Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

Aaron Leitch , author of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires has just announced the soon to be released (and much anticipated) two volumes on the Enochian language, the first dealing with the history and the second being a very indepth and thorough lexicon. Details from his website are as follows: The Angelical Language Vol I : The History and Mythos of the Tongue of Angels Explores the reception of the language by Dee and Kelley, and the Biblical mythology behind the language as related to them by the Angels. This book begins with an exploration of the mystical traditions that influenced Dee's work (the 50 Gates of Binah, the legends of Enoch and the Book of Soyga), and continues with an in-depth study of the 49 Tables of Loagaeth (Speech From God), the 48 Angelical Keys (or Callings) and the unfolding saga surrounding them in Dee's journals. Special added features include an analysis of the English Poetry (translations) of the 48 Keys, instructions for the magicka...

Issue 12 of Hermetic Virtues has been released, containing the following excellent articles: + Hypatia of Alexandria by Lon Milo DuQuette + The Qualities that Make a Good Magician by Samuel Scarborough + Sacred Geometry: Magical Polygons and Polygrams, part 2 by Sandra Tabatha Cicero + The Tree of Life Projected in the Third Dimension by Andrew Catero and Darcy Kuntz + A Key to Magical Understanding by Anon + An Invocation of Netzach by Samuel Scarborough To obtain a copy, click here .

I have been asked many times about the use of the shewstone, particularly when it comes to Enochian, and I feel it necessary to describe the differences between skrying on the back of your eyelids ( au naturel , as it were) and employing a tool such as the shewstone. Personally I find I get more out of the former technique, as I am more experienced with it, but there is a problem in that it is very straining. It takes a lot out of the magician. The shewstone, however, acts as a kind of conduit. It alleviates some of the strain on the seer by employing a half-way house for the images, thoughts, and so forth to emerge. When it comes to Enochian the more conduits available the better, particularly when the shewstone is placed on top of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth. The Sigillum, when opened (the easiest way to do this is an invocation employing the names within it), provides a vortex which feeds into the shewstone, not only empowering it, but allowing a clearer and more accurate portrayal. One...

When did magicians start taking things so literally? Recently the topic of the Z-2 Formula for Invisibility came up on Pat Zalewski's yahoo group. It appears that many people have been assuming this ceremony referred to actual, literal invisibility. I was under the illusion for a long time that we were not living in a fantasy novel, but perhaps I've been deluding myself (it wouldn't be the first time). Pat mentioned that Regardie, Crowley and many others took this idea of invisibility quite seriously and literally, but I've always sided with the "people won't notice you as much" argument than actually disappearing into thin air. It surprises me a little that people who are otherwise intelligent and advanced in their magicial and spiritual training can be such literalists about any aspect of magic, especially something as fantastical as invisibility. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think that. One thing of interest that came out of that discussion ...

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.

The Golden Dawn was one of the first Orders to accept women as members. Indeed, it was so open to women that they often held the "top jobs". The Golden Dawn also accepted members from all religions. However, this element of equality did not extend to all areas. There is the infamous case of Crowley being rejected for his 5=6 on the basis of his sexual orientation (dealt with to some degree here ), though that was clearly not the only reason for his rejection. I wonder how many others were or might have been rejected on similiar grounds in the overly prudish Victorian society in which the Golden Dawn originally grew. And what of other inequalities were there, such as rejection on the basis of age, race, nationality, political persuasion, or disability? The reasons why a person should be rejected by a Golden Dawn Order should be more to do with their attitude, their willingness or unwillingness to do the Work, etc. than anything that has little or nothing to do with the occult...

The Golden Dawn is a living, breathing, growing tradition. Some people like to suggest it is dead or dying, but they are delusional, for they have either not experienced it or have experienced a corrupted or soulless form of it. When the original Order schismed the tradition went in seperate directions, the Current diverging into many different streams. This brought the tradition to more people, just as tributaries bring water to more land. It allowed the system to grow in multiple ways because it unshackled it from its original constraints. The mystical brought it in one direction, the masonic in another, the magical in yet another. The SM and AO developed two different, yet equally valid, streams from which the GD current could grow exponentially more than would have been possible had they all remained together. And it is still here, growing, taking new directions. Things are being added and changed, new insights found, new ways of looking at the material of our forefathers, and new ...

A recent post by Morgan Drake-Eckstein on the test and grade examinations used by various Golden Dawn orders (itself a response to Fr. AIT's blog on the same topic, now removed) got me thinking about this aspect of Golden Dawn work. There are two extremes possible with examinations. They can be upheld very strictly, in an almost academic way, or they can be ignored altogether, as Annie Horniman discovered when she rejoined the Order after Westcott (the man who did much of the administrative work) had left. I don't think either approach is a good one, though I am more likely to lean towards the former than the latter. You see, the problem with examinations is that they tend to be entirely intellectual, and, while this is an important aspect of our work, it is not the most important, nor the only part. Some element of practical work and testing on such is vital, as is a general inquiry as to how the grade energies have affected the initiate, if at all; afterall, if we end up the...

There has been some debate in recent times regarding the importance of the License to Depart, and, if, indeed, it is needed at all. While some make arguments for the latter I personally believe the License to Depart is necessary for good practice of ceremonial magic. Yes, ceremonies can still work without it, but I think they work better with it, and it's included in most grimoires and traditions for a very good reason. Sometimes it is not employed due to pure laziness, while other times it is not employed because the magician in question believes it negates the effects of the previous invocation. Others dislike the idea of telling spirits to "get the hell out", but really I believe this shows a lack of understanding of what the License to Depart actually is. A License to Depart is the giving of permisison to leave (i.e. they are required to stay the length of your working for whatever your need is), not a command to leave. If they fail to leave (most genuine entities wil...

Frequently I am reminded of the importance of how we deliver our lines during ritual. In addition to the points made in my previous post there is the matter of how we pronounce different words in the ritual. I do not mean that we need to employ a certain accent or correct imperfections in our general pronunciation (though such corrections may also help), but more that we pronounce the words with the sound that represents the meaning behind them. For example, if the word "whisper" appears in the text, it should be whispered. There should be a softness, a sound of a breeze billowing through the Hall, as if sounded by some ethereal voice. In contrast the word "cry" should be cried aloud, forceful and full of emotion. The word "roar" should be roared (not to say that you let everyone in the city hear, but that you encapsulate the sound of a roar within a smaller setting). It helps, therefore, to spend some time considering the sounds that each word makes and ...