Temple protocol

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In this little essay I will speak quite openly about matters that probably shouldn’t be mentioned in the first place. But I feel compelled to speak up as there is a quite interesting discussion going on right now, concerning the procedure of Golden Dawn Temple meetings. As usual a dichotomy is being made between magical workings and Masonic procedure, where the one is considered by some to be contrary to the other.

Some others however propose that the Golden Dawn Temple should use the Neophyte Grade to envelope the Elemental Grade meetings, in a Masonic fashion. In Freemasonry to open up a Master Masons degree one first open the Lodge in the Apprentice degree, and then “lift the Lodge” into the Fellow Masons degree and finally into the Master Masons degree, and closes the Lodge in a similar fashion but in reverse order. Now Tony Fuller has suggested that the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, under the leadership of S.L. MacGregor Mathers, used this procedure in all their Elemental workings, i.e. that they first opened the Temple in the Neophyte Grade and then opened the particular Elemental Grade considered for the meeting. I also remember reading somewhere regarding A.E. Waite’s Fellowship of the Rosy Cross that they used to open the Lodge in the Neophyte Grade before proceeding to open in any of the Elemental Grades.

Swedish Freemasonic Hall

But in my opinion there is a problem with this protocol, and it has to do with the fact of how one chooses to look upon the nature of the Outer Order Elemental Grades. Using the Stella Matutina outlook, which I have discussed before on this blog, one could easily use the Neophyte Grade preceding any Elemental Grade as the Elemental Grades newer “quitteth” Malkuth, according to Robert Felkin and Neville Meakin. In this model the Elemental Grades become limited to the Sephiroth Netzach to Malkuth inclusive, in Malkuth in Assiah. Now the Ritual Z-1 does state (in all its versions) that the Hall of Maat (Neophyte Hall) constitutes the very same Sephiroth Netzach to Malkuth in Malkuth in Assiah. So in this scheme one Elemental Grade simply becomes an emphasis of one of the Sephiroth present in the Neophyte Grade, the latter overlooking the Elemental workings so to speak.

For a long time this also was my own belief, resorting to Israel Regardies books, until I studied the Alpha et Omega (and original Golden Dawn) version of the Ritual of the Portals. It is in this “Grade” or intermediary state where these two different perspectives becomes the most obvious. Robert Felkin and Neville Meakin changed the Portal Ritual to refit the entire Golden Dawn system into that of the Misraim Service of Rudolf Steiner, wherein the teachings of “Elemental Grades not quitteth Malkuth” were dissiminated for the first time in history. This was properly speaking in 1910, two years before Steiner ended his Masonic activites and focused upon Anthroposophy. Before that (and also after in the Alpha et Omega) the Neophyte Grade were instead depending from the Zelator Grade. Thus in the classical Golden Dawn, and that of the later Alpha et Omega, the Neophyte and Zelator Grades where very intimately related, where the Neophyte were presented to the Tree of Life in Malkuth in Assiah up to the veil of Paroketh but not any further. Thus the Neophyte where only put to stand upon the threshold into the immeasurable region, whereas the Zelator crossed this threshold and entered into it. Thus, in the Zelator Grade the initiate where magically presented to the whole Tree of Life of Malkuth in Assiah in its full glory. In the Theoricus Grade he were then to be presented to the Tree of Life in Yesod in Assiah, and in the Practicus Grade to that of the Tree of Life in Hod in Assiah, etc.

Now, as I totally reject this idea of Felkin’s forcing the Golden Dawn system of initiation into the model of Rudolf Steiner’s 9 degrees system of the Misraim Service, I simply belive it is wrong to open the Neophyte Grade before any Elemental Grade other than that of the Zelator. But even in this last instance I feel it is redundant, as the Neophyte and Zelator Grades are still quite different in tone and nature. Even if the Godforms on the Dais are quite similar, but not identical (and thus magically could integrate), I would let the Zelator Grade be left alone. Just consider the fact that the Hieres first has to check the ante-chamber in the Neophyte Grade and then again in the Zelator, or the Stolistes and Dadouchos first purifying and consecrating during the Neophyte opening, and again during the Zelator opening; surely the Elemental Rituals were designed to stand on their own. There is a reason for the other Elemental Grades not being purified and consecrated, which I won’t discuss here.

Ironically enough, according to Tony Fuller, the Whare Ra didn’t open the Neophyte Hall before an Elemental Grade working (even if their Grade system made allowance for this), but instead the Alpha et Omega did this for some strange reason, against better judgment. I simply have no rational explanation for this and scratch my head.

The other question that has been brought up is that some people advice against the protocol of the Neophyte Grade, or any of the Elemental Grades, to be opened and closed only to hold an administrative meeting and discussion. This has been suggested most emphatically by one prominent authority to be a later deviation of S.L. MacGregor Mathers, who became a “spent force” and thus took refuge to Freemasonry. One other authority suggest that this is wasting important magical force upon such “mundane matters,” and that the forces invoked should only be used for real magical workings, such as pathworkings, etc.

However I must make the reader aware of the fact that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn since its early inception used a similar protocol. Reading the by-laws of the Isis Urania Temple No. 3, as published by R.A. Gilbert in his The Golden Dawn Companion, one easily may read these stating that a lecture may be held if there are no planned initiations. This clearly leaves room for the Temple setting being used for other matters than that of initiation and other similar magical workings. So, there is a tendency in certain quarters (who sees the Stella Matutina, and in particular the Whare Ra, as the only true incarnation of the Golden Dawn spirit) to blame the old age and “spent force” of MacGregor Mathers for anything which doesn’t suit the taste of the detractor, be it ritual procedure or be it teachings in form of papers produced, where in fact most (if not all) of the “odd” proceedings and papers of the Alpha et Omega only duplicated that of the old Golden Dawn Order, at least up to the Adeptus Minor Grade.

MacGregor Mathers a spent force?

Personally I believe it to be a good idea to open the Hall of the Neophytes and, as an example, hold a lecture on the mysteries of the Neophyte Grade or any other subject which pertains to a Neophyte. In this way, the forces present will make the lecture into something more than mere words spoken by a Hierophant or Praemonstrator (the offices often associated with teaching). Instead they will be spoken by the gods themselves being assumed by these offices. Compare this with any of the other Elemental Grade Ceremonies, where a great bulk constitutes a series of lectures using pictorial representations. Also here instruction becomes magical and affects the Sphere of Sensation of the Candidate. In a similar fashion, a lecture held may have a profound effect upon the Energy Bodies of all present, not just a mere intellectual stimulation. In the Golden Dawn the goal is to make theory into practice and into living magic.

I furthermore hold that having a purely administrative and “mundane” meeting in open Temple isn’t that a bad idea actually. I imagine that the godforms present, and the forces themselves filling the Hall of the Grade, may inspire the members present, and especially the Chiefs and Officers. Why not bring in the divine forces into the discussions of the running of the Temple? What’s the harm done in that? On the contrary, this may actually bring in true guidance from the Inner Planes into the Temple. Some very bright and intuitive ideas may see the light in this way. At least I see a possibility and potential in this. Although I agree that opening of the Temple in any Grade presents a good opportunity for performing magic together other that that of initiation, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility to also using it for other purposes which may seem boring compared to a group skrying session, etc., but perhaps equally important for the Temple Egregore.

S∴R∴