Golden Dawn Harmony

Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn in all temples and orders everywhere:

I was just reading various Golden Dawn Blogs and came across a fascinating post by Morgan Drake Eckstein musing about the possibility of Golden Dawn Unity. Morgan asked:

Morgan Drake Eckstein
"Unified Golden Dawn, is it even possible?"

"Over the last week, since the posting of several Golden Dawn videos posted up on YouTube by the Hermetic Golden Dawn (Alpha et Omega in the Inner), I have been thinking about the possibility of an unified Golden Dawn. The conclusion that I have came to is that we are as far away from an unified Golden Dawn as we were in 1901 after the Revolt of the Adepts. For those who have not studied Golden Dawn history, there were several rival Orders that came out of the Revolt; none of which really got along with one another and all claiming to be the only one really working the system properly.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
This last week, several of the Golden Dawn forums and blogs have been busy talking about the errors and merits of what was presented in the videos. Some mud was also slung. Part of it is merely because of past wounds earned during the struggle to be the last Order standing in modern times; the other part was actually based on differences in training and experience. In the end, everyone has agreed that if you don't agree with their opinion, you are wrong.

Or almost everyone. And this makes me think that the internet and legal battles have insured that no peaceful co-existence is possible among the Big Name Orders, and that the little independent lodges should prepare to be destoryed. I so hope that this is merely the paranoia whispering in my ear like a bloated toad.
[For those who do not know, I have been involved in several battles in both the ceremonial and wiccan communities that boil down to "I am the only legitimate XXX in the entire state"; it makes one a touch paranoid, especially one has been expelled merely for not giving absolute obedience to a leader.]
At this point, any call for a unified Golden Dawn is going to be shouted down. I am open to being proven wrong. But in order to have an unified Golden Dawn, or even one where people get along peaceful with the members of the other Golden Dawn Orders, trust has to be possible. And this last week has proven that trust is a rare item in our community."

Thank you, Morgan, for your kind words about the videos. The whole point of making them was merely to share joy about the 100th Anniversary of the Alpha et Omega with the rest of the Golden Dawn community. Despite the personal attacks, it has still been worth it. In fact, you have given our order a marvelous idea.

You are absolutely correct that we need more unity in the Golden Dawn. This was the dream of our late Praemonstrator of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, Marquis Nicholas Tereshenko.

The real question is, however, what sort of model can unite the Golden Dawn? I concur that any sort of a "Unified" Golden Dawn as a single organization is a pipe dream. Would you, Morgan, ever want Bast temple to sacrifice its independence and autonomy? I don't think anyone would want anything like this.

But there is another model and paradigm that I think many of us in the Golden Dawn community will be able to get behind. How about:

"Golden Dawn Harmony"

In my opinion, a big part of the problem of Golden Dawn quarreling is really about "too many Chiefs and not enough Indians." What I mean by this is that too many Golden Dawn Chiefs are putting their personal financial and egoic interests, like the marketing their orders, ahead of the spiritual development of their members.

I believe that most Golden Dawn members want Golden Dawn harmony, no matter which order they belong to. The factional problem isn't coming from rank and file Golden Dawn members.

But, at the end of the day, the Golden Dawn is not about Golden Dawn leaders and their interests. It is about Golden Dawn initiates and their spiritual development.

An important aspect of this problem is that leaders in the Golden Dawn community have a disproportionate public voice. Let's take, for example, the problem that has emerged in recent months of Golden Dawn leaders using blogs to market their orders and criticize other orders. This problem has been made even worse by "anonymous defamation blogs" attacking other orders, also clearly with a marketing agenda.

This is obviously and clearly an abuse of the Blogoshpere and this is a great example of the larger problem. So what is the solution?

The solution is for Golden Dawn members to find their voice and to tell their leaders that they want Golden Dawn harmony. For example, the way to end the factional fighting in the Blogosphere is for more and more Golden Dawn members to start their own blogs and find their voice there as well.

The larger the legitimate Golden Dawn discussion becomes on real blogs of Golden Dawn members, the more difficult it will be for Golden Dawn leaders to hijack that discussion for their marketing agendas or anonymous trolls merely to defame other orders.

You see, in the Blogosphere there is no difference between you or I. What difference does it make to which Golden Dawn order you belong or do I? For that matter, what difference does it make what Golden Dawn Grade you hold or do I?

In the Blogosphere we are all equals. We each have an equal voice. Indeed, this is the beauty and power of the Blogosphere - that a even a Neophyte from a small, independent temple in Denver or Chicago has the same voice as a Magus from one of the largest Golden Dawn orders in the world!

The Blogosphere is not a platform for Golden Dawn marketing or for anonymous defamation of other orders. These are misuses of the wonderful opportunity that the Blogosphere presents to us that, in fact, endanger this incredible potential.

The Blogosphere is a place where we in the Golden Dawn community can all gather together as equals and discuss things that lay close to our hearts. Here there are no orders. Here there are no temples. Here there are no grades. Here we are all just Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn and we all have an equally important voice.

Numerous of our Golden Dawn brothers and sisters from a variety of temples and orders are already speaking out against the misuse of the Blogosphere by anonymous trolls to attack and defame other orders. Well, there is a simple solution to this problem, and you, my dear Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn are the solution.

What we need is a multitude of Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn, from all of the temples and all of the orders, each with his or her own Golden Dawn related blog. You each have the same right to be heard on your own blog as do I or any Golden Dawn leader.

How many of you are fed up to the gills with all of the constant bickering?

How many of you are fed up with Golden Dawn leaders constantly trying to demonize other Golden Dawn orders or their leaders?

How many of you are fed up with anonymous trolls spreading defamation that harms not only this order or that temple, but the reputation of the entire Golden Dawn?

Well, I say - Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn, the time has come to make your voices heard!

Far too long have Golden Dawn leaders had a disproportional voice in our community to that of their members.

And far too long have Golden Dawn leaders abdicated their responsibility to promote Golden Dawn harmony!

There is no need for us to go on shouting at one another. I have no doubt that there are many among us who have grown weary of all the shouting.
Let us instead speak softly with one another. For a multitude even of whispers is more powerful than the loudest shout!

And remember, the Golden Dawn is about YOU and your spiritual development.

Do you want Golden Dawn harmony? Then the time to remain silent is past. It is time for the silent majority of Golden Dawn members to find thier voices and to speak out in favor of Golden Dawn harmony.

We are magicians. Let us prove that our magic is true by together manifesting Golden Dawn harmony.

A Personal Invitation to the

Golden Dawn Harmony - International Conclave

Vernal Equinox (March 19-25, 2010)

Paris, France

Here at the HOGD/AO, we were already thinking about Golden Dawn harmony when we were making the YouTube ritual and conclave films in Paris. We were thinking, wouldn't it be nice if Golden Dawn brothers and sisters from every temple in the world had the opportunity to be here with us?

