Why not add more information to the Tarot cards? (Tarot design)

Question: In the Minor Arcana of the Golden Dawn Tarot, we indicate the planet that sub-rules the decan on the card. Why do we not add the ruling planet of the sign on the card also? And why not the planet's dignity?

Answer: There is a concept in astrology called the "black chart" which is the result of adding more and more data points to the horoscope. For instance, you can add all the named asteroids, and all the Arabic points, and all the hypothetical planets, and all the fixed stars...and your chart will be completely black and overflowing with information--making it completely unusable. Sometimes, less is more. And for your average astrology student, the house markers and planets are about all they can cope with--it is the bare amount of information you need to read the chart.

Likewise, you could add all this other information to the cards...but each piece of information brings it closer to the black chart stage where there is simply just too much information. And in the case of exalted and fallen planets, that is specialty information--it is only useful if you worked with it a lot, or you have a handy chart. And honestly, the chart is far more useful than cluttering up the card itself.

Please note that both Adepts and astrologers are supposed to know the ruling planets of the signs. If you know the ruling planets, you know the falls; if you know the dignities, you know the detriments. (Basically, the negative weakened position is opposite of the strengthened position.)

Eight of Wands is assigned to the first decan of Sagittarius sub-ruled by Mercury. 

The information we put on the card is the bare minimum. So why the decan ruler? One, it is part of the base meaning of the card. Two, it saves you time figuring out what the decan sub-ruler is (I tend to have to count on my fingers to figure it out).

Whenever designing a Tarot card, you need to ask "Could I use this card in candlelight conditions?" If the answer is no, then you probably need to remove some clutter.

What is a Decan (why are decans associated with the Minor Arcana) and how is a decan shown in GD Tarot artwork?

A question asked in the Sanctuary of Mau (Golden Dawn Facebook group for people working their way though the Cicero's Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition textbook):

BB wrote:

"I'm trying to draw the two of Wands now, but I'm a bit confused by the wording. What does "Two small wands above and below" mean? I'm supposed to draw two central ones being held, then two above and two below them, making for six wands total? And what is the Decan? Maybe I should put this project on a hold until I have a better grasp of the material."

Description from Book T: "A WHITE Radiating Angelic hand, issuing from clouds, and grasping two crossed wands. Flames issue from the point of junction. On two small wands above and below, with flames of five issuing therefrom, are the symbols of Mars and Aries for the Decan."

My answer:

The small wands are just places to stick the symbols of Mars and Aries. Most, if not all, modern artists ignore that part of the description and just use the astrology symbols. If you really want something to place them on, I suggest little banners.

The small cards (Minor Arcana) two to ten in the sutis are associated with the Decans. A Decan is a third of a Zodiac sign (ten degrees). [Some other occult sources use the term Face for them.] Each Decan has a sub-ruler that flavors that ten degrees, and is stronger when you find the planet there. The typical wording is "planet in sign," but really should be "the ten degrees of the sign subruled by XYZ planet."

There are two ways to assign the planetary subrulers to the Decans. The method used by Golden Dawn is based on the same pattern as the assignment of the planets to the Tree of Life sephiroth. The other method (sometimes called the Vedic method) is based on the element of the sign and the rulers of the other two signs of the same element; this alternative method is actually easier to figure out in your head. Due to Golden Dawn choosing the harder method, it helps the reader if the astrological symbols are on the cards to remind the reader of the card's assignment.

So how is the decan used in readings? Besides being one of several layers that make up a card (others being Number, Colors, Sephiroth, etc.), one can use it to determine timing (this event will occur while the Sun is in this ten degrees of the Zodiac), and also the placement of planets when one does readings based on the planets.

For instance, in a Planetary based reading, the first card pulled would be the position of the Rising Sign, the second would be the position of the Sun, the third would be the position of the Moon, etc.

An example of the Two of Wands done by a modern artist and Adept.

Assignment of the Decans to the Minor Arcana.

Does historical fiction need to be accurate? (Especially if I am the writer)

One of the things that I have been kicking around is a story set in Ancient Egypt. Now I will probably never write it because I have now mentioned it on my blog which usually kills off any project that I discuss...because of...I am not sure--it may simply be that my brain says "You have told that story already--move on."


Of course, it may also be my perfectionist nature, or maybe there is a voodoo doll out there of me with lots of pins in it, or the fact that I worry about how other people will react to my work--who knows.


The big question that I am asking about this project is "How much actual historical accuracy do people expect?"


If readers expect a hundred percent accuracy, then let's be honest, they will be sadly disappointed in my work--because I have never allowed the truth to get in the way of a good story. That is a nasty habit that I picked up from my father, who used to tell jokes about the Polish (including the famous short runway pilot joke).


There is also the little fact that my degree is in general history, and not a deep degree focused on any particular time period.


Plus to use the best research and knowledge available on Ancient Egypt costs an arm and a leg. Doing research, I learned that many of the books that would be particularly useful to me, have price tags in the hundred of dollars (and one topped a thousand dollars).


And then there is the other side of the question, which is "Do Golden Dawn members expect fiction written by an Order member to reflect the teachings of the Golden Dawn tradition, even when the current academic research says that the Golden Dawn lore is completely and utterly wrong?"


For the one person who just said, "What? Golden Dawn is not historically accurate? That can't be true--the Imperator of Golden Dawn insists that the teachings of Golden Dawn are one hundred percent true to the Ancient Egyptian mysteries because our Order lineage goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt and beyond."--Sorry, someone has lied to you.


But none of these questions matter because I am probably not going to do any more work on the project--because that is the curse of mentioning it--which I am quite sure will make my favorite critic happy.

One of my favorite scenes from Stargate: "Why do they keep reprinting Budge?"

Mix and match divination (just toss everything into the pot)

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Welcome to another round of the Tarot Blog Hop. Today's theme is the simple question: 

"Do you combine Tarot with any other divination system? Why or why not?"

Short answer: Yes...because I am a member of the Golden Dawn tradition.

Long answer: Well, let me illustrate what I am doing. 

Golden Dawn, a system of lodge initiations and magical instruction, founded in 1888, has mixing the Tarot with other forms of divination built into the system since day one. The common method of associating the Tarot cards with astrology that many of us know, actually first appears in the Cipher Manuscript of Golden Dawn. The Cipher Manuscript, the foundational document of Golden Dawn, lists the associations for the Major Arcana with the planets and zodiac signs. It also shows a connection of astrology with the system of divination known as geomancy.

