BOOK REVIEW: Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls - by the Golden Dawn Community

by Alpha Omega Imperator

David Griffin

"A valuable addition to the library of any Golden Dawn Magician"

- David Griffin

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn saw its beginning in its present form in 1888, when Isis-Urania Temple Number 3 was founded by S.L. MacGregor Mathers, Robert Woodman, and W. Wynn Wescott. 

The order is a late flowering of a Hermetic and Rosicrucian initiatic center in Continental Europe, whose lineages and teachings were carried to England by Edward Bulwar-Lytton and Kenneth MacKenzie.

Count Apponyi of Hungary was a Rosicrucian, representing an extremely ancient and secretive Continental European order of Hermetic alchemists, to whom S.L. MacGregor Mathers would later refer to as the "Secret Chiefs" (Geheime Oberen in German). Apponyi transmitted to MacKenzie certain Hermetic and Rosicrucian lineages together with esoteric transmissions with which to found what in 1888 became the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in Britain.

Upon his return to England, Kenneth MacKenzie founded this esoteric society that would later become the Golden Dawn under the original name of “Fratres Lucis” or “Brethren of the Cross of Light.” MacKenzie’s temple was Number one, followed by the Bristol temple of F.G. Irwin as Number two. Isis-Urania therefore became Temple Number three when the Golden Dawn was "founded" in 1888. The teachings for this order were coded using Trithemius “Stenographia” as “Cypher Manuscripts” that were later obtained by Wescott from MacKenzie’s widow following the latter’s death in 1886.

Although the Golden Dawn never attracted great numbers of initiates under Wescott, Woodman, and Mathers, the publication of the Golden Dawn's teachings by Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie nonetheless caused the Golden Dawn to impact and influence nearly every aspect of today's Western esoteric tradition. 

As a fitting testament to the enduring power of the Golden Dawn, the tradition has managed to survive and thrive even unto the present day, despite over 120 years of persistent take over attempts by rival Rosicrucian order, the SRIA.

Not only has the Golden Dawn survived, it has flourished, blossomed and given much diverse fruit. From the earliest offshoots, the Alpha Omega, Stella Matutina, and Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, to the myriad diversity of orders and temples that make up today's Golden Dawn community.

It is precisely our diversity that is the greatest strength of today's Golden Dawn community. From fully independent, Pagan-led orders like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega to Christian oriented orders directed by SRIA - From Thelemic Golden Dawn orders to the smallest independent temples - From Magical G.D. orders like the A.O. who remain under the direction and protection of the physical Secret Chiefs in Europe to mystical orders that channel "Secret Chiefs" as "Astral Masters" - today's Golden Dawn community comprises greater diversity than at any previous time in history. 

As Peregrin Wildoak writes in his Preface to Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls:

There are more Golden Dawn orders, groups, and magicians today then ever before and the tradition itself is in an exciting phase of development and growth.

- Peregrin Wildoak

Seekers today are able to approach Golden Dawn groups that emphasize vastly different approaches: from magical to mystical, Christian, Jewish, Egyptian, or Pagan, to Nonsectarian and Ecumenical. Despite this great diversity, all of these groups are united by common Hermetic and Rosicrucian roots, and a common base line spiritual technology to offer today's spiritual aspirants.

Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls is a volume edited by Nick Farrell and published by Kerubim Press, a publishing house belonging to Golden Dawn members, Nick Farrell and Dean Wilson. Commentaries a collaborative effort by a wonderful selection of authors from a vast cross-section of our G.D. community, each bringing forth their own unique experience and point of view. Commentaries represents a noble effort to present to the public a snap shot of the kaleidoscope of our rich G.D. diversity. 

The book is organized by the numbers of the Flying Rolls, which essentially translates into chapters, with each chapter including one or more articles commenting on the content by various authors in the Golden Dawn community. As the commentary is separate from the Flying Roll material itself, one may easily read only the original Flying Rolls to come to a unique and personal understanding of the material without the colorations of commentators.

Although many of these Flying Rolls have been previously published by Francis King in Astral Projection, Ritual Magic, and Alchemy (Aquarian Press: 1987), there are several Flying Rolls in this new collection that have not been seen in print before. Moreover, there is a great deal of valuable information to be gleaned from the commentaries themselves, based on individual research or personal magical experience of the authors.

The book contains a Table of Contents at the beginning and a short biography of each commentator at the end. In a perfect world, I would have like to have seen each commentary also listed in the table of contents together with the author to make it easier for the reader to find a particular author's articles.

In the Introduction, there are short biographies written by Nick Farrell of the various Golden Dawn Adepts who authored the original Flying Rolls. To enjoy this book, one need not agree with everything that every commentator writes. For example, in Farrell's biography of S.L. MacGregor Mathers in his Introduction to Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls, Farrell writes that Mathers "developed the Second Order and its teachings by Inner Plane communication with an entity Mathers believed was the archangel Raphael and used the magical name Lux e Tenebris."

There are several problems Farrell's thesis that Mathers saw his contact with the Third Order, Frater Lux E Tenebris, as the Archangel Raphael - and that this proves that Mathers did not see the Secret Chiefs as physical persons.

1. Mathers (in primary sources) claimed to be in contact with the Secret Chiefs both astrally and physically, so the two notions are not in any way mutually exclusive.
2. Even if Mathers saw Frater Lux E Tenebris as the Archangel Raphael in 1888, this is long before Mathers (in primary sources) claimed to have established physical contact with the Secret Chiefs in Paris in 1891.
3. Primary sources indicate that the notion of the Secret Chiefs as physical persons was generally accepted by various Adepts following the G.D. schism of 1903, including the founders of rival Golden Dawn offshoot orders, A.E. Waite and R.W. Felkin, who counted among Mathers' greatest critics.

For a complete analysis of these problems as well as of the weaknesses in Mr. Farrell's research methods, see my introduction to Sincerus Renatus' well researched article, On the True Nature of the Secret Chiefs, that you can read here.

