Today, on Nick Farrell's blog, I read the first non-Amazon, non-GD forum, book review of Pat Zalewski's commentary book. Or at least, it is the first one that I have seen.
But it will not be the last.
Yes, I am predicting that there will be a flood of book reviews on the various Golden Dawn blogs. Some will like Pat's book; others will loathe it. And both sides will say that the other side is guilty of bad book reviewing. That is a trend nowdays.
I will review it....eventually. (There is a small income flow problem at the moment on my end...the UCD new computer system is not updating and my aid is tied up someplace in cyberspace until it does.) Of course, I will be accused of just liking the book because of who dislikes it.
And yes, I believe that I am going to like the book. I liked previous versions of it, so I do not see why I will not like the current and latest version.
But I suspect that there will be more people who dislike the book than those who like it. Why? Because Pat Zalewski believes that one needs to work hard to qualify for the position of Hierophant...an idea that upsets a lot of people. And so it goes. There is also the fact that at this point in time, Golden Dawn is almost two different traditions bearing the same name...with two different goals and lesson plans. And that is just the way the cookie crumbles.
So let the flood of book reviews begin...and if you see any really interesting ones, drop me a line in the comment section.
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4 comments:
Tell me that no one actually comes out and says you don't have to work hard to be a hierophant. Tell me they just sort of imply it or fool themselves into thinking their natural ability is enough. Please tell me this is so.
Ok, you are right, I should have made that more clear---it is implied. As to why, that varies.
No I think you are completely right. I have met countless people who want to be a Heirophant and then just hold the book and mumble their way through it. No magic, no divine link, just words.
What is scary is that they believe that they are good magicians because they happen to be holding the Heirophant's wand when they do this particular travesty of ritual.
Such types often say that the tradition looks after them.
Pat's book shows a standard which most Heirophants do not measure up too. My guess is that there will be people out there that are scouting it for typos so they can discount the whole book. What the book emphasises is a "practical" Golden Dawn which will always be out of fashion.
Hmm the main problem is as Robert points out, the Hierophants in need of this book the most will probably never embrace it because to do so would challenge their own sense of what they've been doing in the system so far. For such personalities the book is likely to be a interpreted as a direct attack on them personally even if Pat nor others have never met them.
Here's hoping that such types might clandestinely make use of elements of the book for the better. x
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