Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's almost midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is of John Michell, first-rate sacred geometer and researcher into forgotten sciences, whose 1969 book The View Over Atlantis introduced leys and sacred geometry to the counterculture, and was a major influence on my insufficiently misspent youth. 

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)]

What advice do you have for someone who's considering a move? What factors would determine where would be a good place to move, and what would determine a good time?

I plan to perform divination before making any move, but what other steps should I take?

[ecosophia]

If you know your way around astrology, do a relocation chart -- a birth chart for yourself, cast as though you'd been born at the place you plan to move to, at the same moment you were actually born (correcting for time zone differences if needed). See if the relocation does anything positive for your house placements -- for example, moving a benefic planet into one of the angular houses (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th) where it will be stronger, or moving a malefic out of one of the angular houses to weaken it. Then elect a time for the move in which Mercury and the Moon are in favorable aspect to the planet that rules your natal chart.

Lacking a background in astrology, use your preferred method of divination to do the equivalent.

[(Anonymous)]

A few weeks ago I found a copy of Dan Brown's Inferno and gave it a read. To my horror the plot takes a turn where, instead of a genetically modified virus wiping out civilization, one third of the world becomes sterilized and the characters blandly say, "how lovely! We can keep on living our jet set lifestyles!" I find it one of the most morally bankrupt books I had ever read. Indeed, I caught whiffs of Engine Summer that still revolt me.

If Dan Brown serves as any sort of barometer of the psyche of the well-to-do, that would mean that many would be all too happy with a convenient plague to take hold so they could keep on living their extravagant lifestyle. My question -- with ebola now in the news again in a warzone with vaccinations rapidly drawing down -- is how much do you think these narratives play into the events unfolding. I remember with the ebola outbreaks a few years ago there was a very odd clown feeling to it -- with the power spraying of ebola vomit onto pedestrians in Texas. Perhaps people are just often stupid, but I also wonder if the apparent feverish desire for plague, not to mention ebola-chan and the like, contribute to these uncanny events. I'm curious your thoughts on this JMG; do you think that there likely is an occult dimension to the unfolding of events, and if do you see useful steps that people reading this blog could perhaps mitigate this insanity?

[ecosophia]

The sort of thinking you saw in Inferno is very widespread among the privileged, though it's rare to find anyone actually admitting out loud that they want to commit genocide against the poor. It's simply that (for example) the climate change activists who insist the government ought to force people to stop using fossil fuels show a complete lack of interest in decreasing their own use of fossil fuels, and well-off people who get bent out of shape about overpopulation routinely have children, i.e., are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

The difficulty they face is that the rest of the population is aware of this. That's an important part of what's driving the current mess in France: the poor and working classes aren't willing to see the cost of environmental reforms piled on their backs, while their soi-disant betters still get to have the extravagant lifestyles they think they deserve.

Are there occult dimensions to all this? Yes, but I don't think it's a matter of deliberate projection of narratives on the part of the privileged. Listening to the frankly weird detachment from reality one hears so often from the well-to-do these days, I think they're caught up in something much bigger than they are, and quite possibly much bigger than they can imagine. Giambattista Vico, writing about "the course the nations run," notes that the historical cycle begins with necessity and ends in madness; we're seeing that latter phase taking shape around us right now.

Witch Bottles

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
I tried to find a witch-bottle spell at the Lucky Mojo Company but my computer skills are not up to the task.

I looked at a number of youtube videos on the subject and came up with a number of commonalities: one's own urine in the bottle along with 9 pins, shards of glass or mirror shards, lots of salt, red string, and protective herbs.

One person suggested burning a black candle on top of the bottle with the name of the person to be protected against.

I only wish to be protected from malign magic. Would you recommend modifying this recipe to achieve the desired result
Maxine

Re: Witch Bottles

[ecosophia]

The standard version I know involves a collection of sharp iron or steel objects -- pins, needles, nails, broken chunks of metal, it's all good -- and then fill with your own urine. Salt would be a useful admixture, and of course binding it with a red thread is very classic. The goal here is to have something that has your energy signature on it to lure hostile magic toward an easy target, and discharge uselessly on the iron. I wouldn't worry about the black candle -- just make sure it's well hidden, and not within twenty feet of anyplace you spend much time (i.e., not under your bed or something).

