/r/Quareia

Photograph via snooOG

An unofficial space for people following the Quareia magic course, to learn from each other and share links and ideas.

More official info and FAQ at quareia.com. (See also the study guide for many commonly asked questions: https://www.quareia.com/s/studyguide-web-PDF.pdf)

The Quareia course is a self-directed magic course freely available online (ceremonial/western trad/high magic).

The Quareia Course

Studying solo + staying focused/motivated can be tough. Come here to ask questions of fellow students, find study buddies, challenge your knowledge, get cheered on for completing modules, get peer feedback on your assignments/ideas and so on.

Because we are a niche, of a niche, of a niche, this is a quiet subreddit. Please be bold in posting as often as you have thoughts; and patient when waiting for replies; and gracious with your fellow learners' ideas.

Longterm, it'd be nice to have Skype meetups, weekly discussion threads on particular modules, or even snail mail.

/r/Quareia

3,739 Subscribers

6

Weekly Check In

Greetings all,

How are everyone’s studies going?

12 Comments
2024/03/24
13:06 UTC

3

Jodi Hildebrandt paranormal activity reading

Jodi Hildebrandt, the partner of Youtube vlogger mom Ruby Franke, now both in jail for child abuse.

So I came across this video with a lot of newly released information, among which is a police interview with the father of the kids. He describes meeting Jodi and when she moved in with them...

Now this is where it gets interesting. Apparently they (the couple) met her at some sort of couples-counseling, coaching sort of event. It's implied there's some fundie stuff going on.

At some point, they went to Jodi's house. He said there was a lot of weirdness going on, from strange noises coming from the basement, sounds of people walking in the walls and the ceiling, footsteps, lights turning on by themselves, plates flying off the shelves.

Jodi goes into a retreat, bootcamp sort of thing with the group from the event, and it's not known what exactly happened there, but what the husband knows is that: she lost it, tried to stab herself multiple times with forks and knives (iirc) and tried to seduce the husband of another person at the retreat.

Ruby's husband said she was a "hot mess" when she return from that retreat. So much that, at Ruby's request, Jodi moved in with them so she would get better.

Jodi then quickly thoroughly brainwashed Ruby, and took control of the house.

I got curious about the paranormal stuff and did a reading... I pulled from the Mystagogus and the Magician's decks, no spread, I just kept drawing the cards as I asked questions.

This is what I got, below, spoilered because it would be interesting if others want to do the reading as well and then compare afterwards.

Keep in mind this is pure speculation, no facts here just opinion...

!So Jodi has always had a gift for the spiritual, namely seeing and talking to spirits. It runs in the family. But the family either never talked to her much about it, or doesn't like it. They believe in it, they respect it, but would rather not dabble with it and see it as a burden. She had a distant relationship with her parents, and this opened the door for her to spend more time dabbling in spirituality. She also felt like she was caged and stuck in life, and felt like she had a destiny that was "set in stone", something like that. She wanted out of her bubble and felt stiffled. Now, in her family, there have been witches and healers, and perhaps she does have a gift towards healing.... she was able to talk to entities and receive information, heal others, help people. I see even communication with a pretty major nature spirit where she lived, possibly with ancestors too. !<

!At some point she "fell", because she started to use this to manipulate people, much as she did with Ruby, and possibly with her clients (she's a licensed therapist yikes). She just has a way to get in people's heads. All of these ancestors (because I really see here ancestors who were healers) and these nature spirits weren't too happy, and withdrew. At the same time, because of her unbalanced behavior, negative entities began to attach themselves too her and it's possible she dabbled in some darker stuff too... and these parasitical spirits (yes I got that card) would drive her towards more and more unbalanced behavior. When she started to talk to spirits way back, she opened the door and everything would come in, good or bad, and she ended up drifting towards the less nice ones because she does have a taste for power over others. These would encourage her towards unbalanced behaviors, using intermittent reinforcement (that's the word on my mind) to keep her hooked, exchanging some spiritual power for energy. Ruby's husband decribed that coaching group as "man hating", and said it preyed on frustrated wives and turned them against their husbands.!<

