Why Can’t Catholics Pray to St. Uriel?

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Agostino

St._Uriel-_St_John%u2019s_Church,_Boreham

“Why doesn’t the Catholic Church let you pray to Uriel?”

It’s a big question, and you can find it all over the internet. And every time someone asks it, some well-intentioned priest, seminarian, or layperson always says “Because in 745 people were worshipping angels, so Pope Zachary called the Council of Rome and outlawed all angel-names not explicitly mentioned in Scripture: Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael.”

In fact Pope John Paul II upheld this ban in 2002, and I myself referred to this exact same Council in The Magic of Catholicism. In fact clergy and laity alike tend to consider this the final answer to the question.

But guess what? Whenever somebody gives this answer, they never quote exactly what the Council actually said.

Okay THAVMA readers, if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, then you’ve already figured out exactly what I’m about to do. Let’s dig in!

Continue reading →

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Lent, Fasting, and Abstinence

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Agostino

fasting and abstinence

The Second Precept of the Church commands all Catholics to “observe fasting and abstinence from flesh-meats at the prescribed times.”

Lent is such a prescribed time, and fasting is known the world over as a powerful spiritual practice. This means it a good time to review what Fasting and Abstinence actually entails. The rules given here are those in force prior to 1966, as these rules are still in use by Traditional Roman Catholics today.

After we discuss the traditional rules, we’ll give a brief consideration to the new rules, the exceptions, and when/to whom the rules apply.

Continue reading →

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Candlemas and the Eternal Law

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Agostino

8_presentation

Candlemas. The Feast of the Purification.
The official last day of the Christmas Season!

As subject of meditation, this is linked to the “Fourth Joyful Mystery” and its spiritual fruit is coming into perfect obedience with Divine Law.

In the Theurgical system I use and teach, this subject leads us to approach Divine Law first by looking at Nature (see Romans 1:20). I say this because human accomplishment has not come about by contradicting the laws of Nature but by obeying them.

For example, look at our harnessing of electricity or of the atom. Not a single instance of our technology has come about by arguing against or overcoming the laws of gravity, friction, inertia, or any number of natural laws. But rather it has ALL manifested because human beings STUDIED the laws governing Nature, realized they could NOT go outside those laws, and then figured out how to work within those laws so as to make things happen.

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Why Dogma Can Be Good for Spirituality

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Agostino

Crucifix-Bible

Most people seeing this post’s title would either curse against it or scroll on, depending on their mental state. I’d like you to hear me out for a moment, though, because I believe this can be helpful.

Okay. Now that I’ve got your attention, you’re probably asking How the hell is dogma good for anything, let alone spirituality? I think the best answer can be found by exploring, What is dogma?

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Announcing “My NEW Everyday Prayer Book!”

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Agostino

My NEW Everyday Prayer Book - Cover

Happy New Year!

A year ago, I compiled and released My Everyday Prayer Book as a free download, the first file in our Free .pdf Library. Today I’m proud to introduce the second edition, MY NEW EVERYDAY PRAYER BOOK!

Continue reading →

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Changing the Lord’s Prayer?

Posted on December 9, 2017 by Agostino

pope-francis-cheerful

Bergoglio says he wants to change some wording in the Our Father. Which means people have been asking me about it, hence this rant-cum-blog-post.

The words under the microscope are “et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem,” which translate as “and lead us not into temptation.”

His stated reasoning is that the wording as currently-used is misleading, that it implies God leads people into temptation. To me this looks like he’s strawmanning and stooping to the lowest common denominator.

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Moral Theology of Divination: Astrology

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Agostino

Creation as Feminine

A moral theology of divination. Is there one?

Pre-Vatican II moral theology makes a distinction between methods that explicitly or tacitly invoke “demons” (ouija boards, etc.) versus those that work by natural processes, such as divining rods for water or dowsing with a pendulum. This is a distinction not found in works after Vatican II, likely because the Council’s original implementers (Bugnini et al) were driven by a desire to de-emphasize private spirituality, belief in the miraculous, and belief in human interaction with the non-physical.

However, even the distinction made in pre-Vatican II (i.e. authentic) theology isn’t without problems. The discussion in the Manuals tends to lack detail; in fact it looks like something the authors aren’t comfortable discussing at all. What’s more, one can find the Manualists contradicting each other on the finer points, with the contradictions seeming to run along the “rigorist vs laxist” axis of approaching morality.

Of course, this brings me to some good old-fashioned Summa-style theologizing for Astrology. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll do the same with the Tarot and other methods.

Continue reading →

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The Souls in Purgatory and the Catholic Magician

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Agostino
Carracci-Purgatory

Purgatory by Ludovico Carraci, circa 1610

THE DARK TRIDUUM

I’ve come to think of the three days of Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls as a kind of “Dark Triduum.” And yes I know the word “Dark” is really just clickbait in this case, but I like it so I’m keeping it.

Rather than a “Dark” Triduum, it’s actually something of a “Human” Triduum, with each day corresponding to one part of the Tripartite Church.

Halloween gives us cause to reflect on the Church Militant, the human members of the Church who struggle here on the physical plane. This connection can be emphasized by the day’s connection with the Protestant Revolt and the Catholic Reformation that arose to combat it.

All Saints’ Day is the day on which we celebrate the Church Triumphant who fought their way past this “vale of tears” and merited eternal glory in the next life. These are the mighty heroes who now watch over us and advocate for us in our trials here below.

All of this brings us to today, All Souls’ Day, on which we remember the Church Suffering in purgatory. Today the white vestments and celebratory mood of yesterday’s Mass are but a memory, traded in for black vestments, the removal of the Gloria Patri and Judica Me, and the beautiful terrifying lyrics of the Dies Irae. The day is a somber reflection on Death, the Four Last Things, and any pains borne by those faithful departed now being cleansed with the guaranteed destination of Heaven.

As today is the conclusion of this year’s Human Triduum, let us turn our attention to how belief in the Poor Souls can be implemented in the practice of a Catholic magician. Continue reading →

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The Saints and the Catholic Magician

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Agostino
All Saints by Albrecht Dürer

All Saints Altarpiece by Albrecht Dürer, 1511

Seeing that today’s All Saints’ Day, it’s a good time to talk about the Saints in the context of Catholic magical practice.

Truth is I was planning a video, but you know how I hate getting in front of the camera. Too much sputtering and stuttering; I’m a better writer than speaker.

Anyways, as we call to mind the feast of All Saints, it never hurts to go over a few basics and ask how we can incorporate these basics into our lives.

WHO IS A SAINT? Continue reading →

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Archangel Sandalphon: Prayer for Speedy Manifestation

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Agostino

In Hebrew lore, Sandalphon was said to be so tall his feet rested on earth and his head reached up to heaven. Alongside patronage over Sacred Music and congregational worship, one of his duties was to be the “Prince of Prayer,” receiving the prayers from the faithful below and weaving them into crowns to be received by God on High (in Catholicism, this role is taken over by the Blessed Virgin Mary).

This prayer calls upon Sandalphon in his “Prince of Prayer” aspect, calling upon him to grant our requests speedily and manifest our desires onto the physical plane post-haste, without side effects or “symptoms of the monkey’s paw.”

Of course while the Seven Keys of Effective Prayer still apply, it never hurts to have a little extra “umph” moving things in your favor!

Continue reading →

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