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The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or "Golden Dawn", as it and its early successor organizations, Stella Matutina and Alpha et Omega, are commonly referred to) is a tradition of magical theurgy and spiritual development. It is probably the single greatest influence on twentieth century western occultism. Concepts of magic and ritual that became core elements of many other traditions, including Wicca, Thelema and other forms of magical spirituality popular today, are drawn from the Golden Dawn traditions.

Influences on Golden Dawn concepts and work include: Christian mysticism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Paganism of Egypt, Theurgy, Freemasonry, Alchemy, Theosophy, Eliphas Levi, Papus, Enochian Magic, and medieval grimoires.

Origins

The original "Order of the Golden Dawn" was a magical fraternity founded in London in 1887 by Dr. William Wynn Westcott, a London physician and municipal coroner. His partners were another physician, Dr. William R. Woodman, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. All three men were Freemasons. (However, sometime after becoming a member of the Golden Dawn, S.L. Macgregor Mathers became inactive in Freemasonry.) Dr. Woodman was the head of a reputable Rosicrucian fellowship made up of well respected, high ranking Masons in London. The three founders were also members of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.), an exclusive lodge founded by the noted Grand Lodge Freemason Kenneth MacKenzie, author of The Royal Masonic Encyclopedia. The S.R.I.A. was established in 1866 with Lord Bulwer-Lytton as honorary patron.

Important members included Frederick Hockley, who collected esoteric writing and engaged in practical experimentation; he is reliably known to have been taught by a pupil of Francis Barrett, and was a teacher of Kenneth MacKenzie. The Christian spiritualist leader Rev. William Stainton Moses was also a member of the S.R.I.A.

Westcott, also a member of the Theosophical Society, seems to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn. Woodman, as Supreme Magus of the S.R.I.A., was undoubtedly recruited to lend credibility to the new organization. Mathers was an antiquarian, translator, researcher and had a great talent for composing ritual works and integrating occult symbolism. In addition, Mathers insisted on women being allowed to participate in the Order in "perfect equality" with men. This was a marked change from the men-only tradition of Masonry. And unlike the S.R.I.A., which required its members to be Christian, the Golden Dawn was open to any man or woman who professed "belief in a Supreme Being or Beings".

The Cipher Manuscripts

The fundamental basis of the Golden Dawn tradition is a collection of documents known as the Cipher Manuscripts, written in English using a classic occult cipher alphabet, which were discovered by Westcott around 1888 among the papers of the late Masonic scholar Kenneth Mackenzie. The Manuscripts give the specific outlines of the Grade Rituals of the Order, and prescribe a curriculum of specifically graduated teachings that encompass the Hermetic Qabalah, Astrology, Tarot, Geomancy and Alchemy.

See the Misplaced Pages Article on the Cipher Manuscripts for more information.

The Golden Age of the Golden Dawn

In its heyday, many cultural celebrities belonged to the Golden Dawn, such as actress Florence Farr and Irish revolutionary Maude Gonne. Some well known members included Arthur Machen, William Butler Yeats, and Aleister Crowley. (Bram Stoker is rumored to have once been a member, but it has never been proven.) But many men and women of the 19th century Fin de siècle social culture were members of the Golden Dawn.

The original Lodge founded in 1888 did not teach any magical practices per se (except for basic "banishing" rituals and meditation), but was rather a philosophical and metaphysical teaching Order. This was called "the Outer Order", and for four years the Golden Dawn existed only in "the Outer". The "Inner Order", which became active in 1892, was the circle of Adepts who had completed the entire course of study and Initiations of the Outer Order contained in the Cipher Manuscripts. This group eventually became known as the Second Order (the Outer Order being the "First" Order).

