Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's just shy of midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is of Elias Ashmole, one of the great figures in the British tradition of alchemy. An extraordinary scholar interested in just about everything, he was among other things fascinated by alchemy, and put together and edited several important collections of English alchemical documents from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. A capable astrologer, he was also one of the first people known to history who joined a lodge of stonemasons without being in the building trades, and his initiation is thus one of the early mileposts in the emergence of Freemasonry. 

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)]

Dear JMG,
Not a question but ...
I've been reading your very detailed UK forecast on SubscribeStar and have been inspired by your willingness to risk public predictions to make my own.
I've been divining with Tarot for many decades now and over the last 15 years have been forecasting various elections that take my fancy. So far the Tarot has been stone-cold accurate every time ... so here's my prediction for the election here next week and following period. I must admit that I have a decided (Brexit) preference which may have influenced my interpretation.
Anyway Corbyn vs Johnson - 2 not very good readings but only one of these men can be our next PM, so who has the least bad hand in this time frame? Johnson definitely and Brexit is certain; harder than softer.
I also expect Johnson to have about 4 good months (I did the reading 2 weeks ago) and then be in trouble after that; possibly his ...er .."social" life nay show up.
Thanks as always for all that you do
Mark

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this -- and good for you, for being willing to put your predictions out there where they can be tested. Now we'll see what happens!

Questions!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

1) Do you recommend any texts on the study of angels, their names and correspondences? I was hoping to find something that didn't include any malevolent entities as well. Also, last week I saw that you had Sachiel associated with Saturn, but I've also seen Sachiel associated with Jupiter as well.

2) I already have a copy of your book about Natural Magic (and enjoy using it!). Do you recommend any other other books on the same subject?

Thanks!

Re: Questions!

[ecosophia]

1) Gustav Davidson's A Dictionary of Angels is well worth having, though it does have fallen angels. As for Sachiel, oog -- that was a brain fart on my part. Of course Sachiel corresponds to Jupiter, and Cassiel to Saturn.

2) No, that's why I wrote the book.

[(Anonymous)]

Some time ago you wrote about "an educated mind illuminated by revelation", and speculated on methods to prepare the mind for receiving that kind of flash of intuitive insight. Have you made any progress along these lines that you're willing to share?

[ecosophia]

I'm still in the early-to-middle stages of developing that. The first stage was assembling a good working set of practices that focus on discursive meditation rather than ritual magic, while having a suitable protective ritual for daily practice; that's done. The second stage is creating a series of weekly lessons in suitable subjects, meant as raw material for study and meditation; that's in process, and I'm also reading extensively in suitable subjects. There are several additional stages, which are still being sketched out; I'll be publishing things as they get settled.

Meditation retreat problem

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Archdruid
I am dealing with seemingly chronic symptoms after a meditation retreat 14 months ago and I wanted to share and ask for any insights. I'll give some brief background first.

About ten years ago, I began meditating to face anxiety-related issues that had come to a head. After a "spiritual crisis" that lasted about two months I fell into a much improved state in my life. I became a better husband and father and our house became more peaceful. I started following a Buddhist teacher and meditated morning and eve daily for more than two hours total. In retrospect, in the past few years or so I had become attached to my spiritual practice and the way meditating made me feel. My sense is that it needed to happen but I got off track.

Two summers ago I left my teaching position of 17 years. My family had planned a year long trip to India, mostly to work at a village school in the Himalayas, and instead of taking a sabbatical, I quit my job. I knew I was burned out. But during the past year a mid-life crisis was growing and I was becoming fixated on what I considered an energetic block. It felt to me like this reoccurring block was keeping me from manifesting. In retrospect it is easy to see this as a symptom left over from "pre-meditation" anxiety. In addition, my father was becoming more progressively ill with Parkinson's, while my family was set to leave. So there was a lot of stress.

It was under these circumstances that I decided to attend the 10 day, Goenka Vipassana retreat. I wasn't diligent with my research into this retreat and in retrospect I entered it in a very materialistic way. I wanted to feel like I could move on with my life and I wanted it to happen soon. I wasn’t cognizant of how aggressive my motives were.