Well, guess what. This is exactly what we here at the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega are going to do.
We are inviting YOU right now - to the Golden Dawn Harmony - International Conclave on Vernal Equinox, 2010!
What better way to promote Golden Dawn harmony than with a solid week of lectures, rituals, workshops, and party together? And what better place to do this than in Paris in the Spring - and hosted by the world famous Ahathöor Temple, No. 7 founded in 1892 by S.L. MacGregor Mathers no less.
I believe that Golden Dawn intiates from around the world are greater than the differences between us. I also believe that the time has come to put our differences behind us once and for all. This is why we are announcing our next International Golden Dawn Conclave almost a full year in advance.
And this time we are extending a personal invitation to every single Golden Dawn brother and sister from any Golden Dawn temple or order anywhere in the world!
That's right. YOU are invited! All initiates of all Golden Dawn orders and temples. Even your leaders are welcome. In fact, we are even extending this invitation to initiates of Rosicrucian orders as well.
And speaking of which, we are already putting together another powerful panel of speakers for the conclave that this time will represent not merely the Golden Dawn, but a broad spectrum of the greater esoteric community as well.
Never before has there ever been such an amazingly international and eclectic Golden Dawn event like this. It is our sincere hope that leaders of other Golden Dawn orders are finally willing set quarreling and factionalism aside - or at least for a week, any way! Why not join us instead in promoting Golden Dawn harmony together in Paris?

And even if your leaders decide that fighting and factionalism is more important than Golden Dawn harmony, you are still invited anyway!

Like I mentioned earlier, the Golden Dawn is not about the egoic or financial interests of its leaders. It is about the spiritual development of its members.
YOU - the brothers and sisters of the Golden Dawn - are what matters - YOU and nothing else. If you and other Golden Dawn initiates want harmony - then what our leaders want can't stand in our way. Golden Dawn harmony will manifest - with us or without us!

Golden Dawn initiates and leaders can either get on the harmony train with the rest of us - or they can get left behind at the station.
Either way, Golden Dawn harmony is an idea whose time has come - this train is on a roll - and nothing can to stop it!
Why?
Because the vast majority of Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn from all around the world want peace and harmony in the Golden Dawn community - no matter which temple or order they belong to.
And because together - in harmony - there is no force in the universe that can stop us!
See you in Paris - at the Golden Dawn Harmony International Conclave!

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua

David Griffin

G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis

Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

"Ex Deo Nascimur.

In Yeheshua Morimur.

Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"

The Ritual Magic Manual, the 1999 Golden Dawn Reformation, and Defamation Attacks against Alpha et Omega Members

On Sincerus Renatus' Golden Dawn Blog, Frater Peregrin commented:

Thank you once again for another very interesting essay. There were elements there new to me and it was very well put together. As you may know (being a member of a small Australian Order) I have no connection to the larger European or American Orders and have not read much about the 1999 Reformation. I am therefore intrigued that the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega has a Rosicrucian Outer Order. Am I correct in assuming this change was instituted to bring the whole Order more in line with some of the traditional European Orders that did not have an Hermetic Outer Order and Rosicrucian Inner Order? (an innovation of the GD and its immediate precursors). Obviously you are not in a position to reveal any secrets. But I am curious if at Neophyte in the ROAO one is (re)confirmed as a member of the Body of Christ, which many people see as a hallmark of the Rosicrucian mystical tradition. Please accept these questions in the spirit they are made - genuine curiosity. Thank you.

Care Frater Peregrin,

Thank you for your interest in the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega. You will recall that when the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in 1888, the outer was Hermetic rather than Rosicrucian. It was the Second Order that was Rosicrucian, the R.R. et A.C. It was actually S.L. MacGregor Mathers himself who changed this in 1909 when he founded the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega. In the Alpha et Omega, the entire three order superstructure became Rosicrucian, including even the outer order, although all three additionally remain firmly rooted in the Hermetic tradition as well.

Therefore, when we reformed the Alpha et Omega in 1999, we decided to make this distinction even clearer, by adding the five petaled Rosicrucian rose to the banners of our outer order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. With this addition, we symbolically announced to the world that the rose of the spirit has blossomed upon the cross of the Golden Dawn!

The reasons for the Rosicrucian Reformation of 1999 were many. First of all, the Golden Dawn was never intended as any sort of orthodoxy, with its teachings set in stone once and for all for all time. On the contrary, it has always been an extremely dynamic and evolving system.

Moreover, the publication of Golden Dawn material by Crowley and Regardie caused some interesting developments but also posed some serious problems. On the one hand, we have all of the growth in the Golden Dawn community that we are witnessing today. This has carried with is some surprises, like certain Golden Dawn orders branching off in untraditional yet interesting Thelemic and New Age directions and introducing unconventional ideas like Astral Initiation.

Our order, on the other hand, has remained traditional and faithful to the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions. This also has meant, however, that we found ourselves in the odd situation of continuing to require people to swear oaths of secrecy about material that had meanwhile become readily available in any bookstore. Even the magical system of our Second Order, the R.R. et A.C., had been published and could be used by anyone. This made it extremely odd for us to expect Golden Dawn initiates to wait until they got into our Second Order, the R.R. et A.C., to practice magic that they were practicing already and could readily buy in any bookstore. Believe it or not, however, this remains the case with other Golden Dawn orders until today!

Those of you who understand how magical egregores function will grasp what a terrible situation all of this creates. For example, there are even Satanists using our sacred pentagram rituals and Qabalistic and Enochian hierarchies for God-only-knows-what! Just drop by YouTube and search for "Pentagram Ritual" and see what comes up on the first page to see what I mean. The problem is that all of the energy of these rituals, since they are using the Golden Dawn's magical hierarchies, become a part of the Golden Dawn egregore, including the extremely negative energy of the rituals being performed by the Satanists you find on YouTube and others like them.

We therefore decided that something needed to be done. Thanks to the publication of Golden Dawn material by Crowley and Regardie, it was impossible to put the Genie back in the bottle. So, to begin with, I took this development yet one step further nad published the Ritual Magic Manual, making the old R.R. et A.C. system of Sephirothic, Elemental, and Astorlogical available to everyone in a user friendly format. This was primarily to help the Golden Dawn comunity, because the Golden Dawn leaders I had experienced in America didn't have a clue how to work the system beyond the Opening by Watchtower.

I was appalled by this situation. In fact, after I became a 5=6, one well known Golden Dawn leader took us inside the Vault to show us "Vault Work." What this individual then did with us was in reality a New Age, "guided fantasy" that was controlled down to the tiniest detail - like you read in path working or channelled books. This - we were told - was "scrying."