Mathers and Dr. Westcott have been credited for developing the ritual outlines in the Cipher Manuscript into a workable format. Mathers, however, is generally credited with the design of the curriculum and rituals of the Second Order, which he called the Rosae Rubae et Aureae Crucis ("Ruby Rose and Golden Cross", or the RR et AC.) Some Golden Dawn practitioners believe that Mathers received his materials from the "Secret Chiefs" connected to his German Rosicrucian predecessors, which is what he stated to his followers. Some believe that S.L. Macgregor Mathers and his wife Moina channelled the materials, and later refined and developed them, as was done with the Cipher Manuscripts. Mathers' exegesis of the Cipher materials as practiced by the original Temples is known as the "Z-2". The Order tradition is to designate it's important "secret" instructional papers as "Z Documents".

The primary Lodges were the original Isis-Urania Temple in London, the Amen-Ra Temple in Edinburgh, and the Ahathoor Temple in Paris. It is unknown how many members the Order had in its heyday, as some lodges' records were lost or destroyed, but estimates range from three to five hundred. Only a small group, probably well under one hundred, ever became part of the Second Order. There were a few other Temples, consisting of small groups scattered in Europe and America, generally meeting in private homes. Mathers left London in 1894 to live in Paris, and his temple there became the nominal center of the organization, though it was notable chiefly for his presence. Westcott remained in London as Chief Adept in Anglica (England.)

By the end of the nineteenth century, Dr. Woodman had died, and Dr. Westcott had curtailed his participation in official activities after several occult manuscripts of the Order, in a case bearing his address, had been left in a London taxicab and came to the attention of his superiors in the city government. Not wishing any hint of scandal over "secret occult societies" that had officials of the Crown in their ranks (especially a coroner, who could conceivably cover up a suspicious cause of death), Westcott's employers insisted he disassociate himself with the Order. There are accounts of a similar incident in 1889 which caused him to stop lecturing for the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society. Aleister Crowley later alleged in his autobiography that Mathers deliberately planted the documents to consolidate his control of the Order by forcing Westcott's resignation, as this was rumored at the time. While there is no proof of Mathers's complicity, it appears that the relationship between Mathers and Westcott all but ended after this point. After Westcott's departure, Mathers appointed Florence Farr to be Chief Adept in Anglica. (Although Westcott publicly resigned, he must have continued in some capacity since there are Lodge documents bearing his signature dated years after his "resignation.")

This left Mathers as the only active founding member and in charge of the Order. Due to personality clashes with other members, and being absent from the center of Lodge activity in Great Britain, challenges to Mathers' authority as leader began to develop amongst the members of the Second Order.

The Breakup of the Original Order

After 13 years of operation, a majority of the high-ranking members in London fostered a schism of the British lodges from Mathers in 1900, which led to further schisms and more splinter groups. The original Golden Dawn ceased to exist under that name in 1903 but which continued under at least two spin-off organizations, the Stella Matutina (Morning Star) and the Alpha et Omega, as well as a renamed faction headed by Arthur Edward Waite.

In 1900, Mathers had entered into a disastrous relationship with a husband and wife known as Mr. and Mrs. Theo Horos. This couple had carved out a living for a number of years as "confidence frauds with an occult slant." The Horos' had apparently developed some kind of relationship with one of the American temples and had either acquired or forged some Order papers and credentials. Based on these credentials and their mesmeric personalities, the Horoses were able to con Mathers out of Order documents, which they used to set up spurious "temples" and operate confidence schemes. Word of their illicit operations eventually reached Mathers, who subsequently denounced them as frauds, and they were tried and convicted of fraud and sexual misconduct in 1902.

By 1903 the name "Golden Dawn" was dropped by both Mathers and by the various splinter groups to avoid the growing public scandal. The Stella Matutina closed its doors in the United Kingdom before WWII, but continued to function under the popular name Whare Ra in New Zealand until the late 1970s. Mathers' Alpha et Omega had a few members in America in the early 20th century, but no groups are known to have continued after the death of his wife Moina in 1928.