Unfortunately these retreats turned out to be extremely aggressive, but once there I opted to "face my fears" and push through. There was also a clash in how they were asking me to practice and how I was trained. I tried the new way but kept falling back to what I knew. I was turning my attention inward while they were telling me to scan On day 5. I almost left and I wish had. I can see now where the old patterns kept me there. It was like a war. It feels crazy to look back on it.

I believe the most damaging thing was my ability to stay upright throughout the retreat. My regular practice allowed me physically to do this. On day 8, I saw my life pass before my eyes and then what looked like broken figures of light. I didnt turn away from this...I thought I was facing it. By the second to last day I didn't feel well. I noticed that my head felt heavy. I tried to skip an evening practice but the attendant came to my door and I wasn't clear enough to insist that I rest. I still felt like I was in some "control."

About two days after I returned home the symptoms started. Roaring pain in my head and neck, tinnitus, mood swings, rapid heart and total insomnia. . There was so much stress because our family trip to India was on the line but it was ultimately cancelled. After about 40 days of these symptoms I checked in to a psychiatric facility. I didn’t know what else to do. I received nerve medication. The pain and insomnia had led to many suicidal ideations. I was surprised to find that marijuana helps with the pain although I don’t love what it does to my awareness. (It had been some years since I smoked it) I’m happy it works when I need it.

To me it feels like I blew something out. My throat chakra is gone and energy moves in aberrant ways. It takes all sorts of somatic tricks for me to find a way to feel anything close to a center...like brain damage of some sort. Meanwhile the inner agitation that is present without the nerve medication is not something I could exist with. Even with the medication I lead a miserable existence until my recent encounter with cannabis. I still only sleep about 3 hours.

I’m just wondering if you have any insights or words in reaction to my situation. I appreciate what you share.

Re: Meditation retreat problem

[readoldthings]

Hi,

I do not know if I can help. But I wanted to thank you for posting this, and offer my sincerest condolences.

About 6 years ago I did a Goenka retreat. Probably for the same reasons as you-- They're free, and "meditation is good for you." The experience was a nightmare. I spent the last night awake having a panic attack, which I was only able to calm by repeating the Hail Mary (oddly enough, since my spiritual practice was 100% pagan at the time.) I left on the 10th day-- the day when they allow you to talk again-- despite the attendants repeatedly telling me "That isn't recommended" and trying to intimidate me back into the meditation hall.

(Actually, just typing this made me very angry, and I had to take a minute to calm myself down.)

I am not sure exactly what the Goenka tradition is, but in my view it's a form of very evil magic, designed to break the spirit. Did you notice that, after a day spent in silence and isolation, your only human contact was a lecture by Goenka? And did you notice how much time he spent mocking every sort of practice other than his own. "You think you must do some rite, some ritual, visualize that god or that god, that goddess or that goddess. No, the Enlightened One wants you to meditate only on the bodily sensations!"

Anyway. When I returned from the retreat, my nervous system was shot. I contacted JMG, and he recommended that I spend time every day in an open temple (this is a technical magical term), studying the teachings of the magical order I am part of. I found that this helped, and things returned to normal after a few weeks.

Now, I am not going to pass myself off as an expert, and JMG and possibly others will have better advice than I can give. It sounds to me, though, like your energetic system took a severe beating-- the equivalent, maybe, to what's called a "qi deviation" by qigong healer. In that case, something like the ceremonial magic that I was doing would be inadvisable. What may be relevant for you, is that the tradition that I was working in is Celtic paganism, which is very different from Buddhism, and that difference helped me a great deal. In fact, after the Goenka retreat, I developed a severe aversion to anything Buddhist-related, even to schools utterly different from Goenka's. To this day, it's hard for me to even read books by Buddhists, or even by followers of other religions which have been influenced by Buddhism, like Quanzhen Taoism. So, it may-- I emphasize may-- be that a bit of spiritual reading and light practice in a tradition as different from Theravada Buddhism as Celtic paganism is might benefit you.

Finally, I'd like to offer to pray for you. Both the Welsh Druid gods and the Blessed Virgin Mary helped me get through Goenka's horror show, and I'd be happy to petition either of these on your behalf, if you were interested.