Whoever created the Cipher Manuscript, probably the Victorian Masonic authority and writer, Kenneth Mackenzie, worked out a system of correspondence between the Kabbalah, the geomantic symbols, Tarot, and astrology. The connection between the Tarot, kabbalah, and astrology (& geomancy with astrology) was not a new idea, but the Cipher Manuscript arrangement was the one that ended up in Golden Dawn, and then spread outward into the general esoteric occult community, through the works of A. E. Waite and Aleister Crowley, and became the standard in the English branch of the Western Mystery Traditions.

(Recently, I saw an argument that claimed that Mackenzie [or whoever created the Cipher Manuscript] got his system of Tarot to astrology associations from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers [one of the co-chiefs of the original Golden Dawn]--there is only one problem with this idea: Whoever created the Cipher Manuscript actually first assigned Strength and Justice one way to astrology, and then changed their mind in a later section--hardly what you would do if you inherited the system from someone else.)

Astrological decans and the Tarot (Golden Dawn tradition).

Thanks to the student of Golden Dawn learning these associations, they tend to explain the occult symbols in a great circle, going from one system of esoteric modeling to another, eventually ending up back at the beginning of the circle which is to say they continue to go around in a circle.

One of the exercises required from the practicing Adept Minor is to perform three operations for the same subject of a divination. In other words, the Adept Minor asks a question, and creates a geomantic shield, an astrological (horary) chart, and does a Tarot spread (Opening of the Key) for the question--comparing the three readings with one another.

It should be noted that once one passes their Adept Minor exams, that one often just sticks with a single style of divination after that point. But there are always those who continue to mix and match divination systems...

...freaks like myself.

As an example of a mix and match operation, let's look at one of my ongoing projects--the examination of astrology charts using the symbols of the Tarot and geomancy to extract meaning--a form of mediation on parts of an astrology chart.

For instance, in my birth chart, I have my natal Moon in the sign of Scorpio. Using the Tarot, the astrological position of the Moon in my birth chart can be depicted by the High Priestess (Moon), Death (Scorpio), and the fact that the moon is in the 20th degree of Scorpio with the Seven of Cups (the Minor Arcana associated with the third decan of Scorpio).

(A point of interest is that not only do I suffer a Moon in Scorpio, so did my mother and her sister, making an interesting familial dynamic.)

Stage one of this odd method--with Via, Populus and Rebis for Moon in Scorpio.

Now, my Moon is squared to my Mercury in Leo, my only planet in a Fire sign, which can be depicted with the Magician (Mercury), Strength (Leo), and the Seven of Wands (for the 21st degree of Leo which is in the third decan of the sign).

(Interestingly enough, my mother's Mercury is also in a Fire sign, that of Aries. If you ignore Pluto, it is her only planet in a Fire sign. By the way, the more I examine the charts of my relatives, the more such similarities I have discovered.) 

Stage two with Albus, Conjuntio, Fortuna Major, and Fortuna Minor for Mercury in Leo.

Now, taking the associated geomancy symbols for the planets and signs, I can further extend the symbolism by treating the geomantic symbols as part of a geomantic shield. (A geomantic shield is like a Tarot spread, but with geomancy.)

Adding and combining the points of the geomantic symbols (a standard procedure in geomancy), I end up with two more bits of information, the geomantic symbols of the Moon and Aquarius. Interestingly enough, one of the decans of Aquarius is sub-ruled by the Moon, so I end up with another symbol to add to the mix.

So I end up with another High Priestess (Moon), as well as the Star (Aquarius) and the Seven of Swords (another third decan card). 

Stage three with Via and Tristitia representing the dynamic of the Square aspect.

Now does any of this make sense? Maybe. Maybe not.

But I do exhibit a pattern of being argumentative when the (current) Moon is in Scorpio or in a Square aspect to that, especially when it comes to defending my ideals; and when I realize that it is once again that time of the month, I tend to wander off without another word rather than continue to abuse other people.

In the end, it does not matter if it is nonsense or not--what matters is that it allows me to examine parts of horoscopes from a different angle.

Blessed be.

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Read an ebook week 2017 (Smashwords sale ends March 11)

It is Read an Ebook week.

Because ebooks are also books.

And in celebration, Smashwords is having their eighth annual Read an Ebook promotion (March 5 to March 11) where Smashwords authors are discounting some of their ebooks.

In my case, I am offering a discount on the following ebooks.

Witchy Rants--the first four year collection of the columns that I wrote for the monthly Hearthstone Community Church ("the Open Full Moon ritual people") monthly newsletter. Normally $2.99 USD--50% off (RAE50) $1.50 USD.

Five Reasons Magic Fails--an extended essay on five common reasons that spells fail to work. Normally $2.99 USD--50% off $1.50 USD.

Rite of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year (A Golden Dawn inspired Wiccan ritual)--a Wiccan ritual in which I combined the idea of astrological magical images with the eight Wiccan Sabbats. Normally $2.99 USD--50% (RAE50) $1.50 USD.

Golden Dawn Neophyte Ritual (Three Officer version)--an adaption of the traditional Golden Dawn Neophyte (0=0) lodge initiation ritual rewritten to be performed by only three officers (rather than the six to eleven officers that tradition usually calls for). Normally $5.99 USD--75% off (RAE75) $1.50 USD.

Shakespeare's Monkey--a collection of poems and short fiction that I wrote for a creative writing class at the Community College of Denver over a decade ago. Normally $1.99 USD--50% off (RAE50) $0.99 USD.

Also discounted are back issues of the Denver Witch Quarterly (a magazine devoted to paganism, Wicca, witchcraft, magick, and the occult). [Yes, we are accepting submissions!!!]

A Modest Magazine Proposal (DWQ Prospectus)--in which I talk about my plans for the Quarterly and my background in Denver's amateur pagan/Wiccan/magical magazine scene of the 90s. Includes important information for those who consider submitting material to the ezine. Normally $0.99 USD--FREE 100% off (SFREE).

Want to submit to the Quarterly? Email submissions to basttemple [at] msn [dot] com.

Denver Witch Quarterly most frequently asked contributor questions and answers.

