In the broad history of the western mystery Traditions the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn stands as a Beacon Lighting a darkened period of religious moral constraints and growing secularization which threatened to plunge the world into a colorless sleep of automatism and meaninglessness completely severed from the spiritual traditions of antiquity this incredible
Organization and its initiates reinvigorated the spiritual life of Europe in the Victorian and Edwardian eras of England and created a nourishing environment for poets actors writers artists and intellectuals of all kinds to develop into some of the most influential figures of the past several centuries it served to preserve the
Traditions of magic divination and spiritual Alchemy for generations to come reminding us that while the greatest teachers and most devout practitioners while in a physical body remain all too human that there is still real magic in this world I’m Ike Baker and this is [Applause] [Applause] Arcanum He has never been at any time either in personal or in written communication with the Secret Chiefs of the order he having either himself forged or procured to be forged the professed correspondence between him and them and my tongue having been tied all these years by a previous oath of secrecy to
Him demanded by him from me before showing me what he had done or caused to be be done or both in February of 1886 Freemason student of ancient philosophies and coroner for the city of London William win Westcott claimed to have received certain documents from another prominent Mason the Reverend Adolphus Frederick Alexander
Woodford these documents were a collection of folios on which were written the structural outline of C certain rituals correspondences and courses of study however the documents carefully concealed this information within a simple Cipher a polyalphabetic method of encryption invented by the Abbott and mentor to Cornelius sria and paracelsus yanus
Tmus these documents would come to be known as the cipher manuscripts and laid out the foundations of the Order of the Golden Dawn including five rituals and the collection of information to be memorized often referred to as the knowledge lectures by 1887 Wescott had decoded the manuscripts and wrote to
Fellow Freemason Samuel little matters asking him to assist in formulating the information contained within the manuscripts into a coherent workable system of ritual initiation and study we have no doubt a rich treasure in poor old woodford’s manuscripts I hope you will accept co-ee equality with me and
Write it up with all your erudition if I will do a simple translation of the cipher we must then choose a third and endeavored to spread a complete scheme of initiation Woodford died in December of that year after a foot injury which caused septicemia they would find their
Third or co-equal third Chief in the accomplished Mason William Robert Woodman the cipher manuscripts were indeed worked up by the young translator Sam Mathers into what is now the system of rituals most wellknown as the Golden Dawn system however along with the cipher manuscripts came a document which
Had the name and address of a frine Sprangler in Germany with whom wescot began a purported correspondence it may be said that the finding and translating of the cipher manuscripts in 1886 and 1887 was the Genesis point of the Golden Dawn but where did they come
From it is well at certain times to consider our status as rosy chrans and to remind ourselves of the origin of the society to which we belong the original has laid down by our founder CR and to take a note of Kindred societies of Rosie Christians we must not be surprised that
Exent published records are very scanty for the purpose of the Rosie crucians was to be unknown to the people among whom they lived the institution of Freemasonry had long been a forum if perhaps in its peripheries for the communication and exchange of occult and esoteric ideas and motives such as Alchemy astrology
Cabala and Rosie crucian ISM indeed Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism have been twin threads in the transmission of the western esoteric traditions of antiquity attracting many luminaries from the intellectual Society of Europe since the 17th century in the early 1600s a series of manifestos were anonymously published comprising what would come to be known
As the rosicrucian manifestos these documents were a series of pamphlets outlining the existence beliefs Mythos and purpose of an invisible brother Hood whose leader frer CRC was a Pious and learned initiate of Many Lands who founded the order in Germany in 1313 the F fraternitatis the first of three such
Documents was published in Germany in 1614 this explain the backstory or legend of the invisible Brotherhood and its founding detailing the story of CRC traveling all over the known world of his time seeking and being granted initiation and toage in the Arts of magic philosophy and science
It also detailed the construction of a meeting place called The domos spiritus Sanctus The House of the Holy Spirit which was their headquarters as well as the Vault or tomb of CRC within which he was buried and which place lay hidden from All Eyes for 120 years before its
Accidental Discovery by a brother of the fraternity these Anonymous manifestos seize the collective imagination of European society and many would be initiates set out on great quests to find the Ros Cru Brotherhood and join their ranks Untold numbers of letters and applications were sent to suspected members of The Invisible Brotherhood and
Many texts were later anonymously written or cated and attributed to the rosy crucians this was the beginning of a Rosy crucian movement whose effects would be felt for at least the next 200 Years yet the issue of singling out individual or groups of Rosie crucian was near impossible since they were
Invisible in other words Anonymous if one claimed to be a Rosie Cru it was surely proof that they were not arosi crusan and Freemasonry connection had insinuated itself since at least the 1600s with many esotericist intellectuals and prominent Masons such as Sir Robert Mor and Elias Ash Mo being
More than casually interested in Rosicrucianism and cabala it was not very long before several freemasonic iterations of Rosicrucianism began cropping up of these we find arguably the best examples appropo the Golden Dawn in the Ordon golden Rosen Cru a non-masonic organization founded in the 1750s by a German Freemason working