New Thought, Emmet Fox and the One God

[(Anonymous)]

I am contemplating taking up the ideas of some reputable New Thought author and applying them with a view to improving my life. I began the programme of the Order of Essenes that you launched some time ago, but fell off that horse several weeks ago. To speak truth, I’m not sure that it is the one for me. What is your opinion of - or, to your knowledge, what is the reputation of - the writings of Emmet Fox, in particular his “The Golden Key”?

In a related question, I’ve noticed that Fox and other New Thought authors make frequent reference to the Bible and - in Fox’s case at any rate - God. As a polytheist, how do parse this sort of thing when dealing with such works? Clearly I’m going to have to work that one out.

You’ve mentioned in the past that when applying for membership in the brotherhood of Masons you had to affirm belief in a supreme deity. Would you mind saying here what that deity might be? It’s possible I may consider joining in the future, and am wondering how one with pagan, Hermetic and Hellenic tendencies might manage.

Kevin

Re: New Thought, Emmet Fox and the One God

[ecosophia]

1) I can't help you there. I've read only a very few New Thought authors -- Burks Hamner (the author of the Order of Essenes course) and William Walker Atkinson -- and don't have enough of a background in the broader tradition to offer advice.

2) The Masons don't specify which supreme being you have to worship, just that you have to worship one. Since most polytheist faiths do have a deity who is supreme -- consider the famous passage from The Iliad where Zeus talks about the golden chain -- this isn't a particular problem for most polytheists. The one thing is that the label "God" is pretty consistently used in Masonic literature and ritual for whatever supreme being you worship, and you pretty much have to be okay with that noun.

One suggestion: try to find a lodge with some members who are occultists. They can brief you on what the specific local requirements are and what the other brethren can handle hearing about.

[(Anonymous)]

(Tolkienguy)

How much overlap is there between Paths of Wisdom and Learning Ritual Magic? I am enjoying the first and was thinking of buying the second, but one of the Amazon reviews of LRM said that it only has the LBRP and Middle Pillar rituals, which are in PoW.

On a related note, what are people's opinions on Modern Magick by Donald Kraig? He seems to cover a wide variety of topics, but the excerpts of his book on Amazon had a really chatty writing style I found off-putting, and he comes off as less Christianity-friendly than JMG is (in particular, he has a whole chapter on "Tantra and Sex Magick", which sets off a whole choir of alarm bells in my head).

And last question-in the section in PoW on Tiphareth, you mention that some Christian Cabalists have equated Tiphareth to Christ, then dismiss this. Who would these people be, and are any of their books still in print? Does Gareth Knight make this argument in hus books on Cabala? I'm asking because the way you describe Tiphareth in that section, as a sort of mediator between the more human lower levels of the tree and the divine upper levels, lines up almost exactly with Christ's role in Christianity (the God-man through whom we can relate to the otherwise unknowable Father). On a somewhat related note, toward the beginning of PoW, you reproduce two images depicting Eden and the Fall from a Cabalistic point of view. Has any Christian Cabalist done a third diagram, depicting the reversal of the Fall with Christ's crucifixion?

[ecosophia]

1) Learning Ritual Magic is a guide for beginners, and it takes things very much a step at a time. Those are the only two rituals it includes, but it also has a lot of other exercises, practices, and themes for meditation.

2) To my mind, Kraig's book is a very mixed bag, and I don't tend to recommend it.

3) Please remember that Paths of Wisdom was the first book I ever published; it first appeared 22 years ago, and most of the writing was done some years before that. I had a very limited grasp of Christian Cabala in those days, and made some mistakes. You can find the equation of Christ to Tiphareth in almost any work of Christian Cabala, going back to Pico della Mirandola in the fifteenth century; yes, Knight among others discusses that. As for the third diagram, you'll find it in The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie, in the illustrations -- it's the diagram on the lid of the Pastos.

[(Anonymous)]

Following up from the post about diamond rings, what would you suggest to balance out any unwanted effects of a much loved and permanently worn diamond engagement ring?

[ecosophia]

Wear a sapphire. Its energies will very nicely counterbalance any difficulties you might get from a diamond.

[marcu]

Dear Mr Greer,

I was wondering, in your understanding and experience, is there something that should be the most important focus in a person's life?

[ecosophia]

That depends totally on the individual. Each person comes into each life with a unique combination of fate (the legacy of previous lives) and destiny (the goals the higher self seeks to express). Thus what should be the most important focus in your life is almost certainly different from what should be the most important focus in mine -- and, yes, figuring out what you want to focus on is an important part of being alive.

