Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's getting on for midnight as I type this, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. This week's classic of Western occultism is The Old Straight Track by Alfred Watkins. There's been so much nonsense written about leys by uncritical believers, and so much equal and opposite nonsense written about them by archeologists who literally haven't bothered to find out what it is that they're denouncing, that it's an immense relief to read the original book on the subject -- calm, thoughtful, unsensational, presenting a reasoned hypothesis about an ancient system of trackways and landmarks used by pilgrims and traders in Neolithic Britain. Is there an occult dimension to leys? Sure, but the spiritual and the practical weren't divided by a no man's land patrolled by dogmatic pseudoskeptics back when the ley system evolved...

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.

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With that said, have at it!

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

And don't forget to look up your Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature at CosmicOom.com! 

Comments

Are you raising your geomanctic voice at me??

[weirdtales]

Some months ago we were speculating on the importance of geomantic charts that repeat themselves - i.e. the daughters are the same as the mothers, and in the same order. But I've had something even stranger happen this month and wonder if you might give me your .02 on the matter.

On May 10th - Mother's Day, the day I smashed my Android to pieces with a hammer - I cast my usual house chart for the day and got a repeating pattern. Then I got another one the following day. Saturday, May 23rd, I got another one. Then another one the following morning. (I may have had 4 total in the previous 8 months I've been studying geomancy.) So that makes twice this month I've had not only repeating charts, but repeating charts on back-to-back days. (I would assume the pattern has run its course - double charts, double days, twice this month - but who knows.)

The turning point in my life that occurred on Mother's Day, and it's been a mighty fine one, led me to believe that perhaps the repeating chart is how the geomantic oracle raises its voice - either in warning or salute. The last notable repeating chart I had was last October, when I asked if I should give up smoking weed. I got the repeating pattern and an occupation saying basically "hell yes, you should quit smoking weed." I didn't, and then descended into still-ongoing months of prostate pain and discomfort, always inflamed by smoking the herb. (I finally gave it up at the astrological new year and am slowly improving, btw.)

But the pattern was interesting enough to me that I cast a follow-up chart this morning (Sunday) asking, "Are these repeating charts on repeating days trying to tell me something important?" Here is the result:

1: Puella
2: Cauda
3: Puella
4: Carcer
5: Via
6: Rubeus
7: Cauda
8: Puella
9: Acquisitio
10: Albus
11: Puella
12: Acquisitio

I worked under the assumption that this is a 9th house matter (divination), but the 3rd house also seems relevant. So that yields Acquisitio-Puella conjunctions in 8-9 and 12-1, a mutation to 11-12, a sextile between 9-11, an opposition between 3-9, and a square between 3-12.

Obviously the chart has plenty to say, and I have some ideas (as an aside, Rubeus tends to show up in the 6th when the oracle wants to address my prostate issues), but I could really use some help diagnosing this one. If you would, please, sir.

And thank you so much.
Grover

Re: Are you raising your geomantic voice at me??

[ecosophia]

Okay, first, since it's a house chart that perfects by double conjunction and mutation, the basic answer is "YES, IT'S TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!!!" Exactly what it's trying to tell you, though, depends on what questions you asked on those days.

One thing I've found very useful for prostate problems, btw, is massage with herbal oil. Soak pine or other conifer needles in olive oil for a while, and then have your wife use that oil to massage your prostate. Please note that I'm not diagnosing, treating, or prescribing, just mentioning something that I found to relieve certain kinds of discomfort; all the usual legal noise applies!

[(Anonymous)]

What would the Valentinian Gnostic LBRP and MP look like?

[ecosophia]

The Valentinian aeons don't really fit the LBRP well; there aren't four names of Aeons with four letters each, and you'd really have to pick and choose. You'd want to create a unique ritual calling on the eight Aeons of the Ogdoad, or perhaps the six lower ones, leaving BYTHOS and SIGE unnamed because of their transcendence. For the Middle Pillar, you'd invoke the five pairs of Aeons in the Decade, two for each center.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

1. Are there any noteworthy magical workings you’ve done that you could share with us? It doesn’t have to be anything personally significant to you. A moderately complex working that you performed that you think worked out well and could be a learning experience for others would be sufficient. Could you give, for example, a description of the ritual, the materials used, what your intentions were, at what stage of development you were when you undertook it, how it turned out, and so on? I think it would beneficial for novices to see how a “real” magician approaches the art.

