Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

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 . ...

31 May 2013—Dublin, Ireland—KERUBIM PRESS has announced the imminent release of its latest esoteric title, Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls by the Golden Dawn Community (ISBN 978-1-908705-07-5), due to launch on 14 June 2013. The book weighs in at 440 pages, packed not only with all 36 Flying Rolls (including rare material), but with additional magical teachings, historical insights, and commentaries from members of a variety of modern Golden Dawn orders, including well-known authors like Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Aaron Leitch, Nick Farrell and Peregrin Wildoak. Anyone working with the Golden Dawn system of magic, and, indeed, anyone working in the Western Mystery Tradition as a whole, will find this an indispensible addition to their bookshelves. Check out the back cover description: This book contains the 36 pivotal papers given to Adepts in the original Golden Dawn order, providing key insights and instructions into the theory and...

In an interesting blog post Nick Farrell asked a pivotal, and yet frequently ignored, question about why some magic fails. He cited a number of reasons people have given over time, including classic cop-outs like God or your Higher Self saying no, and the more acceptable notion of psychological blocks. On the first topic, I do not personally believe that God or the Higher Self would refuse a request. This might be an acceptable idea in a devotional school of thought, but magicians do not simply go with the flow—they create and direct the flow. A magician is an active player in the universe, one who takes responsibility for his or her life. If a ritual for a job is performed and it does not work, then the magician cannot simply blame God and accept this as "the way it is meant to be." Such fatalistic thinking has no place in magic. So if external forces are not stopping us, that leaves internal forces. In many ways we are our own worst enemies, and part of the proces...

Hermetic Virtues has entered its sixth year, publishing articles on the Golden Dawn and general esoteric ideas and teachings from well-known magicians in the field. Check out the contents of the latest issue: + The Alchemical Hexagram by Chic and Tabatha Cicero + The Emperor by Harry Wendrich + The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet - A book review by Aaron Leitch + Group Work - an unpublished Whare Ra document - Mrs. Felkin with a commentary by Nick Farrell + Hidden Treasures of the Golden Dawn - A book review by Samuel Scarborough + Invocation of the Powers of Aquarius by Jayne Gibson + Astrological Magic - A book review by Samuel Scarborough + Becoming the Star Child by Nick Farrell + An Invocation of Kether by Samuel Scarborough You can order a copy here .

Volume 5, Issue No. 3 of Hermetic Virtues has been released, containing the following excellent articles and reviews: + Hidden Church by John Michael Greer + The Hierophant by Harry Wendrich + Tools of Light by Chic Cicero + New Way of Looking at Golden Dawn Rituals – a book review by Samuel Scarborough + Traditional Golden Dawn and the Missing Landmarks by Nick Farrell + King Over the Water – a book review by Frater YshY + Two Thrones for the Golden Dawn by Aaron Leitch + Summer Solstice Ritual by Darcy Kuntz + Change Your Motto, Change Your Destiny by Eric V. Sisco + Consciousness and the Tree of Life by Jane Gibson + An Invocation of Chokmah by Samuel Scarborough + Enochian Magic in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Frater Yechidah + The Origins of the Rosicrucian Society in England by Ian Cowburn To obtain a copy, click here .

Volume 5, Issue No. 3 of Hermetic Virtues has been released, containing the following excellent articles and reviews: + The Path of the Chameleon: Golden Dawn Color Studies by Sandra Tabatha Cicero + The Lovers by Harry Wendrich + Spiritual Development by Frater YShY + The Elemental Weapons of the Adept by Jayne Gibson + A life magical and rich - review by Samuel Scarborough + An invocation of Binah by Samuel Scarborough + The Book of the Concourse of the Watchtowers:  An Exploration of Westcott's Enochian Tablets - review by Lauren E. Gardner + Restoring the Goddess of Nature to the 1=10 by Nick Farrell + Into the Aethyrs of Enochian - review by Samuel Scarborough + An invocation of Qadesh Aphariel (Perfect Spirit) by V.H. Soror A.A. To obtain a copy, click here .

Peregrin Wildoak (author of By Names & Images: Bringing the Golden Dawn to Life ) posted a very interesting interview with Nick Farrell , head of the Magical Order of Aurora Aurea , about his latest book on Samuel Mathers and the Golden Dawn, King Over the Water . Check it out here.

Check out the latest press release from Kerubim Press. Golden Dawn and Enochian - what more could you want? Pre-order Now! Limited Hardback Editions available for pre-order. The Kerubim Press launch titles, King Over The Water by Nick Farrell and Enochian Magic In Theory by Dean F. Wilson, are now available for pre-order. Both books are set for a late February launch, which is only weeks away, and there are only 100 copies of the Limited Hardback Edition of each title. All 100 copies will be signed and numbered by the author, and each copy will come with a Kerubim Press bookmark that is sure to be the envy of whatever it is you're currently using as a bookmark. If that wasn't enough, the Limited Hardback Editions also feature a different cover design compared to their paperback cousins, making them a true collector's item. Paperback editions will be available from online retailers like Amazon in late February. Ebook versions will also be available within the co...

In February of this year Nick Farrell, the head of the Magical Order of Aurora Aurea , released Mathers' Last Secret: The Rituals & Teachings of the Alpha et Omega . The book caused a stir among many people and groups. Some were pleased to see more unpublished documents shared with the wider public, while others saw it as a further profanation of the Golden Dawn system. It's technically the second book in a three part series, with the first originally intended to be published by Thoth Publications a few years ago. It's almost guaranteed that the other two books will cause further controversy within Golden Dawn circles, but they provide some valuable information about the Alpha et Omega, the order that Mathers established when the original GD split.

