Fama Fraternitatis - 1614

Wiewohl wir nun wohl wissen, daß es umb ein ziemliches noch nicht an dem, da wieder unserm Verlangen oder auch anderer Hoffnung mit allgemeiner Reformation divini et humani, solle genug geschehen, ist es doch nicht unbillich, daß, ehe die Sonne auffgehet, sie zuvor ein HELL oder dunkel liecht in den Himmel bringt und unter dessen etliche wenige, die sich werden angeben, zusammen tretten, unsere Fraternitet mit der Zahl und Ansehen des gewünschten und von Fr.R.C. fürgeschriebenen Philosophischen Canons, einen glücklichen Anfang machen oder ja in unserer Schätz (die uns nimmermehr aufgehen können) mit uns in Demut und Liebe genießen die Mühsamkeit dieser Welt überzuckern und in den Wunderwerken Gottes nicht also blind umbgehen.

Vi vet dock att det enligt vår åstundan och andras förväntningar efter någon tid kommer en allmän reformation av både gudomliga och mänskliga ting. Ty innan solen går upp, upplyses himlen av
MORGONRODNADENS ljus. I väntan på denna reformation församlas några få som med sitt antal skall utöka vårt brödraskap, höja dess anseende och stärka dess förhoppningar och ge de av Fr.R.C. föreskrivna Filosofiska Canons en lycklig begynnelse. I all ödmjukhet och kärlek skall dessa nytillkomna tillsammans med oss dela våra skatter, som aldrig skall förgås, och så lindra denna världens möda och inte längre vandra ovetande om kunskapen om Guds underbara verk.

Howbeit we know after a time there will now be a general reformation, both of divine and humane things, according to our desire, and the expectation of others: for it is fitting, that before the rising of the Sun, there should appear and break forth AURORA, or some clearness, or divine light in the sky; and so in the mean time some few, which shall give their names, may joyn together, thereby to increase the number and respect of our Fraternity, and make a happy and wished for beginning of our Philosophical Canons, prescribed to us by our brother R.C. and be partakers with us of our treasures (which never can fail or be wasted) in all humility, and love to be eased of this worlds labor, and not walk so blindly in the knowledge of the wonderful works of God.

Definition

Det brittiska ordenssällskapet Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn och den tyska Frimurarlogen L'Aurore Naissante, vilket grundades i London 1888 respektive Frankfurt-am-Main 1807, delade på samma hebreiska namn Chevrah Zerach Bequr Aur, förevisat i gyllene gult vid bloggens huvud, vilket ordagrannt kan översättas till “Stigande Gryningsljusets Sällskap”. Denna tyska Rosenkorsiska Frimurarloge i Frankfurt, vilket måste anses vara det ursprungliga modertemplet till GOLDEN DAWN, kallade sig på tyska även Loge sur Aufgehenden Morgenröthe, vilket kan översättas till “Gryende Morgonrodnadens Loge”. Detta skiljer sig åt från den engelska seden att översätta orden Bequr Aur till “Golden Dawn” eller “Gyllene Gryningen”. Med anledning av Rosenkorstraditionens tyska ursprung är en mer korrekt översättning av Bequr Aur, genom franskans L'Aurore Naissante och tyskans Aufgehenden Morgenröthe, inget annat än GRYENDE MORGONRODNADEN. Denna hänvisning till ett stigande gryningsljus, morgonrodnad eller aurora är en klar hänvisning till den allmäna reformationen omnämnt i det ovan citerade stycket från Fama Fraternitatis. Denna blogg har dock valt att behålla den försvenskade anglo-saxiska termen GYLLENE GRYNINGEN för att denna, invand som den är, lättare associeras med den Rosenkorsiska tradition som här ämnas att framställas.

Licht, Leben, Liebe

fredag 27 april 2012

The Mysteries of the Supernals



TO THE GENTLE reader. In this short essay I will reveal some concepts which are normally the prerogative of initiates. However, what I will say is only a bleak shadow of the true oral transmission and may take you nowhere without a proper initiation and consequent tuition. I have decided to lift up just a small part of the veil so that you may be able to better distinguish the true teachers from the false ones. I will discuss the nature of initiation and why it is emphasised in Traditionalist bodies of initiates. Of course, “Adepts” with prejudices and issues with killing darlings will find my words alien or extraterrestrial. But let the one who has eyes to read, read my words throughly. To the ignorant puffers I say: “Talk not of matters that you do not comprehend.” Hekas, Hekas, Este Bebeloi!

