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| Egyptian Gods and Goddesses 1500 to 2008 |
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| Egyptian Gods and Goddesses 1800 to 2008 |
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| Godforms---what is up with some of these spikes? |
Showing posts with label godforms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label godforms. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Ngrams Egyptian gods and godforms
Yes, another Ngram post. Last one I promise hope. I will admit that I am curious about some of the graphs that the Google Labs Ngram Tool is kicking out. For instance, I wonder about sections of the one I did on various Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. And there is also the one on godforms that makes me wonder.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Egyptian Gods and the Golden Dawn
The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt have a special place in Golden Dawn. And in return, Golden Dawn has a special place in modern paganism revival, especially when it comes to those of us who have embraced the Egyptian deities.
To understand why, one must remember that the world lost all direct knowledge of the mythology and religion of Ancient Egypt around 450 CE (or 450 AD if you prefer that notation style). With the closing of the last Temple of Isis, and the loss of the ability to read the hieroglyphs (and other Ancient Egyptian scripts), all that remained of the ancient beliefs of the Egyptians were those parts that had already made their way into Greek and Roman systems.
These bits of myth and lore filtered down though the ages. Golden Dawn inherited part of their Egyptian lore from this stream, call it the "Greek---Roman---Hermetic---Alchemical---Rosicrucian---Freemasonry---Theosophical" stream if you feel like it. This stream was definitely not pure. For instance, attempts to decipher the hieroglyphs were based on the idea that each symbol was a whole idea upon itself. A simple name could become an entire paragraph. The stream also ignored the fact that the Ancients were as interested in counting the number of oxen as modern man is interested in counting small bits of green paper (or red or blue or whatever color your country has developed a fetish for).
It is the other half of the Egyptian stream that is given more value by many. While certain ideas were lifted whole from the GRHARFT stream (I am so not writing that out again), Golden Dawn was in an unique position. In 1799, the key to deciphering the hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone was discovered. While it took fifty years to bring the first translations to fruitation, by the time Golden Dawn was formed in 1888, the newly created Order was able to use actual quotes from the mythology of the Ancient Egyptians.
In fact, Isis-Urania, the first Temple (lodge) of the newly formed Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn, was the first group to use actual ideas, sayings and words from the Ancient Egyptians since the closure of the last Isisian Temple.
(Now, there are some who will feel the urge to correct me at this point, claiming that the Order is much older, and is the child of a tradition from the GRHARFT stream that managed to preserve actual ideas and rituals from Ancient Egypt intact...to them, I say, "I am telling this story, not you." We will talk about my astonishing lack of respect for the official history of the Order another day.)
Being first to revive the actual Egyptian religion does have its costs. Much of the Egyptian lore of the Golden Dawn is firmly stuck in the era of E. A. Wallis Budge. This annoys many people. And personally, I will admit that I wonder how the founding members of the Hermetic Golden Dawn and RR et AC would have dealt with some of the more interesting modern findings.
But despite the base lore being outdated today, what Golden Dawn developed is still state of the art today.
(By state of the art, I mean how the modern Adepts use the system, not the original membership. In many ways, the way that the techniques were originally used were the equivalent of using a refrigerator to store sand.)
The most famous use of the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses by the Golden Dawn was though the use of "godforms." The idea behind godforms is simple; godforms are a container built up though Willed Imagination to serve as a conduit for magical forces (or energies if you prefer).
Now, not everyone likes the idea of the Egyptian godforms. One of the most vocal Golden Dawn critics believes that it is an attempt to enslave the Egyptian deities under the power of IHVH. Given the fact that this critic seems to belong to the religion of the month club, I feel safe in ignoring their opinion. Especially given the fact that my own personal experiences indicate that the Egyptian deities are a force onto themselves, a force that seems not to be impeded by the use or lack of the Hebrew names of power in ritual.
Think of the godforms as a shell/program used to access magical energies, as well as a circuit breaker (fuse) and means to prevent possession by the magical energies.
Now the majority of information about the use of godforms from the original Order is contained in the Z documents. The godforms are used to empower the Neophyte initiation ritual (the entry Grade of the Golden Dawn system), as well as aspects of an Adept's private work. By logical extension, all the initiation rituals and work of the working magician should be done with the help of godforms.
(Not everyone agrees with the logical extension. Each to their own---I know my own personal preference for magical work.)
There are some problems with the use of godforms to empower rituals in the Golden Dawn system. If one goes purely by the Z documents, only Adepts are allowed to know about the godforms, therefore all officers of the system should be Adepts. This idea if it was completely true would have prevented the revival of the Golden Dawn system. Based on personal experience, the godforms are a lot easier to build than the Z documents state---in fact, the Egyptian deities seem to be attracted to Golden Dawn ritual, no matter what the Grade level of the people doing the rituals.
Furthermore (again personal experience), talented members below the Grade of Adept can often sense the godforms, therefore occasionally someone below the level of Adept must learn enourgh about the godforms and Egyptian deities to avoid thinking that they have gone utterly insane. In fact, I suspect (but cannot prove) that the Z document placement of the godforms, and well as their use, came about though the perceptions of talented members from the original Order. I do not believe that the use of godforms was a secret handed down from the GRHARFT stream, but a breakthough in magical technology discovered by the first initiates of the Golden Dawn.
(Pagans and Wiccans reading this will understand this thought if they have ever been surprised by the arrival of deities called in ritual by non-initiates. The old gods were merely sleeping, awaiting a new generation to remember them.)
Those who feel like arguing with my personal experiences should keep in mind that I have worked in less-than-ideal conditions, much like the conditions that the first initiates of Isis-Urania would have experienced. Either I am super-talented or the Z documents are slightly misleading (take your pick).
One final thought about the godforms, the Z documents and related Order papers are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the godforms. Each godform has seven layers which are merely the building plans. Each Adept will develop their knowledge of the godforms in their own unique manner.
The end result of Golden Dawn bringing in Egyptian mythology into the system, besides some of us hearing the deities speak with a slight English accent, is that when the Wiccan and paganism movement started to develop, Wiccans and pagans were able to borrow some of their initial magical and spiritual working techniques from a system that had sixty years of experience working with the Egyptian deities already.
[The views and opinions presented in this blog post are merely those of Morgan Drake Eckstein. They do not represent the official opinions of any major Golden Dawn Order. All protests about MDE's disregard for secrecy will be read, but might not be approved for publication.]
To understand why, one must remember that the world lost all direct knowledge of the mythology and religion of Ancient Egypt around 450 CE (or 450 AD if you prefer that notation style). With the closing of the last Temple of Isis, and the loss of the ability to read the hieroglyphs (and other Ancient Egyptian scripts), all that remained of the ancient beliefs of the Egyptians were those parts that had already made their way into Greek and Roman systems.
These bits of myth and lore filtered down though the ages. Golden Dawn inherited part of their Egyptian lore from this stream, call it the "Greek---Roman---Hermetic---Alchemical---Rosicrucian---Freemasonry---Theosophical" stream if you feel like it. This stream was definitely not pure. For instance, attempts to decipher the hieroglyphs were based on the idea that each symbol was a whole idea upon itself. A simple name could become an entire paragraph. The stream also ignored the fact that the Ancients were as interested in counting the number of oxen as modern man is interested in counting small bits of green paper (or red or blue or whatever color your country has developed a fetish for).
