Recently, I have been following a discussion on the existence, or non-existence, of the Secret Chiefs and the Third Order on the Golden Dawn Group (a Yahoo forum). And occasionally the conversation slips over to what the rest of Inner Order and beyond (Adept Minor and beyond) would look like.
I actually have some knowledge (or is it experience) of this subject. When Bast Temple formed, I was one of the members that had to ask what were the limits of the new lodge. How far were we going to go?
One starts out with questions, then one tries their best to come up with reasonable answers. And if you are wise, you periodically re-ask the questions.
Here are a few of the possible questions that one may want to consider if one is trying to figure out what the rest of the Golden Dawn system looks like.
What knowledge and talents are currently available?
Are the roots of Golden Dawn high or low? Is the baseline of the higher Grades based based on the material already in the system? Or is the baseline of the higher Grades contained in rituals that we do not have already?
What admission badges are being used (if any)? What godforms?
Where does a group draw its authority from? Can a group give itself authority?
What are the myths of Inner Order?
Is secrecy absolutely necessary? What is secrecy's true purpose?
Is Golden Dawn about spiritual development? Or about practical magic?
Are the Orders (Outer and Inner [and Third Order if you insist] truly separate?
Why are the higher Grades invitation only?
What is the ultimate goal of the system? And if it is to "become more than human", exactly what does that mean and how do you get there? Why go there?
Should the membership be limited? Or should it be open to all (just like a religion)? Is there a reason for the Order to be only for the elite?
What research and academic standards should apply to the Order?
Can information and rituals from other systems be grafted on?
How much can you change the system and still have it be Golden Dawn?
Do the Secret Chiefs exist? And what form do they take? Is there really a Third Order?
Can ordinary members actually contribute to the system? Or do you have to be "special" to contribute to the knowledge pool of the Order?
Should the subGrades of Adept Minor be reinstated?
Who and what is necessary to initiate a member into the higher Grades? Is astral initiation possible? How about self-initiation?
Are the higher Grades working Grades? Or purely honorary?
How do the rest of the Grades fit into the Four World system? Do all the Grades belong to Assiah?
What benefits come with the higher Grades? What obligations?
What role does simple lodgekit have? Who is supposed to make what decisions?
Are the higher Grades Christian? If so, what form? Hermetic? Gnostic? Thelemic? Pagan? Roscrucian? Egyptian?
Are the higher Grades concerned with magic? Virtues? Alchemy? Psychology? Religion? Parapsychology? Metaphysics?
As you can see there are many questions to be asked. This by the way is just the tip of the iceberg. And if you are serious about developing the rest of the Grades, you must have answers to them, even if they are wrong ones.
(Do like me: reserve the right to change your mind later and make sure people know it. At least that way, you will have a starting point.)
Plus, if you are considering joining a group, you should consider if their opinions are suitable to your needs (there are no absolute answers possible with these questions and your needs will change over time).
(My own current answers will be posted on an irregular basis on this blog. Plus I am betting dollars to doughnuts that other people will wade in with their own blogs and webpages if they have not already shouted their opinions to all who will listen to them. And they will all say that my opinion is wrong; it does not matter as long as my cats still love me.)
Remember to keep your robe handy; the Light is coming for all of us.
Showing posts with label assumptions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assumptions. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Roots of Golden Dawn: Part 5
This particular post may not seem to fit into the set of The Roots of GD, but it really it does.
Yesterday, I was listening to Common Sense With Dan Carlin: Show 134---Instant Gratification. The theme of the show was that our urge for instant gratification is wrecking havoc with the political system (USA) and with the economy.
The idea of the show, Carlin got from someone else who said that if Obama wanted to really make an impact in Washington, then he should openly commit to just serving one term in office. This way he can just focus on getting things done. As it stands right now, a newly-elected President only has about a hundred days in office before he has to start worrying about the next election for his political party, mid-terms, and his own re-election.
Carlin related this to our current economic mess, the stock market and the shady loan bubble. He talked about how CEOs no longer focus on the long-term health of the companies that they run, but on short-term gains to make the stock holders happy.
Ok, what does this have to do with Golden Dawn? Especially its roots?
