Apotheosis

Today, I was very honored to be interviewed by Edward Reib and Joe Shantz for the Esoterinerd Podcast!   It was a real blast, and it was wonderful to reconnect with them after so many years. We were able to traverse our collective experiences, contrast with what we've been doing recently (in some of my writings) and even discuss some short but salient points in our magical practices as well.

I, for one, will be flying my Esoterinerd flag high for a long time to come.  Take a listen and I sincerely hope you enjoy!

http://edward-reib.com/vhfraterbt/Episode-55.html

For those not already in the know, an urgent appeal was made for healing just a couple days ago.  Donald Michael Kraig, a well renowned and respected author in the esoteric community was recently diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Don is best known for his book Modern Magick, first published in 1988.  Since then, it has gone through a couple evolutions, including a second edition having been published in 2001 and a twelfth lesson later added to the book in 2010.  His very approachable writing style made this a best seller and the premier "Magick 101" book of the time.  Many readers first cut their magical teeth on this book, including yours truly.  We are all affectionately referred to as "Don's Kids".

Nick Farrell has written a ritual and set up an event in Facebook to coordinate healing efforts for Don.  For those who do not have quite as much time, a simple Rose Cross Ritual can be used to send healing light as well.

Please join in this endeavor.  Don has changed many lives for the better.  Let's return the favor.



UPDATE:  The effort to "Heal Don Kraig" has now become a Facebook group.  

UPDATE 2:  Tabatha Cicero has posted a Rite of Healing on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn blog.

UPDATE 3:  Don is home from the hospital!

About six months ago, the Golden Dawn community had come together like never before and published a significant treatise on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls.  One of the major contributors and collaborators on that project was well-renowned author Aaron Leitch.

I've known Aaron for nearly ten years now, and we've gotten into some really fascinating discussions about Golden Dawn magic, particularly of the Enochian persuasion.  When I saw him last, about a month ago, he was wearing a patch on his glasses, but the patch was covering his good eye.  A cataract was growing over its field of vision and would soon completely cover it.  Since he was already legally blind in his other eye, this meant he was slowly, but inevitably, going functionally blind.  Saving his eyesight would require surgery.

Understand that Aaron, like almost all those who write on matters esoteric, does not make a living as an author.  We writers of the arcane are motivated by our love of the subject matter and the hope that we can shine the Lamp of Knowledge for a wayward soul.  That said, the harsh reality is, the profit margin and the sales volume are simply not there.  So Aaron, only able to afford high deductible health care through his employer, would have to pay $5,000 that he simply did not have.

Losing Aaron as an author would be a significant blow to the greater esoteric community.  His writings on grimoiric, Solomonic and Enochian/Angelical Magic have shined a great light in these lesser known and understood areas.  His online correspondences have also provided much guidance for esoteric cyber-seekers around the world.  Also, for me, the idea that he would never see his lady or his daughter again with his own two eyes was practically unbearable.

My first thought was to look to my Freemasonic brethren and call upon the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.  Masonry has been known for ages to help those in need, and the Foundation's original mission was "to provide assistance to those who face loss of sight due to the need for surgical treatment without regard to race, color, creed, age, sex or national origin provided they are unable to pay or receive adequate assistance from current government agencies or similar sources and to provide funds for research in curing diseases of the eye."  However, it seems as if their mission has changed:

"On December 31, 2010, the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc., by direction of the board, ceased participating in direct patient care...The new mission statement of the Foundation is "to improve vision through research, education, and supporting access to care."

Oh, Freemasonry.  I heart you so hard, but at nearly every turn, you find new and ingenious ways to disappoint me.

So the New Year came and went, and then this happened.  A YouCaring fundraiser was set up with the goal of raising $5,500 to cover Aaron's medical costs and other small associated miscellany.  The esoteric community responded in a manner simply not imagined.  The monetary goal was reached within 48 hours.  In fact, the fundraiser was deactivated because they had reached a total of $7,400 donated by 200 contributors.  Aaron has already posted his reaction to his blog.

For those wondering, the extra money raised will be donated to the Himalayan Cataract Project.  As the fundraiser is now deactivated, those who would still like to make a donation may do so at the Project's donation page in Aaron's honor.

I find it amazing how quickly and powerfully the esoteric community came together to help one of its own.  Sadly, the richest nation on the planet seems to think it's acceptable to allow a productive member of its society to lose his eyesight simply for being guilty of the crime of not having enough money.  This fundraiser was a great light, but the simple fact that it had to be done indicates a darkness in the heart of the nation.  Medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcies in America, and such a thing should be anathema in the eyes of a Rosicrucian, who professes nothing but to cure the sick, and that gratis.

If you feel the need to further contribute to an organization who supports a similar philosophy, then the Physicians for a National Health Program may appeal to you.  Although single-payer health care his its share of problems, it's a step in a better direction and indubitably more moral than letting human beings fall through the cracks. 

