On the esoteric vs the occult

This is from Nesta Webster's Secret Societies and Subversive Movements. If you remember, Gurdjieff said "There is only self-initiation."


But esotericism again presents a dual aspect. Here, as in every phase of earthly life, there is the revers de la médaille - white and black, light and darkness, the Heaven and Hell of the human mind. The quest for hidden knowledge may end with initiation into divine truths or into dark and abominable cults. Who knows with what forces he may be brought in contact beyond the veil? Initiation which leads to making use of spiritual forces, whether good or evil, is therefore capable of raising man to greater heights or of degrading him to lower depths than he could ever have reached by remaining on the purely physical plane. And when men thus unite themselves in associations, a collective force is generated which may exercise immense influence over the world around. Hence the importance of secret societies.