Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

 It's getting on for midnight as I write this, so we can proceed with a new Magic Monday. Let's start things out with a quote again: 

 

"Thus disposed, the Tarot is a true oracle and responds to all questions with more clarity and infallibility than the android of Albertus Magnus, to such an extent that a prisoner without any books could, in a few years, if he had only a Tarot deck and knew how to use it, acquire universal science, and would speak of everything with a doctrine without equal and with an inexhaustible eloquence.  This wheel is the true key to the notory art and the Great Art of Raymond Lully; it is the true secret of the transmutation of darkness into light, it is the first and most important of all the arcana of the Great Work." 

That's from Eliphas Lévi's The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic, in case you were wondering -- and yes, Lévi used the word "android." (The word comes from Greek, androeides, "image of a man;" the feminine equivalent is gynoeides, and thus "gynoid" would be the word in English for a female robot. You're welcome.)  

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!***

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

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I live with people who've bought into the left wing insanity. I was planning on moving out ASAP, and while I'm moving out Saturday, but wondering, given your discussion of demons with Anon on the main blog, what steps can I take to defend myself while I'm still here?

I'm planning to start LRM on Wednesday, and lack any spiritual background, so I'm aware there's probably not too much I can do, but any advice on how to protect myself for the next week will be greatly appreciated.

[ecosophia]

Wash yourself with cold water every morning -- if a cold shower is too much for you, wring out a washcloth in cold water and wipe down your body with it, rinsing and wringing it out at intervals. (Cold water absorbs etheric substance, and thus cleanses subtle crud from you.) Also, if you're going to be working with LRM, here's a Cabalistic prayer you can begin using right now, which will help begin the process of attuning to divine energies. It runs as follows:

"Blessed be Thou, Adonai, enlighten me through Thy initiation."

(Adonai, אדני in Hebrew, means "Lord" and is the divine name associated with the material plane. It's the first of the divine names you'll study in the course.)

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, JMG- following up on a question from last week’s magic Monday- last week you wrote “1.5) If you're depressive, indecisive, and low energy, unless you've got a really messed-up Sun, you don't have Aries rising. Could you have been born earlier than you think? That sounds like a fairly typical Pisces rising.”

I found myself wondering the same thing the first time I looked at my chart! I double-checked with my parents, and they were both certain of the birth time- however, if I use a birth time 15 minutes earlier than my birth certificate says, it would give me a Pisces rising. On the other hand, my sun (in cancer) is square Jupiter and Saturn, and square my ascendant (and this opposed to my M.C.- Also opposed to Mercury, and sextile the moon, for what it’s worth). Would you say these are enough hard aspects to constitute a “really messed up sun”? (I’m still just getting my feet wet, and not very confident interpreting this sort of thing yet) And if not, in my situation do you think you’d stick with the chart as my birth certificate would have it, or would you amend the time back 15 minutes to get an ascendant that feels like a better fit?

Apologies for continuing to ask natal astrology questions which I know aren’t your area of expertise, and as always, many thanks!
-NPM

[ecosophia]

Yes, that's a really messed-up Sun. What I'd encourage you to do is to cast two charts, one using the time on the birth certificate and the other a time fifteen minutes beforehand, and then look up in a good astrology textbook (for example, Llewellyn George's original A-Z Horoscope Maker and Delineator) what the placements of your planets in the houses mean in both versions. If at least one planet is in a different house in one than in the other, that'll give you some sense of which is more likely to be correct.

[(Anonymous)]

Given there was a lot of speculation in astronomy about new planets prior to the discoveries of Neptune, Ceres, and Pluto, what do you think of the current ongoing speculations in astronomy around "Planet 9" from an astrological perspective?

[ecosophia]

It means that some other influence in human collective psychology is trying to constellate itself as a distinct presence. Whether or not that influence succeeds in doing so is another matter; there was also a lot of speculation before the "discoveries" of Vulcan, a nonexistent planet between Mercury and the Sun, and Lilith, an equally nonexistent second moon of Earth.

