The biggest portion of published Golden Dawn and RC et AC documents (assuming that Stella Matutina can be considered Golden Dawn) was published by the late Isreal Regardie. His work has became the thirty-six inch rule (or twenty-four inch rule if you are a Freemason) that many people judge what is and what is not Golden Dawn by.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with using Regardie as our benchmark for what should and should not be in Golden Dawn.
The first of which is that the branch he belonged to, the Stella Matutina, was a later offshoot of the original Order; it had roots in the original Order, but some changes had been made to the rituals and lesson plans. Yet many people consider his documents to be the proper standard despite this.
The second problem is that Regardie was a mere ZAM (Zelator Adept Minor 5=6) when he left the system. The few higher documents of the THAM Grade and of Waite's Holy Order that he collected and published are not enourgh to judge what the higher Grades of the Golden Dawn should look like. Yet many people consider his documents to be the proper standard despite this.
The third problem is that he picked up a lot of ideas from Crowley. Now, personally, I have no problem with Crowley in small doses, but Crowley's ideas belong more properly to his own Order, the AA, and to OTO; Thelema is not part of Golden Dawn; at best it is a sister system. Yet many people consider his documents to be the proper standard despite this.
(Though I will admit that the Thelemic Golden Dawn has combined the two quite nicely. I do not say that as a member of the TGD, though I might still be a member of that Order depending upon how you view my parting with that organization.)
(I still need to study the material of Open Source Order of Golden Dawn before deciding if they are combining the two in what I consider an acceptable manner; acceptable being defined as "does not make me run for the hills.")
The fourth and most important problem is that Regardie only attended his own initiations. He attended no lectures, had no exposure to the oral tradition, had no contact with the other members of his Order. He had only the Stella Matutina documents to judge what Golden Dawn is or is not. Yet many people consider his documents to be the proper standard despite this.
All this translates into a situation where people are using the documents that he had published to judge a system that had more branches and more differences in it than he was aware of. His Golden Dawn is not necessarily my Golden Dawn; nor is it necessarily yours either.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
State of the Golden Dawn 2009
As we open up the New Year, I find myself thinking about the state of the Golden Dawn community.
Over the past year, we have seen several political motivated flare-ups (bearing in mind that these flare-ups also have to do with trying to corner the Golden Dawn market). We have also seen several forums mediators/owners setting up their forums, so that they can weed out all the political and bile-inspired postings.
This has resulted in a decrease in serious Golden Dawn postings on the public forums. The only postings that are still numerous are ones that really have nothing to do with Golden Dawn. Ads for non-Golden Dawn groups and classes (the Golden Dawn related ads are actually being blocked) and rants by people who for the most part seem mentally unstable have became the norm of the day.
Not that serious discussions are no longer around, it is just that most of it is happening on private members-only forums. Or in lodge.
This is not necessarily good for the Golden Dawn community as a whole. At the moment, based on the postings, an outsider would judge us all to be loons.
On the other hand, it is not necessary bad either. One of the big threats in Golden Dawn has always been that the leaders of the worst Golden Dawn groups will do everything in their power to destroy any up-and-coming members of the system. It is a lot harder to destroy someone when you don't actually know that they exist.
And we are going to need a fresh crop of talent in a few years. Several of the heads of the major Golden Dawn groups are getting long in the tooth. We are going to need a revival of the system, preferably by people who had no part to do with the politics and legal issues of the current version of the system.
Not only are we going to need these people to revive the lodge system of Golden Dawn, but we also going to need them to come up with a new goal and administrative structure for the system. Much of the currect state of Golden Dawn is based on the absolute sacredness of the original documents and structure; unfortunately, this results in a system that outlook is rooted in the 1890's. New seekers want the system to be more current and useful to their religous and spiritual beliefs. They also want a system that they can turn their back safely on their fellow members and leaders without getting stabbed.
(I still that a form of limited democracy is the way to go. I am a minority of one.)
As it is right now, there is little to make of value to a Wiccan or non-Christian member, and Christianity may be a dying religion. Outside of magic, that is.
During the last year, the lawsuit that threaten the entire system seems to ground to a stop. It is still too soon to pronounce it dead. As it stands right now, any hope that Golden Dawn would ever unify again into a single Order is gone. Which might actually be a good thing, or maybe not, time will tell on that front.
