R.I.P. Golden Dawn - By David Griffin

Due to the never ending Witch Hunt to defame the Alpha Omega, our members, our lineages, and our founder Mathers, leaders of competing Golden Dawn orders using fear mongering marketing, sock puppets, and anonymous attack websites and blogs have already nearly murdered the reputation of the entire Golden Dawn.

Many such attacks have been published by Mystical order leader and fear mongering negative marketer, Nick Farrell. For example, Farrell profaned the Mathers recension of our initiation rituals then wrote a defamatory, pseudo-historical attack novel posing as history (King Over the Water) trashing the reputation of our founder, S.L. McGregor Mathers.

In the same book, Farrell offended every member of the Alpha Omega by spreading false, fear mongering rumors of a non-existent "Alpha Omega religious and political cult." Farrell was later caught repeated attempting to distort Alpha Omega history, rewriting the AΩ article on Wikipedia with references citing only his attack schrift.

"Magus007" Unmasked: Another Nick Farrell Sock Puppet

Mr. Farrell's attacks on the A.O. continue even today, although the really nasty stuff Farrell now publishes on an anonymous attack blog, hiding behind his sock puppet, "Watcher."

The identity of the hidden puppeteer pulling the strings of "Watcher" is obvious to anyone who is familiar with Nick Farrell's writings. "Watcher's" writing style and talking points precisely match those of Farrell.

"Watcher" and Puppetmaster Nick Farrell

Perhaps Nick Farrell thinks that his sock puppet and anonymous blog are "cute" or is somehow harming only the Alpha Omega. He is sorely mistaken. Sock puppets and anonymous attack blogs have done more to harm the reputation of the Golden Dawn tradition than anything else.  "Watcher's" attack blog has even wheeled out the old false "Golden Dawn Nazis" slander again. This behavior is even more stupid than it is short sighted.

With real world political extremists in Greece already causing massive public confusion by calling themselves "Golden Dawn," these idiotic negative marketers, posing as so-called "spiritual" leaders, nonetheless continue to spread false rumors with sock puppets in anonymous blogs about Nazism in the Golden Dawn SPIRITUAL community!

Talk about self-destructive, suicidal behavior. But then again, one should not forget that Nick Farrell recently divorced himself and his order from the Golden Dawn tradition. In this light, Farrell's vicious sock puppetry makes perfect sense, if Farrell's true agenda is to completely destroy the Golden Dawn spiritual tradition.

In any case, fear mongering negative marketer "Golden Dawn leaders" have been using such sick, dirty "defamation as marketing" tricks for 20 years now. Just check alt.magick or the archives of half a dozen Yahoo fora and you will find vast reams of such idiocy.

One thing is certain. If the Golden Dawn spiritual tradition is to survive the damage of confusion caused by real life, Greek fascists today confusingly calling themselves "Golden Dawn," the Golden Dawn spiritual community can no longer afford short sighted, mean spirited, fear mongering marketing.

Such lunacy is directly responsible for anonymous blogs already easy to find on the Internet, falsely attacking all Golden Dawn spiritual tradition leaders (including me) as Nazis. I will not link to such trash, but a simple Google search for "Golden Dawn Nazi Truth" readily reveals just how harmful  anonymous blogs truly are to the Golden Dawn spiritual tradition as a whole.

Enough is enough already!

"Watcher": Nick Farrell's Attack Blog Sock Puppet

REVEALED: Secret Chiefs - Egyptian Roots of the Golden Dawn

by Golden Dawn Imperator


David Griffin

Various orders of today's Golden Dawn community share many aspects of ritual, teachings, and practice deriving from a common source. Nonetheless, there still do remain significant and important differences from one Golden Dawn order to the other.

In previous articles (here and here) we have examined how one important Golden Dawn offshoot, Arthur Edward Waite's "Fellowship of the Rosy Cross," abandoned Hermetic Magick in favor of Christian Mysticism. Waite's Mystical F.R.C. fraternity continues to exist even today, revived within the Secret College of the Societas Rosicruicana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.).

