Power & Energy

Power and energy are very important in magical works. This applies to both the micro and macrocosm. The more power is put behind a working, the better its chances of success. Likewise, the more energy is brought into a working, the better.

As an example from the real world, a WW2 Tiger tank was a formidable weapon. If it had sufficient fuel it could provide devastating results. If fuel was low or non-existent, its efficiency dropped significantly (even in defensive battles). 

Another example comes to mind from Anime, more exactly the Bleach series. The main character of the series is one Ichigo Kurosaki, a teen who ended up fighting the good spiritual fight. I remember other characters of the series speaking of him as having a great spiritual power, meaning he was innately powerful. However, when he was involved in longer lasting battles with powerful opponents his spiritual energy would start to drop at some point because of his immense efforts. The same occurred in the case of his opponents.

April Fool's Trickster

Mercury's first retrograde station of the year will take place on April 1. The Trickster God will indulge us with his shenanigans for (at least) 25 days starting with April Fool's day.

Besides the event generating both personal and social issues throughout this time frame, as well as before and after for a while, it will be completely improper for beneficent magical work involving this planetary force. 

We explained retrogrades in general, as well as Mercury retrograde in particular in Asteria.

Why, you ask...

Today I received an email from someone's I've never been in touch with asking me why I charge "so much" for my services, implying it's too much and basically accusing me of taking advantage of people. This left me speechless for a moment and when I snapped out of it I considered it unnecessary to reply. But I will reply here.

I've been actively involved in the occult for almost ten years now. During this whole time I've encountered many occult service providers, each charging their own prices for their particular services. Every so often I encountered people charging different prices for different types of spells. The reason for this eludes me to this day, since I charge the same price for any demand, regardless of whether it concerns love, money, health, curses and so on. At one time I used to charge an additional $10 to my usual amount for performing Enochian rituals, but later I decided to perform them solely for myself.

Temple

Over the years I've encountered more than a few discussions about the space one uses when conducting magical operations. More than a few beginners frighten over the fact they don't have a place to use solely as a temple, in the actual sense of the word. They consider this a liability and worry over the fact his would hinder their work, as in their results would be weaker.

Moreover, there are many out there who stress over the importance of a temple space. Often, these people happen to be in the business of crafting and selling magical implements, from something as complex as Golden Dawn temple pillars to something as mundane as candle holders one can find at garage sales. With their profit in mind, it seems obvious such people keep spamming the alleged importance of having as pristine a temple decor as possible, with every imaginable paraphernalia on the side.

In reality, this is not a must! While having a specially dedicated room as a magical temple would be ideal, most people cannot afford it due to obvious financial and social reasons. Therefore, a ritual space is required for undergoing magical practice. This space can be anywhere on the property or in nature, whether it be a kitchen, attic, back yard, the local woods and so on. So long as it allows the person relative peace and quiet for the duration of the work, it should do.

Casting in the past?

More than once have I come across people discussing the possibility of spells affecting past events. So far I don't think it's probable although at the same time I'm being open minded about it.

But at he same time I've come across scenarios where a certain situation required a certain spell and things started moving in the direction the person wanted even before they've done the spell. Then, once the spell was performed things started working even smoother for the person in regards to that scenario and its circumstances.

Quite recently I've been contacted by someone dear telling me their home had been under the influence of nefarious energies for a while. Things were off and odd and a particular object seemed to be the center of those energies. Since Mars was strong at the time, I quickly cooked up a simple but effective Martian working for the person and provided them with the exact ritual time that would increase its efficiency.

Why do I bother?

Someone asked me why I post astro forecast articles every so often. There are two reasons:

1. It helps people who are not (that much) knowledgeable of astrology get a general idea of the state of the planets at certain times in regards to their magical needs.

2. It helps making potential clients understand why I may say certain rituals they'd want me to perform for them might be less successful, based on their exact need at the time.

For example, if someone would want to do magical work for getting more money or would want me to do it for them, they should know it would be far better at the moment to work with Mercury instead of Jupiter or the Sun. This condition would not last long because Mercury will quickly slip under sunbeams and later become combust, then both in fall and exiled.

Edit: my bad, Mercury is currently under sunbeams, but back when I had thought of writing this article it wasn't...

Mars the healer

Yes, I know! Mercury is well known for healing and the Sun is good for health! But why Mars?

Yes, I also know there's a Martian pentacle in the KoS that's said to be good for healing and I've used it quite successfully at times. Note that I've made it during an auspicious Martian election, not "in the planetary day and hour during a waxing lunar phase" (regardless of other, more important considerations).

But I'm not referring to that pentacle!

What I'm referring to is based on my lengthy experiments over a considerable time, some that had found their way into my late Mundane Body Magick, a book that will never see the light of day again because reasons. This is one of those experiments that have proven their success time and again, especially when performed during proper times. Now, I do realize emergencies can occur at times Mars is afflicted, but I've got a substitute force in those cases although I'm not going to address that now.