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: 

 

"Political activities are a terrible temptation to the occultist; knowing what he does, it is very difficult for him to avoid the use of his knowledge and power to amend abuses, and in doing so he is very likely to run ahead of the times and do more harm than good.  It seems as if fanaticism is inseparable from the application of the principles of the higher life to politics, and spiritual zeal has shed quite as much blood as worldly ambition." 

 

That's from Dion Fortune's Practical Occultism in Daily Life, one of the books of hers that did an enormous amount to shape my understanding of magic and the occult.   

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. (Any question received after then will not get an answer, and will likely just be deleted.) 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

[kevintaylorburgess]

1) Do you have advice on how to handle a truly nasty etheric environment? At the moment I’m taking two cold showers a day and using plenty of vinegar around the house, but it’s still fairly gross. I think a large part of it is that there are very few plants in the neighbourhood, so I know I’ll need to get a houseplant, but any other advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

2) You advise against trying to bring up memories, but I’ve now thought along the lines of “I was probably a serious occultist”, and come up with a few other things which probably suggest details of past lives: I really dislike Winston Churchill in a way that feels weirdly personal for a historical figure, and have a strong dislike for the British Empire, so I probably had a life as a subject to that empire who had a run with Churchill (The irony that I’m a Canadian Monarchist in this lifetime is not lost on me); I have an intuitive grasp of certain elements of Japanese culture, such as music, visual arts, and cooking, so I probably spent at least a lifetime there; etc. Is this sort of thing, noting down oddities and saying, “I guess this means I probably had this experience in a past life” problematic? I’m making no efforts to recall anything, just noting down things which seem to suggest details of my prior lives.

3) I think I probably still have a few astral parasites on me. There are quite a few different issues where my journaling is running into brick walls of the same sort that occurred when I tried to address the Wendigo. I also think I’m not fully cured of that particular parasite yet, since although it’s a lot easier I still notice I’m falling victim to it, albeit to a much lesser degree than before. I think the astral environment I grew up in was remarkably toxic (and, karmically, there’s probably a reason I was born in such a toxic environment), and so I think I need to do a lot of work to clean up my astral body. Aside from sticking with LRM and identifying and eliminating the hooks they’ve used via journaling, are there other steps I can use to address the parasites I have on my astral body?

4) Ever since I’ve started doing spiritual practices I’ve had a weird sense of foreboding about the future of the city I live in. There are plenty of reasons why it’s probably going to have a very rough future ahead, but my sense right now is it’s about to become a far less pleasant place to call home in the very near future. I’m assuming once I reach the point I’m able to do so I could use divination, but are there other ways I can try to figure out what this intuition is pointing to? I’ve tried looking in the news and at various indicators to see what’s happening here, but nothing stands out yet.

[ecosophia]

1) There's only so much you can do if you live in an etherically filthy area. You might try a weeky hoodoo floor wash -- ammonia, salt, and just a pinch of hot pepper in hot water, start in the kitchen and end at the front door -- and see if that helps.

2) I don't recommend spending a lot of time at that, simply because it'll encourage your subconscious to start confabulating things. Still, given that caution, it shouldn't be a problem.

3) Keep up with the practices you're doing. It takes a while sometimes.

4) Basically, you have to wait until you've developed the necessary skills, such as divination.

Etheric Organs

[(Anonymous)]

What is an example of an Etheric Organ?

Re: Etheric Organs

[ecosophia]

They're also known as psychic centers or energy centers. Here's a diagram of some of them:

Myths

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, Darren here. Hoping to pick up on your reply to my question on the other blog.

I asked about the lower mental plane and what are myths? You replied; myths are narratives that we use to interpret the world. The myth of progress was a helpful narrative for a while but no longer produces helpful interpretations of the world we experience and needs to be replaced with different narratives that are more useful.

My response is "oh, so we need to think up new myths".

But in a reply to Jbucks you said:

"any attempt to create or renew myths will have at most a personal effect unless it’s tapping into changes already at work in the higher planes of existence. One of the reasons that I’m encouraging people to think about different myths is precisely that the habit of attending to the mythic will give the higher planes more opportunities to communicate to us the myths we need."