! Of course this led to her imploding and frying herself, which led to isolation, turmoil, flying plates and that's when she found the fundies, who gave her a set of rules (the usual fundie restrictions to keep "the demons" away), and it must have had some effect because it did seem to keep some of the bad spirits away or somewhat quiet at least. Or so she liked to believe. It also gave her an outlet to blame other people.!<

!So she now feels indebted to this group, and brought all the crazy rules with her to the Franke household and the kids because she firmly, sincerely believes there's demons everywhere and that this will keep them away, when in reality it's her on nastiness feeding on itself, with some parasites attached because why not? Free meal. !<

3 Comments
2024/03/24
05:01 UTC

18

Learning the Directions in Tarot, Yet Again

So I’m reading through M1 again and noticed something in the L2 lesson that felt worth sharing.

L2.3. Lay [the minor arcana] out in front of you and you will notice that they are divided into four sets: swords (air), cups (water), pentacles (earth) and wands (fire). This is the first stage of learning about the four magical directions.

These four suits will teach you about the different expressions of influence that flow from the four magical directions….

[The four suits of the minor arcana] will teach you how the elemental powers can manifest, how the magical tools can work, and what source of power they bring through.

If you lay the 10 cards of the each suit out in the pattern of the Tree of Life (M2, L2, also 21st C Tarot) a story appears about the manifestation of the elemental powers from the Ace through the 10 that doesn’t (or didn’t to me) appear when I just laid the cards out in a row.

4 Comments
2024/03/23
20:07 UTC

5

Silly(?) question on comparing Tarot decks

If you wanted to compare the same reading done with two decks - for purposes of curiosity, or for getting multiple perspectives on the imagery/meanings of cards - would you shuffle each deck and draw cards (do the reading twice, essentially), or would you shuffle and draw from one "primary" deck and then go through and find the matching cards in the other deck to compare?

This assumes both decks are RWS-based, obviously.

4 Comments
2024/03/23
03:07 UTC

4

Balancing the energies of a space

I conducted a four-directional reading of a room and the Death card appeared. To make it less suspicious at home, I've used a metal water bottle filled with salt and water instead of a jar. Any suggestions or corrections are welcome.

5 Comments
2024/03/22
08:55 UTC

3

Seeking help interpreting an intense dream

For years now, my dreams have ranged from ordinary processing dreams, which are fragmentary to very intense lucid dreams, and not much in between. To clarify, when I realize that I am dreaming, I do NOT attempt to control it (years before I read Josephine's warnings not do do that, I stopped when during the course of one, I couldn't control an entity I met -- he had a nature type energy, and when I tried to circumvent him and go where I wanted, I got a clear "No." Then I responded, all in nonverbal communication "so you are an autonomous entity on the astral. I can't control you, but I can consciously communicate with you. "Good" he replied, and that's when things got very very interesting. I mention that to explain why when I go lucid in dreams, I just let it unfold and don't try to control anything; instead I use what I think of the "lucicidy boost" to enhance recall (sometimes I realize that the dreams are "dumbed down" enough so that I'll be able to understand and remember at least parts of them).

Anyway, here's the dream. I simultaneously experience the dream and watch it as if through a screen (if that makes any sense). When it begins I'm in sort of a psychiatric hospital that is somehow also the afterlife. (Lucidity was intermittent but at this point I know it's a dream and think that this scene is related to how when I was a kid i wondered if this world is a galactic prison or insane asylum or if we are always already in Purgatory... maybe was onto something with that).

I was in a large room with others... the room was shaped sort of like a hall.... then i get thrown into the "outer darkness" -- alone -- and have to stay there for i don't know how long for I don't know/ remember what 'sins'. Then I remember when I had a near death experience and got quite angry about being pulled out of that place of silence, darkness, and peace. (Shout out to Josephine for explaining somewhere that this was the Void -- for years I told no one because my NDE didn't have the family and engels singing lol). Anyway, somehow I know to respond to this 'outer darkness' by going into deep meditation.

