The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or,
more commonly, the Golden Dawn) was a magical order active in Great
Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced
theurgy and spiritual development. It has been one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism.
Concepts of magic and ritual at the center of contemporary traditions,
such as Wicca and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn.
The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers were Freemasons and members of Societas
Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.). Westcott appears to have been the
initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn.
The Golden Dawn system was based on hierarchy and initiation like the
Masonic Lodges; however women were admitted on an equal basis with men.
The "Golden Dawn" was the first of three Orders, although all three are
often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn". The First Order
taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and personal
development through study and awareness of the four Classical Elements
as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy. The
Second or "Inner" Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis (the Ruby
Rose and Cross of Gold), taught proper magic, including scrying, astral
travel, and alchemy. The Third Order was that of the "Secret Chiefs",
who were said to be highly skilled; they supposedly directed the
activities of the lower two orders by spirit communication with the
Chiefs of the Second Order.
Hermetic Qabalah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Qabalah
Four Classical Elements
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Elements
Tarot Divination
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_divination
Scrying
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrying
Astral Travel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_projection
Alchemy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy
Geomancy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomancy
The
foundational documents of the original Order of the Golden Dawn, known
as the Cipher Manuscripts, are written in English using Trithemius
cipher. The manuscripts give the specific outlines of the Grade Rituals
of the Order and prescribe a curriculum of graduated teachings that
encompass the Hermetic Qabalah, astrology, occult tarot, geomancy, and
alchemy.
Cypher Manuscripts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipher_Manuscripts
Trithemius Cipher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trithemius_cipher
According to the records of the Order, the manuscripts passed from
Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie, a Masonic scholar, to the Rev. A. F. A.
Woodford, whom British occult writer Francis King describes as the
fourth founder (although Woodford died shortly after the Order was
founded). The documents did not excite Woodford, and in February 1886 he
passed them on to Freemason William Wynn Westcott, who managed to
decode them in 1887. Westcott, pleased with his discovery, called on
fellow Freemason Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers for a second opinion.
Westcott asked for Mathers' help to turn the manuscripts into a coherent
system for lodge work. Mathers in turn asked fellow Freemason William
Robert Woodman to assist the two, and he accepted. Mathers and Westcott
have been credited with developing the ritual outlines in the Cipher
Manuscripts into a workable format. Mathers, however, is generally
credited with the design of the curriculum and rituals of the Second
Order, which he called the Rosae Rubae et Aureae Crucis ("Ruby Rose and
Golden Cross" or the RR et AC).
more can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn
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