Betterment Day 2:

Workout: Wing Chun hand defenses and chi sao

House cleaning: Yet more dishes and laundry (aka the neverending)

Meditation: Two 15 minute sessions. Gained a little breakthrough in my meditation technique that is really holding up well so far. Managed to throw off a foul mood using it.

And here's my writing!

Betterment day 1

Meditation: 15 minutes soon after I woke up. I almost launched right into work mode like I normally do, but the wall chart and my girlfriend reminded me of my practice. Very pleasant session.

House: Dishes and folding laundry, more than 15 minutes worth.

Exercise: Walked around the parking lot for 5 minutes while doing errands. 10 minutes alternating between wing chun pushup sets and double leg lifts.

And here's my record. Day one down!

Kingdom Maintenance

I've been doing a lot of Jupiter work of late and it's been paying off in spades. Hail Jove! Resources are gathering and being utilized correctly. Getting ahead of bills while still taking care of maintenance issues is a wonderful thing. If you haven't gotten it yet, go to R.O.'s eBook page and get the Gate of Jupiter rite. Do it. Listen to the angel. Follow up on the advice. Do the work.

I work a lot with those seven Gate rites and I've noticed that themes will come up as you work them. I just finished doing a five-week cycle of all of them sans Saturn and the overwhelming question was "What do you REALLY want?" I have always hated this question, but I know why they're asking it. Kings do not rule their kingdoms passively. A king that sits on his (or her) ass and just enjoys the pleasures of Jupiter rapidly becomes an ineffectual king. And while I don't think I've been sitting on my ass, I do think there's some kingdom maintenance that I need to perform.

I'm currently blessed with far more free time than most people. Having a 10 ft commute from my bed to the  couch where I work removes loads of stress and frees up a lot of time. But I can't say that I've always used that time to the fullest advantage. I'm not always doing something that "pushes the plot along", to use an expression.

What I really want right now is to position myself where I don't have to worry about this house anymore, along with several smaller goals. I want to be able to rent it out and enjoy that digital nomad lifestyle while I still can. I want to progress with my magical path. I want to progress in my martial arts while I'm still here to take advantage of that training.

I also have less-noble goals. I want to go to parties and get a little crazy. To blow cash and time on doing something stupid. Indulge my body. Stuff like that.

In order to do any of that, I have to control the blessings that have come in and guide them in the proper direction. I need to defend myself against outside influences. In short, I need to work with Mars more.

Mars can be a real party animal, until he's not. I picture the archangel of Mars, Kammael, like a high-ranking sergeant in the military. High enough to command his grunts, but still close enough that he can throw back liquor when he likes. He's not the austere officer that Michael is.

So, I'm going to start some extra work with Kammael and blog about it, but I don't want it just to be all incense and scrying. Needs some work to back it up! So I've picked four things that I want to work on for the next thirty days, starting tomorrow, May 17th, 2013:

1. Meditation. I had a meditation habit at one time, and it slipped off the rails completely. I want to get it back. I want to do at least 15 minutes on the cushion every day, preferably soon after waking up.

2. House cleaning/Stuff elimination. This all ties into the digital nomad thing. You can't travel with much on your back. But I also need to keep this house in better order. So, 15 minutes of house cleaning/stuff elimination every day.

3. Exercise. This can be my wing chun, or just normal cardio/strength training. My wing chun provides a certain level of fitness, but it's not an overall fitness. I need to supplement it with additional work. So, 15 minutes of this as well. My wing chun is light enough for me that I can use it as a "rest" day between heavy exercise days.

4. Write about it here every day. Hence my blog post.

These three are the 20% of the activities that I could do that would give me 80% of my well-being. Now, what do I get for doing all of this besides the happiness and reward of laying the boundaries necessary to get these done? I've discovered over a lot of trial and error that I do not respond well to carrots. My smart-ass brain will just find another way to get the carrot. Instead, I need a stick, and my stick will be that if I fail to do any of these four activities over the next 30 days I will get rid of every single magical herb in my temple room. Y'all are witnesses.

I've got a LOT too.

