NEWBURY PORT, MASSACHUSETTS – Red Wheel/Weiser Books announced on Friday the cancellation of their forthcoming book Begin with True Will: Living Thelema in the Modern Aeon, after the author, Georgina Rose became embroiled in controversy following accusations of ties to fascist and far-right groups.
Weiser tweeted the following statement Friday afternoon:
After careful consideration @weiserbooks decided to cancel the publication of “Begin with True Will” by Georgina Rose. That decision was made earlier this week. As of yesterday the book is was no longer available online.
Weiser gave no explanation for the decision. As of press time Weiser had not responded to requests for comment.
The announced cover of the now-canceled book “Begin with True Will” by Georgina Rose [Red Wheel/Weiser]
Georgina Rose had been, up until last week, a success story in the world of occult social media. Under the handle “daatdarling,” she has amassed more than 32 thousand followers on TikTok, 30 thousand on Instagram, and 16 thousand on Twitter – more than Weiser Books itself. Earlier this month, she announced that Begin with True Will would be published in October. But a controversial tweet has led to a number of accusations that Rose has ties to the figures on the far right.
In the now-deleted tweet, Rose said that “Nick [L]and is the actual reincarnation of Crowley.” Nick Land is a British philosopher, theorist, short story writer, and blogger. Land is best known as the architect of the so-called “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy that opposes egalitarianism and democracy. Among many controversial topics, his work has explored scientific racism and eugenics.
Land is also considered the “father of accelerationism,” a philosophy that favors using computer technology and automation as means to fulfill and accelerate aggressively capitalistic goals, including the deregulation of business and the elimination of political opposition to benefit humanity by producing radical social change. Right-wing extremists, including white nationalists/supremacists, neo-fascists, and neo-Nazis, have adopted this philosophy, which justifies the creation of a white ethnostate through societal chaos, terrorism, and assassination by accelerating racial conflict.
Land has further promoted groups like the Atomwaffen/National Socialist Order-affiliated Order of Nine Angles (O9A). O9A endorses an ideology of neo-Nazi terrorist accelerationism. Land has described the organization’s work as “highly-recommended,” and noting the “O9A is fascinating.”
Subsequently, images have emerged of Rose frequenting Vamachara Tattoo and Occult Supply, a Long Island tattoo parlor whose clientele includes Paul Waggener, a founder of the far-right Heathen group Wolves of Vinland. Vamachara offers artwork such as the wolfsangel and the sun wheel, which are popular in white supremacist and Neo-Nazi circles. Pádraig M. Duggan, who owns Vamachara, has ties to the Wolves of Vinland. He has described Rose as a “friend” and has promoted her book.
Meanwhile, a series of screenshots claimed to have been taken from the Discord server service appear to show a user, “da’at darling,” making transphobic, racist, and pro-Nazi statements. One such Discord screenshot, claiming to have been posted on December 24, 2019, reads, “I was on the nazi occultist side remember.” Another, from June 1, 2020, reads, “It’s better I’m a lowkey terf than a racist.” TWH cannot independently verify the veracity of these screenshots.
On Thursday evening Rose published a thread of 18 tweets defending herself. “I need to address the extreme trolling and libel that I have been subjected to,” Rose said. “I usually ignore the noise, but this has gotten completely out of hand. I am here to help people, not spread hate and hurt people. Unfortunately, there are people on here who seek to hurt me.
“For the trolls who normally I would not give the time of day, let’s get talking,” she continued. “First, let’s establish something: I am not a neo-[N]azi, white supremacist, or racist.”
“I do not condone [N]azism,” she later added, “nor do I think it is remotely okay. This is not who I am, or what I believe in. End of story. Moving on.”
Rose also claims her tweet regarding Nick Land was meant to be read sarcastically: “Almost as if I had posted ‘Satan is the reincarnation of Jesus’”. Rose has also claimed that her connections to individuals on the far-right are not close, and, in a video, mentioned that images can be Photoshopped and accounts can be hacked.
One of Rose’s followers under the handle “Grub” was dismayed that Rose denied ties to the far right. “We would never make you apologise Queen,” the user tweeted. “Truly a sick world to apologise to online freaks.” The tweet was subsequently deleted.
Ryan Smith, author of The Way of Fire & Ice and host of the Wayward Wanderer podcast, took to Twitter and deconstructed Rose’s defense. Smith noted that by initially focusing on “extreme trolling,” Rose created an us-versus-them mentality, a move he called “a classic dodge.”
“Just watch any politician or corporation facing allegations of any sort of misconduct and take note of how often they first focus on making it all about the accuser instead of the matter at hand,” Smith continued.
Smith also effectively noted that Rose appeared to thank defenders who themselves are self-proclaimed national socialists. “I’m not saying that thanking literal Nazis for coming to your defense means you’re a Nazi,” he said. “What I’m saying is you’re the kind of person who is ok with having UNIRONIC NAZIS on your team. That’s a screaming red flag.”
Weiser’s decision to drop Rose was greeted with support on Twitter with multiple individuals thanking the publishing house, though some users still seemed skeptical of the publisher’s vetting processes.
TWH will have more on this story as it develops.
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