What truly distinguishes Traditionalist fraternities from post-modernist reconstructions is the former’s emphasis that the Grades of the Rosicrucian Order are not mere symbolical or administrative but more so real in a spiritual and physical sense. The Tree of Life (as distinguished from the Tree of Knowledge) has as its aim to transmute the initiate, in a factual sense which have immediate spiritual, psychological and physical results. My own experience of the initiations of the Golden Dawn is that they indeed have this potential, especially in the Grades of the Second Order. I haven’t been the same man after I have walked out from such a initiation when properly performed.

Another big difference between Traditionalist Orders and that of reconstructionist is the emphasis on the initiatory path. Many reconstructionists regard “initiation” to be a general term for magical and spiritual development. It is not. Granted, there is a initiatory process but this is only facilitated by the adjacent initiation ceremonies. And yes, it is true that initiations by themselves won’t facilitate the necessary transmutation for each Grade; they must be complemented by the personal work of the initiate. And this last rule also applies to the Outer Order Grades, which is the reason why the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega® reformed the First Order or the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn® into a truly magical Order.

That said, the personal magic may only be unlocked magically through the primary and preliminary initiation ceremony. The ceremonies activates or ignites certain powers within the Sphere of Sensation of the initiate which are subsequently used to optimally perform the corresponding personal magical and alchemical operations. This is done through the intermediary of the Initiator and the forces active in the Hall in which the initiation ceremony is performed. This is traditionally referred to as the “yeast”.

Thus the concept of Self-Initiation falls flat on the ground. Individuals espousing Self-Initiation have no clue of what it means to administer proper initiation; they only regard the Grades to be symbolical and administrative (i.e. providing temporal power and building hierarchy in a fraternity). This is the view which espouses the attitude that a Grade within a Fraternity only is relevant to that peculiar fraternity, even within a Golden Dawn context. Thus a Grade is nothing more than a badge and the proof that the initiate has mastered a certain level of occult knowledge and a basic (as in minimal) level of magical experience appropriate for that Grade. It doesn’t say anything about the spiritual and energetic level of that person.

A Traditionalist Order on the other hand holds that an initiation properly administered and performed creates an entirely different human. This outcome or state of being cannot be simply understood in the context of the fraternity which granted the initiate this unfoldment but should be able to be observed phenomenologically by anyone who has the eyes to see. A clairvoyant person is able to detect the correct symbols and colours of the Sphere of Sensation of such a initiate. Paul Foster Case (which was a initiate of the Alpha et Omega) stated that if it was possible to gauge the blood in a sufficient way the blood sample of a Adept would greatly differ from that of a Neophyte.

However, this also implies the concept of “apostolic succession”. This yeast is transmitted from initiator to initiate, which in turn will through a future initiator be transmitted further to the next generation of initiates. Thus it can be likened to an Olympic Torch which is passed on from athlete to athlete. This fire, a internal fire, is the yeast that I am referring to here. This yeast is also transmuted further through the initiation ceremonies, each ceremony adapting or calibrating that transmitting power of transmutation from the Hierophant in accordance with the corresponding Grade.

What the Traditionalist Orders also profess is that this kind of initiatory process is in need of this kind of yeast or transmuting power throughout the Grade system, i.e. from the level of 0°=0° Neophyte to that of 10°=1° Ipsissimus. This means that initiation ceremonies are needed for all of the Grades on the Tree of Life, also those beyond the Abyss. So contrary to what certain self-proclaimed expounders of the Alpha et Omega tradition asserts, the initiatory system doesn’t end after the Adeptus Exemptus 7°=4° Grade. After reading this essay you will understand why. 

I challenge any such false prophet to provide source material which proves that there is anything in the AO corpus which states that initiations beyond the Abyss is not possible. Let me make a prediction: they (i.e. the false prophets) won’t provide you with any as there are non.

