Covert Slavery & Ultimate Freedom

by Golden Dawn Imperator

David Griffin

In my recent article, "Are Successful Magicians "Hucksters?“ here, I made the following surprise announcement:

"When I turned 60 this year, I took a magickal decision to retire from my Muggle job as a tour guide to devote myself not just half the year - but henceforth the WHOLE year - to empowering people with the Magick of Light  and facilitating their spiritual awakening.
Does this make me a huckster? No. But it will further prove my Magickal ability once it manifests.“

Reaction on the Blogosphere was quick and boisterous ...

Nick Farrell wrote:

"They might have disdain for it, but how many occultists don't have a day job? The Kybalion is nothing to do with magic or occultism. It is new thought from the 19th century (a precursor to the new age movement) . If anyone expects real magicians to work along those bogus beliefs then it is not surprising. But there are similar concepts that a magician has to be benign, loving and saint-like."

Frater Barrabbas commented on his Talking About Ritual Magick blog here:

"The state of occult students has always been a poor return on any investment. More people drop out or never amount to anything than those who actually do have something of value to contribute on their own... 

What I don't see is a drying up of inspirational resources. The old guard of Regardie, Knight, Gray and even Grant has been replaced by a new generation. Change is occurring, and that's about all we can say is happening. Only time will judge as to which pathway and what teachers will establish the lasting legacy for the future." 

Morgan Eckstein wrote:

"A lot of people look sideways at my muggle job--erotica writing."

Aaron Leitch on his Ananael  blog wrote here in the article entitled „Is Public Occultism Fading Out?":

"In the beginning, I helped every single person that wrote to me – both laypersons who needed magickal help and seekers asking for guidance.  I even guided a couple of people through their own attempts at the Abramelin Rite.  (And, O’boy, was that a bad idea!)  But, very quickly, I found myself overwhelmed.  Between email, internet forums, and social media sites like Facebook, I was receiving more requests than I could possibly answer.Not only that, but I also discovered 99% of the people I was trying to help valued my teachings exactly as much as they had paid for them (in dollars or personal effort):  zero…Some have suggested that it is not magick that is fading away, so much as popular interest in Golden Dawn-style ceremonial.  And that is true to a large extent. “Western Mystery” (read Ceremonial Magick) conferences hardly ever happen these days, and if they do they are small and informal.  (You may remember the SOMA conference in Texas that didn’t happen.)  My current Ceremonial Magick 101 class does not have a single ceremonial magician in it."

Scott Stenwick on his Augoeides blog in an article entitled "Regarding Muggle Jobs“ here wrote:

"For a true magician, magick is part of everything, so in that sense there's no such thing as a "muggle job." I use magick to solve difficult technical problems at work, to deal with political and interpersonal issues, and to make sure the best opportunities come my way. I'm not going to stop writing any time soon because I love writing, but barring some incredibly unlikely sequence of events I'll never be able to live off it. And you know what? I'm okay with that."

Over on his Hermeticulture blog, in an article entitled: "Muggle Jobs' and the Prosperity Theology of Occultism,“ Spencer M. Graves wrote here:

"If anything, I would tend to argue that trying to make a living from one's magic runs the risk of severely detracting from one's magical work...
"Moreover, while I certainly don't think it's vulgar or inappropriate for a person to make money in the esoteric field from writing, teaching classes, performing services, or what have you, when you try to turn that into a full-time venture it necessarily means that the focus is no longer primarily on the quality and intrinsic value of the material being offered.  You've got to sell something to pay the bills, which means that money takes the front seat.  And when that happens, when spirituality becomes commodified--that's when things take a turn for the vulgar.  Frankly, I trust a magician who has a day job a lot more than one whose livelihood depends on selling me something.“

Perhaps I have not been clear. Let me explain. When I speak derisively of "Muggle Jobs", I speak derisively of our entire civilisation and the economic system that has enslaved mankind. The below video sums this up pretty well.

What the producers of the video do not show is that the way out of this mess is not by changing the system. The way out is spiritual.

How? "Know Thyself"!