Working with multiple pantheons

[rationalist858]

Hello JMG. Could you please share some rules when working with gods from different pantheons? Thanks!

Re: Working with multiple pantheons

[ecosophia]

Depends on what you mean by "working with." If you mean that you pray to gods from different pantheons, that's not a subject for rules -- ask the deities for their advice, and then follow it. If you mean in magical workings, I don't recommend it -- it's like trying to write a word in more than one alphabet at the same time, which will generate pretty fair νoنцeнσ!

Astrology question

[(Anonymous)]

You mentioned that Mercury was in his detriment in Sagittarius. Since I have Mercury in Sag, I'd like to know what that implies. The notebook from my long-ago astrology class doesn't discuss detriments, falls, etc, nor do the notes on my chart. Reason tells me I have a lot of such detriments: Venus in Scorpio, Jupiter in Pisces, Saturn in Aries, Uranus in Taurus, and Neptune in Virgo.

[The others are Mars in Scorpio, which is certainly not manifesting right now, and PLuto (which still has meaning to me - born in 1939 -in Leo. That odd little subgeneration that in our youth were wannabe Boomers, as our slightly older contemporaries, with Pluto in Cancer, came across as wannabe Greatest.)]

Any advice on how these detriments might manifest would be quite helpful

Thanks,

Pat in FLorida.

Re: Astrology question

[ecosophia]

When it comes to natal astrology, the dignities of the planets are less important than in other branches of astrology. Mercury in Sagittarius makes the mind fair, generous, sincere, independent, and often rather rebellious, with a tendency toward rashness -- it's easy for you to get caught up in this or that idea and go off at full tilt without adequate reflection beforehand. People with this placement very often like to travel, have a strong appreciation for the beauties of nature, get along well with animals, and like to develop their minds through some form of study or reading. At worst, it makes you heedless and easily swayed by ideas that appeal to you.

Mars in Scorpio, btw, isn't just about sex! It also gives strong executive ability, a practical streak, and a tendency to want to cut through the crap and deal with things in a forthright fashion.

[(Anonymous)]

Further to your remark that demons use the internet to influence, I am trying to curtail my use of my smartphone which got out of control. I was wondering what mechanism they use since they don’t have physical bodies to post content or code?

Is it possible good spirits / angels could influence positively using the internet but they would have to be asked to do so?

[ecosophia]

Demons don't have to post content or code, as long as they can influence the minds of those who post content and code -- and of course that's what they do. If you want angels to influence the internet, you need to raise your state of consciousness to their realm while you're on the internet; if your state of consciousness remains in the demonic levels, why, demons will be happy to make use of you.

There's a great scene in Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus where Faustus has summoned the demon Mephistopheles, and asks why it is that God lets him get out of Hell in order to respond to sorcery. Mephistopheles answers, "Why, this is Hell, nor am I ever out of it." Marlowe knew a lot about occultism; among many other things, he knew that summoning demons is the easiest thing in the world. All you have to do is descend to their level, and there they are.

[(Anonymous)]

I've been doing the SoP daily for a week now. The ritual seems to work really well, so I'm happy with it, but it has had one effect I've not seen discussed elsewhere yet: when I'm done, it feels like the room is a few degrees warmer than when I started. Is this normal?

[ecosophia]

Yes. What's probably happening is that you're letting go of unnecessary tensions, thus improving blood flow to the periphery of your body, and so you feel warmer. You may also be stirring up some etheric energy, which has the same effect. In either case it's a good sign.

[(Anonymous)]

If porn addiction can be caused by demons, what about jealousy and self-depreciation?

[ecosophia]

The thing that marks something as potentially demonic is a quality of mindlessness, as though what was happening was impersonal and mechanical. If your jealousy and self-depreciation is like that, it might be demonic in origin, though it's more likely to be rooted in psychological trauma. Have you considered journaling about it?

Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

No question, just a 'thank you' for recommending Gareth Knight's "Experiences of the Inner Worlds". I'm not all the way through it yet, but I can say with confidence that I've gotten further than with any other book about the occult. (Most occult books might as well be written in a language I don't know for how well I understand anything in them, and once they start dealing in the Hebrew letters thing, well, I'm totally lost.) I think this book is going to take a couple of re-readings before I catch everything though.