As outlined above and demonstrated in detail here, there are serious problems with the historical reliability of certain of Nick Farrell's biographies in his Introduction to Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Roles. Nonetheless, Nick Farrell still deserves much praise for the initiative he took to make this book a reality. As regular readers of the Golden Dawn Blog already know, the Alpha Omega has led the way for years in launching one initiative after the other to foster ever greater harmony in the Golden Dawn community.

For example, we invited every Adept from every G.D. temple and order of the entire Golden Dawn community to the 2012 International Conclave of Golden Dawn Adepti (here). This year, the 2013 International Golden Dawn Festival (here) was additionally open even to members of the outer order of every temple and order of the entire G.D. community. To foster true harmony, we deliberately chose to exclude no one.

It is therefore wonderful to observe Nick Farrell follow in the Alpha Omega's footsteps and spearhead a community effort which resulted in Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls. It is even more precious to witness such fine contributions from so many varied members of our richly diverse Golden Dawn community. 

Authors who contributed to Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls each deserve much recognition and much praise. Commentaries is packed with fascinating information.

For example, there remains a persistent misunderstanding in the Golden Dawn community that Golden Dawn training should be free. This is not true, since anything of spiritual value is also of material value. Nick Farrell clears up this misunderstanding, by showing how things were done in the traditional Golden Dawn, when he writes:

"The cost of each flying roll was between 2/6 (half a crown) and 7/-. ... In a time where an average worker made £10 per year, and you could buy a reasonable sized house for £500, half a crown represented two thirds of an average workers monthly wage. Owning a full set of flying rolls would cost a Golden Dawn member about £5. If a group were to charge the same amount of money in today's terms, you would be expected to part with £1,400 [$2130] for a couple of sheets of paper...

Membership fees were half a crown [two thirds of an average worker's monthly wage] and then on top of that they had to pay for their papers, which seemed to be a similar price to the flying rolls."

- Nick Farrell

Thus, Nick puts the question of Money and the Golden Dawn to rest once and for all by making clear that in the original Golden Dawn, merely owning a complete set of flying rolls cost Golden Dawn members half a year's wage for an average worker. According to statistics published by the U.S. government, this would equate in 2012 to $21,347. On top of this came membership dues and initiation fees, and members were expected to pay for their grade documents as well.

In my opinion, it is the spirit of fraternal cooperation underlying the Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls project that matters most, and the resulting book is a worthy testament to the diversity that comprises today's Golden Dawn community.

The republishing of the Golden Dawn's flying roles in yet another edition, however, also underscores the major challenge the Golden Dawn community presently faces. The greatest problem before us today is that virtually all of the 1888 Golden Dawn material already been published.

The good news is that for several years the now physical Secret Chiefs of the Golden Dawn's Third Order have been transmitting vast quantities of supplemental Golden Dawn material that finally give our Golden Dawn community essential new teachings and spiritual practices for the first time in over a century. These materials reinvigorate the Golden Dawn from the lowest to the highest grades of the order.

For Fratres and Sorores longing for something more than the published 1888 Golden Dawn material, the supplemental teachings and spiritual practices recently transmitted by the Secret Chiefs to the Golden Dawn community through the Alpha Omega are already waiting for you! As always, the Alpha Omega remains willing to share these teachings and practices with all orders and temples and their members in our Golden Dawn community.

All you have to do is knock, and the door will open for you. Why not come in out of the cold?

Here are a some original highlights from various commentators contained in Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls:

Lisa Llewellyn, from the Universal Order of the Morning Star, writes regarding Flying Roll IV:

"What is most interesting about this working [contained in Flying Roll IV] is that it is a vision of the Divine Feminine, of the Goddess. This was occurring at a time when most esoteric societies, such as Freemasons and SRIA had all male membership and spoke only of God as "He and Him." Here we have a working revealed in the words of Soror SSDD and Soror F (et R) "The Great Mother Isis, the Isis of Nature.
This was at a time when ... society was really quite patriarchal."

- Lisa Llewellyn

Frater Yechida (Dean Wilson) of the Ancient and Honorable Order of the Golden Dawn, co-owner of Kerubim Press together with Nick Farrell writes regarding Flying Roll V:

"The key to this paper is that imagination, the construction of a virtual form within the mind, is real within the appropriate realm of its existence (the astral and higher planes). It may or may not have a physical presence, but that does not diminish its reality. To the dreamer the dream is real."

- Dean Wilson

Frater YShY of Thuban Temple writes regarding Flying Roll VI:

"[The] few lines [of Flying Roll VI] actually contain one of the most useful and potent formulas in all of the RR et AC, which is to invoke the highest first in every operation. The suggestion is simple, when working with the color red, it is a symbol of Will and hence Gevurah and Mars, and one should always invoke Kether first."

- Frater YShY

Regarding Flying Roll VII, Rachel Walker, of the Order of the Golden Dawn: Collegium Spiritu Sancti, writes:

"Mathers frequently said "Invoke and Invoke often." This does not merely refer to engaging in ritual invocation, but more importantly to invoking the Divine into every activity that we may become  part of the "living tradition" of magic where every enterprise is a magical act and an expression of the Divine."

- Rachel Walker

Regarding Flying Roll IX, Soror AID, Deanna Bonds writes:

"The tree of life is a geometric glyph that represents the structure of the Universe and everything within the universe as a fractal pattern of the whole. The tree of life can be viewed as creation itself, God, man, or anything in between."

- Deanna Bonds

Regarding Flying Roll X, Samuel Scarborough of the Ordo Stella Matutina writes:

"[Apotheosis is] to raise oneself closer to the Divine, or in the case of the Magnum Opus, to unite with our Divine Self, thus becoming more divine and closer to God."

- Samuel Scarborough

 Regarding Flying Roll XI, Jayne Gibson writes:

"The magical visionary arts can lead the magician to realms of intense beauty and knowledge. The methods of skrying, travelling and rising on the planes take time to master, but there are great rewards to be had after the work is done."

- Jayne Gibson

Regarding Flying Roll XII, James French of the "Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn" writes:

"Any practical occult work that is of any use should leave the operator feeling exhilarated. ... If one is drawing on cosmic energies, as should be the case if the Adept is diligent with her practice,  the result, again, ought to be ecstatic, not draining."

