Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's just shy of midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is the only surviving image of George Ripley, one of the great alchemists of the medieval English tradition -- believe it or not!  (Ahem.)  A canon -- i.e., a priest who lived a monastic life -- at Bridlington Priory in England, he wrote several highly influential books on alchemy, the most widely read being The Compound of Alchemy. His work was studied closely by such later alchemical notables as John Dee and Isaac Newton. (Yes, that Isaac Newton. Did any of your teachers ever mention to you that Newton put more time into studying alchemy than he did into working out the laws of gravity and motion? No, I didn't think so -- but it's quite true.)    

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. 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. 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.

With that said, have at it!

***This Magic Monday is now closed -- and yes, this means you. See you next week!***
 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I've purchased the Dolmen Arches course, and plan to spend the next few years working through it. I also want to get started on improving my self and working towards becoming a good Druid before starting on the course , as I recently found the religion and found it fits what I want to do with my life, and my values and beliefs quite well. However, I feel like I'm not in a good position for it: in order to be able to do so, I first need to get my life in order.

What I'm thinking is thus taking the time to get my life in order, figure out what I want and how to improve my life on the material level first. I found that I'm not sure of exactly how to fix it, although I know I need to do quite a bit of work in order to even begin to live the way I want to live. My current plan is thus to journal intensively until I receive the book at which point I'll start the more intensive spiritual practices contained in there.

a) Does this course of action make sense to you, or would it make more sense to start with basic spiritual practices at this point in time?

b) I plan to do two journaling sessions, one each morning and one each evening for the time being, both around 15 minutes a day. Does this sound like a reasonable amount to you?

c) I've started it today, and found that I've shifted slightly. Oddly, not in regards to anything I was journaling about, but in a couple other areas of life. Is it normal to see shifts in utterly unrelated areas of life when journaling? Also, seeing anything this early is a little surprising to me, but if it sticks I won't complain at all.

d) I found the process of writing the first thing which came to mind extremely easy. It was so easy in fact that I lost track of what was “conscious me” and what was “subconscious me”, and it felt almost like I was bringing two parts of my subconscious mind into a conversation with each other. Do I need to worry about this, or can I let my subconscious mind do all the talking?

[ecosophia]

a) The journaling is an excellent idea but I'd encourage you also to begin at least one spiritual practice at this time as well. The Sphere of Protection is the one I'd recommend -- it takes only a few minutes to do each day, and begins the process of strengthening and cleansing your subtle bodies and getting you in a balanced relationship to the elements.

b) That sounds fine. I tended to do one 30-60 minute session when I was doing intensive journaling, so it's certainly not too much!

c) That's very common, and a good sign.

d) That's nothing to worry about. Let the process go where it wants to go.

[jjensenii]

I've started practicing visualization, and have been using my copy of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha for the purpose (it was on-hand when I got started). I seem to have no trouble recalling the feel and smell, I do a decent job with visualizing the image of the Buddha on the cover, the Bantam logo on the spine, and even a sort-of-ok job with the bar code on the back, but the text is giving me fits. Even the title "SIDDHARTHA" is a challenge: I keep getting a "blind spot" in my visualization right around the first "H" for some reason.

You've mentioned in the past that you had trouble with visualization. Is it normal to have extra difficulty with text? Do you have any tips for strengthening that skill in particular, such as maybe focusing on each letter, then on pairs of letter, and build up to the whole word?

[ecosophia]

That's entirely normal, because the brain tries to switch from visualizing to reading when it sees text. When you read, you don't notice the shapes of the letters -- you simply take in the meaning of the word at a glance, and that's done in a different part of the brain from the visual cortex.

For now, you might want to leave the text alone; alternatively, look at it until you can see it as a shape rather than as a word, and try that.

[(Anonymous)]

a) I just checked the table of contents of the Dolmen Arch and saw the Sphere of Protection included there, so I won't need to worry about starting something and dropping it later. I've also found a post on it on Dreamwidth where you outline the ritual. This raises a couple questions though:

1) You mention in the post on it that the version taught in the Dolmen Arch work is different from the one you posted. Do you know if I can find the version in the Dolmen Arch online, or does it matter too much if the version I use for now is different from the one I'll eventually use?

2) Why is this the very first practice you recommend? Why isn't meditation a better idea for an initial practice given my current goals?

