Quote of the day Four Tablets from Waite FRC

There are four tablets mentioned in the "elemental" rituals of A.E. Waite's Fellowship of the Rosy Cross (Holy Order of the Golden Dawn).

From the Zelator initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that stands in the middle west of the temple contains divine and angelical names referable to the western quarter of the heavens and, by correspondence, to the element of Earth. They teach us that the universe and man who dwells therein are encompassed by the powers and the providences, the graces and benedictions of the Divine. They serve, moreover, to remind us that God has given His angels charge over all those who work for the hidden wisdom and follow the quest of him.

From the Theoricus initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that stands in the middle of the temple, containing divine and angelic names referable to the eastern quarter of the heaven, is in correspondence with the element of Air, and is set up as a symbol in our temple for the sancification of the mind in man.

From the Practicus initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that is placed in the middle north of the temple containing Divine and angelic names referable to the northern quarter of the heavens, is in correspondence with the element of Water, and is set up as a symbol in our temple for the sanctification of the heart of man...

From the Philosophus initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that is placed in the middle south of the temple containing Divine and angelic names referable to the southern quarter of the heavens, is in correspendence with the element of Fire, and is set up as a symbol in our temple for the sanctification of the will of man.

From the Complete Rosicrucian Initiations of the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross [also previously published as Inner and Outer Order Initiations of the Holy Order of the Golden Dawn (2005)] pages 58, 89, 121, & 150.

Joke of the day Here is a word you cannot use to describe a GD group

Ok, maybe I am wyrd...but the joke of the day is that I learned that there is a word that you are not allowed to use to describe Golden Dawn groups. That word is CULT. On another blog, someone mentioned something that another group did, and then a commentor made the comment that the action of the other group did was "Cult-like" and was listed as one of the warning signs of a cult; they promptly got told by the blogger that they could not use the word "cult" in connection with any Golden Dawn group, especially if they wanted any future comments approved.

Ok, correct me if I am wrong, but isn't telling someone not to use the word "cult" also a form of cult-like behavior?!

If we cannot use the word "cult", especially in its technical sense, then what word are we supposed to use? How about "life-style control association"? Or "your actions are no longer yours to determine society"? Or "group with paranoid people in charge"?

The commentor was using the word is a technical sense. I do not know how to say "cult-like behavior" without using the word "cult." Now, I do not like any Golden Dawn group being associated with that word...but barring people from using that word is not going to prevent them from making the connection if they are so inclined. And it is definitely not going to stop the next Golden Dawn flame war which is about to erupt either if that is what you are really concerned about (the instant you started talking about the actions of the other group, that flaming boat set sail). As for preventing people from joining the another Golden Dawn group and getting them to join yours, telling people not to use certain words is not going to help accomplish that goal.

As Craig Ferguson says, "There are just times when only a cuss-word will do." Or in this case, CULT.

For those who are curious about what defines cult-like behavior, they can find an overview of the Bonewits Cult Evaluation Frame by clicking on this sentence.

(And for the curious---the link underneath the commentor's identity leads directly to a site warning about cults. By telling the commentor not to use the word, one may have voluteered for a starring role in their next cult warning newsletter. Obviously, the commentor already believes that Golden Dawn is about as smelly as a fish in Denmark, and telling him not to engage in certain behavior is not going to change his mind.)

Update (5 Sept): Now, I am not so sure that the commentor had anything to do with an cult watch site; it may have just been an attempt to provide a clean link to a cult-watch site. Interestingly enourgh, they replied to the blogger that they never called the group in question a cult. They stated that they were merely saying that the behavior being talked about was "over the top" and that they couldn't "think of any less shocking way to say this."

Blogs I am reading 28 August 2010

In no particular order, here are some of the blog posts that I have recently read on the blogosphere.

Alex Sumner Oaths of Secrecy

Ok, let's be honest I love Alex's sense of humor. I love his description of the lodge gathering; it is what people would like to believe about the lodges. Instead, the truth is more like "We met in the basement of ABC. Several stays-of-dues requests were submitted, reviewed and voted on; half of the lodge's membership is unemployed still. Gossiped for a half hour about the latest insane blog post by GHF. Did an improto working to charge a hex sign (Pennslyvania Dutch folk magic) for EIJ."

Now, given his thoughts about secrecy, this is what a lot of people believe about the whole subject of secrecy. If you were not up to no good, why do you need to keep secrets? I am a bigger cynic, as most of my readers know; often I think that secrecy is merely to keep it a secret that someone is trying to fleece the public---oh, wait, that is Freemasonry I am thinking of, isn't it?