Let me give you a tentative answer to why such false notions may have infested the Golden Dawn community vis avi the Alpha et Omega. I will give you two well respected names, quite well known authors in the occult communites: Paul Foster Case and Dion Fortune (aka Violeth Firth). Both of these persons were former initiates of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, both during the 1920’s. Both became advanced to the 5°=6° Grade of Adeptus Minor and were relatively short lived members, being expelled soon after reaching that minor Grade of Adepthood.

Granted, both of them were close friends with the Chiefs of their respective Temples and apparently received private tuition from them. However we must also remember that both were members of the Alpha et Omega several years after the death of S.L. MacGregor Mathers, who during his last remaining years had lost contact with his Secret Chiefs. These were also the times when Theosophy was in vogue and who by then through Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater had developed the concept of Mahatmas on the Inner Planes (or “ascended masters”) which differed from the original concept of physical Mahatmas of H.P. Blavatsky.

Now what did these two former Alpha et Omega Adepts state regarding the highest level possible of ceremonial or physical initiation? Let us start with Paul Foster Case who says the following:
In the ceremonials of the Chapters of Working Builders of the Adytum, there are no ritual presentations of Ageless Wisdom beyond the grade corresponding to Tiphareth, the sixth Sephirah. All initiations beyond this point are interior. (The Master Pattern, Lesson 7.)
So according to Case it is superfluous to receive ceremonial initiation beyond the Adeptus Minor 5°=6° Grade. He states that all initiation from the level of Adeptus Major 6°=5° Grade and beyond is only “internal”, i.e. not dependent on another human. Notice however that Case is still referring to a initiatory process here. And as he certainly wasn’t a modernist reconstructionist he must have been referring to a agency of an outside force, which is the only proper way of receiveing initiation. Thus he is referring to spirit guides here, or Guardian Angels.

Surely enough, during and after the Adeptus Minor 5°=6° Grade, a Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel is a necessary prerequisite to fully integrate the senior Grades and properly perform their required personal work. But this personal relation with one’s own Guardian Spirit is not enough. There also has to be performed the external ceremony and the further cooking of the yeast (transmission of current from initiator to initiate), so to speak. As a matter of fact the Adeptus Minor 5°=6° Grade is only the first step of a entire cycle of initiations which is “ended” in that of the Adeptus Exemptus 7°=4°.

This initiatory cycle or process of the Adepti Grades is already foreshadowed in the Neophyte 0°=0° Grade and is based on a ancient initiatory formula, drawning on the classical tales of the Egyptian pantheon, in particular that of Osiris, Isis, Set and Horus. The short version of this (I already told you that this would be one of my “shorter” essays) is that the Adeptus Minor 5°=6° Grade concerns the passion of the Adept, through pain and suffering (the Death). The Adeptus Major 6°=5° Grade ceremony takes off from this and depicts the loosening of the Soul’s shackles from the dead body and its descent into Hades or Hell; the post-mortem Journey of the Soul (the Separation). While the Adeptus Exemptus 7°=4° Grade seamlessly expounds upon the mysteries of the re-animation of the body after the re-uniting with its Soul (the Resurrection).

As you can see, there are actually not three distinct initiations but rather One Great Initiation in three parts. So can you now see the futility in regarding any ceremonial initiations beyond that of the gory death process of the Adeptus Minor 5°=6° Grade to be superfluous? It can be compared to only initiating someone to the “Earthy” Zelator Grade of 1°=10° and denying the initiate to experience the other three Elements. In a way the so-called “Elemental” Grades of the First Order are likewise interlinked and should be regarded to be but One process in four parts instead of four different stages.

