Apotheosis

Esoteric Orders: A Survival Guide
          Section I: How To Find An Esoteric Order

Last Chapter: Making First Contact

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In the last article, I said to not blame the spiritual Path for the followers treading upon it. However, because we are dealing with esoteric Orders here, there is one stark exception to that rule, and that is in the case of the spiritual leaders of those Orders. In a very real sense, the Chief is the heart through which the life blood of an Order flows. Each tradition has its own egregore, and every Chief puts his imprint on that egregore, which gives his Order its own distinct tincture.

You may just dipping your toe in the vast oceans of various and sundry traditions right now, but in actuality, you are setting in motion the first step of the rest of your spiritual life. With all the Orders and covens and circles out there to choose from, you might feel like you’re walking through an esoteric job fair. What you really need to be thinking about, however, is finding the right launchpad for your magical career. In short, you should be in this for the long haul.

If that is indeed the case, then you need to be thinking about the various stages of your magical life as well. The word “neophyte” comes from the Greek for “newly planted”, and you haven’t even buried your seed in the ground yet. Right now, your needs as a spiritual sapling are to be first and foremost. Yet, you must consider what you want your esoteric realm to be and look like when you are the mightiest oak in the grove.

This is why observing the Chiefs of a magical Order is so important, even before you begin to think about joining it. If you get a good mentor, act as a good student, and move up the ladder over a period of years, you will indubitably end up working with a Chief of the Order. You may have had the best mentor on the planet for years, but then find out that his beatitude doubled as a mask in enabling a toxic spiritual leader. It is far better to find that out now than to invest several years walking down a path that you will have to abandon out of sheer necessity.

The challenge comes in, however, at attempting to actually check these Chiefs out. Order leaders are going to be busy with their own students and mentoring their mentors, not to mention the day to day drudgery of their own administrivia. You might see a ping on Facebook here, a blip on a blog there. However, if the Order you are inspecting has a Chief who presents a conspicuous public presence, that is both a warning and an opportunity. For one thing, it begs the question why the leader of a secret society would flaunt himself in public in the first place. More importantly, it allows you to scrutinize, at very least, how he chooses to present himself to the vast, uninitiated masses.

Now, when newcomers to the esoteric community first gaze upon the principal of a magical Order, they envision an idealized notion of an accomplished, equilibrated, serene, even beatific magical master who is engaged in perpetual gnosis and communication with his Holy Guardian Angel. I will be the first to admit that there are spiritual leaders out there that experience brief flashes of such apotheosis. That said, it is critical to remember and comprehend that spiritual leaders are human beings and must be scrutinized as human beings first and foremost.

Everything that was said about investigating fly-by-night mentors should go tenfold for examining Order Chiefs. Such people are assuming the position of the highest in their Orders, over and above their Adepti and mentors, with lofty titles (and likely over-inflated egos) to match. If they are going to stand on such a pedestal and claim a level above, then they should be held to that much of a higher standard.

These Chiefs may likely have social profiles for their own personal benefit, but you will know they are overtly displaying a public presence if they just so happen to have set up a blog devoted to their tradition and Order. For your reckoning, analyze such a presence as a bit of a hybrid of a social profile and the home page for a website.

That being the criteria, the most cursory examination should reveal the true purpose of the blog. If it is primarily for the dissemination of information on the tradition, read on! You might learn something. If the language has its origin in marketing, then you will have learned one important thing. It is meant to draw you in solely as a recruiting tool. Lastly, if the content is primarily lengthy, exhausting diatribes about other people, Orders or traditions, then it is a home for gossip at best, propaganda at worst. Again, “great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people”.

Some of the worst offenses involve the disparaging of other significant groups or prominent people in their tradition. For example, if a High Priestess of a large coven starts publicly denouncing other groves and circles as “McWiccans”, she is probably not a person whom you would wish to emulate, much less follow. Some Order leaders go so far as to ridicule others by giving them belittling sobriquets and portray them with images of cartoon characters. It seems absurd that the bar should be set so low for spiritual leaders when it comes to basic maturity levels. Then again, if a so-called Chief cannot help himself but to trip over that particular hurdle, you know you’re dealing with an inimitable fraud.

Also beware those who, from time to time, decide to air other peoples’ dirty laundry out in public. This happens mostly in the context of ex-members who left the Order on less-than-friendly terms, or outright schismed en masse. Esoteric Orders are supposed to keep their internal proceedings private. For some reason, however, that principle has a tendency to fly out the window once such a Chief becomes displeased. Some alleged spiritual leaders can’t even muster enough grace to write a requiem for an ex-member who has passed through the Veil without kicking him in the grave. In the end, you may never know which side is right, but you can rest assured that, in such an Order, the dirty laundry that gets hung out to dry may very well be your own someday.

There is so much to cover in this particular area, but one more critically fundamental point needs to be made. If a Chief starts publicly announcing haughty and fanciful claims, such as being guided by the invisible hands of discarnate entities or being the reincarnation of some preeminent magus, do everything in your power to discern whether or not this person is delusional. That is not to say that any and all of these things are impossible. It is saying that such preposterous declarations have been made way too often for all of them to be valid!