The Modern Revival

In 1914, Aleister Crowley published the texts of the Initiation rituals of the Outer Order in his serial publication, "The Equinox". Real circulation of the materials didn't happen until after World War I, when they created quite a stir in the occult community. The secrets of the Golden Dawn became available to the general public, and were a major part of the occult "revival" of the 1920s. Israel Regardie, who was once Crowley's secretary, published the complete initiation rites, along with a selection of the workings and instructional documents that were in his possession, of the Stella Matutina (essentially identical to the original Golden Dawn rituals and teachings) in the early 1930s. While this action supposedly violated the Order's oaths of secrecy, Regardie claims he believed at the time no functioning lodges remained, and feared the work of the Order would otherwise be lost forever.

In the 1920s and 30s more schisms occurred, and by the onset of World War II most of the original Lodges were gone, except for a few small groups (notably in North America and New Zealand) that could claim direct descent from the original Lodges, finally dying out in the 1970s. But even as the original lodges died away, new adherents and Initiates of the old Adepts began to revive the Order, reclaiming the name of the Golden Dawn. Lodges currently exist in Europe, the Americas, South Africa and Australia. Numbers are hard to estimate, but there are likely hundreds if not thousands of people currently involved in organized Golden Dawn groups, and many solo practitioners. Some can claim lineage of one kind or another to the original lodges by succession (i.e. Adepts having gone on to establish their own Lodges without any official charters), others simply follow the legacy of the original Order according to the wealth of published material available to the public, either in organized lodges or as solo practitioners. This being the case, there is no universally recognized central authority, though there are lodges and individuals that lay claim to it.

There are a few organized Golden Dawn groups today that lay claim to the "undiluted" lineage of the original Temples. Generally, this takes the form of issuing claims (especially on the Internet) of being chartered by an offshoot Temple of Isis-Urania Lodge No.3. Moina Mathers, having assumed the role of Imperatrix after her husband's death in 1918, chartered a few Lodges in Europe and America after her husband died. Claims of lineage are usually by connection to one of these temples. The Ahathoor Temple No. 7 of Mathers' A+O is known to have been revived in Paris in the early 1980's, however.

The publication of the Golden Dawn corpus figured prominently in the occult "revival" of the 1960s. Before his death in 1985, Regardie was involved in initiatives to reestablish the Golden Dawn tradition. Other groups founded by former Golden Dawn associates, such as the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) of Paul Foster Case and the Society of Inner Light of Dion Fortune, continue to exist today. The historical and cultural legacy of the Golden Dawn has been more influential on modern occultism than any other esoteric organization or body of knowledge. Although the original Golden Dawn teachings showed a strong influence of esoteric Christianity, almost every expression of Western occult spirituality and neo-paganism today owes a debt to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Contemporary Golden Dawn Orders

Today, several organizations carry on the Golden Dawn tradition. Among these, the following are particularly significant:

• The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn
• The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc.®
• Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Rosicrucian Order of A+O)®
• The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn
• Ordo Stella Matutina
• Sodalitas Rosae Crucis et Solis Alati

For additional Orders which do not yet have individual articles, please see the Contemporary Golden Dawn Order websites section below.

Philosophy

The primary basis of the Golden Dawn philosophy is an integrated Western Hermeticism, organized into a more or less coherent structure. The Golden Dawn's Hermetic roots came together from the philosophies of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, with Gnosticism and Neo-Platonism merging in the second and third century; with influence from the Moslem Sufis brought to Europe by Crusader orders; the Qabala — itself influenced by Neo-Platonism - and alchemy, merging in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The philosophy of the Inner Order, more so than that of the Outer, was also heavily influenced by mystic Christianity and Rosicrucian ideals. By the mid-1800s, the final additions to what we recognize as Western Magic Tradition are complete—the Tarot, Astrology, and Talismanic Magic. To this mix the Golden Dawn added Enochian Magic, a system developed in the late 16th century by Dr. John Dee, astrologer and cartographer to Queen Elizabeth I, and the Hindu meditation system of Tattvas, along with the Tantric principles of the Chakras.