Under the pseudonym Herman ful despite its non-masonic status membership to this order required one be a masterm mason in good standing and its aims and teachings were specifically alchemical it is from this order and its subsequent derivatives which the Golden Dawn grade structure and titles were imported also it is from the these
Explicitly Rosie crucian bodies which the Golden Dawn derived its Rosie crucian inner order in fact it is absolutely impossible to talk about the Golden Dawn in any meaningful way without also discussing Rosicrucianism the golden Rosen cuta or order of the gold and Rosie cross was in fact a precursor to the Masonic
Invitational body the SR societi is rosiana in Anglia the rosicrucian society in England founded in 1865 by Robert wenworth little the rosyan Mythos ethos and grade structure along with its attendant titles were imported from the order of the golden Rosie cross and it is this Masonic Affiliated Ros crucian body that all
Three founders of the Golden Dawn were members of the SRI was notedly an esoteric or Mystic Christian organization within masonry the Elder Statesman of esoteric orders of the three Chiefs of the Golden Dawn was Dr William Robert Woodman who was Grand sword bearer of the United Grand Lodge
Of England and occupied a high rank and esoteric Masonic orders he was Supreme Magus of the SRI a title denoting the highest administrative officer until his death in 1891 upon Woodman’s death Wescott was named his successor as Supreme megus of the SRI it was rumored that within the SRI
There was a small group of initiates meeting under the name of the Society of eight this was to be a Society of devoted esotericists a society within a society pursuing esoteric work however it is unknown whether or not this group ever truly materialized to any great effect however there are extant in
Private collections certain notes corresponding to work done with the 22 tarot trumps of the major Arcana and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet which just a few decades earlier were corresponded in the works of antoan cord deblin a French Mason and the comp DEET some of these are believed to be in
Wescott’s handwriting however it remains unknown as to whether or not these were affiliated with the work done in the Society of a because wescot was explicitly slated to be passed over for membership by the society’s founder the figures surrounding this group are of key significance to the era
Just before the founding of the Golden Dawn the Society of eight was to be populated by prominent handpicked esoteric Masons esoteric Masons here meaning Masons deeply interested and involved with what was considered the quote unquote Ault particularly in the study of cabala and the practice of scrying these were Kenneth McKenzie and Fredick
Hawkley McKenzie is important in the formation of the Golden Dawn in several ways perhaps not least by being extremely important in Rosie crusan masonry he’s a character continually orbiting the sphere of Fringe and esoteric Masonic cultism magic and Rosie christianism throughout the mid 1800s in England and in France a linguist and
Prolific and highly lauded translator McKenzie also penned the Royal Masonic cyclopedia a Monumental and classic work which cated esoteric interpretations of masonic symbolism incorporating hermeticism neoplatonism cabala Alchemy astrology and other elements of occultism into a unified encyclopedic Masonic text Mckenzie was also heavily involved with Bry crusan masonry in 1854
He met with Pascal Beverly Randolph the American Rosy crucian and later Supreme Grandmaster of the fraternitas rosis the oldest Rosy crucian order in America McKenzie would go on to collaborate with Robert Wentworth little in the formation of the SR and Wescott later claimed that McKenzie had been given special
Dispensation for the orders formation by an Austrian High initiate named count aoni and from whom Mckenzie was supposed to have received quote unquote rosicrucian initiation in 1861 McKenzie visited with French occultist author and one-time Freemason ellus Levy Frederick hawkley was considered by many to be a primary formative influence
On the curriculum of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as he collected and transcribed a vast amount of books on a cult subject It is believed he learned Crystal amancy or Crystal gazing from a pupil of Francis Barrett who wrote the Magus some researchers have suggested it was
Hawkley who fleshed out the documents which ended up becoming the Golden Dawn rituals in curriculum and point out significance in his being a mentor to McKenzie several other influential figures in Rosie crusan Freemasonry included Elias Ash Mo Edward Buller Litton Francis George Irwin and a group of Fringe Masons known
As the satb whom were highly influenced by McKenzie’s work in this we see a tapestry of European occultism expanding before our very eyes significant in size and intricate most significantly Kenneth Mckenzie was for many years believed to be the most probable candidate for the origins whether in their actual
Transcription or by mere possession of the foundational documents known as the cipher manuscripts William win Wescott was a celebrated translator and esoteric Mason as well as a coroner of the crown of England in the city of London he was considered by many of his contemporaries as a worthy scholar of s so terorism and related religious currents he was appointed successor to Woodman after the latter’s
Death and became Supreme megas for the SRI in 1878 wescot took a 2-year sabatical from his profession to study the cabala and hermeticism almost exclusively he also served as Master of the quator coronati research Lodge and gave frequent lectures to the theosophical society the Hermetic society and contributed to all
Manner of esoteric Publications and organizations within his sphere of influence he was indeed a prolific writer and orator in esoteric Circles of his Day Samuel little Mathers was a young Freemason from no special background or upbringing he struggled for most of his life to make a decent living and had trouble holding down jobs due to his quixotic and flamboyant nature he was considered by most who knew him to be a well-intentioned
Eccentric the Irish poet and golden Dawn initiate William Butler Yates once remarked that Mathers was a man of quote great learning and little scholarship much imagination but imperfect taste the two great obsessions of his life were occult learning and amateur Marshall Pursuits in a reminisence written in the
