Musings of Gnwmythr: Post No. 838 - Some minor, mostly magickally focused comments on “The Dresden Files” – Part Three (Books 9

Monday, 14 March 2016

Post No. 838 - Some minor, mostly magickally focused comments on “The Dresden Files” – Part Three (Books 9 – 12)

More to be posted as I complete them.

Book No. 09 – White Night
(ROC, 2008, first pub. 2007, ISBN 978-0-451-46155-1)

magickal kit in a tackle box (p. 7):
these days, I use a laptop case, but I stretch that to include cloth shopping bags if I need more kit :) . The tackle box is an interesting idea –I’ve use one of those for storing nails and screws and bolts in … maybe I should just bite the bullet and build what I need when we get settled in the new house …
copper filings spell (p. 8):
cool.
introduction of examination of neochristian views on magic theme (pp. 6 – 7, 8 – 9, 10 – 13):
I think one of the things that needs to be said about the hate preached against Wicca, magick, LGBT people, other religions, etc, is that it comes from neochristianity – NOT Christianity, which is about loving one’s neighbour as oneself (no, I’ve not become a Christian – I’m still quite happily Pagan).
In these pages, a few viewpoints are discussed, but the character Murphy doesn’t at all make the point she claims to be promoting, which is an insight into her character flaws: could a flaw in her communication skills be part of what happens to her later, and part of what doesn’t happen between her and Harry?
psychism (pp. 27 – 34):
good explanation of how it works, although in the context of a weird situation that I wouldn’t expect to happen in this-verse. The comment about taking longer to focus when one is learning are correct, although the times are perhaps not as long for the stuff I’ve done / experienced / witnessed in the real-verse.
grounding (p. 34):
good comments.
teaching (p. 38):
excellent comments – one needs to know the whys and why nots as much as the how to.
physically glowing (p. 39):
I’d actually like to be able to physically glow … I’ve read of such happening in one of Lobsang Rampa’s books (pp. 185 – 186 of “Feeding the Flame”): be cool to be able to do it :) This book has a few good moments of humour and understandable – for me – “bloke speak”.
wards (p. 55, 61):
some excellent, very thoughtful comments that are well worth considering in this-verse.
prescience (pp. 56 – 58):
I haven’t come across people like this, which means not much at all: they may exist.
giving one’s word (pp. 61 – 62):
very good comments along the lines of what I have termed “mind your Mӕgan”.
bigots (p. 89):
sadly, these are accurate comments.
era of magickal languages (p. 94):
many practitioners choose to use some language other than their native language – well, certainly a significant number of the native English speaking practitioners I know. A thought that came to mind as I read this is: the language chosen may be one from an era where one has positive associations – perhaps especially with magick. Thus, for instance, those people who use Kemetic may have had good magickal associations with a past life in Ancient Egypt. Those who choose Latin may have had likewise, but in Ancient Rome. In my case, I had some good associations from the Middle Ages which make the very limited amount of Hebrew I know very powerful for me.
being boring rather than invisible (p. 101):
yes! – I can totally relate to this: have done it. At times in my life I have focused on generating “undetectability”, which is the same sort of thing, and this crops up in later books.
using anti-fae illusion unguent for another purpose (p. 103):
although the unguent would be less effective than for its intended purpose, this is good adaptability.
group effort to build wards (pp. 110 – 111):
this is something I have been trying to set up through the Rangers of the Inner Plane, and the paired exercises when teaching people how to clear. I thoroughly approve of the concept – it is how a group can clear strong uncooperatives, for instance, as groups that I have been a lesser light in have done in years gone by.
shield “permeable to the living” (p. 122):
that’s more like it! Be creative – use your intention flexibly :)
“little Chicago” (p. 133):
what a great idea – and what a MASSIVE amount of work. For what I have to do (e.g., the Psychic Weather Reports), dowsing with a map will do …
learning / development / teaching (p. 137):
really excellent comments – effectively, says one gets to a stage where one has to teach in order to be able to learn more. Very true.
temperature changes in response to magick (p. 138):
in my case, in the real-verse, I often find my body temperature goes up in response to magickal energy, but the temperature of the environment stays the same (I’m not drawing the energy from the physical level, as Harry does – or seems to).I also find that having a lot of nonBPM energy / units near me, or in me / my aura, will make me feel cold - or colder.
awareness and thinking (p. 142):
these are always good – important, even.
sensing intruders (p. 151):
this is something I do occasionally – check for entities / units that shouldn’t be there. May find entities, but more often portals that have been opened and left opened.
telepathy (p. 177):
about time we saw some of this!
Elaine’s comments about the White Council (pp. 182 – 183):
are spot on – she is correct, in my opinion.
effect of mind control (p. 184):
good list – well worth thinking about, and is very similar to lists of symptoms from psychic attack.
ghouls (p. 198):
