Toward Ecosophy

Hi JMG,

I have asked about the magical importance of cats in the past and as I am a Kemet whose patron is Bastet, cats are a fairly common topic. Now one of my last questions comes to this: why is it that cats are the black sheep of the media world? In any media, tv, movies, or otherwise, you would be hard pressed to see a cat or something to related to it not be abused.

Is it just commonly funny (for some people) to use them as the abuse/horror trope? Or is there a larger undercurrent of deeming them as “evil” or “dark” by the same kind of people who would burn them en masse in the 1400s during the witch hunts? It seems that the rate of these “jokes” have increased during this very dark period of time, which makes me so uneasy and nauseous I have to turn of the tv.

Good morning JMG,

And thank you once again for the treasured chance to ask questions! :-)

Two questions today, if I may:

1. In your natural magic Encyclopedia, health is listed as belonging to Mercury. However, browsing through the talismans on Christopher Warnock‘s site, there are a few (less than a handful) of Mercury health talismans, but most of the ones associated with health belong to the Sun.

I also vaguely remember reading somewhere about a connection between Jupiter and health, but I‘m not sure about that anymore, so my mind could be making this up. ;-)

Could you explain which parts/aspects of health relate to the respective planets? (I don‘t mean the body parts etc, but when would Mercury in general be appropriate for a health issue, and when would the Sun, or Jupiter, or …).

2. I‘m inching my way into astrology and have reached that blissful state of knowledge where at least I know that I don‘t know. ;-)

However, I realised that I very much lack an overview of the different systems of astrology. I.e. „modern“ astrology (as in Parker‘s, with the new planets) vs. renaissance astrology (and maybe vs. vedic and other kinds of astrology). And the same for the different house systems (Whole Sign Houses vs. Regiomontanus vs. Placidus vs. others).

Do you know of any good and reliable written comparison? Any recommendable websites, posts or books which explain the advantages, disadvantages and limits of the different systems and house systems?

(I‘d rather read some reliable, recommended information than just do a random internet search. There‘s a ton of info about astrology out there, but even beginner-me can tell that a lot of it is just rehashed stuff, or new agey wishful thinking, or very weird stuff where I‘m sure people had a lot of fun smoking whatever before they wrote it. ;-) But if I knew which of the info out there was solid, I wouldn‘t have to look it up anymore…)

Thanks, and blessings to you and your wife!

Milkyway

Hey jmg

I was meditating on the geomantic figures, and I noticed a discrepancy in the assignment of inner and outer elements to each figure.

Each outer element has four figures attributed to it, but amongst the inner elements only water and earth have four, air has five and fire has three.
Is there are reason for this that you know of?

If I'm doing a daily ritual to awaken energy centers in my body, what should I be watching for to tell whether these energy centers are opening?

Good morning Archdruid Emeritus!
I had been working with the DMH for a few months now after spending a little over a year with your Golden Dawn material. I have acquired a sword to use for the solitary grove ritual and I was wondering:

1) Is it a conflict of energies (or otherwise acceptable) to consecrate this sword as a magic sword per Circles of Power and still use it to open a grove.

2) If not, would it be alright to rework the ceremonies for the wand, cauldron, and crane skin bag for a grove sword, or is there some other procedure?

3) Do you have any ideas for a Druidry specific banishing implement (like a hand scythe maybe?) or is roughly banishing spirits like that a bit outside the oeuvre of Druidry?

Hi JMG,

Do you have a general rule, or guideline, for how to interpret the cards of a Tarot draw when they are reversed?

Also, would it be legitimate if I, having long incorporated reversed interpretations into my daily three-card draws, discontinued incorporating them? Though I'm relatively new to using them (Rider-Waite) for Divination, my experience thus far is that the reversed cards lead me to confusion and difficulty forming an interpretation of the draw's overall message. Or will I miss something by not considering the reversed positions?

Thanks!

Mauve Libidinous Ghoul

Could you recommend a good book on discursive meditation? I'm thinking of taking it up; after having read your series of articles on this site on the same, I was excited and wanted to explore more. I would especially appreciate a book whose copyright has expired and can be legally downloaded for free.