To Curse, Or Not To Curse--The Big Cursing Issue (DWQ Samhain/Yule 2016)--in my primary editorial I ponder the ethics and technique of cursing a convicted rapist (who received an extremely light sentence) as a form of justice. Plus commentaries on Black Lives Matter (BHC); gun violence and gun control (MDE); Fiction: Short stories by A. J. Hallows (The Nightlight) and B. H. Crowley (Basil Unsealed). Plus a poem, Living Art by B. H. Crowley; Rituals: A fairy ritual in poetic form (MDE); An Anubis Samhain ritual and Honoring Horus on the Winter Solstice (Moongazer); Instructional article: Heavenly Watchers—Using the Four Royal Stars (Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares, Fomahault) and Sirius in astrology and magic (MDE); Interview with Gaius Corbin—The Voice of the Necronomicon Translation Project. Also included: Profit and Occult Writers—is it ethical for occult writers to make money? (MDE). Normally $2.99 USD--50% off (RAE50) $1.50 USD.

Wealth and the Lucky Witch (DWQ Imbolc/Ostara 2017)--Editorials: Don't tell me how to vote: Cause I never vote (BHC), Not a big enough safety pin (MDE); Fiction: All Sales Are Final (A. J. Hallows); Poetry: "A Kiss of Bliss, or Misery?" (The Broom Hill Crow),Body of a Goddess (Erin Lale), Blame It on the Wine. Or Kali. Or Both (Shea Herlihy-Abba), My Parents Don’t Like Kali ‘Cause She Drives a Mustang (Shea Herlihy-Abba); Instructional :Luck (Moon Gazer), Some money and luck spell tips and an ethical musing (MDE); Rituals: Shining the light on this year’s plantings at Imbolc (Moon Gazer), Ostara’s Plantings (Moon Gazer). Normally $2.99 USD--50% off (RAE50) $1.50 USD. 

Also discounted is a satire of the Simon Necronomicon--Gaius Corbin's Light Out of Darkness--Lux E Tenebris (Thelema and the Necronomicon): an humorous look at the claims of dark fluff occult books, their advertising and reviewing, and the occult world in general. Focusing on the fifty names of Marduk, this book lists the powers of the fifty-one names (yes, fifty-one), associating each name to verses from the Thelemic Holy Books, while making jokes about some of the odd things that has happened in the occult community. Normally $4.99 USD--50% off (RAE50) $2.99 USD.

My favorite Marduk name description--someone obviously has discovered how smart the dead really are.

How many occult personalities can you recognize?

Emphemeris for Sirius and the Four Royal Stars

Here is a ephemeris for Sirius and the Four Royal Stars (Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares, Fomalhaut).

Golden Dawn, and its Inner Order (RR et AC), consider Regulus, one of the ancient Persian Royal Stars, to mark the first degree of the zodiac. Several sub-systems that are connected with GD astrology, including the Golden Dawn system of Tarot, start in the first decan of Leo which starts at the position of Regulus, according to the original founders of Golden Dawn (Westcott and Mathers).

In my own practice, mostly using standard Western astrology, I use the Tropical Zodiac rather than the Sidereal of India; nor do I use the Rosicrucian Sidereal of Golden Dawn. But I do make note of Regulus, as well as the Four Royal Stars, just in case, there is something to initiated system.

For those who are interested in futher information about Regulus, and the other three Royal Stars, as well as Sirius (the most important star to the Ancient Egyptians, as well as the brightest star in the night sky), I wrote an article that was published in the Winter 2015 issue of the Golden Dawn journal, Hermetic Tablet (also available in hardcover from Lulu).

Ephemeris for Sirius and the Four Royal Stars

The Golden Dawn stance on marijuana

One of the difficulties with a large tradition that is decentralized, and ran by numerous independent operators--such as the modern Golden Dawn tradition--is that it is hard for such a system to come up with universal policies.


And some people expect universal policies--it disturbs them when the leaders of two different Golden Dawn Orders disagree about a policy, for they expect a certain level of agreement within the tradition.


One of the policies that I am watching develop and evolve currently is the tradition's viewpoint on marijuana use.


It used to be more or less universal that admitting that you used marijuana would get you a demerit in Golden Dawn---after all, marijuana was an illegal drug, and no Order wants its members to engage in illegal activities---it was an offense that would end your membership in a proper GD Order.


(In fact, one of the nasty rumors spread though one of the flare-ups of the Golden Dawn flame wars---that wonderful time when certain Orders tried to drag the reputations of their competitors though the mud, in an attempt to create a monopoly for themselves---was that the leadership of a certain branch of the Order was engaged in the illegal trade of marijuana. Interestingly enough, no one ever went to the cops...so it might have just been one of the numerous lies told during the heydays of the GD flame wars.)


A few years ago, I openly came out as a supporter of legal medical marijuana, and later as a supporter of legal recreational marijuana. A lot of people in high positions of Golden Dawn leadership wanted to see me openly expelled from the system for my political beliefs about the subject. (Hey, I heard though the grapevine what people were saying about me.) To their dismay, they learned that the branch of the system that I belonged to was not inclined to expel me for my political beliefs, anymore than they were inclined to expel me for being a loud mouth blogger.


Today, you literally have to check with your superiors in the system to know which way to jump on the issue of marijuana. Some Orders will still expel your ass for using it; others are doing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy; and some Orders are going "if it is legal in your state, then we guess that we have to accept the fact that you are allowed to use it."

(I do find it highly amusing that one of the parties that used to trot out the "and their Chief is guilty of trading in marijuana" is now saying "ok, we guess it is ok if your state voted to make it legal"....which just proves my suspicion that the rumor was always about destroying the reputation of another group, and getting more customers for themselves.)


 So where is the Golden Dawn tradition ultimately going to end up on this issue?


Given that the national view on pot is changing, with half of the United States being able to use medical marijuana, and citizens voting to let recreational use happen, plus the little fact that the Feds have started to ignore it on the state level (all the recent busts in marijuana legal states involve syndicate, money laundering, and transporting of pot into states where it is still illegal), I think it is only a matter to time before the Federal Government reclassifies marijuana as a drug more akin to alcohol than cocaine.


Once that happens, I think Golden Dawn as a whole in the United States is going to be forced to embrace the "do not operate under the influence" stance on marijuana, which is the same stance that the system has on the use of alcohol. In other words, do not show up to Order events under the influence, and do not perform magic under the influence.


(Well, more or less...I have heard rumors that some GD leaders do not allow the use of any mind-altering substances, including meds for depression and bi-polar---as in being on prescribed meds will get you expelled---a rumor that worries me to no end, considering that some people like myself actually need such drugs. [Note that I was NOT on meds when I was allowed into GD, so my mental state is acceptable to some without meds...still I am a better, nicer person when I am on my meds.] And the rumor always makes me wonder if said leaders drink coffee, liquor, and use sugar--all of which are mind-altering substances, not alone do magical ritual which also alters your mind.)


