ecosophia | Magic Monday

It's just past midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is of Khaemwaset, the fourth son of the pharaoh Ramses II. Unlike his older brothers, who took up military careers, he entered the priesthood and became famous for his scholarship, his restoration of historic tombs and temples, and his mastery of magic -- so much so that stories of his occult exploits were still being told a thousand years later, and have been preserved in two documents dating from well after the Greek conquest of Egypt. Under the name "Setne Khamuast" -- the closest translation of his religious title and name yet available in the early 20th century -- he was an important figure in the legendary history of Dion Fortune's Fraternity (now Society) of the Inner Light.

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Dear JMG, our wise and gracious host,

I would like to share my experiences first. I've been doing the SoP for a while; I'm currently finishing the 4th gate (Earth) and an interesting thing happened to me: the visuals of the ritual suddenly became a lot more real; I am standing inside the picture now and I can feel the temperatures, the smell, even a touch of wind on my skin when appropriate. It's much more powerful. I feel like I've leveled up as a ritual mage (using the D&D language).

Also, I stopped seeing doom, destruction and gloom in my ogham readings and started seeing situations instead i.e. I’m no longer afraid to cast divinations. This is a positive development too.

I've also had an interesting dream experience a few days ago. I had a nightmare: I was trapped in some underground labyrinth by an evil spirit or a ghost. I've been wandering the maze for what seemed like an eternity, until finally I found the exit: a stairway leading up with a door at the end of it. But the ghost was there, blocking my way. Then I thought "I could banish it". I drew a banishing symbol in the air in the direction of the ghost. I don't remember which symbol it was; it could've been a pentagram. Then I said "I banish you!". The ghost dissipated and I was free, the door opened, I walked into the bright white light and... I woke up smiling. Even when I sleep, I remember that I can banish things now. Feels like an improvement.

Now for the questions I have today:

1) You once (or more than once) said that meditation is the most important out of the three practices. Why? It builds the mental body, but why is it more important than doing the SoP and getting in contact with divine energies? I feel that you're tempted to say "why don't you meditate on it" and I surely will, but please give me more to go on.

2) Why is Zeus called a “Saturnian king” in the Orphic hymns? He's associated with Jupiter, not Saturn. One would think that Kronos would be the Saturnian king as he is, you know, Saturn.

3) You mentioned people can turn doing their jobs into spiritual practices? Can I meditate while I work? I could keep a very strong mental focus, not let anything distract me. That way I could up my spiritual training by many hours a day. Anything else I could do?

Best regards,
Polytropos.

2) Kronos was Zeus's father; I read it as implying 'of Saturnian heritage.'

1) Yes, you should certainly meditate on it. ;-) But yes, I can also give you something to work with. Developing the capacity for reflective awareness and self-knowledge is the most important thing you can do in a human incarnation -- doing that is why you're in a human incarnation, in fact -- and regular meditation is the most effective way to do that. Everything else in a system of occult training is meant to support that core work.

2) "Saturnian" is as close as you can get in English to Kronides, "of Kronos," meaning son of Kronos.

3) Anything else? Well, first, give that a try and see how it goes for you...

Magic Monday

Levelling up as a mage

Re: Levelling up as a mage

Re: Levelling up as a mage