[A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook status, and I decided to borrow it.]
An old Cherokee Indian told his grandson, “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is Anger, Jealousy, Greed, Resentment, Inferiority, Lies, & Ego. The other is good. It is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Humility, Kindness, Empathy, & Truth.”
The boy thought & asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”
The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed"
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sometimes you just need sleep
I would like to apologize to my regular readers. All last week I was not sleeping very well (spent most of the nights tossing and turning). As my regular readers know, this tends to lead to either no posts or some rather strange and hostile ones.
I was also working though my personal feelings about one of the recent developments in the Golden Dawn community. Those who know my past will understand how certain things makes me suspicious---I have been burned by too many people over the years who hid behind the concept of absolute secrecy. (In fact, I have never met someone who insisted on absolute secrecy who has not stabbed me in the back by the time it was all over.)
Last night was the first decent night of sleep I have gotten for awhile. I am still in sleep debt, but it is not as bad now. Hopefully, the worst of the recent stress (most of it personal schedule issues) is over, and I can go back to business as usual.
I was also working though my personal feelings about one of the recent developments in the Golden Dawn community. Those who know my past will understand how certain things makes me suspicious---I have been burned by too many people over the years who hid behind the concept of absolute secrecy. (In fact, I have never met someone who insisted on absolute secrecy who has not stabbed me in the back by the time it was all over.)
Last night was the first decent night of sleep I have gotten for awhile. I am still in sleep debt, but it is not as bad now. Hopefully, the worst of the recent stress (most of it personal schedule issues) is over, and I can go back to business as usual.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Is diversity possible?
Can you have diversity when there is absolute secrecy, strict adherence to tradition, distain for scholarship and creativity, and a single person becomes the gatekeeper and sole voice of multiple esoteric mysteries and sects?
[Remember that it may take up to 48 hours for me to approve comments depending upon university homework, employment and familial responsibilities.]
[Remember that it may take up to 48 hours for me to approve comments depending upon university homework, employment and familial responsibilities.]
Saturday, August 27, 2011
More pottery available at Spirit Ways
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| Offering bowl, cauldron and chalice available at Spirit Ways. |
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| Click on the pictures for a larger view. |
Schizoid Golden Dawn Book Market
Warning: This is one of those posts where if you know that I have a tendency to make you upset, then you are better off reading something else. Especially if my nasty habit of looking at Golden Dawn as a marketplace annoys the bejeezus out of you. I suggest you go read Harry Potter or the True Blood series---after all, I don't want anyone to die of a seizure just because I am a happy little cynic and they don't understand my sense of humor.
Today, during a moment of boredom, I was cruising around the interent looking at book reviews of occult books. It is something writers do---we go looking for the most bizzarre criticisms and book reviews that we can find.
This pasttime got me to thinking about certain aspects of the Golden Dawn book market. Basically, the fact that it is the most schizoid book market that I know of.
On one hand, the reader wants new material. But...and it is a big but...it has to be OLD material.
A few years ago, a publisher saw a snippet of some material that I was kicking around writing. They were interested in seeing the completed project...clear up to the point that they learned that the material was developed within living memory.
Then they were no longer interested.
One of the sad truths about the Golden Dawn book market is that only material by dead, famous Adepts sells. And given how small the market is, that is really sad.
(Before anyone attempts to tell me that occult writers are making big bucks---remember I am in the business, I seen actual figures of copies sold and how little royalty was paid out. No occult writer, especially a Golden Dawn writer, is making real money writing about the occult. Maybe the New Age writers are, but not Golden Dawn writers. And don't use Donald Michael Kraig as part of your argument, he is not actually a Golden Dawn writer.)
But the Golden Dawn market is schizoid. If you do somehow get your hands on something old, you are yelled at for breaking oaths of secrecy.
So on one hand, anything that you came up with on your own is viewed as worthless. In fact, if you do come up with something on your own, hordes of people will come out of the woodwork to proclaim that it is not really Golden Dawn material, and furthermore that you are not a real initiate of the Golden Dawn to begin with.
And on the other hand, if you publish something old, you are lynched for breaking secrecy.
Given the schizoid nature of the book market, it is amazing that any new Golden Dawn books ever come out.
And yes, I believe that this is a problem. Not only does it ensure that almost all Golden Dawn books are rehashes of previously published material, it ensures that all Golden Dawn writers are hated, and that people don't know enourgh to avoid some of the most un-Golden Dawn-like Orders. It is like a bad hostage situation.
And this hostage situation is enforced, nay encouraged, by some Golden Dawn leaders. And sock puppets. And generally nasty human beings. And all of them have an ax to grind and someone's back to stick it into.
The saddest part is that I know that a horde of angry readers is coming for me. And before you ask: No, I am not going to publish any secret documents. I am the type of writer who gets bad-mouthed for developing opinions of his own.