I looked this concept up after reading these books, and found – according to Wikipedia – that this is from Arab mythology.
uncertainty re where people fit on the “Jedi-Sith” scale (p. 199):
great comment – especially the uncertainty. The real-verse is all just shades of grey …
conservation of energy (p. 207):
this principle applies to energy to some extent, but it is difficult to access owing to fact that energy can be shifted between Levels of Reality, can be transformed, and can, in fact, be created (e.g., by visualisation – unless that is drawing energy from another Level of Reality). In the context of this series of books, however, it is consistent with the physics-based premise of the Dresden-verse.
genetic predisposition for magick (pp. 215 – 216):
I find one’s spiritual history is more significant than anything in the physical – and if one does look at genetic causes, such influences are spread pretty thin very quickly, unless one breeds specifically for a particular characteristic – which risk inbreeding.
admission of someone being faster and better (p. 217):
nice to see that admission – that is what more is needed of in the real-verse, rather than trying to claim that everyone has equal abilities, let alone conflating ability and worth. I can’t run quickly – athletes are and always will be better at running than me: that doesn’t make them of greater intrinsic worth than me, nor are the people who have greater intelligence or greater emotional depth or better spiritual development than I inherently better than me in terms of worth / potential. I may, however, have to work long and hard to manifest / develop the same level of ability (and that may be in another life), but that will mean I have realised more of my potential, which is good and admirable, not that I have become an inherently more worth y being – although I may be more useful, in many ways, which is a different matter.
rage (pp. 231 – 236):
Harry’s response is linked to his attitudes towards kids (i.e., that they need to be protected), but there is also a need to consider: Do you fight to change things, or to punish? (see here). There are other aspects to this which will also come out later in this book.
healing (p. 240):
YES! This is something else that it is nice to see finally turning up.
heightened awareness as a defence (p. 258):
YES!
the dead and pain (p. 308):
the dead can actually feel pain – for instance, grief and remorse at wrongdoing, and, if they are earthbound, they can feel an extraordinary amount of pain of all types.
the potential for change, knowing oneself, and that we are what we do (pp. 332 – 337):
are well illustrated in the discussion on these pages.
I also had a thought to explore the concept of equal and opposite reactions from a psychological perspective – which is all but stated in the book. Thus, for instance, if someone is being evil – pushing it out of their mind into manifestation, in a sense, that evil is exerting a bit of pressure back onto that mind. Conversely, if one is trying to be good, the good will exert a beneficial effect back onto the originating mind.
don’t write others off as monsters (p. 339):
EXCELLENT comments – from a pragmatic point of view, even the most evil of people, people like Hitler, don’t stop existing when they die: their Soul / astral / spirit / term of your preference continues to exist, and will come back into incarnation with the same attributes /characteristics / hatreds / insecurities / flaws/ etc – unless someone or some set of circumstances can change them. And hence my changing the personality of oppressors post –and, if we are aiming, as a society / species, to deal with these issues constructively and early, then perhaps we will have fewer people like Hitler.
the importance of proper motivation when working with power (pp. 350 – 352):
very good illustration of this.
there is always a risk to taking action (p. 353):
but, as President John F. Kennedy said: There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
no shortage of people who want to kneel to another (p. 370):
sadly, this is too true.
thought is faster than the physical (p. 393):
yes, this is potentially so – unless one is tired, distracted, etc.
use of chaos magick / entropy in a shield (p. 394):
interesting idea. Not sure I’d want to do it with nonphysical nonBPM energies, but I could well get something useful in the real-verse by thinking about this concept.
mistake of two-dimensional thinking (p. 398):
this is quite true. Furthermore, my training, back in the 1980s, included using dimensional shifts to get behind defences, and countering same when on the defensive.
Earth magick spells (p. 428, 431):
interesting applications. These are something else I will think about at some time to see what I can get out of them.
mental psychic attack (pp. 438 – 447):
good example of what an extreme version of this could possibly look like. In the real-verse, connection to one’s Higher Self would be needed to fight this off.
we use 10% of our brain (p. 441):
this is actually an urban myth. All of our physical brain has a purpose, but we may not realise all that we are capable of mentally – which is where the myth started (as a misinterpretation).
holding to one’s word (pp. 458 – 459):
interesting example.
the Paranet (p. 473):
great idea. I - and many others, no doubt – once hoped that the internet would enable something like this, but I’m finding there is too much rubbish on it now (particularly from role playing games), so an thinking such may need to take a step back, and be built up via personal contacts.
always read a Contract (p. 479):
YES.

