Tag Archives: Golden Dawn

Triskaidekaphilia

This year being the one that comes after 2012, and just before 2014, there has recently been a rise in chatter about superstitions, nay, phobias regarding the number 13. I will therefore take this opportunity to present an initiated view of the matter.

People say that 13 is unlucky, but that is a popular misconception: 13 is only unlucky for Christians. For Satanists, on the other hand, 13 must be quite jolly! Seriously, though, the unpleasant associations of centuries of folklore have got in the way of the fact that in the Qabalah the number 13 is a lucky number, for completely unsinister reasons.

"Ahebah" (love) in Hebrew letters.

Ahebah (“love”). Aleph, Heh, Beth, Heh.

In Hebrew Gematria, the word for “love,” Ahebah, enumerates to 13.

Achad ("Unity") in Hebrew letters

Achad (“Unity”). Aleph, Cheth, Daleth.

Whilst “Unity,” Achad, enumerates to 13 as well. Moreover the ineffable Tetragrammaton, Yod Heh Vav Heh, enumerates to 26 or 2*13, hence giving rise to a Qabalistic saying that “God = Love + Unity,” i.e. 26 = 13 + 13.

It gets more interesting when one analyses the symbolism of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In the 1=10 grade of Zelator, the candidate is admitted (in the first part of the ceremony) with the admission badge of the Fylfot Cross, which is a clockwise swastika (i.e. the reverse of the Nazi symbol) comprising seventeen squares. The squares represent the 12 signs of the Zodiac, the four Elements, and the Sun; and they are arranged so that each of the four arms corresponds to one of the elemental triplicities, with the Sun in the very centre. The arms are (clockwise from top-left): fire, water, air, earth. Moreover each arm is arranged in the same order: the Cardinal sign of a given element is closest to the centre, followed by the Fixed (Kerubic) sign, then the Mutable sign, and finally the symbol of the Element itself at the extremity of the arm.

Now this seventeen-squared fylfot cross has in effect been cutout from a square of twenty-five individual squares – five by five – the same dimensions as the Kamea of Mars. So one day I thought to myself: what would happen if I superimposed the fylfot cross on this very Kamea? I immediately noticed the following: the number of each sign of the Zodiac, when added to that of the sign which opposes it, equals 26, 2*13, the number of the Tetragrammaton. E.g.:

Number derived from Fylfot Cross / Kamea of Mars.
Aries 25
Libra 1
Total 26

Moreover the central square – corresponding to the Sun – is 13, the Number of Unity / Love.Therefore, the Neophyte enters the Zelator hall with the aid of a symbol which suggests that all dualities are ultimately to be resolved in the form of Yod Heh Vav Heh, thereby leading one to Unity.

fylfotThis is just one example: given the central importance of the Tetragrammaton to the Qabalah one should not be surprised that the number 13 may crop up throughout the Western Mystery Tradition, even where one would not expect it.

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Ask A Wizard: Ultra Zodiacal Astrology

Novelist and writer on the occult Alex Sumner discusses “Ultra Zodiacal Astrology” with tweep @IrisSchouten. This is the astrology of constellations which lie outside the Zodiac: although they are not used in conventional astrology, certain traditions both ancient and modern assign them magical and spiritual significance.

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The Paradox of Christianity and Occultism

An intriguing use of the chequered pavement!

It’s getting to that time of year again when certain types of Christian pastor pop out of the wood-work and alternatively rail against the supposed pagan and / or satanic origins of Halloween, or more creatively try to put on their own alternate events. Mind you I did find it ironic that one town in Pennsylvania was putting on a series of events apparently without realising there is already a Christian holiday associated with the day (All Saints’ Day) – “Fall Family Fun,” anyone?

I would like to give away one of the “greatest secrets” of occultism at this point. It’s not actually a great secret as far as occultists are concerned, but it is to many Fundamentalist preachers judging from their ravings, and even to some of the fluffier types of pagans. It is this: many occultists are in fact Christians themselves. Not Christopagans, nor even Gnostic Christians, but actual Christians. They tend not to draw attention to themselves, but they are there. These are the sort of people who join organisations like the Martinists, the Elus Cohens, the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross and other Qabalistic organisations which are sympathetic to Jesus Christ.

