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 ...

While some of my previous posts have gone over the official roles and duties of the Officers in an initation ceremony, what about the role of the Canidate? Some would argue there is no role, in that the Candidate has things "done" to them, as opposed to actively paritcipating. However, this is, in itself, a role. The passivity and receptivity required of the Candidate is their role. They are to become a Vessel for the energies and symbols implanted in them, and thus they must be made passive and receptive. Much of this is acheived through various dramatic elements of ritual, such as the quite potent one of shock . The not knowing what it happening or what is about to happen tends to heighten the senses to a degree that all things done are magnified in force. If, for example, the sight is removed from the Candidate (via a Hoodwink), then when it is restored there is a huge impact, including the fact that a coloured prop will now seem suddenly more vibrant and alive than it wou...

The Stolistes (Greek for "Preparer") is the Purifier of the Temple, its members, and its candidates. He is represented by the god-form Auramoouth (Mut), and his station is in the North of the Temple, symbolising Cold and Moisture, which is the Place of the Guardian of the Cauldron and the Well of Water. He is charged with the task of preparing the Robes, Collars, and Insignia of the Officers for the Opening. He wears a black collar with a lamen depicting a white Cup on a black background, and carries the Cup of Lustral Waters. He bears a special relationship with the Dadouchos in the Temple. The feminine form of Stolistes is also Stolistes .

The Dadouchos (Greek for "Torch-bearer") is the Consecrator of the Temple, its members, and its candidates. He is represented by the god-form Thaum-Esh-Neith (Neith), and his station is in the South of the Temple, symbolising Heat and Dryness, which is the Place of the Guardian of the Lake of Fire and the Burning Bush. He is charged with the task of preparing the Lamps and Fires of the Temple for the Opening, and to watch over the Censer and the Incense for the duration of the ceremony. He wears a black collar with a lamen depicting a white Fylfot Cross on a black background, and carries the Censer of Incense. He bears a special relationship with the Stolistes in the Temple. The feminine form of Dadouchos is Dadouche , but Dadouchos is often used in practice for both sexes.

The Phylax (Greek for "Guard" or "Sentinel") is the Watcher Without, the guardian of the temple. He is represented by the god-form Anoup emp Emenet (Anubis of the West) and is the counterpart of the Keryx, the Watcher Within. His station is without the Portal of the Hall, and it is his duty to keep out intruders, which is represented by the Sword he carries. He is also charged with preparing the candidate, and wears a black collar with a lamen depicting a white eye on a black background, indicative of the ever watchful gaze of Anubis of the West. The feminine form of Phylax is Phylakissa , but Phylax is often used in practice for both sexes.

There are numerous Offices to be held in Golden Dawn rituals, particularly in the early grades, where, for example, 11 people must hold Office for a Neophyte ceremony (the 7 floor officers and the 4 dais officers [technically the Hierophant has a place on the dais and floor]). This number becomes less as each grade passes by, with only a handful of Adepts dealing with the higher grade initiations. Below are listed the "floor officers" (i.e. those who actively partake in the initiations) that most will be familiar with, along with a short description of their overall roll. Chief Officers Hierophant - Initiating priest Hiereus - Sacrificial priest Hegemon - Spiritual guide Lesser Officers inside the Temple Keryx - Herald and Watcher Within Stolistes - Preparer and purifier Dadouchos - Torch-bearer and consecrator Lesser Officers outside the Temple Phylax - Sentinel and Watcher Without

"From one point of view the officers employed in these Rituals represent just such psychic projections. They represent, even as figures in dreams do, different aspects of man himself - personifications of abstract psychological principles inhering within the human spirit. Through the admittedly artificial or conventional means of a dramatic projection of these personified principles in a well-ordered ceremony a reaction is induced in consciousness. This reaction is calculated to arouse from their dormant condition those hitherto latent faculties represented objectively in the Temple of Initiation by the officers. Without the least conscious effort on the part of the aspirant, an involuntary current of sympathy is produced by this external delineation of spiritual paths which may be sufficient to accomplish the purpose of the initiation ceremony. The aesthetic appeal to the imagination - quite apart from what could be called the intrinsic magical virtue with which the G.D. document...

One of the common topics of debate that frequently pops up (even in my own post on the validity of self-initiation ) is the question of whether or not it is possible to self-initiate into Adeptus Minor. Of course, first we have to assume that it is possible to self-initiate into the Outer Order grades or the entire topic goes out the window. However, once we have assumed that the latter is possible, exactly how far does it go? The Ciceros comment in their Self-Initiation Into The Golden Dawn Tradition (the primary Golden Dawn text on self-initiation) that "although Israel Regardie suggested that the Outer Order ceremonies could be converted over into self-initiation rituals, he was convinced that to do so with the Adeptus Minor Ceremony was impossible. ... Initiation into the Second Order grades (starting with Adeptus Minor) still requires an authentic initiator and a physical Vault of the Adepti. However we agree with Regardie in his belief that continued and persistent repetiti...

As part of my work for my old Order, the O.'.S.'.D.'.L.'., I wrote material for the initiation ceremonies, including that of Acolyte I (the last grade I attained there), which is roughly equivalent of Adeptus Minor in the G.'.D.'. (albeit without a Portal grade, which changes things quite a bit). Anyhow, the following is a passage from this Acolyte I ceremony, drawn from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene , a very interesting Gnostic text. The focus of this point of the ceremony was for the initiate, as a Gnostic, to break free from the influence of the Archons, here seen as "7 Powers of Wrath", one per old planet (as well as being lord of a certain binding force, such as darkness, ignorance, and desire). Each Archon in turn challenges the initiate, blocking his or her way to accessing the relevant planetary energies, and the initiate receives their challenge and conquers them, showing the conquering of the planetary influences within the initiate themselv...

"It has been suggested more than once by magical writers that the initiation of a candidate is like the consecration of a talisman: something passive and unfocused is given shape, direction, and energy." John Michael Greer, Inside A Magical Lodge

One of the most common questions (and, indeed, heated debates) in Golden Dawn communities nowadays is whether or not self-initiation is valid. The opinions on the matter are often so starkly contrasting that new students don't know what to believe. The intent of this post is to explore this matter from both sides, offering my own thoughts for good measure. Regardie believed that self-initiation was valid. He believed that the LBRP, MPR, and Opening by Watchtower in particular, if performed daily for a period of months and years, would change the energetic level of the candidate, and invoke transformative and initiatory powers, sufficiently enough that they could consider themselves to be initiated, even into the Adeptus Minor grade. He believed that the Order in the 1930s was suffering from spiritual erosion, which seems to be an apt assessment from what we see of the history of the time, with documents being omitted, and high-ranking officers claiming grades they did not understan...