The Left and Demonic Possession

[kimberlysteele]

Dear JMG,

On Ecosophia.net, I believe it was Anon who asked if you thought the Left was possessed by demons. I think they are possessed by demons and I am going to be posting about why I think so on my Dreamwidth journal this Wednesday. If the post I'm writing gets too long, I'll have to make it a series.

I hope you are well. Thanks for your enlightening, life-changing work.

For all interested in my arrangements of the Orphic Hymns, I just released the studio recording of Helios: https://queeniemusic.bandcamp.com/track/orphic-hymn-to-the-sun

Re: The Left and Demonic Possession

[ecosophia]

I'll look forward to reading that as time permits. By all means make it a series if the subject requires that -- this is something that needs to be talked about.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

1. I've been meditating in the concept of the will lately, and I'm extremely intrigued by the concept that willing a single thing strongly for an extended period of time encourages that thing to manifest in our lives. If this is remotely true, it would seem to be one of the most important lessons we could possibly learn. In particular, what I find fascinating is the idea that internal struggle is a symptom of divided will, and that if the will is properly directed, there is no sense of resistance at all - this seems to turn a lot of pop psychology and contemporary self-improvement on their heads, since they're all about fighting yourself to "build willpower." However, what I don't understand is how the will is different from simply desiring or wanting something and working towards achieving it. How can we move from a want or desire for something to a will that can get the job done without internal resistance or self-sabotage? Subjectively, does the will feel differently from a desire or want?

2. Are you familiar with Peter Turchin and his academic work to develop mathematical models of history? Back in 2010, he successfully predicted a wave of instability in the US in the decade 2010-2020 (it seems pretty obvious now for those who have been paying attention, but hindsight is 20/20). Are you sympathetic to such ideas in general? Can history be modeled like an epidemic?

3. In the Qabalah, what is the difference between the forms and patterns of Hod and the images of Yesod? I'm guessing that since Yesod proceeds from Hod in the traditional order of emanations, its images are shaped by the patterns of Hod, but how do we know in practice if we're operating in the sphere of Hod or Yesod?

4. Is any distinction made in occult philosophy between feeling and emotion? Jung called feeling a judging function, and I get the impression that an emotion is something more physiological and automatic. Would you agree with this? Which Sephiroth correspond to feeling and emotion, respectively?

[ecosophia]

1) The crucial thing here is to learn to separate the will from wants and desires, because these always involve conflict. To will something is to choose it, not because you want it or crave it or have some other emotional reaction pushing you toward it, but simply because you have freely chosen it. Fighting yourself to build willpower is a mistake -- you build willpower by doing things "just because." Right now, decide to get up, cross the room, and touch a particular point on the far wall. Then do it. That's a simple act of will -- and a basic training exercise -- because you had no reason to do it except your act of free choice.

2) I'm somewhat familiar with Turchin, and I have to say I have more respect for his models than I did before! History can certainly be modeled, though I tend to use narrative rather than numerical models; Oswald Spengler is a writer on historical cycles who's influenced me strongly.

3) An image isn't just a pattern. It's a pattern that expresses itself in mental equivalents of the physical senses -- think of seeing something "in the mind's eye," and so on. Those belong to Yesod. The patterns of Hod are not expressed in images; they're like the field of a magnet, which you can't see until you sprinkle iron filings onto the paper and they fall into lines that trac the patterns.

4) Words like those are tricky! The term "feeling" can refer to anything from intuitive flickers of the spiritual level to hardwired biological passions -- and so can the term "emotion," depending on who's using them. As a rule, the biological passions belong to Yesod, the location of the automatic consciousness, while what you're calling "feeling" belongs to Netzach.