My questions:

1/ So the source of these overarching narratives is the higher planes? Even the myth of progress would have come down through the planes at a time it was needed?

2/ My understanding then is that our role is to open ourselves to different narratives, by attending to the mythic with a mindset of "receiving" - is that right?. To that end I purchased Stephen Fry's retelling of the Greek myths.

3/ Where would we look for the first buds of new myths? It seems to me writers of fiction and screenplays would be likely conduits in our civilisation. Maybe even game developers.

Many thanks

Re: Myths

[ecosophia]

1) That's correct. The myths that matter descend from the higher planes, and we make contact with them through the mental plane, the plane of meanings and values.

2) That's one way to go about it.

3) That's possible but unlikely. Listen instead to outsiders, crazed mystics, children, dreamers, those who are closest to the edges of consensus reality. Did you ever read the fascinating account of Miami ghetto kids' street culture, Myths Over Miami? That's where myths are born.

Something to do with magic.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John
“In Praise of Johnny Appleseed” finally shook loose for me. Last weeks reading left me exhausted. This week, some effort. But – finally – a sense of movement. I’d love to know how the project is going for everyone else.
The 538 Report: My mom and her posse have been using pendulums for divination for going on three decades. After I told them about the divinations predicting a Trump landslide victory, they consulted their pendulums. Asking “Will Trump win?” returned a unanimous “yes.” Have you heard any more about this sort of thing?
And, I’ve gotten started on The Druidry Handbook. Now, my friends want to know what I’m calling my grove. (I just got started! Facepalm.) But it got me thinking. The GWB&PA’s usual ceremonial headgear is a green John Deere baseball cap. Golden Stag Grove? I’m inclined to tread lightly here. The favor of your opinion is welcome.
R

Re: Something to do with magic.

[ecosophia]

1) I'd be interested in hearing other reports, too.

2) Interesting. I'm working on the Libra ingress chart for the US right now, and it also indicates a Republican victory -- the planet that represents them in the chart is fairly well dignified, while the one that represents the Democrats is severely afflicted.

3) Druidry is notable among religions for its mordant and deadpan sense of humor. That would be a fine name.

Dreams

[revert2mean]

Hi there,

I've been a big fan for a long time. I've never asked a question before, but I just have to this time.

Over the last few years I've had a number of dreams - true dreams, not gibberish dreams - where entities that seemed very familiar from another place were telling me that I had to die in the next few years. Even included a scene of me chasing after them in their spaceship on my bicycle because I hadn't died on time. I wasn't too worried about dying, but I think my family will need me for more than a few more years, so I was a bit uncomfortable about these dreams.

Then one night I was reading your Merlin book. I fell asleep (sorry). A young guy with light brown reddish hair appeared in my dream and very specifically said he was Merlin Ambrosius. (I was just reading your book.) He kicked me out of my body - I felt myself go - and we both looked at my body, which was now transparent. We could see a tumour on my right ovary. He didn't seem too concerned about me dying either, but he said I had some serious health problems and I shouldn't go to a doctor, but I should start drinking a litre of carrot juice every day and I would get better. He said it was vitally important that I live on in good health, without getting sick. When I asked why, he just said something along the lines of "for the things that will come to pass" or some such. So I'm none the wiser there.

So I have two questions:

(1) First I had to die, now I have to live. Do you have any idea what's going on?
(2) What's the deal with your book?

Thanks for any perspective.

Re: Dreams

[ecosophia]

1) Some people dream true. Most people dream in symbols, and have to grapple with the symbols in meditation and reflection in order to figure out what they mean. I have no way of knowing which you are, thus can't tell what's going on.

2) Not my book, but the One who inspired it and works through the mysteries taught in it. I trust you're following his advice!

Etheric battle

[tunesmyth]

Why does cutting with a sharp iron or steel instrument around our body to disperse etheric nasties do no harm to our own etheric body? Our etheric body generally extends a little out from our physical body, doesn’t it?