Occult review in 1919 of matters we find a colorful description quote he remained a denisen of the reading room I met him one morning wearing a Scarlet tie to which he pointed proudly because it was a assumed as a symbol of his fighting instincts which he had proved unable to
Gratify in any more practical manner we encountered on another occasion he staggering as usual under a load of books and he said I have clothed myself with hieroglyphics as with a garment so I inferred that he was then deep in egyptology he had a natural faculty for suggesting in his mystery language that
He had a most profound acquaintance with any subject he took up and it went a long way with the universe end quote Sam Mathers was raised a Master Mason in January of 1878 and became a member of the Metropolitan College of the SRI in 1882 Mina bergson sister of Nobel prize
Winning philosopher HRI bergson was a student at the Slade School of Fine Art where she met her good friend and future fellow initiate Annie hornman daughter of the wealthy tea importer and founder of the hornman museum Frederick John hornman Mina met Sam Mathers in 1887 and remarked to her friend Annie that she
Definitely did not want to marry him they were married shortly after however and not long after this Mina became known as MOA throughout their lives together Annie remained a faithful friend and benefactor to the mses as well as to the order until a bitter falling out in
1896 Mina and Sam were two parts of one whole deeply in love and profoundly bonded on a level of metaphysical physical reality they spend much of their time together undertaking Visionary experiments and developing their abilities to maintain states which far transcended normal waking consciousness while both laying claim to
Clairvoyant abilities it is apparently MOA who was the stronger and through the both of them came much of the ritual Brilliance and the inner order curriculum Sam was known to astonish people with his ability to perform magical Feats the actress and Golden Dawn initiate Florence far writes of him
Touching her upon the forehead and sending her into a state resembling involuntary astro Projection WB Yates wrote a a scrying experiment undertaken with the mses where he was shocked to find that all three of them were having the exact same Visionary experience also Yates describes Sam Mathers as giving him a
Cardboard symbol and instructing him to close his eyes quote There Rose before me mental images that I could not control a desert and black Titan raising himself up by his two hands from the middle of a heap of ancient ruins along with these and many other experiments both recorded and otherwise were
Communications with certain entities these have been referred to by several terms MOA seems to have referred to them as teachers stating that her husband Sam’s quote teachers instructed him to found an occult school at about the date of his first edition of the cabala unveiled which he translated in 1887 she
Goes on to say quote the literature of this school was written by my husband in 1888 my husband started the working of his esoteric school and quote Yates also describes contact with entities of this same nature later on in his life specifically using the word teachers quote almost all Communications came in
That way my teachers did not seem to speak out of her sleep but as if from above it as though it were a tide upon which they floated end quote aside from potentially disembodied teachers the Golden Dawn was influenced by several key figures mats was involved in several theosophical based
Organizations here specifically meaning the theosophical society which had success in America in the 1870s and made its way though less well known there initially to England in the 1880s the theosophical Society of the time was headed by William Quan judge Colonel Henry steel Alcott and the deao theosophical head her self Helena
Petrona blatsky the theosophical writings of blatsky and derivative influences would be tremendous on matters and impart him with a considerably unique lifestyle for one he was a staunch vegetarian and anti-vivisectionist as well as a non-smoker these were all unique things for a man of his particular place and
Time however they were ideals which had gained notoriety and popularity among theosophical circles one one such extremely vocal and pragmatic theosophist was anab bonis Kingsford who was the president of the London Lodge of The theosophical Society after some controversial findings regarding the theosophical society in 1884 Kingsford
Resigned from her position and from the society forming her hermetic Society with her partner Edward Midland this was a precursor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in many ways Kingsford was an activist for women’s rights and a ENT opponent of Viva section Kingsford was also principally interested in esoteric
Christianity however she writes in her diary of having psychically killed certain prominent scientists by means of a psychic thought projection for crimes against animals in the name of human science and progress she Avers her next Target to be Louie pasture writing just after the death of Paul Bert in 1886
Quote I have killed Paul Bert as I killed Claude Bernard as I will kill Lou pasture and after him the whole tribe of vivisectors if I live long enough it is a magnificent power to have and the one that transcends all vulgar methods of dealing out Justice to tyrants end quote
It was later claimed by Edward maand that her attempt to kill Louie Pastor failed nonetheless her influence was extremely strong on matters in particular though he and Wescott both served as lecturers to the Hermetic Society Sam himself became a student of Kingsford dedicating his translation of the cabala unveiled to her wescot
Eulogized Kingsford saying she was quote illuminated by the sun of light the theosophical influence is significant in another way to Modern researchers when a reader whether casual or initiated approaches the foundational circulars memorandums and instructional documents of the inner Order of the Golden Dawn which are known as the flying rolls they’re typically
Confronted with a mass of vague obscure and archaic words and terms jargon we are inclined to quote unquote fill-in the blanks making our own immediate interpretations and interpolations for the sake of navigating these texts to their respective ends however these many terms had highly specific meanings and usages and were
Common parlaments among the theosophical circles of the day the theosophical society’s greater body of literature in fact generated an entire vernacular tent to mount to a lexicon or technical jargon of spirit spiritual science without this understanding even a careful reading of the core materials of the Golden Dawn particularly the flying