Now, at this point, someone always brings up Crowley and Thelema--the Thelemic stance on drugs is much more simpler thanks to the fact that the Book of the Law contains a line that can be read as being pro-drugs. One could argue that you cannot be true Thelemite without doing drugs.


But here is the thing, Golden Dawn is not Thelemic---Thelema is just another religion, and we have to respect all religions. (The reason that Thelemics get tossed out of GD circles is that they insist that everyone needs to follow the Book of the Law and act like Crowley; in other words, they openly disrespect other religions.) While we have to respect your religion, we are also allowed to say that you cannot attend lodge while under the influence---it is not a religious right to be a disrupting agent in lodge.


And shamanism, and voudoun, and what not, again Golden Dawn is not those things---therefore, the stance that those systems have on drug use does not apply to GD either. Golden Dawn techniques are meant to be used for people who are sober...well, soberish.


Now, I know that someone will say "Gee, Morgan, we presume that you are doing the happy drug, surely that means that you have to allow people under the influence into a meeting." No, in fact, given my experience with marijuana, I must insist that you should not be operating under the influence. Honestly, I have a hard time cooking dinner under the influence of some strains of marijuana, not alone calling the divine names in the correct order. If I can't do magic under the influence, I presume that no one can. And no, I am not going to watch as you try to prove that you are better at handling drugs.


(For the record, I am using marijuana because I get migraines that can last for days on end. My record is twenty-two days. Given that fact, I think that my open support of legal pot is understandable.)


To recap: Do not operate under the influence, and "don't ask, don't tell," and stay legal.

Don't you hate it when dinner becomes a math problem?

Cypher lunch (What the Cipher Manuscript says and does not say about the Tarot)

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The theme of this Samhain Tarot Blog Hop is feasting with our honored ancestors. Out of all the ancestors that I could raise a glass of mead with, the one that I would like to have a discussion with the most is a spiritual and magical ancestor, and not a blood relative.

One of the spiritual and magical ancestors of all students of the Golden Dawn tradition is the creator of the Cipher Manuscript. The Cipher Manuscript is the foundational document of the entire Golden Dawn system---without the Cipher Manuscript, the Order of the Golden Dawn would have never existed. The Cipher Manuscript is an outline of the Outer Order Grade rituals and subjects of study, enciphered with a substitution alphabet. 

The most likely creator of the Cipher Manuscript was a Kenneth Mackenzie, Masonic scholar and occultist. Exactly who Mackenzie meant the rituals outlined in the Cipher Manuscript for we will probably never know for sure---but we do know that the rituals were not meant for Westcott and Mathers. Probably written sometime between 1860 and 1875, the Cipher Manuscript came into the possession of William Wynn Westcott after the death of Mackenzie in 1886. Westcott, with the help of his friend, Samuel Liddell Mathers, deciphered the Cipher Manuscript and fleshed out the rituals, creating a working Order in 1888.

A page from the Cipher Manuscript---part of the 2=9 (Theoricus) initiation ritual.

 One of the features of the Golden Dawn system outlined in the Cipher Manuscript is a Tarot scheme that has became a part of the way many people read Tarot, even if they have never heard of Golden Dawn.

Cipher Manuscript--Universe card description.

The first mention of the Tarot in the Cipher Manuscript occurs in the Knowledge Lecture outline of the Zelator Grade---it is a list of the four suits of the Tarot.

The second mention of the Tarot occurs in the Theoricus Grade initiation, a ritual where the initiate is shown a key of the Tarot. In this case, it is the Universe card, which is described as 72 circles around Queen Isis, who is also Sandalphon, who bears wands and has crossed legs; there is also a seven pointed star, and four Kerubim in the corners of the card.

Cipher Manuscript--drawing of the Judgment card.

The next initiation ritual (Practicus) introduces the initiate to two more of the Tarot cards. The first card is Judgment. Of this card, the Cipher Manuscript mentions that it "is much more than the last judgment."

Cipher Manuscript--drawing of the Sun card.

The second card introduced in the Practicus ritual is the Sun. Both Judgment and the Sun are roughly illustrated in the pages of the Cipher Manuscript.

Among the knowledge to be learned in the Practicus Grade is a system of "synonyms in tarot divination," a system of astrological correspondences that has made its way outside of Golden Dawn and is used by many Tarot readers, often without knowing that the system that they are using was a creation of the mysterious creator of the first draft of the rituals of Golden Dawn.

If you have ever used "Emperor is Aries; Hierophant (High Priest) is Taurus...," then you have used the system of correspondences that were first outlined in the Golden Dawn Cipher Manuscript.

Also included in this section of the Cipher Manuscript was a Tarot Lecture, talking about the four suits of the Tarot corresponding to the four worlds of the Kabbalah. The Lecture expounds for the initiate to "behold the true attribution of the Tarot--ponder it in thy heart--[reveal] not to the profane." The Lecture also mentions that the Keys of Strength and Justice need to be switched to correspond to the true attributions of the esoteric system of the Tarot, the true Book of Thoth.

Cipher Manuscript--drawing of the Moon card.

The next Grade initiation ritual (Philosophus) has three Tarot cards, all illustrated in the Cipher Manuscript. The first card is the Moon card, complete with crayfish.

Cipher Manuscript--drawing of the Star card.

The next card is the Star, which is Sirius, with Isis kneeling with water at her feet. There is a Tree of Life and the seven classical planets also on the card.

Cipher Manuscript--drawing of the Tower card.

The final card illustrated is the Tower, which the Cipher Manuscript associates with the tower of Babel. A downward symbol of Mars, a regular Tree of Life, and a Tree associated with the Qlippoth (evil inclined astral shells) surround the broken tower and falling figure.

At the end of the Philosophus ritual, the Cipher manuscript comes to an end. And while the Cipher Manuscript gives the "true" astrological correspondences to the Tarot trumps, there is a lot that the creator of the Cipher Manuscript does not tell us.

For instance, we are only shown the "true" depiction of six of the trump cards. One of the things that I would love to conjure the ghost of the creator of the Cipher Manuscript, and ask of it is "What do the rest of the Tarot trumps look like?" While later leaders of the Golden Dawn tradition have fleshed out the reminder of the Tarot deck, we have no idea what the original creator of Golden Dawn had in mind for the rest of the Tarot deck.