Re: Etheric battle

[ecosophia]

The etheric body extends about an inch out from the material body. That's why you make the little stabbing motions several inches away -- that way you don't cut your etheric body, but you do poke any larvae who may be parasitizing your etheric body.

[kevintaylorburgess]

1) I’m going to have to start looking at these quotes far more closely. Looking at it for a couple minutes has given me something to work with, and I strongly suspect there’s a great deal more to it than my initial thoughts.

Despite the superficial appearance the quote above refers to progress, it doesn’t necessarily need to at all. If magic awakens the subtle senses, then it becomes possible to perceive the future; it’s entirely possible to imagine a highly competent occultist in the 1950s becoming aware of the existence of trends which would cause pain and suffering in the 1980s, and seeing the damage they’d cause. Such an occultist could then decide to try to fight those trends, and since they’d be harmless enough at the time, or even positive, be unable to do anything. Meanwhile, the actual issues of the 1950s would be unaddressed by said occultist, who’s too focused on the future.

This is also warning against the fanaticism which comes from too strong a sense of confidence in the truth. I suspect this will turn out to be a phenomena of the Piscean Era, one which only exits due to the notion of there being One True Path: I have a sense that the fanatics who try to force their ideals on everyone will gradually fade away as the Aquarian Age manifests.

2) I know you don’t find the Thoth deck appealing, but it’s the deck I work with. I’ve had an insight that explains part of the astrological symbolism, and would like to know if anyone has thoughts on it. The two and three of disks in the deck are titled “change” and “works” and feature the astrological symbolism of Jupiter and Mars respectively, in Capricorn.

Building off the prior idea of the highest manifestations of each planet are manifested by the planet in Capricorn, this makes sense: Jupiter is the principle of growth, and unfocused will just spread in all directions. Thinking of it as the light from the sun, here on Earth it’s bright, at Neptune it’s hardly enough to provide any warmth at all, and by the time you reach Alpha Centauri it’s faded into the background of just another star. Focus all the light though, limit it, and you could vaporize a planet in the Alpha Centuari system. In the same way, focus Jupiter’s energies, and you can get change in a single thing.

As for why it’s not Aquarius, this is actually a simple matter: Aquarius is change for the sake of change, and a lot of the time the easiest way to get change is to change something back to what it was before! In other words, the change of Aquarius is not a deep, permanent change, but a superficial one, one which will be undone just as quickly and easily as it was made in the first place. Hmm. This seems to suggest that repeating past mistakes in the serene conviction it’s something new is a feature of the Aquarian Age....

Mars in Capricorn producing works is a rather fascinating example, since Mars is power, energy, and drive, and focusing it by limiting it enables the creation of a great deal, while if it’s unfocused, the result is a great deal of energy, but nothing enduring as most of it is wasted.

[ecosophia]

1) Good. "This book is a mirror; if a monkey looks in, no philosopher looks out." The quotes are chosen pretty much at random; the depth you find in them is a depth you must bring to them.

2) A good meditation. As for the Thoth deck, the mere fact that I don't like it particularly doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with it, just that it doesn't suit my idiosyncratic tastes.

"Change is Nature"

[boulderchum]

Salutations JMG! Some more questions from the notepad:

1. How do you address a prayer to your Guardian? I know there's a fancy way of pulling a name out of a natal chart, but I understand that's an individual's "angel of nativity" rather than their Guardian. I'm facing a significant decision that needs to be made within the week, and I'd like some guidance from planes higher than the ones I'm clumsily groping around now, though I don't have any connections to any gods.

2. When doing the opening and closing for the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, do I visualize the "expanding until the Earth is a footstool" at the start of both the opening and closing, or is it only used during the opening? I've experimented with both recently, and the former seems to lend power to the exercise but that could be put down to daily variations.

3. Have you heard of Teratoma Tumours? I've heard random Anons online say these are caused by malign spiritual beings trying to fashion a body for themselves out of your body. Is that true, or are these tumours merely another weird quirk of the human body?

Re: "Change is Nature"

[ecosophia]

1) The classic advice from Renaissance magical handbooks is that you call on your guardian by his title, not by his name. Only after you make contact will you learn his name, and the names of those other spirits who will work with you.

