In this episode of Magical Experiments Podcast, I interview Maria Miles about the connection between astrology and alchemy. She shares her background and how she got into astrology and alchemy as well as explaining how astrology can be used in alchemy and magic to get better results with timing.
Maria Miles is an Alchemist, Hermeticist, Witch and Diviner, specializing in Cartomancy and Traditional Astrology. She has been studying these arts collectively for 16 years, beginning as a teenager. What began as a personal endeavor of self discovery has become her primary vocation as a professional astrologer. She has been seeing clients professionally for six years for cartomancy and astrology consults. Her study of alchemy began around age 21 growing into a practice with the instruction of Robert Allen Bartlett. She aims to integrate traditional techniques of astrology and Hermetic philosophy into the lives of modern people, who ask the same questions that humans have always asked.
Maria is an accomplished Sorceress who offers tutelage and advice to those clients with an interest in the occult. Her studies of magic have ranged from traditional witchcraft and folk-cunning to astrological image magic and the crafting of talismans and spagyric elixirs she sometimes has available. All materia magica is limited edition and only available when the stars are right and the proper rites have been observed. She approaches her consultations from a holistic angle aiming to uplift her clients by promoting a mindful consideration of fate. She lives in the Pacific Northwest of the United States where she has lived for more than twenty years.
To learn more about Maria go to rootedstarsastrology.com
Breaking out of the 5 Element model: A different approach to elemental magic
I’m currently writing Walking with Elemental Spirits, which is a book that explores my system for elemental magic. One of the central arguments of that book is that the 5 element model of earth, water, fire, air, and quintessence is a bit outdated. It has worked well as a model, but its evident that there are more elements than just the aforementioned elements. Why are we holding onto an outmoded model that was used to describe reality a long time ago, as a taxonomic means of categorizing the experiences of the world? I’ll be bold and just say we hold on to such models because we are taught that something which is old is typically considered better and if it works why change it.
I don’t agree with this sentiment. While I think the 5 element model is a great foundational tool, I also think that when we hold onto an old model and never question it we’re missing out on an opportunity to evolve magically, as well as to evolve the overall discipline of magic. I’ve been practicing elemental magic since I first started practicing magic, and for many years I did rely upon the 5 element model because it was what was available. Yet being the magical experimenter that I am, I inevitably ended up questioning it.
The principle of invitation in spirit work
I discuss the principle of invitation and why going to the right level of interaction with a spirit is both a good boundary setting exercise and a way to build more effective relationships with the spirits. I also share some of my own realizations around how I came to this principle.
Magical Experiments Podcast: Skrying and Spirit Work with Harper Feist
In this interview Harper Feist shares her experiences with skrying and spirit work. We discuss the different types of skrying people can do and why skrying can be a viable alternative to invocation/evocation, as well as leading up to those practices. We also discuss the nature of spirits.
Harper has a class coming up on Skrying
Harper Feist is a member of the OTO, a past master of Leaping Laughter Lodge, an ordained priestess of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica and the current interviewer of U.S. Grand Lodge’s official podcast, “Thelema Now.”
Why its important to revisit old magical workings
When you have performed lots of magical workings and created specific types of outcomes, it can helpful to revisit that work. I share a few reasons for revisiting old work and also explain why it can be helpful to revise older workings, or shut them down, if they are still working in the background.
How to attune your intuition to the right timing
Photo by Will Truettner on Unsplash
One of the ways that I work with my intuition involves connecting it to the right sense of timing, in terms of taking action on something that I want to manifest. Not all moments are equal and the right timing can make all the difference in terms of manifesting results that allow you to move forward in the directions you want to go in. Bad timing, on the other hand, can hold you back, preventing you from succeeding because you are picking the wrong time to take action.
Some of the ways you can determine the right timing can involve learning about your astrological cycles and using those to help you take action or doing divination to ascertain when you want to take action on a given project. A way that I tap into the timing is also through the aid of spirits that I am working with. For example, there have been several times this last year that Saturn advised me to take action on specific situations. I had done magical workings to call the Saturnic influence into my life and work with it, and given that Saturn plays an integral role in time, it didn’t surprise me when there were some moments where I clearly received a message that NOW was the time to act.
For instance, during my house buying process I looked at a number of houses, but none of them felt quite right. Then I woke up one day and got the message, “Today you’ll find your house.” My magical partner also told me to go buy a house and it felt like she was tapping into that same current. I want out with the realtor and the first house I visited felt right. I put and offer in and by the end of the weekend had it accepted. There were some other facets to that experience, but the timing played a role and my receptivity to the spirits (as well as my partner’s intuition) clearly made me aware that it was time to buy a house. Interestingly enough an astrological reading I received also indicated a time span that would be ideal for me to buy a house and I saw the house on the very first day of that time span, which was the beginning of a saturnic cycle for me.