Daily prayer

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have a daily prayer practice? If so, what form does it take? Do you say individual prayers to each of the deities to which you're devoted, or just certain ones depending on the day and circumstances? When does your prayer time happen in relation to your daily magical practices? Do you do it right after your daily ritual and meditation, or some other time?

Re: Daily prayer

[ecosophia]

My daily prayer practice is integrated into my ritual and meditative work, and focuses on two specific deities. I'm not particularly gifted at prayer -- that's one of the reasons I'm a mage rather than a mystic -- and the form it takes is a period of silent freeform prayer ending with a traditional Druid prayer spoken aloud.

What novel?

[(Anonymous)]

Good day JMG,

This is not about occultism but I'll ask it anyway.
I read somewhere that there is a novel you prefer when compared to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
What would that be?
Thanks

Re: What novel?

[ecosophia]

The Well at the World's End by William Morris. It's not without its flaws, but to my taste it's a far more mature and thoughtful novel than Tolkien's, and its high moments -- and it has quite a few of them -- are of stunning power. It's all the more astonishing in that Morris quite literally invented fantasy fiction, and The Well at the World's End is the second fantasy novel ever written.

I also highly recommend his novel The Water of the Wondrous Isles. It was published in 1897, and the woman who's its central character is far more active, realistic and interesting than most of the heroines of our allegedly more liberated day.

Organic Items in Amulets

[packshaud]

When organic items are used to make an amulet, does decay makes the amulet stop working over time? If so, are there ways to process these items that extend useful life of the amulet?

Life us an apt word to use; maybe my thought is too Faustian. Machines are quite like amulets, minus life. First you use Fire to remove Water, killing the parts to avoid decay; then you combine the parts to build a machine. A form of necromancy with an elemental imbalance. Another straw in the pile of "this will not end well."

Re: Organic Items in Amulets

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, very much so. That's why it's standard to use dried herbs rather than fresh ones, and otherwise to make use of materials that will last.

2) Well put.

[(Anonymous)]

I bought Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth from the Book Depository, since the linked publisher only shipped to US. Do you get money from that?

And in starting the meditations, I realized quickly that I know very little about where my things come from. How much effort should I put into finding out? Is it enough to know I don't know, or should I read what I find on the internet, or send e-mails to try and get more information?

[ecosophia]

1) Yes. They're a legit bookseller, and buy their stock from publishers.

2) I'd encourage you to do some reading and asking around, and learn at least a little about where things come from.

Retrotopia/Rust Belt

[saturns_pet]

JMG:

1) I've read enough of Retrotopia to wonder: did you deliberately craft it to be a reader's tour of a sanely harmonized human organism? Carr's destinations in the book to me are explicit references to some of the parts of the human being. I gave no spoilers! Perhaps I am merely 'appropriating' your work for my own allegorical purposes? Bwah ha ha ha. In that case I'm being rarely fashionable. :)

2) In previous posts or comments you wrote that you bet on the Rust Belt in our general collapse and it did not go so well in some ways. Perhaps I'm misremembering but I don't think so. If I'm remembering correctly, and if you do not mind, then would you list a couple of general reasons why that didn't work out for you? I live in rural Michigan, and, in some ways, my part of it is a field of blocked opportunities and willful and unwillful ignorance to such degrees that I'm a borderline hermit when it comes to civic life and I'd rather not be. I'm wondering if some of our experiences of trends in once stable but now decaying industrial zones are common experiences.

Stay Salty,

Saturn's Pet

Re: Retrotopia/Rust Belt

[ecosophia]

1) Hmmm! No, I didn't intend that, but it doesn't surprise me that it worked out this way.

2) Yes, it was a gamble, and no, it didn't work the way I'd hoped it would. Partly that was an effect of local problems with pollution that put some serious strain on my and my wife's health; partly the opiate epidemic hit hard and caused some very problematic shifts in the community; and partly Amtrak was looking at closing down the train station where I was, which would have left me with no way to get anywhere else. On the bright side, we seem to have dodged the civil war I thought we were going to be facing, and so hiding in the hills was a little less necessary than I'd expected.

etheric solar charging

[(Anonymous)]

A couple of questions regarding same...how early can the charging be done? Sunrise, as soon as the sun is over the horizon... also, do you think that seasonal affective disorder might be caused by a depleted etheric body and, if so, the charging might help? I'm planning on trying it so if I have any notable results I'll post them come springtime. Hmmm, guess that's three questions... etheric solar charging is mentioned in our host's book 'Paths of Wisdom', in case anyone was wondering. Thanks much!