I asked this same Golden Dawn leader questions about using Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram to invoke the walls of the Vault and about which hexagrams, etc. to use to invoke a single square of the Vault wall. These questions were met with uncomfortable silence and a quick change of subject. Today, I find it amusing when I hear American Golden Dawn leaders criticizing my Ritual Magic Manual. Before I published this book, most of them didn't really even understand the distinction between Golden Dawn skrying and New Age guided fantasy!

Prior to my publishing the Ritual Magic Manual, most American Golden Dawn leaders could not perform more than the most rudimentary aspects of the R.R. et A.C. magical system (the LBRP, LBRH, and the Opening by Watchtower). They had no idea how to perform Golden Dawn astrological magic nor did they even fully understand what its purpose really is, since this is not clearly spelled out by Regardie, who himself was not even a Major Adept.

Please don't just take my word for this. Rather, please ask the American Golden Dawn leaders - the ones that keep publishing negative reviews of the Ritual Magic Manual and attacking the Alpha et Omega on their websites, fora, and blogs a few questions about advanced magical techniques I didn't publish in the RMM. You will see for yourself how incomplete their training is, in reality. Ask them, for example, which color pentagrams and from which angles, etc., you should use to invoke sub-angles, or better yet, to invoke individual squares of the Watchtower Tablets. Ask them which God Forms to use. You will see how their magical training leaves off with what I published in the RMM.

Or better yet, ask them which pentagrams or hexagrams to use and which names to vibrate to invoke any random square or any of the walls of the Vault of the Adepts. You will see that they do not know. Golden Dawn leaders should know these things by heart! They are well known to any of Second Order Adept of the Alpha et Omega because I circulate flying rolls on these subjects to deepen that training to Adepts of the Alpha et Omega beyond what I published in the RMM.

In writing the RMM, I made the R.R. et A.C. magical system more readily available to more people than ever before. Much of this practical knowledge had been all but lost to modern Golden Dawn orders. In return for my service, the Ritual Magic Manual, the Alpha et Omega and myself have been criticized and attacked over and over by competing Golden Dawn orders.

And this nonsense continues even until today. There is one Golden Dawn order, for example, that continues to falsely proclaim on their website, that the RMM contains "demonic invocation." I have repeatedly refuted these misrepresenations, even openly on their own forum. Nonetheless, they go on publishing these deliberate falsehoods, merely to try to scare people away from the manual and from our order.

Frater Dean Wilson on the Mishan Ha Echad Blog wrote:

Peregrin at Magic of the Ordinary made a somewhat distressed post (and one that I and many others can empathise with) on the state of modern Golden Dawn groups, the constant flame and turf-wars, and what has ultimately turned into a "Battle of the Blogs" in recent months. Sufficed to say, it is my intent that Mishkan ha-Echad will never be party to this kind of behaviour, which does no one in the Golden Dawn community, nor the name and spirit of the system, any good.

The HOGD/AO applauds you, Frater Wilson, for supporting a clean-up of the defamation against Golden Dawn groups flooding the internet. Our order particularly condemns the use of anonymous websites and blogs to defame any Golden Dawn order or personally attack their leaders.

I understand that there are some people out there that feel very frustrated becuase of how the HOGD/AO has been constantly attacked and defamed for years now. I can understand how some of you may wish to lash out against our attackers. Putting yourselves at their level is not the answer, however. I urge you to support our order's peace initiatve by showing restraint instead.

Frater Peregrin, on the Magic of the Ordinary Blog wrote:

Yes, it will great to end the ‘turf wars’ as you describe them. Being isolated in a small traditional Order in Perth, Australia, I have no background how they started. I do know they have cluttered up the Net and any searches on our tradition finds them fast. So, without taking any sides, I do like the idea of David Griffin’s that a first step should be to completely remove ALL flame, attacking, offensive posts/sites NO MATTER WHO put them up. Get rid of it ALL from ALL SIDES, so at least newcomers and seekers can see what our tradition is really about: love, service and light.

Thank you for your praise for this peace initiative that the HOGD/AO launched on the Vernal Equinox on 3/21/09. You will perhaps recall that I presented a list of specific URLS offending materials to one competing Golden Dawn order, and invited them to send a similar list of pages that they object to to our order. As a gesture of good faith the HOGD/AO even unilaterally ceased the approval of any posts whatsoever on our forum that were critical of any Golden Dawn leader.

This invitation and sign of good faith not only fell on deaf ears, but several Golden Dawn orders have actually used it to declare open hunting season on our order. The Golden Dawn order that we requested a reciprocal act of good faith from responded by turning their Yahoo forum into a non-stop, personal attack machine on the HOGD/AO, its members, and on me.

Most people hove already seen through how the HOGD/AO has been regularly attacked and defamed for years on the websites, fora and anonymous blogs belonging to competing Goden Dawn orders. For the benefit of those who might still be confused about this, here is a quick summary. There are several Golden Dawn orders that compete with the HOGD/AO for new members. These competing orders are upset about the Hermetic and Rosicrucian lineages and esoteric transmissions that we teach and transmit to our members in the HOGD/AO because all they have to offer students is the GD material that Regardie published.

So, to compensate for this deficiency, these orders try to scare people away from the Alpha et Ome with all sorts of personal attacks, by creating and spreading unfounded Nazi rumors, etc., and publishing all of this nonsense partially out in the open, and in tendem even with even nastier stuff on anonymous blogs, websites, etc.

These same groups continue to use smoke and mirrors to try to cover their tracks. They write blogs chock full of attacks on our order, for example, yet claim in the same blog that they are the ones being attacked! It's sad that this has become the best that some Golden Dawn orders have to offer.

A new round of such personal attacks broke loose last week on these competing Golden Dawn orders' fora and anon blogs, following our order's release on YouTube of a video documentary of the ritual and lectures at the 100th Anniversary of the Alpha et Omega in Paris from the Spring Equinox. Sadly, the competing Golden Dawn orders felt threatened by the success of our videos and launched an all out attack and defamation campaign. They even wheeled out again the same old tired and unfounded "Nazi" accusations they have been spreading for years, trying to scare people away from our order. This time, they even falsely claimed that the Rosicrucian Golden and Rosy Cross I wear in the videos is a "Nazi Iron Cross" and that our Hegemon is really a member of the "Ku Klux Klan," merely because his white cape has a hood!

These accusations, of course, have no basis at all in reality, but the competing Golden Dawn orders their fear-mongering tactics to scare new members away from us and to them anyway. I find all of this unnecessary because the HOGD/AO is not looking to "steal" their members anyway. With our YouTube videos, we were just trying share what our Order is doing. Our reward for sharing - pointless and petty attacks from other Golden Dawn orders.

All of this is particularly pointless because there is no reason for these orders to feel threatened to begin with. There is plenty of room for all of us in the Golden Dawn community. In fact, the Alpha et Omega is not even really competing with these Golden Dawn orders anyway, as we are far more selective than they are about who we let in and advance in Grade anyway. Our order is interested in quality rather than quantity of members. We are certainly not interested in the sort of mass membership these other Golden Dawn orders are pursuing. If we were, then why would we make it so difficult to get through our outer order, which is the most demanding of any Golden Dawn order that exists today?

