Flame War or Peace on Earth?

In an article entitled: "Is David Griffin the King of Witches?", Morgan Eckstein today rekindled the decades old, Golden Dawn flame war, writing:

"For those of you who do not know David Griffin, perhaps some context is in order. Griffin's Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn big claim to fame is that they claim that they to be the only legitimate Alpha and Omega group in the world, the only living successor to Mather's original Order, and the only Golden Dawn Order in the world to have contact with the original Third (Secret) Order that provided instructions to Mathers. 

Griffin collects old documents and lineages like I collect cats. 

Now, I will admit that my biggest problem with Griffin is the simple fact that if you go by the rules of the 1999 reformation that I am no longer an Adept. The 1999 reformation that Griffin's Order declared stripped every existing Adept of their Grade. The only way to regain your Adept Grade? Simple, join Griffin's Order."

Season's Greetings to you too, VH Frater Morgan!

I had hoped that the internet flame war that has decimated our Golden Dawn community for nearly two decades was dead and buried once and for all by now.

Let us all hope your new flame article is merely an isolated incident and does not signal the beginning of yet another decade of non-stop, daily attacks on the HOGD/AO, its leaders, and its members on a vast array of fora, websites, and blogs belonging to leaders of other Golden Dawn orders, combined with extremely nasty lies about our order and its leaders published simultaneously on tandem "anonymous" websites and blogs. You will recall that this has been the case for many years over the last two decades.

Thankfully, rank and file members of every Golden Dawn order and temple realized how badly the Internet Feud harmed our entire Golden Dawn community and let their leaders know how fed up they were with it. I have no doubt that the good brothers and sisters of the Bast temple in Denver share this sentiment with their brothers and sisters in the HOGD/AO as well.

I am deeply grateful to Golden Dawn members around the world for letting their leaders know they do not approve of flame war on the internet, deliberate misrepresentations about other Golden Dawn orders, nor attacks on their leaders on the internet. I personally have far better things to do with my time than refuting - over and over - the same bottomless sacks of misrepresentation about our order.

In the interest of continuing peace and harmony in our Golden Dawn community, I am taking time away from my family today to nip this nonsense in the bud and to set the record straight yet once again.

To begin with, the HOGD/AO recognizes that there exist today a vast array of Golden Dawn orders and temples, most of which are based on the Golden Dawn material published by Israel Regardie. Many of these orders have evolved in their own, unique direction. Certain Golden Dawn orders strive to be more like Freemasonic Rosicrucian bodies like the SRIA. Others have developed in a Thelemic direction and yet others like the EOGD in a decidedly New Age direction.

I personally have learned over the years that such diversity in our Golden Dawn community is a very good thing - as it gives people more choices. Our order, the HOGD/AO is on record - over and over - as officially embracing this diversity.

In the same vein, the GH Chiefs of the HOGD/AO have likewise further developed the HOGD/AO curriculum in a uniquely Hermetic and Rosicrucian direction. We indeed reformed the HOGD/AO in 1999 in order to better meet what we understood as the needs of GD aspirants in the 21st Century. Yes, we do now teach our initiates ritual magick from day 1 instead of making them wait until the Second Order any longer. We also indeed teach and initiate today in the entire Golden Dawn system all the way up the entire Tree of Life. It is also even true that beyond the published Regardie material, our order teaches advanced ritual magick, Hermetic alchemy, and Hermetic Internal alchemy as a path of energetic evolution in the higher Grades of our order, beginning with the 5=6, Adeptus Minor grade.

It is utter nonsense that our order has somehow stripped you of your Golden Dawn grades or in any way deprived you of your status as a Golden Dawn Adept. Your claim that the only way you can get your grades back is to join our order is utter poppycock. Even your suggestion that the HOGD/AO somehow claims exclusive access to the teachings of Hermetic Internal alchemy is both patently false and deliberately misrepresentative. 

We have stated - over and over that - although we do initiate in these sublime Hermetic and Rosicrucian teachings - we certainly have no exclusive access to them. There are numerous other esoteric schools like our own - although most others until present remain more occulted than we.

The truth is, Morgan, that our order has made great efforts - over and over for years now - to foster and maintain peace and harmony in our Golden Dawn community. The only things we do, in fact, object to are fraud, exploitation, or public deception under the banners of the Golden Dawn. I have no doubt that the brothers and sisters of the Bast temple agree with us that these things should not be happening.

Morgan, I personally enjoy many of the fine articles on your blog. You have a great sense of humor and are an excellent writer. It is, however, high time that you begin to extend the same courtesy and respect to the good members of the HOGD/AO that we extend to you and the members of the Bast temple.

As a Pagan, you certainly ought to understand what extremely bad form it is considered in the Pagan community, for one Pagan tradition to attack or badmouth another. In my opinion, the various temples and orders in Golden Dawn community ought to adopt this convention as well. Our Golden Dawn community certainly could the benefit from this wisdom.

It is in this spirit that I close this letter by extending Season's Greetings to our Golden Dawn brothers and sisters in the Bast temple as well as in all other Golden Dawn temples and orders around the world.

May we each - severally and individually - redouble our resolve and efforts to foster and maintain fraternal harmony and brotherly love in the Golden Dawn community as we enter the second decade of a new Millennium!

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua

G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis (David Griffin)

Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

 

"Ex Deo Nascimur.

In Yeheshua Morimur.

Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"