The trend towards Golden Dawn writers being forced to publish though small publishing houses continues. The bigger publishing houses have decided that there are just not enourgh Golden Dawn students buying books to make it worthwhile; they rather cater to the new age crowd. Even the more serious Wiccan authors are being forced into the arms of small publishers.
It is still not profitable to write Golden Dawn material.
And all this behavior is rooted in a common problem. Most people are treating the Golden Dawn and its membership as a zero-sum game.
For those of my readers who have not taken economics, a zero-sum game is a game where if one person gains, another person must lose. It is based on the assumption that there is only many resources to go around and that no more can be created.
There are only so many lessons that are in the Golden Dawn system, so we must have absolute secrecy to prevent these materials falling into the hands of outsiders. There are only so many potential members to go around, so we must crush competiting Golden Dawn Orders, lodges and leaders and take their members and potential applicants for our own. There is only one way to continue to develop the system, so we need to convince people that it is our way and no other.
The zero-sum game as applied to Golden Dawn is poppycock.
With the lessons, Orders need to generate new material, write new lessons, and develop the system. Yes, this will talent and skill and lots of energy; it will keep people busy. With the membership, actual and potential, the system as a whole needs to start growing interest in the system (if businesses can figure out how to create new customers, why can't Golden Dawn; after all, people are hunger for the spiritual). With the development of the system, all the potential ways need to be looked at.
But lets be honest, this could have been entitled the State of the Golden Dawn 1965, 1984, 1992, 2008 or 2010; it is another year and the state of Golden Dawn is the same as always. Nothing is going to change in the next year, decade or century. I am a happy little cynic, ain't I?
Over the past year, we have seen several political motivated flare-ups (bearing in mind that these flare-ups also have to do with trying to corner the Golden Dawn market). We have also seen several forums mediators/owners setting up their forums, so that they can weed out all the political and bile-inspired postings.
This has resulted in a decrease in serious Golden Dawn postings on the public forums. The only postings that are still numerous are ones that really have nothing to do with Golden Dawn. Ads for non-Golden Dawn groups and classes (the Golden Dawn related ads are actually being blocked) and rants by people who for the most part seem mentally unstable have became the norm of the day.
Not that serious discussions are no longer around, it is just that most of it is happening on private members-only forums. Or in lodge.
This is not necessarily good for the Golden Dawn community as a whole. At the moment, based on the postings, an outsider would judge us all to be loons.
On the other hand, it is not necessary bad either. One of the big threats in Golden Dawn has always been that the leaders of the worst Golden Dawn groups will do everything in their power to destroy any up-and-coming members of the system. It is a lot harder to destroy someone when you don't actually know that they exist.
And we are going to need a fresh crop of talent in a few years. Several of the heads of the major Golden Dawn groups are getting long in the tooth. We are going to need a revival of the system, preferably by people who had no part to do with the politics and legal issues of the current version of the system.
Not only are we going to need these people to revive the lodge system of Golden Dawn, but we also going to need them to come up with a new goal and administrative structure for the system. Much of the currect state of Golden Dawn is based on the absolute sacredness of the original documents and structure; unfortunately, this results in a system that outlook is rooted in the 1890's. New seekers want the system to be more current and useful to their religous and spiritual beliefs. They also want a system that they can turn their back safely on their fellow members and leaders without getting stabbed.
(I still that a form of limited democracy is the way to go. I am a minority of one.)
As it is right now, there is little to make of value to a Wiccan or non-Christian member, and Christianity may be a dying religion. Outside of magic, that is.
During the last year, the lawsuit that threaten the entire system seems to ground to a stop. It is still too soon to pronounce it dead. As it stands right now, any hope that Golden Dawn would ever unify again into a single Order is gone. Which might actually be a good thing, or maybe not, time will tell on that front.
The trend towards Golden Dawn writers being forced to publish though small publishing houses continues. The bigger publishing houses have decided that there are just not enourgh Golden Dawn students buying books to make it worthwhile; they rather cater to the new age crowd. Even the more serious Wiccan authors are being forced into the arms of small publishers.
It is still not profitable to write Golden Dawn material.
And all this behavior is rooted in a common problem. Most people are treating the Golden Dawn and its membership as a zero-sum game.
For those of my readers who have not taken economics, a zero-sum game is a game where if one person gains, another person must lose. It is based on the assumption that there is only many resources to go around and that no more can be created.