I'll probably get some reward after 30 days, but I don't know what I'd do for me just yet. Ideally, I'd be doing this exercise for about 90 days if I really wanted to stick a habit, but I have trips and such coming up that will take me away from home within that time frame.

Some further conditions:

1. A "day" is until 2 AM of the next day. 2 AM is about my limit for staying up most nights. So if I start tomorrow, the 17th, I'd have until 2 AM on the 18th to get a post up.

2. If there is a honest-to-goodness act-of-God emergency (e.g. a relative dying) that forces me away from home or incapacitates me (e.g. a major illness), then this wager will be kept on hold until that passes.

This isn't the first time I've done this sort of thing. Back in my ADF days, we would hold a sumbel every Yule where we would boast about what we would accomplish over the next year. My usual wager was to not go to any conventions at all the following year if I failed. This would cause major social repercussions for failing because I assist my girlfriend's mother as a registrar for a convention in January. Both times I did this I made my goal. I'm hoping to replicate the same effect here.

Let's do this!

Agrippa I.24: What things are Lunary

Source: http://esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agripp1b.htm#chap24

Let's go to the Moon! Here's the correspondences for the Moon:

Elements: Earth, then water, seas, rivers, all moist things. 

(Earth because it matches the Moon's fecundity. Water due to its relationship with waxing and waning and tides)

Parts of life: moisture of trees and animals, especially white stuff (egg white, fat, sweat, phlegm, semen)

(Moisture in life, white of the moon)

Tastes: salty and insipid

(Salt I assume because it helps you retain water. I'm not sure what he means by insipid)

Metals: Silver

(Looks like the moon)

Stones: Crystal

(Note here we have an example of more than one for a stone. Perhaps clearer quartz crystals are more solar and murkier ones more lunar)

"Silver Marcasite"

(This is actually fool's gold, but there's a silver variety! It was also use to make ancient mirrors. Can you imagine a scrying mirror made out of this stuff?)

All stones that are white and green

(White I understand. Green I do not. The moon hasn't ever looked green to me. We'll roll with it.)

Selenite

(Again, white and lunar. The ancients thought the shifting bands of white in there changed according to the phase of the moon. A sphere of this stuff looks especially lunar.)

Pearls

(White, round, found in water, generated from sea life)

Beryl

A wide variety of stones, like emeralds, aquamarines, and several other clear and golden stones. I direct you to the wiki for several beautiful varieties: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl

Plants and trees: Selenotropes, or plants that bloom and follow the moon.

(A list of several at this wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonflower. Strangely enough, these are all new-world flowers. Datura species are an example.)

Palm trees

(This is because it sends up a new branch every lunar month. Here we have a relationship due to the cycle.)

Hyssop (hyssop officinalis)

(Has white flowers sometimes, but also red and purple)

Rosemary

(Yay magical  herbs you can find in the kitchen! Dunno why it's specifically lunar though. Any ideas?)

Angus Castus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitex_agnus-castus)

(Little known herb here in the U.S., but it's a bunch of different Mediterranean plants. Chasteberry is one name for it. The berries are being studied to see how they help with pre-menstrual syndrome. Anti-PMS mojo bags anyone?)

Olive trees

(Again uncertain why it's lunary.)

Chinstoa is an unknown herb, even to Tyson. 

Agrippa states that all plants in general have a leaning toward lunar virtues, except for onions which are martial.

Animals: Domestic animals, or animals that naturally show intense love or hatred toward humans.

Chameleons (color shifting : object's color :: lunar nature : zodiac sign )

Swine, deer, goats, or any animal that imitates the motions of the moon. (Unsure)

Baboons, panthers (Though Agrippa has some odd ideas about panthers. No clue why baboons, unless you want to make jokes about unfurred rumps.)

Cats in general, and cat's eyes in particular (Agrippa thinks they grow and shrink according to lunar phase. I suppose if all you saw were feral cats this would be true!)

Agrippa also mentions Quail as an ANTI-LUNAR and ANTI-SOLAR bird.