Rolls are without significant context wescot was himself a personal friend of Madame blazi and delivered a eulogy of her as well to the local theosophical Lodge after her death he and Ms also became members of the esoteric section of the theosophical society in 1888 this was a special branch of the
Theosophical society which was chartered by Colonel alott and HPB herself according to a circular on the esoteric sections formation it had been constituted quote to promote the esoteric interests of the theosophical society by the deeper study of esoteric philosophy end quote the widespread influence the theosophical society had over mainstream
Consciousness of its day simply cannot be overstated yet somehow it remains a largely unknown fact the 16th and 17th century German philosopher and Shoemaker y AB buma is also a lesser suspected influence on the system of the Golden Dawn buma was a Lutheran Theologian and Christian Mystic he had a series of
Mystical Visions in which certain spiritual truths were revealed to him his writings taking place 12 years after his Visions formed the basis for what was termed Christian theosophy in which he described alchemical allegories and symbolic images within a narrative of the creation of God out of himself
Composed of darkness and of light one such as of these influential works is entitled the Aurora the dawn there are several diagrams of central importance to the Golden Dawn initiatory system and curriculum which echo or directly mirror several accompanying diagrams within bulma’s work having to do with the nature of
Fallen creation and its redemption or reintegration this term reintegration is very familiar to martinist circles because it is a term used frequently in the works of the unknown philosopher Lou Claude the S Maran s Maran regarded yakob as one of his two spiritual Masters the other being Martine de
Pasali we will find that there was cross-pollination between martinist and Golden Dawn orders particularly in Paris of the early 20th century from a lecture given by matters to the Golden Dawn quote the martinist as long as they adhere to the teachings of their founder should not be out of harmony with the RR
At AC end quote much of the system of correspondences and practical magical theor of the Golden Dawn was called from The Works of Heinrich Cornelius AG grippa particularly his books on Occult Philosophy a large amount of the Golden Dawn outer order material also comes from the work of alfons Lou constan
Better known as elifas Levy ahead or elus Levy specifically the doctrine and ritual of high magic which he penned in the 1850s Ma’s references elus Levy as having been a fellow initiate of the Golden Dawn it’s important to note that the Golden Dawn despite all the different magical techniques and skills studied and acquired ired as part of its course of study is patently a system of magical alchemical initiatic Spiritual Development in other words theurgy and it is explicitly referred to as such repeatedly by its Founders in theosophical and Kindred circles the rumors of an occult order making great pretenses were abroad in those days obscure persons were placing cryptic sigils after their names in unexpected Communications dark hints were conveyed in breathless murmurs rough customers from the lowlands of Scotland talked about strange things in the modern world
In 1888 a charter was signed effectively giving full birth to the Golden Dawn early on Wescott maintained that Reverend Woodford whom is often cited as The Unofficial fourth founder of the Golden Dawn and whom Wescott purported to have received the cipher manuscripts from had encouraged him to make contact
With a frine sprangle whom was assumed to be associated with the manuscripts and the German rosicrucian order which was the institutional basis for the golden Dawn Wescott referred to this order as the golden dong he successfully began correspondence with FR sprangle who signed her letters as Sor SDA
Sapiens doab a the wise shall conquer the stars in her correspondence she instructs him to quote write to me under cover of the secretary of the lodge lick Li liben which address you know this correspondence was presented as granting Ms wescot and Woodman specific GR raids which allowed them to confer initiation
And to open and run a temple of the Golden Dawn chartered in London under dispensation by Sor SDA this kind of official paper trail was a kind of pedigree of the society the newly installed Chief signed the beautifully designed Charter for Isis urania Temple number three with what are called
Magical mots words or phrases in Latin Hebrew or Greek typically which are selected by the initiate to be referred to by among the initiator as well as in adopting an invocatory formula MOA Mathers was the golden Dawn’s first initiate to be put through the outer order this distinction is
Significant in that the Golden Dawn was an outer court and mystery school which prepared initiation for possible entry into the inner rosi crucian order the RR at AC rosai Ru at Ora Kris this inner order was not however in full manifestation until 1892 a significant feature of the Golden Dawn was its
Admission of men and women on equal basis not merely admission but enthusiastic encouragement of an accessibility to either Sexes to real contribution within the order MOA imparted several significant contributions to the order she was an extremely gifted Clairvoyant and along with her husband Sam using a method
Known as the ring and dis channeled much of the inner order curriculum of magic being a former artart student she created the scheme of color magic which is part and parcel of the adeptus minor curriculum and the rosie kusian magic of the inner order she adorned the temple implements with Splendid imagery
Beautifying the temple space and leaving behind wonderful works of Golden Dawn art she also wrote papers delivered lectures and taught Clairvoyance many of these lessons and study AIDS are still in use in the modern Golden Dawn communities she took on serious responsibilities she was essentially The Unofficial fourth Chief and most senior
Initiate her motto was vestigia I leave no Trace behind or I do not retrace my steps aside from the scant remnants of her Golden Dawn and artistic work this was largely true very little of personal record is extent of either of the mses there were many other highly influential women in the first