Re: etheric solar charging

[ecosophia]

1) As soon as the sun is visible over the horizon.

2 & 3) I don't know. It might be worth giving it a try, though.

[isabelcooper]

(Also fairly cute! Okay, I'll stop being me now. :P)

Speculative/fiction-writing question: given how the Tree of Life and Adam Kadmon intersect, would you think it likely that non-human mages (whether magic animals or different forms of life altogether) would have their own versions? Or would they have a completely different magical practice?

[ecosophia]

I'm sure they'd have a very different scheme. For example, we think of "up" as good as a legacy of millions of years of primate life where climbing a tree was a source of safety. An intelligent animal that didn't have that evolutionary experience -- say, a descendant of llamas -- probably wouldn't think of the spiritual as "higher" than the material. Come up with something that fits your species of choice, and have fun with it!

Kirlian Photography

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,

Would you know if there are any links between kirlian photography and etheric or astral bodies?

Thanks

Karim

Re: Kirlian Photography

[ecosophia]

Good question. It would take a lot of systematic research by people with a good working knowledge of the etheric plane to settle that.

Mushroms astrological correspondence

[guillem66]

Any idea about the astrological associations of mushroms? Im not even talking about the alucinogenous like amanita muscaria but of the edible ones, like pleurotus ostreatus.

Also, in making a wax talisman, it will help if i mix in the wax some herb matching the planetary correspondence? And vervain to give it more punch?

Thanks,

Guillem

Re: Mushroms astrological correspondence

[ecosophia]

1) I don't think I've ever seen that discussed in the old literature. I have no idea!

2) Very much so. I do paper talismans by taking a disk of water color paper, painting it with a tea made of appropriate herbs, letting it dry, and then drawing the talisman on it.

Sewing Needles and Acedia: a Data Point

[methylethyl]

I had been trying to scale back my stupid-internet-timewasting for a while, and gave your sharp-objects idea a whirl. I took a sewing needle, and just set it on the hinge on the back of the computer monitor. I thought eh, if nothing else, I'll know it's there, and it'll remind me I'm trying to leash this beast.

A couple of weeks in, the LAN port broke. We ordered a new one, replaced it... and I removed the sewing needle. Goal accomplished: I was without internet for a week, except jumping on husband's device to furtively check email. Not sure I can afford to replace computer parts every few weeks, though!

Looking now for a small icon of St. Evagrius to replace it (he was the first of the Desert Fathers to address the topic of acedia). Perhaps he will be more merciful and not break my computer.

Re: Sewing Needles and Acedia: a Data Point

[ecosophia]

Many thanks for the data point!

A Myster under the Pillow

[(Anonymous)]

With your considerable knowledge of folk magic, rituals and the like, maybe you can help me solve the following little mystery:

in their bed, under the pillow, someone kept a piece of white ribbon with what appears to be a spot of dried blood on it. Have you ever heard of something like this before? what could it be for?

I really appreciate Magic Mondays, I've learned some important things. Thank you.

N

Re: A Myster under the Pillow

[ecosophia]

Hmm. That's one I have never heard of.

[(Anonymous)]

John--

Re your response to the question re Inferno and the idea of the privileged being caught up in something larger than they realize or understand.

To the extent that we are talking about occult forces here and the interactions of will, fate, and destiny, but on a scale of societies rather than individuals, are those mitigating actions possible? Or are there certain cycles which simply must be run because the karma and/or destiny possess such overwhelming inertia--or perhaps that the will of a society is too unfocused? Obviously, things are born, mature, flourish, decay, and die, but must things die "in madness"? Or is a more accepting transition from one cycle to another possible on a scale of civilizations?

Given that humans have a hard enough time managing our paths individually, I suppose it would be a tough ask for us to achieve something like that on a societal level...

David, by the lake

[ecosophia]

It's always possible to mitigate the impact of such things on your own life, your own family, and your own community. Whether those steps are going to have effects further out, influencing the broader society, is a question I don't think anyone can answer -- but why not make the attempt?

Heathen Golden Dawn

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I completed "Learning Ritual Magic" several months ago, and since then have been unsure where I want to take my magical practice.

I've had some interest in the Celtic GD, and also in continuing with your other books like "Circles of Power."