2) You can do it either way, depending on your preference.

3) Hmm. That's not an idea I'd encountered before; I'd have to look into it.

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have any occult advice about how to not be personally affected by memes?

Today's quote is pertinent as I stay away from political magic, because I know I don't have the spare energy for that the way some people might. However, occasionally there are phenomena with a political dimension that I need to try to keep away from myself because of negative effects they'd have on me personally. This, I would say, is one of them.

I am a middle-aged white woman with chronic illness. I have short hair because that's easier to manage when you're ill, and I always preferred it anyway.

I've had very little interaction with service businesses over the last year, but sooner or later I'll have to. There will be things where, because of my illness, I have to make requests to do things differently, which might be irritating for the providers, and which have serious consequences for my health if they don't. I've usually had a good ear for choosing people who are kind and helpful and follow requests, but sometimes things need to be done where I couldn't find there isn't someone like that, and I have to keep on at them about something.

I've learnt and been told over the years that you should just ask directly and politely, you shouldn't always have to explain everything about yourself in detail or present yourself as pathetic and unconfident in order to get people to help. I don't want to have to do all that all the time as it makes me feel worse and increases vulnerability. Invisible disability means I look like "a Karen" but I don't usually look like "a disabled person" (and if I did that would mean things had got a lot worse and I am all about trying to stop that happening).

I am worried that the rise of the Karen meme is going to mean that is the only way, and that even then, because of the meme and the way it might be changing attitudes, I am going to find it harder to get certain needs met safely, because people will feel they are doing the right thing to disregard extra, apparently persnickety, instructions from someone like me, when my life is already getting harder and more stressful.

[ecosophia]

The problem you face can be framed another way. The Karen meme didn't happen by accident; it was a reaction to a social phenomenon that anyone who's worked in retail, restaurants, or service industries has had to deal with for years. Long before the name "Karen" became a meme, for example, in the days when I worked as a counter clerk in a variety of settings, I learned to dread the arrival of women of the comfortable classes who combined a wildly overinflated sense of entitlement with a habit of abusing their social inferiors -- i.e., me and my coworkers. There were, and still are, a great many such people, and your problem is that you risk being mistaken for one.

One of the first lessons any competent mage learns is that changing yourself is a more effective approach than trying to force other people to change. You've taken an important first step by realizing that the set of behaviors that you've been taught for dealing with service businesses will very likely get you treated as a Karen. The effective magical approach to this is to change your behaviors so that this mistake doesn't happen.

That doesn't mean presenting yourself as pathetic and unconfident. It means recognizing that your special needs place a burden on service employees, and that they don't necessarily have the training they would need to anticipate your requirements and deserve enough explanation to understand your needs. It also means being friendly to them, showing gratitude for the help they give you, and letting them know you realize that your special needs are a burden to them. Oh, and leave a decent tip in all cases and a lavish one when you get good service. That way you won't risk being mistaken for a Karen; instead, you'll be that really nice lady who's always so friendly when she comes in, and you'll get the care and consideration that friendly customers inevitably get.

Toxic Job Redux

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr. Greer,

I asked the following question last week but I missed the cut-off for replying to your clarifying question on my magical background. I would say that I am at the beginner phase and unfortunately don't have any notable skills at this stage. I have reproduced my original question below.

I'm serving out my notice period in a job that I found to be really toxic. I have been stressed out and not sleeping properly for months now and the job has had a noticeable negative effect on my health.My questions is, if there is some sort of ritual I can perform after my last day to finish things off and to end off this negative chapter in my life?

Re: Toxic Job Redux

[ecosophia]

If you don't have any significant magical background, don't try to use magical rituals -- those require training and practice. My advice instead would be simply to take a couple of days off if you can, get plenty of rest and relaxation, and do things you enjoy, to help you begin to recover from the experience.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John

For the last few month I'm working through books and lectures of Manly P. Hall. He (and you) really pumped up my interest for the occult. The last sentence from Halls Book Self-Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization pops up into my head every time I seem to "lose my way" throughout the day: "Be patient, and in all things be kind – and time and eternity will be patient and kind through you."