S.L. MacGregor Mathers "Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega" likewise continues to exist today, however, at the opposite end of the esoteric spectrum as the most Magical of Golden Dawn orders. Each of the other orders of the contemporary Golden Dawn community fall somewhere in between these two poles.

Between the poles of Mathers' Alpha Omega and Waite's Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, the distinction between Magick and Mysticism is by no means the only such polarity defining today's Golden Dawn community. 

The classical Golden Dawn is a late 19th Century manifestation of the Hermetic tradition, which, together with the Pythagorean tradition, preserved Egyptian initiatic mysteries down through many Centuries. The 1888 Golden Dawn is, in fact, best understood as a reformulation in Judeo-Christian symbols of ancient Egyptian mysteries to create an esoteric vehicle suitable for the 19th Century English speaking world.

Arthur Edward Waite took this reformulation even further in his Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, suppressing the Golden Dawn's Egyptian roots completely, in favor of esoteric Christianity. Contemporaneously, S.L. MacGregor Mathers' Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega further developed the Golden Dawn in a profoundly Egyptian direction, which became visible in March 1899, when Moina and S.L. MacGregor Mathers publicly performed the "Rites of Isis" on the stage of the Theatre Bodiniere in Paris.

The prominance given to Egyptian mysteries already in the earliest phases of the Alpha Omega is evident already at the opening of the earliest Mathers version of the Alpha Omega Neophyte ritual, which unlike all other Golden Dawn versions, opens:

"Fratres et Sorores of that section of the Mysteries of Egypt known as the Rosicrucian order of A.O..."

The Golden Dawn as it was in 1888, although it was extremely avant guard for its time in admitting both women and men on an equal basis, nonetheless remained somewhat patriarchal. This is evidenced by the prominence given to the to the male God forms of Osiris and Horus in its hall of the Neophytes.

The Alpha Omega was revolutionary since its inception in giving great prominence instead to the great Mother Goddess, Isis, and her dark sister, Nephthys, which one does not find in any Golden Dawn order other than the A.O. An examination of the earliest published version of our A.O. Neophyte ritual makes this elevation of the feminine aspect of Divinity quite clear, where we find the following uniquely A.O. call and response:

Hierophant: Alpha
Hiereus: Omega
Hierophant: First
Hiereus: Last
Hierophant: Beginning
Hiereus: Ending
Hegemon: And the path of the world between. 

Hierophant: Dawn
Hiereus: Twilight
Hierophant: ISIS
Hiereus: NEPHTHYS
Hierophant: Star of the Morning
Hiereus: Star of the Evening
Hegemon: And the Path of the Light between.

The prominence given in the A.O. to the great Mother Goddess, Isis, found its foremost expression in  the "Rites of Isis" publicly performed by A.O. Elders, Moina and S.L. MacGregor Mathers, in Paris in 1899.

The Rites of Isis - 1899

Moina and S.L. MacGregor Mathers

Thanks to the Secret Chiefs of our Third Order, the A.O. today once again presents the "Rites of Isis" in addition to the soon to be unveiled "Rites of Nephthys."

The Rites of Isis - 2013
Leslie and David McQuade Griffin

Today the Rites of Isis and the Rites of Nephthys serve respectively as publicly performed Full Moon and New Moon rituals, which serve as a bridges between the Alpha Omega and the greater contemporary Pagan community.

The Greek letters of our name, "Alpha" and "Omega," allude to the Pythagorean initiatic school of Pagan Greece, an essential line of teachings within the A.O. The prominence given to the Goddess, Isis, refers to the Isinian mysteries of ancient Egypt, crown jewels of the Alpha Omega through our roots in the Hermetic tradition.

Thus, with our unique teachings and magical systems deriving from ancient Egypt, Chaldea, and Sumeria through the Pythagorean and Hermetic traditions, the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega today holds a place of profound Pagan influence among Golden Dawn orders.