Book No. 10 – Small Favor [sic]
(ROC, 2009, first pub. 2008, ISBN 978-0-451-46200-8)

Magickally induced fire behaves as physically lit fire does (p. 31):
what about Spontaneous Human Combustion? Also, probably depends how much effort put into controlling the fire – which also applies to other psychically created energies: how much effort is put into managing the effects? As is discussed on p. 32 … :)
Pentacle (p. 34):
good comments re pentacle.
Residual magic (pp. 38 – 39):
yes, and hence psychometry.
Balance between using physical devices and visualisation (p. 41):
good comments.
fight or flight response (p. 57):
this was distorted by the use of male lab rats: there is also a network and nurture response.
Focus of spell on just hinge (p. 75):
good!
The way Harry climbs down the “chimney” (p. 77):
I actually think there are better mountain climbing techniques – for instance, the one where you put your back against one side, and use your feet against the other. Would think that gave more and better controlled pressure – but maybe Harry was worried about what the chill of the ice against his back would do. Back to magick.
Well, maybe not just yet. Why would someone go somewhere that would put children at risk – particularly when they have a bias towards keeping them safe? Is this Mab’s influence? (p. 142)
Try to help first rather than try to smite first (pp. 154 – 156):
This is admirable, and is much needed when trying to rescue uncooperatives. At least here in the real-verse, rescue involves sending an uncooperative to some place better (or attempting to do so), whereas the situation in the Dresden-verse has been written to include killing as a possible outcome – I’m already dealing with someone who is dead, so I don’t have to face that sort of choice (phew!). The comments about sophistry are particularly good.
friendship (p. 162):
very good comments.
bloodlines (p. 167):
any genetic influence tends to be well diluted after a few generations. Thus, Sanya saying he can trace his physical ancestry back to Salahuddin is actually fairly meaningless.
Personally, I have found people’s personal spiritual heritage to be far more significant.
(The way one would maintain and concentrate a physical bloodline is by deliberately breeding for it – which, in terms of psychic abilities, has been well explored in the Darkover series by the now very discredited Marion Zimmer Bradley.)
The comments about “the King and the Land are one” are very Pagan – which reflects the development of agriculture, and the concept of sacrifice, and I think we have evolved past the desperate lack of understanding that connected sacrifice to taking a physical life. (Prior to agriculture, gather-hunter societies were more shamanistic.)
shortcomings and imperfections of the law (p. 212):
these comments are partly contextual to what is happening in the story line, but physical things often are imperfect. As is written in another Dresden book (although not in exactly these words): there is the world that should be, and the world that is; we live in one, and must make the other happen.
use of chaos for nonBPM outcomes (p. 217 and elsewhere):
good discussion on this, and motivations people may have. HOWEVER, chaos can also be used for BPM outcomes – e.g., to break down rigid structures.
giving one’s word (p. 230):
crops up again – is important, kiddies :)
hobs and myrk (Ch. 23):
another instance where I’ve learned some mythology from these books – looked it up on the Internet - here , which is a little different from how the term has been used in these books. Didn’t have any luck with “myrk”, but the usage feels right …
size of circle (p. 250):
although it is not standard, I don’t always physically walk to outside of a circle that I am creating: I sometimes just “push” it out to where I want it (within reason – usually this means I cast the circle at the energetic centre of the house, and then push it out to the property boundary).
limitations of witnesses (pp. 297 – 30):
very true comments about some of the rubbish that alleged witnesses to events such as car accidents can come out with.
drawing energy in does NOT create a “hole” (p. 322):
true – agreed.
no access to more energy inside a circle (p. 322):
not in the real-verse.
ways of defending against psychic (magickal) attack (pp. 352 – 354):
interesting ideas.
faith healing /banishing (pp. 401 – 402):
this is a very neochristian way to do this: there are others, EQUALLY as valid and effective, and they are just as “pure”.
good comments on friends and trauma (p. 410)
pain (p. 441):
generally has a purpose – I share Harry’s reluctance to shut it out /down.
Namsiel’s attack on Harry (p. 460):
this is a very good example of a multidimensional attack.
Marcone (p. 462):
although Dresden describes John Marcone as “criminal scum”, most of what we see in the early books in the series is reasonable. Later books start to show some of the nastier things Marcone is responsible for.
people collaborating with the Denarians “thought they were doing the right thing” (p. 497):
so did the Nazis at the concentration and death camps. This is rubbish – all people have a conscience: to ignore it, or wilfully allow it to atrophy, is a deliberate act of evil.
Deities don’t see things as we do, from one place at one time (p. 514):
true – good comment. Of course, if we evolve spiritually enough, we can approach this level of awareness also.
concept of past, mythic soothsayers as having been earlier incarnations of “the Archive”, driven insane by the burden of their knowledge (p. 524):
this fits the Dresden-verse well, but also raises the issue of the mental and psychic strain that can go with enhanced awareness and knowledge – which is why it is important to “make haste slowly” …
This was also mentioned in Lobsang Rampa’s “The Cave of the Ancients”.
Soul Fire (p. 537):
interesting idea, although neochristian. Raises the issue of combining energies / sources of energy for a holistic result …
the coming in of the Sight (p. 539):
excellent comment about how people can be pains when they think their psychism is developing. Have been a few I’ve stopped working with because of that.

