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- "Temple of Set Reading List:
- Category 10 - The Golden Dawn" (3/1/86CE)
- Reprinted from: _The Crystal Tablet of Set_
- (c) Temple of Set 1989 CE
- Weirdbase file version by TS permission
-
- by Michael A. Aquino, Ipsissimus VI* Temple of Set
- Electronic mail: MCI-Mail 278-4041
-
- The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a turn of the century British
- Rosicrucian/ceremonial magic society. Drawing from the legacy of Eliphas
- Levi, the Theosophical Society of Helena Blavatsky, and the Societas
- Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.), the Golden Dawn nevertheless succeeded in
- achieving a sophistication and an artistic elegance all its own. While it
- may be going too far to say that it became the prototype for all initiatory
- orders of this century, it certainly was the forerunner of Aleister
- Crowley's A.A., and its initiatory grade-structure would later influence
- those of the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set.
-
- 10A. _The Rites of Modern Occult Magic_ (British title: _Ritual Magic in
- England_) by Francis King. NY: Macmillan, 1970. (TS-3) (CS-3) AL: "A
- comprehensive survey of the Golden Dawn and other magical orders. Contains
- more actual, no-nonsense information than can be gleaned from the ponderous
- writings of the orders covered." MA: "A compact history of late 19th-century
- Rosicrucianism in England, the rise & fall of the Golden Dawn, the impact &
- influence of Crowley's A.'.A.'. & O.T.O. organizations, and comments on
- various pre-1966 offshoots, primarily in England. Readable, informative, and
- objective. A good introduction to the social context of the G.'.D.'. [If
- #13C is representative of King's research methods, however, his selection
- and emphasis of facts may not be as rigorous as could be desired."
-
- 10B. _The Golden Dawn_ by F. Israel Regardie. River Falls: Hazel Hills, 1970
- (2 volumes, reprinted as 1 volume in 1974 by Llewellyn). (TS-4) MA: "This is
- the third edition of the famous and still definitive study of the G.'.D.'.
- It is perhaps the only published work in which the artistry and atmosphere
- intended for the G.'.D.'. are clearly evident, untarnished by bitter
- accounts of petty personality conflicts. Looking through this work, one can
- see the authenticity and sophistication that the G.'.D.'. projected, which
- accounted for its attractiveness to the intelligentsia of a cynical and
- restless Victorian England. In spite of this, the G.'.D.'. was crippled by a
- lack of scientific and historical precision in its doctrines; this too will
- be apparent to the reader. Compare, for example, the Enochian Keys with the
- original Dee manuscript [included in _The Crystal Tablet of Set_].
- Nevertheless _The Golden Dawn_ remains a classic - and Regardie's _magnum
- opus_. [Not recommended is Regardie's 1984 work _The Complete Golden Dawn
- System of Magic_, which is a confusingly-organized product of a variety of
- authors, some apparently original/authentic and others modern/pretenders -
- most identified by initials/mottos only, so that the reader cannot easily
- distinguish between them.]"
-
- 10C. _Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and "The Golden Dawn"_ by Ithell
- Colquhoun. NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1975. (TS-3) MA: "An account of the
- G.'.D.'. and its principal figure, Mathers, by a devoted Mathers admirer.
- This bias, together with scant documentation of arguments in the text, makes
- it necessary to take this book with a grain of salt. Its primary value is as
- an update and supplement to #10A. The Enochian section is best ignored as
- unsubstantiated. An interesting feature of the book is the inclusion of
- G.'.D.'. membership and 'spinoff' lists, which offer clues to the legacy of
- the G.'.D.'. in some later initiatory contexts."
-
- 10D. _The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra=Melin, the Mage_ by S.L.
- MacGregor Mathers (Trans.). NY: Dover Books #23211-5, 1977 (reprinted from
- the 1932 de Lawrence hardcover edition). (TS-4) MA: "In the pristine Golden
- Dawn this grimoire was thought to be particularly 'dangerous', but by Setian
- standards it is merely quaint. Yet it was the text that inspired Aleister
- Crowley to begin serious Workings as a magician. Now of historical/collector
- value only, it is a translation of a 15th-century manuscript in the
- Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal in Paris. Included is an extensive introduction by
- Mathers."