It is the other half of the Egyptian stream that is given more value by many. While certain ideas were lifted whole from the GRHARFT stream (I am so not writing that out again), Golden Dawn was in an unique position. In 1799, the key to deciphering the hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone was discovered. While it took fifty years to bring the first translations to fruitation, by the time Golden Dawn was formed in 1888, the newly created Order was able to use actual quotes from the mythology of the Ancient Egyptians.
In fact, Isis-Urania, the first Temple (lodge) of the newly formed Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn, was the first group to use actual ideas, sayings and words from the Ancient Egyptians since the closure of the last Isisian Temple.
(Now, there are some who will feel the urge to correct me at this point, claiming that the Order is much older, and is the child of a tradition from the GRHARFT stream that managed to preserve actual ideas and rituals from Ancient Egypt intact...to them, I say, "I am telling this story, not you." We will talk about my astonishing lack of respect for the official history of the Order another day.)
Being first to revive the actual Egyptian religion does have its costs. Much of the Egyptian lore of the Golden Dawn is firmly stuck in the era of E. A. Wallis Budge. This annoys many people. And personally, I will admit that I wonder how the founding members of the Hermetic Golden Dawn and RR et AC would have dealt with some of the more interesting modern findings.
But despite the base lore being outdated today, what Golden Dawn developed is still state of the art today.
(By state of the art, I mean how the modern Adepts use the system, not the original membership. In many ways, the way that the techniques were originally used were the equivalent of using a refrigerator to store sand.)
The most famous use of the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses by the Golden Dawn was though the use of "godforms." The idea behind godforms is simple; godforms are a container built up though Willed Imagination to serve as a conduit for magical forces (or energies if you prefer).
Now, not everyone likes the idea of the Egyptian godforms. One of the most vocal Golden Dawn critics believes that it is an attempt to enslave the Egyptian deities under the power of IHVH. Given the fact that this critic seems to belong to the religion of the month club, I feel safe in ignoring their opinion. Especially given the fact that my own personal experiences indicate that the Egyptian deities are a force onto themselves, a force that seems not to be impeded by the use or lack of the Hebrew names of power in ritual.
Think of the godforms as a shell/program used to access magical energies, as well as a circuit breaker (fuse) and means to prevent possession by the magical energies.
Now the majority of information about the use of godforms from the original Order is contained in the Z documents. The godforms are used to empower the Neophyte initiation ritual (the entry Grade of the Golden Dawn system), as well as aspects of an Adept's private work. By logical extension, all the initiation rituals and work of the working magician should be done with the help of godforms.
(Not everyone agrees with the logical extension. Each to their own---I know my own personal preference for magical work.)
There are some problems with the use of godforms to empower rituals in the Golden Dawn system. If one goes purely by the Z documents, only Adepts are allowed to know about the godforms, therefore all officers of the system should be Adepts. This idea if it was completely true would have prevented the revival of the Golden Dawn system. Based on personal experience, the godforms are a lot easier to build than the Z documents state---in fact, the Egyptian deities seem to be attracted to Golden Dawn ritual, no matter what the Grade level of the people doing the rituals.
Furthermore (again personal experience), talented members below the Grade of Adept can often sense the godforms, therefore occasionally someone below the level of Adept must learn enourgh about the godforms and Egyptian deities to avoid thinking that they have gone utterly insane. In fact, I suspect (but cannot prove) that the Z document placement of the godforms, and well as their use, came about though the perceptions of talented members from the original Order. I do not believe that the use of godforms was a secret handed down from the GRHARFT stream, but a breakthough in magical technology discovered by the first initiates of the Golden Dawn.
(Pagans and Wiccans reading this will understand this thought if they have ever been surprised by the arrival of deities called in ritual by non-initiates. The old gods were merely sleeping, awaiting a new generation to remember them.)
Those who feel like arguing with my personal experiences should keep in mind that I have worked in less-than-ideal conditions, much like the conditions that the first initiates of Isis-Urania would have experienced. Either I am super-talented or the Z documents are slightly misleading (take your pick).
One final thought about the godforms, the Z documents and related Order papers are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the godforms. Each godform has seven layers which are merely the building plans. Each Adept will develop their knowledge of the godforms in their own unique manner.
The end result of Golden Dawn bringing in Egyptian mythology into the system, besides some of us hearing the deities speak with a slight English accent, is that when the Wiccan and paganism movement started to develop, Wiccans and pagans were able to borrow some of their initial magical and spiritual working techniques from a system that had sixty years of experience working with the Egyptian deities already.
[The views and opinions presented in this blog post are merely those of Morgan Drake Eckstein. They do not represent the official opinions of any major Golden Dawn Order. All protests about MDE's disregard for secrecy will be read, but might not be approved for publication.]
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Stations and duties of the officers of the Neophyte Grade
Hierophant gives the Sign of the Enterer.
Hierophant: Let the number of the Officers of the Grade and the nature of their offices be proclaimed once again, that the powers whose images they are may be re-awakened in the spheres of those now present and in the sphere of this Order, for by names and images are all powers awakened and reawakened.
Hierophant now gives the Sign of Silence.
Hierophant: Honored Hiereus, how many chief officers are there in this Grade?
Hiereus: Three, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: And what are their names?
Hiereus: The chief officers are the Hierophant, the Hiereus and the Hegemon.
Hierophant: Is there any peculiarity in these names?
Hiereus: They all commence with the letter H.
Hierophant: Of what is this letter a symbol of?
Hiereus: Of life, because the character H is one mode of representing the ancient Greek aspirate; Breathing, and Breath, are evidence of life.
Hierophant: How many assistant officers are there in this Grade?
Hiereus: Three, besides the Sentinel, namely, the Kerux, the Stolistes, and the Dadouchos.
Hierophant: Where is the station of the Sentinel?
Hiereus: Without the Portal of the Hall.
Hierophant: And his duty?
Hiereus: He is armed with a sword to keep out intruders, and he prepares the Candidate.
Hierophant: And his godform?
Hiereus: Opowet, also known as Anubis of the West.
Hierophant: Soror Dadouchos, your station?
Dadouchos: In the South, Very Honored Hierophant, to symbolize heat and dryness.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Dadouchos: I attend to the censer and the incense and the lamps of the lodge, and I assist in the purification and consecration by Fire of the Hall, of the Members, and of the Candidate.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Dadouchos: Neit, also known as Thaum-Êsh-Nêith.
Hierophant: Frater Stolistes, your station?
Stolistes: In the North, Very Honored Hierophant, to symbolize cold and moisture.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Stolistes: I see that the robes, collars and insignia of the Officers are ready before the opening; I attend to the cup of lustral water and I assist in the purification and consecration by water, of the Hall, of the Members, and of the Candidate.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Stolistes: Mut, also known as Auramoouth.
Hierophant: Frater Kerux, your station?
Kerux: Within the Portal of the Hall, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Kerux: I see that all the furniture of the Hall is properly arranged before the opening. I guard the inner side of the Portal. I admit Fratres and Sorores of the Order. I assist in the reception of the Candidates. I attend to the Lamp of my office. I lead the mystic circumambulation and make all announcements and reports.
Hierophant: What do your Lamp and Wand symbolize?
Kerux: The Light of Occult Science and its directing power.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Kerux: Anup em Yebet, also known as Anubis of the East.
Hierophant: Frater Hegemon, your station?
Hegemon: Between the two pillars of Hermes and Solomon facing the cubical altar of the Universe, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Hegemon: I preside over the symbolic gateway of Occult Science. I am the reconciler between light and darkness. I immediately follow the Kerux in the mystic circumambulations. I superintend the preparation of the Candidate; lead him through the path of darkness into light, and assist in his reception, and I aid the other officers in the execution of their duties.
Hierophant: What does the white color of your robe symbolize?
Hegemon: Purity.
Hierophant: Your peculiar ensign of office?
Hegemon: The mitre-headed sceptre.
Hierophant: What does it symbolize?
Hegemon: Religion, to guide and regulate life.
Hierophant: What does your office symbolize?
Hegemon: Those higher aspirations of the soul, which should guide its actions.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Hegemon: Thmê, also known as Maat.
Hierophant: Honored Hiereus, your station?
Hiereus: On the throne of the West, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: What does the throne of the West symbolize?
Hiereus: Increase of darkness, decrease of light.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Hiereus: I preside over twilight and darkness, which encompass us in the absence of the Sun of Life and Light. I guard the gate of the West. I assist in the reception of the Candidate and I superintend the inferior officers in the execution of their duties.
Hierophant: What does the black color of your robe symbolize?
Hiereus: Darkness.
Hierophant: Your peculiar ensign of office?
Hiereus: The Sword and the Banner of the West.
Hierophant: What does the Banner of the West symbolize?
Hiereus: Twilight.
Hierophant: What does the Sword symbolize?
Hiereus: Severity and Judgment.
Hierophant: What does your office symbolize?
Hiereus: Fortitude.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Hiereus: Hôr, also known as Horus.
Hierophant: My place is on the Throne of the East, which symbolizes the rise of the Sun of Life and Light--my duty is to rule and govern this Hall in accordance with the laws of the Lodge and Order. The red color of my robe symbolizes Light; my insignia are the Crown-headed Sceptre and the Banner of the East which signifies power and light, mercy and wisdom, and my office is that of the Expounder of the Mysteries. My godform is Osir, also known as Osiris, when I am seated on the dais, and Hôr Wêr, or Horus the Elder, when I am moving on the Temple floor.
Hierophant: The station of the Past Hierophant is to the left of mine on the dais, dressed in red bearing a scepter, and his duty is to guide and support my office. His godform is Osiris when I am not on the dais, and is Horus the Elder when I am seated on the dais.
Hierophant: Sister Hegemon, what is the station, duties and godform of the Cancellarius?
Hegemon: The Cancellarius sits to the right of the Hierophant of the Hall, dressed in yellow robes bearing a wand, and his duties are to maintain the records of the lodge. His godform is Djehoti, also known as Thoth.
Hierophant: Brother Hiereus, what is the station, duties and godform of the Imperator?
Hiereus: The Imperator sits to the far right of the Hierophant of the Hall, dressed in red robes and bearing a sword, and his duties are to ensure that the Temple is obeying the Bylaws set forth by the voting members of the First and Second Orders. His godform is Nebethô, also known as Nephthys.
Hierophant: Sister Kerux, what is the station, duties and godform of the Praemonstrator?
Kerux: The Praemonstrator sits on the far left of the Hierophant of the Hall, dressed in blue robes and bearing a scepter, and his duty is to supervise the ritual work of the Order and to instruct members in its curriculum. His godform is Iset, also known as Isis.
Hierophant: Let the number of the Officers of the Grade and the nature of their offices be proclaimed once again, that the powers whose images they are may be re-awakened in the spheres of those now present and in the sphere of this Order, for by names and images are all powers awakened and reawakened.
Hierophant now gives the Sign of Silence.
Hierophant: Honored Hiereus, how many chief officers are there in this Grade?
Hiereus: Three, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: And what are their names?
Hiereus: The chief officers are the Hierophant, the Hiereus and the Hegemon.
Hierophant: Is there any peculiarity in these names?
Hiereus: They all commence with the letter H.
Hierophant: Of what is this letter a symbol of?
Hiereus: Of life, because the character H is one mode of representing the ancient Greek aspirate; Breathing, and Breath, are evidence of life.
Hierophant: How many assistant officers are there in this Grade?
Hiereus: Three, besides the Sentinel, namely, the Kerux, the Stolistes, and the Dadouchos.
Hierophant: Where is the station of the Sentinel?
Hiereus: Without the Portal of the Hall.
Hierophant: And his duty?
Hiereus: He is armed with a sword to keep out intruders, and he prepares the Candidate.
Hierophant: And his godform?
Hiereus: Opowet, also known as Anubis of the West.
Hierophant: Soror Dadouchos, your station?
Dadouchos: In the South, Very Honored Hierophant, to symbolize heat and dryness.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Dadouchos: I attend to the censer and the incense and the lamps of the lodge, and I assist in the purification and consecration by Fire of the Hall, of the Members, and of the Candidate.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Dadouchos: Neit, also known as Thaum-Êsh-Nêith.
Hierophant: Frater Stolistes, your station?
Stolistes: In the North, Very Honored Hierophant, to symbolize cold and moisture.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Stolistes: I see that the robes, collars and insignia of the Officers are ready before the opening; I attend to the cup of lustral water and I assist in the purification and consecration by water, of the Hall, of the Members, and of the Candidate.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Stolistes: Mut, also known as Auramoouth.
Hierophant: Frater Kerux, your station?
Kerux: Within the Portal of the Hall, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Kerux: I see that all the furniture of the Hall is properly arranged before the opening. I guard the inner side of the Portal. I admit Fratres and Sorores of the Order. I assist in the reception of the Candidates. I attend to the Lamp of my office. I lead the mystic circumambulation and make all announcements and reports.
Hierophant: What do your Lamp and Wand symbolize?
Kerux: The Light of Occult Science and its directing power.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Kerux: Anup em Yebet, also known as Anubis of the East.
Hierophant: Frater Hegemon, your station?
Hegemon: Between the two pillars of Hermes and Solomon facing the cubical altar of the Universe, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Hegemon: I preside over the symbolic gateway of Occult Science. I am the reconciler between light and darkness. I immediately follow the Kerux in the mystic circumambulations. I superintend the preparation of the Candidate; lead him through the path of darkness into light, and assist in his reception, and I aid the other officers in the execution of their duties.
Hierophant: What does the white color of your robe symbolize?
Hegemon: Purity.
Hierophant: Your peculiar ensign of office?
Hegemon: The mitre-headed sceptre.
Hierophant: What does it symbolize?
Hegemon: Religion, to guide and regulate life.
Hierophant: What does your office symbolize?
Hegemon: Those higher aspirations of the soul, which should guide its actions.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Hegemon: Thmê, also known as Maat.
Hierophant: Honored Hiereus, your station?
Hiereus: On the throne of the West, Very Honored Hierophant.
Hierophant: What does the throne of the West symbolize?
Hiereus: Increase of darkness, decrease of light.
Hierophant: Your duty?
Hiereus: I preside over twilight and darkness, which encompass us in the absence of the Sun of Life and Light. I guard the gate of the West. I assist in the reception of the Candidate and I superintend the inferior officers in the execution of their duties.
Hierophant: What does the black color of your robe symbolize?
Hiereus: Darkness.
Hierophant: Your peculiar ensign of office?
Hiereus: The Sword and the Banner of the West.