2. Since my work with the Tarot has been ramping up lately, I’ve come up with the following attribution scheme for the minor arcana: All Cups to Netzach, all Swords to Hod, all Wands to Yesod, all Pentacles to Malkuth. My motivation for doing this is that I wasn't satisfied with the traditional attribution of the minor arcana to the Sephiroth (all twos to Chokmah, all threes to Binah, etc.) I’m thinking that this maps fairly well between the four suits, four classical elements, four cognitive functions (feeling, thinking, intuition, sensing), and four Sephiroth of the personality in incarnation. The downside is that it ignores the higher self (Tiphareth, Geburah, Chesed) and spiritual self (Binah, Chokmah, Kether). Do you feel like this attribution has any potential?

3. Do entities on the higher planes operate under a Darwinian paradigm? Is there natural or sexual selection and competition among angels, gods, and other transcendental beings, or is that only something we have to deal with at the monkey level and below?

4. Does someone have to be a higher achiever to move up to the next level of incarnation in the afterlife? Is it all about having a highly developed inner life, or does the inner life need to bear fruit in practical achievements or it to make a difference?

[ecosophia]

1) That would be a subject for a full-length post on its own, and I'd have to review the ritual text and then go back through my practice journals to check on how it went and what the results were. I'll consider it, but it isn't something I can answer off the cuff.

2) Only you can decide that. I'd certainly encourage you to explore that attribution, though.

3) Nothing I've read or experienced suggests that this is the case.

4) There are no fixed rules. If you've already had lives of high outward achievement, for example, a life purely devoted to inner growth may be what you need this time around.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks, JMG! I’ve always been curious about ley lines but nothing I read made much sense.

Did you have an opinion on the writings of Colin Wilson? I always thought him too gullible, except on the existence of God, On which he was the hardest of hard-line skeptics. You see this a lot among peasants who have managed to art or write their way into the PMC; I don’t know if it’s the fervor of the convert or if the upjumped peasant just wants to make sure he’s never caught having an original thought that might get him bounced out of the palace and back out there with hoi polloi.

I hope I live long enough to see such an upjumped peasant finally crack and yell “All your AWFL sacred cows are [unDruidly word]: you know it, your husband knows it but doesn’t have sufficient respect for you to tell you what he really thinks, and I know it and I did just tell you!—Now, it’s all out in the open, and I hope you feel better.”

it occurs to me that Donald Trump, who is hardly a peasant, although he plays one very well, may have the Codes today because he did the above.

[ecosophia]

I find Wilson's work interesting and thought-provoking but unconvincing; like a lot of pseudoskeptics, he does a lot of straining at gnats and swallowing camels. As for Trump, yes, basically -- he realized that the PCM is far less powerful than it thinks it is, and figured out how to tap the vast cauldron of resentment among the 80% about the way their soi-disant betters treat them. It's more likely to be a downwardly mobile former middle class person than an upjumped peasant who says those things, though!

[(Anonymous)]

How essential is the fourfold breath to discursive meditation? If I'm really struggling with it - longstanding tension in chest muscles due to I think some trauma or other unconscious stuff, plus a touch of asthma - is it ok to just do my best to breathe calmly and deeply and get on with meditation? I trust that I'll get there eventually as things unfold, but the whole "do the fourfold breath for 5 minutes and then start to meditate" thing feels like a major impediment to me at the moment/

[(Anonymous)]

As a data point I’ve started doing discursive meditation daily and am having useful (or at least interesting!) insights despite being a beginner, with ADHD, who takes the opening/closing breathing suggestions quite loosely. (Of course this doesn’t mean I might not get better results if I did take it more seriously!)

[(Anonymous)]

In the CGD it says that the ovate emblems of cross and circle should be made with thin wood or pasteboard. I'm not totally sure what pasteboard is - would it be acceptable to make them out of bristol board or or boxboard or cardboard of some kind? Basically any material that could be cut or worked with ordinary scissors or an exacto knife or something. I'm really not very handy with wood and don't have appropriate tools, and don't want that to be a stumbling block.

