![]() ![]() Traditional astrology entails a coherent worldview as to why things are as they are. Why do I use sources that are so old? Because the techniques work better than anything modern astrology has to offer. My primary sources are texts a thousand years old at least, and stemming from other sources that are at least 1000 or 2000 years old. We owe a great debt to people like Vetius Valens and Ptolemy, but an even greater debt is owed to astrologers like Abu Mashr, Mash’allah, Al-Kindi and countless others who transmitted this knowledge through time. They got it from the Egyptians and Sumerians, but the Greeks were the ones who codified it. All so-called “Western” astrology has its roots in ancient Greece. It is essentially the astrology practiced by the medieval Persio-Arabic sages who preserved the art as an inheritance from the Hellenistic world. I practice what is called Traditional Astrology. There are several schools of Astrology including Western, Vedic, Traditional, and others – which of these do you practice? Hermeticism provides the path, and the arts provide the keys to the many doors you will find along it. Alchemy prepares our body for this, magic fortifies our spirit for this, and astrology gives us an understanding of our fate so that we can actively take part in it. The goal is to exalt the mage and elevate them to the same status as the Gods by participating actively in the process of creation. Part of how I see magic in my practice is through theurgy, or god working. These three arts form one key, each unlocking the other. Alchemy is the one I have moved the most slowly in and only began to practice lab alchemy this past year. The Hermetic arts of Alchemy, Astrology and Magic have been a core part of my studies and praxis for the last 7 years now. Hermeticism entered my life in my early 20s, though it took me a while to realize It was my worldview/religion. At the time it largely served as an inspiration for lyrics for the bands I played in as a teenager, but by my late teens/early twenties it became more of a formal study with an interest in practice.Ĭan you give us an overview of your study of the Hermetic arts? That one absolutely fascinated me, the way demons and spirits were talked about so matter of factly. Waite’s “Ceremonial Magic” that I found at a local bookstore. This was also the age I picked up my first grimoires: the Keys of Solomon, the Lemegeton and the Grimorium Verum, in the form of A.E. At the time I only really had exposure to modern psychological astrology and sun sign astrology but I knew there was something there under the surface that I couldn’t grok yet. I found myself looking at my birth chart and the birth charts of all my friends, girlfriends and family members. At 16 I began to study I Ching, thanks to an obsession with the author Philip K Dick who used this oracle to help write some of his novels which I thought was really cool.Īstrology really entered my world around that age too. Tarot cards, runes and ogham were all things I read about but the cards were my first tool I picked up and began to use as a diviner. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest you get to spend a lot of time in the woods for fun.īy the age of 13 I began getting interested in divination. I could see spirits, especially out in nature. I was fascinated by faeries and giants and all the mythical things most children are told about in stories but I was always adamant that they were real. It began during my childhood with books of folklore and the zodiac for kids. Maria, please share with us a bit about the beginnings of your magical path: Maria Miles is one such being, who has danced along the edges of liminal space since childhood. The artist, shaman, oracle, prophet, mystic, seer, or visionary is one who is able to enter liminal space and emerge from it with some insight to share. The liminal state is not as fully formed as what is on either side of it, it partakes of both sides, and therefore it is an ideal state for creating new forms. It is a time that is often more vulnerable, but also more alchemically charged. Liminality is the state that exists at the edges of boundaries, at dawn and dusk, in the moments before falling asleep and resurfacing from dreamtime into waking. ![]() A place of absolute pure potential, where anything is possible. ![]() Liminal space is a doorway, a threshold, where you leave one state of being and are in transition to another one. The word “liminal” comes from the Latin word, limen, which means threshold. “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”īlaise Pascal, 17th-century French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher, Our second article in the series is an interview with Hermeticist Maria Miles. In a new series of interfaith articles for Sacred Well Ministries we will be exploring spiritual traditions around the world and interviewing the people who are part of them today. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |