True Inner Initiation and the Problem of the Internet

They say that Asetianism can cause heightened elitism and intolerance against certain situations and people. After finding this path some years ago, I am aligning more and more heavily with this mindset. Of course, it requires a great deal of caution, so as to balance that with reason, humility and awareness. 
A topic on my mind lately has been that of inner initiation. The true kind, like what is taught within the Book of Orion, and not some hollow iteration of it sparked by ego.  As life takes me on a journey, those lessons are coming up with multidimensional depth. Sometimes those elements are even shocking and disturbing in the way they fly off the page and come to life for the observer to make note of in real time.  I have noticed that many people in the whole "vampire culture scene" love to dismiss Asetianists whenever they become the slightest bit inconvenient, stating in a cursory and judgmental manner that those people only "read a book" and are "cultists". Yet, ironically enough, those same people love borrowing elements of Asetianism to form their own groups and organizations, while simultaneously discrediting the Asetians as the oldest of the immortals. 
What is true initiation? I question this more than ever after my exposure to social media platforms. To me, true initiation is like fire from within, you can feel that spark from those wielding its force in honor.  Meanwhile, those unable to reach for that true inner initiation can only pretend, gaining plenty of followers and fans, getting too comfortable in the complacency this causes, and lacking the unspeakable connection to that primordial dot within that is the true elixir of life, able to manifest an entire universe. 
False vampires wearing false crowns of pretentious "power" and "predatorial might". This forum knows better than possibly any other public Internet location about the obvious lack of knowledge and evolution among the vast majority of online vampire gatherings, yet it seems to remain relevant as pretenders continue to lead plenty of people who seem otherwise evolved and aware, preaching about their "ego-based magick" and ceaselessly making vague, bragging statements about their supreme majesty. 
The problem of the internet is that virtually anyone can pretend to have supreme magickal power, passing an image of themselves to the public that has been quite carefully cultivated to remove any real yet less-than-impressive elements of themselves. The internet is a place where sacred, ancient sex magick practices become nothing more than an ego masturbation contest using shallow images of naked people. It is a place where real spiritual traditions, those requiring decades of extreme dedication, life-force and mastery are reduced to trite quotes against some pictorial background and where the elitist magick of vampirism becomes far removed from what was honored by the ancients... "Everyone is a vampire if they say they are, criticism is not allowed and we can awaken anyone in thirty days to their vampire nature."
Magick is not a toy. Real spiritual traditions are not mere building blocks which can be disassembled and cherry-picked to cultivate a false image of edginess for an eager, disconnected crowd of sycophantic lost people. Moreover, real paths cannot be created and founded by simply stealing elements from a chaotic hodgepodge of anything available to be taken from. Such practices are the way of those too weak in soul and mind to actually carry out higher levels of magick. 
Vampirism and magick are not cultivated or developed online. True communion and power come from within, and the internet is a minefield of deception. What separates the real from the false is something we all must learn to pinpoint on our journeys. 

This has all been a point of focus lately after watching some of the most hollow "teachings" founded solely upon borrowed or stolen spirituality take a major foothold and gain traction. While nothing new to those with experience, it is quite surprising to watch unfold. It reiterates a vital element which is that the occult world is full of deception and only through the purest, most honorable intentions can we pass the gates of fire as masters over our own microcosms. The road is treacherous and the fall can be quite unsuspiciously steep.

I agree with what you’re saying and how deceptive social networks can be to less experienced practitioners of magick. I’ve found that in this sense elitism is actually a healthy tool of gnosis. Without it any initiate easily drowns in the many branches of superficial occultism. This doesn’t mean that one can’t be humble in their approach to wisdom, in fact I believe that a balance between those two aspects is extremely important, elitism and humbleness in healthy measures.

What the crap is ego-based magick anyways? lol

Thank you for writing this. I believe it'll be a valuable reference point for other practitioners who will appreciate its sharp separation of the clear source of the river from its mirage illusions. Great thread!