Let us now turn to the words of our second source behind this fallacy or delusion of no physical initiations beyond the Abyss, that of Dion Fortune in her discourse on the Sephirah Chesed (which corresponds to the 7°=4°):
A very important and very imperfectly understood part in the Mysteries is played by those beings who are generally called the Masters. Different schools define the term differently, and some include living adepts of a high grade among the Masters; but we consider that it is advisable to make a distinction between the incarnate and disincarnate Elder Brethren because their mission and mode of function are entirely different. The title of Master should therefore be given only to those who are free from the wheel of birth and death. In the terminology of the Western Esoteric Tradition the grade of Adeptus Exemptus is assigned to Chesed, the term Exemptus, or exempt, indicating that freedom from karma which liberates from the Wheel. […] such persons, if the grade be a functioning one and not a mere empty honour, are karma-free and will not reincarnate. Such persons might justly be termed Masters, for their consciousness is of the grade of a Master, but as it is so necessary to make the distinction between incarnate and disincarnate adepts, it is better to qualify the classification by this minor distinction than to allow to humans a prestige which human nature is not fitted to bear. As long as an adept is incarnated he will be liable to human frailties in some degree, and to the limitations imposed by old age and physical health. It is not until he is free from the Wheel, and functions as pure consciousness, that he will escape from human bondage to heredity and environment; therefore the same reliance cannot be placed in him that can be placed in the true, disincarnate Masters. (The Mystical Qabalah, Chapter XVII.)
So it seems that Fortune at least makes allowance for initiates to inhabit the earth plane as Adepti Majori but not as Adepti Exempti, who are considered to be discarnate ascended Masters. With a more liberal interpretation Fortune may also have meant that when a living person had reached that final state, when he or she after death wouldn’t need to reincarnate, then he or she would also be considered to be a Master and thus a Adeptus Exemptus. This may somewhat be corroborated with Aleister Crowley’s view that the Adeptus Exemptus Grade corresponds with the attainment of a Bodhisattva of the East, i.e. someone who has reached to the brink of Nirvana but sacrificed the final transcendence out of compassion for humanity.

However, an Adeptus Exemptus is neither a Master nor a Bodhisattva. He is “merely” someone who has persevered through the initiatory ordeal of death, separation and resurrection. He is someone that has become a new-born human who are freed from the limitations and shackles of the animal and emotional self. Although he is not part of ordinary humanity in this capacity, he is also still a human as he has yet not transcended beyond the manifest and temporal world of the Microprosopus in the Macrocosm and the Ruach of the Microcosm. Thus he still partakes of the Wheel of Samsara.

Mastery belongs to the three Supernal Grades or the Magisteria. It concerns the final stage of the initiatory process whereby the three subtle bodies are finally prepared in the alchemical process. The Magister Templi 8°=3° Grade concerns the final development of the Lunar (astral) body, the Magus 9°=2° Grade the development of the Mercurial (mental) body, and finally the Ipsissimus 10°=1° Grade the development of the Solar (spiritual) body of light. It is at the level of Ipsissimus that we may speak of the true equivalent of the Bodisattvas of the West and the final liberation from reincarnation.

Finally, if looking at the initiatory process through the Tree of Life as a continuous process (which it truly is) of alchemy you will easily correspond them to the three or four Alchemical Stages, the entire First Order (corresponding to the Black Pillar and the Banner of the West) to the Black Stage or Nigredo, the Neophyte Grade serving as a preliminary preparation of the Matter prior to the process proper (which by the way doesn’t include sub-stages of “black of black”, “yellow of black”, etc., as suggested by a recent puffery book on Golden Dawn Alchemy), the entire Second Order (corresponding to the White Pillar and the Banner of the East) to the White Stage or Albedo, the passing of the Abyss (the Babe of the Abyss) to the Yellow Stage or Citrinas, while the entire Third Order properly would correspond to the Red Phase of Alchemy or Rubedo.

Considering this perspective, gentle reader, does it seem logical to you to cut off the initiatory process and thereby the alchemical process of transmutation just prior to the Yellow and Red Stages, when you have gone through the entire ordeal to purify your body and soul through the washing work of the White Stage? Doesn’t it seem reasonable to you that this entire process may be performed while you are incarnated and “alive”? Doesn’t it seem plausible even that reaching that final and desired stage of “becoming more than human” actually requires you passing the Abyss while still living on Earth? No? Think again.

