R.A. Gilbert on Rosicrucianism

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Earth Pentagram in Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram?

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...
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The "Isis" Temple of Berridge & the Continuation of the G.D.

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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)...
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The Hidden Second Form of the Sigils of the Scales

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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...
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