Hellenic magic/worship

[(Anonymous)]

I have recently been searching for a committed relationship with a deity, and have heard, quite powerfully, from Athena. This has taken me a bit by surprise, as I have done no work with the Greek gods. But there is no denying Her identity. I would like to honor Her properly, and was hoping for some advice, from JMG or anyone who has worked with Her personally. I have prayed to Her and explained this, and wondered how She would prefer me to proceed. The sense of answer I got was basically "Surprise me."
I am perfectly willing to come up with my own original devotions. But I would greatly appreciate any help with at least getting started well and not making some basic error right out of the gate. If anyone is going to suggest the Orphic hymns, I got the sense that She thinks they're OK, but is a little bored with just getting that.
As ever JMG, thank you so much for this forum and all the work you put into it. Your sites are the coolest place in cyberspace.

Re: Hellenic magic/worship

[ecosophia]

The traditional lore gives some suggestions. You should get a statue of her if you can, and set up a shrine to her -- it can be on top of a dresser or bookcase, or what have you -- involving the statue, a cloth between the statue and the dresser or bookcase top, an incense burner of some kind, and a small plate used only for this purpose on which food offerings can be placed. (The Greeks liked to offer bread or other grain-based foods to the gods; they are left on the altar for a day or so and then eaten reverently, having been blessed by the goddess.) All these are standard elements of classic Pagan Greek Neoplatonist practice, and as Athena was much revered by the Neoplatonists, she's likely to find this approach to her taste.

As for what to say, if you go to the DuckDuckGo search engine and type in the search string "prayers to Athena," you'll get quite a few hits. Athena's a popular goddess these days, just as she was in ancient times, and as you'd expect, she gives her votaries the ability to think clearly and write good prayers.

[(Anonymous)]

How would you go about privately honoring a person, usually posthumously, who you feel is or deserves to be a folk hero of the future? I can think of several such people, who for legal reasons I cannot publicly name at the present time.

[ecosophia]

The standard method is to set up a shrine for each of them. You can use a photo, and burn incense to them now and then -- certainly on their birthdays, and on other occasions if this seems appropriate to you. Work out for each one a little litany recounting their achievements and thanking them for the blessings they gave to humanity or the world. Recite that when you burn incense to them. That will help build an egregor around them, and help other people become aware of them.

[(Anonymous)]

I've been watching over the past few months as my family has descended into madness, and no longer recognize them. It's as if they've been replaced by different people (my mother in particular). Are there steps I'll need to take beyond distancing myself from them to keep safe from whatever entities are involved?

[ecosophia]

If you aren't yet doing so, I'd encourage you to start practicing a daily banishing ritual such as the Sphere of Protection (you can find instructions here -- scroll down to the bottom to begin. That's the most useful thing you can do to keep your mind and spirit free of the craziness that's so widespread these days. If you're a religious person -- whatever your religion may be -- regular participation in the prayers and services of your faith is another very important thing to do.

[(Anonymous)]

This is an odd question, but I recently decided to check the other blog, and as I was doing so, a friend joked that he could tell how many electoral college votes Trump will win in November. It would be the next number I saw. The comments on your blog are currently at 538.

Taken literally it seems impossible, but would you read this as an omen that Trump will win in a serious landslide?

[(Anonymous)]

I should clarify: recent means last few minutes, while it is at 538 comments.

[causticus]

Hello JMG,

To follow up on the "What if I was a spy in a recent past life?" theme that has popped up over the past couple MMs or so, I must curiously inquire:

(I was one of those who reported experiences that might point to living a past life drenched in espionage)

1. (a) Out of all the pantheons you are familiar with, which gods and/or goddesses preside over the realm of spycraft/espionage? (b) Would this be the same deity/force that presides over the principles which make secret societies and clandestine organizations/lodges function properly?

