Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

When many in the modern Golden Dawn community first encountered the 5=6 sash worn by W.B. Yeats, which is on display at the National Library of Ireland, it presented what appeared like a very unusual design, with some suggesting that Yeats added symbols of his own. Even today it is often called the "Yeats sash," as if it was entirely unique to him. Yeats' 5=6 sash ( © National Library of Ireland) The reality, however, is that this sash design is actually the official one, and was what all original Order members used, not the typical version we see all over the internet today. For example, here is Aleister Crowley's one: Aleister Crowley's 5=6 sash In case one might think this is a fluke, there are several other surviving sashes from original Order members, including ones attributed to A.E. Waite and W.A. Ayton, dated to c. 1892, the year when the Inner Order was formally established. There is even one from around 1920. All of these bear the ex...

This month sees the release of several major books relating to the Golden Dawn, or of interest to Golden Dawn magicians. Check them out, and make sure to order your copies. This book has earned wide acclaim across the GD community. For those of you interested in the Limited Hardback Edition, there are only a couple left for sale at  Kerubim Press . Otherwise, you can order the paperback edition on Amazon here . A long-awaited book showcasing the original Tarot designs of the Golden Dawn, along with other previously unreleased material. All in full colour. A must-have for those interested in both the historical and practical aspects of the Order. It can be ordered on Blurb here . A new journal for the Western Mystery Tradition, edited by Nick Farrell. This issue contains articles by many well-known Golden Dawn magicians, including Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Aaron Leitch, Christine Zalewski, and Jayne Gibson, among many others. It can be ordered on Lulu here . ...

To answer a question on the Golden Dawn Forum , I drew up the following image to show the placement of the Hebrew letters on the Greek Cubical Cross. I thought I'd share it here for others interested in where the letters go. The image can be printed out, cut to shape (ensuring the blank squares are cut out) and then folded up to form the cross. This can then be used as a guide for painting a more solid construct. The above placement, which the original Order used, has the three mother letters down the centre of the front, with Fire (Shin) above, Water (Mem) below, and the reconciling Air (Aleph) between them. The two letters on either side of this are the Moon (Gimel) on the left and the Sun (Resh) on the right. The back of the cross has the remaining five letters related to the planets, while the 12 simple letters, relating to the zodiac, are placed around the sides. To avoid confusion, note that some modern groups assign the letters differently.

As a lodge-based system, the Golden Dawn is essentially crafted within the framework of Freemasonry, with an additional layer of magic placed upon those foundations. These Masonic roots are not hard to find, with everything from the officer structure to the grip, step and passwords of the grades stemming from earlier tradition. Some of these elements have an obvious function, where their symbolic purpose and magical application was explained in detail. Others may appear to have no purpose at all, which has led to some modern magicians calling for them to be axed from the rituals. The Past Hierophant is the classic example of this. On the surface, the Past Hierophant appears to do very little. He or she sits to the left of the Hierophant on the dais, watching the proceedings, contributing to the visualisations and inner workings of the ritual. One important duty of the Past Hierophant is to build up the godform of Aroueris upon the Hierophant when he or she is moving (for t...

Many people wonder why the various names used in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram were chosen over other alternatives, particularly when it comes to a name like AGLA, a notariqon of Atah Gibor leh-Olam Adonai ("Thou art mighty forever, O Lord."), which appears to have largely been selected because it has four letters. It is not difficult to understand the idea that since there are four directions, and thus there must be four names, that this motif would be continued in the formation of the names themselves. It is, after all, a continuation of the mystery of YHVH, the first name employed. But there is another reason that these must be four-letter names. If we look at the Hebrew names for the four directions, we have the following: Mazrach (מזרח) for East, Darom (דרום) for South, Ma'arav (מערב) for West, and Tzaphon (צפון) for North. The astute student will immediately notice that these are all four-letter names. Thus the most resonant names for the four...

Obsession is something that occurs in all walks of like, but doubly so within the occult world, where there are many things to fixate upon, and many ways for the magician to lose control and end up being controlled by outside forces. Mathers and Westcott frequently issued warnings about this. A student might, for example, feel a special affinity with a number. Let us say 10, since it is the number of Sephiroth. Then they might start to obsess about it, seeing it everywhere, and thinking there is some greater significance than that which they are affording to it from their own behaviour. They suddenly note that they stopped reading a book on page 10 (despite ignoring that they stopped on page 6 the night before), keep noticing the number 10 bus (despite ignoring all the hundreds of other numbered buses they encounter perhaps more frequently), and start to let the number rule their life. Then the occult meaning is irrelevant, as the true value of the relevant teachings of that numbe...

A common question asked by those new to the Golden Dawn system is how to come up with a motto. While there is no step-by-step process, there are a few guidelines that Candidates might consider: The first is that it should represent your spiritual/magical aspirations. Therefore, you should consider something positive, and consider something of an overarching goal. Your motto usually stays with you. For example, even when someone takes a new motto at 7=4, they still keep their 5=6 motto (at least within the context of an order). The second is that it should be in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, or a similar language traditionally employed in the Mysteries. You should generally avoid a language you will be speaking every day. Latin is traditionally the preferred choice. It is ideal to keep the phrase short, with perhaps four or five words maximum (though a single word can also be used). The third is that you should spend some time meditating on this, looking through dictionaries, dire...