In 1999, once my publication of the Ritual Magic Manual suddenly made the R.R. et A.C. magical system readily usable for Golden Dawn initiates and others everywhere, it became even more essential that the Alpha et Omega reform our magical system to protect our magical egregore. Thanks to the Ritual Magic Manual, Golden Dawn initiates everywhere suddenly became able to work the entire original astrological magic system of R.R. et A.C., despite the limitations of knowledge of of the leaders of their own orders this magical system. The problem was, however, that now even the Satanist crowd you find on YouTube when you search for "pentagram ritual" could use the entire system as well!

Therefore we set out to reform the order along traditional Hermetic and Rosicrucian lines. Thanks to the Ahathoor Grand Temple in of the Alpha et Omega in Paris, the A.O. possesses all the esoteric transmissions and more, that once had been used to create the original Golden Dawn system. We still, nonetheless, did not simply eliminate all published material or we would no longer really be a Golden Dawn order.

We therefore instead took a pragmatic approach, and moved everything published to our outer order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This transformed the Alpha et Omega into a magical order from the very beginning. Therefore, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega remains until today the only Golden Dawn order that will teach you how to practice magic from the very beginning.

This has not made us very popular among other Golden Dawn orders, as they make people wait for years to practice magic, only because all they really have of substance to offer their students is the published Regardie material. To compensate for this deficiency, these orders attack us on this point, and argue that this is dangerous because people are not ready for magic when they join the order. This is a just a silly argument though. What is so dangerous about giving people guidance and supervision to practice the magic they learned from the Regardie books and are already practicing anyway?

The real reason why these competing orders keep attacking us is their relative lack of substantial material to teach their students. Whereas the teachings of these attacking Golden Dawn orders begin and end with the published Regardie Golden Dawn material, the Alpha et Omega covers this material already at our beginners level in the HOGD. Where the other orders leave off, the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega just gets started!

Once we had beefed up our outer order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, we next set out with the real challenge; to create a new, unpublished curriculum for our Second Order, the R.R. et A.C. To accomplish this we first asked "What are the traditional sources used by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and W.W. Wescott in creating the original Golden Dawn"?

We obviously wanted to follow the same lines of synthesis he used and to remain firmly within the Golden Dawn tradition. We therefore resisted the temptation to go off in a Thelemic or New Age direction like competing Golden Dawn orders had done.

It is clear that the Golden Dawn falls clearly within the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions instead, and that these traditions are the real fundament upon which the Golden Dawn rests. Everything else builds on this foundation. For example, Golden Dawn, Qabalistic and Enochian magic overlay the Hermetic foundation of astrological magic. Since the Qabalistic and Enochian hierarchies were profaned through publication, they are already being used by everyone for who knows what, including by the Satanist crowd. It was therefore clear that these should only be used in our outer order with the rest of the published material.

We, of course, kept astrological magic in the Second Order, but building further upon the published material. Moreover, to protect the egregore of the Second Order from all of the negative energy being generated by the misuse of the published Qablalistic and Enochian hierarchies for harmful and selfish purposes, we introduced unpublished early Egyptian, and Chaldaen magical hierarchies, unpublished sigils, etc into the Second Order.

We also introduced vast Tarot material from pre-Golden Dawn, Rosicrucian sources, as well as the rest of the magical system that only had begun to be introduced by S.L. MacGregor Mathers with the I-A-O formula. This is a whole branch of Rosicrucian magic in itself, of which the I-A-O formula is only the tip of the iceburg.

Finally, since earlier Rosicrucian orders before the Golden Dawn had all practiced alchemy, it was essential to include this as well. This presented a serious problem, however, as Rosicrucian alchemy is a veritable labyrinth for the uninitiated. Although we possessed a vast wealth of historical Rosicrucian alchemical documents, we were nonetheless lost in this labyrinth.

And lost we would also have remained, had our decision to include Rosicrucian alchemy in our Second Order not attracted the attention of the secret order of Contintental European Hermetic alchemists that Mathers called the "Secret Chiefs of the Third Order." We met with them in Paris in 2002, and at this historic meeting, they transmitted to us all of the initiation rituals and teachings that had originally been intended for S.L. MacGregor Mathers to complete the Third Order of the Golden Dawn.

Once we had the Third Order curriculum material at our disposal, we were finally able to understand the complete initiatic function of the Second Order. This permitted us to finish reforming the A.O.'s Second Order to truly prepare Adepts for advanced Third Order work, not even yet been available yet in the time of S.L. MacGregor Mathers.

These are just a few examples of what you will find today in the reformed curriculum of the R.R. et A.C., the Second Order of the A.O. And this is just the tip of the iceburg! Still, I have gone into greater detail here than ever before in public, in order to put false rumors to rest coming from competing orders that accusing us of no longer being "traditional" Golden Dawn.

These orders also accuse of having destroyed the veil between the First and Second Orders. I can understand that they see things this way, because there is no veil between "our" Outer Oder and "their" Second Order, since all they offer there anyway is well known, published material. Within the Alpha et Omega itselfwe have in reality, however, actually repaired the veil that separates the First and Second order, which had been rent asunder by Crowley and Regardie.

Moreover, their accusation that the A.O. is no longer "traditional" Golden Dawn, raises an important point that helps to further distinguish the Alpha et Omega from other Golden Dawn orders. The Alpha et Omega is the inheritor of a vast array of Hermetic and Rosicrucian spiritual lineages and esoteric transmissions that enable us to train our Adepts, far beyond that which is available in the material published by Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie.

Since most competing Golden Dawn orders have only well-known, published material to offer their students, they are now attempting to impose some sort of "official canon" or "Golden Dawn Orthodoxy" that defines "traditional Golden Dawn" exclusively by the content of Golden Dawn historical documents and the Crowely and Regardie's GD publications. There are several major problems with this.

First of all, the Golden Dawn system as published by Regardie, remains a truncated system that leaves off at the relatively low, Adeptus Minor level. S.L. Magregor Mathers died before he could finish the curriculum for the rest of the Second Order or had received the Third Order material from the Secret Chiefs. The Alpha et Omega today, thanks to renewed intervention by the Secret Chiefs has finish the work of the Second Order begun by Mathers, healed the woulds inflicted by Crowely and Regardie, and today initiates and teaches in every grade of all Three Orders. I will write another blog at the future date on the true nature of the work of the three Magisteria of the Golden Dawn's Third Order. Let it suffice to say for now that the Grades of the Third Order are certainly not reserved merely for disincarnated "Astral Masters."

