May 17, 2026 · 11:47 pm

Scrying into Mercury

[This is a practical demonstration of Scrying which I presented to the Welsh Occult Conference at Welshpool Town Hall on Saturday 16th May 2026. My talk started at 12.15pm: prior to the meeting I calculated that this fell within the planetary hour of Mercury.

One of the important points I emphasised in my talk is that when scrying, one should be mindful of the time chosen to do so: so for example, one should only scry a Tattva when the Swara corresponding to that Tattva is in force; likewise when should only scry an astrological symbol – and almost everything is related to astrology in one way or another – when the horoscope for the moment indicates that it is appropriate to do so. Hence I selected Mercury as an appropriate symbol to scry at the time of my talk.

It ought to be possible to use the Scrying exercise, given below, for oneself, in which case, in order to do so authentically, one should calculate the times of the Planetary hours for Mercury on that day, preferably when the Moon is well aspected to Mercury, or in the very least, when it is not badly aspected.

I pasted the glyph below into a Powerpoint slide and projected it onto a large white screen at the front of the hall, in front of approximately a hundred people. By pressing the W button, I was able to make the image suddenly “white out”: perfect for encouraging people to see a negative of the image! I need hardly add that the perceptive among my readers may surmise that although this concerns Mercury specifically, with the right amount of tweaking it could be adapted for any scrying session. – ALEX SUMNER].

… I would therefore like to invite you to seat yourself, as for meditation, and to close your eyes, breathing deeply and regularly.

Breathe with the four-fold breath: in-2-3-4; hold-2-3-4; out-2-3-4; hold-2-3-4. Keep breathing in and out regularly.

Spend some moments relaxing each part of your body in turn.

Before we even begin to attempt to Scry, let us first contemplate the nature of Mercury, so that we can get a feel for it, and attune ourselves to it.

Mercury is messenger of the Gods, so not surprisingly, Mercury in Astrology is the Planet of Communication. Think for a moment about how you communicate – how you express yourself: that is the influence of Mercury in your own life.

In the Hermetic tradition, the planets in the night sky were not merely named after the gods, they ensouled the gods. So when you contemplate how Mercury affects you astrologically, you are entitled to take that as evidence of how Mercury the god himself influences you. By concentrating on Mercury’s presence in your life, you can trace that back, by a kind of rising on the planes, to the archetypal god himself.

Mercury, being the messenger of the gods, is able to travel between the realms of the divine and of mortals, and indeed to any part of the Universe, spiritual or material. The only other deity who is said to be able to do this is the goddess Hecate, although that is another story. So when you trace the influence of Mercury in your life back to its spiritual source, realise that what you have found not only reaches from the Gods to the Earth; but also to the Underworld, hence explaining Hermes’ role as Psychopomp: and to different parts of the soul, wherever they are fragmented; and to realms of obscure knowledge. Hermes or Mercury traverses all of these and thus acts as messenger of Gods; as well as Psychopomp; as well as Soul Retriever; and hence Healer; and procurer of lost knowledge.

The realms of the Gods and of Mortals are themselves metaphors for the divine and immortal parts of yourself on the one hand, and your everyday psychic self on the other – between the Solar and Lunar principles with you. When this connection moves as freely between your Solar and Lunar selves as Hermes does between divine and mortal realms you will have achieved a deep level of insight.

So bring your attention to the reflection of Mercury in your own personality which is your intellectual nature. It is a higher vibration than your physical body; a higher vibration than your instinctive intuitive or psychic body.

That is the Mercury-level of your being. Remain still for a moment, calm, simply aspiring to the truth of what is above and beyond the thoughts which may occur in your mind.

Now, with your mind calm, slowly open your eyes… and stare at the symbol of the glyph of Mercury. Try to stare at it unblinkingly, for as long as you can manage…

[NOTE: here I hit the W button on my laptop.]

… And now stare at the blank screen. Without straining you should see a blue sigil on a yellow background – the negative of the image of the Glyph. Try doing this a couple of times, so you can get a clear idea of this negative-image.

