Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

As a follow-up to my previous blog post , questioning the supposed rule that a Rosicrucian cannot claim to be a Rosicrucian, I have discovered some additional references that really do make it clear that the Golden Dawn founders, at least, did not accept this view (and, indeed, violated it, if there ever was such a rule then to violate), and it was also not (and still is not) held by many others within the wider Rosicrucian community. 1. Mathers wrote an open letter that was published in the public occult journal Lucifer (run by the Theosophical Society) in 1889 (just one year after the founding of the GD), challenging a group called the Order of the Dew and the Light, which claimed to be the true and only descendants of the "Fraternitas Rosae Crucis." He explicitly stated that he was writing "on behalf of the Metropolitan College of the Rosicrucian Society of England," openly named Woodman as head of that same order, and stated that Westcott was Secre...

A common view espoused today is that a Rosicrucian may not claim to be a Rosicrucian, that doing so essentially shows that he or she is not actually a member of that Fraternity. Peregrin Wildoak raised this topic in his recent blog post with a number of sources for this rule, and though the sources may appear initially compelling, there are a number of issues which make me question just how authentic this prohibition really is, and how valid it is in the context of the Golden Dawn. 1. The primary sources for Rosicrucianism are, of course, the Fama and Confessio , and it is the Fama that gives us six articles that the ancient brethren bound each other to keep. The first two of these concern us, given that they are cited as evidence for the aforementioned rule. "1. First, That none of them should profess any other thing than to cure the sick, and that gratis.   2. None of the Posterity should be constrained to wear one certain kind of habit, but therein to foll...

Jupiter Wall of Magical Order of Aurora Aurea Vault Initiation in the Inner Order takes place within the illustrious and mysterious Vault of the Adepts, a Golden Dawn recreation of the mythical resting place of Christian Rosenkreuz. At first glance at the walls of the Vault it might look like a seemingly random series of mystical symbols, including Hebrew letters, astrological glyphs, and alchemical icons. However, it's really a simple and logical array of some of the most potent forces we deal with as magicians. First, let's deal with the Hebrew letters, which are found within squares with a border. These are the first letters of the names of the Sephiroth, and their placement mirrors that on the Tree of Life. So, the square in the centre of the second line contains Kaph for Kether, the two on the line below are Beth for Binah and Cheth for Chokmah, and so on. Above the Kaph square is the symbol for Spirit, which is a fairly common sense placement, given the position of ...

On this Day C, Corpus Christi , may we contemplate the Dark Night of Death that leads to the Day of Life. May we recognise that all strife we have passed through is the necessary pain of the symbolic death. May we renew our oaths and obligations, just as we are renewed through the spiritual rebirth. Post Centum Viginti Annos Patebo. Ex Deo Nascimur, In Yeheshuah Mormiur, Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus. "Buried with that Light in a mystical death, rising again in a mystical resurrection, cleansed and purified through him our Master, O Brother of the Cross of the Rose. Like him, O Adepts of all ages, have ye toiled. Like him have ye suffered tribulation. Poverty, torture and death have ye passed through; they have been but the purification of the gold. In the alembic of thine heart through the athanor of affliction, seek thou the true stone of the wise." - Adeptus Minor Ceremony

" This , I believe, explains why Rosicrucianism has continued to exert its grip on the Western mind. It is not because we are hopelessly gullible, or because we would like to believe in absurd fantasies. In a legend like that of Christian Rosenkreuz, we seem to catch a glimpse of what we ought to be, and what we could be . If we set about it with sufficient determination, the grip of 'the world' can be broken - or at least, weakened until it ceases to induce a constant feeling of alienation. We are a planet of a double star, torn between two powerful gravitational forces. We have to learn to move inward without losing control over the external world and, like Rimbaud, simply surrendering ourselves to an 'ordered derangement of the senses.'" - Colin Wilson, Introduction to Christopher McIntosh's The Rosicrucians