Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's a little past midnight as I type this, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. This week's classic book of Western occultism is The Middle Pillar by Israel Regardie. Regardie's a major presence in modern occult literature, and one of his other books has been featured in an upcoming Magic Monday, but this one also deserves a place; it's the book that introduced the most widely practiced system of internal energy work in modern ceremonial magic, and has earned a place as a classic. (For best results, read it along with Regardie's fine little essay The Art of True Healing and Dion Fortune's The Circuit of Force.) 

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 Monday!***
 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

1. I’m currently working my way through the AODA first degree, with the goal of joining the GCC and eventually becoming a bishop. (I find it interesting there seem to be a few people doing it! I hope it’s a good sign for the future of the order) I’ve decided to try to get as far as possible with it now, and so I decided to look at what requirements of the later degrees can be knocked out now, and start on them. So, for example, I’m putting a lot more than the minimum time into my bardic exploration, so as to be able to use it a few years down the road for the third degree project.

I’m now wondering how this relates to the “will only one thing” you discussed last week. While I suspect I could get a few good meditations out of it, here’s what I’m currently thinking: my will is focused on “Become a bishop in the GCC”, and the steps getting me there are in a way less important than the goal. For example, I’m meditating to bring that future into existence, not for the sake of meditation itself.

Currently my will is focused on bringing that future into manifestation, and so that requires certain concrete steps, but I’m taking them with the big picture goal in mind. This implies there’s at least two types of will: will to do, and will to bring forth; an active and a visionary form. If you lack the active form, you end up with provisional living, and if you lack the visionary, you end up drifting through life, always doing something, but never accomplishing anything.

Do you think this analysis makes sense? Is there anything you’d add to it?

2. For the AODA earth path, I’ve decided to make two super simple changes so as to spare more energy for the third one. I have a very unhealthy relationship with the internet, and want to change that. I suspect part of it is that I have no idea what life was like prior to the existence of the internet, since I’ve had home internet for literally my entire life.

I’ve since realized that my goal is a negative one: cutting internet, and so it reinforces the appeal of the thing. I reframed it as “going analog”, which has helped a great deal, but I’m still unable to craft a simple, clear, and coherent positive goal.

a) Am I correct to think that positive goals are much better than negative ones?

b) Do you have advice on how to craft such goals?

[ecosophia]

1) It's entirely appropriate to have one primary focus of will, and have other secondary purposes unfold from that. Someone who wants to become filthy rich, for example, will have a long series of secondary goals subordinate to that desire: cutting useless expenditures, getting a job with a higher salary, excelling at that job, being promoted, etc., etc. You're pursuing a saner goal, but the principle is the same: the goal of walking to a distant place is broken up into individual footsteps, each of which has to be taken in turn. Your differentiation between active and visionary will is sometimes seen as the distinction between will and imagination; one way or another, though, it's valid.

2a) Yee.

2b) Focus on what you want to draw to you. Why are you cutting your internet use? What will you do with the time you free up? What benefits do you expect to gain? Make those the center of your intent.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have any idea what the ever living frack is going on with the over the top reaction to the coronavirus?

[ecosophia]

There are several things involved. First, the corporate media is desperate for clickbait -- a lot of mainstream media outlets, CNN and MSNBC among them, have suffered disastrous declines in viewership over the last few years and they're facing a serious loss of ad revenue, and whipping up a panic is one way to improve their stats. Second, the Boomer generation has become increasingly frantic about the approaching statistical end of its time on this planet, and this epidemic -- which is primarily lethal to the elderly -- has suddenly brought home to them the hard reality that no amount of botox will keep the Reaper at bay; thus a lot of them are coming loudly unglued. Third, we've got a very high level of social stress just now, with the cage match between the establishment gerontocracy and the populist insurgency rising toward its peak, and people are jittery -- thus anything shocking will tend to make them wig out. Combine those three factors with the ordinary human response to a pandemic and I think that pretty much accounts for it.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm potentially interested in doing the work with the Druidical Order of the Golden Dawn, but find the communion ceremony from the GCC very rewarding, and I'm not willing to give it up. Would it be safe to practice the DOGD material, and also continue to practice the communion ceremony?