Then it fades out and the scene shifts. I'm back in the room (the "psych ward/ afterlife) with others though it feels different. There's a large painting on the wall... I'm sitting on a couch facing it. All O remember are the colors, red and dark blue with some purple green and gold, it's a scene from nature though not anything I've ever seen, nothing I am remotely familiar with. It feels like something it's possible to 'escape' into -- that I could 'enter' this painting to another world.
(Postscript to this part - after the dream, I had others of an underworld forest where there were scenes similar, and more, including vast trees that reach to the stars).
One of the others (patients?) is a qlwo doctor, wearing a white coat, stethoscope around his neck; he's almost inhumanly tall, curly gray hair, glasses. He tells me there is a timing mechanism in the door that staff goes through (it has bars on it) and that if I move fast enough I can escapefrom this place. Then in front of the others he tries to grab me sexually (lucid enough to think this is my mind dumbing down an parasitic attempt to steal my energy... this way I will remember it, and also hold on to the caution that some people are not what they seem).

Then it fades out and the scene shifts. I'm back in the room (the "psych ward/ afterlife) with others though it feels different. There's a large painting on the wall... I'm sitting on a couch facing it. All O remember are the colors, red and dark blue with some purple green and gold, it's a scene from nature though not anything I've ever seen, nothing I am remotely familiar with. It feels like something it's possible to 'escape' into -- that I could 'enter' this painting to another world.
(Postscript to this part - after the dream, I had others of an underworld forest where there were scenes similar, and more, including vast trees that reach to the stars).
One of the others (patients?) is a doctor, wearing a white coat, stethoscope around his neck; he's almost inhumanly tall, curly gray hair, glasses. He tells me there is a timing mechanism in the door that staff goes through (it has bars on it) and that if I move fast enough I can escape from this place. Then in front of the others he tries to grab me sexually (lucid enough to think this is my mind dumbing down an parasitic attempt to steal my energy... this way I will remember it, and also hold on to the caution that some people are not what they seem).

Outside, it's daytime bright daylight. I find myself in is a cafe-type area with tables and folded umbrellas, next to the 'hospital," but it seems deserted. There are a few people around who silently acknowledge me but ignore me.

Then I hear the sound of the Sea and jump over a fence. (The Ocean has always meant a great deal to me). There are people around but no one seems to notice me or care that I escaped or where I come from. I see several people on bicycles ... they ride over small sand dunes and I think that it always begins and ends with these bikes, the dunes, and the Sea.

I walk along the beach in the direction of the "hospital" and the beach area narrows while the water gets deeper (don't know how I know that; it doesn't feel like a memory, not exactly). Then I take off some of my clothes and get in the water. I meet a boy who I remember from other dreams. He smiles at me and there is a warm welcome in that smile.

We jump through the waves together. And swim. There is a feeling of joy and freedom.
All at once I am very tired.

He invites me to come with him -- we enter a space capsule that is floating on the waves. His mother welcomes me in and says "I'm sorry". I wonder what she means but don't ask. I tell her how I escaped with just the clothes on my back. Again she says "I'm sorry" but without words.

I fall asleep within the dream. Then wake up in the capsule, drifting. There is plenty of food and water but I have nowhere to go. There are no controls. One of the windows is broken. I am alone and wonder where they have gone.

Reaching through the broken window, I paddle back and am at the front door of that same institution. I have nowhere else to go.

It's bright daylight. I ring the doorbell. A woman with long black hair, a large orange-red flower in her hair, wearing a long flowered dress and something like a Hawaiian luau necklace, opens it. Someone else entered in with me, though he wasn't in "physical" form. He says "hello, God," and I realize she is some sort of planetary deity.

The doors (dark brown wooden doors) open into something like an entrance foyer. There is a large hall with stairs in the distance and other rooms and large halls branching off of it (in retrospect it looks sort of like Khunrath's Alchemical Ampitheatre).