Likewise, we have no idea of what the rest of the rituals of the tradition were originally meant to be like---the additional rituals that we have were created by other people. Nor do we know what other sections of Tarot study that the creator of the Cipher Manuscript meant to include in the system.

Quite frankly, the creator of the Cipher Manuscript left more unfinished than finished when you actually look at the whole of the system. Nevertheless, without this slim outline, the tradition of Golden Dawn and its way of reading the Tarot would have never happened.

And I am not the only student of the Golden Dawn tradition that would like to ask the creator of the Cipher Manuscript a few dozen questions. I am merely one of the pushy ones at the front of the line.

Happy Samhain!

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Depicting the fives of Tarot

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Welcome to this edition of the Tarot Blog Hop!

Being an artist (well sort of an artist) and a student of the Golden Dawn, as well as a historian (provided that one can be considered a historian with only a Bachelors degree and no position in academia), I tend to look at some aspects of the esoteric sciences differently than other people do.

For instance, due to my Golden Dawn training, and fascination with old Tarot cards, I am very consciously aware that the easy to read pictures on the minor arcana cards is a relatively new thing. Just a century ago, the minor cards were still just emblems and numbers which required that you learn the secret to reading the cards, rather than just pulling them out of a box. Thanks to the Waite/Rider/Smith deck, and all its offshoots, a whole layer of learning about the Tarot cards can be ignored...if you chose to.

(Oh, there is still an art to reading the cards--it is just that the modern cards are so much more readable with just a little training than they were a century ago. Don't get me wrong--learning to read the cards is still hard work...it is just that it used to be even harder.)

 How exactly do you read cards when the only things you have is the suit and number of a card? Part of the Golden Dawn initiated solution was to associate some of the minor arcana (twos to tens) with the 36 decans as well as the sephiroth of the Tree of Life.

Each decan, ten degrees of a zodiac sign, has both the influence of a planet as well as the zodiac sign itself. Layered on top of that is the associated sephirah (based on number) as well as that sephirah's associated planet, and the associated element of the suit of the card, and the corresponding world from the Four World theory. Inside the RR et AC training (the Adept Grades of the Golden Dawn tradition), there are particular coloring rules to remind the Adept reader of the various forces involved in the cards (or at least, there are in the Inner Order training program that I suffered though). There is also a mystic title that one has to memorize.

It is a complicated system, which explains why most people just ignore it and go directly with cloning the pictures from the Waite/Rider/Smith deck and/or just reading from the pictures without the scaffold that GD used to support their reading of the cards.

Now, let's be honest, A.E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith, both members of a splinter of the original Golden Dawn Order, did a marvelous job of associating pictorial events to the minor arcana. Still occasionally, as an artist, I wonder what I would have came up with given a completely blank slate, aided only by the Golden Dawn attributes assigned to the cards.

So in the name of a thought experiment, here are the rough (really rough) drafts of the ideas that I have that might be suitable to illustrate the Fives of the minor arcana.

Lord of Strife.

The Five of Wands is associated with the first decan of Leo (the first ten degrees of the zodiac sign of Leo) which is sub-ruled by the planet Saturn. The associated of the Five of Wands, as well as all of the other Fives, is Geburah--the sephirah of severity and martial energies--and its associated planet Mars. The Mystic Title of the Five of Wands is the Lord of Strife.

For this card, I decided that a group of protesters, from a couple of different special interests groups, clashing with one another, was the modern version of Strife. An example of this type of energy can be encountered on the internet wherever people start arguing over politics and how the other political party has stepped over the borders of what is proper behavior. Politics is all about leaders and strong personalities (Leo), and the efforts of imposing limits on the damage that they can cause (Saturn) tends to bring out people's passions (Mars) as the arguments flare out of control (Geburah).

Lord of Loss of Pleasure. 

The Five of Cups has the decan of Scorpio sub-ruled by Mars assigned to it. The fact that Mars is also associated with Geburah means that this card has a double helping of Mars. The Mystic Title given by Golden Dawn to the Five of Cups is the Lord of the Loss of Pleasure.

For this card, I am kicking around just updating the Waite/Rider/Smith card by moving the setting to a dingy bar. After all, I have seen many people go on drinking binges after bad break-ups. I am thinking of possibly having a busy street or neon sign visible in the window behind the person to symbolize the overlooked opportunities are passing by unnoticed. I feel that a dingy bar sums up nicely the heavy Mars energy floating around a Scorpio environment.

Lord of Defeat.

The Five of Swords is associated with the first decan of Aquarius, the first ten degrees of the sign which are sub-ruled by the planet Venus. Here the energies of Mars meet Venus in a sign that is ruled by Saturn (under the old rules of astrology before the discovery of the modern outer planets). This combination of forces tends to have Mars completely overwhelm the energies of Venus, and imposes new limits on the situation--unfortunately, the battle between the two tends to exhaust both sides; and while their is a victor, it is only a temporary honor. The Mystic Title of this card is the Lord of Defeat.

For this card, I decided to go with the closest thing to war that many people in the modern world know--sports. Out of all the sports, I decided pro wrestling was the closest to the actual energies of this card. Wrestlers have adoring fans (Venus), limits to how long they will be champions before they are overthrown (Saturn), and there is a constant flow of Mars energy present. Of course, this is also true of other sports. So why wrestling? It is an individual and not a team that wins.

Lord of Material Trouble. 

The Five of Pentacles (Coins if you prefer) is associated with the first decan of Taurus, the ten degrees of the sign of Taurus sub-ruled by Mercury. Like the other Fives, the martial energies of the sephirah Geburah and its associated planet impact the decan's energies in a negative fashion. The Mystic Title of this card is the Lord of Material Trouble.

In the case of this card, while I like the Waite/Rider/Smith version (two crippled beggars outside a church), I am not sure that the imagery completely fits into modern times. Today, news (Mercury) of a stock market downturn (Mars) is more likely to be a source of worry than the thought that you might become a cripple (though I will note that medical costs can still be costly).

So those are my best ideas (currently) about how I would use the Golden Dawn associations to the Fives to create a series of new pictures for them. If nothing else, the exercise helped me understand the Fives a little better. If you have any ideas about how you would update the cards, I would love to hear about them in the comment section.

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Gift of monkeys

Ok, this probably will not work for the Hermit card--at least for you, that is.