There is some fairly new "vampiric path of magick" that has been created and facilitated through social media, mostly Facebook. Well, what I find strange about it is the approach some of the ones behind it take to criticism. Just recently, one of their "fearless vampire sorcerer leaders" lost their mind all because someone had criticized a Facebook post, accusing the poster of being wrong about their opinion on something, as well as having an ego problem and fishing for likes (which was, admittedly, what it looked like.) The "awakened vampire's" response was to censor the person's comments away, and post a haughty, angry status about how no one should dare to criticize another's way of practicing magick, and that she practiced "ego-based magick", as if it was something to brag about and be proud of. It would seem that, as an "organization", the literal only thing they have to offer are ceaseless images bordering on pornography, meant to look ultra dark and edgy while showing off nude female bodies and copious numbers of snakes slithering over them... most often accompanied either by a statement some famous occultist made, or their own bragging remarks about how lustful, dark, powerful, and intolerant they are. I have now jokingly dubbed this "created branch of magick" as "the specialized branch of buttcrack sorcery", since I have noticed no true magickal signature underneath the heaping piles of naked images. No true gnosis, no true mastery to speak of, otherwise criticism would be able to be handled in a much more dignified and mature manner. It would seem they are even bad about giving due credit to proper sources, as I've watched them copy, word-for-word, the exact statements someone else made on their own blog. They gave no credit to the original author, no citing of the source, merely passed it off as their own words with the typical dark edgy image attached to it. Even more hilariously bad is a new program dubbed "The 30 Day Awakening", in which they present themselves as "experienced vampire mentors" able to awaken someone vampirically within a month via online correspondence.
Now, anyone with any level of true knowledge over the occult and especially vampirism would at least get a hearty laugh out of this, as it is quite an easy, quick way to see through this crap as utterly fake. Such a thing is insulting to the very nature of vampirism and especially the delicate process of awakening, which should be approached as a trial of fire, pain, and hardship mingled with moments of beauty, wonder and inner heightening of vibration. In addition to this, the vast majority approaching such a thing wouldn't even be true vampires at all. I fully believe and feel that tolerance to outright fakery and extreme inclusiveness is a sign of trying to sell something or merely gain followers and attention. And certainly, it's something that those without understanding will never see or grasp, but any "ego-based magick" exposes the person as the precise opposite of a spiritual predator, merely a mundane prey headed for oblivion and wielding a force that will never hold the qualities of true immortality.

Never heard about them or this new path you're talking about, but based on your descriptions it seems like something that I wouldn't be interested anyway.

I don't blame you there as it is an utter waste of time, which is why it is so perplexing that it has gained such traction online.

True Initiation only takes place in a higher dimension. Otherwise, the entrance will never be attained. Multiple proofs of it can be seen all over Ancient Egypt.
Everything else is just pandering to ignorant masses who are relieved of their money and mind daily by delusional self-aggrandizement which is what you reference above.

When you say higher dimensions... I'd say, or ask, whether this is correct, that true initiations occur when the inner realms are in contact with the higher realms? Like a point of contact from within, with the supernal realms. An alignment of sorts, and that being, or sparking, the initiation itself.

I agree that marketing business is absurd and far removed from authentic initiation.

I'd again question the notion that true initiations only take place in the higher dimensions, depending upon what you mean by that however (gatherings on the astral planes?). Whilst not without validity for sure, I strongly believe they can also manifest in the internal realms by strenuous efforts of self-purification, spiritual development and growth, and hard-won battles fought through trials of fire - ressurecting, as it were, out of ashes like a phoenix bird. Unless by a higher dimension you meant to also include that? I also believe devotional practices or any form of spirituality might bring it about through conjunction with aforesaid things, but it is a very sincere and sacred path and I don't mean to raise a debate around the subject, as it would be futile and even digressing from the essence of the matter itself, but merely question a detail. Correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!