3) I currently have no relationship with any pantheon. What's the best process to find a pantheon to worship and invoke in the Sphere of Protection?

b) Excellent! I was worried it wasn't enough; if it turns out I need do do more I'll lengthen one session (or both), but for now, I think this should be enough.

c&d) Well, I'll keep going and see where this process takes me.

[ecosophia]

1) That's a valid point. Do you have access to a copy of The Druid Magic Handbook? That has basically the same version of the SoP as in the Dolmen Arch.

2) I recommend meditating in a space that has been cleansed and charged by a ritual like the SoP. In order to do that, you have to know the ritual first!

3) If you're comfortable with the Druidry of the Druid Revival, you might consider the British Druid deities central to most of the older Revival traditions -- Hu the Mighty, Ced the earth mother, Hesus the chief of tree-spirits, and so on. Here again, The Druid Magic Handbook has a discussion.

[(Anonymous)]

I sometimes feel a quick and involuntary shiver in my body for just a moment or two. My impression is that this usually happens when I feel a “charge” of energy - when I have an insight, or feel especially connected spiritually, or when I think of someone and have the feeling that they are thinking of me in that moment. Tonight it happened after I’d finished my vanishing ritual. It’s not an all unpleasant - it’s somewhere along the spectrum between weird/neutral to almost pleasurable. Is there an occult explanation for what this is? I’d say it happens on average 2-3 times a week.

[(Anonymous)]

1&3) I'll need to see if my library has a copy of it. If it doesn't, my very limited budget won't allow me cover another book for a little while.

2) Why does the ritual help with meditation?

[(Anonymous)]

3) In response to a comment on the post about the Sphere of Protection you wrote, "With regard to gods, one very widely used way to go about it is to start with mythology. Read the myths of different cultures, and see if there's one that resonates strongly with you. That can help narrow down the field a little."

This immediately narrows the field down for me: Greek myths resonate with me quite strongly, much more so than anything else. I think I'll work with them for the time being and see how it goes. This also works well since I know the form of worship that was used, so I'll reach out to them and see what response I get.

[(Anonymous)]

I've noticed something odd. I know a lot of people who can't stand to be in a dark room, at all. I've also noticed the sheer amount of light pollution in contemporary society, and also that when I'm at home I need to deal with family coming in to whatever room I'm in for the sole purpose of turning lights on.

Do you know what drives the obsession with keeping the dark away?

[ecosophia]

1&3) Fair enough! If you library system doesn't have it, let me know and I'll post the opening ritual -- that's the crucial difference.

2) A lot of what makes meditation difficult in today's world is that what occultists call the lower astral plane is full of crud. A banishing ritual or protective ritual like the SoP clears some of that away.

Changeling Issue

[(Anonymous)]

My grandfather developed schizophrenia and spent the second half of his life in a hospital sedated for decades. He claimed my father (his biological son) was a changeling. I believe it caused my father to experience alienation and psychological harm. I have read several descriptions of this fairytale creature and understand that the label could historically even lead to the death of the person on the receiving end.
Would this issue be similar to being cursed? Would a strong enough SOP ritual be enough to banish the effects of this labelling from my family even if my father lives in another county? How would I incorporate this notion into an SOP or would the ritual banish any dark entities associated with it automatically? Would a better remedy to simply ignore it and not focus? Or perhaps build on the other side of the idea and perceive it literally as my grandfather did but look at it as a positive and be happy to be part of the fairy world...

[ecosophia]

That's a perfectly valid approach, and if you want some idea of what others have been doing along the same lines, there are regulars here who work with the Greek pantheon and will doubtless leap to make suggestions.

[ecosophia]

No, I don't. It baffles me.

Re: Changeling Issue

[ecosophia]

Unless you have any reason to think that your father actually was a changeling, the best thing to do is to treat it as the ravings of a lunatic and ignore it.

[(Anonymous)]

1) Unfortunately my library doesn't have a copy. I'll see if I can convince them to buy a copy of the Druid Magic Handbook, but for the time being I lack access to it.

Thank you for being willing to post so much material!

2) Why is the astral plane full of crud right now?

[(Anonymous)]

It seems like fear, but what are they so scared of?

