9/11 and Denver esoteric groups

Over the last few days as we have approached the anniversity of 9/11, I have been thinking about how the Denver community dealt with 9/11.

At the time, I was in one of my public phrases (I drift in and out of the local community as the mood stucks me). So I was taking public classes over at Quantum Alchemy, besides dealing with Bast Temple.

(At this point, I think that I was no longer involved with the Thelemic Golden Dawn.)

Due to my work schedule, and travel habits (I do not drive due to the fact that moving vehicles set off my migraines which is why none of you ever see me at any of the bigger occult gatherings), I was walking to work that morning.

And it felt like a Sunday in downtown Denver (we fold up the sidewalks here), there were no one about that morning. It wasn't until I walked into the food court that I realized that it wasn't just a slow day.

I promptly lighted a candle when I learned what happened (one of the rights of wiccan restraurant managers everywhere).

Later that night, I went over to Quantum Alchemy. I do not remember if there was a class scheduled that night...I think that there was...anyways, the group there did a ritual that night in light of what happened.

And that Sunday, the Tarot class that Bast Temple was conducting jumped to the Tower card.

Now, looking back on the event and how various esoteric groups reacted, I realize that based on the groups that I was aware of at the time, those groups that had meetings/rituals that addressed 9/11 are still around, and those who did not have disappeared.

And talking to other people, I also realize that I am not the only one that has noticed this pattern. Now, Denver is too small of a sample to draw conclusions from, but it does make one wonder, doesn't it?

Quote of the day: Two important facts about secret societies

Here are two quotes by Arthur Goldwag about secret societies (one that I used in my review of his latest book Cults, Conspiracies and Secret Societies, and one that I didn't):

Here in the real world, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that the closest kept secret of many secret societies is the fact that they haven't got all that many secrets worth keeping.

[W]hen reading (and writing) about secret societies, one truisn should always be kept in mind: the more we know about a group, the less we probably have to fear from it.

Three kisses of death to any idea

The top three kisses of death to any idea that you might have in magical and spiritual circles:

3. That sounds like change for change's sake.

2. Do you have a document from a dead white guy to prove that you are right?

1. My spirit guides/mentor/Third Order contact says that you are wrong.

If you hear any of the above, don't bother to try to justify your idea; just pick up your ball and go home---the speaker has already made up their mind; it does not matter if you are right or wrong; they are not going to actually listen to you.

What I learned in the color scale class yesterday

Yesterday was the first session on the color scales for Bast Temple. And I must admit that it was a learning experience.

What did I learn?

Oh, quite simply that there is a lot of missing material here, besides the obvious lack of a set of published complete color scales. There is nothing like teaching a class to point out all the holes in your own knowledge base.

So now I have to kick around whether the holes I spotted (the ones that have not been addressed already---yes, I am going to be borrowing some of Tabitha Cicero's work from the Hermetic Virtue magazine) are big enourgh and important enourgh to sink a bunch of time into them filling them.

Only these documents count

Something that often disturbs me is that some students of Golden Dawn believe that unless an idea was written down by an old dead guy, it is not worth considering. The old dead guys got it absolutely right; just like the secret Third Order has it completely right.

Quite simply the ideas that you have and the ideas that I have are NOT worth having.

And I will admit that this gets my goat.

Oh, there is one exceptation, and that is if we can get Golden Dawn recognized by modern scholars. But that involves getting scholars interested in correcting the system in the first place.

Again, you and I have no place actually thinking about the system. We should just pay our dues, obey our superiors, and shut up.

Ok, maybe I am just having a bad day, but can you really tell me that some people do not believe exactly this? And then some people wonder how the terms "cult" and Golden Dawn gets confused.

Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame

Given the recent talk of Golden Dawn "cults", with one person claiming that they exist and another person denying their existence, I thought that this would be a good time to blog about cults.

The problem with cults is that they look remarkably like legitimate religions, political groups and fraternal organizations; or at least until the Kool-aid, guns and multiple wives are brought out into the open.

As for cults existing in Golden Dawn, let's be honest: the potential is there, even if no cults are currently active today. My own experience reminds me that bad things can happen when the wrong leaders step forward. I am especially suspicious of anyone who wants to be a leader.

(I would like to remind everyone that I am an elected officer. I did not ask for the job; I was just guilty of doing the tasks of the office, and too slow to get out of the way of the voting members when they decided that they did not want to do it themselves. Not that I can blame them for not desiring the job; my desk is buried under enough work to keep me busy for the next decade.)

One of the best things to know about cults are the signs of what a cult act like. Remember a cult always hides behind a cloak of respectability, clear up to the day that the FBI kicks in the door.

And one of the best handouts I have ever seen on the subject is the Cult Danger Evaluation Frame from P. E. I. Bonewits.

It is a set of fifteen subjects that you assign a number from one (low) to ten (high). Without further ado, the fifteen categories of cult behavior as outlined by Bonewits are:

1 INTERNAL CONTROL, amount of internal political control exercised by leader(s) over members.

2 WISDOM CLAIMED by leader(s); amount of infallibility declared about decisions.

3 WISDOM CREDITED to leader(s) by members; amount of trust in decisions made by leader(s).

4 DOGMA, rigidity of reality concepts taught; amount of doctrinal inflexibility.

5 RECRUITING, emphasis put on attracting new members, amount of proselytizing.

6 FRONT GROUPS, number of subsidiary groups using different names from that of main group.

7 WEALTH, amount of money and/or property desired or obtained; emphasis on members' donations.

8 POLITICAL POWER, amount of external political influence desired or obtained.

9 SEXUAL MANIPULATION of members by leader(s); amount of control over sex lives of members.

10 CENSORSHIP, amount of control over members' access to outside opinions on group, its doctrines or leader(s).

11 DROPOUT CONTROL, intensity of efforts directed at preventing or returning dropouts.

12 ENDORSEMENT OF VIOLENCE when used by or for the group or its leader(s).

13 PARANOIA, amount of fear concerning real or imagined enemies; perceived power of opponents.

14 GRIMNESS, amount of disapproval concerning jokes about the group, its doctrines or leader(s).

15 SURRENDER OF WILL, emphasis on members not having to be responsible for personal decisions.

As a general rule, the higher the numerical total scored by a given group, the more dangerous it is likely to be. Though it is obvious that many of the scales in the frame are subjective, it is still possible to make practical judgments using it, provided that all numerical assignments are based on accurate and unbiased observation of actual behavior (as distinct from official pronouncements).

Those who believe that relativism and anarchy are as dangerous to mental health as absolutism and authoritarianism are, should count groups with total scores nearing either extreme (high or low) as being equally hazardous.

Interesting discussion on roles of members and officers

There is an interesting discussion of the role of members and officers of Golden Dawn starting on the Golden Dawn Group yahoo forum. Or at least, I have found it interesting so far.