The "planetary deity" (I don't have a name for her) welcomes us and asks me "how strange was your trip?" and says someone will show us to our rooms. The guy who came in with me goes... she invites me to come to her "office" and talk to her. I stay and a woman comes up to her... this woman is talking about how she might or might not be pregnant... I immediately know that she is, and the god-woman listens while I watch the pregnant women grow bigger and bigger...impossibly big.

and feel my memories start to fade. Lucid enough to think I must be catching a whiff of Granny Meng's tea (in the Western afterlife map, Jospephine says the key is to just wash your face or moisten you lips in the River if Forgetfulness, so that we don't remember the specific individuals but that the memories of lessons learned and wisdom remain)... in the dream i remember Chinese Granny Meng (also known, interestingly, as "Dream: and the idea is similar... don't drink too much...)

Anyway, I feel so I'd better wake up before the dream memory fades...

The pregnant woman's belly looked something like this image of the Anima Munci except it was more like a globe with latitude and longitude lines marked, and (i think) another globe inside, and it was much bigger... in the dream i knew her pregnancy was bigger than anything that could happen in waking life, and bigger than anything I've sees in the alchemical art. There were lines of latitude and longitude, on the globe... it felt like she was soon to 'give birth' with the planetary deity.

I welcome any thoughts you may have.
This came after what felt like months of dream darkout. Thanks

16 Comments
2024/03/21
23:01 UTC

33

Humbled

Just a check in to report, with deep appreciation, that Quareia is handing my ass to me like few things I've ever experienced. Very satisfying, and humbling. Seldom have I had magical (or any other) tutelage that has in effect said "suck it up, you're not cursed, just clean your damned house and get some sleep."

8 Comments
2024/03/21
06:52 UTC

4

Frankincense, Camphor and cats

I have some frankincense resin and camphor tablets and I'd like to use them on the house but I am worried about my cat because I read those are toxic for cats... are they toxic in every form, or just of the cat eats them? Would I be able to use it if I ventilate the room well?

11 Comments
2024/03/20
16:20 UTC

8

Meditation

How long did it take you to complete meditation lesson.

Edit : what I meant by complete was - when did u decide to move to the next lesson. I have been practicing meditation for 1 yr , so I completed 2 exercises in 1 week.

The instructions were to follow the exercises in sequence. I've got my answers from all the comments :) , so I'll start tarot lesson while practicing flame meditation. Thanks

9 Comments
2024/03/19
16:06 UTC

5

Channeled books?

Maybe a bit off course-topic, but I'm wondering what the more intermediate+ (initiate/adepts) think, not about it as a whole (I mean even big chunks of Quareia are channeled as far as I know?) But if there is any channeled books you know of which is more or less partially reliable based on the source of the channel is "who the entity says he is"? And perhaps some "pointers to run away from"? And how to "sort the wheat from the chaff"?

Personally I was thinking firsthand in relation to Urantia (Orvonton corps, seraphim angels++). But it ticked me a bit off on some various pointers (calling too much stuff bs..astrology and divination/tarot to name a couple) But at the same time, I hardly doubt it would be a purely human intervention from it's complicated use of words and sophisticated way of word inventions with 2000+ pages. And their view of divinity/deity does seem slightly compatible. With the comprehension I gained from Quareia. But anyway, Others may include: the law of one (Ra), the spirits book, then you have the various "x multidimensional being with planet-origin identified channelings" pleiadian, arcturian, telosians, lyrans, andromedans, cetians, Orions, sirians and.. ehm certainly several more. And that is without even going into "who" channeled them..

I am pretty sceptical at the validity of their sources. And I have heard and read Mccarthy state (Paraphrasing) she has some problems/beef with the new thought/age stuff as well as "not having a high opinion of channelers" I have been trying to find some elaborations on this without much luck. At least the second part, the first part I have in part been able to deduct how 'quareia' differs from 'new thought' So any insights or handy resources on this would be appreciated. (Opinions are fine, but I'm more in search for experiential based insight)

Tl:dr: any tips/insights on how to "sort the wheat from the chaf" on channeled works? (Urantia for ex.)