Having shed important light on the differences between Golden Dawn orders, let us now move on to clarify, from an Egyptian initiatic perspective, a question of substantial interest for today's Golden Dawn community. Most students are already aware of the traditional division of the universe into four Qabalistic worlds (Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah) as well as the Qabalistic divisions of the Soul used by the Golden Dawn (Yehidah, Neshamah, Ruach, and Nephesh).

A recent blog I read by Peregrin Wildoak (that you can read here) led me to understand a need to clarify from an Egyptian perspective the functions of the subtle bodies that constitute the human being, which may also be understood as various aspects of the human Soul. 

For this clarification, I approached Hermetic Master Lux e Tenebris, my primary contact with the Secret Chiefs of the Alpha Omega's Third Order, and asked him to clarify this point from an Egyptian initiatic perspective. 

Below follows the reply from Master L.e.T:

The Subtle Bodies and the Human Soul

by Frater Lux e Tenebris

special envoy of the

Secret Chiefs of the Third Order

I dedicate the following to the Sorores and Fratres who wish to better understand the light of the mysteries that shine forth from the Isinian temples of ancient Egypt. There is much talk of subtle bodies or various divisions of the human Soul, dividing it into 2, 3, 4, 7, 24, etc. parts. 

I have been asked by my disciple, Frater Lux ex Septentrionis, to shed light on this subject from the point of view of the Isinian initiatac school of ancient Egypt. 

Before I begin, let me make clear that the human being and the Universe should always best be considered as a single, living organism, which contains within itself the four Elements that constitute everything. 

To those well versed in Egyptian religion, who may object, saying that my words below are incomplete, let me assure you that they are not. I have, however, confined my words to the absolutely essential, in order to facilitate comprehension by those unfamiliar with these concepts. 

I. The Sekhu or Khat - "The Body that Devours." (Physical or "Saturnian" Body as in ruled by time) The Sekhu or Khat is the physical Body that lives and dies, eats, devours, renews, reproduces, etc. It is a sensitive and dense body containing meat, bones, corneous tissue, etc. It is also matter that it is created, serves its function, and then transforms. It is physical matter that we can touch and see and perceive with our five senses. 

Color: Black

Element: Earth

Characteristics: Stimuli, such as hunger, thirst, sleepiness, concupiscence. Physical sensations (warm; cold, pain, pleasure, fatigue, vigor, etc.).  

II. The Ka - "The Body that Feels" ("Astral" or "Lunar" Body) The Ka is a subtle body composed of magnetism and vital energy. The Ka derives from the Sekhu or Khat like the Moon reflects the light of the Sun. The Ka is a more subtle body emanating from first and constituting its denser sensibility - nerves, nerve centers, the brain, etc. In the created world, the Ka is also magnetic and electrical energy. Subtle matter, magnetism and electricity, odic force, also called Astral Light. 

Element: Water

Color: Green

Characteristics: Sensory impressions; instincts, conscience, moral pain, feelings and passions (fear, courage, euphoria, depression, insecurity, love, hatred; goodness; badness, etc.). Sense of order or tendency to disorder. Desires; aspirations; attachments, etc.

III. The Ba - "The Body that Thinks." (Mental or "Mercurial" Body) The Ba is a more complete individuality emanating from the preceding two bodies. The Ba is mentality or the Mental body, winged at both the head and feet. The Ba is the constituent part of the human being, most in contact with the Divine. The Ba is the most subtle, or thinking aspect of the human being.

The Ba represents the directing principle of the Universe and of matter. In the modern world, we many better understand this by considering Quantum physics and Quantum mind. The Ba represents the subtle forces underlying universal creation.

Element: Air

Color: Light Blue

Characteristics: Intelligence and will, intuition, thought, creation, spiritual love, neutrality, truth, directing and willed concrete ideas, sense of freedom, premonition and precognition, dominion over the Astral body and thus over the physical body as well. 