Class of the Golden Dawn Annie hornman essentially kept the Golden Dawn Alive by way of support both administratively and financially she found The Abbey theater in Dublin Ireland and essentially brought repitor theater to Britain she was seen as a mother figure to the Isis urania Temple group and was
Perhaps the leader with most vision for the temple Florence far the famous actress and Muse was also a leading figure among the adep of the inner order she founded an inner circle with highly unique work called the sphere group she beautified Golden Dawn ritual with her insistent that movement and speech
Within ceremonial should be as in a dramatic play graceful and mus musical she pioneered a method of vibrating words and divine names which she called canilla she was also foremost among the adep to assume a position of leadership and responsibility ma gon a legendary figure in her own time within the Irish
Revolutionary movement was only briefly a member but so inspired many of the other initiates such as William Butler Yates as to have left a lasting imprint in multiple streams of 19th and early 20th century history with Yates she founded a Celtic outcropping a potential outgrowth of the golden Dawn’s hermetic
Cabalistic magic though it remained mostly an outline Pamela Coleman Smith whose beautiful artwork brought to life the ryer weight Smith collaboration of the publication of the tarot her artistic talents brought weight’s vision and symbolic arrangements to birth which artistic contribution is at least 50% responsible for the deck’s success other
Prominent members of the early class were the Irish poet William Butler Yates The Scholar Arthur Edward weight who designed the prototypical and classic ryer weight Smith Tarot deck the translator Percy bulock noted Alchemist and Elder Statesman of hermeticism waon Edward barriage Robert Dr Robert Falcon JW Brody
Inz and the authors Arthur mckin and alron Blackwood the Golden Dawn was known as The Order of the Golden Dawn in the outer at that time and as mentioned before was a quote unquote first order or outer Court concealing an inner Rosie crucian order of aepi doing Practical Magic we find
The outer order however consisting of the accumulation and assimilation of the necessary prerequisite faculties and information systems which enabled one to practice Golden Dawn magic effectively it was like a preparatory school for the higher magical learning of the inner or second order among their courses of
Study were tarot a card deck of which had to be handcrafted personally by each initiate according to specific tarot correspondence guidelines natal and horary astrology the casting and interpretation of charts was another topic of which much study was made the memorization by wrote of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet their corresponding
Themes sounds and figures as well as astrological and alchemical symbolism these acted as symbolic vocabularies which were being assimilated into the initiate sphere of sensation a western term coined by the inner order Adept to refer more holistically to the energetic and psychospiritual organism of the individual inclusive of the aura these
Symbolic vocabularies allowed initiates to reliably extract and interpret data from the inner PLS by both increasing and specifying their available imagery banks scrying of the tatwas and development of tatwa vision was also given as early as the 1 equals 10 grade of zeler the Lesser ritual of the pentagram
Was also given in fact this ritual was created by the founders of the Golden Dawn however the invoking ritual was preferred whereas in more recent days the banishing version tends to be overused this is also in modern times confused for an elemental ritual however the attribution of the various Arc
Angels to the cardinal directions is actually based on the Four Winds and their qualities therefore making this primarily a directional ritual this form of directional invocation has historical Roots as early as the first few centuries BCE and esoteric dowst magical practice the original imagery of the archangels were
As pillars of light with their Elemental color correspondences and attendant regalia only coming into play later on the nature of the outer order formula of ritual in the Golden Dawn was considered to be one of spiritual Alchemy a salve at coagula formula where in the initiate was the matter to be transformed through
Several Elemental grades ascribed to the Tree of Life the candidate was initiated an advance through a system of alchemical initiatic magic passing through each grade with each ritual and attendant correspondences and attributions to the various elements and sephiroth purifying and consecrating each in turn I like to say that in the
Outer order the magic is done to you whereas in the inner order you do the magic it is only after the initiate is completed the rigorous process of alchemical initiation through the elements in the outer that they may if the Chiefs so chose be invited into the
Grade of five equals 6 corresponding to the cabalistic sephira of teerth this schematic was essentially fleshed out in large part at least in accordance with the neoy ritual which in itself implied nearly the entire scheme of subsequent initiation in a series of documents referred to as the Zed documents written several years after
The founding of the Golden Dawn by Sam Mathers they are a complete explanation of the formula of the Golden Dawn and the golden Dawn’s magic of the light this utilized a technique known as the Assumption of of God forms and introduced the study and use of the Coptic alphabet into the Golden Dawn
System of the higher grades it is extremely heavy on visualization the inner or second Order of the Golden Dawn was called the Oro Ru Oris the order of the Ruby Rose and cross of gold and was explicitly Rosy chrisian in nature the various magical implements crafted consecrated and used
Rituals performed and tasks to be completed in the inner order were explicitly secondary to the work of theori whose goal for the adep of the RR at AC was explicitly being raised and United with their Divine higher genius the higher genius is often conflated largely by way of Edward Alexander
Crowley with the Holy Guardian Angel this had to do with Crowley’s very brief intense and uncomfortable foray in the Golden Dawn during a time of strife and Schism also while Mathers was attempting to publish his translation of the Sacred magic of abrel and the Mage which references the holy Guardian Angel a
Higher Divine genius however is a term ultimately derived from the translations of the platonic and neoplatonic Corpus available at that time Thomas Taylor translated the word Dion as genius rather than demon for good reason Diamond does not mean demon as we understand the word rather it was a
