, but then I thought I had probably entered a space where I was tolerated as guest for a short time but where I (praying to Heathen deities) am not supposed to stay? Anyway, I said my thanks and apologies and that seemed to settle the matter. But as wonderful as the first part of the experience was, as unnerving was the ferocity of the second. Thinking about it, I had another experience years ago which also involved me being delighted by music dedicated to the Virgin Mary over the course of a few weeks time and (at that time not knowing what was happening) getting a mighty "kick in the butt" after some time. It began wonderful and ended truly dreadful.

I wonder - does my reasoning above make sense? Is this (especially the not-so-nice part) something you would expect or (a thought which just entered my mind) might it point to some issues with Christianity or possibly the Virgin Mary specifically in a past life? Have you any advice in this regard?

Thank you and a good recovery from your trip :-)

Nachtgurke

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this. I should look into those chapels -- they appear to embody the temple tradition I discussed in The Secret of the Temple in its most stripped-down, basic form.

As for your experience, that's interesting. In your case I'd meditate on it, and probably do some journaling, to see what's behind it; it does sound like something personal to you, not to the Christian powers.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, JMG,

Last Magical Monday a question was posted about Eugene Fersen’s Science of Being and you had replied by suggesting someone should give it a try it and report back. I had a copy of his work saved on my hard drive, and felt drawn to it, for some time, so I thought, “why not?” I decided to go with the 1927 correspondence course version, so I don’t have much to report yet, although I found the meditation posture Fersen teaches (a variant of Hieratic meditation posture with the left palm facing up and the right palm facing down, if someone is interested) oddly conducive to relaxation, but this could be the novelty factor.

I also decided to retain the daily practice of SoP, meditation and divination, and am thinking about modifying SoP for the time I’m going to be working through the course.

One way to do this would be to invoke the four aspects of Universal Life Energy (Life, Mind, Truth and Love) along with the four Elements.. The least disruptive way would be to reverse his order and invoke Mind with Air, Life with with Fire, Love with Water and Truth with Earth, although I’ve encountered another attribution in Golden Dawn-related context that equated Life with Air, Light (Mind) with Fire, Love with Water and Truth (Law) with Earth.

Another way would be to use another system of seven elements and corresponding color scale from the 1923 book version of the Science of Being: Involutionary Fire (yellow-orange), Involutionary Water (red-purple), Involutionary Earth (violet-black), Evolutionary Earth (blue-violet), Evolutionary Water (blue-green), Evolutionary Fire (green-yellow) and Air or Spirit (white). So another way would be to put two aspects of Fire on the vertical axis, two aspects of Earth on North-South axis, two aspects of Water on East-West axis and Air into the center. However, this would be a radical change to the SoP.

I asked the Tarot whether I should keep my SoP unchanged, go with the former variant or with the latter, and the answer I received seems to favor the latter variant (Knight of Swords vs. King of Wands vs. The Sun). What would be your advice?

Thank you for hosting Magic Monday and sharing your wisdom and knowledge!

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this! All this sounds very interesting. My take on the tarot reading agrees with yours -- the latter variant is the one the reading approves of.

[athaia]

I read a book about creativity when, much to my surprise, I came across a mention of Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) — that Scott Adams who is sometimes mentioned on the other blog for his attitude towards the unvaccinated, and because he got prostrate cancer. I was even more surprised when I learned via that book that apparently, Adams had used affirmations with great success back before he became a cartoonist. According to the book, the whole thing started as a lark when he was taking a hypnosis class. He used an affirmation and got a date with a girl that was out of his league (according to him), then went on to affirm becoming successful at investing in the stock market, and finally, after affirming to pass a test that would get him into his dream school, he affirmed that he’d become a famous cartoonist. Every time, he got exactly what he wanted.