Welcome to the Litha 2013 edition of the Tarot Blog Hop. There is a chance that you have hopped here from Pepi Valderrama's blog (this is her first time doing the Tarot Blog Hop with us). Or maybe you got here from the master list for this Blog Hop. Or maybe you are one of my regular readers (hey, there are a couple of regular readers). Or maybe you arrived though the good services of Google (or some other fine search engine--keep the love coming). However you found me, welcome to the fun of the Tarot Blog Hop.

Today, on this magical Tarot Blog Hop, we are supposed to be talking about our gifts. When I learned of this theme, I said, "Wait a second. I don't have any gifts." Then I realized that was wrong, and perhaps the voice of my broken-down family (because that is just how my family rolls...basically, if you had a gift, the job of the family was to make sure that it was properly crushed before you left the house).

Turns out I do have a gift--call it insanity (wait--that might also be the voice of my family speaking).

To explain, let me illustrate this whole idea with a card...or rather a failed design attempt for a Tarot card. The card is supposed to be the Hermit card. I know--it looks nothing like the traditional Hermit. The very fact that I think that it could be a successful design for a Hermit card (for the Monkey Tarot) just screams that I do not have both oars in the water.

Yet being slightly around the bend does have its advantages. One, I made an attempt to do something different, something untried--insane people are allowed to fail, and fail BIG. Two, my idea of the Hermit--however wrong--is a wider understanding than the traditional Waite/Rider/Smith version...which by the way is only a hundred years old, steals from the Golden Dawn, and is only traditional in the sense that everyone uses it today--insane people can ignore tradition. Three, I am allowed to be wrong...which is a form of mental illness if you went though the public school system (remember you are only allowed to give the correct answer; all wrong answers will get you a bad grade).

So why the different design for the Hermit card?

Well, the old design (which Golden Dawn borrowed from older, more traditional decks...but they only borrowed the designs that reinforced their ideas) represents a form of Hermit that no longer is present today. Honestly, how many true Hermits are there living out in the wild...two? three? four? Can't be more than a million...because a million is a small city's worth.

No, today's hermits live right among us. There is probably one working in a cubicle just down the hall from you. The goal of the hermit was to isolate themselves from humanity. You do not need to live in the wild to do so. I have been completely alone, isolated from the rest of humanity, while surrounded by people. Ignore Facebook, Twitter and network news long enough and people will think that you are a Hermit. Refose to go to parties...and you are a hermit, or maybe a nun.

(Hmmm, a nun might make a good version of the Hermit card...or maybe not. Feel free to weigh in on the idea in the comment section.)

There is also the little fact that the esoteric version of hermits are trail blazers and explorers. Of course, that little fact isolates them from the rest of humanity quite well. Just question why we do certain things in the esoteric sciences; or worse, just come out and say that certain things work differently for you (and not according to the script that everyone else uses)--and you will know true isolation. Stoning may be out of fashion, but society can still make you a pariah. And even if you are right, the masses won't listen to you; they are too busy watching the buzzing of the insects on television and the internet.

Ok, maybe it is not insanity that I suffer from. Maybe I am just a happy little cynic.

Nevertheless, here is a question for you: What type of hermit actually affects society? Answer: The hermit that actually interacts with society. I imagine that most of them have been told that they need meds or therapy, or are just strange, or are cynics.

Hey, my warp sense of reality is a gift, I tell you.

Next up on the Tarot Blog Hop is Vivianne Kacal's post. And remember if there are any broken links, you can always hop over them using the master list for this Blog Hop. Happy hopping!

Counting the letters in Exodus 14 (Shem ha-Mephorash)

Most Golden Dawn students know that the Golden Dawn uses the Shem ha-Mephorash to create 72 angelic names that are associated with the 36 decans (and to 36 of the minor arcana of the Tarot)--two per decan and aforementioned Tarot card. And most of them also know that the Shem ha-Mephorash is created by writing out three lines from Exodus 14; three lines that each has 72 letters.

But are they aware of how rare it is to find three lines of 72 letters each, one right after other? I am not sure...in fact, I am not even aware of the rarity of the occurrence myself. It is towards that end that I counted up the letters in each of the sentences in Exodus 14 the other day.

(I tried to find a online source for the information, but I could not figure out the proper keywords to punch into a search engine to convince the web spiders to give me a quick answer--hence the counting of the letters the old-fashioned way.)

So the letter count for each sentence of Exodus 14 (provided that I did it right--do they make a large print Hebrew Bible?--please do not quote me on this without double-checking the count) is as follows:

Exodus 14:1--18 letters
Exodus 14:2--71 letters
Exodus 14:3--41 letters
Exodus 14:4--69 letters
Exodus 14:5--80 letters
Exodus 14:6--23 letters
Exodus 14:7--38 letters
Exodus 14:8--62 letters
Exodus 14:9--78 letters
Exodus 14:10--78 letters
Exodus 14:11--71 letters
Exodus 14:12--79 letters
Exodus 14:13--96 letters
Exodus 14:14--21 letters
Exodus 14:15--41 letters
Exodus 14:16--57 letters
Exodus 14:17--63 letters
Exodus 14:18--42 letters
Exodus 14:19--72 letters
Exodus 14:20--72 letters
Exodus 14:21--72 letters
Exodus 14:22--50 letters
Exodus 14:23--49 letters
Exodus 14:24--60 letters
Exodus 14:25--71 letters
Exodus 14:26--57 letters
Exodus 14:27--76 letters
Exodus 14:28--67 letters
Exodus 14:29--49 letters
Exodus 14:30--58 letters
Exodus 14:31--71 letters

Eyeballing this small sample, I would guess that finding three sentences of the same letter count one after another is pretty rare. But I could be wrong--after all, I have not counted all the other sentences in the Hebrew Bible yet.

The biggest problem with the zodiac

The zodiac and the path of the sun.

Given the fact that sooner or later in the upcoming series of astrology posts, my dislike of Sidereal Astrology will come up, we just as well address the issue right up front.

According to Francis King, Samuel MacGregor Mathers came up with an idea that the true initiated zodiac began with the star Regulus. Some experts have insisted that King made up this fact. Personally, I do not care--others in the late Victorian era were also saying this (more or less), so we know that the idea was in the water before Mathers (allegedly) instructed Adepts that this was the initiated truth.

Now, some initiates of Golden Dawn have picked up the idea and poked at it to see if it works. Some say that it does; others say that it doesn't.