26 Comments
2024/03/19
10:03 UTC

9

Moving to a new suburb

There is a possibility within the next year that I will be moving to a newly established suburb, one that does not really have a history and is brand new. I remember Josephine commenting on this being not ideal for a magician, but I was wondering if anyone here has had much experience in working on land that is newly established...

Thanks in advance

5 Comments
2024/03/18
00:22 UTC

11

Solitary Work versus Bread Crumbs

Quareia is supposed to be solitary practice. We’re not supposed to undermine someone else’s realizations by providing too much information about our own experiences or by short cutting the learning process by letting others “copy our homework.”

I’m totally clear on that.

But I’ve had conversations on this sub, my own and others that I’ve read later on, spark my learning process.

Do we leave our aha moments—which could be wrong—buried in conversations on this sub? To be found like a bread crumb when the time is right?

Or should we go back and delete our “oh, I get it” stuff?

I’m talking about intellectual stuff like how to read a chart or a tarot spread, not what we see in vision.

7 Comments
2024/03/17
19:28 UTC

14

Thoughts and resources on incense

Hi gang,

Just wanted to share some things I've discovered about incense, and some ideas for using it in a home, depending on your situation. For some of you, this is old news, but I thought maybe it would help some people out who are less familiar with incense.

First, I strongly agree with Josephine's perspective on incense: use resin, not sticks or cones, and certain smells do have affinities/energies that express themselves naturally. Pure frankincense is a good place to start, but, of course, you have to get it hot! (There is a company that makes high-quality and pure frankincense sticks, but they aren't as good as the resin in my experience.)

How to best do that? There are two choices that I've found to be easy, and one that's more trouble than it's worth.

The one to avoid, imo, is the electric incense burner. Some of these are crazy expensive (google Subitism incense burner) and they come with a laundry list of complications/issues. Just... don't.

The time-honored one is to burn the incense on charcoal. To do this you will need:

  • a bowl, probably ceramic or metal, to hold the charcoal. It's nice if it has a chain so you can carry it around. https://imgur.com/a/oXaw8q1
  • Charcoal. Get some compressed "easy light" pucks which are available online or in shops. Etsy and Amazon are both your friends in this quest.
  • The resin you want to burn. I would experiment with several varieties. I got some adulterated (with artificial scents) crap from Amazon. (Avoid, among others, the popular Hem brand.) https://apothecarysgarden.com/shop/ and https://www.alchemy-works.com/incense_index.html are good resources from obsessive shopkeepers! Both also have essential oils.
  • something for the charcoal to sit on. Various burners are made that have a wire grid on which the coal can sit and ashes fall through. I prefer to use a bed of sand or salt or small rocks. You could also just put the coal on the bottom of the bowl, but it will likely wick away a lot of heat and leave you with both a very hot container and unburnt charcoal. (You can't see clearly in the pic, but there's white sand in the bottom of that container.)

Be aware that this option will produce a lot of smoke. You risk setting off smoke detectors and will create breathing problems in an enclosed space. In fact, with a large enough piece of charcoal you might have carbon monoxide poisoning in an enclosed room, and the piece of coal doesn't make to be as large as you might expect. If you're worried about this, get a carbon monoxide detector in the room, at least at first. Summary: don't use in a closed room or small apartment, but this option can be great in an open house or if you want to carry it through multiple rooms.

The other option is to use a tealight incense burner, but I've learned some things here.

https://imgur.com/a/YfydKxb (Again, Amazon and Etsy will be good resources, or a local shop.)

I found it useful to cut and keep small squares of aluminum foil, and to wrap them around a wine cork to make a small bowl. This is a perfect amount of incense to burn in a small room. If you want a bit more, use a champagne cork or something larger to make a bigger bowl. You do need to almost powder the incense for this approach. A mortar and pestle or an electric grinder will work. You'll also have to work a bit to adjust the height over the flame. Be careful! These entire burners get very hot which you'll discover quickly.