Hierophant: What does the Banner of the West symbolize?
Hiereus: Twilight.
Hierophant: What does the Sword symbolize?
Hiereus: Severity and Judgment.
Hierophant: What does your office symbolize?
Hiereus: Fortitude.
Hierophant: And your godform?
Hiereus: Hôr, also known as Horus.
Hierophant: My place is on the Throne of the East, which symbolizes the rise of the Sun of Life and Light--my duty is to rule and govern this Hall in accordance with the laws of the Lodge and Order. The red color of my robe symbolizes Light; my insignia are the Crown-headed Sceptre and the Banner of the East which signifies power and light, mercy and wisdom, and my office is that of the Expounder of the Mysteries. My godform is Osir, also known as Osiris, when I am seated on the dais, and Hôr Wêr, or Horus the Elder, when I am moving on the Temple floor.
Hierophant: The station of the Past Hierophant is to the left of mine on the dais, dressed in red bearing a scepter, and his duty is to guide and support my office. His godform is Osiris when I am not on the dais, and is Horus the Elder when I am seated on the dais.
Hierophant: Sister Hegemon, what is the station, duties and godform of the Cancellarius?
Hegemon: The Cancellarius sits to the right of the Hierophant of the Hall, dressed in yellow robes bearing a wand, and his duties are to maintain the records of the lodge. His godform is Djehoti, also known as Thoth.
Hierophant: Brother Hiereus, what is the station, duties and godform of the Imperator?
Hiereus: The Imperator sits to the far right of the Hierophant of the Hall, dressed in red robes and bearing a sword, and his duties are to ensure that the Temple is obeying the Bylaws set forth by the voting members of the First and Second Orders. His godform is Nebethô, also known as Nephthys.
Hierophant: Sister Kerux, what is the station, duties and godform of the Praemonstrator?
Kerux: The Praemonstrator sits on the far left of the Hierophant of the Hall, dressed in blue robes and bearing a scepter, and his duty is to supervise the ritual work of the Order and to instruct members in its curriculum. His godform is Iset, also known as Isis.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Why Bast for Temple patron?
One of the comments that I recieved on an earlier blog post asked,"Why did Bast Temple chose Bast as our Temple patron goddess?"
To be honest, it started out as an insider joke. Three of the original members of Bast Temple had been part of another group. It was a loosely formed study group, which had two levels (the beginners and the more advanced).
(If you are curious, the group was called the Evolving Order of Eclectic Ways. BIORC almost ended up being called the Evolving Order of the Golden Dawn as a result of this. One of the reasons that BIORC did not end up under the Evolving label was that the initials would have been the same as those used by the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn [EOGD]. There are other reasons for BIORC to have been chosen as the rest of this entry will show...though many will argue they were not good reasons at all.)
One of the jokes that came out of the advanced circle was that the cats were really the Secret Chiefs. This joke slipped into the beginner circle which was led by two of the members of the advanced circle. This joke then slipped into the lodge as it was being formed.
Now I know a lot of people are going to be up in arms about this. And it does not matter...those who will be upset don't consider Bast Temple a real Golden Dawn lodge in the first place, therefore we do not have to maintain appearances just to please them. We can tell the truth; selecting our Temple Patron was the result of a joke.
But here is the kicker----despite the choice starting out as a joke, it worked just as well as if we were assigned this Patron from on-high.
For instance, each member of the original membership had at least one cat. May not seem important until you realize that we still have a Temple Kitty, who comes and checks out the new members (hence the question "Are you allergic to cats?"). The behavior of the cats are tracked by the voting members...the cats' opinions of applicants is often better than the humans.
This has lead to some interesting imagery used during lectures. For instance, the lecture where it is stated that the behavior of the Secret Chiefs in Golden Dawn history is much like the actions and behaviors of a cat. If you want to understand the Secret Chiefs, learn to understand the behavior of cats.
This choice of Bast and reason for it has some side-effects. For instance, we have learned that if you get upset by this set of jokes, then you are really not a good fit for membership in Bast Temple. Cat jokes are the least of the strange humor that one has to put up with as a member of Bast Temple.
The house that the meetings ended up being moved to during the second year of Bast Temple's existence came complete with its own feral cat colony. (For those who are curious: yes, the members of the feral colony were trapped, fixed and released [two males had to be put to sleep because of disease]. Today, they get a twice daily offering of food.)
As for the name BIORC, or more properly Ba Iset Order of the Rosy Cross, the reason for that is one of our members encountered a theory that Bast (Bastet) was really short for Ba Iset, the heart of Isis. Not a theory that one would place much weight on, but it has a nice ring to it, hence it being used as the Order name (just in case, we ever need it).
So there you have it, the reason for Bast to be selected as Temple Patron was that the goddess appealed to every cat owner in the group, and made for some really good humor. The fact that it serves as a signpost warning for those who would not be a good fit for entry in this particular Golden Dawn lodge is a nice side-effect.
(And in case, you are curious: a lot of magical work has been done with this godform. It may have started out as a joke, but it has become a rather interesting magical tool. It is probably safe to say that the Egyptian goddess Bast is pleased with our choice of Patron.)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Ritual Landmarks of Golden Dawn
The recent discussion over on Martin's Golden Dawn Group yahoo forum about the Watchtower Ritual have sparked a curiosity about what must be included in a ritual for it to be a Golden Dawn ritual and what needs to be excluded.
When it comes to layers that must be kept out, I have yet to think of anything that automatically would make a ritual non-Golden Dawn. Maybe my imagination is not that good, or maybe I am just too liberal to see the obvious. I am sure that my readers will point out things that I have completely over-looked.
But when it came to things that must be included, I instantly had a short list: Godforms, Elements, and the Tree of Life. To this short list, I have added a few things based on further thought and a brief conversation with one of my friends (I think he is a friend...maybe he is more of a thorn in the side...wait, thorn in the side is my definition of friend).
Godforms are a must have in Golden Dawn ritual. The absence of them in the Regardie Elemental Grade material disturbs me, but is understandable when placed in the historical context. Whether I use Pat Zalewski's, David Griffin's, or someone else's model is largely a matter of taste and depends on exactly I am doing at any given time, but every ritual I do needs its godforms.
Elements are another necessitity in my mind, though I will admit that there are a couple of rituals where I am a little fuzzy about what is going on the elemental level. I also think that the elements are given more attention than they desire occasionally; for instance, the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is more sephirothic than elemental in my less-than-humble opinion. Nevertheless, when trying to figure out what is going on in a Golden Dawn ritual, I look to see what role the elements are playing.
The Tree of Life is probably the most important item on my short list. It is like the control dial of the radio for me. It may not be the important in the larger scheme of things, but it is the layer I like to think that I understand the best.
For me, these parts (layers) and others are like Landmarks. If they are not present, then there is a good chance that it is not actually a Golden Dawn ritual that I am looking at. Now, there will be some that who object to my use of the term Landmark here, inisting that Landmark refers merely to administrative and lineage issues; but I say that it is the rituals that contain the Landmarks and not the Charters, Warrants and Bylaws. Besides they function as Landmarks for me, myself being one of those people who judge whether a group is Golden Dawn or not based on their ritual and not who a group is connected to.
Of course, someone will point out that being one of those silly people who give directions like "Turn left at the pink house; if you drive by the police station, you have gone too far" and expect other people to navigate the same way, that my whole definition of Landmark is completely wrong. But it is mine, and I am not about to change my definition just to make someone else happy.