There are only so many lessons that are in the Golden Dawn system, so we must have absolute secrecy to prevent these materials falling into the hands of outsiders. There are only so many potential members to go around, so we must crush competiting Golden Dawn Orders, lodges and leaders and take their members and potential applicants for our own. There is only one way to continue to develop the system, so we need to convince people that it is our way and no other.
The zero-sum game as applied to Golden Dawn is poppycock.
With the lessons, Orders need to generate new material, write new lessons, and develop the system. Yes, this will talent and skill and lots of energy; it will keep people busy. With the membership, actual and potential, the system as a whole needs to start growing interest in the system (if businesses can figure out how to create new customers, why can't Golden Dawn; after all, people are hunger for the spiritual). With the development of the system, all the potential ways need to be looked at.
But lets be honest, this could have been entitled the State of the Golden Dawn 1965, 1984, 1992, 2008 or 2010; it is another year and the state of Golden Dawn is the same as always. Nothing is going to change in the next year, decade or century. I am a happy little cynic, ain't I?
Monday, December 29, 2008
Believing in the rupture
Here is a comment I made in response to a posting done on WitchDoctor Joe's blog about those who believe in the rapture, holy war and the Freemason Conspiracy.
It is not the devil you have to fear, it is those who do not realize that they are serving his purpose.
It is not the devil you have to fear, it is those who do not realize that they are serving his purpose.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
What is standard Golden Dawn?
One of the things that amuses me is that many people believe that the Golden Dawn and RR et AC system ceased to grow once Regardie published the Golden Dawn material. It also amuses me when people think that Regardie's material is automatically the norm in today's Golden Dawn.
It might be; it might not be.
Even if you have been a member of a group that stuck to the Regardie documents as their baseline, that does not mean that other groups do so.
In order to figure out what is normal in Golden Dawn and RR et AC based groups, one would need to be able to gather information from all the groups that sprung from the tradition and then take the average of the practices. Just because one, or even several groups, do things in certain ways does not make it the norm.
It is like your lineage; one only knows for sure who was in the room when you got your initiation; everything else is just hearsay. Likewise, you only know how the published material and your own group does things; everything else is just hearsay also.
It might be; it might not be.
Even if you have been a member of a group that stuck to the Regardie documents as their baseline, that does not mean that other groups do so.
In order to figure out what is normal in Golden Dawn and RR et AC based groups, one would need to be able to gather information from all the groups that sprung from the tradition and then take the average of the practices. Just because one, or even several groups, do things in certain ways does not make it the norm.
It is like your lineage; one only knows for sure who was in the room when you got your initiation; everything else is just hearsay. Likewise, you only know how the published material and your own group does things; everything else is just hearsay also.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Edomite Solistice
Happy solistice!
It is winter solistice for those of us in the northern hemisphere; it is the summer solistice for those who live in the southern hemisphere.
While Golden Dawn does not officially have a solistice ritual, a remarkable oversight in my opinion, as a wiccan and pagan, I do observe the solistices. I am not such a big observer that I will go and drum up the sun at Red Rocks (it is just too cold to do that in my opinion, even when it is not sub-zero temperatures); but in my own small way, I note its passing.
Mainly I start to pull out the seed catalogs and think about what I want to do in the garden this coming season. Later I will consult the wife about my plans.
Personally, I think that it does a person good to be aware of the passing of the seasons. To know and remember that every thing has its own season is a valuable piece of esoteric lore; esoteric not because it is hidden away from the masses, but esoteric because so many people have forgotten this law of nature.
If you can remember that things come and go, waxing and waning in their strength, you are less likely to be surprised when things crumble. Often the practical benefits of our tradition lies not in the powers that we develop; rather they lay in the patterns of awareness that we inhabit.
For instance, if you can look upon the economic bubbles and the adventures of mismanagement and connect them with the Kings of Edom, remembering what happened to those proud and arrogant Kings, then you will not be surprised when the bubbles break and the energy of the blasted tower comes flashing though.
As Paul Foster Case used to point out, the symbolism of the esoteric sciences are only useful if you make them a part of your mental furniture.
Happy Solistice!
It is winter solistice for those of us in the northern hemisphere; it is the summer solistice for those who live in the southern hemisphere.