Although I was raised a Christian and thought I had a pretty good handle on the basics, I've learned so much already from reading this book and it's even cleared up a few things I had wondered about.

Beekeeper in Vermont

Re: Thank you.

[ecosophia]

You're most welcome! It really is an excellent book and I recommend it as basic reading for any Christian interested in occultism.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Thanks again for your time and energy here.

In previous entries or comments, you've mentioned your wife deals with autoimmune issues, like celiac's, I believe. As someone who has a similar, though not as serious issue, I'm curious as to:

A) From an occult perspective, what is an autoimmune disease? A non harmonic aspect of the etheric body?

B) Have you found any occult practice which helps assist with healing or handling that type of issue?

Andrew

[ecosophia]

1) That's a very good question to which I don't know the answer. The old books don't really discuss autoimmune diseases, which were very rare before we saturated our environment with toxic chemicals and electromagnetic radiation. It's clear to me that they have a strong etheric component, but it would take a lot of research I haven't done to figure out exactly how they relate to that plane.

2) Not really, though meditation helps develop the capacity for self-knowledge that helps prevent self-sabotage ("it really won't matter if I have just one slice of pizza...")

[(Anonymous)]

I saw a documentary about the Spanish exhuming and investigating the mass graves of the Franco era. The psychological benefits of doing that are fairly well known, are there spiritual effects as well?

[ecosophia]

It depends very much on how it's done. If the remains are respectfully exhumed and reburied with appropriate rites, there should be a general improvement in the collective karma of the society.

[thuley]

Do you know any books or accounts on working with demons that don't involve making stupid deals?

My therapist is a former witch (that is to say, she's still a witch, she just stopped doing ceremonial magic) so my 'shadow work' has a magical as well as psychological dimension. Recently I came into contact with a very old, semi-sentient part of myself that existed as scared, frustrated ball of despairing rage.

I told him I wanted to bring him into the whole of me. He was scared. I responded--and I'm shocked that this worked--by telling him that he was not just a part of me, but a god dwelling in all of humanity, and he would not be annihilated by releasing this incarnation. I instantly began to feel bliss as the negative emotions were sublimated into me.

So far, so good. The trick is that I've now gotten the attention of the god/demon that this negative aspect is a part of: Mephistopheles (which is to say, I know it likes that name and iconography).

Since I have no desire for a Faustian 'bargain' (my life is already better than I could have hoped after nine months of daily SoP), I'm kind of at a loss about what to do concerning this invitation.

On the one hand, I can see the wisdom in just politely declining. On the other hand, I feel deeply that a lot of men in American culture are suffering and locked in a losing war with the same darkness I've learned to work with in a healthy, loving way. Is it crazy to ask a demon to help you heal others? What does it mean if it says yes?

I'm sure I can figure this out on my own, but I'm interested in finding resources everywhere I can, and you are a treasured font of wisdom in my life.

[ecosophia]

That being has another name, which it will not yield up easily. Don't make a bargain with it -- that's the trap. Once you know its true name it will reveal its true form and freely give you what it has to give. How will you get it to give you its true name? There's no single formula. See what other archetypal powers join the conversation, and listen to what they have to say.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you think being cryogenically frozen would affect someone's afterlife or reincarnation? If the body was revived, would it be the same person who woke up?

[ecosophia]

Nobody knows. If it ever becomes possible to take a corpsicle out of cold storage and revive it, we'll find out.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm reading the Screwtape letters (Thank you for whoever posted it!), and finding that I can relate much of it to contemporary culture. Does this imply that the present world is infested with demons?

Do you think this could explain the fall of civilizations, as the demons we let in by shredding all the traditional prohibitions rip society apart?

[ecosophia]

Keep in mind that Lewis, who was a brilliant writer, was doing his best to make you think that everything he didn't like about modern culture is the work of demons. To my way of thinking, he drastically overstated the case. That said, on a less extreme scale, he's got a point.

Morphic Fields

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John,

Assuming you’ve heard of Rupert Sheldrake and his theory of Morphic fields - what do you think of it as a concept? Is he an occultist?

