Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's getting on for midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is of a portrait statue of En no Gyōja, the traditional founder of the Japanese occult tradition of Shugendo. Born in 634, he devoted his life to herbalism, ascetic practices in the high mountains, and a free mix of Shinto, Buddhist, and Taoist magical disciplines, earning a reputation as one of Japan's greatest occultists. Shugenja, as practitioners of Shugendo are known, still revere his memory and practice various forms of the occult tradition he founded. He's still sufficiently famous today to appear in anime from time to time; think of him as Japan's Merlin and you won't be too far off (though Kobo Daishi, who will doubtless be featured in an upcoming Magic Monday, also has a good claim to that title). 

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 I'm going to have somewhat limited email access tomorrow and it may be Tuesday or even Wednesday 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 -- and yes, that means you. See you next week!***

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

A quick glance at my natal chart shows just Jupiter and Neptune in retrograde. In addition to that, Jupiter is in opposition to the Sun (only 17' from perfection), and Neptune is square Venus (more loosely). Would either of those be considered badly afflicted? What sort of characteristics might those afflictions exhibit? If it matters, I'm a Leo Sun-Moon-and Mid-Heaven, Scorpio rising native, and you're probably more familiar with my personal afflictions than I am!

Again, thank you so much,
Tripp

[ecosophia]

What sign is Jupiter in? What about Neptune? That has more of an influence than anything else.

[(Anonymous)]

Let's see, Jupiter is in Aquarius, so no essential affliction there. And Neptune is in Sagittarius, so again, no essential affliction. Interestingly perhaps, Jupiter and Neptune dignify each other in sextile. And both have other dignities elsewhere in the chart.

Tripp

[ecosophia]

Okay, so they're of mixed dignity. Whether or not you can use them is a complex question, though I tend to doubt it, as in my experience, retrogradation tends to mess up planetary talismans.

[(Anonymous)]

So far I've only done natural magic workings with planets, and am otherwise occupied with entry-level Golden Dawn rituals, and dignity/affliction don't matter so much in either of those. But I wanted to get it straight in my head before I even have a chance to make the sort of mistake Dr. Melvink's friend made with the Saturn talisman.

So then the verdict in my case is, dont use talismans of Jupiter or Neptune because of their retrogradation, or any other planet with an essential affliction in my natal chart. Got it. Thanks for the lesson!

Tripp