The upcoming series of posts concerns the Tropical Zodiac (the Sidereal gets at best a few mentions). Personally, I trained with the Tropical Zodiac; the Order that I was originally initiated in used the Tropical Zodiac. I have more experience using the Tropical Zodiac.

And I have a little problem with pretty much all forms of Sidereal use.

The claim for Sidereal Astrology (and magic, for that matter) is that it focuses on the actual position of the planets and constellations as they really exist in the sky. But more often than not, if you actually compare actual sky charts with the results, you learn that it is more or less lip-service.

Go ahead, look at these pictures of the constellations. Are you absolutely sure where one sign begins and other ends? And if you are--do the Zodiac Signs end up with equal areas of influence and space?

Any system that picks a point and then divides the ecliptic into twelve equal signs from there is not truly playing full attention to where things actually are. And it gets even more interesting when one starts to track how past generations viewed the constellations (for instance, Libra was originally a part of Scorpio).

I am sorry, but I believe that the Zodiac Signs were originally names for the twelve equal sections of the ecliptic arc--later a set of constellations were named after these sections. Yes, this makes me a bad Golden Dawn Adept--a non-believer in the greatness of all things Mathers. But it means that I can practice Tropical Astrology in a Golden Dawn context. (By the way, from a standard Tropcial chart, I can point out where the constellations and planets are--I do not need a Sidereal chart for that, nor does any other properly trained astrologer or magician.)

And if you do not think that it makes a difference (I presume that you actually believe that magic and astrology work...if not, why are you reading this?), just consider that in one system of astrology, I have a Virgo Sun, a Cancer Ascendant, a Moon in Scorpio, and my Mercury in Leo; in the other system, I would be a Leo Sun, a Gemini rising sign, with my Moon in Libra, and Mercury in Virgo. My friends will instantly spot the problem with one of these versions, as will a few of my critics.

As for Mathers, I suspect that he embraced the idea of the Regulus marking the start of the Zodiac (with Leo being the first sign of the Zodiac) because it allowed him to have a Sun in a Fire sign (Sagittarius, instead of Capricorn), and it allowed him to claim that everyone outside of the Order of the Hermetic Students of the Golden Dawn were doing astrology wrong. And Mathers liked being the smartest person in the room.

Aries to Leo along the ecliptic.

Leo to Scorpio, plus Ophiuchus.

Scorpio to Pisces.

Working with woodcuts (Tarot)

Woodcut Justice.

As many of my regular readers know, I am currently involved in creating the rough drafts for a Tarot deck where every card has a monkey in it. What you might not know is how long I have been dabbling in Tarot deck creation.

One of my earliest experiments in Tarot deck creation involved the use of woodcuts/blocks. I learned a lot from this particular experiment--including the fact that you will probably never see me produce an entire deck done this way.

This particular card, Justice, was done in 1991 (I think).

The difficulties of this project made the hand-coloring of the Tarot that I needed to do for both BOTA and my Adept Minor studies with GH. Fra. OY look minor in comparsion. Only Hathoor Temple hit this level of insanity (and basically, you just needed to prove to them that you could create an entire Tarot deck from scratch if you really had to).

777 Book of Correspondences

This is my 777th blog post, so today I chose to talk about (drum roll please)...777.

777 is Aleister Crowley's expanded and modified version of the Golden Dawn document known as The Book of Correspondences. Just like the guide sheet for the creation of Godforms seems to have been restricted to the office of Hierophant, the Book of Correspondence seems to been restricted to the office of Praemonstrator. This is not to say that other members did not know of its existence. Parts of it was spoon-fed to the students of the system in the Knowledge Lectures of the various Grades. By the time that one was an Adept Minor, one had a large part of the Book of Correspondences available to them. Inside the Order, one could assemble the known parts that were circulated among the Knowledge Lectures, and add to it, making a personal copy of the document (much like the members of BOTA end up with a Book of Numbers--think Sepher Sephiroth). Or at least, that is the way I understand the extent of its circulation among the Order.

Crowley was most likely working from Allen Bennett's personal copy. Today, most ceremonial magicians own a copy issued though Weiser. I brought my copy back in September 1994; it is now held together with packing tape. I filled a couple of hardbound journals with some additional material that I mapped to the paths of the Tree of Life.

777 was not the first set of correspondences to be published. Agrippa and several magical calendars predate Crowley's publication, as do some materials focused on astrology. But I will admit that for organization, Crowley is the winner.

In recent times, there have been several books that have expanded the possibilities of information to be included in one's personal copy of the Book of Correspondences. These include The Magician's Companion: A Practical Encyclopdic Guide to Magical & Religious Symbolism (Bill Whitcomb) and The Magician's Tables: A Complete Book of Correspondences (Alan Richardson).

The best expansion of 777 (at this time) is Stephen Skinner's The Complete Magician's Tables. Not all the tables in Skinner's work agree with Crowley's--but that is ok. And I love randomly googling names from his Uniform Timeline.

Needless to say, my favorite version is my own. I think most working magicians and witches would say the same. After all, it is the version that corresponds exactly with the associations that I use in my own personal magical workings.

Two Extremes of Grade Requirements

There are two extremes when it comes to deciding what Grade one has in an esoteric Order. One is severe training where a person spends years in a Grade and is tested to an inch of their life. The other extreme is where the only thing that matters is if they paid the dues and fees for the Grade. Both extremes result in getting a piece of paper that says you are of a particular Grade.

The same thing happens with Charters and Warrants. Just because a group has a Charter or Warrant, it does not mean that the holder(s) of it actually got any training to go along with it. In fact, it is more likely that they just paid some money to get it.

Therefore, in my opinion, it is best to treat those who brag about having Grade certificates and Charters and Warrants with caution. Watch their overall actions, and weigh their teachings--don't take those pieces of paper at face value. While an Adept can't help but be human, they also can't help being an Adept. If you watch carefully, a person's true level of attainment eventually rears its ugly head.

Book Review King Over the Water

Would you like an antacid with your Mathers' Last Secret book?

When Mathers' Last Secret came out, one of my friends joked that we should market a brand of Golden Dawn antacids. I regret not following up on that suggestion, for the latest book by Nick Farrell, King Over the Water: Samuel Mathers and the Golden Dawn, is going to just increase the market for antiacids among some members of the Golden Dawn community.

This book review is not for the antiacid crowd. My suggestion for the antiacid crowd is just continue on with your work and ignore this book. This includes anyone who thinks that Mathers was the genius behind Golden Dawn, that Mathers was in contact with some uber-Adept, or that secret documents should remain unpublished and Secret Chiefs and their contacts unquestioned. And if you choose to ignore my advice, and buy the book anyways, just remember that I am willing to sell you a big jar of premium Golden Dawn brand antiacid.