[ecosophia]

I don't generally recommend working with the two systems at the same time -- they work with different energies in different ways, so you're more or less trying to walk and swim at the same time! Have you considered the system included in The Druid Magic Handbook or the one in The Dolmen Arch? Both of those are entirely compatible with the GCC work.

[(Anonymous)]

No question at the moment. Just thought you might find it amusing that I know a guy who refers to Trump as the Orange Demon. This is the first time I've seen a member of The Church of Progress be so on the nose.

[ecosophia]

That's funny, in a sad sort of way. I bet in any other context he'd insist that demons don't exist.

[booklover1973]

Hallo JMG and others,

I have a question about ritual clothing. Do you use ritual clothing during magical ceremonies and if so, which kinds of ritual clothing? I myself do magic mostly in ordinary clothing, since some other clothings which I tried are somewhat cumbersome; nowadays it is not as easy to find good fitting clothes as it once was.

Thanks!

[ecosophia]

I use a plain white robe with a cord belt for major rituals, and ordinary clothes for daily practices -- my morning Sphere of Protection, meditation, and divination are done in pajamas, slippers, and a bathrobe.

Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite

[kimberlysteele]

Hi JMG and Magic Monday Readers,

I uploaded a new Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite that you can download for free. Free sheet music & lyric video are still in the works.

https://queeniemusic.bandcamp.com/track/orphic-hymn-to-aphrodite

I was also recently honored to have my song Sister Moon featured on the OBOD Podcast, Episode 155:

https://www.druidry.org/druid-way/resources/druidcast-obod-podcast

All my best to everyone. It's getting ugly around here because of Coronavirus. The schools in Illinois closed at end of day Friday for the next three weeks. Today, our governor closed every restaurant and bar for the same period. I've made the decision to close my studio for the same period in response to public pressure. I don't really feel I have a choice. I ask for your prayers on my behalf that I am able to land on my feet from all of this. I am the breadwinner for my household.

Re: Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite

[ecosophia]

Congratulations on both of these. I wonder -- is there any way you could livestream a performance or two and ask people to tip you via some online method? A lot of people are going to be very bored over the next few weeks, as they hole up in their homes to keep the virus at bay, and live music -- even over the internet -- might be very welcome to a lot of them.

[(Anonymous)]

When I realize I've goofed something up during a ritual I usually go back to the error, redo it from there and go on. Is that what you recommend, or is it better to start fresh from the beginning? Just ignoring it doesn't feel right for sure.

[ecosophia]

I tend to go back to the error and start from there; I've never gotten the sense that it's necessary to start over from the beginning.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I have been working with the DMH, and for the past couple of months, trying to get ready to awaken the two currents. However, Ogham readings keep telling me not to do the workings, so as suggested in the DMH, I keep going back to the more basic practices. Is there anything more specific you could advise doing in order to become ready to awaken the two currents?

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

Have you considered doing a divination with that in mind? Since I have no way to judge what might be the issue, that might be the best option.

[(Anonymous)]

I saw a documentary series about mathematics that included a debate about whether maths was discovered or invented. That is whether the structure of the universe is fundamentally mathematical, or if that's just the best humanity has been able to knock together to explain the world we live in. What's the occult theory of what numbers are?

[ecosophia]

Depends on which occultist you ask. Some occult traditions take one of these approaches, some take the other. I tend to go for a third option, which is that mathematics are hardwired into the human nervous system as an evolutionarily successful approximation to reality.

[(Anonymous)]

Is there an occult explanation for the sense of the world not being the same again after an event? I don't really have a word to describe it but it feels like a changing of the guard in the zeitgeist. I have the sense of this pandemic feeling in much the same way as the 9/11 attacks in regards to changing the world. In fact 9/11 was the only previous time I've felt this way.

[ecosophia]

Well, there's certainly a tendency for collective consciousness to shift decisively at certain moments in history, usually catalyzed by dramatic events. That may be what you're sensing.

The Order of Spiritual Alchemy

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings JMG:

Thank you for assessment of this silly-apocalypse.

Where might I find information on the OSA?
You made mention of this in one of your books. This
Work sounds intriguing to me.

I currently am in Port Angeles, WA at the moment. As you know, a wee beach town at the top of Olympic Peninsula. People up here are a little nervous but still going about their business.