- James French

Regarding Flying Roll XIII, Joseph Max of the Thelema oriented, "Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn," writes:

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" ... is the most famous maxim of Thelema, and Crowley drew a clear distinction between "Will" and simple desire. The maxim does not mean simply "do what you wont," but rather to spend one's life discovering one's True Will, and following it."

- Joseph Max

Regarding Flying Roll XV, VH Soror QQDAM, member of the Magical Order of Aurora Aureae writes:

"The Golden Dawn is not a religion, nor does it purport to be. That is very clear. It is a fraternity, the common ground of which is the acceptance of the 'Hermetic ancient philosophy; as expressed in the Ritual, and Pictorial and Symbolic representations' which are given at the different stages of progress."

- VH Soror QQDAM

Regarding Flying Roll XVI, Ian Cowburn (Frater L), member of SRIS and the order of Brigita Beatica Britanniae, writes:

"As to the etymology of the word Rosicrucian, several derivations have been given. The more reasonable derivation is from rose and cross. This was undoubtedly in accordance with the notions of Andreae, who was the founder of the Order, and gave it its name, for in his writings he consistently calls it the Fraternitas Roseae Crucis, or the fraternity of the Rosy Cross."

- Ian Cowburn

Regarding Flying Roll XVII, Eric V. Sisco, member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF) writes:

"In the summer of 1891, S. L. (MacGregor) Mathers, one of the founders of the Order of the Golden Dawn took a trip to Paris, and allegedly, by serendipity alone, happened to make contact with a group of Continental Adepts in the Bois de Boulogne....
...How the Cipher Manuscripts, for both the Outer and Inner Orders, managed to find their way into the hands of Wescott and Mathers respectively, remains a topic of much controversy."

- Eric V. Sisco

Regarding Flying Roll XX, Aaron Leitch writes:

"The Microcosm--Man is one the most important documents given to students of the original Golden Dawn ... It was intended as an Inner Order essay concerning the practical application of Qabalistic Psychology within the Order's system of spiritual rectification ... it is a veritable guide to the Great Work of the Adept."

- Aaron Leitch

Regarding Flying Roll XXI, VH Frater Philomancer of Thuban Temple writes:

"Advancing through the Outer Order is no small task. Every grade is a milestone, each initiation a rite of passage, until at length the initiate has conquered all obstacles through perseverance."

- VH Frater Philomancer

Regarding Flying Roll XXII, VH Frater Iaodaf Oias Vooan writes:

"We can choose to remain in blissful ignorance, or we can pursue the path of the magician. It can be our will to attach ourselves to the material plane and base our existence upon the attainment of material wealth and nothing more. Alternatively, we can study occult science, practice a system of high magic and eventually surrender our wills to the grand design."

- VH Frater Iaodaf Oias Vooan 

Regarding Flying Roll XXIII, Christopher Bradford, Frater AIT, former Alpha Omega member who left the Golden Dawn to practice Palo Mayombe following the tragic death of his son, writes:

"The inner worlds are limitless--and without structure, a vision is meaningless. Mental masturbation, instead of useful travel. Inspiration is like a bolt of lightning, and structure is the conductor enabling the transfer of its power to the magician."

- Christopher Bradford

Regarding Flying Roll XXIV, Lauren Gardner of the Ordo Stella Matutina writes:

"For those comfortable and familiar with the horary method of astrological divination, perhaps the only benefit to be gained from studying the original Flying Roll is the opportunity to note certain minutia of the technique used by members of the Order while interpreting horary charts."

- Lauren Gardner 

Regarding Flying Roll XXVI, Frater AM Olen Rush writes:

"We learn quite a few things regarding the Planets, Tattvas, and Elements through Flying Roll XXVI. One of the most significant and revealing of which is the relationship to certain Compound Elements."

- Olen Rush

Regarding Flying Roll XXVII, Frater Goya of the Circulo Iniciatico de Hermes writes:

"Although ritualistic and showy, the Golden Dawn was able, thanks to the brilliant mind of its creators, especially McGregor Mathers, to remove many of the magical techniques that were almost standard in Europe that period. The Golden Dawn was the first group imminently magical, who dismissed in its rituals any type of sacrifices involving blood."

- Frater Goya

Regarding Flying Roll XXVII, Sam Webster of the of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn writes:

"Theurgy is the core of what we do. Invocation, the assumption of God-forms, oracular possession, and working with spirits are all used in theurgy to spiritually advance the practitioner and make us 'consorts of the Gods'. Handed down through history, from Iamblichus who explained it, to Agrippa who fused it with Christianity and Kabbalah, to the Golden Dawn where it was developed into a school, this ancient stream of spiritual practice underpins all we do today."

- Sam Webster

Regarding Flying Roll XXVIII, Morgan Drake Eckstein of Bast Temple writes:

"It is not the magician who must be perfect and not concerned with the world; it is the mythical being that the Order is meant to produce, a person who is more than human, who is perfect and above worldly concerns and connections."

- Morgan Drake Eckstein

Regarding Flying Roll XXXVI, VH Frater Amoun Ra of Thuban Temple writes:

"To visualize is to project an idea in anthropolomorphic and symbolic terms to have better clarity when studying anything from Yoga to Ceremonial Magick. ... The more one spends their time developing these techniques, the more one opens their mind to receiving information from the Akashic Record."

- VH Frater Amoun Ra

Remember though, for Fratres and Sorores longing for something more than the published 1888 Golden Dawn material, the supplemental teachings and spiritual practices recently transmitted by the Secret Chiefs to the Golden Dawn community through the Alpha Omega are already waiting for you! As always, the Alpha Omega remains willing to share these teachings and practices with all orders and temples and their members in our Golden Dawn community.

There is no need to leave your present temple. All you have to do is knock, and the door will open for you. Why not come in out of the cold?