If you want to know why the term Landmark makes sense to me for describing the essential layers of the rituals, consider this: when you hear the godname Shadai El Chai in a ritual, do you know where you are? I do not think that I need to say any more.
When it comes to layers that must be kept out, I have yet to think of anything that automatically would make a ritual non-Golden Dawn. Maybe my imagination is not that good, or maybe I am just too liberal to see the obvious. I am sure that my readers will point out things that I have completely over-looked.
But when it came to things that must be included, I instantly had a short list: Godforms, Elements, and the Tree of Life. To this short list, I have added a few things based on further thought and a brief conversation with one of my friends (I think he is a friend...maybe he is more of a thorn in the side...wait, thorn in the side is my definition of friend).
Godforms are a must have in Golden Dawn ritual. The absence of them in the Regardie Elemental Grade material disturbs me, but is understandable when placed in the historical context. Whether I use Pat Zalewski's, David Griffin's, or someone else's model is largely a matter of taste and depends on exactly I am doing at any given time, but every ritual I do needs its godforms.
Elements are another necessitity in my mind, though I will admit that there are a couple of rituals where I am a little fuzzy about what is going on the elemental level. I also think that the elements are given more attention than they desire occasionally; for instance, the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is more sephirothic than elemental in my less-than-humble opinion. Nevertheless, when trying to figure out what is going on in a Golden Dawn ritual, I look to see what role the elements are playing.
The Tree of Life is probably the most important item on my short list. It is like the control dial of the radio for me. It may not be the important in the larger scheme of things, but it is the layer I like to think that I understand the best.
For me, these parts (layers) and others are like Landmarks. If they are not present, then there is a good chance that it is not actually a Golden Dawn ritual that I am looking at. Now, there will be some that who object to my use of the term Landmark here, inisting that Landmark refers merely to administrative and lineage issues; but I say that it is the rituals that contain the Landmarks and not the Charters, Warrants and Bylaws. Besides they function as Landmarks for me, myself being one of those people who judge whether a group is Golden Dawn or not based on their ritual and not who a group is connected to.
Of course, someone will point out that being one of those silly people who give directions like "Turn left at the pink house; if you drive by the police station, you have gone too far" and expect other people to navigate the same way, that my whole definition of Landmark is completely wrong. But it is mine, and I am not about to change my definition just to make someone else happy.
If you want to know why the term Landmark makes sense to me for describing the essential layers of the rituals, consider this: when you hear the godname Shadai El Chai in a ritual, do you know where you are? I do not think that I need to say any more.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Enochian Chess Piece Godforms
Given the comment about my cheap Enochian Chess set being almost tattwatic in nature, and Pat's comments about the godform polarity (something he realized though Enochian Chess), I thought this would be a good time to talk about another reason why I think it is a good idea to have a generic set of pieces.
One of the reasons that I like my simple set of pieces is that it allows one to associate whatever attributes one would like on the pieces without disturbing the focus of the other players. As long as you can agree on the elemental nature of the pieces, which in my opinion is the simplest set of attributions, you can play a game with each player seeing the game happening with whatever mental furniture they are most comfortable with.
So you can have one player just thinking of the pieces on the level of the subelements (just one step above Lesser Battle Formula), another using the court cards of the Tarot, and two others focusing on two different sets of godforms, and still have no apparent conflicts on the board that would distract any of the players.
Now some may ask what do I mean by two different set of godsforms? Isn't there just the official set?
Yes, there is just the official set if you believe that the Golden Dawn documents published by Regardie are perfect in every way (and all that there is to Golden Dawn). Could Mathers and Westcott, and all the other great dead Adepts, have gotten some stuff wrong?
If you open the door to the fact that they might not be perfect, you open the door to the possibility that the Enochian Chess papers might not be perfect.
For myself, I have been exposed to the possibility several times. I tend to attract Inner Order mentors that ask, "Do you believe everything you read?"---a lot. It may just be my happy cynicism that draws these people to me. Or maybe it is just something I need to hear---a lot.
There is also the fact that I have developed a strange operating quark. I was taught that you do things by the book until you know why they were done that particular way in the first place. But I am also someone who can feel energies. I am not as sensitive as many people, but the sensitivity does create situations where I do not understand the reason, yet I can feel that there is something wrong with the operating procedure. Often I have made a change, and later learned that I have changed it to the method being used by those who are lodge trained from even better lineages than mine.
It is this feeling of wrongness that have driven me more and more to the conclusion that the godforms of the Earth set are not right. The two pieces that are driving me nuts are the Knight and Bishop. The more I work with the traditional godforms for them, the more wrong they feel.
I will not go any further into this subject; the response I have gotten previously is that unless I have documents from some old dead guys to back it up, I am simply wrong. I prefer to go by my feeling and just imagine another set of godforms for these two pieces. And that is a really good reason for me to have a set that are just represented by the subelements and piece type rather than the full godform version.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Developing Enochian Chess
Last month, Frater A.I.T. of the HOGD/A&O posted a blog entry on Enochian Chess. In the entry, he asked the question about why we do not see more people playing (and perhaps developing) the game. At the time, I did not have the time to write down my own opinions about the issue...I forget who I was annoying that week, but I do remember that I kept getting sidetracked.
It is an old question.
Why do we not see more Golden Dawn students playing the game?
Regardie asked it.
A bunch of people asked it after the HOGD/A&O declared all the published material to be Outer Order. A lot of students thought that they would be playing Enochian Chess after making Zelator...funny, no one actually sees them around.
I know Enochian Chess Steve tried to get more people to play the game. He was quite impressed with the system; he thought it could replace the entire Golden Dawn/A&O system. It is just too bad that all the conversations he started ended up with him trying to sell you books and a membership in his course.
I do not know anyone who ever graduated from his course. I have heard both good and bad things about the Enochian Chess program that he sold.
I have tried to get people interested in the game...needless to say I have failed to spark any interest in the game.
Now I have kicked it around. I think that a large part of the problem lays with how Enochian Chess is taught, or rather not taught. The way we have Enochian Chess today and we first get exposed to it is much like being taught to swim by being thrown in the deep end of the pool.
(For the record, you can actually be taught to swim this way. I am proof. I am also proof that it makes a person not want to swim or go near any large bodies of water ever again.)
First, we get exposed to a system that was never developed. I know that the Mathers crowd is going to burn me for saying that, but I feel that is the truth. We do not see anyone develop the system until Chris Zalewski comes along. Of course, that book is out of print; my copy was brought used at a public library sale (the fact that it was being sold says that no one was ever checking the book out).
We are also expected to be a full-fledged Adept when we are exposed to it. As far as I can determine, the exact level the papers for the game was issued originally was at PAM (Practicus Adeptus Minor); later it was dropped down to ZAM (Zelator Adeptus Minor) when the higher Adept Minor subgrades were removed from the system by Mathers.
The game is occasionally mentioned by Pat Zalewski as a tool to study the polarity interaction of the Outer Order officers. This technique has been used by at least one of his students, but to what extent I am not sure of.
For divination purposes, Enochian Chess (I have been told) is the best system to use for figuring out how governments, businesses, sport teams are going to behave in the future.
Nevertheless, despite the importance of the game for these functions, I know maybe a half dozen people who have studied the game. And they are scattered all over---we would have to play by email (something that one of my cats would just love---he likes to wander off with the chess pieces).