Addendum (2014-03-13)
 

Since writing this blog yours truly is no longer affiliated with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Outer Order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega® (H.O.G.D./A+O®). However, my general view on this subject stays firmly unchanged, as expressed in the above written text, and what I have authored previously on the Gyllene Gryningen blog still represents my overall opinion. Any practices referred to in reference to the H.O.G.D./A+O® also apply to the Order that I am currently affiliated with, namely the Hermetiska Orden av Den Gryende Morgonrodnaden (“Hermetic Order of the Nascent Aurora”) or H∴O∴G∴M+R.

S∴R∴

onsdag 25 april 2012

Regarding the use of God-Forms in a G∴D∴ Temple


SOME SHORT comments about the use of God-Forms in the Outer Order Rituals, or rather the Elemental Grades from 1°=10° to 4°=7°, which has to be addressed due to common misconceptions amongst reconstructionist Chiefs of the Golden Dawn. During the last two decades I have pondered and experimented practically using God-Forms in the Outer Order beyond the 0°=0°.

The common sources regarding the use of God-Forms in a Golden Dawn Temple setting may be found both in Pat Zalewski’s Golden Dawn Rituals and Commentaries and the ones based upon the document entitled The Complete Explanation of the 1°=10° Grade of Zelator written by S.L. MacGregor Mathers (which likewise has been profaned by Mr. Zalewski). I would like to share with you some of my conclusions in a general way, without going into any specifics.

As a starter, I will share with you some comments about Mr. Zalewski’s attributions. He claims that the God-Forms that he published isn’t the ones originally used by the Stella Matutina but rather the ones given to him by Jack Taylor (the S.M. versions apparently pales in comparison). Taylor in turn claimed to Mr. Zalewski that these had been drawn up originally by Moina Mathers and secretly transmitted to him by Mrs. Felkin. However, there are no actual proofs to be found anyware to corroborate this assumption (even Mr. Zalewski questions Taylors assumption in his latest edition of the said book).

To me it seems that these God-Forms, as suggested by Mr. Zalewski, have been concocted up by Mr. Zalewski himself, with some possible help and pointers given to him by his former mentor Jack Taylor. Over the years of study and practice I have come to the conclusion that the Zalewski God-Forms are truly lacking, although the overall intention is good. There are some parts that are usable, but the majority of Mr. Zalewski’s suggestions can be discarded as quite irrelevant, or at least far from optimal.

Regarding S.L. MacGregor Mathers’ own development of God-Forms I am convinced, because of the lack of any actual documents to evidence the contrary, that he never finished this project beyond the 0°=0° under proper guidance, and only made a tentative attempt at the first and lowest of the Elemental Grades, that of the 1°=10° Grade of Zelator. If there ever were written any commentaries for the higher Grades, I’m sure they followed the same outline as that of the 1°=10° document.

As regards MacGregor Mathers’ suggestions for the 1°=10° Grade there are some quite interesting developments there if you are overly Qabalistically inclined and prefer to use telesmatic images created from Hebrew letters instead of purely Egyptian God-Forms. They are workable to be sure, however not optimal for this kind of work. From the suggestions given in the 1°=10° I have extrapolated a similar set of God-Forms for the 2°=9° to 4°=7° Grades.

One of the 1=10 God-Forms according to Mathers

However, through the benevolent guidance coming from the true Third Order of the Golden Dawn, I have come to realize that even MacGregor Mathers was way off the mark and deviated from the system of attributions as given by the continental Secret Chiefs for the 0°=0°. He either directly ignored the further instructions given to him by his Secret Chiefs or he had lost contact entirely with the Third Order by the time he wrote up that document.

I won’t say anything beyond these hints that I have already provided in the foregoing paragraphs, besides the fact that the Secret Chiefs  – the true custodians of the Egyptian Mysteries – of the Third Order has given the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega® the complete set of proper and corrected God-Forms for use in the entire First and Second Orders, which far surpasses all of the past errors made by either MacGregor Mathers or the more recent attempts made by modern reconstrutionist author(itie)s. (Just because you happen to write books or blogs on occult topics doesn’t by definition mean that you are a real authority on the subject that you write about.) Now my work is done.