Although you may find yourself disappointed by the behaviors of certain spiritual leaders after this phase, try not to abandon the tradition now. Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” All heads of spiritual organizations possess power, but not all of them handle it responsibly, with temperance, wisdom and rectitude. Such esoteric leaders are best avoided, as they are a danger, not only to those around them, but to themselves as well.

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Next Chapter:  The Claims to Fame

For certain, the wordplay on the title of this blog post is meant to show that there has been no lack of controversy, nor hyperbole, when it comes to talking about the mysterious, magical Secret Chiefs who "live in the Light of their Perfect Justice", and who "journey as upon the Winds...strike where no man strikes...and slay where no man slays"!

In fact, in 1896, S.L. MacGregor Mathers said the following about his personal connection with the Secret Chiefs:

"Concerning the Secret Chiefs of the Order, to whom I make reference and from whom I have received the Wisdom of the Second Order which I have communicated to you, I can tell you nothing.

I do not even know them by their earthly names.

I know them only by certain secret mottoes.

I have but very rarely seen them in the physical body; and on such rare occasions the rendezvous was made astrally by them at the time and place which had been astrally appointed beforehand.

For my part I believe them to be human and living upon this earth; but possessing terrible superhuman powers…

The strain of such labour has been, as you can conceive, enormous...the nerve prostration after each reception being terrible from the strain of testing the correctness of every passage thus communicated; the nerve prostration alluded to being at times accompanied by profuse cold perspirations, and by severe loss of blood from the nose, mouth, and occasionally the ears."

Such claims seem to be too fantastical to be believed, yet there are Golden Dawn Orders in existence today who claim to have this connection with these Secret Chiefs.  So what exactly is to be believed?

As like everything in the Golden Dawn, a Middle Pillar approach of sober moderation is best.  Such claims should not be dismissed out of hand, nor should they be taken on blind faith.  Furthermore, we are taught to test every entity we encounter, by signs, symbols, names and letters.  If there are beings, human or otherwise, which claim to be Secret Chiefs, then they should be able to hold up to the same scrutiny, if not more so.  It is abundantly clear that Mathers conveniently forgot his own advice and did not do his due diligence when it came to Mr. Theo and Madame Horos in 1901.

But that is all history.  What is relevant right here and now is, have the Chiefs of current Golden Dawn Orders making their claims done their due diligence?  The only real way to answer that question is to do our own in the face of those claims.

At risk of sounding pedantic, there are two fundamental claims regarding the authenticity of Secret Chiefs.  One, that they are "Chiefs".  The other, that they are "Secret".

Regardless of modern cultural mindsets, secrecy has always been an important part of the Golden Dawn Tradition.  It is a fundamental exercise of self-restraint, more especially of the ego and, in my opinion, is even more important in today's instant gratification society.  So if the Secret Chiefs, who have remained private for centuries, suddenly decide to make themselves revealed to the public, what does that mean?  Are they simply coming forth into modern times?  The Rosicrucians actually had a process for that.  They called it a Reformation.  And if the Secret Chiefs decided to come out now, they are either 13 years too late or 99 years too early.  Besides, what do you call Secret Chiefs who have "outed themselves"?  The Chiefs-who-until-recently-were-Secret?  Do they say ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-p'tang-whoop-boing?  And do we need to offer them a shrubbery?  Please pardon my sudden departure to snarky humor, but I hope you get my point.  If Secret Chiefs are no longer secret, then they are...well...something else, aren't they?

Regarding the claim to the Chiefly title, a member of the Third Order is going to be at very least a Magister Templi, or Master of the Temple.  S/he should have mastered the magical system of which s/he is a Chief.  S/he should have forgotten more about the First Order than you have learned, be able to give insight into the magical system that you could not have imagined, and continue to build on that tradition without abandoning its fundamentals.

So what is to be thought about Secret Chiefs who are disseminating a new ooh shiny type of magic for the not-so-new millenium?  Why would the guardians of a centuries-old magical tradition seemingly start from scratch and throw the magickal childe out with the bathwater?  Should not a Secret Chief be able to adapt to new information while keeping the tradition intact?  Nihil Sub Sole Novum.  Furthermore, if such a new magic is so special, so insightful, so powerful, then why would the Secret Chiefs make it public at their first opportunity and not keep it instead for their initiates?  Knowledge is power, and with power comes responsibility.  One should expect Secret Chiefs to be wise as well as knowledgeable, and if the knowledge they intentionally share is then purposefully abused by its recipients, is that the kind of poor judgment to be expected from Secret Chiefs?

Lastly, if Golden Dawn Adepts strive to be more than human, then I would hope that the Secret Chiefs would have reached that goal.  But being more than human is more than just about power.  If the Secret Chiefs possess superhuman power as Mathers had claimed, then I certainly would hope that they would possess superhuman virtue as well.  So when these Secret Chiefs hand down this arcane yet freshly modern occult knowledge, what is its effect on the world?  Does it make better people?  Does it further the Great Work?  Also, take a close look at the emissaries of the Secret Chiefs.  Are their teachings helping their ambassadors become wiser, more serene, more temperate, more humble, more virtuous?

Simply put, "by their fruits, you will know them."