Status

Can a student rise to a higher grade?

Rogues in the market-place try to whip up interest among potential customers by offering a few "stupendous bargains". They place a few stooges amongst the crowd and these guys put their hands up, wave their money about and pretend to snap up the hot deals. This is meant to encourage the folk who are hesitating to get on the bandwagon and join in the rush. Well, it is a bit like that among certain kinds of Occultists. They offer a dazzling array of degrees and titles, all with different robes and insignia .. rather like ranks in an army, actually. If you like that sort of thing, you are hooked. True Occultism does not concern itself with grades.

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Are Occult degrees invalid then?

Do French Poodles worry about the pom-poms that dog-breeders insist on giving them? Degrees satisfy some deep-seated need to be distinctive .. to stand out in a crowd .. to be a cut above ordinary. It is a love of privileged elitism. Occultists ought to pause and ask themselves a few questions like – is it at all possible that the gods would approve of arrangements that are best suited to a military academy? We must ask ourselves what purpose is served by grading knowledge in such a way that people win brownie points or collect coupons. The only items that are boosted are (a) an individual's vanity and his love of external symbols, and (b) the organization's hold over its members. In true Occultism, there are no such invidious distinctions, and everyone plays on a level field. What counts really is the quality of a person's soul.

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Are there no distinctions at all?

If there are, they are not based on the hierarchy that is found in the army, or in the militant church. In those organizations, ranks are used as a means of filtering power and controlling people's access to it. To get the ship moving, you need every galley-slave pulling on the oars in unison. But true Occultism seeks to liberate the slaves and show each how to use his power for his own benefit. It is just worth noting that where degrees exist, they are often linked to different membership fees! Most Occult orders are far from poor and one or two are controlled by a criminal element.

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How should a seeker's progress be marked?

There are only three divisions: - Students (or learners), Initiates (or skilled practitioners) and Masters (or teachers). None of these has any special privileges or prestige that derive from his rank. If a Master is held in any kind of special reverence, it is because of his personal qualities and not because of his rank.

Other titles are related to special callings, e.g., Healer, Spirit Caller, Diviner or Seer, and a person can spend years of study in developing appropriate skills. So no one can claim any special rights or privileges; they have to be conferred on him by the members of his community. As an individual proceeds along the path and arrives at this or that point along the journey, others give their witness to his achievement. They acknowledge his experience and accord him a particular status. This is then confirmed by the Beyond.

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Can special status be conferred magically?

When a student is "made up" into Initiate (i.e., when he is declared to be of initiate status by his Master) then a special ritual may be used (a) to work the change, and (b) to inform other people. Unless this was done, there might be confusion. But it is the link between the two planes of existence-this world, here and now and that world, there and then-which establishes the transfer of new knowledge and additional powers.

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Are there different levels of knowledge?

Not in any disagreeable way. Most doctors are better qualified than most nurses, and most nurses are better qualified than most Ward Assistants, and so on. But anyone can study for any of these roles. It is not a matter that deserves your concern at all. This is not something worth worrying about. When you are nothing, then you entertain vivid fantasies and ambitious dreams, but once you have made progress up the Mountain, your hopes change and you would aim for different targets. Some people, when they become Initiates, refuse to accept the powers to which they are now entitled. And some people decline to become Masters.

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How can I become an Initiate?

By showing the proper merit. You must make progress in every aspect of your studies: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and magical. Your level of commitment must be high. You should have no wrong motive for wanting to be an Initiate, but seek merely the licence to use your powers for the help of others. Therefore, you should have attracted the notice both of spirits and your Master.

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How is an Initiate installed?

At a ritual. You can ask for the ritual to be held if you have found Three Candles. These are male candidates that you have nursed to the point that they want to be students of the Master, without having met him. You have given them courage, confidence and instruction. You must also be certain that the Master will accept them! This shows the depth of your understanding. How sad it would be if the Master refused to go on with the ritual, or rejected one of your Candles. An Initiate is a qualified Occultist, and the Ritual is his final examination..

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Can an Initiate lose his status?

Celtic and Teutonic myths provide examples of this. Evil can enter into a person. He can abuse his power. He may fail his duties. There are many reasons why an individual can fall from favour and lose his powers, of course. Imagine how awful it would be if ex-students set themselves up as Masters! Now we are not the Mafia. Our authority does not come from tyranny.

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Can I be certain of getting there?

If you have kept your promise to obey your Master and your Master is genuine, then it is guaranteed that you will get there. There are many metaphors to describe this success: reaching Jerusalem, finding Xanadu, or getting to the top of the Sacred Mountain. Between now and then, do not forget to jettison all problems and fears, especially those you have possibly grown fond of!

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Will long service make me an Initiate then?

No more than someone learning to drive who has had a hundred lessons and is still refused a licence. The question is not about effort, but appropriate effort and flair. This is why you ought to be led by a Master. Your obedience should lead to Initiation in the end, but how long that takes will vary from man to man.

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Can you give an estimate?

That's difficult. But let us say: the same time it would take for you to recognize and install your true self. But this is just another way of saying that it depends on you and your level of personal commitment.

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Is a Master needed to become an Initiate?

Well, you would not expect a Lorry Driver to do it, would you? Only a Master can summon the Beyond and conjure them to recognize you. Only a Master can endow you with new powers. Only a Master can present you to the community and ask them to witness your new status. Only a Master can waive the matter of three candles and initiate you by his own mandate. But no one has become a student one day, and been initiated the next. The time lapse seems to vary between four and fourteen years, with a norm at nine years. (N.B. If he deems it appropriate, a Master may initiate someone and withhold higher powers.)

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In some groups you climb quickly.

That's because they have so many ranks that everyone can have two or three per year. It ought to put you on your guard and make you suspicious. If there is also a sliding tariff of fees or other hidden payments, then you might well wonder why. It does seem to be a handy way of milking the credulous for every penny they've got. But what possible value could there be as regards 'the Gods' or 'that world, there and then'?

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