Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

I have discovered an interesting point in a letter by Annie Horniman from 1902, which states: "S.R.M.D. [Mathers] made a great point to me about putting the 5=6 Obligation at the end of the book instead of in its place in the First Point. He gave me to understand that he had good reasons for this, something as to having received the Ceremony & Obligation from different sources or occasions." By coincidence (or perhaps not), I was inclined to do the same in The Complete Initiation Rituals of the Golden Dawn , where the 5=6 Obligation (as Ritual J) is given in the Appendices at the end of the book and not as part of the main 5=6 Ritual (some original copies of the Ritual were done this way, while others had the Obligation, also termed the Book of the Oath, given within the body of the Ritual). When it comes time for a new edition of The Complete Initiation Rituals of the Golden Dawn , I will add the above information in a footnote. However, as this will not be for many year...

Melissa Seims' pivotal new historical look at the Horus Temple is now available, thanks to two newly discovered collections of original material, including Pillars, Banners, sceptres, ritual diagrams, and numerous documents. The Scott Collection, in particular, formed the basis of this book. With full colour images showcasing the extraordinary finds, Seims produces never-before-seen material and a detailed history of the members and evolution of the Horus Temple.  This book is a vital resource for those interested in the Golden Dawn. Order your signed copy direct through the author (preferred) here:  https://www.thewica.co.uk/lightinextension Alternatively, it is available through Thoth Publications or Amazon .

The Sigils of the Scales form an integral part of the symbol set employed by the Golden Dawn, combining with the Colours of the Scales to help pinpoint specific worlds, powers, and energies. Yet public knowledge of them has been limited, thanks to them being omitted from Regardie's tome, resulting in a major piece of the Order's corpus being left out of many people's work. So, what are the Sigils of the Scales? Here is an example of them below, from at the back of the Tarot papers of G.D. member M.W. Blackden (dated 7 June, 1899): (An aside: the Scales of Prince and Princess are sometimes referred to as Emperor and Empress respectively, while the list here names them in relation to the traditional Court Cards. The Prince Scale is also sometimes referred to as the Child Scale, or Scale of the Children of the Forces.) Like many parts of the G.D. corpus, we do not know their exact origin (indeed, Florence Farr seems to have looked for this elsewhere, at least in relation to th...

After the schism of 1900, Edward William Berridge (Resurgam) took over the London branch of the Order loyal to Mathers. This has been documented previously in some history books and online timelines as the "Isis Temple", and many have assumed that this was a new Temple, particularly with information suggesting it was "No. 11". The problem with this assumption is that there is contradicting evidence, which suggests it was actually still called "Isis-Urania", and thus was likely seen as a continuation of the Temple No. 3 founded in 1888 (Temples No. 1 and 2 being fictional). Consider, for example, the reverse of a surviving Admission Badge from this Temple, dated Sep 1910: Another example from the same collection (currently held in The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall, England):   Both clearly show "Isis-Urania-Temple". There are numerous other examples of this.   Further, on 18 January and 22 February 1902, letters by Resurgam (Berridge)...

The topic of the place of the Holy Guardian Angel in the Golden Dawn system has been raised numerous times, largely due to the fact that Mathers published what is seen by many as the seminal text on the subject, The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage , plus the popularisation of the concept through Aleister Crowley. The question, however, is whether this term and idea applies to the teachings of the Golden Dawn. Firstly, let us look at the term itself. Abra-Melin uses various terms interchangeably: "Holy Guardian Angel", "Guardian Angel", "Holy Angel", or, in some cases, just "Angel", all referring to the same thing. This is usually referred to today by most as simply "Holy Guardian Angel". However, in his Introduction, Mathers only ever uses the term "Guardian Angel". Neither the term “Holy Guardian Angel” nor "Guardian Angel" is overtly used, to my knowledge, in any original G.D. material. There is a S...

Pre-order The Complete Golden Dawn Tarot Deck DUBLIN, IRELAND – Kerubim Press, independent publisher of occult books, is proud to announce our latest project, The Complete Golden Dawn Tarot Deck , the most complete and accurate version of the Order’s Tarot designs to date. If you think you’ve already seen these designs, think again! Not only have many of the original drawings of the Major Arcana not been rendered accurately in published books or decks, but many of the higher Path cards have not been drawn to match the designs given by Mathers. Indeed, other decks have typically gone in vastly differently directions to the way the Golden Dawn deck was supposed to go. Spearheading this project is Frater Yechidah, who has been working quietly on these designs for a number of years. With his signature serious and detailed research (as proven by his previous projects in this area) and an aptitude for spotting the trails left behind by Mathers and company, Yechidah looks to...

Volume 6 of the Golden Dawn journal series The Light Extended is out now, published by Kerubim Press. Get your copy on Amazon CONTENTS - Meditation and the Golden Dawn Tradition by Samuel Scarborough - A Flashing Light, Abounding, Revolving, Whirling Forth, Crying Aloud: Flashing Talismans, Symbols, and Flashing Tablets by Chic and Tabatha Cicero - To Be More Than Human: The Forms of Man Above & Below by Frater A.R.O. - A Revised History of the Golden Dawn — Part Two by Tony Fuller - Abraxas and Baphomet: A Study of Two Chimeric Godforms by Jayne Gibson - A Concourse of Forces: Doreen Valiente and the Golden Dawn by Melissa Seims - On the Pentagram: A Paper for the Dominus Liminis by Ike Baker - The Habdalah of Rabbi ‘Aqiba by J.P.F. - Practical Planetary Magic Square Sigils by Soror Velchanes - Graven Images: Idolatry, Icon and Imagination in the Golden Dawn by Veritas Contra Mundum, F.R.C. - The Sentinel in the Golden Dawn by Frater Yechidah - The Salamander Retold by Frater YSh...

A commonly-asked question is if the Pentagram employed in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram (LRP) is associated with the Element of Earth. There is much confusion about this, which is understandable, given the myriad sources on the matter, and often arguments emphatically for and against.  It may surprise some who have learned otherwise that the answer is actually yes (though with some nuances). While copies of the LRP given to Neophytes do not reference the Elements at all, calling these simply an "Invoking Pentagram" or "Banishing Pentagram" (which makes sense, given they have not yet experienced the Elemental Grades), Adept material does refer (either explicitly, or by intimation) to the LRP Pentagrams as being of Earth. For example, here is a description from Ritual B (Ritual of the Pentagram): "In the Invoking Pentagram of Earth the Current descendeth from the Spirit to the Earth. In the Banishing Pentagram the Current is reversed. The Sigil of [Taurus] s...

  DUBLIN, IRELAND – Kerubim Press, independent publisher of occult books, is proud to announce our latest publication, The Complete Knowledge Lectures & Side Papers of the Golden Dawn , the most thorough and authoritative version of the Outer Order curriculum of the original Order of the Golden Dawn to date, encompassing the grades from 0=0 through 4=7, marking the first time this material is fully and accurately available in print. If you think you’ve already read these papers, think again! Current published versions, in both print and online, are either the later Stella Matutina versions or are riddled with errors, missing entire sections and numerous diagrams, while some papers are rare or have never been published before (including the full instructions for the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, which are not found in Regardie’s book). All of this is corrected in this new, comprehensive edition. Additionally, Frater Yechidah has painstakingly compared numerou...