Now, gently close your eyes again, concentrating on the Mercury-level of your being, and hold the negative image of the Mercury glyph before your mind’s eye.

As you keep hold of this image, aspire to invoke the real presence of Mercury with me, using these words taken from the Qabalah.

“I call upon ELOHIM TZEBAOTH to create and reify a link between the Sigil I visualise and what it embodies on the astral plane. Thank you, ELOHIM TZEBAOTH, for forming this astral current between ourselves and the realm of Mercury.

“In the name of ELOHIM TZEBAOTH I call upon the angel RAPHAEL KOKABIEL to strengthen the astral current linking what is in our mind’s eye and what it astrally embodies. Thank you, RAPHAEL, for ensuring that all the spirits of the sphere of KOKAB act in a friendly and co-operative manner to us, speaking truthfully to us, and causing no harm to us or our loves ones. Including pets.

“In the name of ELOHIM TZEBAOTH, I render thanks to Intelligence TIRIEL for everything you have done so far, and for assistance in our quest today.

“In the name of ELOHIM TZEBAOTH, I call upon the Spirit of Mercury TAPHTARTARATH. Thank you, TAPHTARTARATH for manifesting unto us all the beneficial qualities of Mercury: true knowledge for those who seek knowledge; Healing, for those that need healing; Success in business… Especially for all those who have stall set up today; success in all realms of our Intellectual life generally.

“In the name ELOHIM TZEBAOTH and by the power of all the Spirits of Mercury, may each of us by accompanied by a helpful Mercurial Spirit guide today.”

Now, imagine that in your vision, you are moving towards the Sigil of Mercury. You are moving through the Sigil, as if you are passing through a veil. Imagine that you have passed right through, so that the Sigil is now behind you.

Mentally repeat the name “ELOHIM TZEBAOTH” to yourself and take note of the images which appear before your mind’s eye.

Do not censor what may appear: just observe. Don’t necessarily interact with what you may see, but just take note of what happens.

Always remember that you are safe whilst you are repeating the divine name “ELOHIM TZEBAOTH.”

Now see yourself standing at a nexus point between dimensions. In every direction lead to tunnels, leading from all realms to all realms. It is how Mercury is able to travel wherever he needs to be.

If you see a creature appear, mentally repeat the name “ELOHIM TZEBAOTH”: if the creature appears happy, you may take this as indicating that it is willing to act as your guide. If not, dismiss it, and ask for a new guide, that does recognise the name “ELOHIM TZEBAOTH.”

Now, assuming you have your guide with you, I want you to ask it a series of questions which I will dictate, and try to listen to how it answers.

What exactly is what I see and experience in this vision?

What does it mean?

What could it become?

How can I make use of it magically?

What does it mean in relation to my past lives in general?

What does it mean in relation to my past life as a powerful magician?

What will it mean in a hundred years’ time?

What would it mean to someone on another planet?

Is this a gateway to another magical universe?

Spend a moment to recollect the answers you have received.

Realise that you can return at any time in the future to investigate further, by repeating this journey in the way you have made it today.

Now we are about to leave, but first let us contemplate gratitude to all the powers of Mercury, and that greater Cosmic Power of which Mercury is the embodiment in our Solar System.

Express gratitude especially to your spirit guide.

When you are ready, you begin to move back, floating gently back through the veil through which you passed on the way here… until you see again the Sigil of Mercury from this side, which is the gate through which you first passed. You float gently down, and through the portal, and feel yourself coming back to your body, and gradually returning to normal consciousness.

“We now give all spirit which have been entrapped by this ceremony licence to depart in the name ELOHIM TZEBAOTH. May the blessings of ELOHIM TZEBAOTH be upon ye. Depart ye in peace with our gratitude unto your abodes and habitations. Be there peace between us and you, and be ye ready to come again when ye are called. So mote it be.”

When you are ready, seal all your energies within your physical body by stamping your foot and placing your left forefinger on your lips – and open your eyes.