Of course, it does not help that one has to spend hours analysising the game afterwards. Nor does it help that most people no longer play ordinary exoteric chess.
Now I have kicked around developing a couple of items for the game. One is the ugly subelemental chess piece set I made. Another thing I have attempted to do is to create a single (double sided) page set of rules for the game. Heck with throwing people in the deep end of the pool, we need a shallow end of the pool to begin people off in.
(Yeah, yeah, I know the HOGD/A&O has moved it all to Outer Order...you are aware that I am not a member of the HOGD/A&O, and I am still against the curriclum change?)
We need to introduce people to the Enochian Chess system the same way we teach them the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. First, we teach them the moves, slowingly adding more to the system as the previous lessons become automatic.
Of course, my idea will not be adapted...I am not a Third Order contact, not a super-Adept, or any of the other things that one would need to convince people to accept this course of action. But I can dream of the day when I can actually sit dwn and argue about Enochian Chess with someone as we play, can't I?
It is an old question.
Why do we not see more Golden Dawn students playing the game?
Regardie asked it.
A bunch of people asked it after the HOGD/A&O declared all the published material to be Outer Order. A lot of students thought that they would be playing Enochian Chess after making Zelator...funny, no one actually sees them around.
I know Enochian Chess Steve tried to get more people to play the game. He was quite impressed with the system; he thought it could replace the entire Golden Dawn/A&O system. It is just too bad that all the conversations he started ended up with him trying to sell you books and a membership in his course.
I do not know anyone who ever graduated from his course. I have heard both good and bad things about the Enochian Chess program that he sold.
I have tried to get people interested in the game...needless to say I have failed to spark any interest in the game.
Now I have kicked it around. I think that a large part of the problem lays with how Enochian Chess is taught, or rather not taught. The way we have Enochian Chess today and we first get exposed to it is much like being taught to swim by being thrown in the deep end of the pool.
(For the record, you can actually be taught to swim this way. I am proof. I am also proof that it makes a person not want to swim or go near any large bodies of water ever again.)
First, we get exposed to a system that was never developed. I know that the Mathers crowd is going to burn me for saying that, but I feel that is the truth. We do not see anyone develop the system until Chris Zalewski comes along. Of course, that book is out of print; my copy was brought used at a public library sale (the fact that it was being sold says that no one was ever checking the book out).
We are also expected to be a full-fledged Adept when we are exposed to it. As far as I can determine, the exact level the papers for the game was issued originally was at PAM (Practicus Adeptus Minor); later it was dropped down to ZAM (Zelator Adeptus Minor) when the higher Adept Minor subgrades were removed from the system by Mathers.
The game is occasionally mentioned by Pat Zalewski as a tool to study the polarity interaction of the Outer Order officers. This technique has been used by at least one of his students, but to what extent I am not sure of.
For divination purposes, Enochian Chess (I have been told) is the best system to use for figuring out how governments, businesses, sport teams are going to behave in the future.
Nevertheless, despite the importance of the game for these functions, I know maybe a half dozen people who have studied the game. And they are scattered all over---we would have to play by email (something that one of my cats would just love---he likes to wander off with the chess pieces).
Of course, it does not help that one has to spend hours analysising the game afterwards. Nor does it help that most people no longer play ordinary exoteric chess.
Now I have kicked around developing a couple of items for the game. One is the ugly subelemental chess piece set I made. Another thing I have attempted to do is to create a single (double sided) page set of rules for the game. Heck with throwing people in the deep end of the pool, we need a shallow end of the pool to begin people off in.
(Yeah, yeah, I know the HOGD/A&O has moved it all to Outer Order...you are aware that I am not a member of the HOGD/A&O, and I am still against the curriclum change?)
We need to introduce people to the Enochian Chess system the same way we teach them the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. First, we teach them the moves, slowingly adding more to the system as the previous lessons become automatic.
Of course, my idea will not be adapted...I am not a Third Order contact, not a super-Adept, or any of the other things that one would need to convince people to accept this course of action. But I can dream of the day when I can actually sit dwn and argue about Enochian Chess with someone as we play, can't I?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Color and Vault study 2000 (Part Four) Thoth
This is part of a study of the color scales and the Vault of the Adepts that was done in 2000. It was not the world's best study, nor is it the best scan on earth. This is the godform of Thoth. He may not be part of the traditional study done at this stage of the Adept Minor work; but he is in the same set of notes as the rest of the color scale and Vault study, so I am including him here. Original is drawn in color pencil on the back of a large index card, and is part of my personal baseline (however wrong that is).
Monday, June 8, 2009
What we did at the OFM
For those of you who are curious, here is a brief summary about what my fellow lodge members, friends, and myself did at the Open Full Moon ritual on Friday night.
After setting up, some friendly conversation (I have not seen a couple of my friends in ages) and community announcements, it was Bast Temple and friends' turn to be in the spotlight.
I started off with stating who I am and what Bast Temple is. Then I talked some about why the Egyptian lore in Golden Dawn is outdated and why it does not matter (mythology v function).
Then I did the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. After this, the circle (hall) was purfied and consecrated by water and fire. The calling of the quarters were done after this.
For the calling of the quarters, we had five variations of Bast. I had made a paper doll for each aspect, along with varying the call itself.
An example of one of the quarter calls:
Hail Bast and the guardians of the watchtower of the East, protectors and lords of Air. Strengthen the element of Air in us and guide us in its ways. Tonight help us build a connection to the hidden intelligence of the Ancient Egyptian deities and the godforms that they inspired. Lead us to a greater understanding of the hidden genius that underlies the rituals. So mote it be!
As each quarter was called, I spiraled around the altar, carrying the respective Bast doll to its quarter. For the center (the "fifth quarter"), I merely lifted the doll and said the call before setting it down again. (ZAMs will recognize the pattern here.)
After this, I started the second part of the lecture. I talked about how Golden Dawn chose one function out of the range of aspects for a god (goddess) as their baseline and primary function for the godforms. I touched upon the fact that godforms were used in Golden Dawn as a power source for ritual and magic. I also pointed out that the Ancient Egyptians used the imagery of gods to empower spells (for instance, the use of the form of Osiris for the shabti).
Then came the fun part. I had the daughter of one of the lodge's members hand out to each person present a paper doll in the form of one of the godforms used by Golden Dawn. "No trading. No complaining. Trust the child [to give you the god/goddess that you need to work with]."
She did a real good job; the right god ended up with the right person.
Then people drew on and colored the paper dolls, including symbols for what type of working they needed.
(I am thinking about making a low cost Lulu pdf of the godform dolls; I think other people will find them useful.)
Then we dismissed the quarters.
Thank you Bast and the guardians of the watchtower of the East, protectors and lords of Air, for your presence here tonight. May there always be a bond of peace, harmony and instruction between us. Hail and farewell!
And had animal crackers and apple juice ("cakes and ale").
"Merry meet. Merry part. Merry meet again!"
So that is what happened at the June Bast Temple led Open Full Moon ritual.
Now, I just have to come up with an idea for next June's OFM.
After setting up, some friendly conversation (I have not seen a couple of my friends in ages) and community announcements, it was Bast Temple and friends' turn to be in the spotlight.
I started off with stating who I am and what Bast Temple is. Then I talked some about why the Egyptian lore in Golden Dawn is outdated and why it does not matter (mythology v function).