Quite honestly, someone should go to Third Order and get them to make an official rule banning all writers from the system from this point on. That way, no writer would ever think about becoming interested in writing about Golden Dawn---it would save some poor writers some time and energy. And it would allow the various groups to go back to being the pure monopolies of esoteric wisdom that they want to be. Sounds like a win-win for everyone, doesn't it?
(That last comment is not necessarily directed at who you think it is directed to. I have met a dozen leaders over the years who claimed Third Order contact---which is one of the reasons that I am skeptical of all Third Order claims. I have yet to see any such claim not prove to be false and a merely ploy by a bad leader to lift people's wallets and control their minds. But one can hope that the next claim is different, right? Someone please prove this happy little cynic wrong.)
And if you did not see the humor in this post, it is your fault for not listening to my warning in the first place---I told you to go read something else.
Today, during a moment of boredom, I was cruising around the interent looking at book reviews of occult books. It is something writers do---we go looking for the most bizzarre criticisms and book reviews that we can find.
This pasttime got me to thinking about certain aspects of the Golden Dawn book market. Basically, the fact that it is the most schizoid book market that I know of.
On one hand, the reader wants new material. But...and it is a big but...it has to be OLD material.
A few years ago, a publisher saw a snippet of some material that I was kicking around writing. They were interested in seeing the completed project...clear up to the point that they learned that the material was developed within living memory.
Then they were no longer interested.
One of the sad truths about the Golden Dawn book market is that only material by dead, famous Adepts sells. And given how small the market is, that is really sad.
(Before anyone attempts to tell me that occult writers are making big bucks---remember I am in the business, I seen actual figures of copies sold and how little royalty was paid out. No occult writer, especially a Golden Dawn writer, is making real money writing about the occult. Maybe the New Age writers are, but not Golden Dawn writers. And don't use Donald Michael Kraig as part of your argument, he is not actually a Golden Dawn writer.)
But the Golden Dawn market is schizoid. If you do somehow get your hands on something old, you are yelled at for breaking oaths of secrecy.
So on one hand, anything that you came up with on your own is viewed as worthless. In fact, if you do come up with something on your own, hordes of people will come out of the woodwork to proclaim that it is not really Golden Dawn material, and furthermore that you are not a real initiate of the Golden Dawn to begin with.
And on the other hand, if you publish something old, you are lynched for breaking secrecy.
Given the schizoid nature of the book market, it is amazing that any new Golden Dawn books ever come out.
And yes, I believe that this is a problem. Not only does it ensure that almost all Golden Dawn books are rehashes of previously published material, it ensures that all Golden Dawn writers are hated, and that people don't know enourgh to avoid some of the most un-Golden Dawn-like Orders. It is like a bad hostage situation.
And this hostage situation is enforced, nay encouraged, by some Golden Dawn leaders. And sock puppets. And generally nasty human beings. And all of them have an ax to grind and someone's back to stick it into.
The saddest part is that I know that a horde of angry readers is coming for me. And before you ask: No, I am not going to publish any secret documents. I am the type of writer who gets bad-mouthed for developing opinions of his own.
Quite honestly, someone should go to Third Order and get them to make an official rule banning all writers from the system from this point on. That way, no writer would ever think about becoming interested in writing about Golden Dawn---it would save some poor writers some time and energy. And it would allow the various groups to go back to being the pure monopolies of esoteric wisdom that they want to be. Sounds like a win-win for everyone, doesn't it?
(That last comment is not necessarily directed at who you think it is directed to. I have met a dozen leaders over the years who claimed Third Order contact---which is one of the reasons that I am skeptical of all Third Order claims. I have yet to see any such claim not prove to be false and a merely ploy by a bad leader to lift people's wallets and control their minds. But one can hope that the next claim is different, right? Someone please prove this happy little cynic wrong.)
And if you did not see the humor in this post, it is your fault for not listening to my warning in the first place---I told you to go read something else.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Blog Advice on Moderating Comments
One of the decisions that a blogger needs to make is whether they are going to moderate (manually approve) comments or not. This decision should be made relatively early in the life of your blog.
For me, it is simply a question of what set of pros and cons you want to deal with.
Manual Approval of Comments
Pros: You can keep flames, slander, libel, and insults out of your comment section. Regular readers will also occasionally use a "Don't publish this, for this comment is for your eyes only" comment to privately communicate with you. You can also prevent publication of the most blatant advertising.
Cons: It takes time to moderate comments---the more readers you have, the more time it consumes. And some people will be impatient and claim that you have refused to publish their comments when in fact, you haven't even seen them yet. People will also be upset if you decide not to publish their trash talk.
Automatic Approval of Comments (with or without a verification of human intelligence)
Pros: You don't have to worry about making time to approve comments---in other words, you can post and forget. A hundred people can comment in an hour, and you do not have to do anything for their comments to appear on your blog.