Now, two weeks ago I stumbled upon a guy called Vernon Howard and listened to a few of his lectures.
I get a very strong bodily and emotional reaction when I listen to him. It feels like I did something wrong in my life and have to change it right now and my body gets ready to do it.

At the same time it seems that the idea I had about kindness is torn into pieces.

My question:
Do you know what kind of man Howard was and do you think that his teachings are a good addition to the teaching of Manlys?

Greetings from (the way to hot) Germany

- Alex

[ecosophia]

Well, your mileage may vary, but I'm not a fan of Vernon Howard or his work. Hall, on the other hand, is to my mind one of the great 20th century occult philosophers, and I'd tend to suggest sticking with him, and with the writers he recommends.

Science, Laws and Planes

[(Anonymous)]

One of the standard materialist views on material reality is, that one day we will have a mathematical theory of everything including the origin and fate of our universe. And this of course proves (for unknown reasons, if you think about it), that there can be only material things since there is a theory for it but not (unless you choose to take a closer look) for other than material things.

While that logic is obviously flawed, it made me thinking about the planes of existence beyond physical matter:

1) The case of a mathematical theory and it's application seem to illustrate the up and down on the planes very well. Very roughly sketched: Abstract theory (upper mental), for example quantum electrodynamics, general relativity, etc. -> Framing in concrete mathematical symbols and application of those to a certain phenomenon, e.g. hydrogen atom, planetary system, etc. (lower mental) -> Making sense of this by translating into mental images and subjective analogies (astral) -> Observations, experiments, etc. on the material plane. Of course there is an upward arc to this, coming from observations made with our material senses ranging to abstract theory. The continued up and down leads to more complexity (in knowledge, theories, experimental design, etc.)

2) The argument, "there's a law for everything, so it has to be material!" - I mean, there's a LAW. What is a law? Why is it there, why is it like it is and not different, are there other laws we don't know of? etc. For me, this points towards planes above the mental that are the foundation out of which something like a law can descend, something beyond our logic (which presumably does not mean that it's illogical but that it has a logic we cannot perceive as such). The fact that ordinary humans cannot grasp this and go beyond abstract theory seems to be indicative that we do not have senses above the mental plane (yet). Does that make sense?

3) This in turn points toward the divine, since when you operate on a plane on which you can "design" laws, there's nothing you can't do except what the laws of your plane and those above... good heavens... does it ever stop? Limitations of ordinary logic at work! And pondering your last posts on the CosDoc and some of the comments - wouldn't you even need to work at least two (sub-)planes above the mental in order to effectively shape the mental plane?

4) Many of the better scientists seem to be fairly evolved for certain very special tasks on the mental plane. Which is nice, but translated on the material plane... "Hey that's a super cool arm you have there, but where's the rest of the body?"

I have to say I feel a little stiff thinking in terms of the CosDoc, which may have to to with the fact that I grew up in the world of the mental walking arms (mental, truly), but it's fascinating stuff. How many dismiss this as superstitious nonsense without even noticing the explanatory power of this model not only to "magic" but to existence as a whole... Thanks a lot for your sharing your thoughts on the CosDoc with your audience! I presumably wouldn't have discovered it otherwise.

Cheers,
Nachtgurke

Re: Science, Laws and Planes

[ecosophia]

I've noticed that last week's Cos.Doc. post seems to have given rise to an astonishing number of good meditations and discussions, and this is another one. Yes, your idea makes a great deal of sense.

[(Anonymous)]

In the SOP, when vibrating the name of the God, you said to vibrate the tip of the finger and/or the symbol written on the air itself.

Should the whole body vibrate with it as well? Or just the symbol and/finger tip?


Is the symbol kept when visualizing the landscapes or does it dissolve into the landscape when it is imagined?

[ecosophia]

Experiment with all these options and see which work best for you.

[(Anonymous)]

What practic helps one achieve deepest sleep at night?