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April 6, 2026 · 10:13 pm

Happy Abramelin Season 2026!

Artwork © Alex Sumner 2026

Today is Easter Monday, and hence, the day on which to begin the Abramelin Operation according to the original book. I wish good luck to all those beginning the operation today, and I hope all goes well with you.

If you are undertaking the Abramelin Operation and are in need of comfort, or you are not doing so and just need a good read, then both my publications on the subject are available from Amazon and all good bookstores.

Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit: an Abramelin Memoir is my chunky magnum opus on the subject, whilst Abramelin and Lockdown is a very short work consisting of a paper I presented to the Welsh Occult Conference last year.

In case you want an autographed edition, I have author copies of these and my other books: message me directly for more details, which I can either send to you myself: or you can catch me at the Welsh Occult Conference this May. Thanks!

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Small Prophets

“Small Prophets does for Alchemy what A Dark Song did to Abramelin … but funnier.”

Like A Dark Song, “Small Prophets” takes tremendous liberties with its subject matter, i.e. Alchemy. Also like that infamous film, no-one would be able to practice Alchemy properly after watching it. Also like the film, Small Prophets has the power to raise public consciousness about Alchemy, as in people are talking about it now, whereas before they weren’t talking about it at all.

However: the most important difference is that Mackenzie Crook plays Small Prophets as a comedy. And successfully too. It has genuinely laugh out loud moments too, e.g. when the two main characters have to stage a Hermetic ceremony, but take unconventional steps to acquire the necessary regalia. As a member of various secret societies myself, I felt this most of all, although no-one I know has gone as far in real life as this pair of characters.

This got me thinking – what if Liam Gavin, the director of A Dark Song, had actually tried to incorporate humour into his own film???

Small Prophets is available to stream via BBC iPlayer. I do not know if or where A Dark Song is available to stream, and I don’t care either.

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February 16, 2026 · 12:54 pm
January 17, 2026 · 11:16 pm

The Greenland Pentagram Ritual

This is based upon a ritual devised by Dion Fortune to defend her country, the United Kingdom, from invasion by hostile forces in the Second World War. In a previous post, I suggested that a similar ritual could be adapted to defend Ukraine. Today, I propose that such a ritual can be utilised to defend Greenland from invasion by hostile forces, whichever country they might come from. It goes as follows.

  1. Prepare for Astral projection as best you know how, and project to the centre of Greenland, approximately 76º 35′ N 46º 37′ W. Google Maps is not helpful, as as far as I can make out, this is the centre of a vast white featureless wilderness extending thousands of miles in every direction. Probably best to navigate by the stars: the constellations near the Pole will be high in the sky, whilst those near to the ecliptic will be very low on the southern horizon (hey this is as helpful as I can get).
  2. Will your astral body to grow to giant size, so that you can see the whole of Greenland as an island around you. Face east.
  3. Perform the Qabalistic Cross: “Ateh Malkuth, ve-Geburah, ve-Gedulah, le-Olam, Amen!”
  4. Trace the Banishing Pentagram to the East: start in the bottom left, trace up to the upper centre, then follow the rest of the course of the Pentagram back to the starting point in the bottom left. Vibrate: “Yod Heh Vav Heh.”
banishing earth pentagram
Banishing pentagram. Start from the lower left point and continue around, finishing where you started.
  1. Turn clockwise and repeat the preceding step towards the South. Vibrate: “Adonai.”
  2. Turn clockwise and repeat the preceding step towards the West. Vibrate: “Eheieh.”
  3. Turn clockwise and repeat the preceding step towards the North. Vibrate: “Agla.”
  4. Turn clockwise again to return to your starting position. Extend your arms wide in the form of a cross and proclaim:
    “Before me, guarding the approach from the Greenland Sea, is RAPHAEL.
    Behind me, guarding the approach from Baffin Bay, is GABRIEL.
    To my right, guarding the approach from the Labrador Sea, is MICHAEL.
    To my left, guarding the approach from the Arctic Ocean, is AURIEL.
    For about the whole of Greenland flames the Pentagrams, and in the column is the Six-Rayed Star.”
  5. Perform the Qabalistic Cross again.
  6. After you have assured yourself that Greenland is surrounded by Angelic protection, you may end the ritual by returning to your body and to normal consciousness (finish with the sign of silence).