A second problem arises because certain Golden Dawn orders consider the Golden Dawn as an isolated phenomenon, as though the Golden Dawn had just fallen out of the sky. This myopic and limited vision of the Golden Dawn fails to consider the specific place of the Golden Dawn as a late flowering of the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions, and misguidedly attempts to eliminate the Continental Rosicrucian Roots roots of the Golden Dawn altogether.

In truth, the Hermetic and Rosicrucian spiritual lineages and esoteric transmissions are of great spiritual value, and go far beyond published Golden Dawn material. The Golden Dawn orders attempting to narrowly define the "Golden Dawn tradition" as a completely separate from the Hermetic and Roicrusian traditions, do so merely out of a sense of inadequacy. They are afraid because it is impossible for them to compete with the Alpha et Omega in this arena.

Unlike other Golden Dawn orders, the Alpha et Omega is a manifestation not only of the Golden Dawn, but of the sum total of the accumulated wisdom of the entire history of the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions. And so in 1999, Anno Reformation Fraternitatis, the Alpha et Omega, founded by S.L. MacGregor Mathers in 1809, added the five petaled rose to our banners, proudly proclaiming to the entire world that we are not just another Golden Dawn order, but that we are a truly Hermetic and Rosicrucian order as well.

And now, ten long years later, we have revealed our Banners and East and the West to the world! This is also why in the videos we recently published on YouTube, I wear the Golden and Rosy Cross of the 18th Century Rosicrucians, which was the forefather and model upon which the Rose+Cross lamen of the R.R. et A.C. was based on to begin with.

And with this revelation in our videos in celebration to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, we proudly proclaim to the entire world:

"Behold, brothers and sisters, for upon the cross of the elements of the Golden Dawn, the rose of the Spirit has blossomed and bloomed!"

It is a shame that - in response to our sharing - that our order has in return received such petty personal attacks. It is a pity that people even on a spiritual path so easily see an enemy in their neighbor rather than a brother. It is a unnecessary for people to feel threatened and attack what they do not understand. They could instead question it and try to expand their consciousness. After all, the Golden Dawn exists today because some asked “Why?” and then proceeded to discover the answers.

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua

David Griffin

G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis

Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

"Ex Deo Nascimur.

In Yeheshua Morimur.

Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"

The Golden Dawn of a New Millennium

by David Griffin - G.H. Frater Lux ex Septentrionis
Golden Dawn International Imperator

Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn,
I just read an interesting article by Frater Perigrin on his Magic of the Ordinary Blog.

First off, I would like to congratulate Frater Peregrin on a fine article. There remains much confusion here in the West regarding the true nature of initiatic spiritual lineages. Most people either think that lineage means apostolic succession as in the case of certain Christian churches or that it is based on mutual recognition as in the case of Freemasonry.

The spiritual transmissions that occur with initiation in the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, however, like that described by Frater Peregrin in the above linked article, are one of the best examples to help Westerners understand the true nature and value of spiritual lineages.
I am aware that this remains somewhat controversial, but if we in the Golden Dawn community could just get our egos and defensiveness out of the way, both the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions also have major spiritual lineages to transmit to intiates, that have been faithfully passed down in an unbroken chain, from Alchemical Master to Alchemical Disciple, for two entire decades of Centuries.
These Hermetic and Rosicrucian spiritual lineages should be transmitted to initiates and practiced. Although some Golden Dawn leaders disagree with me about this, I personally have no doubt that the Golden Dawn was originally created with the specific intention to serve as a vehicle to transmit these spiritual lineages.
What the Golden Dawn community has not yet fully understood, is that this is not a question of ego, or claiming some sort of "legitimacy." These Hermetic and Rosicrucian spiritual lineages can transcend faction and unite us all, while totally preserving the complete independence and autonomy of individual temples and orders.
The manifestation in recent years of these unique, Western spiritual lineages is an event of great historical and spiritual importance. We are talking about nothing less than our spiritual heritage, the Occidental equivalent of spiritual lineages like Zen and Tibetan Buddhism in the East.
In this way, the Golden Dawn has the potential of becoming a major spiritual force in the 21st Century because new, independent, Golden Dawn temples are spontaneously appearing much in the way that Freemasonic lodges spontaneously formed all over the place in the 18th Century!
Although this represents a major development in my thinking, in my current opinion today, the rapid and spontaneous formation of new and completely independent and autonomous Golden Dawn temples should be actively encouraged and as much guidance and support given as possible to emerging temples.
In this way, the Golden Dawn can become a major vehicle for the preservation, transmission, and practice of these secret but quite substantial Hermetic and Rosicrucian spiritual lineages. If the Golden Dawn is to have a major impact on spirituality in the new Millennium, it will be as a vehicle for the transmission to initiates of these Hermetic and Roscrucian spiritual lineages and practices.
On another note, I am pleased to see that the videos published on Easter by our order have inspired a passionate debate about the fine points of Golden Dawn ritual. There is clearly great public interest in Golden Dawn ritual and the public response to our films has been overwhelmingly positive.
When we made the decision to release these films, we knew already that there are petty individuals out there that attack before they think. Despite this, our order and no other Order, had the guts to post material in the open for critical review - even by those who don't understand it - or compete with our order. We went ahead anyway because we are confident enough to tolerate even the sad behavior of individuals who put personal grudges and vendetta ahead of the interests of the entire Golden Dawn.
Sure enough, these petty individuals did not disappoint me. They immediately rolled out any attack they thought might scare people most, for example, pretending my Golden Rosicrucian cross is an "Iron Cross." They quickly followed by anonymously publishing a blog proclaiming our Hegamon as dressed in the garb of the KKK and insinuating that our order is nothing but a nest of Nazi's.
It is interesting to note that the use of such abusive, ad hominem, attacks such as “you’re a racist,” “you’re an anti-Semite,” “you’re a Nazi” and so on is a common tactic used by extremists to scare people into silence.
Such extremist tactics are not about to work on me, however. There is not the slightest chance I will start defending myself by trotting out all my Jewish friends. Remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry was accused of being an “anti-dentite” because he didn’t like going to the dentist? The whole thing is absurd.
It is fascinating, however, to consider the following. Nazism is a form of fascism. Fascism is a form of saying: “only we have the truth and everyone must do it our way.” Have you noticed how all of the attacks on our order since we released the films on YouTube have been of precisely this extremist nature? In other words, the individuals who have been spreading these Nazi rumors have not only been using extremist tactics but have clearly demonstrated their having a fascist approach to the Golden Dawn themselves!
In fact, they are trying to deflect this onto our order in order to shift attention from their own fascist approach. This is a classic instance of "the pot calling the kettle black." We often find outside of us what we detest most about our secret selves. In the Johari window, there is an area called the “secret self.” It is an area of our personality that we cannot see but others can. It’s the psychological defect that causes a closet homosexual senator to take a militant stance against homosexuality.
Unlike those attacking us with extremist tactics and a fascist approach to the Golden Dawn, our order is completely open with material deemed appropriate for the community and we remain willing to discuss, debate, or explain where necessary. We have nothing to hide and we don't prescribe to doing something just because Regardie's book suggests it. Magic is a science and therefore it can be improved.
Our Order nonetheless is run in a way that maintains strict adherence to the methods of the Golden Dawn as the HOGD/AO interprets and understands them.
Our order has a passion for spreading the message of the Golden Dawn as we have received it and we will not allow bullying tactics stop us from spreading the message of the Golden Dawn and the advanced spiritual practices from the Hermetic and Rosicrucian lineages transmitted by my spiritual Teachers in Continental Europe.
In the reaction to our Order's release of these recent films, there is one more thing, however, that concerns me a great deal. The sort of criteria and methods of analysis that have been applied to our ritual performance attempt to assert some sort of "official canon" or "Golden Dawn orthodoxy" in ritual performance or spiritual practice attempting to impose only one "right" way to do things, based on a fascist approach to the published writings of Israel Regardie or other Golden Dawn historical documents.
I fundamentally disagree with this. Any attempt to establish some sort of "Golden Dawn Orthodoxy" in ritual performance or spiritual practice presents a serious risk of the Golden Dawn stagnating as nothing more than an object of historical curiosity.
On the contrary, I believe that the Golden Dawn community needs to come to better understand how the Golden Dawn is just one manifestation of the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions and how the spiritual lineages of these traditions have far more to offer than just the Golden Dawn.
Only by becoming an outer vehicle to transmit to initiates these spiritual lineages and practices, can the Golden Dawn can take its rightful place in the spiritual history of a new Millennium.
What Freemasonry was to the 18th Century, the Golden Dawn can become today - the vehicle of a powerful spiritual impulse for a new era.

