Nate Cull
This interesting article on the Traditionalism, uh, tradition, brings to the surface something that's been bugging me recently in my reading around Theosophy:
Masonry, Theosophy and Traditionalism (who all variously were at war with each other at one time) all share one obsession which Spiritualism, Pentecostalism and the New Age don't: and that is a belief in 'unbroken chain of initiation'.
Nate Cull
Frankly I think this obsession with initiation leads to hierarchy, secrecy, and top-down controlling cult-like structures. It embeds in itself the belief in divinely appointed, often secret, leaders, and that just is a big wide open door for fascism and other authoritarian systems to walk right in. And they are.
And it also does not match what's actually going on with spooky stuff. You don't actually need an initiation. Paranormal stuff just... happens. The point is to notice it.
Nate Cull
Like look at any of the big major channellers or even psychic healers. The interesting ones, the ones who have something real going on, they usually did NOT get that interesting thing from a ritual or from being chosen by an organisation. Nope, they were usually just born with an ability, or else it just manifested one day.
There may be some things that can be passed on by direct contact between people. But secret orgs have less and less to do with that as time goes on.
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