Addendum (2014-03-13)
 

Since writing this blog yours truly is no longer affiliated with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Outer Order of
the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega® (H.O.G.D./A+O®). However, my general view on this subject stays firmly unchanged, as expressed in the above written text, and what I have authored previously on the Gyllene Gryningen blog still represents my overall opinion. Any practices referred to in reference to the H.O.G.D./A+O® also apply to the Order that I am currently affiliated with, namely the Hermetiska Orden av Den Gryende Morgonrodnaden (“Hermetic Order of the Nascent Aurora”) or H∴O∴G∴M+R

S∴R∴

tisdag 24 april 2012

The two Pillars of the Golden Dawn Qabalah

o

Revised 2014-03-18

TO THE GENTLE reader. This blog post is actually a sanitized version of a previous text entitled Revealing the latest tactics of the Inquisition which was addressing something that Olen Rush had said on his now disused blog which is quite irrelevant today, so I wont repeat it now. Looking back on the original version, I feel that the majority of its contents was the result of a alien paradigm that I no longer want to support and that clearly is the product of the Wrath World to use a Böhmean term. I have also removed all of the comments as these refer to the part that is sanitized. However, the other half have some relevance today, as it explains my view on the two pillars that constitute the Golden Dawn Qabalah, the Sabbatian Qabalah stemming from the Asiatic Brethren and the Hermetic or Christian Qabalah with its origins in the Italian Renaissance and the Florentine Platonic Academy.

First of all I want to acknowledge Mr. Rush’s level of scholarism in the field of Sabbathian Qabalah, the Asiatics, the R.R. et A.C., etc. He has been somewhat of a champion in forging a link between the Asiatic Brethren and the Golden Dawn, which is documented on my blog in the posting entitled The Origins of the Qabalah of the Golden Dawn and its follow-up The Frankist Qabalah, and lastly in my essay Was Jacob Frank a Rosicrucian? One of his earliest appearances was on the International Golden Dawn Forum, and in these my three articles on the Golden Dawn Qabalah I have quoted Mr. Rush extensively. I must admit that his postings over at that yahoo-group inspired me to do my own research and through these efforts I had developed a good fraternal relationship with him on the Internet. 

So, regarding the Holy Qabalah of the Golden Dawn it in part constitutes of the Sabbatian Qabalah (as transmitted to the overtly Sabbatian Asiatic Brethren and the Jewish lodge in Frankfurt, the Loge sur Aufgehenden Morgenröthe established in 1807), and that of the Reinassance “Hermetic” Qabalah (which the Asiatics were lacking). This unique blend of these two important Qabalistic streams makes the Golden Dawn Qabalah unique in respect of all other Fraternities, including the Asiatics.

But the Sabbatian component of the Golden Dawn Qabalah, surely enough (through the Cypher Mss.), found its way through the Asiatics. It may perhaps have been transmitted through Samuel Hayyim Falk and Frederick Hockley as well. However, the Sabbatian component or aspect of the Golden Dawn Tradition is also indebted to Kenneth MacKenzie in its establishment, him being the important link between German Rosicrucianism and the Golden Dawn through his own intermediary society, the Fratres Lucis (which was a continuation of the tradition of the Asiatic Brethren, whose forerunner was called Fratres Lucis).

There is no doubt that there is a strong presence of the Sabbatian Qabalah in the Golden Dawn. However, the Reinassance form of “Christian” or “Hermetic” Qabalah shouldn’t be underestimated either. If any this latter form of the Qabalah constitutes the major part of the Qabalistic teachings of the Golden Dawn, spiced up as it were, by the antinomian “heretic” teachings of the Sabbatians. As an example, the Tree of Life glyph as used in the Golden Dawn, together with the corresponding Hebrew letters attached to the 22 Paths, came from Athanasius Kircher’s Oedipus Aegyptiacus in 1652, i.e. from the Hermetic stream of our Tradition. This illustration has been attached to the header of this post.

We shouldn’t forget that while the Asiatics were overly Qabalistic (with their foundation in the Hebrew / Jewish tradition), the Golden Dawn was overly Hermetic tracing its origins in the Reinassance and beyond, predating anything Sabbatian (or even Lurian). Thus, the Sabbatian component was a later addition which was fused to the Rosicrucian current through the Asiatic Brethren in the 18th Century, and later transmitted through the Loge sur Aufgehenden Morgenröthe, whose Hebrew name was that of Chevrah Zerach Bequr Aur (on the Golden Dawn Cypher Mss. we find the almost identical phrase: “Chevrah Zerach Aur Bequr”). But the Hermetic Qabalah has a stronger foundation and older origins compared to the Sabbatian in the Golden Dawn.