Much love and light to all,
-Elizabeth from Seattle

Re: The Order of Spiritual Alchemy

[ecosophia]

The Order of Spiritual Alchemy has been inactive for some time now. I've received the initiations and have the full set of teaching materials as they existed when I became a member; down the road a bit I hope to have the time to get those revised and start a website based version of it. Step by step...

Hooray for Regardie!

[weirdtales]

I recently purchased and read his "fine little essay 'The Art of True Healing'," and have done his life force circulation exercise several times following my usual MPE. It's pretty breathtaking! And it seems to be, not directly healing my "Yesod issue" so much as making the inputs in my life that have a negative impact on that unbearable - amplifying its response to them.

So, for example, where a spoonful of refined sugar, or one too many puffs of cannabis would make me uncomfortable before, such things have now become wholly unbearable. It's an unusual approach to healing in the West for sure! (And another fine example of the louder signals I talk about on my own DW journal, where I have posted a new weird tale this week.)

Also, am I correct in thinking that the SOP's circulation of the light is based on this ritual?

Grover

Re: Hooray for Regardie!

[ecosophia]

Interesting! Yes, the SoP circulations are partly based on that ritual.

Sphere of Protection

[vitranc]

Hi JMG,

I have been doing the SOP described on this site for the last 2,5 months. Recently however I switched to the SOP described in the DMH, since I intend to follow that program trough.
I noticed a change in the procedure. The opening in the dreamwith version includes the centers in the middle of the head and belly, but closes with the solar plexus center. The DMH version does not include the belly center at all, but focuses very much on the solar plexus.

Why the change?
I notice, that the immediate focus on the plexus helps me with the elemental invocations, but what does the inclusion of the belly center mean? I am a complete beginner and have no understanding what this would mean.

Best regards.
V

Re: Sphere of Protection

[ecosophia]

The DMH version is intended to be used with the rest of that book's program of training, which includes work with the womb and heart centers but focuses on the solar plexus. The focus on the head and womb centers in the version I put on Dreamwidth is based on the one I intend to publish shortly for a new system of occult study and practice, and makes use of different energy centers. Each occult system chooses between 1 and 12 of the 360 energy centers in the human body to work with, depending on the fine details of the work to be done.

[(Anonymous)]

You said one of the benefits of tai chi chih is it circulates etheric energy round the whole body rather than concentrating it in certain areas. Are there ways to do the same with astral energy, as most rituals seem to focus it down the centre line.

[ecosophia]

Astral energy naturally circulates very easily -- the challenge there is to get it to concentrate! It's etheric energy that tends to get stuck and need circulation.

[(Anonymous)]

If I'm remembering this right, last week you said the effect of light on the pineal gland was why some some systems require growing the hair, while others require shaving it. Presumably no physical light can get through scalp, skull, and deep into the brain. So is there an etheric component of light that can penetrate the rest but be blocked by hair?

You also said previously that baldness is a natural process that serves a purpose. What is it? That being the case, what would the guy in the Order of the Essenes course who got his hair back through force of will, have done to himself?

[ecosophia]

The human body is actually translucent to red and infrared light -- put your hand against a strong light and you can see some of the light that leaks through. So in fact the pineal gland can be affected by physical sunlight as well as the sun's etheric radiation. As for the purpose, my guess is that the states of mind facilitated by light reaching the pineal gland are good to have in male elders -- though here again that may be a matter of opinion, as some cultures make good and sure that baldness doesn't succeed in letting light in...

[(Anonymous)]

A few weeks ago someone posted about the Bolsheviks' use of will in the pursuit of revolution. That isn't something I've come across. But if you read books like Tony Cliff's three volume biography Lenin, some things do stick out. When Lenin writes about all the things a revolutionary needs to know and needs to be able to do, it sounds a lot like a course of occult study. Things like dialectics and historical materialism held a similar importance and equivalence to occult philosophy. So it is possible they developed some of the same mental capabilities.

Having said that, I don't think any significant figures in Bolshevism had any background in ritual. Post-revolutionary attempts to replace Orthodox rituals, such as 'Octobering' a baby in place of Christening, were notoriously awful; boring and stupid.

