Lately, I have been watching a lot of bickering between some of the Golden Dawn leaders, teachers, and writers. It is pretty normal as far as I am concerned. And when one got nasty, it merely pointed out that he was the type of Adept that I came up the ranks surrounded by.
(For those who do not know my background, I do not believe in the saintly Adept, who believes in thinking that kind thoughts will change the universe. Why? Because the Adepts in my mother lodge were not of that kind, rather they were people capable of great anger who thought that members of the RC occasionally have to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty if we want to see changes in the world.)
For me, the reactions were normal when you account for human nature and politics. There is also one other thing that I am accounting for that many people may be overlooking.
And that is that if you hold an active place in the Hierarchy, you suffer a certain amount of backlash when things impact your egregor. If people attack your branch of the tradition's way of doing things, and your egregor reacts as if it is being attacked, then you react as if you are being attacked. It is one of the side-effects of being part of the system, and something you have to watch constantly as an officer. And there are certain officers of the system that are almost guaranteed to react when changes happen to the egregor of their group, and when it is criticized.
I know this from personal experience. I have, on occasion, occupied one of those offices.
Unfortunately, not a lot of people seem to be aware of this side-effect. So when an officer reacts badly, they rack it up to them being a jerk. Before racking it up to that, one should step back and ask if it is completely their reaction, or could part of it be the egregor acting like a drunk in a bar.
(I am sorry, but personal experience has taught me that the egregores of the various Golden Dawn groups act like mentally unstable drunks on the bad days. I don't like the imagery any more than you do. It is just that one needs to be aware of this.)
When I start acting badly, and most people have seen me explode for no apparent reason, I have to ask myself:
1: Is this my bad upbringing? Could this be my mother talking?
2: Is this the egregor, the group mind, of my branch and lodge reacting?
3: Or is this me?
In most situations, it is always best to count to ten kabbalistically before firing off a response.
And having experienced this side-effect first hand, I have to wonder how much of this latest spat is politics, backlash, and personal reactions. I have my bets, but can't prove anything.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Books as advertisements
Today while reading the postings of the ongoing "We are being wronged by other people despite the fact that we are equally as guilty of doing the same to them" campaign, I had to smile.
We would all like to think that our leaders in the various esoteric Orders are geniuses. Hopefully, magical geniuses, spiritual geniuses, or even (if all else fails) geniuses at doing research. More often than not, they are not geniuses.
Or if they are geniuses, it is in marketing.
Not that there is anything wrong with being an advertising genius. I wish that I was a marketing genius. The pay would be much better than being a forty-two year old college junior. Or one would hope. Of course, I would not use my marketing genius to further than ends of an esoteric Order (I hope); I would rather market my way to the top of the New York Times best seller list after writing some cheesy sci-fi novel.
But despite not wanting to dirty my own hands in such a manner, I must admit that I admire those marketing geniuses that have decided that running an esoteric Order is a nice gig. I may not get along with any of them as my experiences have proven time and time again, mainly due to the fact that my desire for an esoteric lodge is more along the lines of the Freemasons and not the monolithic Orders that the marketing geniuses think I should be willing to join. Just because you don't approve of the goal does not mean that you can not admire the technique behind the madness.
The latest hubbub is about an out-of-print book. I will not mention the name of the book. Someday, I might review it. Or maybe not. What you need to know if you have not read the latest issue of "Why do people pick on us all the time after we pick on them" is that the book occasionally goes for a pretty penny in the used book market.
Owning a copy of the book, I do not understand why it goes for so much. I have a theory that involves suckers and how often they are born. Pretty much, any out-of-print occult book will fetch a nice sum on the used book market if you can find the right buyer (one with lots of cash and less wit).
This whole round of complaining started off with someone claiming that the book was being sold for an outrageous amount in some circles. Ok, personal opinion time: it is overpriced. The original price was maybe a little too high; but considering that was a vanity press item, it was in the ballpark for a book of that size. Yes, this book was vanity press; the publisher existed for this book, and this book only.
Of course, some of the vanity press authors I have tangled with will note that I always complain about the prices of PODs and vanity press books (POD: Print on Demand). There is a reason for this: my wallet is small and the small print runs make the prices high. It is nothing personal unless the book is unfit for anything other than toliet paper.
In the case of this particular book, it might have other uses. Unfortunately, I must admit that most of the information in the book is lifted from other sources. But let's be honest, that is normal in the occult book section. And yes, technically it is plagiarism if they do not mention their sources by name.
But that is not what I really want to talk about.
What I want to talk about is the marketing genius behind the book. Based on the book, he is not a genius in magic. But considering he runs an esoteric Order, he might reserve his better secrets for his membership. And based on his conduct, he is not a genius in the spiritual sense. I could be wrong on that account also. I did not detect any great genius in his ability to research, or cobble it together in writing (he could have done more with less pages).
But I had to admire the marketing genius. As a person who have ran a couple of businesses, I saw the real purpose of the book instantly. It was to advertise his Order. Plain and simple.
And his decision not to ever reprint the book. Definitely genius. I wish that I was as intelligent when it came to my own work. But then again, I am an elected officer, and pretty lazy when it comes to trying to grow the membership of my own local lodge. More members mean more work, and I would rather write science fiction than dusty old knowledge lectures. Heaven forbid that the Order that I belong to becomes a Big Name Order.
The genius of not reprinting the book boils down to if you want the information that is in the book, you have just two choices. One: buy the book for an outrageous amount on the used book market. Or two: join his Order.
Now he claims that you get the information for free inside his Order. I would like to call a reality check here. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't Order members have to pay dues? If you have to pay dues to access the information, then it is not free. (No, I don't get along with Union reps, or used-car salesmen either. Thanks for asking). And there do not mention how long you have to remain a member to get access to all the information; it could be years and years; again, there are dues to be paid.