IV. The Akh, Khu, or Sahu - "The Body of Light" or "Divine Spark" ("Solar" Body also called "Divine Genius" in the Golden Dawn). The Akh, Khu, or Sahu represents Divine individuality, which manifests in the human being by virtue of the Ba, which in its turn manifests through the Ka, and this through the Sekhu or Khat. The Akh, Khu, or Sahu participates in universal life, unique and eternal. It is the source of vitality, both physical and spiritual. It is the light of eternal consciousness, beyond space and time. 

Element: Fire

Color: Brilliant Red

Characteristics: There is not any point in listing characteristics of the Akh. This must be lived through experience as it is beyond mind and intellect. I add only the following quote from the Adept Fulcanelli:  

"As long as fire exists, matter will not cease in its arduous ascent towards integral purity; passing solid form (earth) to liquid form (water), and then to the gaseous state (air) and then to a radiant state (fire). 

As long a fire shall exist, human beings will be able to exercise their industrious activity on the things that surround them and, thanks to this wonderful igneous instrument, will be able to submit them to their own will, to mold them, to subject them their own purposes. 

As long as fire shall endure, human beings shall be directed towards relationship with the Divine - and the creature shall better know its Creator." - Fucanelli

Let us recall, in conclusion, that the above Egyptian model exists only to better and more concretely understand the human Soul. It does not mean that this division literally exists in human beings. Who asserts this acts like a child who believes in fairy tales, for these four bodies completely interpenetrate one another, and the physical human body contains the other three bodies not only within every cell, but also within each molecule and every atom. 

- Lux E Tenebris

In addition to the above, I wish only to remind our readers yet again, of the stark contrast between the diametrically opposed Mystical and Magical approaches to spirituality. Whereas the Mystic seeks union with the Divine without, through subordination or "loosening" of the ego, Magicians instead are conquerors of the ramparts of heaven.

Magicians seek not union with any sort of Divinity outside ourselves. We seek rather to liberate the "Divine spark" that lies hidden within each human being from the chains of matter.

This now brings us full circle - back to the unique call and response that opens the A.O. Neophyte ritual, which we discussed at the beginning of this article. The final strophe, given below, alludes to this "Divine spark" - as well as to the Pythagorean tradition of Pagan Greece, which, together with the Isinian mysteries of ancient Egypt, figure prominently in the Magick of the Alpha Omega, as they do in no other Golden Dawn order.

Hierophant: Youth
Hiereus: Age
Hierophant: Increase
Hiereus: Decrease
Hierophant: PROMETHEUS
Hiereus: EPIMETHEUS
Hegemon: And the path of Man between.

Prometheus and the "Divine Spark"

We, Hermetic Magicians and Alchemists of the A.O., do not despise matter, nor even so-called "things of the flesh." Instead, we see therein a "Prima Materia" to be purified with fire - to be transmuted in its fourfold ascent through the elements, as so eloquently stated by Master Fulcanelli above...

... until one day this "Divine spark," this "Gold of the Philosophers" shall, liberated from the chains of matter, take its rightful place - immortal and eternal - among the Gods!

Alpha Omega

Because we make Magicians!

Click HERE to explore our Outer Order, undergraduate level Magical training program, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn!"

Don't miss:

The Golden Dawn Website

The Journal of the Golden Dawn Research Center

The Golden Dawn FAQ

The Golden Dawn YouTube Channel

The Golden Dawn Channel on Blog Talk Radio

Master Magicians and Golden Dawn Apprentices (Reply to Nick Farrell)

by Alpha Omega Imperator

David Griffin

Frater Nick Farrel recently wrote an article entitled "Apprenticed to Magic". You can read it here.

Nick Farrell

I am frankly surprised how much there is to agree with in this article.

Yes, we DO need to “put our foot down” and teach the right way to do things as I have written over and over, for example here.

Yes, there ARE crazy kids jumping into the deep end of the pool with the grown-ups, as I have written about previously here.

Nick’s experience suggests that “money will have to change hands.” The Alpha Omega agrees completely and looks forward to one less person attacking the A.O. for accepting dues.

Yes, there ARE too many “Orders” just doing the Regardie book. I have documented this for decades, for example here.

Yes, the competition between orders has repeatedly gone too far. I have written about this extensively, for example here.