Guiding or tutelary Spirit while the higher Divine genius and the holy Guardian Angel appear to be similar there is an important difference for this we look to the platonic scholar procus in his commentary on Plato’s Parmenides the distinction is made that the diamond can be viewed and
Experienced as both an interior and an exterior reality the tendency with the Holy Guardian Angel is to exteriorize it as a separate entity whereas the higher Divine genius is often experienced on a more interior level needless to say each person has their own experience of these entities but this concept and
Distinction can be important the Angelic sessions of Dr John D and Edward Kelly also come heavily into play Within the Golden Dawn system of magic at a certain point D was searching for a way to communicate with angels and he hired a Seer and Alchemist Edward Kelly also
Then known to be a con man but extremely gifted Seer they began their scrying sessions in which Kelly communicated with various Angelic intelligences in vision and received instructions for various ritual implements including tables sigils banners and even an entire Angelic language with its own consistent syntax through various twists and turns
D records these angelical conversations in his notebooks much of these are preserved in the British museum he claims that the Angelic language was given to the biblical patriarch Enoch by an Angel named a hence the term Enoch inan while the Golden Dawn utilizes the Angelic or enochian language and a
Comprehensive system of tablature derived from the watch towers of Dean Kelly’s experiments the traditional system of angelic magic as recorded in the journals deept diff significantly from the system as developed by the founders of the Golden Dawn Florence far was an extremely active and Innovative Adept of the inner order among her many
Other contributions to the Golden Dawn while perusing the British museum one day in 1895 far quote unquote made contact with an Egyptian Adept who communicated with her through both a statue and a preserved mummified body she used these artifacts as points of Astral contact with what she believed to
Be Egyptian epti of past eons here we see again this idea of disembodied teachers communicating by Supernatural means these were also known as Secret Chiefs theosophic they were referred to as Masters this idea was largely popularized by Helena blatsky in her theosophical writings she taught that it
Was through such Masters that she had received instruction from a very early age telepathically she wrote quote they are living men born as we are born and doomed to die like every Mortal we call them Masters because they are our teachers and because from them we have derived all the theosophical truths they
Are men of great learning whom we call initiates and still greater Holiness of life end quote the idea of ascended teachers reaching out telepathically to communicate and instruct us became very popular during the years following the spiritualist movement that set the stage for and gave birth to the worldwide
Theosophical movement it came to the point where blavatsky’s successors dained to revise her teachings shortly after her death under claimed authority of having gotten in contact with their own masters this perhaps unfortunate Trend would typify a cult workings for the next Century at least it Finds Its Reflection In New Age Concepts like
Spirit guides in 1890 A letter came to Wescott from a frer ex Uno disis omnis informing him of the death of Sor SDA the letter also informed Wescott that though the SAR had granted them a charter for Isis urania number three the other Chiefs of the order opposed her
Doing so the letter unequivocally stated to the temple basically you’re on your own in 1891 the third Chief William Robert Woodman died leaving a v vacancy in the governing Triad between Mathers and wcot that would never again be filled creating appreciable tension over time the following year 1892 Sam and MOA
Moved to Paris this tension between the Two Chief would Mount until 1896 when some of westcott’s Golden Dawn papers were mysteriously found left in a petty cab he was confronted by local authorities and somewhat reprimanded as this business was not considered something befitting a coroner of the
Crown he was forced to complete stepped down as second Chief of the order leaving Ms as Soul Chief in 1897 after several translations of other works Sam Mathers endeavored to translate a book called The Sacred magic of abrel and the Mage the book in an of itself from which this translation was
Called consists of 12 manuscripts published as four volumes detailing the discovery of a form of powerful cabalistic magic culminating in the appearance of one’s holy Guardian Angel Ms completed a partial translation it was during this time that things began to unravel this period of Ma’s attempt to have the translation
Published as well as details surrounding the Golden Dawn was fraught with miscommunication misconnections Calamity and generally ill Fortune while in Paris matters began to become possessed of various political ideas and embroiled himself in certain machinations of a vague nature but implying some form of political Intrigue he began writing
Often about financial forecasts in very hushed and Urgent tones and became invested in and identified with jackaby political movements having earlier adopted the moniker McGregor from a very early age and from a very early age identifying himself with the scotch Clan McGregor later assuming the title comp of Glen count of Glen
He suffered several bicycle accidents during this time as well during visits to their Paris apartment WB Yates records that matters looked Emaciated in the following year Sam Mathers initiated Edward Alexander Crowley into the Order of the Golden Dawn in the outer by 1899 he had completed the outer order under Ma’s wing and with his favor this was a trajectory of initiation that was and still is recommended take somewhere
Around 3 years Crowley was put through it in one as an editorial this can be either catastrophic for the psycho etheric makeup or unremarkable as nothing having any real effect but in any event it is seemingly irresponsible and this is indeed one of the very rare instances where Crowley is not to be
Blamed however owing to his diffus proclivity to imbalance Crowley was generally disfavored for progression to the inner order and barred by the chiefs of the London Temple particularly by Florence far who was it is worth noting not considered prudish in her own day earlier cley had made the acquaintance