[(Anonymous)]

Looking through the Dolmen Arch table of contents, there doesn't seem to be anything which looks like divination. Is this assessment accurate? If so, can the course be combined with any divinatory system, or is there one which would work better for it?

[ecosophia]

A good question to which I don't know the answer.

[ecosophia]

That's correct -- many magical systems at that time didn't include divination. It can be combined with any divinatory system.

[ecosophia]

1) Here you go. The passage below is the specific text from the Dolmen Arch; you'll need two gods, one older and one younger, and two goddesses, one older and one younger. (For example, Zeus and Apollo, and Demeter and Persephone.)

*******
Once you have chosen the powers you will invoke, stand with your feet parallel to one another, with the length of one of your feet between them. Divide your weight evenly between your feet, and bend your knees very slightly. Keep your spine upright but not stiff, as though you were suspended from the top of your head.
Standing in this position, you will make the same gestures as in the Christian sign of the Cross, but with different words, images, and intentions. Perform the ritual as follows:

1. Touch your forehead, and say the name of the elder of the two gods, or the first of the four powers you’ve chosen to invoke: for example “Hu the Mighty, great Druid god.” As you do this, imagine that the sun is far above your head, radiating golden light downwards toward you. See a ray of golden light descending to the crown of your head and passing within, to a point at the center of your head, where it forms a sphere of brilliant light a few inches across. Feel the warmth of the light radiating outwards through your head.

2. Draw your hand down to your solar plexus, the space just below where the two sides of your ribcage separate. Say the name of the younger god, or the second power: for example, “Hesus of the Oaks, chief of tree spirits.” Meanwhile, imagine that the ray of golden light descends further, creating a second sphere of brilliant light at your solar plexus. From there, as you invoke your second power, the ray extends straight down through the midline of your body into the ground beneath you, extending all the way down to the heart of the Earth. Visualize this as a brilliant sphere of silvery-green light, the color of sunlight on moving water, as large and bright as the sun but located far below you.

3. Bring your hand up to heart level, and then out to your right shoulder, and say the name of the elder goddess, or the third power: for example, “Ceridwen the Wise, keeper of the cauldron.” Imagine a second ray streaming out to the right from the sphere of light at your solar plexus, flowing through your right side in a straight line out to infinite distance. Hold this image as you invoke your third power.

4. Draw your hand across to your left shoulder, and say the name of the younger goddess, or the fourth power: for example, “Niwalen of the Flowers, child of spring.” Imagine a third ray streaming out to the left from the sphere of light at your solar plexus, flowing through your left side and across the palm of your left hand in a straight line out to infinite distance. Hold this image as you invoke your fourth power.

5. Cross your hands over your chest, right over left, and say, “May the powers of nature bless and protect me, now and always.” Here imagine two more rays of light streaming out from the sphere at your solar plexus. One of them goes straight ahead of you into infinite distance, the other straight out behind you into infinite distance. At this point the sphere of light in your solar plexus is the meeting place of six rays of light extending above, below, to your left, to your right, ahead of you, and behind you. Hold this image as you say the final invocation.

[ecosophia]

2) Human mental chatter, especially the debased sort that fixates on the ego and its cravings, fills the lower astral with crud. At intervals the crud discharges down the planes and causes disasters and mass dieoffs of various kinds. We're probably in for a doozy, though it's impossible to know when.

Prayer

[shadow_rider]

Hello... do you think that a prayer is something that should be repeated many times or is it something that should be done once? I wondered whether it was a 'tracks in space' activity or whether I'd be annoying whatever deity I was praying to by repetition. I know I would be irritated by many requests for the same thing. What do you think?

Born in a shirt

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

does it have any significance if somebody is born either „with a caul“ or „en caul“? I looked up there is a difference between these two. In Czech we say „be born in a shirt“.

Hana

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG:
I know you've told us not to mix systems but I have a question. I'm currently studying Druidry but would like more of the clarity that seems to come from all the house and shield charts you've helped interpret on previous MMs. The fews are very good but sometimes tend to wander off and give me spiritual advice (or even info on what's happening to those around me) when I'm really after mundane guidelines for me, myself and I. LOL
Now, if geomancy is like the I Ching, then it's okay to mix it with Druidry, yes? But if geomancy is like Golden Dawn, then it isn't.
Not sure what to do.
Lex