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January 7, 2026 · 12:00 am

Review: “Teaching System of the Golden and Rosy Cross,” by Bernard Beyer, translated by Ian H Gladwin

“Teaching System of the Golden and Rosy Cross,” by Bernard Beyer, translated by Ian H Gladwin

This is the first major book available in English which goes into detail about the “Golden and Rosy Cross,” the Masonic Rosicrucian Order deriving from Germany in the 18th century. I say “in English” because Bernard Beyer’s original text was first published in German back in 1925: it had remained untranslated – until now. But: who exactly were these Golden Rosicrucians?  

The Gold und Rosenkreuzer (to give them their original German name) emerged in mid‑18th‑century Germany as a secretive esoteric fraternity blending Rosicrucian mysticism, alchemy, and Freemasonry. Although the order formally coalesced in the 1750s, its ideological roots were older: members traced their lineage to the early Rosicrucian manifestos and especially to Samuel Richter’s 1710 alchemical work published under the name Sincerus Renatus, which outlined doctrines later absorbed into the order.

The group was shaped most decisively by Hermann Fictuld, a Freemason and alchemist who reorganized scattered Rosicrucian currents into a structured initiatory system. The order developed a nine‑grade hierarchy, emphasizing spiritual purification, laboratory alchemy, and the quest for the Philosopher’s Stone. Candidates were required to be Master Masons: although as the translator of this edition points out, this was more of a pious aspiration. The rationale of the first, “Junior” degree required that the candidate be conversant with the symbolism of Freemasonry, including the secrets of a Master Mason. However, after the first degree the Order left Freemasonry progressively farther behind. There was no requirement, for example, that one must remain a Mason after having joined, in contrast to certain modern Rosicrucian Societies.

By the 1770s–1780s, the Gold und Rosenkreuzer had spread across Central and Eastern Europe, establishing lodges in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Prague, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. Their influence peaked when Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, sympathetic to Rosicrucian ideals, elevated several members—such as Johann Christoph von Wöllner and Johann Rudolf von Bischoffwerder—to positions of political authority, allowing the order to shape religious and educational policy.

Rivalries with the Bavarian Illuminati, internal secrecy, and political upheavals after Friedrich Wilhelm II’s death in 1797 accelerated the order’s decline. By the early 19th century, the Gold und Rosenkreuzer had fragmented, though their ritual structure later inspired groups such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. However: there are rumours that despite the original order’s decline, it did not go completely extinct (e.g. Gustav Meyrinck was alleged to be an initiate), and that the last lineage holder only died as recently as the 1990s.

As regards this book in particular: a lot of this material has been summarised and quoted by commentators before (e.g. Arthur Edward Waite), but this is the first time that the primary sources have been made available to the reading public. So unless you are a Rosicrucian fan-boy who likes to spend their time poring over old manuscripts in the Library & Museum of Freemasonry, you will not have seen a lot of this material before.

Thanks to this current book, it is possible to compare and contrast the Golden and Rosy Cross with its nearest modern analogue, the Societas Rosicruciana In Anglia (SRIA). Both are societies purporting to be Rosicrucian and which require its candidates to be Master Masons. They have similar sounding grade structures:

GradeGolden & Rosy CrossSRIA
1st“Junior”“Zelator”
2nd“Theoreticus”“Theoricus”
3rd“Practicus”“Practicus”
4th“Philosophus”“Philosophus”
5th“Minor”“Adeptus Minor”
6th“Major”“Adeptus Major”
7th“Adeptus Exemptus”“Adeptus Exemptus”
8th“Magister”“Magister”
9th“Magus”“Magus”
10th(no tenth grade)“Adept of Christian Rosenkreutz”[1]