Book No. 11 – Turn Coat
(ROC, 2010, first pub. 2009, ISBN 978-0-451-46281-7)

This is probably my favourite book in the series – thus far.

Butters’ dubiousness about Harry’s forgiveness of Morgan’s past abuses of Harry (pp. 4 - 5):
Butters is exactly right. What Harry has forgotten is that we train others how to treat us.
seeing clouds of energy and sparks of ideas when using clairvoyance (p. 26):
yes.
clairvoyant perception of the skinwalker (p. 27):
psychic sensing can and does show the essence of people (unless being blocked or warped by shielding etc). The description of the creature by the protagonist, Harry, is worse than I’ve come across (which may be artistic licence, to some extent, but is also consistent with the notion of wizards as exceptionally superior to us limited hacks), but some of the uncooperatives have actually been fairly bad.
Billy and Georgia’s non-reaction to Harry’s distressed appearance on their doorstep (p. 30):
… really shows a certain disconcerting amount of cluelessness. If a friend shows up and clearly isn’t well, you just help them.
the adaptability of humans (pp. 32 – 33):
true enough, at least for many of us, if not most.
the nastier nature of pre-Disney folklore (e.g., the original Brothers Grimm – and before them) and the issue of “psychic weight”:
both issues are quite true.
I’ve added the original Brothers Grimm works (which I’ve accessed via the good old Project Gutenberg) to my reading list. It is interesting to read folklore, but I’m always a little wary of giving it too much credence – it risks being a bit like talking to a crowd of witnesses at a car accident: people can be wrong, but think they’re right or should be right, or are just out for attention, etc. So … I take such stories with the folkloric grain of salt …
On the matter of “psychic weight”, that works both ways: it can be a good weight, just as much as a bad. In fact, when I was at Uni, sharing a flat, my flatmate, clueless psychically and in other ways, came back from somewhere when I was doing my alternate nostril breathing exercises, and even he commented on the almost physical feeling of peace when he walked in.
eating magic (p. 53):
here that idea is again. Seems cannibalistic, which is probably why I have so many problems with it.
resistance to subtle but strong mental psychic attack (p. 75):
good example.
Thomas’ struggle against his vampire nature (p. 83):
this struggle, covered in quite a few places in quite a few books, is very well done – even better than in Buffy.
people jumping to conclusions about Morgan (p. 89):
this is a good example of fear clouding people’s judgement.
attitude and behaviour of Harry and Morgan towards Molly re emotions (pp. 95 – 100):
are completely and utterly unacceptable. This rank stupidity on these characters parts, until Harry finally gets his act together later in the book, is extremely annoying … and that’s another example of why Mr Butcher is the successful write, and I’ve got a crushing day job … * SIGH *
who Molly is “really” angry with (p. 105):
this is also just utterly, absolutely and completely wrong. In the real-verse, I know many people who think this way, and that is why the world is so ****ed up. We need more activists – people who are prepared to say “no”, that behaviour is wrong. People like feminists – who are people who care about other human beings, and want everyone to achieve their full potential. Any cretin who considers a feminist is a boot and overalls wearing man-hater is a moron. I mean, after all, I don’t wear overalls, and I’m pretty much prepared to hate people of any gender :)
Faraday cage would ground out psychic energies “once” (p. 108):
not in the real-verse usage of these (e.g., "Briefing for the Landing on Planet Earth" by Stuart Holroyd), so why? Because get overloaded and burned out?
“time immemorial” (p. 122):
my take on this phrase is that it generally means “before the time of anyone I know personally”.
in the Dresden-verse, Harry finds ley lines jarring (p. 13):
in this-verse, I find them lovely, mostly soothing, and very, very subtle.
Ebenezer’s dress sense (p. 127):
I like this. I detest pretentious, fancy clothes – and hate dress ups with a passion. I’d rather be comfortable.
forensic psychic investigation (p. 138):
what a great idea. I’ll never try to do that – far too complex, but maybe someone else will – or has already.
how does one do the “right thing” if there isn’t a “right thing”? (p. 141):
very true, and well worth anyone interested in Balanced Positivity having a think about.
Murphy’s question (p. 155):
is actually quite significant. No spoilers.
Binder’s “goons” from the nonphysical (pp. 160 – 161, 167-168):
I haven’t come across anything like this in the this-verse, but it is a plausible concept.
logical and correct use of circles (pp. 166 – 168, 174 – 175):
(Incidentally, in the this-verse, when I am rescuing uncooperatives, I get my BPM Guides to bring the entity into a pre-prepared circle.)
Morgan’s award from the Summer Queen (pp. 183 – 18):
this shows the potential problems of gifts, which I’ve posted about previously.
example of nonBPM mind control / psychic attack (p. 206):
this is an extreme, fictionalised example of what can happen … except I’m not so sure it doesn’t happen in the this-verse.
using sleep spell as response to damage caused by mind control (pp. 209 – 210):
this is a very good response in the Dresden-verse. In the this-verse, such matters are more complicated / delicate, as is most healing from major trauma – although going to the astral world is potentially a good reset of some things.
Harry FINALLY stands up to Morgan’s provocations and points out some home truths (p. 213).
not having relationships so one cannot be threatened / blackmailed through them (p. 217):
in the this-verse, this is actually a very real issue for people such as members of special forces, and is one of the reasons (there are others) that serving special forces members are not – or should not be – identified by the media. Another example of this sort of potential problem. is the hostages in Iraq who put on shows of tears etc because co-hostages, friends or colleagues, were being threatened off camera. More broadly, it is an extreme example of issues such as indirect psychic attack and lifestyle vulnerabilities – and a very extreme response to that risk. In most situations, such extreme measures are not even remotely justifiable: in most cases, it is simply one’s Duty to protect these people, just as one should be caring about and trying to protect people one is not connected to as well.
Anastacia’s focused magick – without use of foci / tools (p. 234):
YES!
being choked hurts (p. 239):
yes, it does – from personal experience. It’s also terrifying – which made the critical response of some people to someone who lashed physically when she was being choked utterly unconscionable and unforgiveable.
the “surcease” from pain offered to Harry as an example of control (p. 252):
actually, this struck me as a retreat to childhood, and thus was repellent to me,
longevity, family and perspective (pp. 262 – 269):
this was quite an interesting conversation (how would one conduct oneself if one knew one was going to outlive one’s family members, as the wizards in the Dresden-verse do?), but:
