Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's almost midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is of Alan Leo (real name William Frederick Allan), a prominent British Theosophist and one of the prime movers of the late 19th century revival of astrology. 

Ask me anything about occultism and I'll do my best to answer it. Any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer, though it may be Tuesday sometime before I get to them all.

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 the button below to access my online tip jar.

With that said, have at it! 

***This Magic Monday is now closed to new questions. See you next week!***

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, thank you for providing this forum for questions.

I've lived in the same house since I was seven -- a family home built by my family on my father's family's land. Since those golden days, though, a lot has happened -- in my teens, my father was found to be cheating on my mother, there were many stormy years and then a rather ugly divorce. My older brother left and married and never really returned; my dad remarried and went to another state, and passed away from dementia several years ago. Both of my grandparents passed away and the land around us was all sold. My mom had two very short (under a year) marriages, but since then (2001) no one but she and I have lived in this house. We have struggled at times, emotionally, financially, and just with keeping the house up, but in the past ten years or so have done everything we could to make a happy, peaceful, comfortable home.

I give the background because the thing is, despite renovations and constant upkeep/improvements, the house has a way of... being uneasy. Leaky plumbing, major appliance failures, the kinds of things that make me have nightmares about disasters and get panic attacks every time some new issue is discovered. We love this house and property, but we went through some very dark days here and I can't help but wonder if the place itself is still unhappy somehow.

I've been reading here for about a month now, trying to pick up helpful things, and have started reading the Celtic Golden Dawn, though I haven't yet started practicing (waiting for the new moon.) Is there anything in particular I could incorporate into my practice to "make friends" with the house and property? Will the banishing LRP help get rid of some of the old negative "energy"? I know houses will always need upkeep, but it's the feeling around it that troubles me.

Thank you for your time and patience with my understanding - I am new at this!
Diane

[ecosophia]

Regular banishing rituals are a good idea in such a situation, as they clear away old unwanted energies. Still, I'm going to suggest something far more old-fashioned, which is that you try to find out what the house-spirit wants. At some point when you can arrange to be alone, go into the kitchen -- that's traditionally the heart of a house -- sit down, and talk to the house. Let it know what your concerns are and ask it if there's anything you can do to make it less unhappy. Then listen inwardly -- note the feeling you get in response, and any sudden ideas that come to mind. If you get a lot of information in a rush, get some paper and a pen and write it all down. Repeat as needed.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you -- it's interesting, but just a few days ago I found myself talking to what I just called "house spirits" out of the blue (not knowing if there would be one or more; I had never thought of such a thing before) so maybe that door had cracked open a little already. All I could think of to say, though, is "Please make things all right," but I don't know what to do in return. A quiet chat in the kitchen might be just the thing.

I've always been very animist, had a habit of talking to everything throughout my childhood that continued into adulthood some (we had a coal stove forever and I'd talk to the fire all winter as I tended it - I'm just beginning to get to know the new gas fireplace), but my surrounding family was rather materialist, which lead me to being very torn between my senses about things and how I was expected to handle my surroundings. I am very much hoping that the path I've found on your pages will help me turn the way I've always wanted to go.
A promising start, at least.
Diane

[ecosophia]

To my mind, animism is simply plain common sense. If you found yourself suddenly thinking of house spirits, it's quite possible that the house spirits want to talk. Give it a try!

As for the broader issue, if there's a way you've always wanted to go, and always known you should go, then go that way. Don't let the idiot prejudices of our culture's kneejerk materialism get in your way.