• Remember who you truly are.
• Awaken to your Solar Self

In reality, you are an immortal Divine being of pure starfire who has fallen in vibration - from the universe inside light - to a material vibration where you became embodied in a meat suit.  Stories of fallen angels refer to the esoteric truth of your fall into planetary reality from the stars. Like Angles rising to heaven on wings of fire,  we can ascend to to the stars with our light suits.

You are more than you know. Your present sense of self - Who you experience yourself to be - is an illusion created by your identification with thoughts, feelings, and sensory perceptions. Disidentify from these things and you peel back onion-like layers of illusion until you can be your true Self that lies beyond. As you remember, you will also recall your abilities, awakening into consciousness on a multiverse of inner planes that exist beyond the physical.

Not everyone is ready for the spiritual awakening. Many will likely just keep reincarnating endlessly on this planet. I will not incarnate here again.  Life on Earth is becoming less and less free. The environment is a disaster. I don't want any part what will likely happen.

Ultimate freedom exists in our light bodies inside the stars.

You don't have to remain forever on this slave planet.

Ascend with me as I rise from this cocoon of flesh triumphant on wings of starfire!

Cast off the chains of matter and of death ...

Awaken to your Spiritual Solar Self!

Click HERE to explore our Outer Order, 

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Are Successful Magicians "Hucksters?" (OTO Llewellyn Author Attacks Golden Dawn Magickal Community)

by Golden Dawn Imperator

David Griffin

Over the past week, the blogosphere has been abuzz again about money and Magick teaching. The whole flap started when Nick Farrell decided to close the Magikal Order of Aurora Aureae correspodence course, then wrote an article suggesting that overall interest in Magick is on the wane in the 21st Century. You can read Mr. Farrell's article, entitled "Ten Reasons Why Public Occultism is Dying" here. Peregrin Wildoak threw his two cents into the discussion on his "MAgic of the Ordinary blog here.

Frater Barrabbas
(Brian Watling)

Everything remained quite civil until Llewellyn author and OTO member, Frater Barrabbas, gratuitously launched the following personal attack on Mr. Farrell on his "Talking About Ritual Magick" blog here,

„Some folks are saying that where the past decades were the golden age, the whole [Magick] movement now is in obvious decline in the second decade of the 21st century. I am, of course, referring to yet another “counter intuitive” whining rant from Nick Farrell on his blog of personal propaganda and self aggrandizement.“

Barrabbas, Farrell, and Wildoak each raise interesting points in their articles. The subject of money and marketing in Magick atually does deserve civil debate. Name calling, like that exhibited by Frater Barrabbas, however,  belongs on the school yard playground, not coming from a putative spiritual leader.

Anyone who has been around the Magickal scene for any length of time already knows that Nick Farrell and I agree about precious little. For example, we have completely different approaches to Magick and the Golden Dawn.

Despite our differences, Nick Farrell remains a valued teacher in our Golden Dawn community. I will therefore not stand by idly while an outside agitator - in this case a Llewellyn author and OTO member- attacks the Golden Dawn community by personally attacking its leaders.

Barrabbas' attack on the G.D. community continues:

"Conversely, those teachers who engage in it expecting to be financially rewarded or by receiving the accolades of their students and peers should consider doing something else. Because they won’t ever become rich or famous teaching occultism and magic unless they become supreme hucksters like Koetting, Zink or Griffin. Even then, it isn’t guaranteed that they will be successful, but to promote one’s tradition and persona like Donald Trump is probably the only way to make occultism and magic really pay."

In addition to Magical Order of Aurora Aureae leader, Nick Farrell, Frater Barrabbas above personally attacks leaders of two other Golden Dawn orders, calling us "hucksters," together with a Satanist!

This  bahavior is so over the top that it merits a public and harsh reply to "Frater Barrabbas" - who in the real world is Brian Watling, a computer programmer and database administrator for Optuminsight in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Here is my reply:

"Dear Brian Watling/Frater Barrabbas,  

Please quit acting like such a dick. No one asked you for your opinion. Why not go back to Llewellyn and OTO and mind your own business? Peace in our Golden Dawn community has lasted nearly a year now. The GD does not need outside agitators like you stirring shit in our community."