[ecosophia]

Fascinating. You're right that leftist revolutionaries never do seem to be very good at ritual -- the attempted cult of Reason in post-revolutionary France was just as inept.

Hedging my bets

[(Anonymous)]

Hopefully this isn’t excessively long…

I’ve had an idea in my head for a while to plant hedges as fences on my farm. I finally decided this was the year to do it, procured seed for a few different types of trees and made plans to sprout them. The plan was to get them started in the garden then plant them in their final position once they could out compete grasses and whatnot.

So I did a reading regarding growing my trees from seed. I’ve always had issues growing from seed so it was my main concern.
I got:
J: Colled
LW: Ffordd
RW: Elw

I took that as a no. I was a little surprised by that so I asked if I would be better off not trying to plant trees from seed in the garden.
I got:
J: Bendeth Fach
LW: Gwyn
RW: Lllosgwrn y Ddraig

I took that as a yes and as a hint to seek help. I asked if I would have better success getting someone else to grow my seedlings. I know plenty of green fingered folks that would be happy to do it and it would perhaps get me a little more of a guarantee for success.
I got:
J: Colled
LW: Mab
RW: Pen y Ddraig

I took that as a no. I’ll speed things up. I asked if I should even plant trees as hedges: Colled. I asked is my hedge idea a good idea: Colled. I got irritated and asked should I just abandon this idea and I got Ffordd four times in a row and stopped the reading.

I asked if I should choose different trees than the ones I obtained seed for and got:
J: Cyswllt
LW: Carchar
RW: Ffordd

I didn’t know how to take that one. It seemed favorable so I asked about a specific type of tree that is native, grows abundantly on my property and is a typical hedge plant where hedges are used. I got colled… again.

So I decided to get really simple. Should I plant a hedge? Cyswllt.

Am I doing something wrong? The repeated colled result seems like a hint I'm not taking. I feel like if I keep pursuing this line of questioning I’m going to start irritating the oracle (and no doubt try your patience with an endless wall of text). Have my interpretations been off? In the past when I got a yes to a question it was a clear yes but with this I feel like I’m working through a flow chart that keeps sending me back to the beginning. Help?

Re: Hedging my bets

[ecosophia]

It sounds to me as though the oracle is saying that this whole idea is inappropriate for some reason and you need to let it drop.

[(Anonymous)]

Did your current project of an occultist programme to increase wisdom and encourage revelation develop from your earlier idea of 'occultism lite'? Will it also involve the Sacred Geometry Oracle?

[ecosophia]

Yes. I spent quite a while mulling over the possibilities and meditating on them, and got a very clear sense that it's time to get a good solid system of occult study and practice -- one that doesn't focus on magic -- into circulation again. The Sphere of Protection, discursive meditation, and the Sacred Geometry Oracle will be three of the core elements of the system -- but there'll be plenty more to give people constructive tools to work with.

[(Anonymous)]

What intensity level of magic does someone need to be practising in order to pass the point of no return and have to keep it up for the rest of their life?

[ecosophia]

That's impossible to know in advance. If you want to avoid it, you need to avoid magic altogether. Otherwise, as Robert Browning put it...

"For mark! no sooner was I fairly found
Pledged to the plain, after a pace or two,
Than, pausing to throw backward a last view
O'er the safe road, 'twas gone; grey plain all round:
Nothing but plain to the horizon's bound.
I might go on; nought else remained to do."

Heathen and Celtic Golden Dawn

[(Anonymous)]

First, thank you for providing this forum and answering questions.

I've been practicing the Heathen Golden Dawn rituals you posted here since September (Middle Pillar since October). That's my only experience with anything "magical" other than a brief attempt at the SoP, but I found the GD rituals suited me much better. I'm what you may call a "recovering atheist", in large part thanks to following your writings for years.

While I'm waiting for the HGD book I picked up a copy of Celtic Golden Dawn, since it's kind of a "sister project" and might give some hints what the Heathen version will be like (?). Which leads me to my questions:

1) The CGD says the summoning mode of the LRP can be used to counteract a lack of vitality in yourself (p.71). I assume this applies to the Heathen version as well? Following from this, is it okay to do the banishing mode (plus MP) in the morning and the summoning mode in the evening, or should you only do one of these per day? Does the MP perform the same role as the summoning LRP?