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

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Golden Dawn Leaders Speak Out (Part 2): Astral Initiation & Self Initiation

In Part 1 of this article (here), we have seen how proponents of Astral-only Initiation claim that a group or people (or a Temple) can initiate a person by perfoming a ritual somewhere else for a person separated by geographical distance, allegedly initiating the candidate by reading off their name in Temple during the ritual and that other claims made by proponents of Astral-only initiation include:

1. Astral Initiation accomplishes everything that traditional Golden Dawn initiation does
2. The original (pre 1903) Golden Dawn practiced Astral Initiation.
3. Critics of Astral-only Initiation do not understand that all magick takes place on the Astral Plane.
4. Astral Initiation helps those who would otherwise not have access to Golden Dawn initiation.

My primary objection to Astral-only initiation has been the less than honest manner that it has been protrayed. For example I wrote here, that my objection arises...:

"...when modern innovations like Astral Initiation get misrepresented to the public as traditional or classical Golden Dawn practices. It is the dishonesty that is most destructive."

In regard to confusion caused by proponents of Astral-only initiation, Donald Michael Kraig wrote here:

"The thing I don’t like is when people pay dues, read some papers, do no work, pay for various “astral initiations,” and then claim to be experts with high levels of initiation. They make real occultists and initiates look foolish and bad." 

There is one aspect of the traditional Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation for which I have been repeatedly criticized by proponents of Astral-only initiation. Nonetheless, I remain convinced that not to continue to point this out in this article would be grossly irresponsible.

Traditional Golden Dawn initiations are even more powerful than many people yet seem to realize and there are very real spiritual dangers involved.

To my knowledge, other scholars in our community still have not yet written on this aspect of Golden Dawn initiation. The G.D. Neophyte initiation is based on the Egyptian Book of the Dead. When properly performed this Initiation actually separates and reintegrates the constituent spiritual parts of the candidate.

This is no light undertaking. The spiritual importance of this, and the spiritual danger involved has not yet received due attention by scholars in our community. The spiritual danger is made clear by the rising of the "evil persona" of the candidate at the foot of the altar, threatening to devour the candidate at his or her most vulnerable point in the initiation.

In the figure above, from the chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, this is symbolized by Ammit the devourer, the combined animal figure at the far right of the illustration. Ammit is there to devour the heart if it is weighed heavier than the weight of a feather. The threatening "evil persona" of the candidate is magically subdued for him or her by the skilled Hierophant, when the Hierophant advances and proclaims:

"I come in the Power of the Light.

I come in the Light of Wisdom.

I come in the Mercy of the Light.

The Light hath Healing in its Wings."

I have written about this many times, for example, here:

"There are no short cuts and True Golden Dawn Initiation should not be undertaken lightly, as True Initiation involves the ritual separation and reintegration of a candidate's physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects to give birth to a higher and more balanced spiritual form and awareness.

This process is fraught with danger even under the best of circumstances. With candidates physically present and protected within the safety of a legitimate Golden Dawn temple, however, these dangers can be overcome by a highly trained and skilled Hierophant. 

To deceive oneself that the same result can be achieved alone or with a candidate sitting in another city or on the other end of the world, however, is [in light of my many years of initiatic experience] inviting spiritual disaster."

Proponents of Astral-only Initiation additionally claim that Astral-only Initiation meets the needs those who would otherwise not be able to contact the spirit of the order. To this Nick Farrell replies:

"So ... we come to (the) point ... that (Astral initiation allegedly) provides a person with a connection to a working group that they would not otherwise had. This is clearly true, but in my opinion any link would appear to be administrative rather than spiritual. A real initiation takes place when the person is ready."

This supports my own conclusion, based on my independent research, that Astral-only initiation does not satisfactorily meet the needs of those who would otherwise not be able to contact the spirit of the order.

When it comes to Astral Initiation there is another essential point that has been made by advanced Magicians, like Donald Michael Kraig and Nick Farrell, based on their many years of experience. I have until now specifically avoided making any public statement on this subject at all.

Donald Michael Kraig writes:

"But are they valid within the Western Mystery Tradition?
If you take someone with little or no training and tell them to visualize walking around a triangle (as I was for an Order a long time ago), the answer is decidedly NO!
If you take someone with a great deal of training, knowledge, and experience, the answer might be yes."

Nick Farrell writes:

“The Theosophists believed in astral (or mental) initiations, but the candidate was supposed to be able to consciously “travel? in his astral or mental body to a temple were Masters would initiate him.”
Which goes to show that even by the rules of “astral initiation” the way it is being done in most groups is completely wrong as it requires a high level of experience before the candidate can do it."

I have avoided commenting on this until present because my words have so frequently been misinterpreted or misrepresented by proponents of Astral-only Initiation. I therefore refrained from  elaborating on this subject at all.

In reality, however, the conclusions that both Donald Michael Kraig and Nick Farrell state above fully concur with my own conclusions, based on two decades of independent research and on Alpha Omega teachings.

There do indeed exist such advanced methods, not only in the East, but also in the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions here in the West, of which the Alpha Omega is one important emanation. As this spiritual practice remains oath-bound, I can not comment on the actual methodology.

This much I can say, however. In the Alpha Omega, an Adept can and does eventually receive higher initiatic teachings on the Upper Astral, in other words, in the realm of dreams. To be able to do this correctly, however, the advanced Adept must have first:

1. have fully cultivated their Lunar Body,
2. have achieved the Albedo state of awakening in the world of dreams,
3. have achieved the first alchemical separation, which permits the projection of the Lunar body in the Upper Astral (the Inner Plane where dreams occur).

To avoid a host of odd new claims that could otherwise arise from this statement, I must also clarify that, just as in the published Golden Dawn material there are means of testing visions obtained by Skrying in the Spirit Vision into the Lower Astral, in the Alpha Omega there exist yet more certain tests to measure the veracity of teachings received while Lunar projecting into the Upper Astral.

The specific techniques to cultivate the Lunar body, to separate it, to project it into the Upper Astral, and how to test these visions are all taught in the higher grades of the Alpha Omega beyond the well known material published by Israel Regardie.

In parts one and two of this article, we have heard positions on Astral-only initiation from a plethora of voices from all across the Golden Dawn community. In every instance, they have concurred with the results of my own independent research over the past two decades.

