UPDATE
I have done my best to contact everyone who expressed in interest in the creation of a new magical order. If you would like to take part in a debate on what form that order should take I am starting a tumblr group for that purpose. Unfortunately, in order to invite you to the group tumblr requires me to have your email. If you want to join please send your email via ask or fanmail expressing your interest.
Best of luck with all of your magical practices.
A clarification – I am interested in hearing from everybody, not just folks who live in the US/Ohio River Valley. Though ultimately, I am looking to form a real-world not virtual magical order.
A New Magical Order
Yesterday, I wrote a short post on the need to create a new magical order that wasn’t based on a particular faith. It seemed to generate some interest with responses like:
“Exactly what I needed to hear.”
“A tremendously large one (need), and once someone starts the snowball effect will do the rest.”
“I think the need for useless secrecy needs to stop. This is the age of open source, where you should be able to take other people’s code adapt it and make it work your way.”
The responses are pretty encouraging and despite trying and failing at creating magical groups through tumblr before, I am willing to give it another shot. Or at least start a discussion on what a new magical order could look like.
I am talking a physical, in person, initiatory order. In my original post I envisioned a group that had an Inner Order, something akin to the OTO, which functioned as the “social” arm of the order and the branch that performed physical initiations. And also an Outer Order that acted as a magical peer group. Something like the A.’.A.’. where the main purpose is reviewing each other’s work and developing courses of study.
Of course all of this would be open for debate and change. The only thing I know personally is that I would only be involved in the creation of such an order if it were founded on and maintained democratic principles. Not saying that leadership structures could not be created, only that ALL members would have a say in the direction and practices of the organization regardless of grade or rank.
For some interesting observations on the politics of magical orders – see this post by Phil Hine – http://www.philhine.org.uk/writings/gp_schism.html
So if I receive more than a couple of responses to this post, I’ll set up a tumblr group to facilitate the discussion. I’ll even go so far to say that if at least three people who live in the Ohio River Valley are willing to sit down with me face-to-face, we will officially get this party started. If folks want to start their own local nodes, that would be fucking awesome. Ideally, such an organization would be local, regional, national, and international.