The Golden Dawn F.A.Q.

i.    Introduction.
1.   What is the Golden Dawn?
2.   How did the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn come into being?
3.   Is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn a religion?
4.   What are the roots of the Golden Dawn?
5.   What is the Hermetic tradition?
6.   What is the goal of Hermetic spiritual practice?
7.   What are Hermetic spiritual practices?
8.   What is Alchemy?
9.   What is magic?
10. How is astrology important in Hermetic spiritual practice?
11. Where does the Hermetic tradition come from?
12. What is the Rosicrucian tradition?
13. What are Rosicrucian spiritual practices?
14. What is the system of grades used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and where do they come from?
15. What is the purpose of the three order system?
16. How is the Golden Dawn connected with the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions?
17. How is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn connected with the New Age movement?
18. How is the Golden Dawn connected with Freemasonry?
19. How is the Golden Dawn connected with the SRIA?
20. What connection did Aleister Crowley have with the Golden Dawn?
21. What connection did Israel Regardie have with the Golden Dawn?
22. What is the “Regardie Golden Dawn lineage?”
23. What is the importance of lineage in various spiritual traditions?
24. What is the lineage of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn?
25. What are the major lines of transmission of Golden Dawn lineage?
26. What about “astral initiation”?
27. Is it possible to Self-Initiate myself in the Golden Dawn?
28. Is there anything still Secret in the Golden Dawn?
29. Are Golden Dawn Temples still active? How can I become a member?
30. Which order is the real Golden Dawn?


Introduction

Welcome to the Golden Dawn F.A.Q. and Hermetic – Rosicrucian timeline. This website is intended as a scholarly resource devoted to historical research of the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions with a special emphasis on the Golden Dawn. We seek to illustrate the unique place of the Golden Dawn within the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions, as well how these traditions shaped and formed the Golden Dawn from its inception in 1850, to its founding in 1888, until today.

On this website, you will find a detailed timeline of the major streams of Western esoteric thought, beginning in most ancient times. These include the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions, magical grimoires, alchemy and alchemists, and biographical information on most major personalities in the Western esoteric tradition.

Below you will also find answers to the most frequently asked questions (F.A.Q.) about the Golden Dawn in the first major update of the Golden Dawn FAQ in over a decade. You will also find a guide to contemporary Golden Dawn groups on this site, intended as a guide for the perplexed through the Internet Golden Dawn labyrinth.

We welcome all scholarly contributions as we strive to continuously improve the accuracy, update, and expand this site. Please send submissions, additions, corrections, etc. to:
submissions@golden-dawn.info.

Sincerely,
The Golden-Dawn.Info Research Team

1. What is the Golden Dawn?

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a magical order that was founded in 1888, practicing a form of theurgy and spiritual development. It was probably the single greatest influence on twentieth century western occultism. Concepts of magic and ritual that became core elements of many other traditions, including Wicca, Thelema and other forms of magical spirituality popular today, are drawn from the Golden Dawn tradition. Today’s widespread public interest in tarot likewise derives directly from the Golden Dawn, through decks using Golden Dawn symbolism published by former Golden Dawn members Aleister Crowley and A.E. Waite. The Golden Dawn has also influenced literature through writers W.B. Yeates, A.E. Waite, Algeron Blackwood, and Arthur Machen.

2. How did the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn come into being?

What would eventually become the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn began in 1850, when Kenneth MacKenzie was initiated by Hungarian Count Apponyi in Austria into a Rosicrucian lineage and was given a collection of 60 folios, called Cypher Manuscripts, containing the structural outline of a series of magical initiation rituals that eventually became the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. MacKenzie was additionally granted a warrant with which to found a branch of this Continental Rosicrucian society in Britain. MacKenzie exercised this warrant by founding two temples in Britain (Hermanoubis Temple N 2 was in Bristol under F.G. Irwin), but that waited in vain for the rituals which were never completed. Following MacKenzie’s death, W. Wynn Wescott obtained copies of these Cypher Manuscripts from his widow, which Wescott, together with fellow freemasons Dr. William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers used to found the Usis-Urania temple no. 3 of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1888. It should be noted that 1888 is usually given for the year of the founding of the H.O.G.D. and that the two temples founded by Kenneth MacKenzie are customarily referred to as the “Society of Eight.”

