Why I Wrote an Essay Criticizing Homophobia

If you are a regular reader of my writings, you are probably aware that an essay of mine was recently published on the Falcon Books Publishing website. This essay, which criticizes homophobia, was shared by Tanya Robinson, the founder of Falcon Books Publishing, on several Facebook groups. From what I’ve been told, it seems like it caused a bit of a stir. As of now, I myself am not active on Facebook and was unable to see firsthand the reaction my essay evoked. However, Tanya was kind enough to summarize for me the most common remarks people made in their comments. 

I think this discussion about homophobia is an important one to have, and in an ideal world I would have enough time on my hands to address each of the remarks, varied as they are. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world and my time is very limited. That said, there is one particular remark I just had to respond to, simply because I find it extremely odd. According to some people, it was pointless for me to write an essay criticizing homophobia because homophobia is not a major issue in the Bardon community. I do not agree with this. Based on my experiences interacting with students of the Bardon system on various forums, it is true that homophobia is not a major issue in the Bardon community, and in a sense I think this is to be expected. Homophobic people aren’t the sort of people you’d expect to be attracted to a system like Bardon’s. However, does the fact that homophobia isn’t a major issue in the Bardon community mean it is pointless for a Bardon-trained magician to write an essay criticizing homophobia? No. It is not pointless, and I want to make it very clear why it is not pointless.  

Let me begin by explaining that during my years of exploring spirituality, there were three teachers who had an exceptionally large impact on me: Franz Bardon, William Mistele, and Daskalos (Stylianos Atteshlis). Daskalos disliked nationalism and often spoke out against it. When you are under the influence of nationalism, you forget that the entire human race is one family. You only care about the nation you identify as being part of, and you are even willing to hurt other nations if it helps your nation, or to ignore the suffering of other nations because other nations are not your nation. Although the Bardon community is not a “nation” per se, a similar phenomenon can occur with any community.

Since I mostly keep to myself these days, in my mind I don’t really identify as a member of the Bardon community at the moment, and therefore am not concerned specifically with whether or not there is homophobia in the Bardon community. I do identify as a member of the human race though, so I am concerned with whether or not there is homophobia in the world. You can debate all day whether or not there is homophobia in the Bardon community, but it is undeniable that there is homophobia in the world. Therefore, as a practicing magician of the Franz Bardon tradition, homophobia is an issue I am concerned about. 

In his commentary on IIH, William Mistele suggests making Bardon’s first book into a lifelong friend. This means studying it regularly. If you are a student of Bardon’s system, I encourage you to take this advice. For one thing, many of the questions people have about my essay on homophobia can be answered by reading IIH. In the physical section of Step 9, Bardon writes that “it is a wonderful and sacred responsibility to be of service to suffering humankind with one’s powers.” He does not write that “it is a wonderful and sacred responsibility to be of service to the Bardon community with one’s powers.” There are many homosexual people out there who are suffering because of hate crimes committed by homophobic people. Should we ignore the suffering of those homosexual people simply because they are not part of the Bardon community? I frequently get messages from students talking about how they are frustrated because they are still beginners and therefore don’t have any magical powers they can use to help others. You have the power to use your voice for good. Why aren’t you using that? You don’t have to wait until you have magical powers to begin helping others. Use the powers you already have. In the epilogue of IIH, Bardon urges us to follow Jesus’s advice to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” I think someone with real love would not sit around all day complaining that he can’t use magical powers to help others because he doesn’t have any. Someone with real love would use the powers he already has to help others. You have the power to speak out against hatred and bigotry. You have the power to make a blog and write blog posts criticizing hatred and bigotry. Why not do so? 

So, why did I write an essay criticizing homophobia? It is because I am a magician working in the Franz Bardon tradition, and I was just doing what the teachings of this tradition have guided me to do. Bardon encouraged students to help suffering humankind, and to act out of love for our neighbors. It is not just people in the Bardon community who are our neighbors. All people are our neighbors. 