Brian Watling calls me a "huckster." Is this true? Of course not. I am not a huckster. What I AM though is a better Magician than Frater Barrabbas will ever be in the real world.

Want proof? Fine. Here:

Even today, Brian Watling continues to slave his health away 9-5 (+overtime) at his database administrator Muggle job with Optuminsight ...

... just like he has for the past 26 years.

And me? I have been semi-retired since I was 25. That's right. For the past 35 years, I have been privileged to have had 6-7 months free each year to devote entirely to the Magick of Light.

Do you think such liberty just fell out ot the sky? 

Hardly. Wake up people. I created it Magickally - And so can you.

I put a spell on myself using a rare French grimoire when I was young, conjuring the ability to master languages. Eventually mastered French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish and English. Of course, I had to work to become fluent in all these languages, but this was nonetheless the fruit of my Magickal Will. 

Does this make me a „huckster“? No. It does make me a linguist though. It also proves I'm a damned good Magician.

Manifesting a Muggle career that left me half the year to pursue my passion for Magick was also a product of my Magickal Will.

Such liberty does not just fall out of the sky. I created it magickally. And you can liberate yourself as well.

I am sick and tired of Magick "wannabe gurus" calling other people names - I mean these are people who can't muster enough Magickal Will  even to liberate themselves for proper time to devote to Magick.

Maybe these armchair heroes should quit harassing real Magicians - and devote themselves instead entirely to their time-slave Muggle jobs.

No wonder people like this so frequently choke on sour grapes.

And if you think they've been envious of my life until now, wait until they see what I'm about to accomplish.

I can only share a tiny part of what is coming on the horizon, but here is a piece of juicy gossip for the occult paparazzi:

"When I turned 60 this year, I took a magickal decision to retire from my Muggle job as a tour guide to devote myself not just half the year - but henceforth the WHOLE year - to empowering people with the Magick of Light  and facilitating their spiritual awakening." - David Griffin

Does this make me a huckster? No. 

But it will further prove my Magickal abilities once it manifests.

NOTE: Before the occult tabloids rake me over the coals again, lets be clear about this. I still plan to lead a couple of Muggle tours each year despite my retirement. I ENJOY guiding tourists from around the world through America.

No doubt there will be others like Frater Barrabbas who will come along and call me names for devoting my life all year to Magick. Believe me. Such people would be better off to quit gnashing their teeth on sour grapes, and prove their worth as Magiciansinstead  by transforming their OWN lives.

Next Frater Barrabbas compares me with Donald Trump. This part is really silly.

Although I am flattered by the comparison, I am nothing like Donald Trump. I am younger than Donald Trump. I am better looking than Donald Trump. And most importantly - I have a LOT more hair than Donald Trump!

But there is ONE thing Donald Trump and I do have in common. Donald Trump is courageous enough to speak his mind and to tell people even uncomfortable truths.

As any reader of our Golden Dawn Facebook group (here) will attest, there are certain issues I am passionate about - like healing our environment, the right of American citizens not to be spied on without a warrant, and rampant abuse of government secrecy.

For example, Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations concluded yesterday, yet the American people are still in the dark about the full contents of this treaty. According to Wikileaks documents, this treaty could have profound effects on American sovereignty, potentially even dragging us into globalism in an EU-like "Pacific Union" - effectively abolishing our constitution.

People - wake up! Open your eyes to what is going on around you.

At a minimum, these issues need to be discussed openly, publicly, and thoroughly. We Americans have a right to know and to legitimately participate in determining which direction our nation will take.

Lastly, the underlying reason Frater Barrabbas calls me a "huckster" is because he doesn't like that our order uses 21st Century marketing. Well, guess what - so does Optuminsight - the tech company Brian Watling works for.

Big deal. Get over it. 

I have no problem with Bryan Watling voicing his opinion about marketing in occultism, even though he is wrong. He just shouldn't call people names. There is no call for that.

Besides - Let's remember that our order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn under the Alpha Omega is the largest and fastest growing Golden Dawn order in the world. In fact, today we are growing three times faster than ever before.

Success is my proof. I must be doing something right.

And yes - This is my REAL hair!

