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.

Neat Tarot artwork

I went over to the Llewellyn's blog this morning (I think it was to avoid doing my homework), and was reading a few of the recent posts.

In one post, Donald Michael Kraig talked about how much printer ink cost (something I complained about on Facebook recently), and how speakers at the conventions made their money doing back room sales (something that I suspected for a long while).

But it was another post by Barbara Moore that I found the most interesting. She was talking about a neat discovery concerning the artwork in the Initatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn deck. Turns out that the Empress, Emperor and the Hierophant are all parts of a single piece of artwork.

(Ok, I must admit that I did not notice this before she called my attention to it. Otherwise I would have mentioned it in the book review I did on the Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn.)

Now, the question is: How does this affect the meaning of these three cards?

For those who have not listened to Pat Zalewski lecturing on this, the picture of a Tarot card is the most important part of the card. It is the ruling pivot that reconciles all the associations assigned to a card. If it wasn't important, we could get by with the symbols of the planets, signs, and Hebrew letters written on index cards.

Now in the back of my mind, these three cards have always been related since the first time I stepped in lodge.

The Emperor is the Imperator; the Empress is the Praemonstrator; and the Hierophant is the Hierophant (of course). The connection is that they are all dais officers.

(Attending lodge members will notice that we are missing the Cancellarius; this is not a big problem considering that in many ways that officer is a mixture of the other three officers. Therefore the entire unit here is Thoth, while the individual parts are more focused in their operations.)

Now, from a pure Golden Dawn training position, this idea is slightly wrong (the dais officers are represented by other cards); but on another level, this is a really neat bit about the artwork of the Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn.

Grades and the officers

Today, while reading a post from one of the private Golden Dawn forums that I belong to, I started thinking about the issue of "What Grade should the officers be?"

There are conflicting opinions about this issue.

Some people believe that the officers should be of the highest Grade that a lodge can field; therefore if a lodge has eleven Adept Extempts in its ranks, all eleven Outer Order officers (Neophyte Hall) would be Adept Extempts. The idea behind this is that the more one understands the symbolism, and the more magical work one has done, the better your skill as an officer.

Unfortunately, this idea typically leads to a handful of people being stuck in office until they retire from the system; it also leads lodges ending up closing shop because they have no replacements when a bunch of officers decide to retire all at once.

Then there is the school of thought that you can be an officer in a ritual as long as you hold the Grade that the ritual is being held in. Therefore, for instance, to be an officer in a Theoricus ritual, you must be a Theoricus (with two exceptions).

As it is very obvivous, this leads to officers not completely understanding the ritual which is why the argument that officers should be of the highest Grade exists in the first place.

The two exceptions are the dais officers (the Hierophant, Past Hierophant, Imperator, Cancellarius, and Praemonstrator) and the Sentinel.

By tradition, (no matter what Grade the lodge is working) the Hierophant must be of at least an Adept Minor (Zelator Adept Minor subgrade), the subgrade where originally you were issued the Z-papers. And if you subscribe to the full subgrade theory, you could argue that only an Adept Extemptus is capable of holding the office of Hierophant; you don't start to study the last layer of the Neophyte, and other Outer Order rituals, until the 7=4 Grade.

The same holds true for the rest of the dais officers.

The other exception is the Sentinel, who because they sit outside of the Hall, only needs to be an Neophyte, no matter what Grade the Hall is actually opened in.

These are the two extremes. There is a middle ground which I believe that most lodges actually fall in. And that is to use the officerships as part of the training program. This is the school that I came from.

I held my first office when I was a Neophyte; yes, I served a turn as Sentinel.

But as Sentinel, as an officer, I had to know about the godforms. Anyone who embraces the concept of secrecy is going to throw a cow at this point, especially those who lean towards absolute secrecy and the separation of the Orders that comprise Golden Dawn; for as a Neophyte, I should not have been exposed to anything about the godforms.

But I was. Hathor Temple had classes for its officers, as does Bast Temple. Basically officers were required to know more than the ordinary members of the same Grades do. It made life interesting.

Was it the correct thing to do? I don't know. It is something that every lodge must come to grips to for themselves.

My get out of jail free card

Early in my personal Golden Dawn history (before I learned what I joined was not really Golden Dawn according to the most vocal historians and pundits), I learned a very important phrase: I don't know.

It actually started before I joined Golden Dawn (I will continue to call it GD because I believe that it is GD despite opinions that tell me that I am wrong). My sponsor spotted me in public with Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magic (How to Become a non-GD Adept in Eleven Easy Lessons). It is a book that most of us own.

He started right in on me: Why are you reading that book? does it really work? why do you have to learn the Hebrew alphabet?

My standard response, after I got done being frustrated, was: I don't know.

To this day, I am not sure why he decided to sponsor me for membership in Hathoor Temple. But I continued to use the phrase well into my membership. It is an useful phrase. It allows me to ask questions, assign research projects (Temple Officers are mean that way), and helps keep my ego under control (well as much as it is possible for my ego to be under control).

Unlike several Adepts I have ran into over the years, I don't have to dodge behind secrecy ("You will learn that in a higher Grade"), nor do I have to make up answers. If I don't know something, I just admit to it.

And if I do, I either tell the person the answer or give them a full run-down of what all they need to know before I can give them an answer that will actually make sense to them.

(That is a form of secrecy in itself: an answer that makes no sense unless you know X, Y and Z.)

After all, my office and oath requires me to teach and not merely hide the information that I do know. Preservation of information is my burden, not secrecy.

(For those who are concerned with secrecy---if it is already in public domain, why not talk about it? and do you know what I reserve exclusively for the members of my own lodge? are you sure that the public knowledge is all that there is?)

I am not sure if this is the right way to do things or not. It was acceptable in Hathoor, and it is acceptable in Bast Temple. It is my way. Is it the best way to do things? Honestly, I don't know.