Fraternally and sincerely,
David Griffin
Imperator Ordinis
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

The Golden and Rosy Cross Worn by International Golden Dawn Imperator, David Griffin

David Griffin - G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis

Golden Dawn International Imperator

Since the recent YouTube release of 13 videos from the Golden Dawn's 100 year Alpha et Omega Jubileum in Paris, there has been a great deal of interest about the cross I wear in the photo above.

Certain misinformed (or perhaps even ill intentioned) individuals have repeatedly and erroneously suggested I am wearing a German Iron or perhaps even Nazi cross.

As is so often the case, the truth in this instance even is more fabulous than the rumors people spread based on malice or mere ignorance.
In reality, I wear a cross of pure 24k gold, enameled red, that derives directly from the 18th Century German Rosicrucian Order known as the Gold und Rosenkreutz. There have been many variants of this same cross down through history. Here are a just few of them:

The Gold und Rosenkreutz Order, the Rosicrucian predecessor of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is, in fact, the source of origin of entire grade system of the Golden Dawn, as well as the mystic numbers of the grades, mystic titles, symbols, etc.

This same Golden and Rosy Cross has been worn by our elder Adepts of the Gold und Rosenkreutz Order, at least since the general reformation of 1777. Looking through the Tableau of the Gold und Rosenkreutz Order (from the reformation of 1763), as published by Magister Pianco in his Der Rosenkreuzer in seiner Bloesse, there is a column appended that describes the "signs" of the Grades. Looking at the Grades of Adeptus Major, Adeptus Exemptus and Magister Templi you will find the following signet of the Grade: "A Cross of Gold enameled Red." Here we have a clear reference of this symbol being in use by Rosicrucian initiates even as early as in 1763.

Considering that many of the names of Golden Dawn grades, mystic titles, etc., derive directly from the Gold und Rosenkreutz order, one can even argue that this cross is actually the prototype or "source of origin" of the Rose Cross lamen later adapted by the Golden Dawn's Second Order, the R.R. et A.C., and worn by its Adepts until today. This cross thus is an important symbol of the Rosicrucian lineage of the Golden Dawn that descends from the Gold und Rosenkreutz order, through the Asiatic Brethren, and the Frankfurt lodge "Zur Goldenen Morgonroethe" in Germany.

Although the historical origins of this Golden and Rosy Cross are to be found in the Rosicrucian Gold und Rosenkreutz order of 18th Century Germany, its mythical history extends much farther back in time. Here is the legend of this cross, as told in one of the unpublished initiation rituals of the Gold und Rosenkreutz Order:

At the beginning of our Christian era, there lived in Egypt a great initiate named Ormus; called Ormesius by the Greeks. Ormus was a priest of Serapis in the city of Alexandria and an initiate of the Hermetic mysteries. Ormesius forsaw the rise of Christianity, and thus was converted to the new religion by St. Mark in AD 44. To ensure the survival and transmission of the Royal Art, Ormus stripped the mysteries their Egyptian trappings, and re-veiled them in the symbols and rites of the new religion. To preserve the initiatic transmission as well, Ormesius founded a Hermetic mystery school called the ”Fraternity of the Sages of Light,” known to initiates through the centuries as the the Ordo Ormesius, or the Order of Ormus.

The Order has manifested to the outer world under many names and has undergone many transformations. In 1111, it was known as the Alliance of Magical Brothers. In 1222, following the defeat of the Crusaders in Jerusalem and the expulsion of Christians from the holy land, the surviving members of the order disbursed across the world. Thus the light of our fraternity was carried to France where the Knights Templar were formed by Hugues de Payns with the aid of the Alliance. Thus the red cross of our order became the primary emblem of the Knights Templar, who provided the spiritual implulse for a new Crusade to retake the holy land.

In 1314, when when the Knights Templar were supressed in France, the last Grand Master, Jaques de Molay, sent his nephew, the Count of Beaujeu, into the Templar crypt in Paris, to recover a chest filled with the esoteric secrets of the order. These documents were dispatched with an envoy of knights to Scotland, where they arrived in 1333, and were later used to lay the spiritual foundations for Freemasonry. Time and again across the centuries, our order has manifested and been known by many names. In 1444. It was known as the Order of the Cross, in 1555 as the Order the Rosy Cross, and in 1666 as the Brothers of the Golden Cross, and 1777 as the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross.

From the earliest times, initiates of our order have recognized one another by the primary ensignia of our order: an enameled red cross made of purest gold and worn over the heart of the Adept. This red cross of our order became the primary emblem of the both Knights Templar and the Golden Rosicrucians. Legend has it this cross was originally drawn with the blood of Christ upon a white shield by Joseph of Arimathea, and that this shield was carried by Galahad on the Grail quest.

This same cross has also been worn by numerous Templar Rites in Freemasonry, including the Strict Observance and the Scottish Templars. It is still worn today by high grade members of the Swedish Rite of Freemasonry, to which I additionally belong, and in which I hold the IX degree.
P.S. - I just noticed that Sincerus Renatus also just also wrote an excellent article about this same cross. As it contains valuable additional information, I suggest that you also read this article here.