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The Golden Dawn's Finest Hour

by Golden Dawn Imperator

David Griffin

As you may already know, thanks to the Golden Dawn peace initiative launched by Nick Farrell last Winter, the Golden Dawn community has enjoyed months of peace, harmony, and prosperity.

You may remember from last February this Vlog article:

For the first time in months, peace was  this week disrupted when a blogger hiding behind anonymity resumed attacks on Golden Dawn leaders, this time Martin Thibeault (co-leader with Pat Zalewksi of the "Order of the Golden Dawn") and myself.

I will not permit outside agitators cowering behind anonymity to fan flame wars in our community.

In light of the attack, I contacted Martin Thibeault directly. Guess what? It turns out he wants harmony to prevail in our community as much as I do.

Upon GH Frater Thibeault's request, I caused a number of old articles critical of Thibeault and Zalewksi.to be removed from our order's websites, blogs, etc.

Robert Zink, leader of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, months ago approached me with a similar takedown request. As a consequence, GH Frater Zink and I each cleaned up a number of old articles.

There still is a lot left to do, but the peace process started by Nick Farrell still progresses today - And Golden Dawn leaders are not letting ourselves be manipulated by outside agitators. Who do they think they are dealing with, anyhow?

Instead, we stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity.

The time has come to take a stand. The Golden Dawn community is under attack from outside agitators.

Will YOU stand with us - in defense of peace, prosperity, and undisturbed spiritual growth in our community?

YOU have the power to make the decisive difference.

Outside agitators can continue their nonsense only as long as you - the grass roots Golden Dawn - permit them to.

YOU can put a stop to this - once and for all!

How?

Simple.

Whenever and wherever you find anyone fanning flames of discord in our community...

Confront them! Call them on it. Tell them to stop.

Only you can do this. We Chiefs of the Golden Dawn can provide you with solid leadership, but we can't do everything ourselves.

This is YOUR community too.  It is up to YOU to help protect it!

Does Astral-only Initiation Work? Consensus Among Golden Dawn Experts

The discussion regarding the alleged benefits and limitations of "Astral-only" Initiation, created by Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn leader, Robert Zink, has gone on for years in the Golden Dawn community and resurfaces from time to time. This time the discussion has been revived again in a blog article by Mr. Zink.

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, the late Frater Donald Michael Kraig, in an article entitled Ritual and Ritual Theater 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, former Hyperborean Adept, Sincerus Renatus wrote 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 or its offshoots 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 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. Mr. Zink has been invited over and over to provide evidence to support his thesis that the original Golden Dawn practiced Astral only initiation. He has so far failed to provide even one shred of evidence to support this odd claim.

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."

Golden Dawn Adept, 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."

Enochian Magick author, Scott Stenwick, wrote here:

"My issue here is not that magical force is impossible to transmit over a distance. Rather, mystery traditions make use of a specific piece of psychological technology, the cultivation of cognitive dissonance through uncertainty. If, going into an initiation, you have absolutely no idea what is going to happen, the mind enters a state that is both hypervigilant and more open to suggestion. A good mystery tradition initiation, then, takes advantage of this unusual state of mind to imprint the principles taught by the degree. While there should also be spiritual forces brought to bear during the ritual, the imprinted memory of the experience serves as a sort of "anchor" within the initiate's mind that allows him or her to connect with them more easily." 

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."

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ASTONISHING Golden Dawn News!

by Golden Dawn Imperator

David Griffin

As you are likely already aware, the Golden Dawn community began an epoch of unparalleled peace and prosperity, when Nick Farrell recently launched a peace initiative you can read about here.

Nick Farrell

You can hear about my reply to Mr. Farrell's peace initiative in the video embedded below.

Peace is breaking out all over. Over past weeks a lot has happened, although it has occurred discretely. After attacking Nick Farrell for his peace initiative, the hate blogs that have plagued the Golden Dawn community have fallen completely silent, deprived of traffic and furious with Nick Farrell for no longer allowing them to promote their posts on his 7,000 member Facebook group.

Perhaps the most pernicious problem the Golden Dawn community has faced has been decades of polarisation. In recent years, this polarisation has been perpetuated by misguided individuals spreading polarising myths, such as:

• "There has never been any strife in "the Golden Dawn community. We all get along." 
• "All of the problems come from "outside troublemakers" (with an implied finger pointed towards our order).
• A variant on this "us vs them" polarising theme has been that "all problems come from 2 groups that treat the Golden dawn like a business model."

