A New Blog You Should Follow
I have had the honor and privilege of knowing Chick and Sandra Tabatha Cicero for many years.
The Ciceros
They refer to themselves as “Senior Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,” which is sort of like Johnny Depp calling himself just a guitar player (he does play guitar, but that’s not his major contribution by far). Indeed, Chic and Sandra have introduced more people to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the system of that group with their many books and international workshops than perhaps anyone since Israel Regardie.
Just some of their books include The Essential Golden Dawn, and Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition.
Their work edifying, clarifying and enhancing some of Israel Regardie’s books, The Tree of Life, The Middle Pillar, and A Garden of Pomegranates has been nothing short of amazing. And I’m very grateful for the foreword they contributed to my own Modern Magick.
For years, the Ciceros have been traveling the world receiving accolades for their writing and workshops. While others have been creating their own versions of the Golden Dawn and loudly proclaiming that their’s is the best, first, most legitimate, or whatever, the Ciceros have been quietly supporting the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, instituting temples all over the world.
Beside being such an important part of the Golden Dawn, Chic also became and important member of the Freemasons. He rose within the Masons to hold some of their highest honors and positions and has articles printed in official Masonic publications. In fact, I would say that Chic Cicero is one of the most respected members of fraternal and occult orders in the world.
And that leaves Sandra. When giving workshops, and in her personal life, she has always been astoundingly supportive of Chic. But like Moina Mathers, wife of Golden Dawn founder MacGregor Mathers, Sandra is no second fiddle! She has been highly active in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and, like Moina, is also an excellent artist with an acute focus on color. She created the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot, which, in my opinion, is currently the most accurate Golden Dawn Tarot deck available.
She also created the Babylonian Tarot which is a must for anyone interested in that culture. And, of course, she has created artwork for many of the books she wrote with Chic.
But she’s doing even more. After years of work she has become the head of another spiritual tradition. She is the Supreme Magus of the Societas Rosicruciana in America.
And there’s more. Sandra has recently started a blog. Although it’s new, her comments on Westcott’s personal Enochian Tablets and why the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn is associated with Osiris are original and well-researched, an important contribution to people studying the Golden Dawn.
Sandra’s blog is at http://order-of-the-golden-dawn.blogspot.com/ and I would encourage you to bookmark it and read it. I think great things will be coming from the Ciceros in the future, and that’s good for the Golden Dawn and all people interested in magick, occultism, and spirituality.
I have indeed added this blog to my google reader and “follow” it, thanks! I was wondering how you felt about this blog: http://hermetic-golden-dawn.blogspot.com – if you have insights one way or another. Thank you for your time Donald Michael! 🙂
Although I may comment on particular remarks found in blogs from time to time, I would rather focus on specific comments rather than on any particular blog per se. I may agree with some comments on a blog and disagree with others, so going by individual post rather than by blog is more useful.
In general, I think that the more information people have, the more they can make up their minds about what they want to become involved with. Therefore, I would encourage people to read many blogs and come to their own conclusions as to which blogs—and which spiritual and magickal paths—they want to follow.
The information revealed in blogs includes both objective data such as magickal information, and subjective data based on the attitudes expressed by the blogger and the reader’s emotional responses to those attitudes.
When it comes to magickal groups—both ceremonial and Pagan—this personal, subjective data—what you think of the blogger and the group(s) he or she represents—is more important than many people realize. In the past, people were invited to social gatherings where Golden Dawn members, who were not known as such to potential members, could interact with the potential members and see how they get along. They would use this as one factor to determine if a person could, or should, become a member. Similarly, covens would work with a person for (traditionally) a year and a day before that person could become an actual member. During that time both the coven and potential member could determine whether that potential member was a good fit for the coven. Not everyone who completed that period would be invited to join.
So I would urge people to look at many different blogs, especially when considering the bloggers and the groups they represent. Are they presenting magickal information? Would you want to work with the blogger magickally? Would you want to be a friend of the blogger? If you had what you felt was a valid critique of what the blogger was presenting, would the blogger respond in a reasonable way to the critique, responding to your concern with information and logic, or would he or she attack you personally?
Today, many bloggers simply try to get out their points of view without realizing the underlying impression that their approach presents, something linguists refer to as the “ur-text” and which has the opposite effect of what the blogger intends. (For details see the book Meta-Talk by Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero.) For example, when a person says, “I’m not a bigot, but…” the use of the term “but” negates everything that came before. The initial clause allows a person to rationalize something they don’t like about themselves or don’t think the listener will like. To use medical terms, some blogs cure the patient (prove their point) but the patient died any way (they turn people off to their organization, tradition, or path).
So without picking on any particular blog, I would suggest seekers look at as many blogs as possible—including this one, of course—both for the literal content and the ur-text. Sometimes you may like both aspects. Sometimes you may like only one aspect. I would also suggest that bloggers look at the ur-text of their posts. If your goal is to support your path, are you making your path look interesting and inviting or are you anger-filled and a turn off?
I hope this response will make bloggers and seekers a bit more aware of the underlying impact of blogging and communication theory.