[Book] Thoughts on How to Pray the Rosary and Get Results

[jprussell]

After having it on my stack for a good long time, at last I got to reading How to Pray the Rosary and Get Results, recommended to me by open_space back when I first started poking at the Heathen Rosary undertaking.

Short take: some good, hands-on tips for bringing magical techniques into your prayer, but a bit short on some of the warnings I think ought to come with any use of magical techniques.

Comments

[jprussell]

Thanks very much for this, it's a position that I can understand, and is likely a safe option, but obviously is one that Brother ADA and I both don't wholly agree with, doubtless for different reasons. My current take is fairly close to JMG's (surprise) as outlined in his response to Paul Kingsnorth a while back: magic, when done properly, is not about bossing the cosmos or anything in it around, rather it is about recognizing our own agency within the wider framework, and exercising it, ideally in alignment with higher, wiser powers (the Gods). As for Brother ADA, he has a whole book explaining his position on the matter, but I haven't read it myself.

Specifically, the existence of folks, like JMG and some others I've encountered, who have done a lot of magic and don't seem beset by demons in the least, suggests to me that at a minimum, it's possible to do magic without it leading to those terrible places, which leaves open whether it's an overall good idea or not. Obviously, the Church might disagree - he worships nature and not the Holy Trinity, after all!

I wouldn't be surprised at all if, as I learn more and keep practicing, "magic" becomes less and less of a priority, and prayer and meditation more so (heck, that already seems to be happening), in part because I think the general thrust - that a good spiritual life involves lining up your will more and more with the divine, and less and less with what seems to be its interests here and now in this world, is likely largely right.

Anyhow, all of that is to say that even though right now I don't agree with the Church's position, I appreciate your sharing it, and I think the concerns it addresses are quite valid.

Thanks much,
Jeff

[boccaderlupo]

For what it's worth, I had been practicing sympathetic/planetary magic in the tradition of Ficino and the Picatrix, which has Christian/monotheist underpinnings despite a heavily Hellenic bent. I can't really say, then, what the impacts would be for other people. As with all things, though, I suspect "you will know them by their fruit."

There were attempts by some in the Renaissance to really distinguish between "natural" magic (simple alignment of correspondences that produced results) and "spiritual" magic (which involve spirits). This distinction was undertaken likely so as to allow magic to "pass," as it were, in Christian settings, and is less about controlling spirits (a la Goetia) than about the action of magic itself: when you're aligning those correspondences, who are the meditators of the action? After all this time, philosophically I have to say that they are (in my estimation) spirits (daimones), and therefore the disinction is spurious.

I wish you nothing but the best in all your endeavors, and Axé,
Fra' Lupo

[jprussell]

1) As with all things, though, I suspect "you will know them by their fruit."
- fully agreed there, as that's been my main lifeline in the crazy, mixed-up world of alternative spirituality.

2) Interesting, and I agree that the distinction is likely, in the end, not all that helpful - of course, I supposed whether that's a problem or not comes down to whether you think all daimones are demons (or, even if not, not a good idea to interact with for spiritual reasons), or if they're a class that includes divine and helpful spiritual beings.

Thanks very much for your well wishes, and likewise!
Jeff