There are multiple ways to attune your intuition to the right timing. One way that I find helpful involves paying attention to your body rhythms. Your body is often attuned to the subtler aspects of reality around you and will tell you something about the environment around you that you can draw on. If you spend time working with your body consciousness through meditation, qi gong or some other type of activity it can help you start paying attention to the more subtle messages that your body is sending. Intuition is one of those subtle messages and so is timing, so you can combine that awareness of time with intuition to help you determine the best moment to take action.
Take a given situation where you need the right timing. Do some meditation or some qi gong or something else to tune into your bodily awareness and once you are tuned in, bring the situation up and ask your body to notify you of when you should take action. When the time comes you’ll feel a sense of intuitive awareness, a ping on your consciousness that will tell you to take action. It may come in the form of a picture or words or it may just be a sensation. Take action then, because what is happening is you are tuning into the optimal moment that you’ll have the success you want.
These seems like a simplistic approach to take to tuning into the timing of a moment, but you have to keep in mind that you don’t need to make something more complex than it already is. Tapping into your intuition can be an experience where you feel into the awareness you already have available to you and trust that it will help you get what you need.
Explore related entries in the Library
Magical Experiments Podcast: Ancient Magical Artifacts with Alison Chicosky
In this episode, Alison Chicosky and I discuss the various magical artifacts she's created and she tells us how she created those artifacts and what her research process is. We also address the recent controversies she's been dealing with in the occult community.
Visit Alison's website at http://www.practicaloccult.com
To see pictures and links of the products we discussed in the show visit: https://www.magicalexperiments.com/blog/2021/11/4/further-experiments-with-pentacles
Featured items from Alison's interview
Picture courtesy of Jennifer G 2022
The Triangle of Hekate - Being used her for skrying purposes and to connect with the goddess Hekate. Comes with a pdf about the archaeological history of the triangle.
Picture Taylor Ellwood 2022
Pentacles - Individual planetary pentacles that can be worked with. Each one has specific attributes that can be drawn upon.
Picture Taylor Ellwood 2022
Hermes-Thoth Prosperity box comes with a papyrus with the spell written out, as well as incense to burn. The box is made of olive wood.
Taylor Ellwood 2022
Mercurial Mind Bracelet - It has each of the pentacles of Mercury on it. Very useful for prompting creativity and helping with communication.
Taylor Ellwood 2022
Bracelet of Blessings - Jupiterian bracelet that lets you tap into the expansive and protection of the Jupiterian current.
Book Reviews January 2022
Book Review: Kinesic Magic by Donald Tyson (Affiliate link)
This is an intriguing book that presents a system of magic that’s based on poses and hand gestures. It reminds me of Pascal Beverly Randolph’s work, but the author does a good job of creating a unique system of his own and based it around the classical elemental and planetary models of magic. If you’re looking for a system of magic that you can do strictly with your body, this is a good book to start with.
Book Review: The Four Elements of the Wise by Ivo Dominguez Jr (Affiliate Link)
If there’s one book I would recommend on elemental magic, its this book. I’ve been practicing elemental magic for over 25 years and I got new insights, perspectives, and ideas for my practice from this book. I don’t say that lightly, because I develop my own systems of magic, but this book gave me ideas on how to further flesh out my own work. It’s a book that will help you go deep with elemental magic. Pick it up today!
Working with Elemental Portals
I discuss how I have worked with elemental portals in elemental magic and share why these can be useful tools for learning and connecting with the elemental spirits.
Now Available for Pre-Order! Inner Alchemy of Wintering
Inner Alchemy of Wintering: How to Recover from Spiritual Burnout is now available for pre-order!
Restore and reinvent yourself through the inner alchemy of wintering
Sometimes we hit spiritual burnout because of events in our lives, or in our spiritual work, or because we’ve just hit the wall and can’t go any further. We hit a state of wintering, where we need to rest, reflect, and reinvent ourselves. In this book you will learn:
What wintering is and how it applies to spiritual and magical work.
How to make peace with spiritual burnout, instead of trying to fight it.
Why we need to integrate rest and reflection into your spiritual and magical work.
How to discover what is truly essential in the face of burnout.
How to use the ritual of reinvention to transform your life.
If you’ve hit a state of burnout or wintering, this book will help you work through those states. You’ll learn how to use the inner alchemy of wintering to turn the burnout in your life into inspiration that drives the reinvention of your life through practical magic.
Magical Experiments podcast: Heart Magic with Irisanya Moon
In this interview Irisanya Moon discusses what Heart Magic is and shares how it can be used to help you heal your heart as well as sharing her work with Aphrodite as a goddess of love and initiation. We talk about what the relationship with a godd can look like and what that entails for one's personal work as a result.