2. I live with a TDS case and lifelong leftist true believer. Suddenly I had a rather uncharacteristic rage (I'm not a particularly aggressive or hot-headed person) suddenly boil up in me today and it exploded out very briefly as I basically exclaimed, "the leftist insanity needs to cease and desist right now, a a civil war would not end well for them!"...among other things related to the current insane climate. The mood quickly subsided and later I observed to myself that it felt like I had some sort of "war energy" pass through me. I know things in general or going super-crazy right now on the astral level, but is there anything in the astrological weather as of late that would accentuate such moods or bring on sudden foreign-feeling energies into me? Could this simply be due to the lingering effects of the lunar eclipse? Granted I had performed SOP just a couple hours prior to this outburst, which might explain why this mood passed out of me so quickly and why I was able to analyze it in such a detached manner not long after.

3. I think someone on a previous MM mentioned that Athena/Minerva has a distaste for Druids (or Druidry). Does this mean she shouldn't be invoked during the SOP? Or does this mean that she shouldn't be invoked while doing an assortment of Druid magic practices?

[ecosophia]

1) Espionage belongs to Hermes, Mercury, and related trickster-ish deities. Some secret societies are under the same patronage; others are ruled by Saturn, the god of silence, solitude, and things far removed from everyday life.

2) I don't know of any general astrological factor that might cause that, but the Moon may have been in aspect to your natal Mars or something of that sort. Still, there are other things flowing through collective consciousness that are harder to track via astrology.

3) I've talked to fellow Druids about that and they ended up scratching their heads. They've had no problem working with Athena or Minerva. I wouldn't worry about it.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a regular reader who's started writing a piece of fiction that features ritual magic. I have some familiarity with eclectic pagan and Wiccan magic, but what are good sources on angel magic?

Thank you again.

[ecosophia]

Gustav Davidson's A Dictionary of Angels is your go-to source for that.

Weather Effects

[(Anonymous)]

Do you know of (or have you written) any books which deal with the effects of weather on spells? As an example; I have been very successful having my will be done during clear freezing nights of low humidity.

Thank you for your knowledge and insight.

Re: Weather Effects

[ecosophia]

That's a fascinating subject about which I've never seen any significant body of research. Literally the only thing I know that's relevant is that geomantic divination is supposed to be less accurate during stormy weather. You might consider keeping detailed notes and starting a research project.

[open_space]

On the LRP on CGD you say at the beginning to go to the eastern quarter. I assume this means to step forward, trace the pentagram, vibrate the name and then step back to the center to pivot and trace the line around the circumference? I mean, you are at the center and step forward at each quarter to trace the pentagram, vibrate and then step back to pivot to the next quarter. Is this correct or you never step forward but just face that direction instead?

The part I am confused is if you step forward to do the pentagram you can’t trace the circumference because you are not at the center of the circle but if you do step back you can’t trace the circumference from the center of the pentagram to the other quarter because now the pentagram would be one step away from you which takes me to think that there is no stepping forward at all.

That is how I would picture it but I ask because on the sixth step you say to trace a line back to the east and then step back.

Or... is it more like: Say point O is the starting position, you step forward and you walk around the perimeter of a small circumference whose center is O with your feet, instead of pivoting, while tracing a bigger circumference with your hand and then stepping back to O? That would make sense.

[ecosophia]

It's much simpler than you make it out to be. You don't return to the center at any point between the first Rite of the Rays and the point where you've finished drawing things in the air. You leave the center, go to the eastern edge of the space where you're doing the working, and draw a pentagram. Then, without going back to the center, you draw a line as you walk a quarter circle to the south, and draw a pentagram there. You continue in the same way, walking around the circumference of the space, until you're back in the east. Then you return to the center. The circumference doesn't have to be small, by the way; in temple ritual it's as big as the room.

Magic as healing

[tresbla]

Hello John. My question this week is on the use of magic as healing. I have often heard you quote the maxim "the planes are discrete and non-continous". If I'm understanding this correctly, it implies that physical effects require physical action, and magic's role - at least astral magic - is to act more as a key to unlock potentials within the mind, which may indirectly cause physical effects by leading to the magician and/or other intelligences around him/her to make more intelligent choices on the physical plane, but can never do so directly.

However, having read Regardie's 'Art of True Healing', he seems to imply that Middle Pillar visualisations can directly affect the physical health of the body. Do you believe he is mistaken or is there something subtle that I am missing here?

I am particularly curious because having practised the MP for several months now, I have often experienced a very visceral sensation of vital energy circulating through my body in the immediate aftermath. If I had to guess I would say this is etheric activity. How is this possible if the planes are discrete and non-continous?

How also would there be a mechanism for a healing modality like Acupuncture which, unless I'm mistaken, works primarily with with the etheric body, and yet is often reported to directly (i.e. without any further action apparently having occurred on the physical plane) affect physical health?

Re: Magic as healing

[ecosophia]

"The planes are discrete" does not mean "the planes are hermetically sealed from one another and no influence can pass between them." It means that forces on one plane can influence another plane only in specific, somewhat limited ways. Obviously the human body is a context in which such influences happen -- you can move your hand (which is material) in response to a thought (which is astral), after all -- and so visualizations can affect the material body in other ways, too. That effect is limited, however, which is why your visualizations won't make a table fly up into the air...

[(Anonymous)]

I've decided to use the Greek days of the week for my SOP

Above: Helios

Below' Selene

East: Hermes

South: Aries

West: Aphrodite

North: Chronos

..praying to Zeus a little bit before the beginning and after the end.

Any thoughts?

[ecosophia]

That should be fine.

[(Anonymous)]

What would you say are the biggest pitfalls in studying astrology you see people fall into?

[ecosophia]

I've noted three major pitfalls. The first is the "Oh no, I'm doomed!" reaction, in which every negative indication gets blown wildly out of proportion -- you've got Mars in the 8th, therefore you're going to be murdered, or what have you. That's common among complete beginners, and you also see it with Tarot: "I just drew the Death card! I must be about to die!" et cetera, ad nauseam.

The second is the "I am a puppet and the stars are the strings" reaction, the idea that if something's in your horoscope or an upcoming transit or whatever, you can do nothing about it. That's not true at all; there's a lot of wiggle room.

Finally, you get the opposite mistake from these two, which is the "The stars do what I tell them" attitude. You've got wiggle room, but it's not infinite; if you've got an afflicted Venus, you're going to have some relationship trouble to deal with, even if you can finally work through it and get your love life on an even keel. The horoscope establishes limits and basic directions, and those aren't necessarily flexible, even if you can shape the way they work out in your life.

[(Anonymous)]

Which Catholic prayer or Christian prayer would you recommend for someone who believes they are deeply struggling internally between Satan and Christ?

[(Anonymous)]

(Roman Catholic here)

Litany of the Saints; Memorare; Our Father; any Psalm where the psalmist is asking for help. Also make a good confession and receive Holy Communion as often as you can—and while you’re in the booth, mention spiritual difficulty and if the priest is not totally corrupted, he should be able to offer suggestions. Do NOT mention demons or Satan—that’ll cause any modern priest to recommend a psychiatrist. (They’re required to do that before they go any further with a complaint about demons.). Just say you are deeply struggling internally with the faith. Also, when the phenomena start bothering you, don’t forget the simple tactic of repeating the name of Jesus over and over. Good luck!

[(Anonymous)]

If divination is as effective as the opening quote suggests, why is lost knowledge (magical or otherwise) ever a problem? Couldn't it be reconstructed at any time?

[ecosophia]

Excellent. Lévi isn't talking about divination, but something considerably more complex and much less well understood -- thus his references to the notory art, the art of Ramon Lull, and alchemy. Can that greatest of occult arts be understood and put to work? Sure, so long as you're willing to go at it with the focus you'd get from a prisoner who had nothing else to do with this time. Much of what Lévi did in his own career was precisely that sort of rediscovery, using those methods.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm starting the second set of meditations in Art and Practice of Geomancy and am not clear on what is considered a correspondence. Should the body type and character type be considered correspondences? How about the commentary on a figure? The divinatory meaning? All of the above?