Now, I’m not one to ask facetiously why he isn’t affirming that he’ll overcome his illness, and if he’s doing so, why he hasn’t healed yet. But the whole thing immediately reminded me of a similar case. Some years back, a book was making waves in the German New Age scene, called Bestellungen beim Universum (which can be translated as ‘placing orders with the universe’). The author, Bärbel Mohr, claimed to have gotten the man of her dreams, an honest-to-god castle to live in, and various other stuff by basically treating the universe like a mail-order warehouse. Then she got cancer and died, leaving two small children behind.

I’m not saying that if you do affirmations to get material success (and stuff) you’ll get cancer — that sounds like masturbation will make you blind. But I do wonder a) if there’s some kind of mechanism one should be aware of to avoid, err, getting that kind of invoice from the universal mail-order warehouse, and b) why affirmations seemed to fail for these people when it came to overcoming their illness, because I’m pretty sure they did try and use them; they had used affirmations with spectacular success before, after all.

[ecosophia]

One unfortunate possibility I've heard discussed is that using that kind of affirmation work runs through your stock of good karma in a hurry, leaving only the bad stuff, with nasty results. I strongly discourage using affirmations to get stuff -- use them to change yourself so that you can earn the things you desire, and the results are much better,

Planetary Charity for legal and truth issues

[(Anonymous)]

Hello and thank you for entertaining this.

I have some limited experience with planetary charity, divination and basic natural magic. I'm seeking input to make sure I get this right. I'm involved in a years-long and sticky divorce from my ex wife. We have a young son and she's attempting to manipulate him to, among many things, tell lies about me. I suddenly have a critical court appearance that's coming up next Monday, and I want to do my best to support the truth to come out and justice to prevail.

I'm also deeply concerned about my son and want to shield him from manipulation and malefic energies coming from his mother. She fancies herself a witch, and uses instagram-grade spells, rituals, crystal magic, reiki, and the like to attempt to get her way.

I'm not sure which planetary energy and corresponding charity is appropriate. Is it Jupiter for legal matters? Mercury for children?

My concerns are for the truth to be clear to the judge and investigators, for my son to be able to resist manipulation and speak the truth, and for my son to be shielded from harm.

I'm open to any and all suggestions for how to approach this above and beyond planetary charity, and would welcome prayers as well.

Thanks

Re: Planetary Charity for legal and truth issues

[ecosophia]

Yes, you want Jupiter for a fair and just outcome for all, but courage to speak the truth and protection from harm belong to Mars, not Mercury. You might look at protective natural magic as an option for both of you.

[jenniferkobernik]

Based on this—

“While the whirling Dervishes may spin around hundreds of times, we find that greater benefit is obtained by restricting it to about a dozen or so times, enough so that Rite Number One can stimulate all the Vortexes to action”

—Plus your instructions to work up to doing each Rite 21 times, I was previously doing 21 sets of a dozen repetitions each of the First Rite. But it occurred to me that I might be misinterpreting this. Is it 21 times 12 rotations, or is it just supposed to be 21 rotations total?

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

Oof! No, it's not 21 sets of however many rotations, it's 21 rotations. The "dozen or so" reflects the fact that many people do less than 21 of each Rite!

[causticus]

Hello JMG,

1. I cast a geomantic shield chart on the question, "Will any form of paganism/polytheism survive in the US in the coming decades?"

J: Fortuna Major
LW: Caput Draconis
RW: Rubeus

I take that to mean: "Yes, but it will be a rough ride, and what comes of that will be very successful." Does this interpretation sounds accurate to you?

2. I remember a few weeks back there being a discussion of IQ and intelligence. IIRC think you (or maybe a commenter?) suggested that what we popularly frame as "intelligence" refers to how fast and efficient our minds are at manipulating astral shapes and images. So it seems like this is one particular type of intelligence. Would how fast or efficient our minds are at making abstract conceptual associations be the form of intelligence associated with the mental sheath? Or do we call that Wisdom or Intuition instead?