In recent weeks, Aaron Leitch and Samuel Scarborough, have silenced all those who attempted to spread such polarising myths. For such peacekeeping efforts, Aaron Leitch and Sam Scarborough deserve HUGE credit. The peace that has maintained in the Golden Dawn community over the past month wouldn't have been possible without efforts like these, as well as without Mr. Farrell having effectively silenced the hate blogs.

Deborah Leah Shaw

Finally, special commendation goes out to two individuals who have done more than any of us to see that this peace process does not get derailed. These are two members of various Golden Dawn Facebook groups, Deborah Leah Shaw and Andrew Martini.

Andrew Martini

So where is the ASTONISHING Golden Dawn news I promised you in the headline? You might want to sit down before you read on.

I nearly fell off my chair last weekend when I was approached by Steven Ashe bearing a message from Robert Zink, making a take down request of all articles critical of him and promising to do the same. Steven Ashe also deserves commendation for his unsolicited diplomatic efforts in furthering Golden Dawn peace.

Steven Ashe

Yes! Golden Dawn peace continues to spread - and the long and laborious process of removing remnants of decades of tensions continues.

The week before, I had been approached by Olen Rush with a similar take down request, which I immediately honored.

I admit that Robert Zink's take down request request presents me with a conundrum, because there are things about Mr. Zink's past behavior I do not endorse and can't support at all.

Robert Zink

After careful consideration, however, I have decided to honor Mr. Zink's request. The main reason for this is the positive impact this decision will have on the momentum Nick Farrell's peace initiative has been gaining in recent weeks.

After two decades of overt and covert strife in the Golden Dawn community, from the Internet all the way to trademark wars before the US District Court, peace has at long last arrived and seems it is here to stay.

As the Golden Dawn community continues this peace process with a long overdue Internet cleanup of the remnants of strife gone by, It is my fervent wish for the Golden Dawn that the greater Magickal community will see the Golden Dawn for what it is, a community of advanced Magicians with the spiritual maturity and wisdom to put old conflicts and grudges where they belong - in the past.

May the Golden Dawn always remain a shining beacon of light ... 

... for those still groping in darkness!

Hate Bloggers Attack Nick Farrell: Golden Dawn Fundamentalism?

by Golden Dawn Imperator

David Griffin

Nick Farrell's Peace Initiative

You are likely by now aware of MOAA leader, Nick Farrell's, peace initiative to end defamation in the Golden Dawn community. I fully support this initiative, as I set forth in the below State of the Golden Dawn address, which I released last week at Candlemas.

The truce arising from the Farrell initiative has held for over a week now. There have been no attacks on any Golden Dawn leader posted on Mr. Farrell's group nor any other major Golden Dawn group on Facebook.

The only sad news this week came when Golden Dawn hate blogs attacked Nick Farrell for silencing them by no longer allowing them to promote posts on his Facebook group, thus depriving them of any meaningful traffic or readership. Nick Farrell deserves much credit for standing up to these hate blogs.

In other developments, Olen Rush commented on YouTube beneath my "State of the Golden Dawn" video, pointing out that he has completely taken down his blog where once numerous attacks on our order were housed. Mr. Rush pointed out that negative references to that blog still remain today on the Golden Dawn Blog. In respect of Mr. Rush's effective takedown request, I yesterday removed any and all reference to Olen Rush from the Golden Dawn Blog. I took this action unilaterally and unconditionally in yet a further effort to support Nick Farrell's peace initiative - as well to inspire others in the Golden Dawn community to also do the right thing.

Nick Farrell deserves much credit for persevering in his peace initiative, despite being attacked by the hate blogs this week. There have always been - and will always be - a handful of extremists in the Golden Dawn community - and hatred will never be completely banished. Extremists can not continue to tarnish the reputation of the Golden Dawn, however, unless we allow their hatred to continue to have a disproportionate voice.