(a) the comments about atrocities in Europe not being known, or being unclear are something I dispute, and
(b) the USA is NOT “the best we’ve had so far” – nowhere near it. I actually consider the USA to be extremely backward in many aspects.
discussion on gender, predominantly in context oif an immortal creature (pp. 272 – 273):
this is actually rubbish, in both the Dresden-verse and the this-verse. Neither protagonist Harry nor talking head Bob are anything but clueless on the topic – as Harry often mentions.
fundamental soundness of oral transmission in pre-literate (i.e., no writing systems) societies (p. 274):
yes – correct, or reasonably so, in the context of important things. In both -verses.
Werewolf Will standing up to Harry (pp. 282 – 284):
good on him! This is great character development for Will (formerly referred to as Billy), and continues a theme (interestingly, Mr Butcher has commented that he doesn’t write themes in his books – which parallels remarks by Richard Bach that books tend to smash through walls and say they will not rest until he sets them down in writing- so no planning of themes either … which also is my [limited! – and non-commercial] experience) of Harry learning to give people the knowledge they need in order to be able to make informed decisions.
nothing on Binder, so he “has” to be released (p. 288, p. 307):
rubbish! He assaulted a police officer and resisted arrest!
tracking spells (p. 289):
reasonable explanation.
subtle versions of mind control (pp. 328 – 329):
good comments.
the ethics and consequences of actions and tests to detect when these are being bent (pp. 330 – 332):
well said, Harry.
Sanctum ritual (pp. 347 – 359):
this is an interesting concept –and, I suspect, Mr Butcher’s research has probably given him a better comprehension of what is involved for such shamanic rituals than myself. Personally, I just tend to seek to befriend the spirits of places – e.g., offerings, politeness and niceness when moving to a new patch of dirt, asking permission to enter forests, etc, always making sure one GIVES (e.g., feeding the land spirits) before one even thinks of TAKING (i.e., asking for help). Harry’s approach strikes me as being very macho – and thus wouldn’t have a chance of working with any spirits that are more of the nature of what is generally described as stereotypically female. Of course, in this instance, Harry was dealing with an aggressive spirit, and had a pressing need for the sanctum ritual (getting events away from innocent bystanders).
Intellectus (p. 360:
as described, this is very like true intuition – which is NOT vain imaginings or vague in nature.
an example of good ethical choice (p. 364):
they are far too often scary, even if most don’t involve literal risks to one’s physical survival, as is the case on the referenced page of the book.
nightfall (p. 391 – 392):
there is a great quote on the referenced pages about nightfall, but, more generally, this view contrasts with the elemental approach to arts of the day in Katharine Kerr’s magnificent Deverry series, let alone the active power used by sorcerers in Carlos Castaneda’s books.
variety of magickal styles (pp, 420 – 421):
although this is limited to combat situations, the variety of ways that magick can be used is worth thinking about.
Binder’s responsibility for a death (p. 438):
being responsible for someone’s death is ALWAYS a personal matter. There is a lot of rubbish that some people spout that, because they felt no malice in it, it “wasn’t personal”. You cretins, you have TAKEN EVERYTHING from another human being – there little is more personal! (I also see the same sort of crap from bigots who then spout hateful or inaccurate rubbish that is likely to drive people to commit suicide – which has been in the news of late here because of the so-called “debate” over equal marriage.) Going back to the book, Binder is directly and personally responsible for bringing through to the physical and giving orders to the creatures that murdered the warden. This all strikes me as a little too close to the Nuremberg “defence” of “I was only following orders”.
examples of positive (constructive) use of emotions in magick (p. 449, p. 451 – 454).
the use of magickal foci (p. 450):
for someone who is so eloquent on the need for and use of magickal foci, Harry sure gets caught without them a lot of times …
fight against malevolent entity by Harry, Toot Toot and Listens to Wind (pp. 452 – 467):
I sometimes use this passage as inspiration if I know I have heavy clearing session ahead of me.
example of the difference between justice and retribution (aka, revenge) (p. 474).
careful use of words and labels (p. 477):
this is in relation to the “naagloshii”, also called “skin walkers”, which Listens to Wind tells Harry he should not name to avoid building its reputation of fear.
On that, I am unmoved by most psychic horror stories: the one that always gets to me is the Navajo stories of skin-walkers –I’m fine with the description of these in “Turn Coat”, but when I read anything directly connected to the Navajo or their land, I get chills. I suspect that comes from a past life I had there (I also love jingle dresses / dances, but would be far too embarrassed to have a go in this life). The other North American Indian life I had was in the Akwesasne, which is the life where I was responsible for the death of my brother in that life (I didn’t kill him directly, but had an indirect responsibility), who is now one of my BPM Guides.
In the course of researching this, I came across some interesting links: the Wikipedia article on skin-walkers; this article; the Navaho creation myth; the Wikipedia article on the Blessing Way, and here, for part of the text of that ritual, the novel “The Blessing Way” by Tony Hillerman (which I have added to my book purchasing wish list, out of curiosity), X-Files season 3 1^st episode “The Blessing Way”, and a bunch of videos on YouTube and elsewhere here, here, here, here, and here; Wikipedia’s list of cryptids and article on the Chupacabra; the Wikipedia article on the Enemy Way; the Wikipedia article on Ghost Sickness (also see the film “The Missing”).
Now, go back and re-consider the topic of fear and phobophages from “Proven Guilty”, and then reconsider Listen to Winds’ advice … ;
“good fights”, and the limits of same (p. 478).
the possible implications of accepting one’s duty (p. 480):
good example, although as shown more likely in the Dresden-verse than the this-verse. Here in the this-verse, things like being destroyed by fulfilling one’s duty / obligations towards one’s dependents is far more likely.
dealing with rage about injustice (pp. 481 – 482):
is discussed. I’ve been thinking about this, as I think about my general idea to write more about how one heals the damage of control and similar events, and am thinking of coming up with a flow chart …
telepathy (pp. 507 – 508):
another good example.
the possibility that tampering with someone’s mind can lead to happiness (p. 523):
this is an interesting discussion, and, having thought about it, I can see it happening – including in my life, and the lives of some people I have known.