But yeah, if I was an evil magician, I would want a heavy oath of secrecy from the membership. It is not the reason that my lodge has an oath of secrecy...but the last two paragraphs of Alex's blog post sum up it up pretty well in my opinion.

S.R. Conversations with a Master Alchemist on the Creation of the Solar Body of Light

Ok, when Anonymous posted his comment to the original LES translated statement from Master RC, I just laughed and moved on. Honestly, I am not sure if Anonymous' comments even deserved the dignity of a response. Despite what he said, I doubted that he was as well read as he claimed to be.

In my case, I would point to certain parts of the Egyptian Book of the Dead (which is partially why it got brought back into the tradition when it was translated in the 1800's and 1900's) and the Hermetica. And as SR periodically have noted, Paul Foster Case sure seemed to know something. And I agree that one needs the eyes to see the information when one stumbles across it.

The statement by Master RC reminds me of the statement I read in a book about astral projection; it is only real provided that you can consciously remember doing it. (And no, I do not remember the author of the astral projection book.)

Frater Baba The Ego

I have mixed feelings about both killing (or weakening) and building up the ego. There are pros and cons to both goals, especially if you actually succeed. I do know that my ego has became stronger though the course of study that I have been doing...but some would point out that it may be causing more mischief in my life than it is worth.

I have noticed that there seems to be two settings where killing the ego is emphasized: harsh physical envirnoments which led to the idea that life is a test, and service oriented organizations.

I do agree that for a magician both a strong ego (self-esteem) and a strong spirit (love) is necessary. As Baba noted, balance is the key to success.

The Truth about the Secret Order GBG

I have a copy of the original Complete Magick Curriclum of the Secret Order GBG. I am looking forward to reading the expanded edition. The best part of this review by Donald Michael Kraig is the following:

Today, I have seen an increasing trend of people who seem to want everything, including spirituality and magickal abilities, without changing themselves in any way. If there is something about a particular spiritual system, especially Wicca, that they don’t like, rather than doing the introspection necessary to discover why they don’t like it, they simply leave the system and look for another or invent something that allows them to remain exactly as they are. If spirituality doesn’t change you, what good is it?

Amen to that one, brother, Amen.

Frater AIT Golden Dawn as a school of magic

I have touched the Z operations in my Inner Order course work, but I figure it is going to be at least another decade before I can reasonably say that I understand them. I would go one step further and say that a lot of Golden Dawn members do not understand the initiation ritual (Neophyte) that the Z operations are built upon. As for my best work, I use bits and pieces of the Z operation, but I find the examples given in Regardie to be long and tedious. And at the moment, I am combining hex signs (Pennslvania Dutch hexology, a form of folk magic) with Golden Dawn ritual techniques; I will post results after I get a large enough sample to examine.

GH Frater PDR (Robert Zink) Masculine and Feminine energies of angels

Given the fact that angels (in theory) are sexless, but that we think in terms of gender, it is natural for the angels to slip back and forth between being male and female. It is an experience that seems to have been around for a long time given the literature. Zink's post gives reasons for Auriel and Metatron to manifest as both male and female. I wish that he would have used Michael as an example (a personal experience that I would love someone to explain).

Anyways, those are some of the blog posts that I have been readin lately. Have a good day.

Differing definitions of magic

Today, I spent the day writing Law of Attraction articles in my mode as a copywriter. (To the person, who thinks that the Law of Attraction is just a New Age gimmick, just remember that there is a market for these articles and I do need to make a living---who am I to deny myself a living?) Or to be more exact, I finished one five hundred word article (pending cool-down and final edit before submission) and started several others. (I also pulled some weeds, did some laundry and dishes if you are curious.)

During the writing of these Law of Attraction articles, I caught onto the fact that I am using at least two definitions of magic. Around ordinary non-magical people, I am using magic to mean "instant results"; with students of the occult, I am using magic to mean (more or less) "a tool to manifest coincidences."

Either definition will make everyone happy. And I am quite sure that the students of the occult will be more upset with me...especially considering both definitions will be viewed as completely wrong by the most vocal of magicians. For the record, I was copywriting with the expected audience being normal everyday people...you know those people who have never see the inside of a lodge or circle (those whom the only experience they have with magic is the Harry Potter Hollywood Dungeons and Dragons style).