[ecosophia]

Pasteboard is simply a word for uncorrugated cardboard. Yes, you may make them out of Bristol board, boxboard, or anything else of the kind you like; when I was working out the rituals in the early days, and wasn't sure if I'd be using the cross and circle, I cut a set out of colored construction paper, and they worked just fine.

Parasitic Elementals

[(Anonymous)]

I’ve only recently begun self-initiating in the CGD within the past month, and I’m performing banishing rituals once or twice daily.

This has been inspired by stumbling on recent discussions here around parasitic spirits feeding off people with pornography and sexual compulsions.

I recently had a dream where I was a child held hostage in an attic, by two women who would siphon my blood with IVs to keep themselves young, or alive, I’m not sure. I discovered in the dream, after they had left, that the door was unlocked, and I ran to the street where there was a bus stop, and a grandmotherly old lady paid my bus fare.

I’m certain this was a vision of the entities attached to me, which in meditation i have also come to recognize these entities been bound to me since I was a very young child. The roots here are very deep.

Reading your most recent post on Dione Fortune’s discussion on sexual relationships with elementals, and the addictive/ compulsive element this then has for the human, this strongly feels to be the case. Is this the same as succubi/ incubi? And would it matter?

This dream was months ago. And as I’ve begun performing banishing rituals, regular cold showers, and once the protective bath outlined in your FAQ, it feels as though these entities are digging their claws in deeper as I’m trying to escape. I am familiar with the notion that what you resist persists, and so I am unsure about how to effectively move forward here. Do I just continue with daily banishings, hoping that discipline will slowly dissolve the spiritual ties with these entities? I’ve asked a dear friend who practices a variety of shamanism to perform some energy healing with me. Is there anything else that might help? Any books I could read that might help me gain better discernment on the situation?

Re: Parasitic Elementals

[ecosophia]

You could certainly ask your friend for help, but other than that, the best way to deal with something like this is just to do the practices, knowing that daily banishings and meditations will dissolve the connection in a gentle, inexorable, and final manner.

[(Anonymous)]

1) I'm planning to start LRM on Wednesday, since the discussion of the slight benefit to be had by starting on the day makes it appeal to me. I spent some time thinking through the other days though, and realized they could also make sense:

If the goal is power, Tuesday.
If the goal is wisdom, Wednesday.
If the goal is growth, Thursday.
If the goal is to seek the divine, Friday.
If the goal is self mastery, Saturday.

I'm still working on Monday and Sunday, but am I on the right track here?

b) My natal sun and moon are nearly perfectly conjunct, unaspected, in a cadent house. Do you think this could explain why while I could quite quickly grasp the meanings of the other planets, those of the sun and moon both still elude me?

2) I've taken to planning my weeks on Sunday, and am curious: is there a problem with reading the next lesson the Sunday before starting it?

3) The exercises on relaxation don't specify if they are meant to be done laying down on the belly or back. For the breathing one, I don't think it'll work on the stomach, but the other one could work either way: is it worth taking my time to experiment or is it meant to be done on the back?

4) There are two awareness exercises as well, and both are to be preceded by a relaxation exercise. Is there a preferred relaxation exercise to use, or is it best to experiment?

[ecosophia]

1) Good! That's certainly a workable correlation.

2) No problem at all.

3-4) Experiment and see what works for you.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, another LRM question: I notice the first lesson doesn't have any banishing ritual, or any ritual at all, which strikes me as odd given how much you stress them. Is there a particular reason why it's not there?

[ecosophia]

Because the course of study in LRM is designed for the total beginner and introduces the concepts and practices one very gentle step at a time. The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is covered a little later on in the book.

[(Anonymous)]

I want to get a certain job. What are simple things to do besides sending in the application at Friday/hour of Venus?
Is it a good idea to pile up many things (e.g. Sigils, a novena, affirmations) or concentrate on one thing?
Thank you!