Nick Farrell writes:

"I used to think that the relaxing of systems at the end of the 20th century and the access to more information thanks to the Internet was a good thing. I liked the ideas of the autocratic orders which were the bane of my existence had faded.  Now I am not so certain."

Nick Farrell has been involved in the Golden Dawn a long time and his experiences reflects a common theme. It’s wonderful reading about his evolution as a teacher of the occult because it is one that I have been spared. The Golden Dawn System of Magic was designed to avoid many of the problems Nick has encountered.

Nick writes: 

"There once was a time that you would be taught by one person who would show you their magical system, which was often worked out over years by experience."

Frater Farrell need not convince me of the importance of the Master-Apprentice relationship in the Golden Dawn. My own Appenticeship to Hermetic Master Alchemist, Frater Lux E Tenebris, has been worth its weight in gold - And in more than one sense!

The Master-Apprentice relationship lies at the very heart not only of the Golden Dawn, but of the entire Hermetic and Rosicruican traditions. It has always been this way. It is this way today. And it will always remain this way as well.
This is why, in the Alpha Omega, the magical development of each new student is taken on by an A.O. Adept from the outset. As one advances in the A.O., this Master-Apprentice relationship takes on more and more importance.

It is for this reason, due to the need for direct coaching, that the A.O. created our 1,000 Points of Light initiative. This is why the Alpha Omega presently provides Ritual Magic coaching to Self-Iniaties and Solitaries in 8 languages in the form of Webinars, Workshops, one-on-one Skype sessions, and ongoing Ritual Magic dojos.

Nick Farrell feels compelled to “go back to the old ways” after his vast experience working with initiates. Fortunately, the AO doesn’t have to “go back to the old ways” because we never left. In fact, they aren’t the “old ways” at the AO, they’re the “Only Ways.”

I am pleased to witness how Isis, at long last, is gathering together the divided pieces of Osiris, as Adepts from across the entire Golden Dawn community begin to stand together - not under the banners of the A.O. - but as a community sharing a common spiritual philosophy - united by our mutual obligation to properly train the Adepts of the future.

The need for enough Golden Dawn Adepts to properly train Apprentices is great - greater than even the Alpha Omega alone can bear.

Only as a community of Adepts drawn together by the strength of our common Rosicrucian bonds can the Golden Dawn claim its rightful place in the 21st Century.

Stand with us.

Alpha Omega

We make Magicians

NEW! In-Person Training and Local Support for Aspiring Magicians Around the World!

In the Alpha Omega, we are concerned about the need for face-to-face training and personal support in Ritual Magic. With our 1,000 Points of Light initiative, the A.O. inaugurates new world-wide resources for Independent Practitioners and local groups of aspiring Magicians.

Of course, we continue to provide initiation and training for Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn initiates and members at our traditional Golden Dawn Temples. 2012 is also the 10th Anniversary of the Alpha Omega providing on-line Magic education for students at a distance in our multi-language members' websites as well.

We must face reality though. The A.O.'s beginners' level First Order, the H.O.G.D., is not only the world's most thorough school of Ritual Magic, but it is also the most demanding.

Before H.O.G.D. initiates may graduate and apply for admission to our Second Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, they must first have completely mastered everything other G.D. orders offer their most advanced Adepts.

In the R.R. et A.C., our Adepts practice post-graduate level Magic revealed by the Secret Chiefs at the International Conclave of Golden Dawn Adepti last March. The Magic of the A.O.'s Third Order, our Ph.D. level curriculum, includes, for example, Alchemical Magic and Hermetic Internal Alchemy.

Alpha Omega ...
... the Oxford of Golden Dawn Magic.

We don't hand out grades ...
We make Magicians!

But how can the Alpha Omega meet the needs of aspiring Magicians who are not yet ready for such a serious magical commitment as the H.O.G.D. involves?

Alpha Omega's "1,000 Points of Light Initiative" is an innovative program, providing support and magical training for Independent Practitioners and groups around the world.