I did find it interesting that I was insisting that the Law of Attraction is not magic, despite the fact that it sure seems to work by the same laws. Again, I was copywriting (my name is not going to be attached to this stuff) for ordinary people...I have to use the vocabulary and definitions that they are familar with.

Anyway, now that you know what my definitions are, I am curious about yours---please leave your definition of magic in the comment section---and if you are using a different definition depending upon who you are dealing with.

When ego attacks differences of procedure

One of the more amusing parts of the modern Golden Dawn tradition is that it allows people to have ego explosions over differences in operating procedure (Ok, maybe I am the only one amused by such things...but if you do not laugh about it???). Or at least, that is how I am going to describe my latest email exchange. Unless I decide to use this particular exchange in my semi-annual campaign to try to NOT be elected to my current lodge office.

Today, I was accused of having an ego atttack. I have been exchanging a series of emails with a Zelator (an ex-member of another Order) who was interested in joining the lodge. When I received an inquiry about when the next Theoricus initiation was going to happen, I asked for some information because there was always a chance that I was misreading what I thought was going on. (For the record, I thought that they were of the opinion that if you can pass the exam, then you are automatically entitled to the next initiation.) After learning what they had to do in their previous Order, I replied:

You and I are going to have a long talk about lodge/Order culture because it is obvious that Bast Temple's culture and customs are different than the ones that you are accustomed to. For instance, we do not preschedule initiations---the next initiation into Theoricus will occur when the officers of the lodge decide that someone is ready for it (and that means the initiate in question has attended a certain amount of meetings---which is the primary method of learning in our lodge).

Now, my question is: Exactly where is my ego showing in this reply? I thought that it was a simple statement, illustrating the fact that there were differences in procedure between the two Orders. And by "long talk," I meant a cup of coffee as we discussed the differences and decided if this person could tolerate the procedures that Bast Temple uses.

I was wrong...this is the response that I got:

Hold on....you don't come into my email address and start saying stuff like this "you and I need to have a talk" forget you........you don't try to make this into a servent master kind of thing. No!!!!!!!! I will not bow before you to get the secrets of magic. There is enough information out there to get the secrets. It may take me longer and it may take more research to get the secrets...but I will never bow before your ego. You have lost the whole reason for magic....self-identity. Which, by the way, cannot be found by you. You are the enemy of self identity and freedom....because you want to dominate people......Yeah...I picked that up off of your email.....I'll find what I'm looking for without your order....and if I don't I will still be much more happier........I bow to no one.

Huh? What exactly in my statement signalled that I was looking for worshipful followers? And exactly how are the current lodge members servants? Gee, I am an elected officer...if I am playing Master, why haven't they gotten rid of me?

Maybe I am wrong, but I am not sure that it was my ego that was attacking. My closing email to this Zelator mentioned that there were at least two other Golden Dawn lodges in Denver, and that they had a choice in what Order they wanted to be a member of. After all, despite the fact that I do not think that my ego is out of control, the Zelator may be right.

Update: I did get an apology from the Zelator in question. There is a mutual agreement that he is not ready to be involved in an Order until he overcomes the boundary and control issues that he developed while in Christianity. Bast Temple wishes him luck as he continues his spiritual development on his own.

Next trend will be bad book reviews of Pats book

Today, on Nick Farrell's blog, I read the first non-Amazon, non-GD forum, book review of Pat Zalewski's commentary book. Or at least, it is the first one that I have seen.

But it will not be the last.

Yes, I am predicting that there will be a flood of book reviews on the various Golden Dawn blogs. Some will like Pat's book; others will loathe it. And both sides will say that the other side is guilty of bad book reviewing. That is a trend nowdays.

I will review it....eventually. (There is a small income flow problem at the moment on my end...the UCD new computer system is not updating and my aid is tied up someplace in cyberspace until it does.) Of course, I will be accused of just liking the book because of who dislikes it.

And yes, I believe that I am going to like the book. I liked previous versions of it, so I do not see why I will not like the current and latest version.

But I suspect that there will be more people who dislike the book than those who like it. Why? Because Pat Zalewski believes that one needs to work hard to qualify for the position of Hierophant...an idea that upsets a lot of people. And so it goes. There is also the fact that at this point in time, Golden Dawn is almost two different traditions bearing the same name...with two different goals and lesson plans. And that is just the way the cookie crumbles.

So let the flood of book reviews begin...and if you see any really interesting ones, drop me a line in the comment section.

QoD William Faulkner on Goals

"Always dream and shoot higher than you know how to. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predeceddors. Try to be better than yourself."

---William Faulkner