But that is pretty much where the similarities end. In the first grade of the G&RC the candidate is immediately confronted by an initiation ritual which is heavy with Alchemical symbolism. That of the SRIA is more hermetic or qabalistic. In the second grade, the G&RC members literally learn about the Theoretical basis of Alchemy in a teaching environment. In the third grade, Practici must participate in a practical Alchemical working, albeit as students at this stage. From the fourth grade onwards, the candidate, as a condition of advancement, must perform increasingly complex alchemical operations himself: whilst in the final grade – of which there is very little data given – the candidate is implied to undertake Divine Magic.

In contrast, in the SRIA each grade involves a certain amount of ritual drama, but there is very little in the way of practical teaching given. Far from learning and taking part in Alchemy, its members are encouraged to research and write papers on esoteric subjects. In fact, I have heard it said that in the old days one could not be advanced to the next SRIA grade unless one actually had presented such a paper to the Society: if that had been the case, it would at least have made the SRIA if not an Alchemical society, then at least as rigorous as continental Freemasonry. However, by the time I came into contact with it, this had completely fallen by the wayside, and members were routinely advanced to the next grade a year after attaining their previous grade, notwithstanding whether they had made any contribution or even attended at all within the intervening twelve-months.

The book ends by announcing that there will be sequel to this volume entitled “The Golden and Rosy Cross: Ritual, Revelation, and the Legacy of Rosicrucian Alchemy.” I heartily recommend both the current volume and its forthcoming companion to all those interested in this fascinating aspect of Rosicrucian history.

Beyer, B, Gladwin, I H (translator), 2025, “Teaching System of the Golden and Rosy Cross,” Pansophic Press, Dunstable, UK. ISBN 979 8 9993799 0 0

[1] This was not part of the original SRIA structure. It started off simply as a Medal given to senior members of the Society for outstanding service, until the last but one Supreme Magus decided to create a ritual for it.

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January 5, 2026 · 12:00 am

Review: “Spirit Builders: a Free Illuminist approach to the Antient & Primitive Rite of Memphis+Misraïm,” by Palamas.

“Spirit Builders: a Free Illuminist approach to the Antient & Primitive Rite of Memphis+Misraïm,” by Palamas.

Peace profound, my Brethren! Salutations on all points of the triangle, and honour to the order!

During 2025 I had the honour to have conferred on me the 95º of Memphis Misraim, that of Patriarch Grand Conservator. It occurred to me that, seeing as I am now a nominal holder of all the degrees in that rite, it might be a good idea to start learning about them! I had in fact already read widely on such information as was readily available on the subject, mainly books by John Yarker and Robert Ambelain, as well as Matthieu G Ravignat, the latter of which will form the basis of another post on this blog in due course.

Then I came to this book, “Spirit Builders,” which presents a radically different point of view entirely. But first, some exposition:

Memphis Misraim is a masonic rite of ninety seven degrees, although properly speaking it consists of ninety degrees, plus seven administrative degrees tacked on for good measure. Why ninety? Because there are 90º in a Square, and the Square represents the Craft as a whole. Hence, once one has experienced all ninety degrees, one has experienced every permutation of what the Craft is or could be: that is the theory, at any rate.

A special point to note is that unlike male-only masonry, there is heavy emphasis on Alchemy in the rite, and even on Theurgy (i.e. ceremonial magick). Whereas some people have argued that it is implicit in the symbolism of male-only masonry, in Memphis Misraim it is very definitely made explicit. Indeed, if it had not, I doubt I would have been interested in it.

However, in practice, not all of these degrees are worked. Some “Sovereign Sanctuaries” (the Memphis Misraim equivalent of a Grand Lodge) only work as few as ten degrees, not even all of the degrees for which John Yarker published full rituals. The rest of them are conferred in name only, similar to the practice of the Ancient & Accepted Rite of male-only Masonry: and for the same purported reason: if each degree were staged as a full-blown Masonic ritual, it would take many months or indeed years to acquire the whole.