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua
David Griffin
G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis
Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

"Ex Deo Nascimur.
In Yeheshua Morimur.
Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"

Alpha et Omega - 100 Year Jubileum - 1909-2009

Easter Sunday, 4/12/2009
Happy Easter Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn of all Orders and Temples!

May the light of the Rose+Cross shine brightly today upon all of us. I am sorry it took me so long to follow up since my return from the Ahathoor Temple No. 7 in Paris last Monday. This week has been a wirlwind since my return and I wanted to have everything ready to share with you on Easter Sunday. Well, here it is.
In reality, I did not go to Paris merely for the Equinox Ritual at the Ahathoor Grand Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Actually the Ahathoor Mother Temple was host to the 100 Year Centennial Jubileum Celebration of S.L. MacGregor Mathers' founding the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega in 1909.
This year's International Conclave was for the Second Order and above, so we convoked the International College of the Adepti of the Alpha et Omega as well. The festivities lasted several days as we initiated in all grades of the Second Order and there were marvelous lectures from four separate A.O. Imperators!
The good news for you is that this time we filmed everything - so now you can also be a part of this exiting event - even if you were unable to be there with us in Paris! I opened the conference by greeting our Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn around the world. Here is the video of the opening festivities (note that the speeches always follow bits of ritual):

Here you will enjoy more ritual, and information about the Hermetic and Rosicrucian Roots of the Golden Dawn.

Many of you read the recent weblog I wrote upon my return from Paris. Unsurprisingly, I was once again attacked on an anonymous blog, this time criticized by a post alleging that the Ahathoor Temple in Paris today is not the temple that S.L. MacGregor Mathers founded in 1892.
Well, the truth is usually far more interesting than anonymous, strife stirring rumor, and the modern history of the Ahathoor temple certtainly fits this criteria! In fact, Jean-Pascal Ruggiu, G.H. Frater Lux Aurorae, gave a fascinating lecture about how his research into the history of the Ahathoor Temple led him to Marquis Tereschenko, who eventually reconsecrated Ahathoor Temple in 1992.
I don't want to ruin this fascinating story for you, as here is G.H. Frater Lux Aurorae to tell you the whole story himself:

Next, we were all treated to a wonderful lecture on the Gold und Rosenkreutz order and the Rosicrucian roots of the Golden Dawn in Germany by V.H. Frater D.L.M., the Imperator of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn® for German speaking countries:

Few people realize that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's Imperator for Scandinavia, V.H. Frater Sincerus Renatus, actually was born in Poland. Ever true to these roots, V.H. Frater Sincerus Renatus, has a particular love for the Qabalah of the Shabbathaian movement in messianic Judaism, particualrly as it filtered down with the followers of Jaqob Frank. The story of the Qabalistic Roots of the Golden Dawn is a particularly fascinating one, involving many of the leading figures from this movement who found their way into the Order of the Asiatic Brethren, then later into the Jewish Lodge at Frankfurt, the famous, Zur Goldenen Morgonroethe Lodge. VH Frater Sincerus Renatus' lecture on the Qabalistic roots of the Golden Dawn is bound to become a classic, and adds many pieces to the jigsaw puzzle of the Continental European origins of the Golden Dawn.



Finally, the International Conclave of the Adepti and the 100 Year Jubileum concluded with my keynote address on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, the Hermetic Tradition, and the Golden Dawn. Since there has been so much controversy surrounding the Emerald Teblet of Hermes since the recent translation by Nineveh Shadrach of the Magic Society of the White Flame, I thus attempted to shed new light on the Emerald Tablet, as revealed by Apollonius of Tyana's Book of Causes, in which the earliest extant version of the Emerald Tablet was originally published, together valuable commentaries essential to its proper understanding.

So Brothers and Sisters, there you have it.
It is my sincere hope that some of the factionalism between Golden Dawn orders and temples will now die down, so that at our next International Golden Dawn Conclave ALL brothers and sisters of the Golden Dawn may attend, regardless of what order or temple you belong to. This was the dream of our cherished, late Praemonstrator, Marquis Nicholas Tereschenko, and perhaps we will yet see his dream realized in our lifetime.
Until then, we are this year at least able to share these precious videos with you!

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua
David Griffin
G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis
Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega
"Ex Deo Nascimur.
In Yeheshua Morimur.
Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"

Greetings From Paris & Peace In The Golden Dawn Community

Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn,

Greetings from Paris, France, home of the Ahathoor Temple No. 7, founded by S.L. MacGregor Mathers in 1892, the Grand Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn!

Over the last week I have not had much time to observe what has been happening on the Internet, as I have been here in Paris, France, where I presided over an International Conclave of the College of the Adepti of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, hosted by the Ahathoor Temple No. 7, Grand Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Mother Temple of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega.
These events hosted by Ahathoor Temple No. 7 were extremely well attended, marvelous experiences; with Golden Dawn Adepts and Initiates in attendance from France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, the UK, Spain, Sweden, Canada, and the USA. I will blog more about the Ahathoor Temple Equinox ritual and all of the other exciting events once I get back to the USA. (I will have plenty of photos to share with you from the Ahathoor Temple and events here in Paris as well).

Needless to say, I have been away from the Internet for nearly a week. Looking at the net this morning has not been a pleasant experience. The defamatory anonymous websites that have plagued the Golden Dawn community for decades have now spread to the Blogosphere. I guess this was to be expected following the olive branch offered by the HOGD/AO on the Vernal Equinox.

There are obviously forces and people that want the ENTIRE Golden Dawn community and tradition to look bad. These forces will clearly stop at nothing to stir continuing strife between the Golden Dawn orders and temples.

Two new ANONYMOUS BLOGS, one attacking Robert Zink and the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, and another attacking the HOGD/AO and myself have appeared in the Blogosphere over the last week.

Despite EOGD's continuing harsh criticism of HOGD/AO and its leaders on the EOGD blog, the HOGD/AO and I nonetheless stand firmly by our Brothers and Sisters in the EOGD in condemning all anonymous defamation of both of our orders, whether on anonymous websites or blogs.

This continuing anonymous defamation of both our orders further underscores the need for unparalleled cooperation between Golden Dawn orders, and particularly the need for HOGD/AO and the EOGD to build better relations with each other.

The first and most difficult task before us it to build multilateral trust.

This will not be an easy task, as is evidenced by the buzz in the Blogosphere since our Vernal Equinox announcement.

For example, Morgan Drake Eckstein of Bast Temple in Denver wrote on his Gleanings From the Dawn blog:

Given the history of the Golden Dawn community, I am leery of any olive branch that is held out. For the matter, I am leery of the statement that we must never have another witch war. I would love to see the occult community get along with one another. But on the day it happens, Ha-Satan will skating to work and Hel, his Northern counterpart (sort-of), will inherit a tropical paradise. I doubt that I am alone in being paraniod. While I have yet to consult with my fellow Bast Temple members about the latest development in the Golden Dawn saga, I am sure that a vote of caution will result.