S∴R∴

tisdag 17 april 2012

The moral obligation to defend the tradition

o

THE FOLLOWING is based on a comment that I wrote on another blog. It is a response to the usual tactics used by my detractors of placing themselves on a moral high ground. One such talking point is to deny the right of Traditionalist initiates, such as yours truly, to defend the honour of their Fraternity or anscestors when they are being maligned by post-modern initiates and even Chiefs of Reconstructionist Orders. They say it is morally wrong to question authors of books who uses their works as a political vehicle against the Traditional Alpha Omega current. With a patronizing polemic they also inform Traditionalist initiates that they cling to “terrestrial emotions” and that any “true spirituality” implies that one must be above such things (as defending the reputation and honour of the Fraternity) and only seek the “spirit”.

Let me first address the misconception regarding “clinging to terrestrial emotions”. Why does a person make such a presumption that a defensive behaviour always is rooted in Yesod, the automatic consciousness? When you project negativity on a person without any real reason, that often has its origin in Yesod. But the use of Severity don’t always have to be based on the “foundation” or the automatic consciousness. There is the concept also of the Severe or Stern aspect of the Divine, the “Left hand emanation” of God. An Adept may also invoke the Severity of God, or Holy Wrath so to speak.

In most pagan religions you will notice that the martial god or goddess also is part of the assembly of gods. Even the judeo-christian mythos has its martial Arch-Angel in Michael. Remember the great lesson of equilibrium in the Grade of Neophyte that “unbalanced force is evil, unbalanced mercy is but weakness, unbalanced severity is but oppression”. It stresses the fact that unbalanced mercy “would permit evil to exist unchecked, thus making itself as it were the accomplice of that evil”. Meditate on those words and you will see that sometimes it is called for to react with Force and Severity against an aggressor.

The other presumption is that is has to do with emotion in the first place. What if it has its true origin in spiritual principles? A good martial artist fights without passion and with fullest equilibrium in both body and mind. Although he may evoke the aid of emotion he still attaches it to a higher principle. This should be the aim, to unite the spiritual principle with the emotion as its throne or foundation. Besides, without “earthly emotions” or “passions” your will never reach the summit of the Great Work; it will dry up in intellectual abstraction and sterility. This kind of dualism (between body and soul, matter and spirit) isn’t fit for a student of the Royal Art.

Regarding morality and etics, it is true that it is always a question of spiritual morality and ethics, and especially in this context a question of morals and ethics of initiates. A true initiate neither reveres nor ridicules past brethren and sisters, especially past Chiefs of the R+C Order. A true initiate never profanes the records or secret documents of the R+C Order either, regardless of age. Neither does a true initiate deride nor deny the source of the Hermetic Tradition, i.e. the ancient Fraternity which protects the Tradition and acts as its Steward (what in the Golden Dawn is referred to as the Third Order). A true initiate has the DUTY to defend all of these points if any initiate or supposed initiate breaches them. It is not unethical to call such bad (read unmoral) behavior of a fallen initiate. It is not bullying (at a stretch it is as a “bullying of a bully”).

The Neophyte Obligation is quite severe on this particular point, and whatever I have expressed in the past in way of personal opinions pales in comparison to the last paragraph of that sacred obligation, and in particular the sentiments of a profaner being:
…a willfully perjured wretch, void of any moral worth, and unfit for the society of all right and true persons…
Remember that these are not my own words but the words that expresses traditionalist opinions regarding the breach of our sacred vows of silence. I am certainly not the right person to administer judgement on any profaner, in this severe manner as that expressed in our obligation. But I do not only have the right to feel offended by this kind of conduct, I also have the right to express my own feelings if being treated in this way.