Then I did the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. After this, the circle (hall) was purfied and consecrated by water and fire. The calling of the quarters were done after this.
For the calling of the quarters, we had five variations of Bast. I had made a paper doll for each aspect, along with varying the call itself.
An example of one of the quarter calls:
Hail Bast and the guardians of the watchtower of the East, protectors and lords of Air. Strengthen the element of Air in us and guide us in its ways. Tonight help us build a connection to the hidden intelligence of the Ancient Egyptian deities and the godforms that they inspired. Lead us to a greater understanding of the hidden genius that underlies the rituals. So mote it be!
As each quarter was called, I spiraled around the altar, carrying the respective Bast doll to its quarter. For the center (the "fifth quarter"), I merely lifted the doll and said the call before setting it down again. (ZAMs will recognize the pattern here.)
After this, I started the second part of the lecture. I talked about how Golden Dawn chose one function out of the range of aspects for a god (goddess) as their baseline and primary function for the godforms. I touched upon the fact that godforms were used in Golden Dawn as a power source for ritual and magic. I also pointed out that the Ancient Egyptians used the imagery of gods to empower spells (for instance, the use of the form of Osiris for the shabti).
Then came the fun part. I had the daughter of one of the lodge's members hand out to each person present a paper doll in the form of one of the godforms used by Golden Dawn. "No trading. No complaining. Trust the child [to give you the god/goddess that you need to work with]."
She did a real good job; the right god ended up with the right person.
Then people drew on and colored the paper dolls, including symbols for what type of working they needed.
(I am thinking about making a low cost Lulu pdf of the godform dolls; I think other people will find them useful.)
Then we dismissed the quarters.
Thank you Bast and the guardians of the watchtower of the East, protectors and lords of Air, for your presence here tonight. May there always be a bond of peace, harmony and instruction between us. Hail and farewell!
And had animal crackers and apple juice ("cakes and ale").
"Merry meet. Merry part. Merry meet again!"
So that is what happened at the June Bast Temple led Open Full Moon ritual.
Now, I just have to come up with an idea for next June's OFM.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Final dash to prepare for the OFM ritual
Tonight is the Open Full Moon ritual that I am leading. And there is still so much work to do. Fortunately, the most time consuming parts should be already done. I hope.
I did manage to get some of the remaining work done yesterday, despite being so bone tired and taking a part of the day off.
This ritual is either going to turn out to be really fun or really horrible. I am not sure which one I should bet on. I think it will lean towards fun for everyone, but myself. Then again, I am just going to remember the mistakes and none of the successes; it is a habit I have; blame that Virgo sun sign.
And I will see some of you at the OFM. I am looking forward to this OFM and sharing with you some of the lessons that I have been learning.
Wish me luck at finishing my props in time.
I did manage to get some of the remaining work done yesterday, despite being so bone tired and taking a part of the day off.
This ritual is either going to turn out to be really fun or really horrible. I am not sure which one I should bet on. I think it will lean towards fun for everyone, but myself. Then again, I am just going to remember the mistakes and none of the successes; it is a habit I have; blame that Virgo sun sign.
And I will see some of you at the OFM. I am looking forward to this OFM and sharing with you some of the lessons that I have been learning.
Wish me luck at finishing my props in time.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Making progress towards the OFM
I made a bunch of progress towards Friday's Open Full Moon ritual yesterday. Finished off the quarter calls, and drew the Bast dolls for them (still need to color them later today). Based on how tired I feel, I know that I am putting a lot of energy into this OFM. As I have said before: it will either be a really fun ritual or a really horrible ritual.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Made my blurb for the June 5th Open Full Moon
The June 5th 2009 Open Full Moon, “The Egyptian God Paper Doll Hour”, is going to be led by two of the members of Bast Temple, one of the local Golden Dawn lodges.
Golden Dawn is an esoteric tradition that formed in 1888. It was one of the first Orders to use actual Egyptian lore in its system, rather than the myths that the Hermetic tradition created after the ability to read the Egyptian hieroglyphs was lost. Yet despite being cutting edge at the time of its creation, as a lodge system, a society with secrets, the lore that they continue to use to this day is sadly out of date, something that many modern students of Egyptian lore have an issue with.
This ritual will address why the outdated lore is only an issue if you are interested in historical accuracy, and how an outdated system of lore can still produce results when used in a magical setting. There will be paper dolls of Egyptian deities involved in this ritual.
The Hearthstone Open Full Moons are held at the First Unitarian Church at 14th and Lafayette, Denver Colorado. The doors open at 7pm; community announcements happen at 7:30 pm; the ritual starts after the community announcements are completed. The event is free to attend; a five dollar donation is suggested to help offset the cost of the rental of the ritual/meeting room.
Golden Dawn is an esoteric tradition that formed in 1888. It was one of the first Orders to use actual Egyptian lore in its system, rather than the myths that the Hermetic tradition created after the ability to read the Egyptian hieroglyphs was lost. Yet despite being cutting edge at the time of its creation, as a lodge system, a society with secrets, the lore that they continue to use to this day is sadly out of date, something that many modern students of Egyptian lore have an issue with.
This ritual will address why the outdated lore is only an issue if you are interested in historical accuracy, and how an outdated system of lore can still produce results when used in a magical setting. There will be paper dolls of Egyptian deities involved in this ritual.
The Hearthstone Open Full Moons are held at the First Unitarian Church at 14th and Lafayette, Denver Colorado. The doors open at 7pm; community announcements happen at 7:30 pm; the ritual starts after the community announcements are completed. The event is free to attend; a five dollar donation is suggested to help offset the cost of the rental of the ritual/meeting room.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Prototype Egyptian dolls done
Managed to get the first draft of the OFM newsletter blurb and the prototype paper dolls done today before attending the Reiki circle. I still have a lot of work to do, making the heads for them promises to take up a lot of time.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Writing short descriptions of Egyptian gods/goddesses
Making progress on getting ready for the June 5th OFM. Wrote out ten 25 (give or take a couple) word descriptions for some of the Egyptian gods/goddesses I plan on using.
I am glad that I have started working on this project already, rather than waiting until the last minute. Given the amount of work that I did on it yesterday and this afternoon, I can see that it is going to take a lot more work to get ready for.
The short descriptions may be the easiest part of the whole project. After all, I just need to tell the name of the god/goddess and their baseline Golden Dawn function. It is not like I am actually trying to condense three thousand years of Egyptian and Hermetic lore into twenty-five words.
A couple of samples of what I ending up with:
There are two forms of Anubis used by GD: one in the hall, one outside. One functions as a guide; the other as a protector.
In her aspect as goddess of wisdom, Isis was the patron of the first GD lodge. Her function is fertility.
Amseht is the humanheaded son of Horus. He is the vice-regent of the element of fire, and the guardian of the initiate's airy body.
I am glad that I have started working on this project already, rather than waiting until the last minute. Given the amount of work that I did on it yesterday and this afternoon, I can see that it is going to take a lot more work to get ready for.
The short descriptions may be the easiest part of the whole project. After all, I just need to tell the name of the god/goddess and their baseline Golden Dawn function. It is not like I am actually trying to condense three thousand years of Egyptian and Hermetic lore into twenty-five words.
A couple of samples of what I ending up with:
There are two forms of Anubis used by GD: one in the hall, one outside. One functions as a guide; the other as a protector.