The advantage of the second method is a longer burn, no hot coal to deal with, and less smoke. However... I will also point out that the full scent of the resin does require you to actually burn the resin, even in this small burner. You at least want to get it to a toasty brown, if not black, stage--all of these scent components come out that are lost in the essential oil. So, don't stop just with the initial rush of scent... let it go to the black stage and deal with a little bit of smoke.

You can also warm a few drops of essential oil on a piece of foil in the second burner, but I find a very different effect than with the resins. Also, essential oils are arguably a wasteful use of the raw product... it's worth exploring the raw resins for a stronger connection to a thread of practice that probably stretches back far before writing and "history".

You should probably test all of these for respiratory sensitivities, just to make sure you don't have some rare allergies, though I find burning resins actually helps my seasonal allergies.

20 Comments
2024/03/16
18:22 UTC

15

Visualisation

Hello everyone! I have a lot of trouble visualising. Visualising with my eyes closed is extremely difficult for me. When I have a good day I see blackness with quick flashes of the object I'm trying to visualise. When I have a bad day I see only blackness. Visualising with my eyes open is less bad.
Instead of focusing on the image I sometimes focus on the words. So instead of focusing on the image of white smoke and black smoke I focus on the words. I say the words silently in my head. Is there anyone with aphantasia who does the same? I don't know if focusing on words instead of focusing on images is going to work in the long run. I'm still in module 1. I have spent a lot of time trying to improve my visualisation skills, but nothing really changes for the better. I know that (as JM says) I have to figure out how my brain works, but sometimes it's really depressing. I've started taking drawing classes in the hope something is going to change for the better.

17 Comments
2024/03/16
12:57 UTC

18

What is the cosmogony adopted in Quareia? I understand that Quareia isn't dogmatic and doesn't provide easy answers.It encourages proficiency in philosophy ,history science and anthropology .Are there core principles to avoid getting lost in the varieties of paradigms and models?

8 Comments
2024/03/16
09:19 UTC

5

M1L7 Talisman rash?

I'm wearing the talisman for the fourth day and getting a mark around my neck. I'm allergic to brass which it's possible the chain is made of, although I don't have a rash yet. The chain is turning black and so is the skin of my neck. I am also in no-spirit-contact limbo which for me feels like hell. Josephine, I feel like I've learned my lesson here and really, really want to take this thing off. Advice?

EDIT: I took it off on the night of the fifth day. I couldn't tolerate the sensation of disconnect any longer ad my neck was starting to itch. Returning to (what is for me) normal levels of spirit contact was amazing. :-)

4 Comments
2024/03/13
12:43 UTC

1

M1L7 Talisman rash?

I'm wearing the talisman for the fourth day and getting a mark around my neck. I'm allergic to brass which it's possible the chain is made of, although I don't have a rash yet. The chain is turning black and so is the skin of my neck. I am also in no-spirit-contact limbo which for me feels like hell. Josephine, I feel like I've learned my lesson here and really, really want to take this thing off. Advice?

2 Comments
2024/03/13
12:43 UTC

15

Caring for White pigeons used for ritual cleansing. Negative energy?

Hello everyone. I’m not sure if this is the best place to post. I started Quareia a few months ago but have taken a hiatus while I work on mundane things. Needless to say I am not well versed in magic so I’m hoping someone here can help.

My neighbors are Santeros (from Cuba) and they released a pair of white pigeons as part of a cleanse. They told me they will do their job and then fly away. These birds are human-raised and I knew they wouldn’t survive on their own but I respect their practice (which is legally allowed in Miami) and was happy they didn’t outright sacrifice them (maybe they’d get lucky and find a new home).

Anyway, my upstairs neighbor found them on our driveway. One has an injured leg and is very weak and thin. The other seems uninjured but is also a bit thin and weak (it didn’t have much energy to fly away). At this point I couldn’t just watch these birds suffer and slowly die so I brought them into my apartment.