Of a young chemist Julian Baker and through him George cisil Jones both of whom were members of the Golden Dawn while cley was just a beginner in the occult Arts Jones also an amateur chemist and advanced m of the inner order began experimenting with chemistry discussing ritual and studying through
Magical toes this may have had something to do with Crowley’s disappointment when through introduction by Jones he was initiated into the Golden Dawn and given his curriculum of study he expressed that he had quote pledged himself to secrecy with terrific Oaths and then found himself entrusted with the Hebrew
Alphabet Crowley also formed a relationship with Alan Bennett another Golden Dawn initiate after his admission to the second order it was with Bennett that Crowley began his real magical experimentation crafting talismans performing rights of evocation and all manner of serious and intense magical workings of the inner order if perhaps
Prematurely for his specific grade yet for all his early sincerity and his youthful Devil May care rebelliousness Crowley grew imminently dissatisfied with the order in large part due to the unraveling of the head of the order who had taken him under his wing it was during this time that Crowley was
Exposed by way of matters to the abelan translation and to the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel which Crowley then erroneously conflated with the inner order teaching of the higher Divine genius after Ms admitted and initiated Crowley to the five equals 6 at his aat temple in Paris in 1900 against the
Wishes of the chiefs of the London Temple Florence far wrote to notify matters of her resignation it was at this time that mats wrote back claiming that the sprangle letters were forgeries of wescot that he had been under an oath of secrecy to Wescott and that quote
Every atom of knowledge end quote came to the order through him matters alone this caused a full fledged Rebellion despite Ma’s direction to not mention what he had disclosed to her to the others far felt an obligation to tell them and a formal investigative committee was formed however not much
Further information was gleaned as Wescott made no strong defense of his own case but brushed the accusation off with a degree of vagueness and ambiguity and matters patently refused to discuss the matter any further nor acknowledge the committee as having any kind of authority through a circuitous series of
Events a Schism was enacted with matters taking with him a handful of loyalists and the London Temple claiming its own autonomy initially Crowley was sent as a lap dog and Emissary to collect papers and certain pieces of property from the location of the London Temple then at 36
Blly Road what ensued has been called The Battle of blly road with crley showing up masked in Scottish Tartan and wielding one or more blades he was however ousted and escorted Away by the police around this time and slightly later it becomes apparent in his diaries that Crowley began to severely resent Ms
After having first pledged and confessed his fty to him he eventually left the Golden Dawn as it fell upon Scandal and bringing further disgrace and enmity upon the order by later publishing its rituals and maliciously caricaturing its members in his series The Equinox Israel regery once wrote quote knowing his
Nature I was always surprised when he spoke well of a man end quote Crowley also intentionally plagiarized Order documents within the Golden Dawn curriculum was not copied and given to students but rather circulated among students for them to copy there were many of these documents and manuscripts
Which served as inter order memos and master copies one of which was a document which served as both quasi encyclopedic and quick reference guide to correspondences of all manner of Materia mythology astrology and cabalistic knowledge to which Crowley appended a few commentaries dubbed 777 and published privately with his own
Name as the author eventually his intense disillusionment soured into further resentment and hatred he recorded a reminder to himself in his diary that he should find someone to quote unquote do the job of getting rid of matters he haunted matters at every turn eventually leading him to a court
Battle that made public display of the Golden Dawn order in 1910 for a second time the main point to keep in mind really is that Crowley would further caricature the entirety of the Golden Dawn system which is predicated on a dynamic equilibrium referred to as the
Path of the middle pillar and which is nearly entirely based on the oseran christic Mythos of the dying and resurrecting God as a formula for Spiritual transmutation which we find and have found since time immemorial analogized by the cycles of the sun this as in a physical analog or
Patterned reflection alluding to a greater metaphysical principle or truth Crowley inverted this theme in several ways first by advocating extremism not in the motto of his religion of fimma do what thou Wilt but rather in advocating to members an immersion in either Vice or total abstinence depending on their
Disposition no matter what he was attempting to accomplish this is antithetical to the Golden Dawn system of equilibration as it was practiced and promulgated in the original order we have this in writing from the flying rols and letters he also attempted to destroy the formula of the quote unquote
Old gods and supplant it with the new the Eon of Horus the crowned and conquering child talk about an embodied formula as a consequence of this Schism and subsequent Revolt Ms was ousted by his London epti Arthur Edward weight ended up with control of Isis urania and Dr Falcon
Obtained leadership over a new Splinter order consisting of several adep which was then called the Stella matutina or star of the morning the mses had developed a network of initiates and took part in many esoteric salons even initiating into the martinist order of Gerard anos or papus and in turn
Initiating him into their Golden Dawn Temple they performed public rights of Isis in Paris as well taking leading Parts in the ritual drama they were primed to continue forward with certain epti who remained loyal loyal to matters particular JW broenes who eventually became his successor for a time and also