Get Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger of the Godds - https://amzn.to/3r7XPgj (affiliate link)
Get Aphrodite: encountering the Goddess of Love, Beauty, & Initiation - https://amzn.to/3ngHfK6 (affiliate link)
Get practically pagan: An alternative guide to health and well-being: https://amzn.to/3Gen3A5 (affiliate link)
Get Reclaiming Witchcraft: https://amzn.to/3tkKjsy (affiliate link)
Irisanya Moon (she/they) is a writer, priestess, and teacher, and has facilitated classes and camps around the world, including the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. She was initiated into the Reclaiming Witchcraft tradition in 2014. She is a frequent contributor to Moon Books anthologies, a contributor to Witches & Pagans magazine, a columnist for Pagan Dawn, a blogger for Moon Books, and a blogger for Patheos.com (Charged by the Goddess). Irisanya has written and published four books: Pagan Portals - Reclaiming Witchcraft; Pagan Portals - Aphrodite; Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health and Well-being; and Pagan Portals - Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow & Messenger of the Godds. Three more are in the works. She is a devotee of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Norns, and Iris. They seek to find love and to inspire love by reminding us we are not alone, while meeting at crossroads, holding the threads of time, and bringing down messages from the godds. She is passionate about the idea that life is a love spell, a dance of desire and connection, a moving in and out of the heart, always returning to love.
How to apply future success to the present
Have you ever had that feeling, that sense of certainty, a feeling of fate or destiny when it comes to your life, where you just know that certain things will happen? I have and each time I’ve experienced it I have recognized that what I’ve tapped into is a possible future state of being, a potential maybe that could be a reality in my life. It’s an awareness of reality that transcends the present moment and the linear experience of time and aligns you with the future spiral.
The power of having
One of the simplest principles of life, but one often missed out on, is the principle of having. The principle of having is a fundamental form of wealth magic and realization that actively encourages the attraction of what you already have, because when you have it, you can draw more of it to you. It is a principle that seems counter intuitive, but when you consider it in context to wanting something it actually makes sense.
When you want or need something or someone, what you experience is a neediness that can actually repel what you want from you. The reason is simple: when you want something or someone, you set up within your mind and identity the lack of that thing or person that you want and this creates tension between you and what you want, because you are establishing that it isn’t part of your identity and that you don’t really have it. You want it, but the wanting of it creates distance.
Magical Experiments Podcast: Italian Witchcraft with Giulia Turolla
In this interview Giulia Turolla shares her work and research with Italian witchcraft and discusses how to integrate ancient spiritual practices into modern times. We also discuss how to work with spirits and whether or not spirits modernize with the times.
Giulia is an Italian witch, High Priestess and teacher in the Tempio di Ara tradition. She graduated with honors in Archaeology and Ancient World Cultures from Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna and her field of specialization is ancient magical/religious technology and culture. Giulia’s personal path focuses on the practice of witchcraft as an indigenous form of shamanism and aims to rediscover and rebuild the Sacred Net that binds us to the Spirits and the Gods of the place we live in.
She has been leading circles for the Temple of Ara since 2008 and actively teaching study groups and advanced workshops since 2012. On her website http://www.boscodiartemisia.com she offers online courses, private mentoring sessions and hand-made shamanic and magical tools focused on European magical traditions.
What does magical partnership look like part 2?
I share some specific examples of what magical partnership looks like and how it has changed my approach to magic, as a result. I discuss synchronicities, working with deities, as well as discovering new directions in a person’s magical work.
What does magical partnership look like?
I was recently asked what its like to work with a magical partner. In this video I share my thoughts and perspectives about working with a magical partner and the lessons I’ve learned along the way as a result of doing this work. I also discuss different types of magical partnerships and share why its important to have a good understanding of what the partnership is and what the purpose of the work is.
Stepping across realities
One of my favorite metaphors, though it is more than just a metaphor, is to look space/time as a spider web. It’s a useful non-linear device for conceptualizing space/time as a web. The strands become time lines and where two or more strands meet you have spatial nodes which represent events that the strands of time intersect with. It can be a useful tool for helping you wrap your mind around the non-linear aspects of time and I’ve found it particularly helpful in relationship to identity work, because you can move from one event identity to another using the strands of time to bring you to that event.
Magical Experiments Podcast: Appalachian Folk Magic with Byron Ballard
This week I interview Byron Ballard about Appalchian Folk Magic. We discuss how folk magic works and how to create a spiritual lineage of your own. We also discuss the importance of research and why folk magic can be done anywhere. Byron Ballard is a rootworker and energy consultant; a freelance writer and an urban farmer; a weaver of words and webs, and the author of Roots, Branches, and Spirits, Staubs and Ditchwater, Asfidity and Madstones, Earth Works: Ceremonies in Tower Time, and Seasons of a Magical Life. Links to her books are below and are affiliate links.
You can Learn more about Byron and her work at https://www.myvillagewitch.com/
Why build a relationship with spirits
Recently a friend asked me what the point is around building a relationship with spirits. I think the relationship with spirits is much like any other relationship, where there is a give and take and benefits all around, but you have to be open to the relationship and what it can offer. For more of my thoughts on this watch the video.