2) Would it be possible to incorporate the tree working from the CGD in a Heathen GD practice, or would that be an inappropriate mixing of systems?

3) A few quick questions about the HGD book itself: will it have an over-the-top deluxe edition in the vein of Dolmen Arch? And will the content be presented as a 1920s correspondence course, or in a more straightforward textbook form?

Thank you again for your time!

Re: Heathen and Celtic Golden Dawn

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, that's appropriate in both systems.

2) Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't reverence for sacred trees something you find in Heathen as well as Celtic traditions? That being the case, the tree exercise ought to be applicable to both.

3) Probably not, and we're not sure yet.

[booklover1973]

Due to current conditions, I would like to ask if everything is still on track with the second volume of the Dolmen Arch?

[ecosophia]

Yes, very much so. I've done the first set of page proofs.

[logicalmagic83]

Greetings, JMG. 

My question concerns tarot. I listen to a podcast where at the beginning of every show, the hosts draw a tarot card as the card of the week. When describing the energy and meaning of the card, they speak as though the energy of that card applies to the listening audience as well as themselves. I have no issue with this as I find the show useful, educational and the hosts are engaging interviewers. I'm fine with using some of my energy in being a listener. 

But by listening to the show, does that make me a querent? Is it rather like implied consent? I'm having a hard time locating the line between participant and observer in this situation. The following week the hosts revisit the past weeks' card to see how that energy played into their daily lives. They also request audience feedback and I have noted some synchronicities between the cards they draw and the ones I draw and study in my morning practice. And yes, I agree that this is a topic worthy of meditation. : )

[ecosophia]

Yes, if you choose to participate in the show to the extent of listening to it, knowing what the score is, you're giving your implicit consent. You should certainly meditate on that, to learn the most from it!

Geomancy

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Archdruid,

May I ask you for help with my divination? I consulted geomancy last night because doctors wouldn’t give me clear instructions. This is not a demand for medical advice.

I’ve been down with laryngitis and then heavy flu for a total of four weeks now. The last laryngologist in my European town on his last day in office (then closing like all others due to Coronavirus) prescribed me an antibiotic while telling me that it was up to me to decide about taking it or not. I know that a bacterial infection can sit in your throat at the same time as a viral influenza, but I haven’t been tested for Streptococcus and wouldn’t want to put undue strain on my immune system in times like these.

My sixth house question was: "Will Med X cure my laryngitis without imposing undue strain on my body?" I got the following figures. I know about the classical rule that Cauda Draconis in the first house means you’ve already made a decision, but I assure you that I don’t know which that is. Could it also mean that it’s too late to take this step (taking the med)? At the same time, the reading perfects several times. How would you interpret it?

I Cauda Draconis
II Via
III Cauda Draconis
IV Puer
V Via
VI Via
VII Cauda Draconis
VIII Acquisitio
IX Tristitia
X Fortuna Major
XI Populus
XII Puella

Thank you for your advice and may you and your loved ones be safe and in good health!

Re: Geomancy

[ecosophia]

It's a favorable reading, with multiple modes of perfection, so the answer is certainly yes. I suspect what the Cauda Drac is saying is that you're on track to get better anyway, but the medication will help.

[(Anonymous)]

I am largely ignoring the news and trying to focus on the job, but there is this tension "in the air", which I am trying to shut out, but with less success than is ideal. Is this some aspect of the astral field or Jung's collective unconscious? Does the Archdruid recommend a double serving of banishing in such cases? Head Chef Israel Regardie probably had some good recipes.

[booklover1973]

It's a bit of the same at me. In the news most ist now about the Coronavirus or related things. It has become difficult to find anything else. Abot the vibe, on the one hand, the vibe here in the German city where I live isn't overly crazy, but a bit strange it is indeed. So far, banishing rituals work quite well.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Have you ever read the book "Inside the Priory of Sion" by Robert Howells? Some chapters of the book have some cryptic allusions to sacred geometry and earth energies around Rennes-le-Chateau region and its relation to Templars and Freemasons. Given your current research topics, this book may be interesting for you.

[ecosophia]

No, it's been a good long time since I looked into the Priory of Sion hoax. I'll see if the libraries here have a copy.