Remember that the Franz Bardon tradition does not just encompass the teachings of Franz Bardon. It also encompasses the teachings of all Bardon-trained magicians; which is to say, all of those who have truly worked through IIH. In his essay “Problems in the Study of Magic: Part V,” William Mistele discusses the electric and magnetic fluids. According to William, each of these fluids has a question to ask those who want to use magic to achieve a goal. The electric fluid’s question is discussed in the following passage. 

The question the electrical fluid will ask you in terms of your faith and conviction is “Are you willing to work without using magic to attain what you want if we set a clear path before you?”  You want money? Are you willing to work for it?  Here is a job.  Do you want love?  Are you willing to first give the love you want to others?  You want to succeed in life?  Are you willing to prepare yourself so that you will be ready to seize the opportunity when it comes to you?  The electrical likes to check up on just how much you really want what you are asking for. 

There are several ruling genii in the Earth-zone and in the Sphere of Mercury I work with to create love in the world, and to dissolve hatred and bigotry. Although I am happy to interact with these spirits and to employ the magical techniques they teach me, I must also use non-magical methods as well, and that includes speaking out against forms of bigotry like homophobia via my writings. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to answer the electric fluid’s question in the affirmative; I wouldn’t have the support of one of the two poles ensuring the balance of the universe. 

Many people try to get into magic without really knowing what it is. Magic is not practicing occult exercises because you are bored, or reading spiritual books because you want to show off your knowledge, or engaging in online discussions about occult subjects with internet strangers because you are lonely, or trying to evoke spirits because you are curious to see what will happen. Magic is rolling your sleeves up and working hard to make the world a better place. In Kabbalah, they do not teach you to remove yourself from Malkuth and reside only in Tiphereth. They teach you to bring Malkuth and Tiphereth together. Tiphereth is the sephirah of compassionate love. When you advocate for compassion and speak out against hatred and bigotry, you are bringing Malkuth and Tiphereth together. This symbolism is very important in magic. One need not study Kabbalah to become a magician, but one must be committed to the purposes of love. Magic is divine, and as John the Apostle tells us, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8). 

Hard work, and therefore magic, requires that you get your hands dirty sometimes. Many of those who consider themselves magicians can talk a big game on social media but fall short when it comes to actually doing the work. Speaking for myself, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty working to make the world a better place. Bardon was adamant that love is an essential part of magic. I may have many faults, but laziness is not one of them. I’m willing to work hard to prove to myself and to God that love is not a cliché I only give lip service to, but a principle I value highly enough to act upon. I’ll continue to work with the spirits listed in PME to dissolve hatred and bigotry in the world, and I’ll continue to write essays criticizing hatred and bigotry. This is the work Divine Providence has called me to do, and if I didn’t do it, I would have no right to consider myself a magician. 

Magical training begins in Malkuth, which is the world. No matter how many spheres you visit, you must always return to Malkuth, because this is where our work is. I did not write my essay “Against Homophobia” to deal with homophobia in the Bardon community. I wrote that essay to encourage students to help deal with homophobia in the world. This is why I found it odd that some people would remark that homophobia is not an issue in the Bardon community, as if this were a reason not to speak out against homophobia in the world. If you are a member of the Bardon community, I urge you to remember that the world is bigger than the Bardon community. It is incorrect to think that homophobia is not an issue in the world just because it is not an issue in the Bardon community. 

William Mistele often writes about issues in the world like wars, political corruption, and irresponsible use of nuclear technology. Those are some of the issues he has chosen to address, just as homophobia is one of the issues I have chosen to address. A lot of people think that magicians do magic, but this is not necessarily true. Magicians do whatever they are called by Divine Providence to do. Sometimes that is magic. Sometimes that is something else, like writing. Not every magician is called to write, but some are. William is one of those magicians who is called to write. I am too. At the end of the day, no magician who is called to write can address all of the issues in the world, since there are far too many of them. However, each of us can address at least some the issues, and we will continue to do so until we are called to do otherwise.