Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's getting on for 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.)

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! 

Comments

A Few Bad Apples?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, there's currently an embarrassment of riches for spiritual practitioners seeking tools for their work. The Internet, and particularly the site Etsy, makes it effortless to find countless vendors offering magical equipment, altar items, all kinds of divination tools, every tarot and oracle deck you can imagine and much more. However, I see a pattern that gives me pause. An artist offering images of Athena and Thor will also sell depictions of Lucifer and Lilith. The company printing oracle decks will sell sets of cards representing the Goetic spirits. I can't see the creation of these items as neutral, it represents a focused intent to bring these powers into manifestation. Do you think it's best to avoid any products from vendors producing items dedicated to evil forces, or can they make this stuff without having it taint the rest of their merchandise by association?

Re: A Few Bad Apples?

[ecosophia]

To my mind, it's not a matter of tainting the merchandise, it's a matter of seriousness. I tend to think that those vendors who will provide anything and everything don't take any of it seriously -- they simply provide whatever they think will sell. That isn't an attitude that yields magically effective gear. Thus I shop from firms that take their work seriously enough to have some standards when it comes to what they will and won't produce.

Memes

[rhydlyd]

Are you or is anyone in the commentariat meme watching?  Amelia continues to pile up both patriotism and Druidry in music and spoken word videos on YouTube including, "John Barleycorn."

Interestingly, the most reasonable explanation to my favorable response to her is that despite being from a family that arrived from England in 1635, I'm still pretty English.  And that's just... weird.  As evidence, there is a meme video (also on YouTube) of Amelia reciting, "The Beginnings," by Kipling - aka: "When the English Began to Hate."

I found it rousing rather than terrifying, so I wondered if anyone else has had a similar response to that meme or an unusually favorable response to Amelia in general that causes them to notice Englishness in themselves that lacks good explanation for being there.

Many thanks.

Rhydlyd

Re: Memes

[ecosophia]

I've had a lot to do recently so haven't followed the saga of Amelia recently. As for that poem, it's always made me sick. Ask anyone of Scots or Irish perspective if the English were noticeably slow or unwilling to hate; you'll get a very different perspective.

[(Anonymous)]

Benebell Wen recently put out a course teaching the Microcosmic Orbit that I’ve been tempted to grab. In her write up on it, she said that anyone would benefit from it, but I gather from various comments here about Chinese practices that you may have a different opinion?

On a related note, I’ve tried doing some qi gong. Nothing too intense, just stuff I can find on Youtube: moving joints, massage and tapping, I’ve done the Eight Brocade a few times and Zhan Zhuang (which I really enjoyed). I’ve found these exercises work well for me, i feel energized doing them, and they’ve had immediate effect on the stress and tension that’s tied my body into knots for years. I followed Benebell Wen’s instructions for the Microcosmic Orbit for a week to see how I responded to it before considering a purchase, and it made deep breathing easier than it usually is for me. I catch myself lazily tracing out that path up the back and down the front when I’m not thinking about it, and it makes some tension go away. It’s positive enough so far that it seems advisable to keep going and see where it leads.

I’m not doing the SoP right now, but have in the past and would like to get it going again. Would it not mix well with the exercises above and the Microcosmic Orbit course, so that I would have to choose one or the other?

- Teal Pretentious Dung-Beetle

[ecosophia]

Qigong is potent and valuable stuff, but I don't recommend combining it with any Western esoteric practice. If it works for you, I encourage you to keep doing qigong and explore other practices from Taoist tradition that are compatible with it.

Natural magic to bring about finding lost items?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I often misplace items. Aside from periodic bouts of frenzy where I turn everything around me upside down trying to find specific items that I've lost, are there are any natural magic practices you recommend to either 1) lessen the amount of times one loses things, 2) alter one's consciousness just enough such that reviewing every last nook and cranny again isn't done either perfunctorily or in haste, or 3) anything else that doesn't fit into questions 1 or 2?

Thank you,
-E.

Re: Natural magic to bring about finding lost items?

[ecosophia]

No, not really. You have the opportunity instead to use this habit of yours as a way to rise to clearer awareness. To take advantage of this, I recommend two things. The first is journaling to figure out why you've adopted this habit and what you get out of it -- for such habits don't happen for no reason at all. The second is that you change your habits, learning to put things in specific places so that you can find them later. You're perfectly capable of doing this, you know. It just requires a little self-knowledge and self-mastery.