“Mors Ianua Vitae”

I first heard of the name R A Gilbert (1942 – 2026) in the context of The Golden Dawn Companion: the Rise and Fall of a Magical Order, of which he was the author. This is the definitive history of the scandals which engulfed the original order – as well as a candid examination of how it all got started in the first place, together with biographical sketches of the principal personalities of the order. It was mainly through this book, and several others, that Gilbert established his reputation during his lifetime as the foremost Historian of the Golden Dawn.

I therefore found it supremely ironic, that whenever Gilbert was asked to state his opinion of the Golden Dawn, he always proclaimed that he positively hated it. He was deeply suspicious of anything which tended towards what he considered black magick – or in other words, most of what the Golden Dawn practiced – and mightily glad that the original order closed down! I therefore regarded his wanting to be known as a Historian he didn’t actually like and of which he spoke publicly only in the most curmudgeonly of terms as a deeply cynical move on his part.

That was – until I learnt the truth about Gilbert, and the secret life he led, the full extent of which has never heretofore been publicly revealed, to wit:

Bob Gilbert had been secretly helping several modern Golden Dawn orders all this time from behind the scenes all the time. In other words, the modern Golden Dawn is flourishing due to the direct influence of Gilbert!

During the GD Flame Wars of the early 2000s, Gilbert publicly admitted to lending original GD material in his possession to both Chic Cicero and Pat Zalewski, as examples of people who were deliberately trying to run authentic GD orders – this despite the fact that Gilbert distanced himself from the Order, although he later claimed to have been offered honorary memberships in several different orders.

It later transpired that despite his public persona, in private Gilbert often directed willing enquirers to the Golden Dawn. Then, some time ago, the most remarkable thing of which I am personally aware occurred:

A Freemason of my acquaintance found himself facing disciplinary proceedings from UGLE because he was accused of being a member of the Golden Dawn! Strings were pulled, and the head of his GD order procured a written statement from an authoritative source which stated why membership of the Golden Dawn was compatible with Freemasonry after all. It was written by Bob Gilbert.

I happened to see what Gilbert had written, and it struck me as the most beautiful defence of the Golden Dawn system I had ever seen. It was superb: an eloquent piece cleverly asserting the purity of the Golden Dawn’s intentions, and the fact that a Freemason could validly sit in a Golden Dawn temple without breaking any obligations.

My masonic acquaintance forwarded Gilbert’s piece to the United Grand Lodge of England – they dropped all reference to the Golden Dawn in their accusations against him (he was still expelled from UGLE for other reasons). The Golden Dawn had been effectively vindicated thanks to Gilbert’s efforts.

It occurred to me that this was the real reason why Gilbert appeared to remain aloof from the GD in public. It was precisely because he was independent, that he could rely on his credentials as a senior Freemason and a Historian in the service of the Golden Dawn without any criticism of partiality.

The Golden Dawn, and members of the GD who are Freemasons in particular, therefore owes Gilbert a debt of gratitude. I just hope that others will rise to fill his place – so that the Golden Dawn will continue to be protected in secret.