Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah

A commonly-asked question is if the Pentagram employed in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram (LRP) is associated with the Element of Earth. There is much confusion about this, which is understandable, given the myriad sources on the matter, and often arguments emphatically for and against.  It may surprise some who have learned otherwise that the answer is actually yes (though with some nuances). While copies of the LRP given to Neophytes do not reference the Elements at all, calling these simply an "Invoking Pentagram" or "Banishing Pentagram" (which makes sense, given they have not yet experienced the Elemental Grades), Adept material does refer (either explicitly, or by intimation) to the LRP Pentagrams as being of Earth. For example, here is a description from Ritual B (Ritual of the Pentagram): "In the Invoking Pentagram of Earth the Current descendeth from the Spirit to the Earth. In the Banishing Pentagram the Current is reversed. The Sigil of [Taurus] s...

  DUBLIN, IRELAND – Kerubim Press, independent publisher of occult books, is proud to announce our latest publication, The Complete Knowledge Lectures & Side Papers of the Golden Dawn , the most thorough and authoritative version of the Outer Order curriculum of the original Order of the Golden Dawn to date, encompassing the grades from 0=0 through 4=7, marking the first time this material is fully and accurately available in print. If you think you’ve already read these papers, think again! Current published versions, in both print and online, are either the later Stella Matutina versions or are riddled with errors, missing entire sections and numerous diagrams, while some papers are rare or have never been published before (including the full instructions for the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, which are not found in Regardie’s book). All of this is corrected in this new, comprehensive edition. Additionally, Frater Yechidah has painstakingly compared numerou...

Sam's passing is devastating news. I have known him for well over 15 years, and we were very close. We spoke regularly, sometimes daily, and often for hours at a time. His passion for the G.D. was always evident, never waning over those many years. We did not agree on everything (like politics), but we were united by a love of the G.D. tradition and a desire to get as much accurate information out there as possible. Samuel certainly lived up to that aim with his many articles, online posts, and, more recently, his book on the Flying Rolls. Despite working with different rituals and teachings (G.D./A.O. for me, S.M. for him), we shared a traditionalist view that it was important to preserve and work with the material as given, and then, and only then, build upon that foundation.  We also shared a desire to get more scholarly material on the Order out there, and hopefully encourage similar (or better) scholarship in the future. He was one of a handful who was willing to challenge his...

 Volume 5 of the Golden Dawn journal series  The Light Extended  is out now, published by Kerubim Press.  Get your copy on Amazon CONTENTS   - A Revised History of the Golden Dawn - Part One: The Enigmata of the Golden Dawn by Tony Fuller - Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Memorandum on Geomancy edited and introduced by John Michael Greer - A Ritual for the Removal of Negative Traits by Samuel Scarborough - An A.O. Version of Ritual A: General Orders edited and introduced by Darcy Küntz - Adept Weekends by Jayne Gibson - The Kerubim and the Fixed Quadruplicity of Astrology by Jaime Paul Lamb - The Knocks of the Grades by Frater A.R.O. - The Divine Word: Its Origin, Fall and Redemption by Frater D - On the Work of the 5=6: Henosis in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Ike Baker - An Osirian Resurrection Mystery Rite by J.P.F. - An Unpublished Paper: As to the Invoking and Banishing of Forces, by Means of the Rituals of Pentagram and Hexagram with an Introduction by Frater Yechid...

Volume 4 of the Golden Dawn journal series  The Light Extended  is out now, published by Kerubim Press.  Get your copy on Amazon CONTENTS - Artists of the Golden Dawn by Sandra Tabatha Cicero - A Morgenrothe Manuscript with an Introduction by Tony Fuller - The Z.2 Formula of the Magic of the Light—A Ritual of Spiritual Development by Jayne Gibson - Apologia—On the Middle Pillar Exercise: Both Original and New by Samuel Scarborough - Planets, Stars & Tarot Cards: Astro-Tarotic Transposition in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Jaime Paul Lamb - The Seven Degrees of Adam by J.P.F. - Ritual for the Formation, Building and Consecration of a Body Wherein to Travel, Manifest and Act in Freedom from the Bounds and Limitations of Matter Edited, transcribed, & introduced by Alex Sumner - Zelator Astrology: The Aspects by Frater Manu Forti - The Symbolism of the Lamen of the Rose Cross by Frater Goya - Thaumaturgy: The Use of Low Magic in the Golden Dawn Initiation Process by Fr...