Nevertheless, despite the small fib, you have to admire his moxie. He wrote a book, published it himself, as an advertisment for his Order. He managed to sell all the copies, or at least I hope he did; and now that it is out-of-print, he is still using it to advertise his Order.
Pure marketing genius. As I said, I wish that I was as smart with my own work.
We would all like to think that our leaders in the various esoteric Orders are geniuses. Hopefully, magical geniuses, spiritual geniuses, or even (if all else fails) geniuses at doing research. More often than not, they are not geniuses.
Or if they are geniuses, it is in marketing.
Not that there is anything wrong with being an advertising genius. I wish that I was a marketing genius. The pay would be much better than being a forty-two year old college junior. Or one would hope. Of course, I would not use my marketing genius to further than ends of an esoteric Order (I hope); I would rather market my way to the top of the New York Times best seller list after writing some cheesy sci-fi novel.
But despite not wanting to dirty my own hands in such a manner, I must admit that I admire those marketing geniuses that have decided that running an esoteric Order is a nice gig. I may not get along with any of them as my experiences have proven time and time again, mainly due to the fact that my desire for an esoteric lodge is more along the lines of the Freemasons and not the monolithic Orders that the marketing geniuses think I should be willing to join. Just because you don't approve of the goal does not mean that you can not admire the technique behind the madness.
The latest hubbub is about an out-of-print book. I will not mention the name of the book. Someday, I might review it. Or maybe not. What you need to know if you have not read the latest issue of "Why do people pick on us all the time after we pick on them" is that the book occasionally goes for a pretty penny in the used book market.
Owning a copy of the book, I do not understand why it goes for so much. I have a theory that involves suckers and how often they are born. Pretty much, any out-of-print occult book will fetch a nice sum on the used book market if you can find the right buyer (one with lots of cash and less wit).
This whole round of complaining started off with someone claiming that the book was being sold for an outrageous amount in some circles. Ok, personal opinion time: it is overpriced. The original price was maybe a little too high; but considering that was a vanity press item, it was in the ballpark for a book of that size. Yes, this book was vanity press; the publisher existed for this book, and this book only.
Of course, some of the vanity press authors I have tangled with will note that I always complain about the prices of PODs and vanity press books (POD: Print on Demand). There is a reason for this: my wallet is small and the small print runs make the prices high. It is nothing personal unless the book is unfit for anything other than toliet paper.
In the case of this particular book, it might have other uses. Unfortunately, I must admit that most of the information in the book is lifted from other sources. But let's be honest, that is normal in the occult book section. And yes, technically it is plagiarism if they do not mention their sources by name.
But that is not what I really want to talk about.
What I want to talk about is the marketing genius behind the book. Based on the book, he is not a genius in magic. But considering he runs an esoteric Order, he might reserve his better secrets for his membership. And based on his conduct, he is not a genius in the spiritual sense. I could be wrong on that account also. I did not detect any great genius in his ability to research, or cobble it together in writing (he could have done more with less pages).
But I had to admire the marketing genius. As a person who have ran a couple of businesses, I saw the real purpose of the book instantly. It was to advertise his Order. Plain and simple.
And his decision not to ever reprint the book. Definitely genius. I wish that I was as intelligent when it came to my own work. But then again, I am an elected officer, and pretty lazy when it comes to trying to grow the membership of my own local lodge. More members mean more work, and I would rather write science fiction than dusty old knowledge lectures. Heaven forbid that the Order that I belong to becomes a Big Name Order.
The genius of not reprinting the book boils down to if you want the information that is in the book, you have just two choices. One: buy the book for an outrageous amount on the used book market. Or two: join his Order.
Now he claims that you get the information for free inside his Order. I would like to call a reality check here. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't Order members have to pay dues? If you have to pay dues to access the information, then it is not free. (No, I don't get along with Union reps, or used-car salesmen either. Thanks for asking). And there do not mention how long you have to remain a member to get access to all the information; it could be years and years; again, there are dues to be paid.
Nevertheless, despite the small fib, you have to admire his moxie. He wrote a book, published it himself, as an advertisment for his Order. He managed to sell all the copies, or at least I hope he did; and now that it is out-of-print, he is still using it to advertise his Order.
Pure marketing genius. As I said, I wish that I was as smart with my own work.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Open Full Moon Dates for 2008
Hearthstone Community Church
Open Full Moon Dates
for the rest of 2008
June 13
July 18
August 22
September 12
October 10
November 7
December 12
Meets at the First Unitarian Church
at 14th and Lafayette, Denver Colorado
Doors open at 7 pm.
Ritual starts at 7:30 pm.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Quote of the day
A symbol can always be studied from an infinite number of points of view; and each thinker has the right to discover in the symbol a new meaning corresponding to the logic of his own conceptions.
---Oswald Wirth
---Oswald Wirth
Monday, June 2, 2008
Selected definitions from the Zealot's Dictionary
Charter: A device for determining the regularity (legitimacy) of a Masonic body, and the irregularity of an esoteric body.
Lineage: The claiming of authority and skill by the Chief Officer(s) of an Order by invoking the ghosts of past Masters of the mysteries, most of whom were not Masters and furthermore never met the Chief Officer claiming descent from them.
Divination: 1: A method where the questioner hears what they want to hear while the answerer lightens their wallet. 2: A method where the reader reads what they desire to read while the spirits desperately shout at them.
Lineage: The claiming of authority and skill by the Chief Officer(s) of an Order by invoking the ghosts of past Masters of the mysteries, most of whom were not Masters and furthermore never met the Chief Officer claiming descent from them.
Divination: 1: A method where the questioner hears what they want to hear while the answerer lightens their wallet. 2: A method where the reader reads what they desire to read while the spirits desperately shout at them.
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