So what is my present position on Astral-only initiation, after 20 years in the Golden Dawn?

The old adage states that “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Perhaps this is true for Astral-only Initiation. If there is a way to perform initiations in this way, however, it is one by which few aspirants would be either willing or capable of performing.

The method itself cannot be disclosed; even the mention of its existence may be stretching what is permissible. What can be said is there are things in the Golden Dawn System of Magic that simply are not available in print, should not be, and hopefully never will be. 

This is why the Outer Order is a place to discover trustworthy Adepts to whom advanced Magic can eventually be entrusted. This fight over the possibility of Astral-only Initiation has always made me uncomfortable because it places me in a conflict between either lying or revealing too much.

It is enough to state that all things are possible but not using any of the information freely available thus far in time. Having revealed enough, I return to my steadfast position that Astral-only Initiation is not a part of the Golden Dawn in the Outer.

But what about all the Golden Dawn "Astral Initiates" already out there needing guidance today? Astral Initiates will be happy to know that the new programs we have created for Self-Initiates and Solitary  aspiring Magicians will better meet YOUR needs as well.

Speaking of which, what about Self-Initiation?

To begin with, Golden Dawn scholar, Sam Scarborough, has some interesting things to say about this. Sam Scarborough writes:

I’ve had the pleasure of being initiated physically, long-distance (astral), and through Self-Initiation. I can say of the three that the least that affect me on any level was the long-distance initiation. 

With both my physical and self-initiation I had a much more profound emotional affect.

... and ...

The bottom line, is that self-initiation works on all levels of initiation. It provides a phyical place and energy, it works on the astral, as the initiate through working the material builds up the astral component, and finally it works on an etheric level by implanting the symbols of the current within the sphere of sensation of the person undergoing the SI. This is especially true of those that have made all of the needed tools and temple furniture for their SI, as making those is a meditation into the symbolism and function of the tool in question, which helps the SI person to better link to the energies of the GD current.

To clarify my position, I must state agsin that I concur with Sam Scarborough and other Golden Dawn community leaders that just about ANYTHING is better than Astral-only Initiation the way it has been  sold and misrepresented on the Internet.

Even Self-Initiation, with all of its drawbacks, is certainly a better option!

If you would have asked me about Self-Initiation eighteen years ago, when Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Praemonstratrix, Cris Monnastre, first appointed me HOGD Imperator, I would have told you: "Self-Initiation is as impossible as self-psychotherapy."

My position has evolved since then though. You can read more about this here, here, and here.

It is not like I just woke up one morning and suddenly decided that Self-initiation is a great thing though. I still do not believe that. It is more like accepting that people have been receiving so much bad information for so long that I can’t put that genie back in the bottle. 

Self-initiation is such an inefficient approach to becoming a Magician that I wanted to do all in my power to convince people to avoid it. Working from my previous metaphor, if I had a son that was considering hitchhiking across country, I would do everything in my power to dissuade him. Why? Because it is inefficient, unnecessarily time-consuming, and dangerous! 

Self-initiation is similar. But, if my son said he was doing it and nothing I say will stop him, I will then try to give him as much information as possible to do it safely. It will still take him way too long. It is still a poor method of long-distance transportation. It is still dangerous.

I read once that ‘experience is a harsh task-master, but some people will learn in no other way.’ Thanks to irresponsible Magicians, many beginners today think Self-Initiation is best approach for them. I can’t undo the damage so I am instead committed to reducing the risk.

This is why the Alpha Omega has launched a host of new programs for Solitary Practitioners, Self-Initiates, and Astral Initiates:

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - the outer order of the Alpha Omega gives you complete training in Ritual Magic with good coaching, as well as a structured program to master all of the published Golden Dawn material using the latest methods of modern on-line Universities. HOGD also gives you access to physical initiation in our fully chartered and licensed Golden Dawn temples.  

Personal Temples: The Alpha Omega encourages Self-Initiates and Solitary Practiioners to create Personal Altars and Temples. We are putting them on the map for you here on the Golden Dawn blog and publishing photos of independent Altars and Temples around the world. 

Self-Initiation: The A.O. teaches how the goal of Golden Dawn Initiation and Magic is to strengthen the energetic body and to awaken the Elemental, Planetary, Zodiacal, and Sephirothic Magical Forces in the "Sphere of Sensation" of the aspiring Magician, and are providing the techniques necessary to attempt this on one's own.

Magical Tools: The A.O. teaches how traditional Golden Dawn Magical Tools are created by publishing photographs of Israel Regardie's tools from the A.O.'s Golden Dawn Museum. 

Ritual Magic 101 Coaching Webinars: The A.O. brings solid Ritual Magic teaching and coaching to self-taught Magicians all around the world. 

2012 Golden Dawn World Tour: The Alpha Omega makes Ritual Magic instruction and coaching - as well as tradtional Golden Dawn initiation - available in at least 5 countries over the next year - up close and personal. 

Ritual Magic 101 Workshops: brings magical coaching up close and personal. 

Ritual Magic 101 Private Coaching: The Alpha Omega offers private Ritual Magic coaching with David Griffin both in-person and via Skype.

Ritual  Magic 101 Coaching Dojo: The Alpha Omega offers bi-weekly group Ritual Magic practice - dojo style  - with David Griffin - beginning January 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Well of the Moon Pagan Bookstore.

Ritual  Magic 101 Training Videos: The Alpha Omega offers free Ritual Magic training videos both on the Golden Dawn YouTube Channel and soon to be on the new GoldenDawn.TV website as well, along with soon to be released other new training aids.

Traditional Golden Dawn Initiation: The A.O. offers traditional G.D. initiation in our international network of traditional Golden Dawn temples - as well as part of the Golden Dawn World Tour.

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

Think Different.

Alpha Omega

Because we make Magicians!

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

Astral-Only Initiation: Golden Dawn Leaders Speak Out (Part 1)

The discussion regarding the benefits and limitations of "Astral-only" Initiation has gone on for years in the Golden Dawn community. The fundamental question is whether or not anyone can be exclusively astrally initiated at a distance.