3. Is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn a religion?

The H.O.G.D. is not a religion. Although spiritual and metaphysical concepts are the focus of much order work, rather are taught to hold all religions in reverence, for there are elements of the same transcendent truth in all of them. An overall notion of religious tolerance pervades the Golden Dawn, for one is also reminded from the very first initiation ritual, to "Remember that you hold all Religions in reverence, for there is none but contains a Ray from the Ineffable Light that you are seeking."

4. What are the roots of the Golden Dawn?

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a nineteenth century manifestation of both the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions and occupies a very specific place within each of these. There are many additional influences and sources of material which have been incorporated into the teachings and rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Additional influences on Golden Dawn concepts and work include: Christian mysticism, Qabalah, the religion of Ancient Egypt, Freemasonry, Theosophy, Eliphas Levi, Papus, Enochian magic, and Renaissance grimoires.

5. What is the Hermetic tradition?

The Hermetic tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a wise sage and Egyptian priest, and who is commonly seen as synonymous with the Egyptian god Thoth. The Hermetic tradition commonly attributes forty two books to his credit. However, most of these books are reported to have been destroyed when the Great Library of Alexandria was razed. There are three major works which are widely known texts for Hermetic beliefs:
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus is a short work which coins the well known term in occult circles "As above, so below." As the story is told, this tablet was found by Alexander the Great at Hebron supposedly in the tomb of Hermes. The actual text of that maxim is "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing." The tablet also references the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe, to which Hermes claims his knowledge of these three parts is why he received the name Trismegistus (thrice great, or Ao-Ao-Ao meaning "greatest"). The Corpus Hermeticum is the body of work most widely known and is the aforementioned Greek texts. These sixteen books are set up as dialogues between Hermes and a series of others. The first book involves a discussion between Poimandres (also known as Nous and God) and Hermes, supposedly resulting from a meditative state, and is the first time that Hermes is in contact with God. Poimandres teaches the secrets of the Universe to Hermes, and later books are generally of Hermes teaching others such as Asclepius and his son Tat. The four classical elements of earth, water, air, and fire are used often in alchemy, and are alluded to several times in the Corpus Hermeticum.
The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy, is a book published in 1912 CE anonymously by three people calling themselves the "Three Initiates". Many of the Hermetic principles are explained in the book.

6. What is the goal of Hermetic spiritual practice?

In the Hermetic belief system, all is in the mind of The All. Hermeticism acknowledges that there exist many gods, but that these deities, along with all other beings, exist within, and are created by, The ALL. As expressed in the Kybalion: "We have given you the Hermetic Teaching in regarding the Mental Nature of the Universe - the truth that 'the Universe is Mental - held in the Mind of THE ALL.'
Everybody and Everything in the universe is part of this entity. As everything is mental, it is also a vibration. All vibrations vibrate from the densest of physical particles, through mental states, to the highest spiritual vibrations. In Hermeticism, the only difference between different states of physical matter, mentality, and spirituality is the frequency of their vibration. The higher the vibration, the further it is from base matter. The goal of Hermetic practice is to transmute the base matter of the physical body into ever more refined and pure forms of energy and consciousness.

7. What are Hermetic spiritual practices?

One account of how Hermes Trismegistus received the name "Trismegistus," meaning "Thrice Great," is because, as he claims in The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, he knows the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe. These are the Hermetic triad (Trivium Hermeticum) of spiritual practices: alchemy, astrology, and theurgy, by means of which spiritual attainment is accomplished in the Hermetic Tradition.