Before the Golden Dawn, attempts to draw the mass of Western tradition together into a coherent system had been flawed, or incomplete. Barrett and Constant (Levi) had both attempted a system that unified Western tradition. But it would be the Golden Dawn which produced a balanced and harmonious system which included all the disparate elements of Western Esotericism.

At its core, the philosophy of the Golden Dawn is one of perfectible humanism; that by use of the esoteric tools and techniques passed down from antiquity, a human being can advance in spiritual knowledge and magical power, and with hard work and discipline, come to control his or her own destiny.

The Secret Chiefs

The Order is meant to be the repository of great spiritual knowledge passed down from ancient sources. Though some sources such as Imhotep, King Solomon, Hermes Trismegistus and Christian Rosenkreutz are part of the legendary history of the Order; the original founders (in particular Mathers) expounded a doctrine of "The Secret Chiefs", who collectively represented the "Third" or highest Order of the Western Magical tradition. Mathers declared these Chiefs of the Order were living human beings, or perhaps "evolved" human beings, that possessed the secrets of immortality, omniscience, and superhuman magical powers. He claimed to be in personal contact with certain of these Chiefs, and based his authority as the indisputable leader of the Order on instructions supposedly handed down from them.

Other Golden Dawn Lodges and Adepts also claimed to be "in contact" with Secret Chiefs, and the original schisms of the Golden Dawn can almost be seen as various "Chiefs" issuing conflicting orders to their contacts. Mathers claimed that he actually met Chiefs in person and that they had physical bodies. Florence Farr believed herself to have psychically contacted a Chief, in a manner similar to what is now called "channeling", and was even authorized by Mathers in 1897 to form a working group, "The Sphere Group", to make further contact with this Chief. Aleister Crowley claimed that a spiritual entity named "Aiwass", who was a Secret Chief, dictated to him in 1904 the Book of the Law which was to be the basis of a new Hermetic philosophy. Another faction led by F.W. Felkin, moved their Temple to New Zealand to await the physical arrival of their Chief, who unfortunately never showed up. Generally, each faction refused to acknowledge the authority of another faction's contact with a "Secret Chief." Some modern day factions still claim, like Macgregor-Mathers, to be in contact with their own Secret Chiefs.

Many Golden Dawn practitioners today believe that the Secret Chiefs are not necessarily living humans or supernatural beings, but are the symbolic "current" of all the actual and legendary sources of spiritual esotericism. Any great leader or teacher of a spiritual path or practice that found its way into the teachings of the Order -- and that definition covers a wide range, from paganism to Buddhism to Judeo-Christianity -- can be considered as a Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn. They are "secret" not by virtue of being unknown to the outside world, but rather that their knowledge has found its way into the "secrets" of the Order. Their teachings are "secret" because they can only be fully understood by someone who embarks on the path of spiritual advancement and attains Adepthood.

The Structure of the Order

The Golden Dawn follows a "fraternal lodge" model similar to freemasonry, with titles, degrees and initiations. The Order purports to be a meritocracy, with advancement based on tests of knowledge and demonstration of skills.

In the Outer Order, both the layout of the Temple and the functions of Officers seem to closely mirror those of the Blue Lodge of Masonry. The names of the Grades, or degrees of initiation, as well as the titles bestowed upon initiates, were taken from old sources such as the German Masonic "Gold und Rosen-kreutzers", and Pianco's 1781 book, Der Rosenkreutzer in seiner Blosse. In the Inner Order, the Rosicrucian drama enacted in the initiation rituals is reminiscent of that in the "Rose Croix" degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, and is certainly related to the ceremonies of the S.R.I.A. The Grades in the Golden Dawn are based on the symbolism of the Qabalistic Tree of Life.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was originally conceived as a three order system. The outer order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, was a symbolical order. The Second Order, the RR+AC was operative, practicing a Qabalistic and Enochian magical system, yet working at the level of the lunar, analogical mysteries. The Third Order was supposed to place the capstone upon the pyramid, with the operative tradition of the solar mysteries. History was to prevent this from happening, however. While S.L. MacGregor Mathers was still manifesting his brilliant synthesis of Qabalistic and Enochian magic for the Second Order, the Adepts of the RR+AC rebelled in London, provoking the order's first schism. This was quickly followed by the Horos scandal and by the betrayal of the order by Aleister Crowley, who despite his oaths published the secret teachings of the RR+AC, thus preventing the completion of the entire Three Order system for over a century.