Proponents of Astral-only initiation claim that a group or people (or a Temple) can initiate a person by perfoming a ritual somewhere else for a person separated by geographical distance, allegedly initiating the candidate by reading off their name in Temple during the ritual. Other claims made by proponents of Astral-only initiation include:

1. Astral Initiation accomplishes everything that traditional Golden Dawn initiation does
2. The original (pre 1903) Golden Dawn practiced Astral Initiation.
3. Critics of Astral-only Initiation do not understand that all magick takes place on the Astral Plane.
4. Astral Initiation helps those who would otherwise not have access to Golden Dawn initiation.

Let's examine what various leaders and members of the Golden Dawn community have said about these claims over the years. To begin with, Donald Michael Kraig, in a new article entitled Ritual and Ritual Theater recently wrote here:

"Some events are both ritual and ritual theater. For example, in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, initiation rituals involved a group of officers and the initiate. However, there could also be an audience that participated very little in the ritual. So the actual initiation is both ritual and ritual theater. The involvement of others and their energy, as well as the initiate seeing the activity of others and of the temple, makes the very concept of “astral initiations” into the Golden Dawn dubious at best."

There have been numerous other voices in the Golden Dawn community who have spoken out about the ritual theater aspect of Golden Dawn initiation over the years. In March, 2009 Open Source Golden Dawn Chief, Joseph Max, wrote in a post that you can still read here):

"The Hall of the Neophytes is full of much interlocking symbolism designed to have a specific effect on the Aspirant at the point at which they "light up.". Any ritual of High Magic is a work of psycho-dramatic performance art. All Ritual is Drama, as all Drama is Ritual (ask the ancient Greeks.) It is powerful Magic in and of itself.  

So... if the Awakening of the Body of Light *is* Initiation (the first one anyway,) it doesn't matter how it comes about, even spontaneously. But *Golden Dawn* Initiation is a sub-set of this phenomena; it's aimed in a definite and unique direction down a particular Path of Attainment. It comes from the Neo-Platonic tradition of Ritual Drama, so the powerful effects of psycho-drama are part of the system. It's a "play" performed for an "audience" of one. 

Therefore the question comes down to: can a Golden Dawn Initiation, that will effectively awaken the Body of Light AND point the Aspirant down the unique Path the Golden Dawn School follows, be accomplished *without* the live dramatic component, and the personal involvement of the Aspirant in that performance? 

Personally speaking, I think it would be difficult. It's certainly possible to accomplish psycho-dramatic impact with solo visualization (in fact it's one of the things a Golden Dawn school teaches,) but for a rank beginner without any background to do it? That would be a rare talent." 

On the question of the ritual theater aspect of Golden Dawn initiation, Alpha Omega Adept, Sincerus Renatus writes here:

"The ritual is a drama, a play, which also has as a function to impart a though form or cognitive structure into the candidate, a theme so to speak, which gives a tone or atmosphere for the Grade. This has to be experienced live and in person, not read through or imagined in the inner eye. Compare this to reading a novel and watching a stage play; two legitimate artistic expressions but quite different in nature and quality. Full and physical initiation is a stage play of old Greek dramatic proportions."

On this same subject, Golden Dawn member, "Polimetis," writes here:

"[Proponents of Astral-only initiation] always argue that Initiation is not Theatre and is all about the astral (forgetting, as you say, the importance of basic psycological and emotional impact!)? Well, actually, ancient Drama comes directly from the Dyonisian and Eleusinian Mysteries, and Tragic Festivals continued to be a sacred ceremony and a sacred experience for the Athenians, which is, actually comparable to intiation ceremonies (especially masonic high degrees where only a few of the candidates participate, and most are just onlookers!). 

I'll bet no one in ancient Greece could say that if the director mentions the name of an Athenian citizen that was out of town, before the perfomance of a Tragedy, would ‘astrally” experience the awe and pity that the tragedy inspired, and the psycologically healthy Catharthic effect of actually seeing the sacred perfomance!" 

I am pleased to see that not only Donald Michael Kraig's independent research, based on so many years of magical experience, but also the independent research of Joseph Max, Sincerus Renatus, and Polimetis support my own conclusion that Astral-only Initiation does not accomplish everything that traditional Golden Dawn initiation does.

Let us move on to examine the claim made by proponents of Astral-only initiation that the original (pre 1903) Golden Dawn practiced Astral Initiation.

Noted magical author, Nick Farrell (Chief Adept of the Magical Order of Aurora Aurorae), writes here:

"If astral initiation was used within the GD there would be some evidence of it... If an astral initiation was taking place then where and when and why did it not leave a trace of paperwork? There are no records of astral initiations being performed, nor any members who are identified as being part of the GD who had their initiations astrally recorded. Nor is there any mention of the procedure being used in the various editions of by-laws, nor any diary notes from anyone saying that they had taken part in an astral initiation. While we have access to many different GD rituals, there are no recorded instructions for how to perform one..."

"Occam’s razor tells us that if all the evidence suggests that we have to assume that it is logical that the Golden Dawn did not perform astral initiations." 

Golden Dawn scholar, Samuel Scarborough, chief of the Ordo Stella Matutina Golden Dawn writes here:

"I think of myself as something of a scholar on the GD as well as a serious student of the GD system. The same can be said for Nick Farrell or Imhotep, or several others that say that these astral initiations are not verifiable, nor were they done in the original GD or AO or SM after the 1903 Schism in the regular sense. There is no evidence for “astral” or long-distance initiation from those orginal bodies.

I disagree with certain groups that claim that these astral (long-distance) initiations were commonplace within the original Golden Dawn. I have never seen the evidence to support the claim. Nor can I think that Westcott, Woodman, and Mathers received some astral initiation as founders of the GD in the first place."

I am pleased to see that again the independent research of Nick Farrell and Sam Scarborough support my conclusion that the original (pre 1903) Golden Dawn did not practice Astral-only Initiation. There appears to be a wide consensus in the Golden Dawn community regarding claims made by proponents of Astral-only initiation.

Let us move on to examine their claim that critics of Astral-only Initiation do not understand that all magick takes place on the Astral Plane.