Civet cats (Animals with spots seem to be lunar. Also Agrippa says that civet cats can change sex easily, though this is false. According to Tyson, Pliny was actually referring to the hyena, which could easily fool someone if they didn't know about their unique anatomy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_hyena#Female_genitalia)

All animals that are amphibious (Going from water to earth and back again)

Agrippa mentions "monstrous beasts" that are formed by spontaneous generation like mice. We can probably ignore this. He also includes insects (bees, wasps, flies, beetles) that seem to spring forth from putrefied things, like animal carcasses and spoiled wine. Again, further change from one state to another.

Water fowl of all kinds, especially if they prey upon fish (Air to water and back again)

Scarab beetles (due to lunar timing)

Sea creatures: Any whose eyes change according to light, and that move in a lunar fashion. (crabs, shellfish, frogs, turtles. Catfish also.)

To sum up:

White/silver/green things
Watery things, especially if fecund
Things that are able to move between states rapidly
Things that show great love or great hate to humans naturally
Things with lunar markings (spots)
Things that show an affinity to lunar cycles (following lunar light, growing and shrinking, 28 day timings)

Can you name more lunar things, or other subcategories for lunar objects?

Agrippa 1.23: Solar Goodness

Source: http://esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agripp1b.htm#chap23

And now we get into the nitty gritty, starting with the Sun. Agrppia starts by saying it's difficult to figure out which things are ruled by which planets, but there are ways of knowing by comparing the inferior object to qualities that a superior object shares. You can actually get a decent understanding of a planet's effects by going backward from lists of things traditionally related to that planet and looking for themes. In this chapter, Agrippa goes into things that are "solary", or sun-related.

Working with the planets as a gateway to the Intelligent World of ideas is crucial in Agrippa's system. Therefore, if this series of posts has interested in you, you'll want to acquire some of these things I'll be talking about over the next few weeks. In a nutshell, by gathering lots of different things that are under a planet's larger virtue, the planet responds through Spiritus Mundi and by the call of the magician to send more of that virtue down toward to the magician.

So here's some solary correspondences:

Elementally, the Sun is fire.

The sun also has a taste, quick and sweet like golden honey.

The Sun's metal is gold, because of its yellow splendor and because it has a quality that makes people love it.

But then it gets weird. What's an aetite? It's a type hollow geode that rattles when it shakes, and they're commonly made out of iron(III) oxide-hydroxide, which is a lovely yellow color. It's essentially golden rust.

Now what is sun stone? Tyson thinks that it may be yellow star sapphire, and I agree. This is also known as hyacinth.

Tyson also thinks sun stone might be tiger eye.

What else do we have? Carbuncles are a particularly deep-red garnet.

And then we get another odd one. Chrysolite, which is commonly known as peridot and is the birthstone for August (Leo). I can attest to Agrippa's description that it does shine like a star when held up against the Sun.

A crystal with six corners that can cast rainbows? Sounds like a quartz prism to me. Rainbow quartz has inner imperfections that can cause it to look like a rainbow internally (and it can be done artificially too):

Heliotropion is a couple of different stones. The more common one is known now as bloodstone, a form of green jasper flecked with red specks. It can also be green chalcedony with red specks. When the sun's rays shine on it, it's supposed to look like the color of an eclipse (I assume lunar.)

Agrippa makes reference to two stones called pyrophylus and pantaura, both of which are non-existent, though Tyson believes that the latter may be the opal.

And then there's topaz:

and chrysoprase:

and ruby:

And finally orpiment, or yellow arsenic:

No clue what balagius is. Tyson doesn't give any hints either. 

What are we noticing here with these stones? Are you detecting any themes? Are you discovering anything beyond the red/gold connection to color? It's important to build up the reasoning behind these correspondences in your mind rather than slavishly sticking to a list.

Now Agrippa goes into solar herbs. Solar herbs turn to follow the sun such as Heliotropium (Heliotropium europæum)

They also act like marigolds, which fold up tight upon the setting of the sun and open up little by little when it rises.