Each Equinox a new Pass Word is chosen, acting as a means to distinguish members from those who have demitted, resigned, or been expelled. It also acts as a link with the Solar Light, as per Mathers' explanation in Ritual Z3.  More than this, however, I would argue it is, as it were, a form of motto for the Order for the half-year period in question, and since the motto is intended to represent one's "higher occult aim or aspirations," the Pass Word can thus be seen to represent the highest occult aim or aspirations of the Order for that Equinoctial period. Its use, then, in addition to bringing into action the link with the Solar Light, is a form of invocation of the forces cognizant with the word chosen. A simple, yet powerful, formula. Groups bearing the GD moniker today likely use all manner of Pass Words, depending on what is important to them and their leaders, either chosen directly (with intent) or through some mystical means (such as the Ring and Disk of ThAM...

Volume 3 of the Golden Dawn journal series The Light Extended is out now, published by Kerubim Press.  Get your copy on Amazon CONTENTS - Preface by Tony Fuller - On Tracing Signs in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Samuel Scarborough - Self Isolation in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Alex Sumner - Nephthys: A Suggested Patron Goddess for the 6=5 Grade by Jayne Gibson - Commentaries on the Stella Matutina Grade Meditations by Jaime Paul Lamb - Practicus Astrology: The Meaning of the Hylech and Anareta by Frater Manu Forti - The 76 Names of Metatron by J.P.F. - Protheus: On the Assumption of the Forms of the Eternal Gods by Adam P. Forrest - How the Golden Dawn Hath Travelled and the Gods Within by Soror DPF - S.L. Mathers and the Rosicrucian Order of the Alpha et Omega by Darcy Küntz - Tarot Workings in the Golden Dawn: Some Practical Notes on the Opening of the Key by Frater Yechidah - The Gnome: A Retelling of the Popular German Story by the Brothers Grimm Retold by Frater YShY PRAIS...

As a traditionalist myself, I have sometimes been accused of "fundamentalism" or similar hyperbolic slurs, but this stems from a massive misunderstanding of what it means to be a traditionalist in the GD sense. It does not mean living in the past or merely re-enacting history, but actually working first and foremost with the historical material, as is (unaltered and corrected from the mountain of errors, including errors of omission, that have accrued over the years), and then using that material as the foundation to expand upon and develop, while being mindful that "innovations" should not contradict the essence (or even, at times, the rule) of the material that has come before, knowing that all aspects are deeply interwoven, and alterations to one will have consequences for the whole. In this sense, then, traditionalism is about being open enough, diligent enough, and humble enough, to learn what is actually there, before assuming one's personal ideas or revel...

Volume 2 of the new Golden Dawn journal series The Light Extended is out now, published by Kerubim Press.      CONTENTS - The Evil Triangle: The Role of the Inverted Triangle in the Golden Dawn by Frater Yechidah  - The Equilibration of the Four Winds by Samuel Scarborough - The Vibration of the Divine Name by John Michael Greer - On the Lunar Occultation of Venus And Planetary Integration Through the Hermetic Arts by Jaime Paul Lamb - Greek Gods in the Golden Dawn by Soror DPF - The Four Elements and Their Implements by Jayne Gibson - Ma‘aśeh Bere’shith: A Jewish Treatise on the Heavens, Earths, and Hells Translated and Introduced by J. P. Feliciano - As Within, So Without: A Golden Dawn Perspective on the Relationship Between Divinity and Humanity by Chic Cicero and S. Tabatha Cicero - The MacGyver Golden Dawn Temple by Frater D - Astrological Dignities From the Neophyte Knowledge Lecture by Frater Manu Forti - On the Rose and Cross on the Membership Roll by Frate...

Kerubim Press is publishing a new journal on the teachings of the Order of the Golden Dawn, with contributions from many big names in the esoteric community.   CONTENTS How the Mighty Have Fallen: A Golden Dawn Perspective on the Fallen Angels, Goetic Spirits, and the Qlippoth by Chic Cicero and S. Tabatha Cicero The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram: The Foundational Ritual of the Golden Dawn Tradition by Samuel Scarborough The Lord of the Universe by Frater YShY Private Ritual for Influencing a Person for Good: or to Correct Evil Habits (Stella Matutina) with an Introduction by Tony Fuller Theurgy and the Body of Light by Jayne Gibson On the 42 Assessors of the Hall of the Two Truths: A Supplemental Z Libellus on the Enterer of the Threshold for the Study and Practice of the Adepta Major by Adam P. Forrest Ἑκάς ἑκάς ἐστε βέβηλοι (Hekas Hekas Este Bebeloi) by Soror DPF Skrying in Theory & Practice by Alex Sumner Thelema and the Golden Dawn: Spattin...