Now that the financial obstacle has been removed, thanks to the kindness and generosity of so many, I wish Aaron a very safe and effective surgery, and also a very speedy recovery.  I'll be checking up on him, so he'd better have his new eyes peeled!

I can remember a time, back about a decade or so ago, when the most recent "Golden Dawn Wars" started.  A person couldn't go anywhere in the online arena, whether it be alt.magick, or the Golden Dawn Yahoo Groups (most especially the Golden Dawn Meeting Place), or the Order-based fora offered up, without witnessing bickering and infighting as far as the eye could see.  Arguments about lineage and legitimacy, who were the REAL heirs of the Golden Dawn legacy, were the most popular.  Then the juiciest gossip about misconduct or malfeasance by certain Order Chiefs would come out, to the audience's relish.  All this did a lot of damage to the Golden Dawn community, and more especially its reputation, to any esoterically-minded person who heard about the mudslinging.

Yet in the midst of these various and sundry skirmishes, there would be a rare, occasional post which would basically say, for each person mired in those battles, there were many others simply doing the Work in silence.

This book is proof of that declaration

The Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls is the culmination of an idea over ten years in the making.  Twenty-seven authors from fourteen different Orders and organizations and one selfless publisher, with a singular vision and love for the Golden Dawn System of Magic, were able to set aside any political differences and complete a very well-written work in peace.

As you read through the various commentaries, you will notice that the authors come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and experiences, and I'm sure some of them will flat out disagree with some others' commentaries.  (I know I do.)  I do not see this, however, as a dilution nor a dispersion of the original Golden Dawn egregore.  Rather, I see it instead as a rich diversity, in which differing viewpoints can be shared and synthesized, or if not, practitioners have simply agreed to disagree like mature adults.  When all is said and done, we are all much more alike than we are different, and that is just one of the many reasons why this book's author is listed as the Golden Dawn Community.

Having been both a participant of the online kerfuffles and a contributor to this book, I guess you can say I have been both part of the problem and part of the solution.  Ten plus years, though, is plenty of time to learn a lot of lessons.  The main thing I have learned is that those voices that speak the loudest or most prolifically rarely come from either knowledge or wisdom.  Far better to listen to those who speak softly and sparingly, most especially the still, small voice of the Divine Spark within.

So much attention has been given to the 30th anniversary of the Consecration of the Vault of the Adepti by Israel Regardie, that another important milestone almost slipped under the radar.  This Summer Solstice marks the 5th anniversary of the publication of Hermetic Virtues magazine.  Vic Sabljic, a tireless and devoted servant of the Great Work, has bestowed a great service to the Western Mystery Tradition.  Furthermore, the list of authors who have written for Hermetic Virtues is a veritable "Who's Who" in the esoteric community.  From many different walks of life and many different traditions, Hermetic Virtues has also served to bring the community together in a greater sense of sharing and harmony.  For all of this, Vic and his Hermetic Virtues team deserves significant accolades.

This edition of Hermetic Virtues also marks my debut as a published author.  The article, Change Your Motto, Change Your Destiny, discusses the concept and history of changing one's name, the various reasons to do so, and provides a deeply meaningful ritual in order to effect such a significant change in one's own magical life.

Here is a small excerpt from the article:

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Abram was promised to be made a great nation by God, but his wife Sarai was barren. Jacob was a cunning lad who undermined his brother and was sent away. Simon was a simple fisherman, Saul a persecutor of Christians. Aside from all being prominent figures in the Bible, what did all these people have in common? They all experienced a life-changing event, after which they took on a new name.

The custom known as Shinui ha-Shem is exercised in the cases in which a person needs to acknowledge life-changing events, change one’s path of misfortune, or even as a last-ditch attempt to save a person’s life from critical illness and imminent death. The foundational premise of this is, if you change your name, you change your fate.

As a ceremonial magician, our first charge is to create for ourselves a magical motto. It is not supposed to be a title or categorization as such, but a conscious definition and crystallization of our intent and aim in our magical lives. It is our first application of Will, the first thing we truly magically create and, in that sense, it is a self-initiation in its own right. This is the magical rendition of Shinui ha-Shem.

However, the magical life is not all roses and rainbows. We endure trials and tribulations, we come to crossroads and, sometimes, we even get lost along the way. As the Hiereus reminds us, “every obstacle can at length be conquered by perseverance”, and when the dawn of a new day breaks, we arise not the same.  As the Angel beseeched Jacob, “Let me go, for the day breaks”, just before giving him a new name, it is such times in our own magical lives that may be opportunities to change our mottos. After all, if changing one’s mundane name changes one’s fate, then changing one’s magical motto changes one’s destiny.

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Be sure to go over to the Hermetic Virtues website and get your copy of the Summer Solstice 2012 edition today.  Personally, my favorite article is Two Thrones for the Golden Dawn by Aaron Leitch, with Enochian Magic in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Dean F. Wilson a close second.  It's a very good edition and you won't regret getting a copy for yourself.