Book No. 12 – Changes
(ROC, 2011, first pub. 2010, ISBN 978-0-451-46347-0)

This is probably my 2^nd favourite book in the series – although it is quite violent: if the violence was less, it would be my favourite.

magic and emotion are inextricably connected” (p. 5):
to the extent that emotions rule people, and thus their Will, yes. It is possible to start to develop one’s ability to think, and thus use one’s Will, and thus rise above some of the motions that one should – e.g., petty jealousy, back stabbing, etc, whilst using the emotions that are good – e.g., love. It is important to do so in a way that doesn’t forget that emotions can be useful indicators – e.g., of situations being inherently wrong, which is a mistake that protagonist Harry and his mentor, Ebenezer, tend to make.
decision by Susan to remove her and Harry from their daughter’s life, for the sake of their daughter’s safety (pp. 13 – 14):
in the Dresden-verse, where Susan and Harry are fighting vampires and other creatures that regularly put their lives physically at risk, Susan’s decision was the only one that could be made. However, this is a personal trigger point of Harry’s (something most of us have), and he reacts true to form.
Martin’s comments about events happening outside the USA to Harry (p. 21):
are very, VERY good. The character Harry is like stereotypical US citizens (the ones we come across in the media – and as often as not made fun of by US citizens, showing an encouraging level of awareness and self-critique-ing :) ), with a strong focus on events in the USA, to the extent that they forget that there is a world elsewhere. I have to say that most Americans I’ve met are not like that, and the fact that Mr Butcher is writing about this shows he isn’t either :) However, such people are present everywhere, in every nation, and suffer from problems such as immaturity, or not being very far along their growth orientation path, or nonBPM influence from parents /peers / etc, and so on. Of course, those people suffering those flaws are not in what is possibly one of the most influential / powerful nations on this planet, at this time …
Harry’s quick reactions to his instincts about danger, rather than fluffing about (p. 24):
GOOD!
killing people is ALWAYS personal (p. 41):
as I’ve explained above. This applies even if it is “click-boom”, as Harry puts it.
Harry’s regrets for allowing his emotions to dictate how he uses magick, and to what depth he invests himself (p. 45):
although this is about personal consequences, this is continuing an exploration of this connection which is building up to something, and is always worth thinking about. As I say in my quotations page:
Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master.
giving people knowledge so that they can make an informed decision (p. 4):
Harry is finally learning to do this, which is good.
discussion about warlocks (p. 65):
these considerations also apply to rescue of uncooperatives.
except for the threat to Molly, I am more with the Merlin than Harry on this one: there are times when numbers do matter – which is the sort of decision military commanders have to make, as well as those who do not have enough resources to help everyone (p. 73).
“the ways” (p. 75):
these sound a lot like wormholes.
Harry’s elaborately manufactured physical circle (p. 83):
this sounds cool. If I was rich, I might have something like that made, too.
the importance of ethical considerations around working with magick (p. 97):
are well illustrated in this passage, where Harry is hiding things he has that are illegal. Compliance with the law is, in my view, an ethical matter. If you consider a law wrong, work to change it (and, having done that, I do know how much work that entails, and the many, MANY options open to people doing that sort of work), rather than just ignore it. We’re part of this world for a reason.
In terms of magick, one of the things Harry is slowly learning – and I, also – is that magickal tools are not always essential: when one is advanced enough, they become optional, albeit possibly at the expense of more effort.
Martin’s explanation of what Susan has gone through (pp. 149 – 150):
this is a very good illustration of the saying “walk a mile in another’s shoes before you judge them”.
Harry’s acknowledgement that he should have given Susan more information in the events covered in Grave Peril (p. 175):
this is good, and continues the them I mentioned earlier. (Incidentally, one of the MANY reasons Jim Butcher is a MUCH better writer than me is that he can invest in making a character believable as being at the stage of development they are at, whereas I tend to want to skip the intermediary stuff and get to the final, fully developed version that I can see.)
speaking stones (p. 177):
this is an interesting idea. Along this sort of line, I gave my (adoptive) mother a set of crystals that I kept a matched pair of, so I could better send her healing when she was ill.
Also, there is a concept of proxy rocks, where members of a circle have two matched items (when I first came across it, I think in "Briefing for the Landing on Planet Earth" by Stuart Holroyd, the concept was for rocks, but it could be crystals or some other small item), one on them, to be kept “up to date” with that person’s “vibe”, the other being kept at the circle. If the person is unable to physically attend, their “proxy rock” is set up in their place – which helps them be a part of what is going on (more so if they are doing the same sort of work at the same time, despite not being physically present). Once a month or so, the rocks are swapped over, to refresh the connection.