[ecosophia]

Most people can handle two or three such things with good results. Sigils, affirmations, and candle magic are all good options.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a mid-20s young man from an absurdly privileged social class (my parents have a six figure tax bill); and I'm miserable. I've tried changing my life, but every single time run into a mix of internal and external push back: I've realized I've internalized most of the bigotries and idiocies of my social background, and am floundering about, struggling with even the most basic changes.

One thing which causes me problems in particular is that I'm terrified of being "poor", and "poor" to my mind is what a lot of people would consider well off (and not just in poor countries!)

It's finally occurred to me that the best approach is to embrace "poverty", and so I'm looking for an apartment, and plan on moving out in August, and I will be living with only the resources I have at hand: in particular this mean, no regular support from my parents anymore (I will still accept birthday and Christmas money; it would be too much of a hassle to refuse, and I'll put it aside in savings). This will likely mean a grocery budget of around 50 dollars a week, which is a far cry from where my family is at, at around 200 per person per week; and a range of other financial restrictions which will take a good deal of getting used to.

I'm journaling to see if I can reach the root cause, and working through LRM and will take more potent steps to address me issues later, but for now, I am slowly working at fixing this issue, and hope embracing it will help speed the process.

1) The inspiration behind taking this step is your book Green Wizardry. Particularly the part where you talk about people who talk about how horrible middle class lifestyles are and don't bother to change. It felt like you were talking to me directly and giving me the hard truth and calling me personally out for it: thank you for those harsh but necessary words.

Did you write that part with the idea of reaching people like me?

2) Is it best to look for an apartment on Fridays, preferably during an hour of Venus, or am I on the wrong track?

3) From a mundane perspective, do you have advice on being poor in style? I figure if I can make it pleasant, it'll help with getting over the fear of it.

[ecosophia]

First of all, I'm delighted to hear this. The terror of being poor is an iron chain that keeps many people from having a life. Once you know you can get by on very little, you've got an enormous amount of freedom, and then you can start deciding what you want to do with your life.

1) You're welcome. Yes, that was why I wrote that.

2) Start your apartment hunt during an hour of Venus on Fridays. Beginnings are crucial. After that, keep at it -- the energy will stay with you.

3) Yes, I do -- I had the very great advantage of spending a decade or so being very poor indeed, and got fairly good at it. The first thing to remember is that you're not alone, and there are a vast number of resources available to help you out. I don't mean handouts! Try shopping at thrift stores and cheap groceries in lower middle class neighborhoods; get books from the public library instead of buying them; look into free or low-cost options for your other needs and wants -- they're out there.

The second is that you need much less than you probably think you do. You can thrive very well on a diet of cheap homecooked foods like rice and beans, steamed vegetables, and cheap cuts of meat such as chicken thighs. You probably have many more clothes than you need, and most entertainment is there to keep you from having a life. Winnow things down to the point that you know what you need and can tell the difference between "need" and "want," and you've got a resource most people in your class never discover.

Third, make lots of room for your own creative and spiritual activities. One of the great advantages to withdrawing from the status game is that you have time and space for such things. Practice magic if that appeals to you, take up drawing or painting or music or what have you -- you've got an entire life ahead of you and you're about to take the step that will throw open the doors and let you pursue that life. Relax, have fun, and enjoy some rice and beans!

Uncooperative Geomancy

[boulderchum]

Salutations JMG!
1) Will "On the Shadows of the Ideas" be printed in hardcover when it becomes available again?

2) I'm still thinking hard on (more like agonizing over) whether to take up Bardon's course or your Celtic Golden Dawn course. Geomancy has been almost intentionally uncooperative. Most conversations go like this:
"Should I take up Bardon's course?"
"No"
"Should I take up one of JMG's courses?"
"Yes, it will bring much sorrow and you'll regret it."
"What course should I commit to?"
"Rubeus in the First House, stop divining."

