Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

Students of the Golden Dawn system are required to learn the Knowledge Lectures to pass their exam. The information in these is valuable, but it is, in all honesty, relatively scant. Someone with a good memory could easily cram this into their mind within a day or two and then regurgitate it onto their exam paper. Initiates are also expected to learn key parts of their initiation ritual, including the roles of officers, their godforms, how many divisions the ritual is made into, and so forth. This is probably the more difficult part, but could also be learned in a relatively short period of time. There are also a number of side lectures that are given out in each grade, most of which provide valuable information, yet many of which are extremely dated and somewhat limited in scope. Modern orders usually expand upon these, either by literally editing the papers or by adding new ones of their own. All of this, along with the required daily ritual and practical work, ...

One of the keys to a successful ritual is the use of emotion. If the prayers and invocations are read in a dreary, boring way it will have little effect upon you or those around you. Good acting depends on emotion and it can cause significant changes in us and how we perceive the world. Emotion is the Force with which we fill the Form of magic. It is the Will that directs and guides, activating and bringing to life the Imagination. It is what makes godforms come to life and charges our talismans, including the Candidate in an initiation ceremony. It is, in essence, what makes it all work, what turns the cogs of the magical universe. Buried emotion can be a particularly powerful treasure trove that can be channelled for a productive end in magic. Ignored and unattended it is like a nuclear bomb waiting to go off, but it does not have to be this grim. If it is tapped into and directed towards a magical goal it can become like a nuclear power station, providing immense amounts of...

The Qlippoth ("shells") are an area of Golden Dawn study and practice that is often ignored or glossed over. Working with the darker aspects of the universe and ourselves are something that most Right Hand Path magicians want little to do with. And yet it is an essential part of the ultimate ascent up the Tree. We cannot, for example, fully understand Geburah, in particular, if we do not understand the Qlippoth. We are also missing a key to the puzzle of all the Sephiroth by not understanding what went wrong with the Breaking of the Vessels. The Qlippothic forces are the extremes. They are what happens when balance is not reached or kept. Therefore we inadvertently encounter them throughout our path, and particularly in the Golden Dawn system in those grades that are not on the Middle Pillar, and yet also in every grade when we get too little or too much of an element, planetary power, etc. The Qlippoth are parts of us and parts of the universe that are not as th...

Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter I: Dee & Kelley Chapter II: The Magic of the Angels Chapter III: The Enochian Language Chapter IV: Liber Loagaeth Chapter V: The Stone & the Ring Chapter VI: The Sigillum Dei Aemeth Chapter VII: The Table of Practice Chapter VIII: The Lamen Chapter IX: The Bonorum Chapter X: The Tablet of Nalvage Chapter XI: The Great Table Chapter XII: The Governors & Parts of the Earth Chapter XIII: The Aethyrs Chapter XIV: The Calls Appendix I: Enochian Gematria Appendix II: Enochian Dictionary There's still copies of the Limited Hardback Edition left, so make sure to pre-order!

Sandra Tabatha Cicero 's book on Westcott's Enochian Tablets, with many previously unpublished GD documents, is available for purchase: It looks like an excellent contribution to both Golden Dawn and Enochian studies, and I look forward to reading it. Expect a review on this blog some time in the near future.

The first issue of The Ruby Tablet is out, compiled and edited by Darcy Kuntz. There are some reprints of articles from old esoteric journals and some previously unpublished papers. For example, this launch issue features the GD Azoth paper. Darcy isn't charging for this, but he is accepting donations, which I heartily recommend (what's $5 out of your pocket anyway?), particularly as it will ensure future issues of this important contribution to esoteric publications. Note: File opens as PDF.