And how is this view linked to occult views? I’m thinking of the planes working through right down to physical form.

Kind regards
Edward

Re: Morphic Fields

[ecosophia]

If Sheldrake isn't an occultis, then his book The New Science of Life is one of the most spectacular examplres of synchronicity on record, because that book can be described without exaggeration as the practical workbook that goes with Dion Fortune's theoretical book The Cosmic Doctrine. My working guess for years now is that Sheldrake studied Fortune intensively, and just didn't happen to mention that because he knew it would prejudice scientists against him.

[violetcabra]

For the past few days I've been logging a lot of hours studying Hoodoo, and moving towards a more coherent Hellenic Astral worship scheme. While doing so a lot of information I'd taken in and utilized suddenly clicked, and I saw that the various basic folk-magical practices I've engaged with align very closely with the basic practices I'm doing.

Furthermore, I've found that either timing the various rituals with the deity of the day or more specifically invoking the deity of the appropriate ritual, has proved extremely helpful when I've thought of doing intuitively.

I've written up my findings here: https://violetcabra.dreamwidth.org/4494.html

this is extremely exciting to me as it allows one to have a basic framework for theurgical folk magical workings within the popular Hellenic Astral devotions. As mentioned in my posting, this is still extremely exploratory and barebones, but it seems promising, as it seems a very logical way of bridging the purely devotional and the theurgical. It allows one potential way of bringing the daily workings "down to earth" as appropriate, guided by intuition and divination.

I'm curious JMG and commentariat your thoughts on this schema?

[ecosophia]

Delighted to hear it. Yes, that should work very well.

sycamore trees

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John,

I am curious, right next to my parents house is a giant sycamore tree (it takes 4 adults to give its trunk a hug)and I have always thought of it a super cool tree, not just because it is so big, its bark gives it such an amazing look. It is the only tree we ever named (The 40 Acre Tree).
But I don't know anything about its magical / spiritual properties, if you know some sycamore lore could you share?

Re: sycamore trees

[ecosophia]

I don't happen to know any. Have you considered sitting down with your back to the tree on some quiet afternoon, entering into meditation, and talking with the tree? That's the sort of thing Druids do...

Character

[(Anonymous)]

Here's the quote from Dion Fortune I keep circling back to:

"Look at the men and women who come out from its door: they are living proof of that school’s ideals and principles."

When I read through the history of the Golden Dawn and sample the writings of the principal people in the schools descended from it, I find myself hard-pressed to find any I want to emulate. Egotism and petty squabbles seem to be the rule. Divorce seems as common or more so compared to the general population.

I'm persuaded by your writing that magical training can develop impressive powers in its practitioners, and that it offers deep insight into the nature of the world. But I've always understood from you that the main goal is reshaping the human personality, and so far I don't see much that impresses me in that department.

I get it that mages are people, and that people have flaws. But a body of teaching whose purported purpose is to improve people has got to have something to show for it, right? If you can throw some light on this subject for me, I'd appreciate it.

Re: Character

[ecosophia]

That's a valid point! The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in its original incarnation was something of a mess, for certain reasons that come out very clearly if you study the way the symbolism was applied. (The very short form: too much solar symbolism, resulting in a lot of senior members turning into arrogant, abrasive jerks.) Some of its successor orders went down the same road -- cough, cough, Aleister Crowley, cough, cough.

One of the reasons that I've tended to focus on the Dion Fortune lineage and its descendants is that Fortune figured out early on how to fix that -- mostly a matter of changing the initiatory structure -- and so her students tended not to be your common or garden variety GD initiates. W.E. Butler and Gareth Knight are two that have had public careers -- I don't know of anyone who would accuse them of egotism or petty squabbles, and both had (in the case of Butler, who's passed) or have (in the case of Knight, who's still with us) successful marriages. (For that matter, it wasn't Fortune who left her husband -- he ditched her for a younger woman.)

Reshaping the human personality is part of the work. It's not the whole of it, or even the most important part. The most important part is opening up the higher capacities of the soul, so that we go from believing in spiritual things to knowing about them through experience. The original GD did that, but with some serious drawbacks in the personality field. Later, post-GD groups have worked out a lot of those bugs.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe a well crafted affirmation would help to slain the Watcher on the Threshold.