In this regard, Nick Farrell says here:

"Physical initiations have an astral component. But if you mean do I think it is possible for someone to initiate you into the 0=0 grade of the Golden Dawn without you being there I would say that it is unlikely. I would say that it would take a supremely good magician (angelic being, or secret chief) to be able to do that. I do not think that simply performing the ritual with a stand-in is enough."

On Nick Farrell's blog, Golden Dawn member, "Magician," also addresses this claim here:

"The discussion isn’t about whether or not magic can work at long distance. The discussion is about if initiation ceremonies can work long distance where there is no way to infuse the physical symbols into the aspirant’s sphere of sensation."

I have addressed this issue numerous times over the years as well. For example, I write here:

"No one is disputing that there is an astral component to both initiation and magick. However, what proponents of Astral Initiation do not understand is that this astral element is rooted in the physical body. They reach a completely erroneous conclusion that, merely because an astral component is there in initiation, they can make you a full Golden Dawn initiate from the comfort of your armchair on the other end of the world..."

Proponents of Astral Initiation allege that it accomplishes everything traditional, physical Golden Dawn initiation does. Golden Dawn leader, Peregrin Wildoak comments in this regard here:

"I do think since the GD initiations were designed for phsyicality, and some of the important parts are done physicially, the control a phsyical initiation has to produce an inner experience for the initiate is beyond anything an astral initiation can do."

Donald Michael Kraig writes here:

"The true astral initiation occurs when both you and the higher initiation forces/energies/spirits of the group are ready for it to happen. No sooner. No later. The physical initiation may help it occur sooner, perhaps simultaneous to the physical initiation. But because so many people these days want to be initiated, some groups have specialized in offering astral initiations. But are they valid within the Western Mystery Tradition? 

If you take someone with little or no training and tell them to visualize walking around a triangle (as I was for an Order a long time ago), the answer is decidedly NO!" 

... and ...

"This means that although so-called “astral initiations” sold to you may make you a member of a group (and allowed to pay them nice big yearly or monthly dues), on a spiritual basis it usually is meaningless."

Nick Farrell adds here:

"A physical initiation is an intensely emotional experience with physical and emotional reactions that have a deep impact on the person. For an initiation to have any impact, such a person should be able to feel something, if not at the immediate time, but in their dreams immediately afterwards. However the reports of people who have undergone astral initiations ... have been extremely nebulous or non-existent (or) have included comments which were so nebulous that they are more likely to be psychosomatic or wish-self-fulfillment."

Samuel Scarborough has this to say here:

"Does long-distance (astral) initiation work? Well, I would say that at best it would be dubious... My concern, and most whom disagree with long-distance initiation, is that there is no way to verify that the person being initiated is actually receiving the energy due to the gap between the initiating body and the candidate."

Alpha Omega's, V.H. Frater P. commented here:

"What i miss in this debate is the simple fact that, apart from the energetic transmission from the Hierophant unto the candidate, it is impossible to impregnate the MIND of the candidate with the physical symbols that are displayed in these ceremonies. For doing this, the candidate has to be physically present, and able to use his eyes! Moreover, by blindfolding him/her and exposing him to a dramatic procedure, his mind is made extra sensitive and absorptive. This is an ancient technique."

I am pleased to see that yet again, the independent research of a wide cross-section of the Golden Dawn community, including Donald Michael Kraig, Peregrin Wildoak, Nick Farrell, Sam Scarborough, and other Golden Dawn members, based on many years of initiatic experience, support my own conclusion that the astral aspect of initiation does not at all negate the necessity and importance of the physical aspect of initiation. I have spoken out on this many times in the past, for example here:

"It has been argued that there is always an "astral" element in any genuine Golden Dawn initiation. This is true in the limited sense that the energetic or "astral" body of the candidate is always ultimately impacted by the initiation. In other words, the initiation ritual works on many levels and affects not merely the physical body of the candidate. This does not mean, however, that the actual physical presence of the candidate is not required."

... and here:

"There is an actual transmission of energies from the physical body of the initiating Hierophant to the physical body of the initiate. To fully transmit these energies and fully awaken the LVX current in the energetic body of the candidate is extremely difficult to fully accomplish even under the best of circumstances - with the candidate physically present in the temple."

To be continued ...

Don't miss Part 2 coming soon on the Golden Dawn Blog!

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

Think Different.

Alpha Omega

Because we make Magicians!

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

Troll vs. Troll

Shameless Satire! ...

... of Golden Dawn Witch Hunt Trolls

by Guest Blogger

by VH Frater A.A.

Welcome all Flame Fans to the Alpha Omega Arena which tonight hosts the first of the Troll vs. Troll World Series, sponsored by Red Rose Enterprises Inc. Your commentators for this bout are Caput Mortuum and Frater AA who has flown directly from White City, London to Nevada especially for this historic first fight. 
Our referee tonight is Daemon est Deus Inversus.

 Over to you!

CM: The atmosphere here is electric as the crowds gather for this eagerly awaited grudge match between Pitbull McTroll fighting out of the SRIA stable, and two times World Champion contender McMirrorTroll who currently claims no affiliation but trains with major McGD licensees.

AA: There are more than 28 000 people here tonight at this great new venue, which will be host to many more events in coming years.  All the usual faces are gathered at the ringside with the promoters of the various stables, and we are all excited at the prospect of finally seeing these two monsters square off in the ring – it has been a long wait!

CM: Yes – after the Mirror got cracked in recent dust ups at minor blog-venues we didn’t know how long that would take to fix, but news on the street is that the glue is holding and we are in for a great fight here tonight!

AA: The crowd are going wild now that the music has started – the Trolls are about to emerge!  Referee for the night is ROAO’s own Daemon est Deus Inversus!

In the Red Corner – from SRIA Nebraska, unbeaten in 15 of the the last 17 bouts, and weighing in at 120kg, the vicious, the unstoppable, the one and only PITBULL!!!

SRIA Pitbull Troll

In the Purple Corner, fighting as an independent out of California, the only Troll to come so close to the World Title on TWO occasions, weighing in at 120lbs, winner of 20 of the last 23 fights, the fast and the furious, the master of slipperiness, the one and only Max McMIRROR!!!