In fact, if you feel that Mathers was perfect and/or the Secret Chiefs are perfect, you may want to ignore the rest of this book review as well and just go pop an antacid right now.

King Over the Water

*antacid time*

I like this book. It is long overdue. It will be a valuable addition to anyone's Golden Dawn history or document library.

Have you taken your antacid yet?

(One would hope that the antacid crowd have taken my advice and wandered off already, but I know that they would rather stick around and throw rotten eggs at me for liking this book. *sigh*)

The biggest problem with this book quite honestly is that those people who need to read it the most will ignore it because their superiors will tell them that it is just a pack of lies and a political ax job meant to destory Mathers and their superiors' reputations. And they will believe their superiors. Farrell tries to address this issue by pointing out some of the things that dishonest Orders have done in the past. I would love to say that the offenses he lists are isolated events, but they remind me of the laundry list of crap that I have seen in the various esoteric groups that I have been involved in.

My advice to one and all is: Be wary of anyone who holds an office in an esoteric Order, especially anyone who holds power because of the documents and contacts that they alone control. And be prepared to pop a lot of antacids. Why? Because a lot of people look fondly back on Mathers and decide to act just like he did. This tends to lead to the exact same results that the early GD experienced---do I need to remind you of the last time that this happened?!

Samuel Liddell (MacGregor) Mathers, while necessary for the birth of the Golden Dawn system, is not the person you want to model your behavior on as an officer or Chief of an esoteric Order.

One of the things that I think that every student of Golden Dawn should study is the history of the early years of the Order. It is part of our heritage as members of the Golden Dawn. I don't care what branch of the Golden Dawn tradition you belong to, the early history is important to know.

Unfortunately, up until this book, no history of the early years of the Order has been written by someone who has stood on the inside of a functioning Golden Dawn lodge. The closest we have gotten, previous to this book, are a few Freemasons who chosen to write about esoteric Order history. Because of that there are some things that are perfectly "normal" inside the GD envirnoment that end up sounding mighty strange to an outsider, and the histories so far have made the early GD sound slightly wacky.

Does Farrell make Mathers sound like a complete loon? No. Farrell makes it clear that Mathers had some personal issues, but they are no stranger than those of most of the people that I have sat in lodge with. It was rather interesting to see Farrell point out the possible psychological issues that may have been driving Mathers actions.

Over the years, I have tried to get people to explain to me why Mathers did certain things (ex. the Horos encounter---why would anyone in contact with Secret Chiefs fall for Horos and believe that they were the real thing). And this is one of the best attempts that I have seen of trying to figure out what was really going on and why Mathers occasionally made a decision that just makes your head hurt as you try to figure out his logic. Is Farrell's solution the only one? No, but it will do until something better comes along.

(If the antiacid crowd is still present, I would like to point out that they are free to hunt down records and documents, and write their own history of Mathers and the early days of the Golden Dawn.)

In all fairness, this book is mistitled---it deals a little bit with every significant member of the Golden Dawn during its early days. Westcott, Crowley, Moina Mathers, etc. But the main focus is MacGregor.

One of the accusations that will be leveled at this book will be that Farrell is not qualified as a historian. I am going to have to disagree with this notion. Having spent a lot of time learning the profession, I can see the hallmarks of a historian in this book. I might not be able to track down all his sources, but I can see that he was actually working from actual sources (primary documents).

As a history of the early days of Golden Dawn, and a biography of Mathers, this book is a welcome addition. It is not the ax job that I expected it to be, occasionally one even feels sympathy for Mathers.

In addition to the history of early GD and biography of Samuel Mathers, King Over the Water also contains several early A&O (GD) documents---an early version of the Book of the Tomb, the Z documents (which I learned is actually a single document divided into three parts), and an earlier version of the Sword Consecration ritual. (Or at least, these were in the earlier draft of the book that I read.)

Each one of these documents is of a particular interest to me. The version of the Book of the Tomb that the BIORC uses is much later, and has some additions made to it (that what happens when an Order believes that its own members can contribute to the system without having to rely on Secret Chiefs); therefore, it is nice to see an earlier version of it (beyond the photocopies that I have been given by others---this is the earliest version I have seen of the Book of the Tomb). The Z Document, just like the material in Mathers' Last Secret, has some material in it that makes me wonder if my Mother lodge reinvented the wheel or actually concealed a major part of their actual lineage (at this point, I really wonder if my lineage does not go back to Mathers on the one side through BOTA---of course, that cannot actually be true).

One thing that the reader should know is that Mathers' Last Secret and King Over the Water are very much tied into one another. If I was to assign them as part of the required reading for a lesson unit, the two books would be assigned together---for parts of each book is only understandable if you have ready access to the other. Then again, that is just like the rest of the Golden Dawn system, isn't it? For instance, the argument that Mathers did not understand the Z Document is dependent on looking both at the shortcuts that Mathers approved of for A&O rituals and the Z Document as Mathers knew it.

Of course, beyond the fact that Farrell's history reveals that Mathers and company was composed of human beings, the publishing of these documents is going to annoy some people. It is natural to be annoyed when your branch of the tradition insists on absolute secrecy.

But the biggest annoyance is going to be the fact that Farrell actually presents a strong case that Mathers' Secret Chiefs were actually ASTRAL. Or some other non-physical entity type (I am including stuff that comes out of one's brain as "non-physical" here). And that more than one person in the early GD had such contacts. The reason that this is going to annoy a lot of people (and there is more than one Order involved here) is that there are several Order Chiefs out there who claim to be in contact with the "one and only" set of Secret Chiefs.

So there you have it, the three strikes against this book (and the reason I should be making a fortune selling Golden Dawn brand antacids)---Mathers and company are human; there are early GD/A&O documents included in this book; and the Secret Chiefs are either astral or a product of the human mind. Nevertheless, this is still the best explanation about why events unfolded the way that they did.

Nick Farrell's book, King Over the Water--Samuel Mathers and the Golden Dawn, is available to order on Amazon.

[Full Disclosure Statement and shameless self-promotion: This book review was based on a pre-publication version of the book given to me by the author. If you would like me to consider reviewing your book, feel free to email me a electronic copy through my lodge email address: basttemple at msn dot com. Remember that my reviews tend to involve the selling of antiacids.]