In modern esotericism, there exist three types of esoteric orders. These fall into two general categories; symbolical and operative. Among the operative orders, there are those which are analogical (lunar) or direct (solar). At the simplest level we find the symbolical orders like Freemasonry and the outer order of the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In these orders, spiritual wisdom is presented in symbolical form; either exclusively during the initiation rituals in the case of Freemasonry, or together with supplemental study materials as in the case of the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the outer.

At the more advanced level come the so-called, operative orders. Operative orders employ special magical or alchemical operations for spiritual development. In a further distinction, there exist two kinds of operative systems and orders. Firstly, in the analogical, operative systems, practitioners operate with systems referring by analogy to yet higher, more direct, and more advanced operations and systems. Analogical operative systems are thus called lunar mysteries as, much as the moon reflects the light of the Sun, their light is reflected by analogical reference to higher operative processes. Nonetheless, despite her reflective nature, the moon indeed remains a luminary. So also the analogical operative systems remain powerful tools for spiritual development in and of themselves, despite their analogical nature.

The Solar mysteries comprise an operative tradition that lies at the apex of the Rosicrucian as well as the entire Western Esoteric tradition. The Solar operative tradition represents the capstone of the entire Western Esoteric Tradition, lying as it does upon the Hermetic pillars Alchemy and Theurgy. Here, we find not some mere mystical meditation upon alchemical images or psychological nonsense, but rather the supreme esoteric corpus of operative practices that all other genuine magical and alchemical operations only refer to by analogy. It is the summun bonum, the apex of the pyramid. Very little is known about the solar mysteries, except that that they comprise the most jealously guarded and secret part of the Western Esoteric Tradition and involve the true and most secret preparation, rectification, and multiplication of the philosopher's stone. Mathers'Rosicrucian Order or A+O today claims to have received the Solar Mysteries of the Third Order, together with the Cypher Manuscripts for the Third Order initiation rituals from the Secret Chiefs in 2002.

The Grades of the Golden Dawn

First Order:

• Introduction—Neophyte 0=0

• Zelator 1=10
• Theoricus 2=9
• Pracitcus 3=8
• Philosophus 4=7

Second Order:

• Intermediate—Portal Grade

• Adeptus Minorus 5=6
• Adeptus Majorus 6=5
• Adeptus Exemptus 7=4

Third Order:

• Magister Templi 8=3
• Magus 9=2
• Ipsissimus 10=1

The paired numbers attached to the Grades relate to positions on the Tree of Life. The Neophyte Grade of "0=0" indicates no position on the Tree. For the others, the first numeral is the number of steps up from the bottom (Malkuth), and the second numeral is the number of steps down from the top (Kether).

The First Order Grades are related to the four Classical Elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire, respectively. The Aspirant to a Grade receives instruction on the metaphysical meaning of each of these Elements, and must pass a written examination and demonstrate certain skills to receive Admission to that Grade.

The Portal Grade is the initiation for admittance to the Second Order. In most Lodges, the Circle of existing Adepts must consent to allow an Aspirant to join the Second Order.

The Second Order is not, properly, part of the "Golden Dawn", but a separate Order in its own right, known as the R.R. et A.C. The Second Order directed the teachings of the First Order, and was the governing force behind the First Order.

After passing the Portal, the Aspirant begins to be instructed in the techniques of practical Magic. When another examination is passed, and the other Adepts consent, the Aspirant attains the Grade of Adeptus Minor 5=6. (In the original Order, there were four sub-Grades of instruction for the Adeptus Minor, again relating to the four Outer Order grades.)