Morgan: Given the history of legal actions and negative marketing between Golden Dawn orders, your caution is very wise. We are cautious as well, and frankly, many HOGD/AO Senior Adepts are so mistrustful that they advise me against pursuing the cause of peace any further. Still, the initiative to improve relations between Golden Dawn orders is very real, and has already been backed up by actions on both sides, although admittedly small ones, rather than mere words or empty posturing. Beginning at the Vernal Equinox, the HOGD/AO unilaterally took the first steps. Not only did we publish our Equinox blog message, but HOGD/AO also unilaterally took the step of refusing to approve any posts critical of any other Golden Dawn orders, temples, or leaders on our Yahoo forum. This was an important gesture of good faith on our part.

In return, HOGD/AO asked Robert Zink and the EOGD to respond in kind and no longer approve any posts critical of any other Golden Dawn orders, groups, or temples, including our own. To their great credit, all negative posts attacking our order and its leaders ceased to be approved on the EOGD Yahoo forum thereafter. This positive action by Robert Zink and the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn should not be overlooked and is to be highly and exceptionally commended.

The cessation of the publishing of posts critical of both EOGD and HOGD/AO on their mutual Yahoo fora is an extremely important step in the right direction. Indeed, history may bear witness to this was an important turning point in the history of the Golden Dawn.

Admittedly, however, this is not enough. There still remains plenty offensive and inappropriate content criticizing other Golden Dawn orders on the websites of several Golden Dawn orders or their members.

I propose that ALL of the Golden Dawn orders next move simultaneously and MULTILATERALLY to remove all objectionable content from our respective websites as well as from the websites of our members. The HOGD/AO will obviously not do this alone or unilaterally, as Senior Adepts of HOGD/AO argue that Robert Zink and the EOGD would merely use this to attempt to gain an unfair business and marketing advantage.

The mistrust of numerous of HOGD/AO's Senior Adepts has been reinforced by recent posting on the EOGD blog at golden-dawn.blogspot.com where the EOGD members continue to post weblogs critical of our order that attempt to blame everything on the HOGD/AO and myself and that do not take any responsibility for the objectionable material still remaining on the EOGD operated websites, etc.

To be quite frank with you, there are members of the HOGD/AO who caution me that I should not trust Robert Zink and EOGD at all. They argue that Robert Zink does not want peace under any circumstances. They argue that EOGD will never take down the objectionable material from the EOGD websites because Mr. Zink uses this material to gain an unfair marketing advantage by trying to scare people away from HOGD/AO. These same HOGD/AO members also argue that Robert Zink needs conflict with the HOGD/AO because he needs an enemy to unite his order.

I am certain that, in light of the above, you can understand that the HOGD/AO will obviously not remove objectionable material alone or unilaterally.

I, however, am willing to take a chance and to give Robert Zink and the EOGD the benefit of the doubt. The time has come for us to build more and more trust.

I propose that all Golden Dawn orders next move simultaneously and multilaterally to remove all objectionable content from our respective websites as well as from the websites of our members.

As I mentioned before, trust must be built. The mutual cessation of approval of hostile posts on both the EOGD and HOGD/AO Yahoo Fora has helped a lot. There is no doubt about this. However, there is a great deal more remaining to be done.

Here is material that HOGD/AO deems inappropriate and would like to see removed:

A. From EOGD websites and Yahoo fora:

1. "The Truth about the Golden Dawn and a Few Dangerous Megalomaniacs!" (http://www.esotericgoldendawn.com/tradition_truthseries_megalomaniacs.htm)
3. http:// www. esotericgoldendawn.com/ouro_officialresponse.htm
and at:
4. http:// www. golden-dawn.org/bkrev_ritualmagicmanual.htm
5. "Beware! No Sex Magick in the Golden Dawn!" (http:// www. esotericgoldendawn.com/tradition_sexmagic.htm)
6. The 1432 posts remaining in the archives of the EOGD Yahoo! forum that are hostile towards HOGD/AO and its leaders.

(It should be noted that, while some of the above material does not mention our order or its leaders by name, it is clear in conjunction with anonymously published material to whom they are referring).

B. From the website operated by Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn member, Nagasiva Yronwood's website:
1. http://www.luckymojo.com/esoteric/occultism/griffinbio.txt
2. All pages from from the osogd.org site linking to the above.

C. Finally, the inappropriate page on the website operated by Aaron Leitch, member of the board of another Golden Dawn order and in clear violation of previous agreements at:
1. http://kheph777.tripod.com/rev_rmm.html

In return, HOGD/AO pledges likewise to remove all objectionably perceived material from our own websites and forum on an EQUAL and QUID PRO QUO basis. I formally request that leaders of Golden Dawn orders email me at Chief.Adept@Golden-Dawn.Com to discuss what material they would like to see removed from our websites, etc.

Many HOGD/AO members believe that Robert Zink will NEVER remove the above listed objectionable material the aforementioned reasons. They even caution me against continuing this initiative, as they believe that Mr. Zink and EOGD will merely try to use even this against our order. They believe that in response to this blog, they will merely attack us again on the EOGD blog, try to justify the objectionable content on their website, and to go on blaming everything on us while refusing to take any responsibility for their own objectionable material.

I disagree.

Robert Zink and the EOGD have already gained a little of my trust by doing the right thing once. They have since the Equinox ceased all publication of hostile posts on their Yahoo forum. Therefore, against the advice of senior members of HOGD/AO, I remain willing to give Mr. Zink and the EOGD every benefit of the doubt.

The anonymously published defamatory websites and blogs attacking EOGD as well as HOGD/AO (or any other Golden Dawn order or leaders) are harming the ENTIRE Golden Dawn community and tradition.

The only way to put a stop to this nonsense once and for all is for the ENTIRE Golden Dawn community to abandon blaming one another, set aside our differences, and take a united stand against the defamation, no matter who it is directed at!

Therefore, contrary to the belief of Senior members of HOGD/AO, I do not believe that Robert Zink needs an enemy so desperately that he would rather let the entire Golden Dawn community suffer just to go on trying to DEMONIZE the HOGD/AO or myself.

In fact, I believe the opposite. I believe that EOGD and Robert Zink are serious in wanting peace. I believe that their Pow Wow initiative was serious and that they still are serious about wanting peace now. I do not believe that this was just all empty posturing from them.

I also believe that Robert Zink and the EOGD will abandon trying to blame everything on HOGD/AO and will instead help us to end the defamation in every direction.

In short, I believe that Robert Zink and the EOGD will do the right thing.

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua
David Griffin
G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis
Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Chief Adept, R.R. et A.C.
Archon Basileus, Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

"Ex Deo Nascimur.
In Yeheshua Morimur.
Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"