Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's almost midnight 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've finished the sequence of my published books; while I decide what I want to do next, I have some memes to share.)

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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! 

Comments

[rhydlyd]

You might recall that I asked last week about repeated appearances of the number of my Boy Scout troop and the unit number for the National Guard armory where we met in unexpected locations. The numbers continued to appear, so I had a second long talk with my staves about reasonable expectations and what might be holding me back which concluded with me offering to make a little outside time every day and to work on the Octagon Society’s Order of Spiritual Alchemy. The numbers stopped appearing. Also, I’d found the OSA too daunting the first time I tried it, but it works now. Further, outdoors time has increased in quality with the acknowledgment of limited quantity. So – no instant warband, garage gym posse or anything like that… but… I’m moving.

And, BTW: The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton is out of print and, sadly, collectable. While I’m not about to pay $837.79 for a paperback, it is available for a pittance in Kindle form. This version is quite readable, and I’m rather enjoying not having a battle royal cage match with the Guest translation.

[ecosophia]

Glad to hear things are going well. As for Evangeline Walton's tetralogy, you can get it on Alibris or Abebooks for $5 per volume or less -- I just checked.

[brenainn]

I learned a while back to check prices on eBay, Abebooks, Alibris, and others before accepting the ridiculous prices sometimes listed for out of print works on Amazon. For whatever reason, Amazon marketplace sellers badly overprice certain books.

[ecosophia]

I don't use Amazon, but the same thing is true in a lot of other online venues. eBay can be wildly overinflated, too; some sellers on Alibris and Abebooks overinflate prices, but others nearly always undercut them.

Money laundering

[atmosphericriver]

I have been convinced for some time that some ridiculous prices for easy to ship items like old VHS tapes and used books is to have an easy way to money launder, this is not everything high priced of course, and then some normal people see the listings who are not money laundering and think it is the going price, so list theirs and it doesnt sell.... but the one that is part of the rigged set up sells. This came up when we liquidated my folks VHS collection years ago, tapes worth nothing, that you can buy for $1 at the local thrift shop, that sell to collectors locally for a couple bucks, listed on ebay for hundreds. No idea if this applies to that particular book, but it is a thing for some

Eleusinian Mysteries

[brenainn]

I recently learned that the Aquarian Tabernacle Church offers a yearly Spring Mysteries Festival that includes some kind of modern version of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Interested as I am in the many lost mystery cults of the ancient world, I would like to know if anyone here has participated in this event or knows someone who has. I am not asking for any details that must remain secret. I am more interested in whether or not participation is worthwhile. Given that the next event is still some months away, I could make arrangements to attend.

Re: Eleusinian Mysteries

[ecosophia]

Good heavens -- the ATC is still out there? They were active in the Seattle area when I was in my early twenties. I haven't attended any of their events, though.

Re: Eleusinian Mysteries

[brenainn]

So it seems, at least insofar as this Spring festival is concerned (I assume they do a lot more). Perhaps that is potentially a good sign? That they've lasted so long?

Re: Eleusinian Mysteries

[ecosophia]

Certainly it has enough appeal that people keep coming.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, I had a couple questions, first about your understanding of the mental plane and mental body. Before developing the mental body, is a physical body needed for the soul to evolve because otherwise its experiences won't be distinct enough from other beings? I.e. if we were just a mass of astral/etheric soul stuff, would our consciousness blend together and make development on the mental plane impossible? So therefore does a mental body allow a non-physical being to be coherent enough that it doesn't need a physical body to be distinct?

Second, you've mentioned that when people are doing rituals like banishing, Middle Pillar etc. that are mainly active on the astral plane and they feel physical sensations, it denotes etheric involvement. My rituals and meditations have always been very "synesthetic" with physical sensations that accompany the astral images. Is this a good sign in all cases or can it lead to problems? Could it confuse astral work by directing my awareness towards levels of reality lower than where I'm supposed to be working? If I have a strong etheric/astral association is there any branch of occult study where this trait would be particularly advantageous? Thanks for reading.

[ecosophia]

1) It's a little more complex than that, but yes, that's one of the factors involved. Since the material plane is so resistant and sluggish, having a material body makes the soul develop certain capacities -- it's a little like lifting heavy weights to develop strength.

2) Focus on doing the ritual correctly, with clear astral images, and you'll be fine. Eventually the etheric involvement will assist you in doing healing work, but that's for later.