R. A. Gilbert, the pre-eminent historian of Western occultism and the author who finally gave Arthur Edward Waite his due, has passed away aged 83. To the uninitiated, Gilbert was perhaps just another name in the crowded annals of esoteric literature; to scholars of magic, Freemasonry, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he was the architect of clarity in a landscape long obscured by mystification. His death marks the end of an era for serious academic inquiry into the magical world of late Victorian Britain. Gilbert’s crowning achievement for me remains to be A. E. Waite: Magician of Many Parts, published in 1987. Gilbert, with the patience of a master archivist and the pen of a biographer, peeled back the layers of Waite’s mythology. What set Gilbert apart from his contemporaries was his rigorous adherence to historical fact. In a field rife with speculation and revisionism, Gilbert treated the occult not as a source of wonder, but as a legitimate subject of historical study and heated scepticism. His access to private collections and archives allowed him to reconstruct the timeline of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn with a precision that had never been achieved before. He showed us that the drama of the Order was not just about spells and invocations, but about human ambition, financial disputes, and the desperate quest for belonging. Beyond Waite, Gilbert was a prolific writer on many subjects including the founding of the Stella Matutina. He possessed an uncanny ability to navigate the labyrinthine genealogies of occult orders, tracing the schisms and rebirths that defined the movement. His work served as a bridge between the romanticized fantasies of the early 20th century and the critical scrutiny required in the 21st. He understood that to truly honour the tradition, one must be willing to expose its flaws as well as its glories. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with “Bob” Gilbert recently through a mutual friend. I helped Bob to sell some of the Buddhist Thangkas and other remarkable items from his vast collection (included are a couple of photographs I took of a small part of his collection). It was a privilege to be shown his remarkable library and spend time in the presence of this titan. In one of the last emails Bob sent to me he said; “We did manage to sell some of the Tibetan material at auction but there is still more to go. However, I have more or less completed working through all my remaining Tibet related material.” His now void email handle was sacregis42. Bob’s books including the one on A. E. Waite are foundational reference books that are the baseline for many academic citations. Tartarus Press have written an obituary on their blog for Bob. Farewell Bob. May you find peace in the Buddha lands ॐ
Sheer Zed ~ Author • Buddhist Shaman • Musician 