Any suggestions? It's hard to fight him before he manifests and you know what you will have to defeat.

[ecosophia]

You can't fight him before he manifests. All you can do is identify those of your weaknesses that you can and work on fixing those, knowing that when the Watcher shows up he'll target whatever you haven't noticed.

[(Anonymous)]

In earlier Magic Mondays you said you'd seen no evidence porn was anything more than an entertainment medium, and that you thought people were working themselves up over nothing, but you seem to now implicitly embrace the idea it opens you to demonic entities.

If this is accurate, is it the person posting asking for help getting rid of a demonic entity the convinced you, or is there something else which changed your mind?

[ecosophia]

I've been listening to a great many younger men talk about their experiences with masturbation and pornography, and that's caused me to rethink some of my ideas.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you know of any sources which discuss demonic obsession and possession?

[ecosophia]

My book Monsters and Dion Fortune's book Psychic Self-Defence both do so, and mine includes an extensive bibliography for further research.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

Considering the Wheel of Life in the DMH as an initiatory map, after someone traverses all the eight stations and comes back to the same starting point; I guess the second round around this map will not be identical to the first round. I mean, in three-dimensional view, it will be like a spring spiraling upwards; so each tour in the wheel (if handled properly along with other yearly training works), will ascend the initiate slightly upwards in his/her path. Is this a correct view?

[ecosophia]

Yes, except it needn't be just slightly upwards. Each round is like part of a spiral staircase, and will take you up and up and up.

[(Anonymous)]

When we invoke a deity and sense its presence, how can we make sure that it's a genuine deity, not a human-made thoughtform disguised as a deity? How can we distinguish it?

[ecosophia]

It takes a fair amount of spiritual practice and experience before you can distinguish between those. That being the case, use common sense whenever dealing with an experience of that sort, and keep practicing.

[(Anonymous)]

I wonder what your take is on Theosophy. I know you are a big fan of Dion Fortune and, of course, she was seriously into Theosophy before her Golden Dawn days. You’ve also mentioned HP Blavatsky several times over the years and I have no doubt you will have read The Secret Doctrine and possibly several others of her works. I don’t remember ever reading you mention Alice Bailey, though, unless it was in relation to Krishnamurti.

The thing is that you have been very critical of the New Age and - at least as I see it - that is strongly influenced by Theosophy in general and Alice Bailey in particular. You also had the foreword to the DMH written by David Spangler of Findhorn fame and very much a New Ager. So I imagine that there is a good deal of mutual respect between you there, yet some of Spangler’s writings have bothered me a bit - about 9/11 he wrote something about the deaths and the destruction as the price to pay for clearing away all of the US’s bad karma (that’s not to say that the US hasn’t a significant balance of bad karma, just the suggestion that nearly three thousand deaths on 9/11 is a reasonable price to pay). Bailey, too, wrote stuff which I find very disturbing about the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima being the greatest thing in several millennia.

Even from my limited perspective, I get the impression that the Theosophy of Bailey and Spangler is not quite the same as that propounded by Blavatsky. You being a New Age skeptic, I wonder what your view is also because the question that arises in me is: is the New Age of Bailey and Spangler the benign force I had always assumed, or is there a darker more sinister side to it?

[ecosophia]

The New Age movement is a very complex thing, and what I've critiqued is primarily its late, overripe, and frankly corrupt expressions -- for example, the 2012 apocalypse marketing scheme. I'm probably going to have to do a blog post one of these days about the inner history of Theosophy, and another one about the inner history of the New Age movement, from its origins among flying saucer contactees to its ongoing implosion in the wake of the 2012 fiasco. Like every spiritual movement without exception, it has its murky sides as well as its benign sides; its teachers are and were human beings, and every bit as fallible as the rest of our species; and over time, it followed the usual course of new religious movements from the transcendent to the routine -- and the slightly less inevitable course from the reality of spiritual experience to an assortment of cheap marketable knockoffs.

One thing, though -- do you really think that after the long, bitter, troubled history of this nation, a mere 3000 deaths is more than enough to clear the slate completely?