A member of the Inner Order has the power and authority to initiate aspirants to the Outer Order, though usually not without the permission of the Chiefs of his or her Lodge.

Light in Extension

The original Golden Dawn left behind a legacy that continues to inspire students of the esoteric arts to this day. Modern neo-pagan practices such as "circle casting", use of the pentagram, hexagram and other geometric forms as sacred symbols, "out-of-body" experiences, the Tarot cards, talismans, astrology and many others, can find their roots in the Golden Dawn. While the Order may not have originated all these forms, they synthesized them into a coherent body of work that continues to appeal to occultists and esoteric scholars more than 100 years later. The Light of the Golden Dawn continues to be extended to this day.

"Let us work, therefore, my brethren, and effect righteousness, because the Night cometh when no man shall labour... May the Light which is behind the Veil shine through you from your Throne in the East on the Fratres and Sorores of the Order and lead them to the perfect day, when the glory of this world passes and a great Light shines over the splendid sea." -- S.L. MacGregor Mathers

Known members

• Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), occult writer and mountaineer
• Florence Farr (1860-1917), London stage actress and musician
• Maud Gonne (1866-1953), Irish Revolutionary, author, feminist
• Annie Horniman (1860-1937), repertory theatre producer and pioneer
• Arthur Machen (1863-1947), a leading Welsh author of the 1890s
• Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932), Austrian author, storyteller, dramatist, translator, banker and Buddhist
• Pamela Colman Smith (1878 - 1951), fin de siècle artist and co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck
• Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942), author, Freemason and co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck
• William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), Irish poet, dramatist and writer, Nobel Prize for Literature (1923)

Notes

1. Golden Dawn researcher R.A. Gilbert has found evidence which suggests that Westcott was instrumental in developing the Order's rituals from the Cipher Manuscript. See Gilbert's article, From Cipher to Enigma: The Role of William Wynn Westcott in the Creation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, from Carroll Runyon's book Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscripts.

See also

• Argentinum Astrum (A.A.)
• Hermeticism
• Magic (paranormal)
• Tattva vision

References

• Colquhoun, Ithell. Sword of Wisdom: Macgregor Mathers and the Golden Dawn. (Neville Spearman, 1975) ISBN 0854350926.
• Greer, Mary K. Women of the Golden Dawn. (Park Street, 1994) ISBN 0892815167.
• Gilbert, Robert A. The Golden Dawn: Twilight of the Magicians. The Aquarian Press, 1983. ISBN 0850302781.
• Gilbert, Robert A. The Golden Dawn Companion. Weiser Books, (1986) ISBN 0850304369
• Gilbert, Robert A. Golden Dawn Scrapbook - The Rise and Fall of a Magical Order Weiser Books (1998) ISBN 1578630371
• Howe, Ellic. The Magicians of the Golden Dawn: A Documentary History of a Magical Order 1887-1923. Samuel Weiser (1978). ISBN 0877283699.
• Regardie, Israel, et. al., eds., The Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Practical Ceremonial Magic (Llewellyn, 1989) ISBN 0875426638
• Runyon, Carroll Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cipher Manuscripts, (C.H.S., 1997) ISBN 0965488128

External links

• Golden Dawn FAQ
• The Golden Dawn Library Project
• Golden Dawn Lectures and Rituals
• Golden Dawn entries in Llewellyn Encyclopedia
• Traditions at Witchvox: The Golden Dawn
• Golden Dawn Tradition, by co-founder Dr. W. Wynn Westcott
• Photocopies and the translation of the original Cipher Manuscripts

Contemporary Golden Dawn Order websites

• Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.)
• Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn
• The Hermetic Fellowship
• The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn®, Inc.
• Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn® / Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega®
• Mountain Temple & Order of the Golden Dawn
• The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn
• The Order of the Golden Dawn
• Ordo Stella Matutina / Hermetic Santuary of Ma'at
• Servants of the Light
• Sodalitas Rosae Crucis et Solis Alati

• New religious movements
• Esotericism
• Hermeticism