[ecosophia]

All of the symbols, labels, ideas, and terms listed for each of the figures belong to the correspondences of that figure. That is to say, "all of the above."

Is it just me?

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG

PREAMBLE
If one were to consider that humans are consciousness experiencing a reality through a physical bio-electric body and that we live on a planetary body that has an 'electric' nature (e.g. we are the electric fleas on the electrical planetary dog); then in times of planetary changes/instability, since we exist within and as part of this system, not above or beyond, the idea of 'humans as the pinnacle[TM]' seems likely to be tested.

Things I have been chewing on:

1. The instability of planetary systems manifesting through human behaviour

2. Might the energies/deities/etc that humans connect to, reflect/be affected by such instability

3. In times of shifting patterns and relationships, the use of additional strategies to maintain a dynamic equilibrium

Of course some strategies are best kept internal and different systems have their approaches and methods that may not be compatible, so not necessarily a simple thing, but I digress.

Saw a cartoon that said:
"My desire to keep up to date and informed is at odds with my desire to stay sane."

I have been choosing to limit the amount of attention given to some things because the news/general media and tech interfaces seem increasingly discordant and like they are reflecting/sucking into a great madness - that avoidance and internal work usually works well (e.g. no television since 1992) but the need for other measures to support seems to have been increasing of late.
i.e. it seems important just now to 'do stuff' in order to keep energetic equilibrium - so I am going with that.

For example - a core part of my practice is noticing emotional states and then choosing whether I am going to go with or change a state to some other (based on 5 elemental processes) - a practice I have been doing for nearly 40 years - recently, some of the potential emotional stuff has been more intense than usual but without an obvious source.

It isn't just that there is more noise than signal
It is difficult to put into words, but things seems to be 'shifting'.

It could be just time to alter practice/path, or it could be something gastrointestinal and I just need to stay-off the beans, or, a third alternative is that things are actually getting weirder as the world oscillates between extremes while a new equilibrium is waiting to appear. Humans as part of this 'electrical/energetic field' are not immune - A good time to be alive but not necessarily comfortable or pleasant.

Of course even if correct, there is no reason why that new equilibrium should show up in the short term and this roller-coaster might still be on the climb before actually beginning its run.

A QUESTION
Things ebb and flow for me in terms of intensity of practice - might I ask, have you or people you know experienced the need to adapt or change long-term practices in recent times (by recent I guess say last 12+ months) to maintain efficacy?

Various thoughts and ideas have popped-up, but any different thoughts/perspectives/ideas on how people are finding/navigating the world at the moment would be much appreciated.

Re: Is it just me?

[ecosophia]

It's not just you. The energies are definitely in flux. I've made certain changes in my practices over the last year, mostly intended to make use of the changing energies for the sake of my own self-transformative work, and I know other people who've had to do the same. Astrologically speaking, we're about to have a Grand Mutation -- a shift of the cycle of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions into a new element, from Earth to Air -- and in traditional mundane astrology that was seen as a major turning point, the end of one era and the beginning of another (The last one was in 1842, and brought in what we might as well call the modern world; the upcoming one will be on this year's winter solstice; the one following won't be until 2219.)

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JM,

I have a question relating to old friendships that turn towards sour interpersonal relations. Without going into details, trump derangement syndrome has led to a deterioration of civility, increased hostility and aggression, and now outright projection and anger in a circle of friends I was part of. I decided to move away and wanted advice as to how I can insulate myself, and indeed protect myself from recrimination manifesting in my life loving forward. I practice SoP daily but have no other real experience or practice in these matters.
For what it's worth, I'd prefer to remember them as friends and wish them no ill will - just to let them be and have the same courtesy returned.

Thank you,

Anonymously

[ecosophia]

You can control your own actions, but unfortunately you can't control their reactions. Moving away from them and maintaining your own boundaries are the options you've got, basically.