So we might have one person who is smart at doing math or rotating shapes in their head (thus score well on an IQ test) but a complete dense buffoon when it comes to seeing how different ideas and concepts interrelate or being able to instantly recognize some message as being propaganda; they are clever and shrewd but lack critical thinking skills and have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees. I'm thinking here of the internet memes about the "120 IQ midwit" and "the eternal redditor," the sort of people who seem to be very common in the laptop class.

3. Is Frederich Nietzsche supposed to be some sort of paragon of the Aquarian Age? I see him (or rather, internet personalities selectively quoting him) now as being hailed as the great new prophet among a "sect" of pagans that seems to be getting more and more popular among right-leaning pagans, particularly Folkish Heathens. Lately this group has been launching relentless attacks against Platonist pagans (in addition to Christians of course) and they've even developed a whole school of apologia and debate rhetoric to use against those who follow any type of universalist philosophy. They see anything and everything associated with the Axial Age is being just awful and in need of wholesale rejection.

I've observed some of the followers of this new group as hating on ALL philosophy. The way they talk and debate reminds me too much of some of the early Christian church dogmatists like Irenaeus and Tertullian who spit lots of venom at the more spiritually and intellectually sophisticate early churches. And these folks are mythical literalists to boot. Might this attitude have anything to do with the upcoming astrological realignment this is supposed to reign in a totally new/different paradigm of values? I really don't want to see the baby tossed out with the bathwater!

Or is this simply a the latest iteration of the "witch wars" of yesteryear?

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that's how I read it. Caput Drac as left witness also indicates that a serious revival of interest in Pagan spirituality is on its way.

2) The mental sheath works with meaning, value, and purpose; mere abstraction is the upper astral. A midwit can do math and piece concepts together in superficially plausible ways; someone who's awakened the mental sheath can tell you what it all means and why that matters.

3) Nietzsche was an Aquarian figure, but he was anything but a paragon. I wonder how many of these people will end up in padded cells the way their hero did. They hate philosophy, of course, because any halfway competent philosopher can pick their rhetoric apart and show just how silly they're being. (Scientists who hate philosophy are subject to the same little problem.)

[(Anonymous)]

1. So looking back at my time with the DA, it's clear that I went through an ordeal right as I was going through the fourth degree. Further, the ordeal shared some characteristics with the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion.

Currently I'm working on the 7th degree, and also I'm working on memorizing the First Branch. I find that as I commit it to memory, many mysterious aspects of the story become clearer.

My question is, if I move on to memorizing the Fourth Branch (it will be a while, at the rate I'm going), will that kick off another ordeal? It was good for me in the long run, but I am not very anxious to run the gauntlet again.

-Cliff

[ecosophia]

Probably not -- instead, it'll lead to a cascade of realizations about that ordeal.

John Dee, Franklin Merrell-Wolff, and more

[realmscryer]

Hi JMG,

- Your translation of Dee's Propaedeumata Aphoristica is ordered and eagerly anticipated! Any timeline for when Monas Hieroglyphica will be out?

- Related, I am having a very odd experience with astrology. I lose interest quickly after reaching thresholds of understanding. The more typical uses of astrology are not engaging my interest. Including astrological magic. Yet, there is something still drawing me in for a closer look.

Are there more esoteric applications of astrology not commonly known? I am left wondering if there is something like astrological mysticism? Maybe, alchemy or natural magic are calling via the stars?

I suspect mathematics is also in the mix of attractors somehow.

- A few weeks ago mention was made of Franklin Merrell-Wolff. As a result, I am now nearly finished with his book Experience and Philosophy which contains Pathways Through To Space and Philosophy of Consciousness Without An Object.

Thank you to the commentor who asked about Merrell-Wolff! The Pathways book in particular has been very worthwhile reading.

Thanks,
Eric

Re: John Dee, Franklin Merrell-Wolff, and more

[ecosophia]

1) It's on the back burner for the moment while I finish some other projects, including another Dee translation I'll talk about later.

2) There's an enormous amount of deeper astrology very hard to access these days. Be patient; it may also simply be that you have enough on your plate right now and need to take care of that before you tackle anything new.