Cons: You have to trust human nature. You will have to manually delete any comments that you wish would not have been posted, including insults, flames, libel, slanders, and advertising---unfortunately, other people will have seen these comments and spiders will have cached them. You will be accused of aiding and abetting flame wars. And sooner or later, you will end up with advertising you do not want in your comment section.
In my case, I chose to manually approve comments. There is one blog that I run that I might change my standard policy for, but it is not occult related (for the most part).
For me, it is simply a question of what set of pros and cons you want to deal with.
Manual Approval of Comments
Pros: You can keep flames, slander, libel, and insults out of your comment section. Regular readers will also occasionally use a "Don't publish this, for this comment is for your eyes only" comment to privately communicate with you. You can also prevent publication of the most blatant advertising.
Cons: It takes time to moderate comments---the more readers you have, the more time it consumes. And some people will be impatient and claim that you have refused to publish their comments when in fact, you haven't even seen them yet. People will also be upset if you decide not to publish their trash talk.
Automatic Approval of Comments (with or without a verification of human intelligence)
Pros: You don't have to worry about making time to approve comments---in other words, you can post and forget. A hundred people can comment in an hour, and you do not have to do anything for their comments to appear on your blog.
Cons: You have to trust human nature. You will have to manually delete any comments that you wish would not have been posted, including insults, flames, libel, slanders, and advertising---unfortunately, other people will have seen these comments and spiders will have cached them. You will be accused of aiding and abetting flame wars. And sooner or later, you will end up with advertising you do not want in your comment section.
In my case, I chose to manually approve comments. There is one blog that I run that I might change my standard policy for, but it is not occult related (for the most part).
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Why I dislike the labels
Lately, there has been a lot of labeling of various people and groups in the Golden Dawn community as "reconstructionist," "traditionalist," "reformist," etc.
And quite honestly, while I understand the need to make sure that newcomers know the positions of the groups and individuals involved, I think that the labels are doing more harm than good.
The problem with labels is that sooner or later, you get to the point when someone is saying that such a idealistic position is better than the others. In other words, you get someone claiming that one answer is the only correct answer---hoping that other people are going to believe them.
It does not help a diverse community get along.
In fact, labeling and name-calling leads to flame wars and witch wars, and all sorts of unpleasantness.
For instance, the one side's low opinion of scholars tends to make me avoid that side like I do most plagues. After all, I am training to be a scholar---being told that I have the morals of a zombified pig bent on destorying the world does not endear me to the opinions of the people who label me such.
Ok, in all fairness, they have not stated it in such a manner, but that is the way that I emotionally react to their opinions of scholars.
And that is the biggest problem with the labeling that is going on, people react to the labels emotionally. Because of that, large sections of the Golden Dawn community refuse to talk to other sections of the community.
(Ok, there are other reasons for the lack of communications---a laundry list of reasons. But the labelling is not helping any of us deal with the problems on the laundry list.)
It feels like the beginnings of the witch wars all again.
For those of who missed that little bit of unpleasantness, the core of the battle was the statement, "I am a real witch (Wiccan or whatever term they prefered), and So-and-so is not a real witch."
Compare it with the statement (well hidden in the process of labelling), "I am a member of the real Golden Dawn, and So-and-so and all with their (insert label) tendencies is not."
Do you see why I am worried?
And quite honestly, while I understand the need to make sure that newcomers know the positions of the groups and individuals involved, I think that the labels are doing more harm than good.
The problem with labels is that sooner or later, you get to the point when someone is saying that such a idealistic position is better than the others. In other words, you get someone claiming that one answer is the only correct answer---hoping that other people are going to believe them.
It does not help a diverse community get along.
In fact, labeling and name-calling leads to flame wars and witch wars, and all sorts of unpleasantness.
For instance, the one side's low opinion of scholars tends to make me avoid that side like I do most plagues. After all, I am training to be a scholar---being told that I have the morals of a zombified pig bent on destorying the world does not endear me to the opinions of the people who label me such.
Ok, in all fairness, they have not stated it in such a manner, but that is the way that I emotionally react to their opinions of scholars.
And that is the biggest problem with the labeling that is going on, people react to the labels emotionally. Because of that, large sections of the Golden Dawn community refuse to talk to other sections of the community.
(Ok, there are other reasons for the lack of communications---a laundry list of reasons. But the labelling is not helping any of us deal with the problems on the laundry list.)
It feels like the beginnings of the witch wars all again.
For those of who missed that little bit of unpleasantness, the core of the battle was the statement, "I am a real witch (Wiccan or whatever term they prefered), and So-and-so is not a real witch."
Compare it with the statement (well hidden in the process of labelling), "I am a member of the real Golden Dawn, and So-and-so and all with their (insert label) tendencies is not."
Do you see why I am worried?
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