So this got me to thinking. I have witnessed several dozen people come into Golden Dawn chasing a short-term goal; quite often, it is to make the Inner Order Grade of Adept Minor. But what if making a certain Grade is not the actual goal that Golden Dawn is set up to fulfill?
How long is the ideal membership span for a member of Our Tradition?
In my mind, the ideal membership is the lifetime membership; someone who joins and remains a student of the tradition for the rest of their life is the ideal member. This is my opinion.
Now, as an elected officer, I have always been lucky that the long-term goals of my lodge has always been the priority. The one advantage that I envy of the Secret Chiefs, and those who are non-elected members of the hierarchy is that they can focus on the long-term goals without have to worry about people wanting instant gratification, and voting them out of office when they don't get it. Unfortunately, I have seen the abuses that an unelected hierarchy can lead to; hence my opinion that the entire hierarchy, including the Secret Chiefs, need to be elected and re-elected periodically.
Nevertheless, an important question we have to consider when examining the roots of Golden Dawn is how long a member is supposed to be a member. If it is merely short-term, then it makes little difference about how bad Orders and their leaders act; you only have to put up with it until you reach the goal. But if one is supposed to be a member for life, then it is funny that there is not a way to remove bad leaders and officers from the system.
I told you that it had something to do with the roots of Golden Dawn. I don't have any answers, but I feel that the question did need to be considered.
To read a review of Common Sense with Dan Carlin, click here.
Yesterday, I was listening to Common Sense With Dan Carlin: Show 134---Instant Gratification. The theme of the show was that our urge for instant gratification is wrecking havoc with the political system (USA) and with the economy.
The idea of the show, Carlin got from someone else who said that if Obama wanted to really make an impact in Washington, then he should openly commit to just serving one term in office. This way he can just focus on getting things done. As it stands right now, a newly-elected President only has about a hundred days in office before he has to start worrying about the next election for his political party, mid-terms, and his own re-election.
Carlin related this to our current economic mess, the stock market and the shady loan bubble. He talked about how CEOs no longer focus on the long-term health of the companies that they run, but on short-term gains to make the stock holders happy.
Ok, what does this have to do with Golden Dawn? Especially its roots?
So this got me to thinking. I have witnessed several dozen people come into Golden Dawn chasing a short-term goal; quite often, it is to make the Inner Order Grade of Adept Minor. But what if making a certain Grade is not the actual goal that Golden Dawn is set up to fulfill?
How long is the ideal membership span for a member of Our Tradition?
In my mind, the ideal membership is the lifetime membership; someone who joins and remains a student of the tradition for the rest of their life is the ideal member. This is my opinion.
Now, as an elected officer, I have always been lucky that the long-term goals of my lodge has always been the priority. The one advantage that I envy of the Secret Chiefs, and those who are non-elected members of the hierarchy is that they can focus on the long-term goals without have to worry about people wanting instant gratification, and voting them out of office when they don't get it. Unfortunately, I have seen the abuses that an unelected hierarchy can lead to; hence my opinion that the entire hierarchy, including the Secret Chiefs, need to be elected and re-elected periodically.
Nevertheless, an important question we have to consider when examining the roots of Golden Dawn is how long a member is supposed to be a member. If it is merely short-term, then it makes little difference about how bad Orders and their leaders act; you only have to put up with it until you reach the goal. But if one is supposed to be a member for life, then it is funny that there is not a way to remove bad leaders and officers from the system.
I told you that it had something to do with the roots of Golden Dawn. I don't have any answers, but I feel that the question did need to be considered.
To read a review of Common Sense with Dan Carlin, click here.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Assumptions
One of the things that every student of Golden Dawn needs to be aware of is the assumptions that themselves and other students (especially lodge and Order officers) have about the Golden Dawn system. These assumptions are constantly in the background, and they color the opinions of those who hold them.
What are some of the assumptions that I hold?
Grades represent a level of learning in the system. And while they are associated with a sephirah and certain spiritual states, they are NOT the sephirah and states of consciousness themselves. The Grade is a Gateway to those states, but just because someone has the Grade does not mean that they permanmently dwell in that mental state.