But does this mean that there can be no legitimate debate in the Golden Dawn community? Especially when it comes to the legitimate differences between one Golden Dawn order and the other? Does the public not have a right to know these differences?

This idea is being put to the test today over on Nick Farrell's group, where my name is being invoked once again this morning, this time in connection with the position of various Golden Dawn orders on the practice of Magick in the Golden Dawn's outer order.

Today's discussion arose when Dean Wilson, leader of Ireland's "Ancient and Honorable Order of the Golden Dawn" set forth his position that:

"the Elemental Implements should not be made in the Elemental Grades" of the Golden Dawn's outer order.

Golden Dawn author, Pat Zalewksi, leader of the Canadian "Order of the Golden Dawn" replied:

"You have get me here Dean as I have never heard of a GD order making elemental weapons in the outer order. Its bloody ridiculous for many reasons."

Morgan Drake Eckstein, of the Colorado based BIOGD, replied:

 "(I have heard of these Orders doing this.... ) I personally think that they should be made as a set in the Inner."

Samuel Scarborough, representing an order I can't mention here by name due to a legal agreement you can view HERE wrote: 

"Unfortunately, Pat Zalewski, there are those that claim to do GD work, yet do drop Inner Order material into the Outer. Those organizations previously named certainly are the most well-known for this particular (and other) set of practices."

Another group member made clear who they were talking about, suggesting "Griff's order" "does quite a bit of this sort of thing".

A leader of Sam Scarborough's order wrote:

"Amen and Amen! Bravo Dean!"

Let me first make clear why I am summarizing and replying to this discussion here rather than directly on Nick Farrell's group where it occurred. I am banned from Nick Farrell's group. Even today, despite Nick's peace initiative, I continue to be mentioned in discussions on Mr. Farrell's group, yet denied any possibility of direct reply. This dynamic has contibuted heavily to decades of Golden Dawn community polarization.

Moving on to relevant points of discussion, we observe that there is a faction of orders in the Golden Dawn community that do not permit use of the Golden Dawn's elemental implements in their outer orders. 

In fact, these orders reserve all practice of Magick for their Inner Orders. Not one of these groups will give you any Magickal instruction or coaching until you reach their Inner Order, which typically takes at least five years.

The position of our order, the European headquartered, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, in this matter is quite different that those of other orders stated above. We are, in fact the ONLY Golden Dawn order that will teach you Magick from the very first day your are accepted for membership in our order.

In 1888, in Victorian England, it made sense to make people wait until the Inner Order to learn the secrets of Magick. But today, when you can buy all that same "secret" magick for $37.95 from Llewellyn (discounted to $24.50 on Amazon), does this still make sense? Times change and no one can put the genie back in the bottle. The reality is that, due to the publication of basic Golden Dawn material by Crowley and Regardie, there is an entire army of self taught solitary Golden Dawn magicians out there picking up bad habits and in desperate need of proper training, guidance, and coaching. Our order's position is that it makes no sense at all to make people wait for years on end without proper Magickal training. We are a school of Magick, after all, and not of history.

For the sake of argument, let's say you join one of these orders that make you wait years before Magickal training? Just what Magick will you learn once training finally arrives?

This - And little more.

This is not at all the case with our order. We are Golden Dawn traditionalists. All of the Magick and Alchemy we teach in our First, Second, and Third orders comes straight from Hermetic, Rosicrucian, and Golden Dawn initiatic sources. 

We are very fortunate to have far more to offer our students than just what's in a Llewellyn book. In our order, we offer the complete three order training program originally envisioned for the Golden Dawn, but only partly realized by S.L. MagGregor Mathers.

Let us return to the discussion that prompted this article, the question of whether or not the Golden Dawn's elemental implements should be used by Magicians in the Elemental grades of the Outer Order. In our order, students do use these Magickal tools in our Outer Order. They use them to master the Forces of each Element using invocation of published Qabalistic and Enochian Magickal forces.

Unlike other Golden Dawn orders, however, our Second Order contains a great deal of unpublished Hermetic Magick. One part of this is Chaldaen Magick. Our Adepti Minori also make and consecrate new Elemental tools, but tools that use unpublished Chaldean Magickal entities, names, and sigils. These are used for secret Chaldean Hermetic Magick that is available in no other Golden Dawn order.