We thus come to the “Free Illuminist” approach, espoused by Tau Palamas, the author of the work currently under consideration. As I understand it, “Free Illuminism” aspires to confer all ninety-seven degrees, in particular the mystic and psychic attributes thereof. Not necessarily all in one go, but certainly sooner than the many years it would take otherwise. In this way each initiate is able to scry into the inner nature of each degree conferred, so that it becomes a step in a path of spiritual development. This the Free Illuminists achieve by stripping out of the ninety-seven degrees of all its Masonic Ritual content.

This ought to come as a delight to esotericists who believe that too much or even any Masonry can spoil the Occult. Hence, instead of a ceremony lasting at least an hour and requiring elaborate preparations, each degree becomes an “empowerment” which can be administered in a matter of minutes, with the “Secrets” of the degree becoming the proving-signs which the initiate can then use to scry into its properties.

The original idea of Free Illuminism derives from Allen Greenfield, who first associated the ninety-seven degrees with ninety-seven acupuncture points on the human body (mostly conforming to the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life), classifying them as Points-Chauds (“Hot points”), which in turn is a concept deriving from Michael Bertiaux. Alas! I used to have Greenfield’s book “The Compleat Rite of Memphis” in which he first set out this schema, but I appear to have lost it the last time I moved house!

Palamas, the current author, has taken the idea of “Free Illuminism” one stage further by developing the idea of “Congregational Illuminism,” i.e. of practicing Free Illuminism within a community of initiates, mostly centred in Georgia, USA, but with other groups practicing across America and indeed the rest of the world.

This book itself contains useful summaries of all ninety seven degrees of the Rite, so from that point of view it becomes a Cliff Notes version of Memphis Misraim (actually useful to me in my own situation). However, it contains much more in addition, detailing the particular rituals of Congregational Illuminism, and describing the Arcana Arcanorum practices, as well as a method of linking the degrees to the 91 parts of the Earth in Enochian Magic. I have to say that in doing so he suggests a method of scrying the Thirty Aethyrs which seems blindingly obvious now I come to think of it, but which would nevertheless avoid all the difficulties – and horrors – which Aleister Crowley encountered in The Vision and The Voice.

I must say that I enjoyed Palamas’ style of writing: anyone who quotes W L Wilmshurst, Israel Regardie, and Chic & Tabby Cicero in the way that he does automatically gets my approval. I also found it instructive to follow up his references to Michael Bertiaux’s writings. Ye gods! The Voudon Gnostic Workbook is completely bonkers!!! However, I enjoyed reading Cosmic Meditation, and found it one of the very best books on the subject.

I have had a chance to compare the newest edition – which my fiancée got me as a Christmas present – with the first edition of the same book, and am pleased to note that Palamas has included new material with this publication, in particular details of an elaborate ritual for the Congregational Illuminists’ version of the 66º, Patriarch Grand Consecrator, which effectively is a theurgical rite of consecration as a Gnostic Bishop. NB: the edition I received was the Standard Edition, a hefty 738 page tome in black and white. There is also a deluxe full-colour version in two volumes, which I believe includes the colour plates originally found in the first edition.

One difficulty arose in my mind as I read this book, which I did not recall seeing resolved in the text, but it was this: the 97 points-chauds are, as I said, associated with acupuncture points on the human body. During each empowerment, the Initiator will touch or press the corresponding point to activate the point-chaud. However, the books states that many of these points are actually in bodily locations which, to put politely, if someone were to administer an empowerment there I would assume that they were proposing marriage to me. Needless to say, I have not received those particular empowerments yet, so I am intrigued as to how they could be feasibly be carried out, to put it lightly.

“Palamas,” 2025, “Spirit Builders: a Free Illuminist approach to the Antient & Primitive Rite of Memphis+Misraïm,” Standard Edition, Fox Lake, Illinois, USA. ISBN: 978-1-94688 1 4-1 6-6

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January 3, 2026 · 12:00 am

Review: “Golden Dawn Rituals: rites and ceremonies for groups and solo magicians,” by Chic Cicero & Sandra Tabatha Cicero.