However, I also came across some posts about your Heathen GD project where you mention following a path that really "clicks" with you, with gods you are comfortable with. I've had mixed feelings about the Judeo-Christian symbolism. Sometimes I find interest in the parts that don't remind me as much of "stock-Christianity," but I also have some resistance towards it due to some negative associations from my conservative upbringing.

Although I've not studied much heathen material, I've felt a pull towards it and am wondering if that would be worth exploring further.

How would you recommend I do this? Maybe start with the heathen LBRP you posted, and see if it resonates with me?

I'm a little cautious about jumping headfirst into a new system after spending a while with the Judeo-Christian GD and not being sure its the best path for me (I took longer much longer than 9 months with LRM). So I'm thinking just exploring a bit may be best for now and seeing what works best.

If I find the heathen material resonates, where would you suggest I go from there?

Thanks,
Ross

Re: Heathen Golden Dawn

[ecosophia]

I'd definitely suggest exploring a bit. If the heathen material resonates, you might still be better off going on to Circles of Power for now, because Sven and I still have a lot of work to do before the Heathen Golden Dawn project is ready for publication.

Can relatives still influence after they die?

[(Anonymous)]

My mother, her sisters and various other relatives were always pathologically resentful of others’ accumulating successes. Especially, their siblings or children. One was supposed to be successful enough not to be a burden, but if one went much beyond that, the passive aggressive (or outright aggressive) behavior was meant to pound you back into their approved place for you. So as a naturally talented and serious practicing artist, I found that once I got beyond my “station,” the snark got really nasty from those who should have been most supportive. They are dead now, but I find that within a few hours of good news or a success, I will be gripped with some kind of pain in my lower limbs. It feels like someone is trying to “cut me off at the knees” to prevent me from moving forward. Until I started reading Magic Mondays, I always thought it was psychological on my part. Now I’m not so sure. My question is – can individuals keep behaving badly and having this type of influence after they die? If so, what should I do? I usually just tell them to “F**k Off, it is now my time, so get over it.” That actually helps for a while.

Re: Can relatives still influence after they die?

[ecosophia]

It depends very much on circumstances. Most likely, the experience you're having is psychological in nature, but if one or more of your dead relatives got stuck in certain intermediate stages in the after-death process, they might be able to harass you. Regular practice of banishing rituals such as the Sphere of Protection or the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram will help; telling them to buzz off, as you're doing, will also help. More complex ways of dealing with this sort of thing require serious training in ceremonial magic.

[mesosylvania]

Two questions:

1. What made you make the transition from practicing occultism to writing about/teaching it?

2. Besides a revival of the Notory Arts, what are the top three magical R&D projects you would like to see completed in your current lifetime?

Happy Magic Monday!
-Anthony

[ecosophia]

1) I was frustrated because nobody had gotten around to writing a really good book on the Tree of Life. It finally sank in that if I wanted that to happen, the best way to do it was to write one myself. Things followed from there.

2) Good question. I haven't put much thought into that.

Energy healing

[mesosylvania]

One more question:

As I'm eagerly awaiting the publication of the Dolmen Arch books (any update on release date?), I recall that you mentioned that the course includes instruction on a Druidic system of energy healing. I've been reading Bengston's The Energy Cure, and he seems to be reporting extraordinary effects, but I haven't heard much from you regarding the efficacy of energy healing. You have mentioned do-in and cell salts as cornerstones of your home healthcare- is there a reason you haven't mentioned energy healing more?

Thanks,
-Anthony

Re: Energy healing

[ecosophia]

Mostly because it's a minor part of my own health care. I can do it, but I get very good results with cell salts and Do-In, so tend to rely on those.

Santa Muerte

[(Anonymous)]

For those interested in New North American religions I found a podcast by a Mexican cop initiated into Santa Muerte. He says they use some western occultism, drops Crowley's name.

Episode 13, Begin @ 1.16

https://ernestemersonpodcast.com/pages/episodes-11-20

DaShui

Re: Santa Muerte

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this.

Lucid Dreaming

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

In a previous Magic Monday there was mention of lucid dreaming. I didn't think that it was anything special and I now realize that I may have a talent for it. How might one put lucid dreaming to good use? Can you point me to further reading on this topic?

Many thanks,

another Chris

Re: Lucid Dreaming

[ecosophia]

I have very close to zero talent for dreamwork, so have never looked into the lucid dreaming literature and don't have any advice to offer. I know that there are a lot of books on lucid dreaming out there, though.