It's especially weird when it throws up a red flag and tells me to stop divining, as those questions I feel I am genuinely open to any guidance and not lying to myself as Rubeus in the first house would typically indicate. For reference, here are two perlexing charts:

"Is one of JMG's paths right for me?"
1. Tristitia
2. Populus
3. Fortuna Minor
4. Puella
5. Fortuna Major
6. Albus
7. Tristitia
8. Carcer
9. Tristitia
10. Caput Draconis
11. Tristitia
12. Laetitia
Sounds like a yes, but with a lot of misfortune. It's also a bit odd, since I was starting to lean more heavily towards Bardon's course. I then proceeded to ask which of your courses would be best for me, one by one. Most were a flat "no" except for this one:

"Should I take up the practice of JMG's Celtic Golden Dawn course?"
1. Populus
2. Caput Draconis
3. Laetitia
4. Laetitia
5. Fortuna Major
6. Rubeus
7. Rubeus
8. Rubeus
9. Caput Draconis
10. Populus
11. Caput Draconis
12. Populus
I'm very frustrated and at a loss here. I know only I can pick which path I will walk, but no matter how much I weigh my options I can't seem to come up with an answer. Just when one option starts to pull ahead, an insight occurs to me that puts things back in an agonizing stalemate. I had hoped geomancy would help, yet it seems intent on muddying the waters lately.

Re: Uncooperative Geomancy

[ecosophia]

1) No. It's currently available -- through Amazon, alas; that was the publisher's choice -- but only in paprerback.

2) Rubeus in the first says something much more specific than "stop divining." It means that you're not being honest with yourself. I'd encourage you to take some time and perhaps do some journaling to find out why.

[(Anonymous)]

This very likely displays a complete misunderstanding of karma, but you've mentioned rejecting collective responsibility, and yet have mentioned believing in collective karma. Would you mind explaining the differences?

[ecosophia]

The concept of collective responsibility, as invented by antisemites during the Middle Ages and more recently deployed by social justice activists, amounts to this: "Your ancestors did something really awful and therefore we get to treat you as vilely as we can, while still claiming to be the good guys." It's a covert concept of collective irresponsibility -- people who use it are trying to avoid responsibility for their own hateful acts.

The concept of collective karma, by contrast, simply means that what a community or a society does shapes the character of that community or society, and tends to bring experiences that respond to that character. If a community spends its time hating and persecuting, it's going to become more hateful and intolerant, and other communities will respond accordingly -- as will natural phenomena such as climate and disease. If those other communities end up hating and persecuting their hateful and intolerant neighbors, though, they don't get a free pass. The challenge facing those other communities is learning the lesson that Krishna taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita, how to fight evil without becoming evil.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi there.

I am following the CGD book for a long time, and a lot of stuff made me put it into abeyance several times. I am attempting to do this seriously now. However, over time a number of quirks entered my practice, and I thought it would be better to ask if these are a problem or not:

1) I use a clean cup for the water. After the ritual is done, I drink it. I've been doing this since forever.

2) The white towel over the table was more a hindrance than a helper, so I dropped it entirely.

3) After I meditate, I take a notebook to the ritual table and start to write down the result of the meditation. Today, I decided to wait for the incense stick to burn down completely, even if I was not writing anything. Then, I lit another one and closed the ritual session. This was necessary because I was rushing the closure to made it before the stick was finished. I have to say that I liked a lot the result. It felt stronger.

Thanks for the Magic Mondays!

[ecosophia]

If those habits work for you, by all means keep them. Magic is an experimental science!

[(Anonymous)]

I've seen Jason Miller's Strategic Sorcery mentioned fairly often, my impression is it's a streamlined version of Bardon's system, is that a accurate assessment?

[ecosophia]

I haven't really looked at it. My magical interests focus on old traditions.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Brother Greer,
Like many folks fortunate enough to have a continued income these last two months, we've had to rearrange the household to allow my husband space to work from home.
Because we may in fact have the worst house layout ever, (7 internal doors, four bedrooms, four bathrooms) my previous magic space/sewing space in our bedroom has become his office This works for him, but not for me.

Are there any problems in general with my using an outdoor space for magic while the weather's pleasant these next few months? Plenty of acreage, I can find a private spot, and of course I'll ask the land and the creek if they mind. Any particular weather conditions to avoid particularly for magic reasons if it's generally all right?

One of the plans for this summer is building walls indoors.

My practice is Experience of the Inner Worlds.