My friend who is Cuban said he wouldn’t keep these birds around. Do any of you know what kind of energetic “stuff” I may be dealing with here and if it might affect me? The fact that the birds haven’t left makes me think this cleanse is unsuccessful or there’s just a lot of gunk around. I don’t want that stuff on me but I don’t want these birds to die a slow death.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

(I’ve tried contacting shelters and rescues but no one will take them. I used to volunteer as a wildlife rehabber, so for now will be keeping them until I find a home for them, or have to euthanize them if they don’t recover and begin to suffer)

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who has replied and shared their wisdom. Sadly, the injured pigeon passed away a few hours ago. It was not eating pigeon feed or drinking on its own. I was able to feed it a few peas as I waited for the delivery of a gavage so I could tube feed it enough food, but its body was too weak and thin to continue. Last night I cleansed my space and the pigeons by calling in light. Tonight, I said a prayer for the pigeon who passed in support of the next phase of its journey, and the end of its work/struggle in this life. The other pigeon is regaining strength and has a very healthy appetite now. When it gains a bit more weight, I will find it a forever home, as I cannot keep it in my apartment permanently.

To those who suggest I consult the tarot and suggested specific cleanses,etc.: these were all great suggestions and I will certainly consult the tarot to help guide me in my next steps.

As some others have mentioned, the work of taking up the task of healing can indeed test us, break us, and lead us to give more than we are able to at the time. This is why I had to step away for the time being from being a volunteer rehabber, Quareia, and my energy healing training. Despite that, I feel a call to help/heal wherever I can. It brings up the question: do we ever really step away from spiritual and magical practice?

In the case of animals, the call to do something is especially strong. I do not condemn another religion when practiced with sincerity and good intention, but the narrow-sightedness of humanity in raising pigeons with no wild instinct and abandoning them, in the name of a higher being, makes no sense to me. Then again, I am ignorant to many things, so to pass judgement brings no benefit to anyone. There may be higher things at work which I do not yet understand.

Thank you all, again. It is a blessing to have a community that is here to support life and others in service.

28 Comments
2024/03/12
23:57 UTC

2

Sword and Cup hands question

Perhaps this is explained later, or I've missed something, but I'm curious why the Quareia lessons have the initiate holding the sword in the left hand and the cup in the right. This is opposite of what I've read in other systems, and including the imagery on Tarot cards. Is this explained anywhere?

Thanks.

3 Comments
2024/03/11
19:51 UTC

13

Accidental sacrifice of one's first-born son

Around a year ago, I paid a magician to give candle offerings to a couple of the planetary archangels. Once to help w/my sick son. Once to help w/the birth of my second child. Once to help my spouse w/their medical training/career.

I have since read the below from JM, and am now wondering - have I put my kids at risk, messing with results magic without knowing what I was doing? (Or is it silly to worry about this?)

In Tarot for the 21st Century, JM says "the old kingship deities and planetary spirits will work with you, but they will demand payment. The payment required of the powers indicated by the Emperor card is your first-born son.This is not a casual remark: it is something I have seen crop up a few times in younger magicians who make deals with such powers. The power returns as a presence to demand their due once the magician has a child. It is a warning to magicians to not dabble with powerful beings if they are not mature enough to understand what is happening, and do not have the depth of magical knowledge required to avoid such ‘deals.’ Working in collaboration with such powers is often fruitful if the intention and magic is balanced and necessary, and it is not for selfish ends. Making magical deals with such powers always goes badly wrong at some point."

4 Comments
2024/03/11
18:04 UTC

8

Question about house placement vs pentagram in M1L8

Near the end of the exercise, the text says "start to build an awareness of where the various houses would be placed in your pentagram". I'm confused because the house placement will always be consistent (unless I'm misunderstanding something.)