Good morning, everyone and JMG! Happy Monday! How everyone had a nice weekend. 😁

Last Monday I had asked you about why during the FHR opening the elements go around the altar from least dense (air) around to most dense (earth) and you has suggested I meditate on this and come to my own conclusions? I have been thinking about this all week and I have some observations.

In the Cabalistic Cross the Latin Cross shape is used - this is described in CoP as (among other things) a symbol of spirit taking matter up into itself.

In the LBRP, when doing the elements and visualizing the angels, it goes Air, Water, Fire, Earth. If you map this on a piece of paper it forms a Greek cross. CoP says (among other things), that it is equal and equally participating in union. Then after that the hexagram is visualized, to establish the system of elemental powers and then rise above it. It’s an outward movement followed by upward movement.

So, in the FHR opening, we go around and do the elemental purification. Then the Divine Presence is invoked, then the Temple is declared open and the Sun has arisen - wouldn’t that constitute the outward movement (elements) followed by upward (rising sun)?

But there’s something else here (probably several somethings I haven’t thought of yet). Cabalistic Cross makes the Latin cross, LBRP makes a Greek cross. When you look at the FHR purification of going around the elements in a circle, but doing it from least dense to most dense, to me that would suggest a downward spiral shape from the heavens to earth.

A number of weeks ago at Magic Monday I asked if the opening and closing prepared the subtle bodies for initiation and you said yes so I had a gander at the initiation ritual (Grade of Seeker). I can’t help but notice that after the Sign, Grip, etc are given the magician then goes around the elements (Officers) again BUT this time begins from Earth and works around to Air. What I’m thinking is - is going from least dense to most dense like call spiral stair case down, and then starting at most dense to least dense like going up that same spiral stair case? I remember that the Opening and Closing in CoP had the spiral stair case and that visual seems to be sticking with me.

Sorry if that is too big of a wall of text! My official Magic Monday question is:

1) Am I on the right track? Do you see any glaring issues with this understanding that need to be corrected? Or am I way off base?

Thank you very much and thank you for posting the photo of John Gilbert as I’ve been getting curious about him with all this FHR work. Is there any place where I can read more about him? I did a web search but he didn’t seem to have an official web page I could see on the search engine I was using?

1. How many talismans can you have on the go at once?

2. If you can talk about it, what were your most effective talismans for?

Hello JMG and all,
First I’d like to express my gratitude for the existence of this forum—thank you!!

My question today has to do with an experience I had about two months ago: I had a dream in which an elderly woman offered me a bit of advice, telling me to use fine grain leather to wash my face. She gave me an oval shaped piece of leather in the dream and I began to pull it across my face in circular motions. The leather pulled debris from my pores, until it got snagged on something between my eyebrows. The leather began pulling long strands of green goop from my forehead; the sensation was one of pressure being relieved.

About a week later I was digging a hole to plant a tree, and dug up an oval shaped piece of leather. Out of curiosity I held the leather up to my head and felt a strong magnetic sensation. I’ve held onto the piece of leather and use it to “clean” if i’m feeling particularly heavy minded or foggy.

Have you, JMG, or any other reader, come across any mention of leather being used in such a way?

For context this occurred in southern Ireland and the dream took place in an Irish countryside-type setting. Thanks again for everyone’s time and consideration.

Best wishes to all,
Cobalt Lily-livered Harpy

John--

I am a member of a fraternal organization with which I very much wish to continue my association. There is a brother, a nice enough guy all-in-all, whose energy does not mix well with mine and from whom I seem to get energetic attachments (leeches?). Due to his circumstances, this brother cannot drive and I am often giving him a ride to and/or from our meetings as I live nearby. I wish to 1) remain a member, 2) provide this brother periodic assistance, and 3) protect myself from whatever (astral?) stuff is going on. Is there a basic protective amulet or similar protective magic that would be appropriate here?

--Dijon Radioactive Yak