-
- 10E. _Eliphas Levi: Master of Occultism_ by Thomas A. Williams. University
- of Alabama Press, 1975. (TS-3) MA: "Amidst all the confusion surrounding
- Levi, this little 174-page biography stands as an island of scholarship.
- Williams discusses the facts of his life, philosophy, and writings
- succinctly, suggesting prior influences and subsequent legacies. Today most
- of Levi's doctrines are thoroughly outdated, but in many ways he was the
- Columbus of modern occult science. Extensively footnoted, with a good
- bibliography and a list of Levi's own works."
-
- 10F. _The Magicians of the Golden Dawn_ by Ellic Howe. NY: Samuel Weiser,
- 1978. (TS-3) MA: "A documentary history of the rise and fall of the G.'.D.'.
- by a historian, not an occultist with an axe to grind. Hence it is objective
- while stopping short of cynicism. This history is based upon various
- personal and group interactions among the membership, not upon the evolution
- or development of magical theory. The book is valuable as an illustration of
- the stresses and strains upon an occult order and of how various individuals
- - some well-intentioned, some not - attempted to influence the situation.
- The ultimate lesson is that an occult society which becomes obsessed with
- interpersonal intrigue to the neglect of magic and philosophy is on the path
- to self-extermination." Howe is also the author of #14W.
-
- 10G. _Yeats' Golden Dawn_ by George Mills Harper. NY: Barnes & Noble, 1974.
- (TS-3) MA: "The best account of W.B. Yeats' encounter with occultism - first
- via Blavatsky's Theosophical Society and then with the G.'.D.'. after 1891.
- A picture of the conflict between Yeats the poet and Yeats the magician.
- There is an extensive documentary section, including Yeats' key pamphlet 'Is
- the RR&AC to Remain a Magical Order?' and the 'Bye-Laws' of the 1st and 2nd
- Orders of the G.'.D.'. as of 1900 and 1902 [after the Mathers & Crowley
- schisms]. Also included is the Hermetic Library Catalogue of Wynn Westcott,
- now obsolete but charming for its historical quaintness."
-
- 10H. _Yeats and Magic: The Earlier Works_ by M.C. Flannery. NY: Harper & Row
- (Barnes & Noble Import Division), 1978. (TS-4) MA: "This is neither as
- lengthy nor as G.'.D.'.-focused as #10G, but it is interesting because of
- its explanation of the influences of #19S and Blake [see #6F] in Yeats'
- magical philosophy. It is also more probing than #10G, seeking to illustrate
- Yeats' personal approach to a magical philosophy rather than his dealings
- with the G.'.D.'. organization."
-
- 10I. _Egyptian Magic_ by Florence Farr. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire:
- The Aquarian Press, 1982. (TS-4) MA: "The actress Florence Farr was one of
- the more famous initiates of the G.'.D.'. and was a particularly close
- friend of Yeats and G.B. Shaw. This little paperback is a very readable
- summary of the Egyptian magical tradition - as abbreviated as may be
- expected in 85 pages - but is nonetheless notable for its section on gnostic
- Christian philosophy as developed in post-dynastic Egypt. Herein may be
- found the G.'.D.'. roots of the 'AEonic' system into which Aleister Crowley
- would propose the AEon of Horus."
-
- 10J. _The Golden Dawn: Twilight of the Magicians_ by R.A. Gilbert.
- Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: The Aquarian Press, 1983. (TS-3) MA: "This
- little paperback might best be described as a '_Reader's Digest_ condensed-
- book version' of #10A/C/F/G with some ritual samples from #10B tossed in as
- appendices. If you want a quick and unconfusing look at the Golden Dawn,
- this is as good a cook's-tour as any."
-
-