The Eighth Sermon to the Dead

Saturday 12/27 at 9:31 AM was apparently a conjunction of Pluto and Mars, which are related. According to one of the Magisters in my order, Pluto can be seen as related to the True Will, and Mars the manifestation thereof. He told me to keep it in mind at 9:31. So, I did. I performed our ritual for the Elixir of Virtue, which is a method of calling down the planetary energies into a vessel (usually wine, sometimes tea). I'm generally not a fan of Martian energies, but I thought I'd give it a shot. So, I do the ritual, elaborate and wonderful and beautiful and moving as always. And I realize something profound. My ritual space is too small. But that's about it. Perhaps the energies are more subtle than I'm used to, or perhaps I'm simply out of practice.

http://eighthsermon.blogspot.com/2007/01/dec-31-but-he-that-is-greatest-among.html

http://eighthsermon.blogspot.com/2006/12/dec-30-love-is-fulfilling-of-law.html

Dec. 27 - He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God.

I present to you a series of older posts about the 12 days of Christmas. I hope these meditations are useful and spiritually refreshing. December 26: Behold, I make all things new In re-reading and performing this ritual, I am reminded that although buried under a ton of snow, and the world around me seems fairly lifeless, this is a time for renewal. This is a time to recharge, reawaken, review what we've done, and make plans for the New Year. I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy Boxing Day.

http://www.conversiondiary .com/2008/11/saint-diet.ht ml This author also draws attention to the link between what goes on in our bodies and what goes on in our manifestations of spirituality. She prays less, is less kind, is less patient, when she is tired, unhealthy, and overbooked. Shocking, I know. But it's good to relate that time and again. Overbooking is a temporal manifestation of an artificial system. We try to do too much because we've labeled it "important". Is the world REALLY going to end if we don't go to this party, or buy that gift? Probably not. Meditation is doing something. Prayer is doing something. It is trying to contact the divine, to rest this material form, and bring that divine energy down into the world. Recharge. Refresh. Renew.

I'm working on my earth pentacle. You can see a finished one here . Mine may not end up looking exactly like that, but similar. I decided to make mine out of a piece of maple tree that my landlord had cut down, to give the senseless act of 'trimming the tree' (in which he proceeded to cut down all the branches on one side so it's lopsided and ugly) some sort of beneficial meaning. I cut a small piece off of the but end of one of the larger pieces. It was nicely sized, but uneven. I've been trying to even it out since October. Using my dremel, I've gotten a variety of bits to sand, grind, and cut the piece to the proper thickness and smoothness. It's been a tortuous process, and hasn't worked well. So finally, I'm taking a piece of sandpaper and sanding it by hand. As I do so, I'm having much less task orient thoughts. I'm thinking about how material things are like this wood under my sand paper: No matter how permanent seeming, they ...

11. Tat: By God made steadfast, father, no longer with the sight my eyes afford I look on things, but with the energy the Mind doth give me through the Powers. In Heaven am I, in earth, in water, air; I am in animals, in plants; I'm in the womb, before the womb, after the womb; I'm everywhere! But further tell me this: How are the torments of the Darkness, when they are twelve in number, driven out by the ten Powers? What is the way of it, Thrice-greatest one? 12. Hermes: This dwelling-place through which we have just passed , my son, is constituted from the circle of the twelve types-of-life, this being composed of elements, twelve in number, but of one nature, an omniform idea. For man's delusion there are disunions in them, son, while in their action they are one. Not only can we never part Rashness from Wrath; they cannot even be distinguished. According to right reason (logos), then, they naturally withdraw once and for all, in as much as they are chased out by n...