The Lote-tree is legendary, but many of the other herbs are not such as Peony:

Celadine (too pretty, had to go bigger):

Lemon Balm (AKA Bee balm, melissa officinalis):

Ginger (More for the root than for the plan itself):

Gentian (gentiana lutea):

And so on and so on. Note especially frankincense as a solar herb. If you're keeping records you'll definitely will want to list down the herbs. Consult Tyson for some of the obscure names, e.g. libanotis for rosemary.

Solary animals are magnanimous, courageous, ambitious of victory, and full of reknown. Also those that sing with the rising sun. Even worms that shine in the night.

So what can we say about solar things?

* They have solar colors

* They follow the track of the Sun

* They follow the rhythms of the Sun

* They shine with light

* They express virtues or have effects that accord with the virtues of the Sun.

Is it making sense?

Agrippa 1.22: Warming up for correspondences and the importance of astrology

Source: http://esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agripp1b.htm#chap22

So now we start getting into the meat of correspondences. We've talked about how they can be discerned through experience and effect, but now we're starting to get into the stronger correlations that you would use in Agrippa's style of magic.

The point of the chapter is to show how astrological correspondence further reflects down into material things. It's a big salad of correspondences, but in the beginning we have a recapitulation of some important points:

Superiors rule inferiors
The more superior things "cause" the inferior things as an "effect" (Ideas cascading down)
Inferiors and superiors are also in one another (as above so below)

Now the superiors that Agrippa is going to focus on over the next few chapters are the planets, stars, and signs of the zodiac. When we say that something is a Solar herb or a Lunar stone or a Saturnian animal, what  we're saying is that particular planet stamped a set of virtues into it particularly strongly. Therefore, it has greater access to that planet's spirit because it has a similar likeness to it (remember like attracts like.)

One of the big methods that the medieval mages used to determine these likes and dislikes is through astrology. Knowing the ins and outs of medieval astrology enabled the magician to both understand natural correspondences better, but also to time when to do their rituals. He begins with medieval medical theory and talks about how using items related to the planets and signs you can heal particular illnesses. I'll leave it up to the male readers to dip their testicles in cold water to eliminate hangover, but the theory is what is important here at the moment.

So then there is a big list of which body parts correspond to which planets, which you can read about in the sample. However, one thing I do want to draw attention to is the passions that the planets represent in the Arabian doctrine:

Sun: spirit, imagination, glory, victory, courage
Mercury: common sense, eloquence
Saturn: Sadness and melancholy
Jupiter: "Powers natural", mirth, and honor
Mars: "the irascible power", boldness, contention, anger
Venus: "concupiscible power" (that is, ardent, sexual longing), love, lust
Moon: Increasing, a common life

These will be very useful later, when we get into how to actually do magic with these. Remember, we're still in theory. We'll pick apart how to do magic once we get more down.

After all the lists of things, we get to the good part:

"Remember therefore this order, and know, that things which are under any one of the Planets, have a certain particular aspect, or inclination to those members that are attributed to that planet, and especially to the houses, and exaltations thereof."

I think Agrippa makes an astrology fail here. Instead of "houses" it should be "rulerships". Agrippa also negates the other three essential dignities of medieval astrology as being effective in this manner, e.g. Saturn's participating rulership in the Fire triplicity doesn't mean that Saturn herbs can be used to assist Solar and Jupiterian rites.

Just in case you're not familiar with medieval astrology, here's a brief run-down of sign rulerships and exaltation:

Sun: Rules Leo, Exalted in Aries
Moon: Rules Cancer, Exalted in Taurus
Mercury: Rules Virgo and Gemini, Exalted in Virgo (yes, he gets a double dose in Virgo)
Venus: Rules Taurus and Libra. Exalted in Pisces
Mars: Rules Aries and Scorpio. Exalted in Capricorn
Jupiter: Rules Sagittarius and Pisces. Exalted in Cancer
Saturn: Rules Capricorn and Aquarius. Exalted in Libra

I highly recommend that you find an instructor in medieval astrology if you intend to really dig down into this stuff, at least enough to know what relates to what and how to elect a talisman chart. Chris Warnock at www.renaissanceastrology.com can set you up nicely.