Reading the Hebrew letters from Fire going anti-clockwise spells “Yeheshuah.”

These are the sort of people who point out that the Pentagram is the symbol of the Pentagrammaton (“Yeheshuah”), the Qabalistic-spelling of Jesus: hence each time one performs the LBRP, one is actually invoking Jesus in the four quarters without realising it!

In fact, given that Neo-Paganism is predominantly a movement dating from the latter half of the twentieth century, the vast majority of the members of the original Golden Dawn and its offshoots were themselves Christian, and sought to incorporate Christian symbology into their Qabalistic practices.

I appreciate this will probably sound like the most outrageous heresy to Fundamentalist Christians. I believe the common attitude amongst such people is typified by the following:

The extent of occult involvement is universal.  Spiritual warfare is all around us, and if Satan cannot keep us from knowing Christ he will try containing us by drawing us into deception.  The Enemy is a deceiver, liar, tempter, and devourer of human souls…..

[…]

Actually, occultists’ practices are a counterfeit of God’s power, and as such they do reveal some amazing things — but these things are not the ultimate truth.  … [A]n increase in demonic activity is to be expected as a sign of the end times.

What is the Occult?

Pity the poor occultist! He or she is trapped in a real dilemma! If one invokes Satan, one is obviously Satanists, and if one invokes God, His Angels, or Jesus, etc – even in all apparent sincerity – one is still invoking Satan because the Father of Lies is pulling the wool over their eyes. One cannot win!

What these Fundamentalist Christians don’t realise – or they conveniently forget – is that Jesus Himself was accused of dabbling in the occult when He was alive! To wit:

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”

So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Mark 3:22 – 30

Replace “Scribes” in this passage with “Fundamentalist preachers” and you basically have the entire plight of the modern occultist who nevertheless professes to be a Christian. Logic would suggest – and Jesus Himself explicitly states here – that one cannot perform something which is objectively good and still be in thrall to the powers of Evil. So to address the quote from “What is the occult?” I would say it is seriously unwise to accuse an occultist of being deceived by Satan, because one might just be blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, i.e. committing the unforgiveable sin.

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“The Magical Battle of Britain” by Dion Fortune, a review (vlog)

In which I review The Magical Battle of Britain by Dion Fortune, and give it five stars (nb: this was originally recorded for Amazon). What I like most about this book is that it reveals details of the practical methods of occultism which Dion used, which ultimately were inspired by an encounter with telepathy at the start of her magical career.

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The Order of Great Osiris The Saviour: Part 2

In my previous post on the subject, I had to take down the accompanying photos at the request of the Library & Museum on Freemasonry. However, the nice people at the library have now allowed me to put up new photos – which quite frankly are better quality than the previous ones anyway.

Ritual implements intended for use in the ceremonies, drawn by Florence Farr.

Horus

Horus – drawn by Florence Farr

Image

Hathor and Thoth, drawn by Florence Farr

Osiris and Harpocrates

Osiris and Horus (i.e. Harpocrates), drawn by Florence Farr.

Thanks to Martin Cherry.

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The Order of Great Osiris The Saviour

Florence Farr

Florence Farr

So there I was in the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London, checking out their extensive collection of original Golden Dawn material, when I came across something I hadn’t seen before, so I presume it had only been recently been catalogued. Namely: the rituals of “The Order of Great Osiris The Saviour.”  This apparently was a post-Golden Dawn order devised by Florence Farr.

I have no evidence that the Order ever got beyond the planning stage: however Farr did manage to write out a full set of rituals for it. In a note appended to the first ritual, she wrote that she received them from “the Akashic Records” between 1899 and 1900.

The rituals themselves consist of a series of ceremonies intended to be performed at very specific times of the year: mainly when the Sun is conjunct certain of the fixed stars (the Royal stars); but also there is at least one full moon ritual as well. Each ritual centres around the adoration of one particular Egyptian God: Isis, Osiris, Horus, Thoth, Hathor etc. There is a lot of use of mantra and indeed silent contemplation throughout the rituals, so it would appear that the intention was to lead the initiate into a state of mystical consciousness as he or she participated in the ceremony.

