Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is of George Washington Carey, another American occultist too rarely remembered today. One of the major figures in the end of homeopathy that uses the twelve biochemic cell salts, he worked out a detailed system of spiritual and physical healing using those twelve remedies, assigning them to the signs of the Zodiac. For much of the twentieth century, most of the correspondence courses offered by occult schools included lessons on the cell salts lifted with or without credit from Carey's work, and the kind of old-fashioned health food store that catered to alternative spirituality as well as alternative diets inevitably had all twelve cell salts in stock. (Longtime Seattle residents may recall the charming Mari-Don Healthways store on 45th street in Wallingford; that's where I got my first cell salts, back when I was first learning to use them.) The wheel below on the right, which can be found in various places online, is one of Carey's creations. 

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. If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 143,916th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.0 of The Magic Monday FAQ here.

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

Re: haunting

[ecosophia]

People differ dramatically in their capacity to see the etheric and astral planes. Ask your wife if her mother or grandmother used to see strange things a lot -- the Second Sight, as the Celts used to call it, generally runs through the maternal bloodline.

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

I will ask and that could be the case. My wife's mom is a very devout catholic woman. My wife was taking her mom to the doctor last month when a man in the waiting room asked if he could pray over her. Her mom has had her legs amputated because of diabetes. The man put his hands on her and prayed. Then he took his hands away shocked saying "You are filled with the Holy Spirit."

Re: haunting

[ecosophia]

It sounds as though it could well be the case. Is your wife a practicing Catholic? The church has its problems these days, but the spiritual practices it offers still have a lot of power to them, and can chase off hauntings if those get annoying.

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

We are both practicing catholics. My wife has asked the priest to stop by and bless the house but he dosen't have time. The haunting stuff is all very small. My grandfathers ashes were in our house for about six months before we moved in but it always seemed to me that he was the haunting type.

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

Not the haunting type. (typing error)

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

FWIW, As a lay Catholic you have a lot more resources available to you than you might realize.

First, the kinds of natural magics discussed here-- the use of vinegar, say, or a cut onion, or protective herbs to repel spirits is very much within the bounds of the Catholic tradition. St. Hildegard of Bingen, a doctor of the Church, recommends several various natural substances for spiritual protection in her Physica, and St. Raphael the Archangel does the same in the Book of Tobit. If they can do it, why not you?

Second, as a baptized Christian, you have the authority to bless your own home. Blessings are sacramentals, which draw their power from the operator, and you officially have the right to bless anything under your authority. Get some holy water and blessed incense-- you can bless these yourself, too, if necessary. You can follow the traditional formula for a home blessing, or you can simply go through your home room by room, sprinkling the holy water while praying the Asperges Me and censing with a suitable prayer. Or both.

Finally I second JMG's recommendation of St. Michael-- he's the real deal, and you can probably find candles dedicated to him at your local grocery store. And remember that your home has its own guardian angel as well.

Re: haunting

[ecosophia]

May I suggest a devotion to St. Michael the Archangel? Catholics I know have found that a very effective response to nonphysical troubles of this sort.

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks John, that sounds quit sensible to me.

Will Oberton

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

Yes! And he will even help the less-than-devout. The guy’s an angel. 😄

Re: haunting

[ecosophia]

I dealt with him back when I was doing standard Golden Dawn workings, and had excellent results even though I'm unbaptized and a polytheist to boot.

Re: haunting

[(Anonymous)]

Off the main topic, but a few random questions regarding Michael--

While you were doing Hermetic GD work, did you invoke him as archangel of Tiphareth or Hod?

Was it your view that the sephirothic Michael is the same as the entity invoked as archangel of Fire?

And did you ever dedicate traditional Catholic or Orthodox prayers to him when invoking him in a Golden Dawn context?

Re: haunting

[ecosophia]

1) Tiphareth. He's clearly a solar archangel, and Raphael the messenger a Mercurial power.

2) Yes.

3) No. I don't belong to those religions so didn't feel that would be appropriate.