To sum up: Planets and signs are important! You must learn which things correspond strongly to them, as well as learning how the planets and signs related to each other in the Celestial world to really understand how Natural magic works.

Agrippa I.17-21 (!) Virtue combinatorics

Sources: http://esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa1.htm#chap17 and http://esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agripp1b.htm#chap18 onward to chapter 21.

This gets difficult again, but it's important. This is where we start getting into how correspondences rub off on one another.

We've talked about how virtues can draw like things to one another. But what about when they're different? This set of chapters talks about how virtues from different object can affect one another when they are dissimilar. Agrippa calls these relationships friendship and enmity. If two dissimilar items are compelled to transfer virtue, how they will react is dependent on how their superior rulers feel toward each other. It's like a cosmic game of Pokemon in some ways.


Unfortunately, Agrippa then gives out two conflicting and incomplete tables of the planetary friendships and enmities!

And herein hangs some lessons that really only comes from actual experience with the planets. If you think of these planets as "energies", this will make no freaking sense. The traditional world view didn't even have this conception. The planets are spiritual entities and have personalities. They are moody in their own way, and will act differently depending on where they are at and who they are interacting with. If you think of any team of seven completely different people, a chart of their personalities is far more complex than mere like/dislike.

This is another reason reason why astrology is so important in medieval thought. By practicing astrology you can get a sense of the personalities of these seven beings. I'm not sure where Agrippa gets the left chart from. I've analyzed the different scales and I don't quite see how everything lines up, but if I was to hazard a guess it would be a chart of how the planets interacted with each other irrespective of sign. The right chart is based on rulerships and exaltations and makes perfect sense to this astrologer. I would say that where the two charts conflict shows where the two planets want to help each other, but screw it up. This is just one of those things that comes with experience. It's not cut and dry.

Getting a sense for which planets like and dislike each other and why is vital for later magical practice. If I know a particular condition is ruled by a planet or two, I can use my knowledge of the planets to craft a talisman to augment the situation or overwhelm the situation to disperse it. A planet's virtues and elemental disposition all play into it.

I do think the right chart is the most useful out of the two because it shows the strongest likes and dislikes in terms of how effective they act, but If you really wanted to master this then you'll need to learn astrology and evocation and learn via actual experimentation with new items.

I also think this is why Agrippa throws every example he can find into these chapters. These examples are very well cited and expanded upon in the Tyson edition of Agrippa.

Then Agrippa throws in a further monkey wrench. It's not just that a thing belongs to X planet or planets. Besides general examples of friendship and enmity, Agrippa also includes other subtypes:

• Individual species (types of thing) having an abundance of a virtue on their own (e.g. swallows and lust)
• Particular members of species having a particular special combination of virtues (Funnily enough, all of Agrippa's examples are humans. See also PGM and the need for shades killed violently.)
• How different parts of something might contain particular virtues that aren't present in the whole (see Hoodoo practice and the use of coon dong bones, and the witches in Macbeth)
• How an animal or plant may need to be killed or left living in order for particular virtues to be preserved.

That last one is most interesting. Most magical practitioners use dried herbs, and their "power" is seen to remain in them after they die. Platonists say it's because the Virtue and Idea impress themselves so strongly on the matter that it sticks around even after death. Might they be stronger if they were left living? Of course this isn't always possible, but it's an intriguing thought.

The most annoying thing about all this is that Agrippa asserts that the only way you can really figure all this out is by experience. Thankfully, there are some generalities that can be deduced and we'll get into those soon in the chapters that describe particular qualities for things.

At this point it may be good to get out a notebook and make some pages for a correspondence list. Make a page for each of the planets and each of the signs. We'll be diving into what relates to what very soon.

Key points to take away:

• Planetary relationships play a vital role in determining which things work well or work against another thing.
• Virtue can be concentrated in particular parts of things
• Virtue can alter depending on whether the object is living or dead
• Sometimes a particular type of something can have specific virtues
• A species may contain a particular special virtue (we learned this back with occult virtues)