In her aspect as goddess of wisdom, Isis was the patron of the first GD lodge. Her function is fertility.
Amseht is the humanheaded son of Horus. He is the vice-regent of the element of fire, and the guardian of the initiate's airy body.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Relaxing after finals
Well, you know that you are a Golden Dawn student when your idea of relaxing is to study Golden Dawn material, listen to Golden Dawn podcasts, and prepare for a Golden Dawn themed open full moon.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Just in case, this is not let though
(This reply may not get though because I openly admitted that I do not trust L.E.S.'s Olive Branch, so I am posting it here too.)
So we should just abandon the whole field of magic until science can prove, or detect, that our results are caused by our rituals.
Not only that, we need to give up the use of electricity, machines, and families; I believe that they all work, but I don't understand enourgh about any of them to be able to prove causaility either.
Back to the caves with all of us. Civilization is unprovable.
Morgan
--- In Hermetic-Order-of-the-Golden-Dawn@yahoogroups.com, "Steve-Nichols.com"wrote:>> >
[about the Golden Dawn using godforms in a way that is not actual history, and people claiming it is ok because it works]
We should get rid of this "but if it works then it works" anti-analytic approach. A jungle tribe may have produced their annual rainfall ovedr 100's or 1,00's of years by their ancient marshmallow-toasting rite or whatever. It works for them, but to claim any causality between the annual monsoon and marshmallow-toasting practices or beliefs is absurd.>
So we should just abandon the whole field of magic until science can prove, or detect, that our results are caused by our rituals.
Not only that, we need to give up the use of electricity, machines, and families; I believe that they all work, but I don't understand enourgh about any of them to be able to prove causaility either.
Back to the caves with all of us. Civilization is unprovable.
Morgan
--- In Hermetic-Order-of-the-Golden-Dawn@yahoogroups.com, "Steve-Nichols.com"
[about the Golden Dawn using godforms in a way that is not actual history, and people claiming it is ok because it works]
We should get rid of this "but if it works then it works" anti-analytic approach. A jungle tribe may have produced their annual rainfall ovedr 100's or 1,00's of years by their ancient marshmallow-toasting rite or whatever. It works for them, but to claim any causality between the annual monsoon and marshmallow-toasting practices or beliefs is absurd.>
Monday, January 19, 2009
Godforms and gods and goddesses
Occasionally, I forget one of my self-imposed rules of behavior, those rules of thumb I have to make my life easier or at least less exciting.
One of these rules is to never respond to a posting by certain people. It is a waste of time to respond to some people on the forums; they are just there to prove their point and will use everything you say (or don't say) as proof that you are against them. Or so it seems.
One of the people I do not respond to is Steve Nichols.
Or at least, I try to resist the urge to respond to his postings. Unfortunately, I occasionally give into temptation and then end up regretting it.
The latest topic I responded to is his "Adopt a deity for a day" campaign. I read the post, and replied that the idea reminded me of a procedure that some Chaos magicians have done.
First, Steve asks me what my point was.
Honestly, I am not sure that I had a point. And I admitted that to everyone.
Then he decides that I am accusing him of lifting the idea from Chaos magic.
Oy Vey.
That is why I don't reply to his postings.
Well, that and I have no clue why anyone so hostile to Golden Dawn posts on the Golden Dawn forums. One of his pet projects has been to divorce Enochian Chess from any Golden Dawn influences. He claims that it predates Golden Dawn and that all one needs to become an Adept to play Enochian Chess.
Of course, that was before he decided that the Ancient Egyptian game of Senet could be used for that task.
Part of the problem between me and Steve is that I don't believe that it is that easy. Sometimes games are just games. I used to be a role playing geek and a Magic the Gathering player. I have never gained anything spiritual from the games of Senet that I have played.
And I find some of his ideas underdeveloped and not to the point at all; I admit that my reviews of his books on Enochian Chess were not nice.
The other problem is that he spends a lot of his time trying to tear down Golden Dawn. He has never been an initiate of the system, yet he believes that he understands the system.
I am a member of the THAM (Theoricus Adept Minor 5=6) subgrade, plus have access to higher Grade stuff due to my office of archive officer (complete with a much higher oath and Administrative Grade); I don't understand the system completely, and I have been a member and student of the system since March of 1992.
Another of his pet projects is to prove that the godforms that Golden Dawn uses are wrong. Unfortunately, he does not realize that the godforms and the ancient deities of Egypt are not the same things.
(By the way, I am an Egypt pagan/wiccan, besides having worked with other pantheons.)
The godforms that Golden Dawn use are function based. They use a modified form of a god or goddess (angel or myth), and a selected piece of its mythology. They serve a ritual and energetic function. They are NOT the entity who they are named after.
But no amount of reason will convince him of that. Better and more learned people than I have tried. Which is why I have to remember not to respond to his posts.
Place your bets on how long it is before the next time that he suckers me into answering some discussion.
One of these rules is to never respond to a posting by certain people. It is a waste of time to respond to some people on the forums; they are just there to prove their point and will use everything you say (or don't say) as proof that you are against them. Or so it seems.
One of the people I do not respond to is Steve Nichols.
Or at least, I try to resist the urge to respond to his postings. Unfortunately, I occasionally give into temptation and then end up regretting it.
The latest topic I responded to is his "Adopt a deity for a day" campaign. I read the post, and replied that the idea reminded me of a procedure that some Chaos magicians have done.
First, Steve asks me what my point was.
Honestly, I am not sure that I had a point. And I admitted that to everyone.
Then he decides that I am accusing him of lifting the idea from Chaos magic.
Oy Vey.
That is why I don't reply to his postings.
Well, that and I have no clue why anyone so hostile to Golden Dawn posts on the Golden Dawn forums. One of his pet projects has been to divorce Enochian Chess from any Golden Dawn influences. He claims that it predates Golden Dawn and that all one needs to become an Adept to play Enochian Chess.
Of course, that was before he decided that the Ancient Egyptian game of Senet could be used for that task.
Part of the problem between me and Steve is that I don't believe that it is that easy. Sometimes games are just games. I used to be a role playing geek and a Magic the Gathering player. I have never gained anything spiritual from the games of Senet that I have played.
And I find some of his ideas underdeveloped and not to the point at all; I admit that my reviews of his books on Enochian Chess were not nice.
The other problem is that he spends a lot of his time trying to tear down Golden Dawn. He has never been an initiate of the system, yet he believes that he understands the system.
I am a member of the THAM (Theoricus Adept Minor 5=6) subgrade, plus have access to higher Grade stuff due to my office of archive officer (complete with a much higher oath and Administrative Grade); I don't understand the system completely, and I have been a member and student of the system since March of 1992.
Another of his pet projects is to prove that the godforms that Golden Dawn uses are wrong. Unfortunately, he does not realize that the godforms and the ancient deities of Egypt are not the same things.
(By the way, I am an Egypt pagan/wiccan, besides having worked with other pantheons.)
The godforms that Golden Dawn use are function based. They use a modified form of a god or goddess (angel or myth), and a selected piece of its mythology. They serve a ritual and energetic function. They are NOT the entity who they are named after.
But no amount of reason will convince him of that. Better and more learned people than I have tried. Which is why I have to remember not to respond to his posts.
Place your bets on how long it is before the next time that he suckers me into answering some discussion.
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