While Golden Dawn does not officially have a solistice ritual, a remarkable oversight in my opinion, as a wiccan and pagan, I do observe the solistices. I am not such a big observer that I will go and drum up the sun at Red Rocks (it is just too cold to do that in my opinion, even when it is not sub-zero temperatures); but in my own small way, I note its passing.
Mainly I start to pull out the seed catalogs and think about what I want to do in the garden this coming season. Later I will consult the wife about my plans.
Personally, I think that it does a person good to be aware of the passing of the seasons. To know and remember that every thing has its own season is a valuable piece of esoteric lore; esoteric not because it is hidden away from the masses, but esoteric because so many people have forgotten this law of nature.
If you can remember that things come and go, waxing and waning in their strength, you are less likely to be surprised when things crumble. Often the practical benefits of our tradition lies not in the powers that we develop; rather they lay in the patterns of awareness that we inhabit.
For instance, if you can look upon the economic bubbles and the adventures of mismanagement and connect them with the Kings of Edom, remembering what happened to those proud and arrogant Kings, then you will not be surprised when the bubbles break and the energy of the blasted tower comes flashing though.
As Paul Foster Case used to point out, the symbolism of the esoteric sciences are only useful if you make them a part of your mental furniture.
Happy Solistice!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Scary coincidence
Here is a scary coincidence for you. As the Continential Flight #1404 emergency landing was happening at Denver International Airport (I live a few miles west of the airport), I was writing an article on the Tower card.
I realize that it is just a coincidence, but things like this happen often enourgh that I understand how some people can get superstitious and worry about the presence of magicians and witches.
Imagine if I was under the oath of the abyss, can you just see my ego swelling up?
I realize that it is just a coincidence, but things like this happen often enourgh that I understand how some people can get superstitious and worry about the presence of magicians and witches.
Imagine if I was under the oath of the abyss, can you just see my ego swelling up?
Friday, December 19, 2008
Public Performance of GD Rituals
When I was at the Reiki Circle on Wednesday, before the meeting begun (before anyone other than the Jo, the organizer, and her daughter showed up) I started to do the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and the Middle Pillar ritual.
Jo is well aware that I am a member of Golden Dawn. In fact, we first met at the July OFM (the one that I did that involved a long lecture about the food chain) and one of my fellow lodge members did the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram at the start of the ritual.
Anyway, while I was doing these rituals on Wednesday, a couple of people showed up. And I barely broke stride to wave them past and to tell them to pay no attention to me. I had my back turned when a third person showed up while I was in the midst of the Middle Pillar ritual.
And I didn't care.
As far as I am concerned the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and the Middle Pillar ritual are common knowledge; if you are in any of the circles of the esoteric community, there is a good chance that you have encountered them.
In fact, one person later that night mentioned OTO and Golden Dawn (a failed joke that the two groups get along well with one another) and the another took the Middle Pillar to be a positive sign.
I have seen several groups using these two rituals often without knowledge of their original sources. These two rituals are also included in many public workshops and classes.
Because of this, I really don't consider it a violation of my oaths if outsiders see me, or another Golden Dawn member, perform them.
I do draw the line however in the fact that I will not perform the Supreme Rituals or the Portal version of the Middle Pillar ritual in public. They are not well-known enough that one can consider them part of the standard esoteric toolkit.
Jo is well aware that I am a member of Golden Dawn. In fact, we first met at the July OFM (the one that I did that involved a long lecture about the food chain) and one of my fellow lodge members did the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram at the start of the ritual.
Anyway, while I was doing these rituals on Wednesday, a couple of people showed up. And I barely broke stride to wave them past and to tell them to pay no attention to me. I had my back turned when a third person showed up while I was in the midst of the Middle Pillar ritual.
And I didn't care.
As far as I am concerned the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and the Middle Pillar ritual are common knowledge; if you are in any of the circles of the esoteric community, there is a good chance that you have encountered them.
In fact, one person later that night mentioned OTO and Golden Dawn (a failed joke that the two groups get along well with one another) and the another took the Middle Pillar to be a positive sign.
I have seen several groups using these two rituals often without knowledge of their original sources. These two rituals are also included in many public workshops and classes.
Because of this, I really don't consider it a violation of my oaths if outsiders see me, or another Golden Dawn member, perform them.
I do draw the line however in the fact that I will not perform the Supreme Rituals or the Portal version of the Middle Pillar ritual in public. They are not well-known enough that one can consider them part of the standard esoteric toolkit.
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