Hard Work / Exercise Helps

[sothismedias]

Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep because my mind is overactive. I've made it a point to only read novels / fiction before bed. They help prime the pump for drifting into dreams. Whereas non-fiction can get the cycle of cogitation going.

I try to not be on the internet for a few hours before bed. Looking at screens can cause me to not fall asleep as easily as I like.

Good old fashioned hard physical labor has produced some great deep sleep, as have long hikes, long walks where I've exerted and pushed myself further than usual.

There is a progressive relaxation technique of tightening and squeezing the muscles in the feet, legs, arms hands, chest, head etc. one side at a time, and releasing that is also very good at getting to sleep.

[(Anonymous)]

I swipe myself with a selenite stick in the mornings after I shower and put on clean clothes.

What other regular spiritual hygiene habits do you recommend to start the morning with?

[ecosophia]

The selenite stick's one that I hadn't encountered before. The routine I was taught was to wash the whole body with cold water, using a washcloth; to drink a cup of hot water, as hot as you can handle it and still drink it down, to flush the digestive system; and then do spiritual practices including a banishing ritual, meditation, and divination, before breakfast. That's been my morning routine for decades now.

Magical timing for Music Video release

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG!

I just finished editing a rather endearing video for our band which I believe has the potential to go somewhat viral and attract a larger audience to our bandcamp site, thus potentially generating some income in these gig-less times.

The early waxing moon from wednesday on would surely be beneficial, although I‘m not sure about virgo vs libra, the signs the moon will be in.

Also, what day and planetary hour should I use for publication? Wednesday for communication, Thursday for growth and prosperity, or maybe Friday because Venus is assiciated with Art?

The band is played by very cute stuffed animals, and at least one test audience member told me it works very well to watch it with a love interest, in case that information helps.

As always, thanks for your advice, and have a good week!

Re: Magical timing for Music Video release

[ecosophia]

Publish it on a Friday in the day and hour of Venus. That's good for art, it's good for cuteness, and it's also good for making money -- Friday is the classic day to do hoodoo workings for prosperity.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John Michael
Reporting in on last weeks “No indicator for Biden” comment.
First thanks to all who replied -.
Well I had a chat with the Tarot who gave me this image
(bother - no - i can't insert it but can be easily found on a search engine
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tarot+%22page+of+cups%22&t=hs&iax=images&ia=images
it’s the Page of Cups of the Rider Waite Tarot; a well dressed Page looking at (conversing with ?) a fish in a cup. It’s a deck I haven’t used for decades BTW,
So I said to the Tarot, with some heat, “How the “unDruidly word “ can the Page be an indicator for Biden ?”
“No no, “ said the Tarot “you misunderstand. Biden is the Fish !”
Cue more unDruidly words, but on reflection - a captive or figurehead of a certain demographic sure; but also this fish is obviously a magical fish and I can think of a lot of folklore about a magic fish granting wishes. So maybe a captive, a figurehead and a magical daddy figure for that demographic ?
Not to mention the distant echoes of the Piscean age, and (this one is oddly persistent ) something about the sign of the fish used by early christians.
I should mention that the Tarot did give me precise instructions as to how do the reading but I’v put it on hold for now.

Lurksalong

[methylethyl]

"...something about the sign of the fish used by early christians"

As used by early Christians, it had little to do with fish. Icthys was a handy acronym for "Jesus/Christ/of God/Son/Savior".

So... Biggest Idiot Democrats Ever Nominated?

Politics + Magic

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, I don't know if you've heard of Thomas Sheridan. He's an artist and occultist from Ireland, does a lot of videos on Youtube. He has similar takes as you on Trump and the disastrous "Magic Resistance," but he differs on a significant point.

Discussing the Kavanaugh hex project, he said something like "You should never bring politics into the magic circle, it's the most profane thing you could do." Philosophically, metaphysically, it makes some sense: every political cause has some negative intents and negative potentials associated with it. Whatever horse you're backing in the political race, its success will cause problems for someone, there's no way around it.

However, you've offered support for politically-intended workings in the past, IIRC mostly for positive, broadly-focused goals like strengthening republican democracy and promoting national unity in the US. But the political arena is a profoundly amoral place and every country has its misdeeds, so I can understand why Sheridan argues that you simply shouldn't link your spiritual self with the elaborate webs of positive and negative karma that connect political structures.