Thank you,
BoysMom

[ecosophia]

Magic tends to work even better outdoors than indoors -- you'd expect a Druid to say that, wouldn't you? But it's true of nearly every kind of magic. As for weather, I've done rituals outdoors in just about everything short of heavy snowfall or sub-zero temperatures, with good results. You should have a grand time.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,
I have been doing the magic circle ritual described in Dion Fortune's defensive magic book for over a year now. It has been a great help!

I notice that, during the ritual, the 'symbolic space' seems to have acquired some features:

East: There are a number of women behind a clear wall, looking at me quietly and calmly.

South: A desert wall with a grindstone leaning against it in brilliant sun. One edge of the stone is broken off and lying on the ground next to it.

South-West: A block of stone falls onto a field. Looks like it will not move again.

Is there any connection for these images to Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel?
I am meditating on them;

Thanks for any insights you can provide,

Emmanuel G, aka
Fuchsia Exogenous Skull

[ecosophia]

How fascinating. I don't know of any connection between these images and the angels. Are you at all familiar with scrying? If so, you might consider casting the circle and then, in your imagination, going to talk to the women, and then having a look at the grindstone and the fallen stone.

nighthag

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

A few nights ago I had a nighthag encounter. In addition to paralysis and pressure, I felt claws as if the attacker was a type of big cat. My efforts to struggle just dug the claws deeper. I was lucid enough to try to banish it, and in my dream state I simply did this: Imagine a light in my chest; inhale deeply; on each exhale imagine the light expanding into a sphere, trying push the intruder away. I'm not sure if it worked as well as I liked, but I woke up soon after.

1. Have you ever heard of the nighthag having characteristics of a big cat? I've felt claws and possibly teeth several times now.

2. If I'm ever lucid enough again, is there anything I can do to banish more effectively?

Re: nighthag

[(Anonymous)]

Hi and sorry to hear about your distressing experience. If you do ritual magic this may be able to help you. I have had similar experiences and use the circulation of light from the Sphere of Protection and that drives off such beings very quickly. I think it gives them a nasty smack on the nose as my nocturnal pest has been keeping his distance after tow such circulations of light.
Hope that helps.
Maxine

[(Anonymous)]

1) Last week, I saw a news story from a few years ago, about a Brazilian grandmother who had been praying for years to what she assumed was a statuette of St Anthony. But it was actually a figurine of Elrond from the Lord of the Rings films. How much does intention matter with something like this? Would she have contributed to an egregor for Elrond? Or simply been praying to St Anthony as she meant to?

b) Are there substantial egregors for Tolkien's characters? Do egregors depend how fans think about characters? How come there has been discussion about egregors for Warhammer gods, but not Harry Potter characters? However the imagery of Dumbledore must be indirectly helpful for someone like yourself by reviving the Merlin archetype for younger generations.

2) Planetary charity. A few times I have looked at charities which requested an extra amount for payment processing costs, and I was confused how to go about donating to these. For example, you want to donate £7, but they have a box directly under the amount requesting an extra 50p, so it's hard to miss. Should you donate £7 or £7.50 or £6.50 plus 50p or, as I did, take planetary charity somewhere less confusing?
Are foreign organisations taking donations in other currencies best avoided as well?

Interesting observation: I have noticed two or three charities which give their lowest suggested donation amount as the same number for their cause in planetary charity - and it's not the obvious £5.

3) The idea came to me a few weeks ago to honour a certain god at the solstice. I feel drawn to him but I'm never sure how to fit him into my regular practice. He's not a Saturday god. Does it matter that I might be neglecting my regular gods (different pantheon, SoP) on an important day?

[ecosophia]

1a) If she intended it as an image of St. Anthony, I'm sure the saint could work with it. Images of St. Anthony take a lot of different forms in different cultures, so why not an elvish form?

1b) I know various people who've attempted to work with Tolkien's Valar as actual gods, but I've never heard from anyone who got more than tepid results from them, so the egregor doesn't seem to be very strong in that way. As for the boy wizard and his chums, my take is that those were a fad -- I see a lot of the books in used book stores these days, selling for very low prices. (Though they're not as cheap as spare copies of Twilight...) No, I don't find Potter useful, even indirectly; I've had to spend an absurd amount of time explaining to young would-be mages that every word in those books about magic is wrong, including "and" and "the."