Blessing mixup continued

[sea_spray]

Hi JMG

to continue this: https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/92498.html?thread=9443666#cmt9443666
from last week.
Re 3) She is concerned that the backlash would be detrimental to her ability to care for her child (2 years old) and so wishes to hold off on seriously fighting it off for a number of years.
Re 5) yes I did rub the oil on the candle and light it during the time of the eclipse, it coincided with the third hour of the sun locally. should I throw it out and start again, re anoint it or just carry on doing the blessings on Sunday's?

Thank you

Re: Blessing mixup continued

[ecosophia]

3) Does she really want to raise a child in a demon-infested environment?

5) Just carry on.

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,
Already this week, and on several earlier occasions, people have been talking about the madness afflicting what they describe as « the Left . » As an old Leftist myself, I wanted to comment on this because I think what is going on may be explicable, symbolically or actually, in magical terms, albeit not those normally used here.
Briefly (because this is not a political essay) what people call the « Left » today, has nothing to do with the collectivist, universalist, progressive mass movements of the last two hundred years, linked to trades unions, and civil society and community organisations. Most of the mass political parties established during this time still exist today, but in name only. Few if any of their current leaders claim to be of « the Left », or to use the traditional vocabulary of class-based struggle.
After the 1980s, shaken by the electoral success of Reagan and Thatcher, a new generation of party leaders abandoned any hope of recapturing power, and decided to reconfigure their parties for elite groups, accepting neoliberal economic polices as inevitable, and basing their ideology, inasmuch as they had one, on extreme social liberalism. Actual leftists were persecuted and driven out, as often before in history: liberals have always been the worst enemies of the Left. This produced parties with extreme neoliberal economic and social ideologies, developed for, and run by, the comfortably off with vaguely liberal inclinations. But of course these parties wanted to get elected, and so had to find a way of appealing to ordinary people. At first they retained some trappings of the Left, but progressively just kept the names. They effectively took the votes of ordinary people for granted, with implied slogans like, You Have no Choice, If You Think We Are Bad Look at the Opposition, and more recently, Vote for Us It’s Your Duty.
This worked for a while, but was bound to fall apart one day, as ordinary people began to awake from the magical trance into which they had been cast. Now, ordinary people have started to vote in large numbers for parties of the radical Right (and to some extent Left), Greens, and ethnic and local parties - or just not vote at all. Panic has set in, and this political blob is melting down, and starting to eat itself.
The above analysis is fairly standard on the genuine Left. My point here is that, whilst, it’s possible to use the vocabulary of commerce to explain what’s happened (think, a Private Equity buyout of a company) it’s also possible to use a magical one. After all, a group have taken over (many would say) the very soul of traditional Leftist parties, to the point that they now « possess » them. They use the glamour of advertising and PR to deceive and conceal who they really are, and they have done so in bad faith lying incessantly to themselves and each other. But because at the end of the day this was all about power and money, rather than any kind of coherent ideology, with the threat of genuinely using power they are starting to come apart and turning on each other. I’m sure there are plenty of magical and mythological precedents.
This seems to me a reasonable explanation, but I’d be interested to know what you think.

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this. Yes, that does seem like a very reasonable explanation.

Natural magic for sleep

[(Anonymous)]

Do you know any natural magic that can be used to aid sleep? My wife struggles with insomnia and it is beginning to affect her life very negatively. She is pursuing solutions to the underlying causes of the insomnia, but I would really like to be able to help her sleep better now as it is hard to deal with almost anything when sleep deprived!

Re: Natural magic for sleep

[ecosophia]

Magic, natural or otherwise, doesn't make a good bandaid! I'd encourage her to see a licensed alternative health care provider to do something about the insomnia.

[rafiwinters]

Crimson Transcendent Raccoon. Ba ha ha ha ha!

[ecosophia]

Ba ha ha ha ha indeed.

-- Aquamarine Anthropoid Weasel