Max McMirrorTroll

Flame fans are in for a treat tonight.  Mc.Mirror has been bragging that this will be over in just a few rounds because Pitbull is too slow and predictable to avoid that trademark jab, but there is no doubting the power behind Pitbull’s offensives!

CM: This one is hard to predict.  I think that whoever gets the best start may soon build a strong points advantage, but both Trolls have delivered unexpected knockout blows before now, so we will be on the edge of our seats with this one. Seconds out! Round ONE!!!

AA: There was a camera flash there from the audience and MirrorTroll reflected it at Pitbull just after the opening bell…  the action is fast and furious as predicted…  Pitbull is wrong footed!

Mirror: “You aren’t strong, you just got ugly when you were young – you make more noise than a jet engine breaking, but you got no substance under all that blubber.  You think you have something to say?  Let’s hear it.  I’ll serve it right back to you so you can wear it!”

Pitbull: “Everyone knows that you’re just a nasty little liar.  You twist words until even YOU don’t know what real means.  You’re so contemptible in your arrogance that I’m wearing these gloves just so I don’t have to dirty my hands on you. Nobody wants to listen to you, so why not just shut up and take your ignorance home with you.  We’re bored with you!”

CM: Pitbull just about pulled that one back.  It looked really dicey there for a moment but composure is returning.  The Pitbull does not expect to be speaking second – EVER!  So this is already a turn up for the books!

Mirror: “We are listening to the most arrogant, the most boring, the most contemptible of all Trolls, who doesn’t even have a home since nobody will have it inside!  Why should we listen to this ignorance?  WE have spoken, and WE are the only ones anyone’s really gonna listen to – this is just a dull-witted mountain of idiot flesh muttering, so where’s the interest in that?”

AA: Ouch!  That was a bit of classic McMirror jabbing there – taking the words and shooting them right back with a new twist…   so far I have the Mirror well ahead on points…

Pitbull: You can do better than that!  You have no argument of your own so you just twist mine.  You are just giving me complements, that’s all! Any right thinking person can see that.  If you had any brains you’d use them, and realize that you’re outclassed here.  I’m being kind.  Go away and I may spare you some dignity.  Keep being in my face and I’ll show you what everyone but you knows, and you’ll be in pieces.  My honesty is more than you can handle.  You’re a weak little excuse for a Troll.  Run home to mommy!”

CM:  That riposte may have evened the score though.  The Mirror needs not to let the Pitbull gather a head of steam or it will be hard to get that jab working again – there won’t be any way to get a word in once the Pitbull’s trademark Drone starts… 

DING! DING!  (Seconds to their Corners...)

AA: Their trainers are telling them to keep their guards up – and Mc.Mirror looks a bit tired.  Pitbull isn’t even sitting.  Just standing and glowering.  Mc.Mirror’s corner are saying that the only way is to come out jabbing, and keep it coming. 

CM: Mc.Mirror can’t fight this on the Pitbull’s turf – there is no way to match that aggression – it needs speed, finesse, and plenty of points scored through that jab – let’s see if the Mirror can keep it up.  Looking a bit foggy just now… 

Seconds out!  Round TWO!

AA: Pitbull storms over to throw the first punches.

Pitbull: It is obvious that you have nothing meaningful to say, so just take your medicine and let these honest viewers get on with something more useful than just watching you suffer! You’re just a sad little bug waiting to be squished…

Mirror: Reality IS – you are the one with nothing to say… 

Pitbull: Anyone with any sense can tell…

Mirror: Anyone can tell that you need to take your medication or be forcibly committed!

Pitbull: Can tell that you are just a vacuous, empty…

Mirror:  Your head is so empty that that your brain rattles – so give it a rest!

CM: Ooof!  Pitbull is on the ropes!  This is a first!

AA: That jab is really working!

Pitbull: Your futile posturing is meaningless, anyone can clearly see that you are just a squawking midget clamouring for attention! You are a shabby and ridiculous little creature without even a shred of credibility! Your nasty, sordid little jabs are a disgrace...  do keep boring me with them, but you won't achieve a thing.  It’s common knowledge that you lack even basic decency, so keep it coming...  you'll only prove what people of substance all accept, that you have nothing to back up your noise! 

AA:  McMirror’s gone silent.  Looking stunned.  What is McMirror playing at – just standing and staring at the Drone like that.

CM: This is a dangerous move from the Mirror.  The jab is quiet and the guard is down – this could be carnage!

Pitbull:  My skill is in sharp contrast to your bone headed diatribes, you poor, misguided little excuse for a Troll!

You think you have what it takes?  Utter ROT...

AA: In a truly amazing turn of events, McMirror turned sideways as the Pitbull lunged! There was no stopping that trademark momentum – Pitbull has gone straight through the ropes!  Pitbull is out of the ring and being counted!  Pitbull is on the floor outside the ring, and FURIOUS!  The crowd is on its feet.

CM: The abuse is still flying but there’s no microphone down there in the crowd – do you think Pitbull can get back into the ring inside the count?

… EIGHT! … NINE!! … TEN!!!

AA: McMirror was already dancing a jig to the crowd, but Pitbull slid under the ropes on the Ten Count – is the referee going to allow that?

CM: No – it looks like it is all over.  Referee DeDI has stopped the contest and is holding the Mirror’s hand up and declaring it.  This is going to demand a rematch.  They were just getting started!

AA: In 3 minutes 25 seconds of Round Two, on a technical knockout, the winner of the first ever Troll vs. Troll Grudge Match, unbeaten in 21 of the last 24 fights, the still unbroken, McMIRROR, claims the Troll Weight Title!

Max McMirror Claims Troll Weight Title!

CM: Before that rematch there may be a few challengers to deal with though – there’s been a lot of noise coming out of the SlimeTroll camp lately, and we may be seeing that encounter happen before this grudge really gets settled.

AA:  That’s it for Flame Fans for tonight.  Tune in next time to Red Rose Enterprises and the Troll vs. Troll World Series of Flame.

Flame On!