Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

This is a common query from those new to the Golden Dawn, and the answer is: no, the Golden Dawn is a system of ceremonial practice. It is a teaching and initiating order, designed to promulgate spiritual and occult knowledge in a steady, structured manner. You can be a member of any religion and still be a member of the Golden Dawn or utilise any of its teachings or practices. To best illustrate this, here is a quote from the Hierophant in the Neophyte initiation before the Oath is taken: "There is nothing contrary to your civil, moral or religious duties in this Obligation." The above clearly states that there is nothing in the obligation or teachings of the Order that will run contrary to your religious duties (i.e. you will not be asked to pray to or worship any God that is not your own). While the teachings may contradict the teachings of exoteric religion, your inner relationship with the Divine is seen as a personal thing and is never interfered with. Thus the generic ...

You doubters of divinity - You see devils in the hearts of all God's people, Who must, by your great will, come out in straw With pitchforks ready To clash, steel on wood, against the sceptres of sure Science, Held aloft upon the horses of your reign. If only it were simple, Adam cast across the rift from Atoms, An uncrossable Abyss, A mental chasm where only malice lies. But where is subtlety in these uncertain times, Where we, in our doubt, assume we know it all? There is only red and blue and yellow, Stark around their corners Where no meld of hue is seen, Nor permitted, nor encouraged, As was once the case When the brilliant light of art Merged with the evanescence of the angels And the candescence of great culture Saw no contradiction between the art of science, And the science of art. There was none of this vile blindedness, Where the books of chemistry and physics Cannot rest upon the shelf amidst the classics, Those epitomes of literature And the episodes of Man. Our books ...

One of the frequent questions I see from applicants or would-be applicants to Golden Dawn Orders is whether or not one can be Pagan and also be a member of the Order. Working within the G.'.D.'. system I find it hard to see why this is such a common question, as there seems to be a bit of a myth that G.'.D.'. material contradicts Pagan teachings or beliefs. However, in trying to put myself in other people's shoes in order to understand the question fully (and thereby hopefully provide a satisfactory answer), I decided to compile this post. The first thing that must be addressed is the very real presence of Christian symbolism within the Order. There are numerous references to Christ, sometimes in veiled format as Osiris, and the Adeptus Minor grade (and the entire Inner Order of the R.R. et A.C.) are overtly Christian in symbolism. This has been classified by many, including myself, as Rosicrucian and Gnostic, but even the casual observor of either tradition will be...