8. What is Alchemy?

Alchemy - The Operation of the Sun - For Hermeticism, Alchemy is not simply the changing of physical lead into physical gold. Hermetic initiates derided those ‘alchemists’ trying to manufacture gold as mere ‘puffers,’ unable to understand the subtle allegories of Hermetic alchemical texts. Behind allegorical stages of chemical distillation and fermentation in order to quicken Nature's processes and to bring a natural body to perfection., lies the alchemical art of transmutation (Ars Transmutoria). In this “Great Work” (Opus Magnum) of Hermetic alchemy, the first matter (Prima Materia), which is the physical body (symbolized by lead = Saturn, Chronos, ruled by time) is transmuted into higher ever more rarified forms of energy, creating a ‘body of light’ (symbolized by gold = Sun, a solar body), with the ultimate goal of achieving conscious immortality (Divine Consciousness) in a single incarnation.
This is accomplished by means of a powerful elixir of life called the Philosophers Stone, which, when ingested, transmutes the physical body and purifies its vibration. The composition of the Philosopher’s Stone remains one of the most carefully guarded secrets of the Hermetic tradition. Alchemical texts clearly state, however, that the Philosophers Stone is created by purifying Mercury into Philosophical Mercury. This Mercury, whose true nature remains concealed from non-initiates by allegory, is transmuted and purified by “cooking” it with the subtle fires of the physical body, including love and sexuality.
The actual techniques of the royal art (Ars Royal) of alchemy remain the most powerful and secret part of the Hermetic tradition and are carefully guarded in the highest grades of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Alchemy is seen as the "key" to theurgy, the ultimate goal of which is to become united with higher counterparts, leading to Divine Consciousness.

9. What is magic?

Theurgy (Magic) - The Operation of Moon - Theurgy translates to "The Science or art of Divine Works." There are two different types of magic, according to Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Apology, completely opposite of one another. The first is ???te?a, Goëtia, black magic reliant upon an alliance with evil spirits (i.e. demons). The second is Theurgy, divine magic reliant upon an alliance with divine spirits (i.e. angels, archangels, gods). In the practice of Hermetic theurgy, these are invoked in order to awaken elemental, planetary, an zodiacal forces in the physical and energetic bodies. Theurgy is the practical aspect of the astrology. Ritual magic and all modern magical traditions ultimately derive from Hermetic theurgy.

10. How is astrology important in Hermetic spiritual practice?

Astrology - The Operation of the Stars – the three disciplines of the Trivium Hermeticum; alchemy, theurgy, and astrology are completely interdependent on one another. Hermetic astrology is not a mere passive tool for fortune telling as astrology is understood in modern times, but rather actively employs stellar influences for spiritual development using alchemy and theurgy. Hermetic alchemy and theurgy are likewise dependent on astrological cycles. Thus Hermetic theurgy can be understood as a sort of astrological magic.

11. Where does the Hermetic tradition come from?

The Hermetic tradition arose out of the confluence of Egyptian and Greek cultures in Alcxandria in Ptolomaic Egypt. The earliest roots of the Hermetic tradition are found in the astronomical, spiritual traditions of Sumeria, then in Chaldea and Egypt before reaching Europe with the Greek and Roman empires. In Greece, this early wisdom found its way into the Pythagoraen tradition and filtered into the Orphic, Delphic, and Elusenian mysteries. In Rome, it arrived from Egypt with the Hermetic and Gnostic traditions, then spread through the Mythraic and the Isiac mysteries, later giving rise to Neo-Platonism. The Hermetic tradition, being opposed by the Church, became a part of the occult underworld, intermingling with other occult movements and practices. The infusion of Hermeticism into occultism has given it great influence in Western magical traditions. Hermeticism's spiritual practices were found very useful in magical work, especially in Theurgic (divine) practices as opposed to Goëtic (profane) practices, due to the religious context from which Hermeticism sprang forth. Using the teachings and imagery of the Jewish Qabalah and Christian mysticism, Hermetic Theurgy was used effectively and in a context more easily understood by Europeans in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Hermetic magic underwent a flowering in Western Europe, when the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in 1888.

