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, since I've been indulging in Ross Nichols' poetry of late, is The Cosmic Shape, published in 1946, which contains his brilliant essay "An Examination of Creative Myth," which discusses the need for nature-myth and ritual as a counterbalance to the artificialities of modern life, and his related Arthurisn poem-cycle "The Cosmic Legend," as well as other poems of his and his fellow poet James Kirkup. He clearly discussed these ideas with his good friend Gerald Gardner; those ideas ended up playing a central role in the creation of Wicca as well as the transformations of 20th-century Druidry. Here's a bit from "The Cosmic Legend": 

I have made my ceremonies; the crisis
comes. None may reproduce, no water flow,
until the sword is from its sheath pulled.
Only I, the medicine-man Gawain, instructing 
at midnight Galahad, the pure one of 
spring -- only I can save you, faithless 
with the fallen leaf. I prove to you,
O my dead people, once again that
I alone am your strength.

In the first ray beating touching on the centre altar-stone
to the eye prepared at vigil-end, the vessel of the sun,
cup and heart, to Galahad. 

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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!*** 

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Comments

[ecosophia]

3) Fairly high unless they mess up doing subtle-energy work. Dion Fortune was as much a mystic as a mage, so her death from leukemia at 55 was kind of an outlier. Her students did better; W.E. Butler made it to 80, Gareth Knight is still going strong at 90, and Butler's student Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is still on the right side of the grass at 91. Even Aleister Crowley made it to 72, despite everything.

3a) Change your practices to focus strictly on magic.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but what's the difference between devotional practices and mysticism? Is mysticism just a extreme form of devotional practice or is there more to it than that?

I suppose what I really want to know is when does a person cross that line into mysticism and how do they know when they have.

[ecosophia]

When your relationship with a god is the only thing that matters in your life, you've become a mystic.

[(Anonymous)]

It's very clear to me that I am drawn to the occultist's path and not to either the mystic or the mage's path. For some reason the prospect of having power doesn't excite me at all. Wisdom, however, is another matter. I have wanted that since I was a small girl.

I'm wondering how much the rituals for the mage's path as I'm currently following in Druid Magic Handbook would be best left undone or set aside, to focus more on meditation, study and reading, and training the mind. I see the value of the mage's work even on the Occultist's path because of how it can transform me for that path. I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on what my focus should be.

Myriam

[ecosophia]

If you're interested in the occult path, the Sphere of Protection is worth your while, because it keeps the aura clear of interference and makes mental clarity easier; it's also helpful to have the practical applications of the four elements to hand. You can leave the Grail Working and everything connected with it, and you needn't do the grove working unless you want to use it for seasonal celebrations. Meditation, divination, and a daily SoP give you your foundation, and then go from there into whatever occult studies turn their crank.

[(Anonymous)]

Can the grail working be helpful for an occultist?

Also, where would you put someone like Franklin Merrill Wolff in these 3? What about Ramana Maharshi?

[ecosophia]

1) Yes, though it's primarily meant for a mage.

2) The eastern schools -- and Merrell-Wolff was heavily influenced by them -- are different, and more complex. The three categories refer solely to the main currents of Western inner spirituality.