I believe there are only two ways to place the pentagram on the natal chart, and I drew out examples of both here: https://imgur.com/a/dsTWyxY

It seems to me the second is the only one that is consistent with "The arms of the pentagram are the horizon on the natal chart with the Ascendant (first house) on the left/east.." And this means my first house (and yours) will always be just under the left hand of the pentagram.

But doesn't this mean the house placement will always be consistent with everyone's pentagram? The signs move, the planets move, but the houses and pentagram are fixed, correct?

(I'm aware of Placidus vs. whole sign, etc. I used to do a lot of astrology by hand (back in my (misguided?) alchemy/ceremonial magic days. It would probably make sense to do this with whole sign, but then I think we have the same issue.)

Just wondering if maybe this is a typo and should be signs for houses, or if perhaps I'm misunderstanding something more serious here.

Thanks!

11 Comments
2024/03/08
23:11 UTC

13

Quariea and pagan homage

Hello. Whenever the quareia author says “don’t be an idiot” that’s me. I’m the idiot. I’m trying to reform by behavior and practice to be extremely by the book and rules oriented.

I’m concerned with in my enthusiasm in diving into the occult a few months back, I built relationships with entities which may conflict with coursework. They have names but dunno if that matters. They have had an extremely positive impact on my life-in particular one has helped me overcome alcoholism and one given me a mission to help innocent littles. The few requests I’ve made get answered in strange enough ways that I’ve realized I’m messing up so I’ve stopped making requests and just pay homage via little offerings. Would it be ok to continue the coursework and only pay homage, but not make requests?

22 Comments
2024/03/08
18:38 UTC

11

Applying to the Porch

I have submitted two applications to the porch, about a week apart, and have not heard back. I understand it's a fully volunteer organization, but just trying to get a sense of what's going on... and trying to rule out website problems, spam filters, etc.

I know sometimes you have to ask multiple times--when I studied TCM herbalism with a Chinese monk I had to ask three times before he took me seriously... is this the same thing? What have others' experiences been here? The problem with knocking on a temple door thrice in the modern, email-driven world, is that it can be perceived as rude or annoying, and I do not wish to annoy!

I guess there's also a chance things are getting lost somewhere in the workings of the website/email, so just wanted to check and see what other people had experienced. (Also, my note was simple and did not include a long list of questions or too much personal information--I simply indicated that I have completed M1 through L4, as required for the first application.)

Thank you. I appreciate any insight from u/Quareia or anyone else.

13 Comments
2024/03/08
15:53 UTC

4

M1L6 Pentagram Making and Painting—with Few L4 Experience

Did you guys finish the two months or eight sessions of the directional ritual (M1 L4) before you started on the pentagram exercise in L6, or did you continue doing lesson 6 even if you just have a few notes from L4?

The book said to said to bring out your notes but right now I only have 2-4 entries from L4. Is it wise to continue L6’s pentagram making and painting?

5 Comments
2024/03/06
18:04 UTC

11

2nd Meditation Exercise

As I have reached 20 minutes (plus) meditation time, I have ventured into Meditation Exercise 2 (after writing it out of course).

This is something..... the first exercise feels like any other meditation I have done (calmness, stillness and fills me with positive energy). The second exercise however, today it felt like I was being whisked off somewhere else. It was as though I was no longer in my apartment. Yesterday, several electrical appliances, either stopped working or started working in overdrive. That could just be coincidence though (weird power surge, I dunno).

Having done circle work before, I will compare the second exercise to this). However, all I have is the flame, I have not called upon any spirits/deities for this exercise. But it felt how it feels when I have done a circle, as though I am on a different plane.

2 Comments
2024/03/05
14:57 UTC

13

Tattoo Requirement

Does anyone know if Josephine is still requiring a tattoo seal for all recognized adepts? I’m quite averse to this to be honest, I would really never want any tattoo, so it’s a dealbreaker. I read that this was a requirement for official recognition as an adept but can’t find the PDFs where she says it, so I’m thinking maybe it’s not a requirement anymore.

7 Comments
2024/03/05
08:50 UTC

Back To Top