The Neophyte Ceremony teaches us to check against unbalanced mercy, as well as against unbalanced severity. In my opinion, Severity should in most circumstances be directed towards one’s own self and behaviour, in checking the Evil Persona. But there are rare moments when someone other than yourself acts in a way in which Severity is the only adequate measure to be used against that kind of destructive behaviour. Compassion is a very important part of being an accomplished Adept but this doesn’t mean that Adepts should act as milksops, devoid of any courage to stand up for their beliefs. Remember what Jesus did at the Temple, against the money makers, profaners, etc, for God’s sake! Christ came to this world holding a sword in one hand and his heart in the other, or to quote the Master himself from Matthew 10:34:
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
Christ not only brings Love but administers Judgement as well. That is the image of Christ we as Adepts should emulate. When someone slaps me on the right side of my face, or the side of my compassion or love, I will turn my other or left cheek (the side of my severity) against him instead. Let me also quote that famous sentence from Jesus’ sermon at the mount, as presented in Matthew 5:38-39:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
What has stricken me as odd with that statement, which exoterically is interpreted as a pacifist credo, is that if you read the rest of that sermon Jesus actually talks about the completion of (not resistance against) the commandments and presents more extreme interpretations that goes far beyond that of the letter, for example:
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say to you, That whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell.
This whole subject becomes more understandable if Master Jesus’ words are placed in its historical and cultural context. Notice that he says that if someone slaps you on your right cheek you should instead turn your left to him. These “left” vs. “right” directions are crucial. For a right handed person to strike you on the right side of your face, he has to use the back of his hand. The social mores of Jeusus’ times dictated that an upper cast member could only strike those of subservient with a backhanded blow. To do otherwise would be to acknowledge them as being equal in social standing; turning the other cheek was to leave your aristocratic attacker with no target to strike. Thus in this context Matt. 5:38-41 sounds to me as a form of passive aggression against social injustices:
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Both these actions would actually ridicule the abuser, i.e. critically challenge the relation between the master and his servant. Only rich people sued their neighbors, not peasants. When any member from the privileged class sued someone poor the aristocrat could only claim his cloths (the only thing he owned), leaving him with his underclothes. Jesus says to also give them your underclothes, i.e. to strip yourself naked, so that you would publically shame not only the suer but the entire caste system. Soldiers were also allowed to conscript civilians to carry their packs, but not more than one mile. For a peasant this of course could have disastrous economic consequences as that ruined one whole day of work. Going two miles brings ridicule on not only to the soldier but to the entire system as well. It also has certain humoristic undertones. Thus humour and ridicule is a good way of expressing and channeling aggression, says the Master.

However, a kind soul also reminded me of the Qabalistic theory, stemming from the Sepher Zohar, about the right and left sides of Godhead, the right being the side of Mercy and the left the side of Severity. Thus, in the context of an esoteric reading, Jesus is actually admonishing us to behave severely against our aggressor, invoking the left hand emanation of God, i.e. that force which is represented by the Hiereus, his Sword of Severity and Judgement, and the Banner of the West in the Hall of Neophytes.

Traditionalist initiates are not afraid to take up a battle against abusers of the Tradition or teachers abusing their students. We did this with Robert Zink and his New Age version of the Golden Dawn. We don’t fear to call the behavior of counter-traditionalists either who are trying their very best to undermine the existence of traditionalist Orders. We did not ask to be maligned in printing. We simply want to provide the traditional alternative to fast food spirituality of post-modernism, where everyone seeks immediate gratification of the needs of the ego. And we are being honest about it. This honesty is obviously to much for some individuals in certain quarters of the Golden Dawn community.

Will traditionalist initiates subject themself to these few voices of the community (which arrogantly has taked it upon them to represent the silent majority of it) and should they adapt to what in our post-modernist paradigm is deemed as accepted opinion-wise? I say: no chance! There are individuals that are seeking the true Light in this current confusion we call the post-modernist age. Thus there must be organizations which truly can present a viable alternative to fast-food spirituality for the post-modern soul in his genuine search for the that Light. Whatever the nay sayers state.

Update anno 2014-05-01
 

This blog post has been sanitised, corrected and merged with parts of another blog from 2011-06-16 which has been removed since its publication. I have retained this text as I still stand behind these words.

S∴R∴