acknowledgement of the inherent selfishness of being focused on blood connections (p. 215):
this is quite true, but basically just shows that the person concerned has NOT travelled very far along the growth orientation path known as Bhakti Yoga.
the risks that go with having (or seeking) power (p. 217);
the joke from the previous day that Harry just gets (p. 223):
I don’t get –and none of the online discussion on this that I’ve seen helps. SIGH
faith (pp. 252 – 252):
excellent comments.
using mind, rather than props, for magick (p. 280):
yes – well done, Harry, well done.
calling three times to summon (p. 286):
somewhere else in these books is an explanation that this is more a trigger of an irresistible curiosity for the entities summoned, rather than an overwhelming compulsion to obey an order – which I consider to be quite appropriate. Triplets work well for a lot of people – although the modern generation is more accustomed to working with longer numbers, so that may change. The key here is repetition to strengthen.
the things that people will do for love, including self-destruction (p. 293):
this is quite true – at least when looked at in the context of immediate events. People may change their minds about what they’ve done or committed themselves to later on.
Harry’s honesty about what he is doing, and why (p. 298):
this is good, and offsets – to some extent, at any rate – the selfishness shown on pp. 294 – 295, where he was prepared to kill thousands for the sake of one girl – his child.
the mantle is starting to influence Harry in terms of how he is reacting to Molly (p. 316).
domovoi vs. polevoi (p. 326):
Mr Butcher’s superior knowledge of mythology on the referenced page led to some very interesting research for me.
great joke by Sanya about Harry and the little folk (p. 328).
Sanya’s pragmatic acceptance of “bad things” (p. 330):
I share this to quite an extent – and consider such pragmatism part of Balanced Positivity.
it’s actually a Pentacle, not a pentagram (p. 429).
blood sacrifice (p. 456):
the concept of taking life as a blood sacrifice is chilling to modern sensibilities, and is – and has always been – spiritually unacceptable. I include the taking of animal life in that – animal rights are just as universal as human rights (which is something I meant to post about years ago after reading this, but never got around to it), although I acknowledge that there is a pragmatic element to that (for instance, I know a vegan who had to start eating meat because of iron loss problems caused by heavy periods).
On the other hand, there can be a place for the use of blood. As an example, I have sometimes used a drop of my blood to help charge and consecrate rune cards that I may have made, I have used things like this to help strengthen the connection to totem poles I have for my use, and I have added a drop of my blood to some spells - e.g., protection of Significant Others or children. Such things should, however, always be used with caution – for instance, the Significant Others may not always be Significant Others …
In the context of history, people have generally done this, I suspect, because they honestly thought it was necessary (which does NOT make it right – ignorance of the [spiritual] Law is no excuse – people have always had a conscience, and have always – sadly – had the capability to let fear drown it out, but the voice of the conscience [our Higher Self and BPM Guides] is ALWAYS there), which is a point explored in that part of Katharine Kerr’s magnificent Deverry series where Aderyn’s younger life is being written about – including the fact that the sacrifice was useless.
the strength and help of other people (p. 500):
great example.
example of the use of telepathy (p. 514).
an incredibly difficult choice (pp. 522 – 523):
reading this is where I am glad that I am living in the this-verse, not the Dresden-verse, and thus don’t get faced with such choices. Of course it does occur in the this-verse as well, and I am thinking of some of the vicious situations people were pushed into in World War Part Two, as examples.
the consequences of taking major action (pp. 524 – 525):
this is a bit like the consequences of taking over another nation – I mean, “causing regime change”.
There have been some concerning fall outs from such events – for instance, I understand Japanese soldiers were used as police to maintain order in parts of South East Asia after the end of World War Part Two, which did cause resentment and social problems, whereas in Iraq the Iraqi army was disbanded rather than being subjected to de-Ba’athification – which would have been required to avoid the problems caused in South East Asia.
The pages are worth reading and considering – and the fallout gets discussed more in subsequent books.
comments about choice, and that others cannot take away your Will (pp. 530 – 531):
these are actually a bit naïve – things like torture for long periods can break people, and that is when you do lose your Will.