Golden Dawn Rituals: Rites and Ceremonies for Groups and Solo Magicians, by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero

In an article I wrote for “The Light Extended” in 2021, I outed myself as the Cancellarius of a Golden Dawn temple.[1] One of my main points consisted of describing the lengths to which I went to find monthly activities for our temple whilst we were on lockdown: by raiding such works as “Garden of Pomegranates,” “Ritual Use of Magical Tools,” “Circles of Power,” and even my own ingenium, to provide new rituals for us to use.

However, in that respect I merely continued the kind of thing I had done before lockdown, and which I did after we had resumed meeting in person. The fact is that our temple meets monthly, but we don’t always have new initiations or grade advancements every month. Hence, what to do in the meantime? Usually this would amount to a teaching session; or some other ritual; or better still, some other ritual which had a teaching element to it. We had long ago rejected the idea of trying to get a new initiate at every meeting no matter what the cost: we had no fears of elitism, as it turned out it only took a very low bar to get rid of 99% of all time-wasters.

“What I could really do with,” I thought to myself, “was some book of rituals which we could put on in our temple – so that I did not have to keep searching for something to do every month. If only such a handy resource existed!”

And then, Chic and Tabatha Cicero came out with this book. This hefty tome comprises over forty rituals, around three-quarters of which are original and previously unpublished, whilst the rest are based closely on rituals from Regardie’s The Golden Dawn but edited and annotated to make them more easily readable. There are rituals here for both the Outer and Inner Order. The Inner Order rituals include a number of compositions based upon the Z2 Magic Of Light Formulae, as well intriguing ways to put the Vault of the Adepti to good use.

The Outer Order Rituals, however, are most unusual: after an opening and closing of the Neophyte Hall, the officers are employed in a manner not following the traditional structure of the Neophyte ceremony. Hence, we get rituals of healing, of celebrating both solstices, and of Samhain, as well as charging talismans, invoking supernatural beings, and contemplating Qabalistic teaching through the power of ritual drama. The overall theme appears to be that of involving the officers and members of the Temple who would otherwise have sat on the sidelines  in a way that would not happen in a normal Neophyte ceremony.

In short I am glad I got this: I foresee that I will be making use of this for some time in the future.

Cicero, C, Cicero, S T, 2005, Golden Dawn Rituals: Rites and Ceremonies for Groups and Solo Magicians, Llewellyn, Woodbury, Minnesota, USA. ISBN 978-0-7387-7926-3

[1] Sumner, A, 2021, “Self Isolation in the Golden Dawn Tradition,” The Light Extended, a journal of the Golden Dawn, volume 3, Kerubim Press, Dublin, Ireland.

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January 1, 2026 · 5:08 pm

Review: “Light In Extension: a history of Bradford’s 1888 Golden Dawn Temple Horus No. 5,” by Melissa Seims.

“Light In Extension: a history of Bradford’s 1888 Golden Dawn Temple Horus no. 5,” by Melissa Seims

Across the skin of the Earth lie certain nodal apertures where power seeps through from dimensions older than humanity’s first stirrings. Glastonbury, Stonehenge, Macchu Picchu, the Pyramids – these are but the more widely whispered of such vortices. Yet there exists another, veiled beneath the soot‑laden skies of West Yorkshire: Bradford, a city whose mundane façades conceal an unsuspected confluence of forces.

In the waning years of the nineteenth century, this unlikely location drew to itself a congregation of Masons, Theosophists, and wanderers of more esoteric lineages – souls attuned to … who knows what? One may speculate that labyrinthine energies coiled beneath the city’s foundations called out to an unusually large number of people, but the fact is that West Yorkshire in general, and Bradford and latterly Leeds in particular, became a centre of esotericism, even remaining so to this day. Their workings, conducted at first in hotel function rooms and latterly in exquisitely decorated purpose-built temples, have remained obscured by time and deliberate silence.

