Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

Each Equinox a new Pass Word is chosen, acting as a means to distinguish members from those who have demitted, resigned, or been expelled. It also acts as a link with the Solar Light, as per Mathers' explanation in Ritual Z3.  More than this, however, I would argue it is, as it were, a form of motto for the Order for the half-year period in question, and since the motto is intended to represent one's "higher occult aim or aspirations," the Pass Word can thus be seen to represent the highest occult aim or aspirations of the Order for that Equinoctial period. Its use, then, in addition to bringing into action the link with the Solar Light, is a form of invocation of the forces cognizant with the word chosen. A simple, yet powerful, formula. Groups bearing the GD moniker today likely use all manner of Pass Words, depending on what is important to them and their leaders, either chosen directly (with intent) or through some mystical means (such as the Ring and Disk of ThAM...

Volume 3 of the Golden Dawn journal series The Light Extended is out now, published by Kerubim Press.  Get your copy on Amazon CONTENTS - Preface by Tony Fuller - On Tracing Signs in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Samuel Scarborough - Self Isolation in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Alex Sumner - Nephthys: A Suggested Patron Goddess for the 6=5 Grade by Jayne Gibson - Commentaries on the Stella Matutina Grade Meditations by Jaime Paul Lamb - Practicus Astrology: The Meaning of the Hylech and Anareta by Frater Manu Forti - The 76 Names of Metatron by J.P.F. - Protheus: On the Assumption of the Forms of the Eternal Gods by Adam P. Forrest - How the Golden Dawn Hath Travelled and the Gods Within by Soror DPF - S.L. Mathers and the Rosicrucian Order of the Alpha et Omega by Darcy Küntz - Tarot Workings in the Golden Dawn: Some Practical Notes on the Opening of the Key by Frater Yechidah - The Gnome: A Retelling of the Popular German Story by the Brothers Grimm Retold by Frater YShY PRAIS...

As a traditionalist myself, I have sometimes been accused of "fundamentalism" or similar hyperbolic slurs, but this stems from a massive misunderstanding of what it means to be a traditionalist in the GD sense. It does not mean living in the past or merely re-enacting history, but actually working first and foremost with the historical material, as is (unaltered and corrected from the mountain of errors, including errors of omission, that have accrued over the years), and then using that material as the foundation to expand upon and develop, while being mindful that "innovations" should not contradict the essence (or even, at times, the rule) of the material that has come before, knowing that all aspects are deeply interwoven, and alterations to one will have consequences for the whole. In this sense, then, traditionalism is about being open enough, diligent enough, and humble enough, to learn what is actually there, before assuming one's personal ideas or revel...