Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

Peregrin Wildoak's first book, By Names and Images: Bringing the Golden Dawn to Life , is an aptly-titled exploration of the Golden Dawn system of magic from a unique perspective. It delves into the inner workings of the rituals and techniques utilised by the Order and provides an accessible guidebook and manual for working with and within the Golden Dawn tradition. At 371 pages this is a comprehensive text, exploring many of the important teachings of the Order in some detail, with chapters on purification, meditation, divination, aura control, invocation, evocation, inner plane work, and initiation. The material on auras and dramatic invocation is particularly good, showing a wealth of experience and insight in this area. I do not always agree with some of the things Wildoak suggests, such as drawing up the light from the Earth in the Qabalistic Cross, but it is interesting to see another approach to this thriving magical tradition. There are also a couple of Hebrew ...

Peregrin Wildoak , author of By Names & Images: Bringing the Golden Dawn to Life , posted an excellent summary of the inner workings of GD temples, showing how GD techniques differ from Masonic-style workings to create a truly magical tradition. This is one of the best articles on this subject and will benefit any Golden Dawn magician, whether they are a solitary worker or belong to a temple. Check it out here.

I have been reading Peregrin Wildoak 's recently released (and long-awaited) By Names & Images: Bringing the Golden Dawn to Life , which I will review on this blog once I'm finished. So far it has been enjoyable and insightful, addressing a wide variety of subjects. One subject in particular that was raised is the idea of using magic for material gain, a hotly debated topic in occult circles. It is such a huge area that it deserves a post of its own. Please note that while this post was inspired by the relevant section of Peregrin's book, I am also making some broader comments on the topic in general. Sufficed to say, I do not agree with Peregrin's suggestion that there is no place within the Golden Dawn for magic to better our everyday lives. I used to think this for a long time, and then I realised that if I do not accommodate my material existence then I will have difficulty focusing on spiritual growth.  For example, if I cannot afford enough fo...

Many people think that the "lodge system" is dead or dying, and that the Golden Dawn is not as strong as it was in its hey-day, or, indeed, that it too is dying a slow death. I don't believe this to be true. Indeed, while perhaps the lodge system is not as popular as it once was (the decline in Freemasonry being the prime example), the Golden Dawn is thriving, so much so that I wonder if there is a kind of Renaissance occurring. The Golden Dawn today is served by at least half a dozen orders, with another dozen or more that use its magic or are in some way derived from it (for example, the BOTA and SOL). Many of these Orders have a large number of temples around the world, more than the original ever had, and there are more popping up as we speak. Europe and America, in particular, are well-served today. Couple this with a number of new developments and publications that have occurred or are on the horizon. For example, there is the GD magazine Hermetic Virtues , only a f...