What do you think? Is there anything to fear from doing workings to support the uplifting, beneficial aspects of a political idea or nation?

Re: Politics + Magic

[ecosophia]

I hadn't heard of him, but he's quite correct. The kind of working I recommend, like the workings Dion Fortune did in the Second World War, aren't political as such; they're focused on manifesting the ideals of a national community in a more perfect form, and as such are of the same kind as (say) a working for personal spiritual improvement that focuses on helping you manifest your own ideals more perfectly. In my experience, that's as close as you can get to politics and still be safe -- but it can be done.

Asking about gods...

[(Anonymous)]

Say you're a person just starting out on your magical studies. Up until this point you haven't had much exposure to religion or gods or things of the nature. After a lot of meditation and thought, it occurs to you that you've lead a pretty fortunate life in a lot of ways and you wonder if there might not be some kind of divine being that's already paying attention to you.

1. Is that a thing that happens, or is this hypothetical person just being arrogant? Please note, I'm not thinking in Chosen One terms here...more like, do certain gods jive better with certain people naturally? Or do they only respond when we call out to them?

2. If it does happen, is meditation and\or prayer the best way to offer an introduction and inquire about the identity of said being?

Thanks again for doing this.
-Dudley Dawson

Re: Asking about gods...

[ecosophia]

1) This happens all the time. Very often it's a deity you worshiped in a previous life.

2) Yes, that's the standard toolkit -- at least within the tradition in which I've been trained.

Phobia Critters

[(Anonymous)]

(That is a very good quote on politics.)

My husband and I did the pokey-knife-critter thing mentioned on the Metaphysics of Sex post. Twenty minutes later, I had an experience that I'm hoping permanently dislodged a phobia of mine, and I'm eager to hear what you think.

Several years ago, I'd struggled with a throat phobia related to anaphylactic shock. This was not the original fear that got me diagnosed with panic disorder, but rather one of the fears that jumped around, trying to take hold, after I'd processed and released the original fear. This throat anxiety was the only lingering issue from that time, and only popped up in my life on occasion in the years since then.

I was standing at the bus stop and something clenched my throat really hard. However, for the first time, I was able to face it down like I had practiced with my CBT counselor years back. I firmly told my throat "I am in the hands of my gods. Choke me and kill me; I am in their arms and always safe." I even saw an ambulance right then, and the financial worries added to the anxiety, but I forcefully commanded it all away. To my surprise, the pressure eased, and when it tried to come back, this impromptu command forced it away again.

1. Was there an anxiety critter attacking my throat?

2. Do you think it's gone for good? I'm wondering whether DF's discussion of "the neurotic" pulling his fears repeated toward him in Psychic Self Defense applies here.

3. If it comes back, is there anything else you recommend I do in addition to that command (I practice the daily DMH-SOP).

Thank you.

Re: Phobia Critters

[ecosophia]

1) Quite possibly yes.

2) That's anyone's guess. If it or another like it shows up again, you know what to do.

3) Doing the pokey-knife-thing once a week wouldn't hurt!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi there,

I have a question that is maybe rather far off. I found the other day an old book of mine that was hugely influential for me and my friends way back at the end of the 90s... Don't know if it was ever translated to English, but the original German title is eismagie - erste einblicke by Frater V:.D:.

Frater V:.D:. was a kind of household name in European occult circles at that time. I do wonder if you know something about his brand of "Ice magic" and do you think it is something worth the bother?

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

I don't think that one was ever released in English translation, and I certainly never read it, so I can't speak to it directly. The frater in question has a good reputation over here as well -- though in the English-speaking world he was Frater U:.D:. -- "VD" over here is an old acronym meaning a sexually transmitted disease...

[(Anonymous)]

When meditating you've said how energy flows differently sitting crosslegged compared to on a chair. What about laying on a settee, so your upper body is fairly upright and your feet point forward or downward (or maybe another angle if you're one of those hypermobile people who like hanging out in weird stretches)?