The baseline of Golden Dawn is the Outer Order material, that the entire system is built from the bottom up. There are some that say that the further development of the Golden Dawn system depends upon knowing what the Third Order teachings are--I disagree. It would be an awful poor mystery tradition if all you had to do to kill it was kill off the superior Grades in the chain.
I believe that the history of Golden Dawn is both simplier and more complicated than people can imagine. My basic view of Golden Dawn history is that Kenneth MacKenzie cobbled together the Cipher Manuscript for a group that never used it, and that Westcott and company created a myth to match it after it came into their possession.
Therefore actual contact with Third Order is impossible. Third Order, if it arises, will come from a further development of the Golden Dawn system. Any group that claims to be Third Order is involved in a plot to control Golden Dawn.
As one can guess these assumptions color my opinions about Golden Dawn. To convince me otherwise, one has to cough up actual evidence.
One of the most important assumptions that one can make about Golden Dawn is about the nature of initiation. Considering initiation is the backbone of the system, having a clear idea of what initiation is and is not is important. What is it supposed to accomplish? To put it simply, initiation's purpose is to bring you in contact with certain energetic sources that are tapped though symbols; the energy flow that results is used to develop spiritually and magically.
Personally, I believe that Temple Initiation is best. I firmly believe that one should belong to a community of scholars and mages. Failing the option, second choice is Self-Initiation. I consider Astral Initiation to be a compromise between the first two options.
My beliefs about the hierarchy annoy many people. I believe in electing officers. Many believe that one must have a place in the hierarchy to hold an office, and that it is true to a certain extent. But a member of the hierarchy does NOT have to hold an office to influence the system and the world.
I believe that Golden Dawn is NOT a religion. I believe that members of any religion can join the system, though I will admit that certain religions have a harder time in the esoteric Orders than others.
And most impotantly, I believe that I am allowed to change my mind about the assumptions that I have today. I am allowed to learn. Others are allowed to convince me that their assumptions are more correct. So if you think that I am in error, you might be right and I might agree with you tommorrow.
What are some of the assumptions that I hold?
Grades represent a level of learning in the system. And while they are associated with a sephirah and certain spiritual states, they are NOT the sephirah and states of consciousness themselves. The Grade is a Gateway to those states, but just because someone has the Grade does not mean that they permanmently dwell in that mental state.
The baseline of Golden Dawn is the Outer Order material, that the entire system is built from the bottom up. There are some that say that the further development of the Golden Dawn system depends upon knowing what the Third Order teachings are--I disagree. It would be an awful poor mystery tradition if all you had to do to kill it was kill off the superior Grades in the chain.
I believe that the history of Golden Dawn is both simplier and more complicated than people can imagine. My basic view of Golden Dawn history is that Kenneth MacKenzie cobbled together the Cipher Manuscript for a group that never used it, and that Westcott and company created a myth to match it after it came into their possession.
Therefore actual contact with Third Order is impossible. Third Order, if it arises, will come from a further development of the Golden Dawn system. Any group that claims to be Third Order is involved in a plot to control Golden Dawn.
As one can guess these assumptions color my opinions about Golden Dawn. To convince me otherwise, one has to cough up actual evidence.
One of the most important assumptions that one can make about Golden Dawn is about the nature of initiation. Considering initiation is the backbone of the system, having a clear idea of what initiation is and is not is important. What is it supposed to accomplish? To put it simply, initiation's purpose is to bring you in contact with certain energetic sources that are tapped though symbols; the energy flow that results is used to develop spiritually and magically.
Personally, I believe that Temple Initiation is best. I firmly believe that one should belong to a community of scholars and mages. Failing the option, second choice is Self-Initiation. I consider Astral Initiation to be a compromise between the first two options.
My beliefs about the hierarchy annoy many people. I believe in electing officers. Many believe that one must have a place in the hierarchy to hold an office, and that it is true to a certain extent. But a member of the hierarchy does NOT have to hold an office to influence the system and the world.
I believe that Golden Dawn is NOT a religion. I believe that members of any religion can join the system, though I will admit that certain religions have a harder time in the esoteric Orders than others.
And most impotantly, I believe that I am allowed to change my mind about the assumptions that I have today. I am allowed to learn. Others are allowed to convince me that their assumptions are more correct. So if you think that I am in error, you might be right and I might agree with you tommorrow.
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