Keywords:

abuse of power, anger, animals, artificer, attitudes, authentic presence, awareness, balance, Balanced Positive, Bhakti, blackmail, blood, challenge, change, chaos, children, circle, clairvoyance, concentration, consequences, control, death, Deities, dimensions, discrimination, divination, dowsing, Earth (element), earthbound entities, elements, emotions, energy work, equal and opposite reaction, ethics, evil, faery, faith, family, fear, fight or flight or network and nurture, Fire (element), focus, folk lore, forgiveness, friends, genes / genetics, gifts / giving, grounding, growth orientation, guilt, healing, history, honour, ignorance, informed decisions, insularity, invisibility, invocation, isolation, judging others, justice, knowledge, language, levels, limitations, love, Mӕgan, magic, magickal language, magickal techniques and styles, magickal tools, manifestation, metaphysical mass, metaphysics, moral courage, motivation, mythology, myths, names, neochristianity, nightfall, Paganism, pain, Pentacle, pentagram, personal responsibility, perspective, phenomena, power, prejudice, preparation, prophecy, protection, psychic attack, psychic development, psychism, psychology, racism, reincarnation, rescue, residue, responsibility, revenge, risks, rituals, sacrifice, scepticism, Seelie, self knowledge, sexism, shielding, (the) Sight, society, spells, Spiritual Maturity, spirituality, subconscious, submissiveness, sunrise, survival after death, teaching, telepathy, temperature, tests, thaumaturgy, the Greater Good, train others how to treat us, uncooperative, understanding, undetectability, Unseelie, ward, werewolf, yoga,

Pages

Monday, 14 March 2016

Post No. 838 - Some minor, mostly magickally focused comments on “The Dresden Files” – Part Three (Books 9 – 12)