Discussion: Gatekeeping Magick & Practices

Psychology and Philosophy in Magic
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The practice of gatekeeping is frowned upon by a lot of people–outsiders. It’s also a practice that has been around as long as people have had secrets, so probably around as long as humans have been around. Of course when applied to magick, gatekeeping took a little bit longer to take root but it’s still been around for an incredibly long time.

From schools that only accepted young men with outstanding academics, to high in the mountains retreats where everyone shared blood, and modern day orders, cults, and groups of friends, gatekeeping has always been practiced in the occult.

Yes, it can be very annoying when we’re trying to gain insight into something. But is gatekeeping itself an “evil,” practice, one that promotes class distinctions, a simple barrier between family and “other,” an attempt at keeping people from hard earned secrets, and/or something else entirely?

Yesterday someone asked me for something specific and I said I wasn’t planning on handing it out. I was called a gatekeeper. For not giving out a (type of/specific) rite this person demanded. I responded with the following,

Would you call keeping nana’s secret chocolate chip cookie recipe in the family gatekeeping?

This person could have looked online and found any number of rituals and/or ritual suggestions. This person chose to demand something from me I’ve put a lot of energy and effort into if we’re going to count my whole fucking magick background and everything I’ve done regarding this specific type of magick. I cannot imagine how not handing out personal rites is “gatekeeping.”

Doesn’t that word apply to entire practices? Entire groups of people who do not want to hand out their secrets and practices to the public, or any outsiders? Doesn’t that word imply I’ve either attained something absolutely amazing or that I run a damn cult/order/religion/etc.?

So…What is gatekeeping, what does it mean to you and what is your view on it?

(I find it pretty reasonable actually, though frustrating.)

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Im at work so I cant get to deep into this right now. But for all the gates I have keys to I worked my ass off to get them. Or did the exceptable steps to get the keys.

There are some things I suppose I am a gatekeeper on because some things i just dont want to share. Or I dont think the one asking is prepared for that knowledge.

If you want to keep your hard earned secrets a secret I dont see anything wrong with that.

And anyone who doesn’t like it can keep walking.

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A certain very wise medieval sage has said that the ancient sages hid the art of magick in their works, but this was not an evil thing, they did this because of their own good nature, saying that if the secrets of this art were revealed to all, the universe would be thrown into confusion. So, they made it so that only those predisposed to recieve the art are the ones who recieve it.

I have been contemplating this.

I myself do gatekeep. There are certain powerful things I do not reveal freely. I may be a little overzealous at times, like with keeping electional rules closely guarded, among other things.

If somehow it is grasped by destructive people it could very well be catastrophic (Although, while with normal curses the magician does not seem to face repurcussions, especially if it is for a just reason, it seems when it comes to this the spirits do not act so lightly). If it goes into the right hands, everything could prosper. Well, revealing it plainly and in an easy to understand manner could risk it being revealed to the wrong people.

So, I do not reveal some things. And I think gatekeeping is not necessarily bad because of what has been said here.

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I would’ve failed at this part. I’m intelligent, but question “nonsense”. I would’ve been gone. Maybe I was as some life time? That was then and not now, so I will choose to ignore it… Oh wait, I was raised by toxic feminists and I refused to accept I was a second class family member… I feel your male-only analogy, but from the other side. Both are ridiculous.

People (somehow) feel entitled to information they haven’t earned. My Pele stuff is 90% out there for all to consume, but you have to actually earn the respect for the full effect. You’re not going to bully Pele and her kin into it. They will hose your ass and let you hang yourself. And if it’s way the fuck out there, but the magician has some ability, any of them of the landspirits can come to me and I will…do what I do.

I can’t stand entitlement or gatekeepers. In fact, if was gatekeeping that led to Pele coming to me to get that grimoire started. I’m a Haole and that’s all I will ever be to most in Hawaii. But not to Pele or her kin. So, fuck the pretend gatekeepers. I won’t send Pele after you, I don’t need to and we have agreements, but I can access that energy without the deity/deities…

I actually went back-and-forth with Pele, Belial, and Abaddon, before I even agreed to grow it, because of racist gatekeepers. There are NO non-modern practices in this area, as there isn’t a written history. Some oral stuff, but that is cultural and I will not encroach upon that.

But, as several people here recently can attest, I don’t need their race-based approval to work with Deities that have chosen to work with me.

Or we can drop this here

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It wasn’t about “male only,” there are and have been groups that are “women only” as well. I like Greek stuff and they ran a cool smart boys only magick school back in the ancient times. I cherry picked a couple specific examples of gatekeeping and generalized them.

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Agreed. Wordsmithing isn’t my strong point, which is why my stuff is largely direct and mostly to-the-point.

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