Th latest issue of the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition has just gone live, focusing on Angelic Magic. The contents of this issue are as follows: Introduction: Here there be Angels! by J.S. Kupperman Olympic Spirits: The Hidden Gods by Nick Farrell The Orphanic Alphabet: A Search for Meaning by Darlene John Dee and Edward Kelley's Great Table by Teresa Burns and J. Alan Moore A number of book reviews, artwork, and poetry are also present.

Issue 11 of Hermetic Virtues has been released, containing the following excellent articles: + Basic Alchemy for the Golden Dawn by Samuel Scarborough + Temperance by Harry Wendrich + The Will or Rotzohn by Olen Rush + Sacred Geometry: Polygons and Polygrams, Part I by Sandra Tabatha Cicero + The Seven-branched Candlestick and the Angels of the Heptarchia, by Nick Farrell + An Exposition on the Infernal Habitations, Part I by Rachel Walker + An Interview with Pat Zalewski by Nick Farrell + The Story of "Venus Awakening" by Nicola Wendrich + The Secret Fire: An Alchemical Study - a Review by Samuel Scarborough + V.I.T.R.I.O.L. by Vic Sabljic + A Solo Winter Solstice Rite by Nick Farrell To obtain a copy, click here .

Soror FSO from Flight of Hermes has recently interviewed a few people involved with the Golden Dawn. Some links to these interviews can be found below: Interview with Samuel Scarborough Interview with Nick Farrell, Part 1 Interview with Nick Farrell, Part 2

Nick Farrell published a free guide to Geomancy on his website, which can be found here .

Issue 10 of Hermetic Virtues has been released, containing the following excellent articles: + Words of Power by Nick Farrell + Death, another new Tarot trump by Harry Wendrich + The Cross and the Triangle in the Golden Dawn by Frater Yechidah + The Alchemy and Spirituality of Magick by Donald Michael Kraig + Fragmentary Aspects of Philosophy, Occult and Academic, in which the Truth of Reincarnation is Ably Discussed by Dr. Israel Regardie, edited by Sandra Tabatha Cicero + Elemental Quarter Altars by Samuel Scarborough + An Alternate Method of Prayer: the Middle Pillar as a Group Working by James Wasserman + Hildbold of Schwangau, Schwanstein and the Order of the Knights of the Swan by Ian Cowburn + An Invocation of Hod by Samuel Scarborough To obtain a copy, click here . For a very small sample of my article on the Cross and Triangle, click here .

The latest issue of the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition has just gone live, focusing on the Tarot. As one can expect from a system that has been largely used and contributed to by the Order there are two articles there dealing with the Golden Dawn's rendition of the Tarot. The Tarot of the Golden Dawn by Joseph Gurney Creating a Golden Dawn Tarot by Nick Farrell

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...

When starting up an order, temple, coven, or other magical group in the modern world, there usually is not much in the way of resources. Not knowing how to attract other members, build a system of study and ritual, and deal with the inevitable conflicts that occur when more than one person comes together can spell doom for any start-up magical group. One exception to this lack of resources is Nick Farrell's Gathering the Magic , which attempts to give a would-be group leader some of the advice needed to succeed in this endeavour. While John Michael Greer's Inside a Magical Lodge still has much to offer in this regard, Nick's book is a bit more up to date, dealing with the issues that a group in the 21st Century will have to face. The book numbers 188 pages and has a number of chapters dealing with the group itself, the leadership, the practical elements, bringing in new people, conflict and crisis, and then growth or death of the group. These are further divided into short...

Issue 9 of Hermetic Virtues has been released, containing the following excellent articles: + A Hermetic Ritual from the Picatrix by John Michael Greer + The Devil, another new Tarot trump by Harry Wendrich + Seven Stages of Spiritual Unfoldment by Nick Farrell + Initiation and the Four Worlds by Olen Rush + Review of John Michael Greer's The Art and Practice of Geomancy by Lauren Gardner + Theoi Megaloi: The Many Faces of the Kabiric Mysteries by Sandra Tabatha Cicero + Review of Robert Moore's Facing the Dragon by Lauren Gardner + In Search of the Lost Colour: Mystical Magenta and the Golden Dawn by Harry and Nicola Wendrich + An Invocation of Yesod by Samuel Scarborough To obtain a copy, click here .

The Book of the Tomb , an AO document comprising a series of instructions (including a Flying Roll) on the construction of the Vault of the Adepti, has been published online by Nick Farrell on his website and can be found here . Some of it has already been in print, including in Regardie's black brick, but this copy is much more complete, with a number of illustrations to boot. This is a very important document for all Golden Dawn orders, especially those currently attempting to construct a Vault.

"The 5=6 ritual appeared. Mathers seems to have taken elements given by this mysterious adept from Liege and fused it with rituals from SRIA. At the same time there came the fantastic Z documents, which superimposed a magical technique over the outer order and gave a formula that turned a somewhat dry masonic ritual into something that could be used to charge a talisman or get a spirit to physical manifestation. There is also the fairly cryptic Man, Macrocosm paper which gives a fairly powerful introduction to the Sphere of Sensation. We also see Book T, which was an inspired description of the Tarot. But we cannot be sure how much of this material or genius belonged to Mathers, or how much was a cut and paste from Lux E Tenebris. Certainly the 5=6 is nothing like what Mathers had written before, or would write again. Mathers or Tenebris? Or again was someone else involved? We know that other adepts were also inspired at this time. Take for example the design of the Vault. Mathers...