For a short time at least Dr Falcon on the heels of this Schism a final death blow was to be delivered to whatever exent ruins of the Golden Dawn were discernible around 1900 Mathers was approached by a woman named Madame Horus and her husband Theo Horos they ingratiated themselves with Sam Mathers but were a couple of con artists who had left the states and entered Europe having left a trail of deception and ill repute behind them they found in matters a mark and once earning his trust under the pretense of being the
Real Anna sprangle and or reincarnated Madame latsky stole a slew of order papers including ceremonies 18 months later in 1901 Theo horos was on trial for rap rape with his wife as a complice the Golden Dawn was implicated when they attempted to use the Golden Dawn and the
Papers that they had in their possession to cover the crime up the court hearing exposed the Golden Dawn its documents were revealed and seized upon by the press and the golden Dawn’s Mystique was gone in a Flash they had made Headlines many members completely disillusioned in the order’s fate resigned left or one completely off radar the matters has changed the name of their Splinter order in Paris to the alpha at Omega stating that the order was formerly called the Golden Dawn but the name was abandoned after it had been
Profaned yet they hoped to one day again reinstate the title it was never to be so just over a decade later the first first world war came Golden Dawn adep and initiates met in small groups attempting to keep the orders alive with many attempting to make sense of the
Tragic trajectory of this illuminated order whose Crest was ridden by those Intrepid Bohemian Believers in Magic and transmutation and though the wave broke and rolled back it would only return to its source to issue forth once again in a new but familiar form a glint from the light underneath the surface shining
Through as if in reassurance that the impetus for the order was indeed as they might say from Beyond the Veil during Ma’s coup of the order he revealed to the actress Florence far that Wescott had forged the letters between himself and frine sprangles and had never been in contacts with any
Chiefs of the order this is often cited as a reason to discredit the entire stream of golden and Dawn legitimacy from the outset however we find contradictory evidence both before and after this incident in Ms claiming to be in contact himself with the chiefs of the order however his claim was that the
Chiefs were not necessarily your average individuals existing within some sort of German Lodge rather Ms was in touch with Secret Chiefs who occupied an existence of perhaps wed embodiment and disembodiment his constant refrain to his Close Associates was to be in their presence and under their guidance was a
Strain that he believed would eventually kill him mats goes on to say that every adom of the order’s curriculum and knowledge came to it through him and that he had been the one in touch with the real Secret Chiefs so we see here not a denial of the existence of any
Chiefs or of the legitimacy of the cipher manuscripts but that to matters’s mind Wescott was never in contact with them in fact during the horos Scandal Mathers admitted that he believed Madame horos to have been the real frine sprangle this could not be possible if he didn’t believe in her existence
Recent research and erudition have revealed some interesting facts pertaining to the possible origin and transmission of German rosicrucian lines to other parts of Europe specifically in a lecture given by wescot to the order on the history of the Golden Dawn he States the following quote this Temple Isis urania number three was consecrated
As a successor to hermanubis Temple number two which had ceased to exist owing to the death of all its Chiefs the temple number one of lick Li Lian is a group of Continental Mystics who have not been in the habit of Performing ceremonies in open Lodge but have
Conferred the grades chiefly in privacy and in the presence of two or three members end quote till a handful of years ago this mother Lodge licked Le liben was thought to have been an invention of Westcott however Recent research has revealed the existence of a lodge with such name in in the lodge
Journal of German Freemasonry volume 10 of 1867 there is explicit mention of a lodge licked Le Leben what is very interesting here is the explicit mention that this Lodge was irregular or clandestine because of its Divergence from regular accepted Masonic ritual the Lut Becker made mention of in the lodge Journal was a philosophy teacher and author who penned a work entitled The asens a sketch for
Theologians and Freemasons which expresses his thesis of the judaic sect of the ases the early Christians and the therapeuti of ancient Alexandria belonging to one continuous spiritual tradition within this work he Associates Freemasonry as a vehicle for the esoteric spiritual traditions of ancient Christians helenistic philosophies and Egyptian rights
Simultaneously further Dr Robert Falcon struck out in a dire quest after the Schism to find the chiefs of the Golden Dawn in Continental Europe his search lasted several years and was an adventure unto itself through a circuitous and at times extremely dangerous and simultaneously unproductive series of inquiries Falcon
Found what he believed un equivocally to be the rosy chrisian Chiefs he was looking for and they were found in Germany it would seem then if we were to indulge in the suspension of any disbelief that Ma’s teachers had been guiding him the whole time a group of
Entities that used him as a vehicle for the formation of the order and seemingly abandoned him when he was no longer of use both he and his wife alluded to his teachers commissioning him to this work before the translation of the cipher manuscripts A final curious feature regarding the ciphers frine springle and Chiefs from Beyond the material plane is that the magical motto written on the charter supposedly issued by frin sprangle as well as mentioned in other instances including lectures and memorandums was Sor SDA sapiens dominor ases this was
The magical motto of a frine Anna sprangle their Chief and chartering Adept yet this very magical motto was attached to someone else another woman who acted as an Adept mentor and influencer of the Golden Dawn Anna bonis Kingsford this magical motto was found inscribed on the inside of her edition
Of theologized astrology found in her library after her death sapiens doitor ostri SDA if you’ve enjoyed this content I hope you’ll consider subscribing to the Arcanum patreon for the cost of a cup of coffee per month you can help me continue to produce free rigorously researched and practiced material like
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