We began by encouraging you to create a personal temple, even if it is only an altar in the beginning. We next encouraged you to share photographs of your personal altars and temples, so you may further inspire one another. We then created a map of personal temples around the world, so that Independent Practitioners can see that they are not alone.

There are, however, several important needs remaining to be fulfilled:

What about coaching and support for Independent Practitioners?

To meet this need, the A.O. now offers Ritual Magic coaching in Webinar format. Our pilot program offers free coaching sessions in 8 languages. The first session, in English, is scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 27 at 12:00 PM PDT in the Blog Chat Room here on The Golden Dawn Blog. You are warmly invited to attend!

What about training and coaching in person?

When it comes to Ritual Magic, there are limitations about what can be effectively taught at a distance. This is why, unlike other Golden Dawn orders, H.O.G.D. members are required prior to graduation to complete all Golden Dawn initiations, physically present with a trained Hierophant in a fully chartered, traditional Golden Dawn temple.

This still does not address the need, however, for local support and in-person training for Independent Practitioners and local groups of aspiring magicians around the world. An interesting discussion arose about this recently on the H.O.G.D. Yahoo Forum, where I was asked what the minimum requirements are to create a Golden Dawn Sanctuary. As part of my answer, I offered to come and assist local groups develop into full fledged Golden Dawn Sanctuaries.

This led to one of our readers, "Hilda," asking me:

"Wow! Is that offer for anyone who gets a group started?"

This led to brainstorming in the A.O.'s College of the Adepti about how we can better meet the need for local support and in-person training - not only for people wanting to form a local Golden Dawn Sanctuary - but also for Independent Practitioners and other aspiring Magicians around the world, still working outside of a traditional Golden Dawn order.

This led to the Alpha Omega creating yet another innovative resource as part of our 1,000 Points of Light Initiative. I am proud today to make the following announcement as part of the Alpha Omega's ongoing commitment to make Magicians:

"I am willing to visit, provide coaching, support, and face to face training in local areas all around the world - and not just for local groups - but for Self-Initiates, Independent Practitioners, and other aspiring Magicians as well ...

I am in the fortunate position that my career leaves me free to dedicate myself full time to the Golden Dawn half a year - which this year begins today.

Having worked as an international tour director for three full decades, I am used to an intensive travel schedule - and my wife and fellow Adept, V.H. Soror D.I.A., also has wheels for feet - so she doesn't get upset about being on the road with me for months on end.

The A.O. is exploring ways to finance necessary travel expenses to provide badly needed local support, without putting undue burden on already overextended A.O. resources. I would gladly finance travel to provide local support myself, but contrary to rumor, I am not independently wealthy.

One good way to cover travel expenses involved in providing local support for aspiring Magicians - would be to give a public lecture on Friday night, followed by a training and coaching session on Saturday. Reasonable fees for these services ought to be able to offset costs. Any local assistance or organizational support to help defer costs would, of course, be much appreciated. 

"As a matter of fact, as long as I am there, I am even willing to provide Golden Dawn initiation to qualified aspirants ...

I remain utterly committed to the Alpha Omega's mission to make Magicians ...

So committed, in fact, I am willing to travel for months on end - from city to city - and country to country - to provide the support necessary to make Magicians.

What if I am a member of a different Order ...

... but would love to discover the unique differences of the A.O.?

Real Magic transcends sectrarianism!

I am open to visit, teach, and do magic with any existing working groups that want to feel for themselves if there is a difference between doing real Magic and acting like a Magician. I will, of course, keep your confidentiality.

In Magical practice, what you do is not nearly as vital as how it’s done. If people have participated in Ritual Magic or initiation in the past but never really felt a change, they will be in for a surprise – Magic Works! It is not just great costumes and funny words.

This is an opportunity to meet me and and to discover for yourself who I really am - beyond how I am portrayed by other Orders or their representatives.

In the Alpha Omega, we make Magicians who arrive at their own conclusions based on personal experience and evaluation of results.

Sincerely,

Golden Dawn Imperator - David Griffin