Farr’s rituals bear little resemblance to those of the Golden Dawn. There is no “Egyptian magic as seen through a Victorian prism” of the GD, instead the symbolism is practically all ancient Egyptian (though unlike any discovered by archaeological means). Curiously though, some of the descriptions of the Royal stars bear a passing resemblance to the 7=4 ceremony of the Stella Matutina, so I wonder if this was not Florence Farr’s attempt to channel higher grade rituals herself.

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In Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Vault of the Adepti

30th Anniversary Announcement

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Public Challenge to David Griffin

Stop all your verbal attacks against Chic, Tabby, Nick Farrell, Pat Zalewski, the SRIA and all the rest, and use your supposed EU trademarks to stop the neo-nazis in Greece from bringing the “Golden Dawn” name into disrepute.

If you want to be remembered for doing something good for the Golden Dawn community, that is.

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Ask A Wizard: Transformation and Golden Dawn Magick

Inspired by discussions I had recently on Facebook concerning my post on the Aura, here is my take on Transformation, one of the “Magic Of Light” formulae of the Golden Dawn.

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The Aura

The Human AuraRecent developments in my magical work have convinced me that the art of discerning the Aura is a hugely under-rated discipline, especially when it comes to applying it to ceremonial magick. I believe that the faculty of Auric vision is essentially the same discipline as catching a glimpse of whatever lies within the Triangle of Art in an evocation, or for discerning whether a talisman is effectively charged as a result of a consecration ceremony.

I even have a working hypothesis that Auric phenomena tie in with some of the more fantastic visual manifestations in magic, such as Invisibility and transformation. I argued this point with two magical colleagues recently: after all I reasoned, if some people can see the human aura – which is a paranormal visual phenomenon – is it so unreasonable to claim that invisibility and transformation can also take place, which are other types of paranormal visual phenomenon? This divided my audience: one guy admitted that it was at least an interesting idea, but the other attempted to tank the plank from my argument by claiming that although the Aura is real, it isn’t “paranormal”!

Well, whatever. I don’t believe that arguing that the aura is a non-paranormal but lesser-known natural phenomenon can sufficiently explain some of the things I have witnessed in my time. I do not claim to be the world’s greatest aura reader myself, but I have definitely seen people light-up, especially when they were engaged in magical activity. One of the most remarkable incidents which occurred to me was when I attended a talk on Reiki. The speaker, a Reiki master, said that as a result of practising Reiki for several years he had found his own psychic abilities increase and improve of their own accord. He then staged a little demonstration.

He got several volunteers – including myself – to attempt tofeelour own auras by the simple method of rubbing our hands together and then holding them close together – varying the distance between them, so as to detect any differences. Then he came round to each one in turn. “Now notice what happens when I put my hands between yours,” he said.

He placed his hands between mine: there was a flash of golden light in the air between his hands as he did so. “Ooh!” I cried. “I saw that!” It transpired that the speaker had indeed been attempting to send a current of Reiki between his hands, and wanted to know if we could detect it, either by noticing a change in temperature or, as in my case, by beholding a strange ethereal glow in mid-air which could not be explained by any light-source or reflection.

The thing is, the ability to gain at least a basic level of Auric-vision is both remarkably easy and fast. Developing it to a high degree however is what takes a lot of practice. Another magical colleague of mine showed the ease with which it was possible to teach basic auric vision by demonstrating it in the pub one evening (which of course is where all the best magic takes place!).  The first step was to acquire a plain black surface to view the results against: we improvised by hanging a black leather jacket on the back of a chair. He held up his own hands and got me to stare past them, and then got me to hold up my own: I noticed that a glow was hanging around them which I had not noticed before. The total time taken was less than a minute.

A magical system like, e.g., the Golden Dawn, presupposes that Adepts will possess “spirit-vision” – most obviously in the analysis of the Neophyte ceremony, where it is claimed that symbols appear in the aura of the candidate at key points in the ritual. Yet there is no teaching on how to attain this spirit-vision! There is plenty of instruction in regard to the use of Tattvas to develop clairvoyance, although this is more akin to seeing visions on the astral plane than ones which occur in physical space. This is why I believe that more emphasis should be given to training people up in basic psychism, before expecting them to accomplish tasks of ceremonial magic.

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