[ecosophia]

You'd have to experiment with it and find out. I don't know of any source that discusses that.

[(Anonymous)]

What effect does electricity have on the etheric body? I assume a serious shock can do damage, but what about the lower currents used in physiotherapy and some sex toys? Also magnetism, as that's become more common in medical diagnostics and treatment?

[ecosophia]

That's like asking "what effect does heat have on the material body?" It can have a great many effects depending on a galaxy of variables. Magnetism? The same answer applies. Carl von Reichenbach, iirc, wrote quite a bit on that back in the 19th century.

SoP questions

[(Anonymous)]

I started the SoP a couple weeks ago, following the instructions on this website and facing South because I don't have a tradition or holy direction of my own. For now I'm doing the opening and closing and will only move on to the elements once I feel I'm visualising well enough. Right now the light flickers on and off, grows and diminishes, sometimes seems dark and it's hard to get a sense of the space in the light being cleaner than outside the sphere. It's also been difficult (improving) to visualise the light in me rather than next to or in front of me.

Even so, a few questions:

1) Is there a forum apart from this one where I could ask more questions about the SoP? I don't want to pester you with questions that are probably kindergarten basics. I searched duckduckgo and Google but haven't found one yet. Would the DMH be the place to look instead?

Kindergarten basics:
2) When opening and closing, stand with feet together or apart? My choice?

3) Sometimes at the end of the opening but usually during the closing, my legs and sometimes the entire body start to tremble/shake and my heart starts thumping. It's not unpleasant, more like when you've worked out too much and the limbs feel like jelly. The last couple times, the shaking is interspersed with a sudden calm that overcomes the room/air/space (?) and is different from the room just being a room. I'm not out of shape physically. I tried just standing in one place for a few minutes doing nothing to see if my muscles just aren't used to it, but nothing like that happened. I suppose this is normal?

4) I've mostly been doing the SoP at night before bed. A couple nights ago I sensed a surge of sensation/energy that became a kind of ball (egg-shaped, actually) in my midst, then a breeze blew through the open window (nothing unusual) - and then, along with the breeze, I felt something cool about an inch away distinctly curling around my legs and torso like a blanket. My hair stood on end all over my body and I went into overdrive saying may the holy powers protect and bless me, may the holy powers protect and bless me. Again, normal? Waking dogs that should be left sleeping? Unprepared fool meddling with things he doesn't understand? (Well, obviously.)

5) When expanding the light shining from my body (opening) and the sphere (closing), do I visualise my environment? Do I see the light shining under the bed and behind the cupboards, and through the walls, ceiling and floors into the appartments below and above me when making the sphere big enough to encompass more than one room? Visualising it behind me is strangely difficult.

6) Monkey mind: monkey puts on music and plays a distracting tune while I'm trying to visualise. Can I get it to stop easily or only with practice and discursive meditation?

- Sepia Funicular Skull (yellowed skull on a string)

Re: SoP questions

[ecosophia]

1) Not as far as I know. I field a lot of kindergarten questions here, though.

2) Whichever works better for you.

3) That's normal. Your material body isn't out of shape but your etheric body is pretty flabby. Don't worry about that -- you're exercising it now.

4) Perfectly normal subtle energy perceptions. They're really spooky the first few times you get them, aren't they?

5) Experiment with the options and see what works best for you.

6) It takes plenty of time and practice.

Talking to really big trees

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG,

Knowing that talking to trees is usual practice among druids, I'm curious what would happen if one tried to talk to a clonal colony (this is where all the trees are clones of each other and are linked through the root system).
Surely some enterprising spirits have tried it already?

I wonder how it looks from an occult perspective, is there a single guardian spirit for the whole forest? Or is it more like a normal forest with individual trees?

There's such an organism is in Utah for example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree)

Re: Talking to really big trees

[(Anonymous)]

I came from a state where aspen groves were really common in the mountains, and the aspen grove is one big entity with the trees being its above-ground shoots from a network of roots. I'd say the grove itself has its own guardian spirit in which all the trees partake.

Pat, formerly of New Mexico