Is it any wonder that we are today the world's largest and fastest growing Golden Dawn order? In case you are interested, here is a direct link to our order's application process.

I respect that other Golden Dawn orders choose to make people wait for Magick like in 1888. It is our diversity that makes our Golden Dawn community so rich. I am not not implying that any of my colleagues from other orders are Golden Dawn Fundamentalists. Still, we as a community should be ever vigilant for the dangers of all forms of extremism including dogmatism and fundamentalism.

The Golden Dawn is not a religion, Israel Regardie is not Martin Luther, and the Llewellyn book is certainly not a "Golden Dawn Bible."

I am not claiming that our order is better than any other - only that we do things differently. There are important differences between Golden Dawn orders and the public deserves to know what these differences are.

One thing has became clear today. Despite ongoing success of Nick Farrell's peace initiative, meaningful debate about differences between Golden Dawn orders remains hobbled across different Facebook groups and blogs rather than in direct dialogue. I am optimistic that also this situation may yet improve. In any case, we as a community must not allow Nick Farrell's peace initiative to be scuttled by extremism in any form.

The Golden Dawn, Critical Thinking, and MagickAll 2014

The Order of the Alpha Omega has spent the past several months encouraging its students to learn to think critically. They are taught, from the second lesson of the Order, how to evaluate issues, how to reach conclusions, how evaluate evidence, and how to challenge their own assumptions. 

Our students are taught not to fear the unknown but to analyze it. Our goal is to learn that we may serve. Only the ignorant live in fear. Only love conquers fear. Part of that Love is the love of wisdom (Philo-Sophia) or better known as philosophy. To attack what we do not understand is not wisdom, it is foolishness. It is the fallacy of the orthodoxy.

The MagicALL is an invitation to ALL forms of magick to come and explain their position and demonstrate their methods. Our open invitation is true. It is OPEN. How can we invite ALL and then say “everyone is invited as long as they do everything we like and agree with us.” 

While we don’t begrudge those who wish to only meet with like-minded groups (we do it ourselves most of the time) we do believe that our community is bigger than ourselves and we can learn from ALL. Sometimes we learn what TO do and sometimes we learn what NOT to do.

We don’t fear other groups. We open our doors and are prepared to defend our methods. We are not afraid for our students to see other groups or traditions. We don’t fear they will abandon us for other traditions. If they do, we are happy we could help them find the path they need during this incarnation. We are not trying to capture or brainwash our members. We are trying to educate them. The best way to educate people on other traditions is to invite them to come out and present their arguments themselves.

The greatest enemy of knowing is assuming. Of course, we all make assumptions, and doing so is a requirement. However, assumptions are a starting point, not an ending point. We make assumptions and then we challenge them.

An assumption is something we accept as true without proof. Once we identify an assumption we hold it is our duty as students to find out if those assumptions are based in reality, to get proof. MagicAll is the opportunity to identify, clarify, and rectify our assumptions about other traditions. Don’t argue from a position of ignorance, do so from experience. You will get that experience at MagicAll.

Alpha Omega students can THINK. They know the method. We are very proud of their ability to think critically rather than be fooled by sophists. We feel comfortable exposing them to all traditions. Can every Golden Dawn order make this claim? Our members don’t memorize material, they master it. They don’t read our lessons, they analyze them. They don't do the exercises because it’s “tradition,” they do them because they work! This is why we have nothing to fear.

In the past two years our yearly Spring gathering has been for Golden Dawn Magicians ONLY. We invited people from all the different orders and they all declined. This year, we open it to ALL and these same other Golden Dawn leaders this time say they can’t show up because there are non-GD people doing Magick! 

I say “Make up your mind!” 

Even so, I wish they would come and see what it REALLY is that they demonize. I wish they would come and share their knowledge, their experience, and share their philosophies. We won’t try to “steal” their members and we don’t fear they will steal ours. Again, if our members hear their arguments and believe a different order is better suited for them at this time, we encourage them to go where they are spiritually comfortable. Nevertheless, to demonize us without knowing us from experience is poor taste when they have been invited to come and learn.

You can find more information on the MagickAll gathering here.