2) I'd just go to a different charity.

3) Have you tried divination?

Greek pantheon for SOP?

[(Anonymous)]

Good evening JMG. I wonder if there's an established set of deities from the Greek pantheon for the SOP. I asked the Goddess Hecate for some help, with the agreement that I would do this. The thing has now happened so I should live up to my end of the agreement. How should I open and close such a SOP? Thanks for all the help.

Re: Greek pantheon for SOP?

[ecosophia]

The Greek pantheon's pretty flexible, and iirc the people who are working with it have all made their own choices. I'd probably do this:

East: Apollo
West: Dionysos
South: Athena
North: Aphrodite
Below: Hera
Above: Zeus

Of course you can swap these out for others if you like, though I recommend maintaining the gender balance.

As for the opening and closing, if you want to establish a good relationship with Hecate, she's three-faced and three-formed, so why not invoke her by three of her titles?

1. Hecate Phosphorus (the bringer of light)
2. Hecate Chthonia (of the underworld)
3. Hecate Soteria (she who saves)

[dreamstrike13]

Hi there JMG,

Just wanted to say thanks for the book 'A magical education' pure gold with the article on initiation viewed through the lens of alchemy as legitimately profound. I found it such a susinct example of what a magical working is trying to achieve, and hugely helpful in contextualizing the word magic itself. Up until this point I'd not been able to get past the cartoon/horror movie conceptualization. Cheers!

If anyone else has been on the fence, or confused about what the word 'Magic' really means, this is an excellent book to ground ones ideas.

[ecosophia]

You're welcome and thank you!

Druidry

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

You wrote (1) The Druidry Handbook (2006) and (2) The Druid Magic Handbook (2008) in close succession.

I had a look on the contents page, but I am not too sure I understand the difference. Do they deal with the same path? Are they complementary or should they be studied one after the other or together or seperately?

Many thanks and regards

Re: Druidry

[ecosophia]

The difference is quite simple. One teaches Druid nature spirituality; the other teaches a system of magic -- the art and science of causing change in consciousness according to will -- that derives from Druid nature spirituality. I recommend the first before the second.

Elemental Cross - Christian version

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG

I have since a month or so switched (or rather enhanced) SoP version from the variant you posted here on Dreamwidth to the one described in the DMH, but have some questions.

First the elemental cross has a christian version with saints which doesn't sit well with me. If I would like to switch to using names of God instead, what four would you recommend and how would you assign them?

I have after rereading the DMH version realized that I've been doing it slightly wrong, since I have at closing been imagining a ray of light ascending from the center of the earth and colliding with the descending light from the sun in my solar plexus and thus expanding the sphere of protection by filling it from above and below. Is this symbolism wrong and I should return to the DMH version? If it's OK, is it correct to leave the ascending beam from below until closing time?

Another thing I'm struggling with is the House chart in Geomancy. Compared to the shield chart it feels very "rigid" in terms of focusing on the perfection rather then interpreting the geomantic figures in the houses involved in the question. I've read comments here on your blog that it gives more insight and details, but my feeling is rather the opposite and my only reason for choosing the house chart is that it can do the special questions that the shield chart can't. Of course my experience with the house chart is very limited compared with the shield chart but still I thought I'd ask your opinion and advice on the charts compared with each other?

Regards, Ola

Re: Elemental Cross - Christian version

[ecosophia]

1) Why not simply use the classic words "In the name of the Father, and of the Sun, and of the Holy Spirit" while making the usual sign of the Cross? That's the standard way to begin a Christian SoP.

2) I recommend correcting it to the DMH version.

3) If you find that the shield chart works better for your purposes, then by all means use the shield chart. The personal factor is important in divination!

[(Anonymous)]

What do you think of EMDR?

[ecosophia]

Well, I just had to look up the acronym to find out what it means, so I don't have an opinion on the subject!

[(Anonymous)]

What might be a specific example of how to banish something in particular while using the SOP?

[ecosophia]

"And with the help of the powers of Air, I banish from within me and around me and from all my doings all obsessive thoughts, and every imbalance of the nature of Air. I banish them far from me."