But the veils are thinning, and the chronicle of their hidden labours begins, at last, to uncoil.

In the book, “Light In Extension,” Ms Seims succeeds in pointing out that the history of one particular Golden Dawn temple, in Bradford, cannot be separated from that of the local esoteric scene generally: for the personalities who comprised the former constituted the movers and shakers of the latter. At first this worked to Horus no. 5’s advantage, because this scene provided the Temple with a pool from which to draw initiates. However this also meant that instead of remaining true to the Golden Dawn egregore, Horus’ members allowed the politics of all the other local orders – Masonic and otherwise – to affect it to its detriment.

On the one hand, the Bradford Temple left behind a treasure trove of beautiful Temple equipment and documents, into which Ms Seims has delved thoroughly: she includes many colour photographs of the wonders which this archive (the so-called “Scott Collection”) holds.

On the other however, her research reveals that most of the membership of Horus no. 5 were old fashioned, rather chauvinistic Freemasons who treated their GD temple like just another “Masonic Unit,” and who only admitted a minority of females and non-masons at a sufferance. Moreover, she records at least one major schism in the temple which was caused not by something which occurred within Horus no. 5 but within the local Theosophical Society at the time.

From reading Ms Seim’s description of the Scott Collection, it appears to me that there is a major component missing, as it were. What is evident is a full set of temple equipment to run an outer order Golden Temple. What there is not, however, are any inner order documents or equipment, or any personal inner order papers of any of the members who reached the Adeptus Minor grade. There is, in short, no evidence that anyone in Bradford once having attained the 5=6 grade actually did any other further magical work.

In 1900, when the Golden Dawn schismed, instead of siding with either the London rebels, or following Mathers into the Alpha et Omega, Horus Temple no. 5 chose to do neither, going into “abeyance” – closing down, but without surrendering its warrant as it should have done, and transferring its property to the newly formed (or more accurately, “reponed”) August Order of Light. The story of Horus Temple no 5 is therefore ultimately one of a failed Golden Dawn temple.

Ms Seims’ work, by contrast, is a triumph of scholarship on the subject. It is quite clear that she has gone to great lengths in her research, dissecting the historical evidence like a forensic examiner. In doing so she has come up with a work in the same altitude if not greater as that of R A Gilbert and Ellic Howe.

Seims, M, 2025, “Light In Extension: a history of Bradford’s 1888 Golden Dawn Temple Horus no. 5,” Thoth Publications, Leiceister, UK. ISBN 978-1913660468

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October 11, 2025 · 5:22 pm

The Welsh Occult Conference 2026: Tickets now on sale!

The Welsh Occult Conference ~ Promoting the study and Practice of the Occult through the written and spoken word.

This year, we are returning to the assembly room, up stairs at Welshpool Town Hall, 42 Broad St, WELSHPOOL SY21 7JQ, Powys. 

There is a lift for disabled access etc.

Doors open at 9am for registration and close at 6pm. 

Speakers this year:

Alan Thorogood: Say No to Enochian: a purist’s approach to the magic of John Dee and Edward Kelley.

Geraldine Beskin: Frederick Hockley ~ The Man and his Magic.

Alex Sumner: The Theory & Practise of Scrying. 

Melissa Seims: Charles Cardell & The Coven of Atho

Julia Phillips: Madeline Mountalban ~ The Magus of St Giles.

Ian Freer: Babylonian Origins of the Tree of Life.  

For more details and to book tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/welshoccultconference/1783734

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August 21, 2025 · 10:38 pm

Save the date: Saturday 16th May 2026

I shall be returning to the Welsh Occult Conference next year – Saturday 16th May 2026, where I shall be presenting a piece on Scrying. This will be held in Welshpool, a different venue to this year’s conference, but it does have the benefit of being closer to public transport for those eager to get there.

Needless to say, I shall post more details about the event as soon as I get them myself.

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