12. What is the Rosicrucian tradition?

The Rosicrucian tradition is a flowering of Hermeticism, a rose blossoming upon the cross of the Hermetic tradition. The rose may also be seen to symbolize the soul and the cross, the body of the four elements. In other words, the human soul crucified on the cross of the material plane. This rosy cross may be similar to the Egyptian use of the ankh.
According to a legend of the 18th century Golden and Rosy Cross order in Germany, the Rosicrucian order was created when an Alexandrian Gnostic sage named Ormus and his six followers were converted by Mark, one of Jesus' disciples. From this conversion, Rosicrucianism was supposedly born, fusing early Christianity with Egyptian mysteries.
Historical research indicates the origin of the Rosicrucian tradition in a group of German Protestants between 1607 and 1616 (early 17th century), when three anonymous documents were elaborated and published in Europe: Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis, Confessio Fraternitatis, and Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz anno 1459. The publications of these documents caused immense excitement throughout Europe. These works declared the existence of a secret brotherhood of alchemists and sages who were preparing to transform the arts, sciences, religion, and political and intellectual landscape of Europe while wars of politics and religion ravaged the continent. It is probable that the first work was circulated in manuscript form about 1610, even though there was no mention of the order before that decade. In his autobiography, Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654) claimed the anonymously published Chymische Hochzeit (Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz) as one of his works. The German “Gold und Rosenkreuzer” (Golden and Rosy Cross) was first mentioned by the alchemist Samuel Richter (Sincerus Renatus)[1] in Prague in the early 18th century, then appeared as an organized order open only to Master Masons in 1756. This group, under the leadership of Hermann Fictuld, reformed itself extensively in 1767, and again in 1777 under the leadership of its Imperator, "Phoebron" (Dr. Bernhard Joseph Schleiss von Löwenfeld). The Order was organized in local circles, which practiced the Hermetic triad of disciplines; alchemy, theurgy (magic), and astrology.
Many elements of the Gold und Rosenkreutzer were incorporated in 1888 into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, including its grade structure (Juniores, Theoretici, Practici, Philosophi, Minores, Majores, Adepti exempti, Magistri und Magi.), titles, passwords, etc. The Second Order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, founded by S.L. MacGregor Mathers in 1892, likewise practices the Hermetic triad of disciplines; alchemy, theurgy (magic), and astrology.

13. What are Rosicrucian spiritual practices?

Contrary to modern misunderstanding, Rosicrucian spiritual practice is not some mystical mélange of New Age and self-help notions from pop psychology as has been popularized by certain, modern, pseudo-Rosicrucian groups. From the beginning, legitimate Rosicrucian schools have at all times taught and practiced the Hermetic triad of disciplines (Trivium Hermeticum): alchemy, astrology, and theurgy (magic), as was the case, for example, with the German Golden and Rosy Cross order in the eighteenth century.

14. What is the system of grades used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and where do they come from?

The grade structure used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn derives directly from the German Gold und Rosenkreutz (Golden and Rosy Cross) order of the eighteenth century. The Gold und Rosenkreutz order primarily practiced Hermetic alchemy and used the following grade structure:

Gold und Rosenkreutz Order
1. Juniorus
2. Theoricus
3. Practicus
4. Philosophus
5. Adeptus Minor
6. Adeptus Major
7. Adeptus Exemptus
8. Magister Templi
9. Magus

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn further developed the theurgical (magical) side of the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions. A stream of Jewish, Qabalistic influence entered the H.O.G.D. from the order of the “Asiatic Brethren,” another Rosicrucian order of eighteenth Century Germany. The H.O.G.D., therefore, modified the Gold und Rosenkreutz grade structure, causing it to correspond to the Sephiroth on the Qabalistic tree of life. Moreover, the H.O.G.D. organized these grades into a three order system and attributed certain magical (elemental and astrological) forces to each of the grades, as follows:

Name	Element	Planet	Sephira
First Order (Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn)
Neophyte (0=0)	(Introductory)
Zelator (1=10)	Earth	Earth	Malkuth, Kingdom
Theoricus (2=9)	Air	Moon	Yesod, Foundation
Practicus (3=8)	Water	Mercury	Hod, Splendour
Philosophus (4=7)	Fire	Venus	Netzach, Victory
Second Order (R.R. et A.C.)
Portal	Spirit	(Introductory)
Adeptus Minor (5=6)		Sun	Tiphareth, Beauty
Adeptus Major (6=5)		Mars	Gevurah, Might
Adeptus Exemptus (7=4)		Jupiter	Chesed, Mercy
Third Order (Name Unknown)
Magister Templi (8=3)		Saturn	Binah, Understanding
Magus (9=2)		Zodiac	Chokmah, Wisdom
Ipsissimus (10=1)			Kether, Crown