The importance and significance of lineage and tradition

o

A couple of weeks ago I answered a query on the necessity of secrecy and lineage, in particular the one claimed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Outer Order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega®. The querent asked if the mysteries aren’t written upon the face of nature for those with eyes to see to discern? He also asked if higher states of consciousness, truth, understanding, and ancient wisdom are within the sole repository of one group and its untraceable (not susceptible to objective verification) lineage?

My answer to this was the following, interpolated with some notes that came to my mind while preparing this post: Cosmic consciousness and Union with the ALL, as well as Immortality, is the birthright of every human. But there exists a particular set of techniques that may facilitate this birthright better than the slow and normal processes of Nature. These techniques, which mimics the way of Mother Nature but at the same time enhances it, constitutes a tradition and thus a lineage. Lineage, passed from a true initiator to the initiate, also confers direct changes of consciousness; this should be the case in all genuine initiation, also that of the Golden Dawn in the Outer, although changes in the latter are more subtle compared to initiations of a higher degree or arc.

Note: This fact is the reason why almost all of the yogic and tantric Far Eastern brethren emphasise the significance of correct lineage, tracing it back to some mythical figure or demi-god in the ancient past. The first thing that finds the newly initiated student is the narrative of the chain of past masters. Especially made mandalas containing a list of these (see image at the head for an example) are provided to the student to meditate upon to adjust his mind to the mindset of past masters and egregore. The Sufi orders of the Near Eastern brethren places equal emphasis on lineage; the student becomes humbled by the fact that by the hand placed upon him by his initiator he feels the grip of all the past masters back to Mohammed himself. In continental Europe a similar concept of lineage is a natural part of the Lodge culture in the different Martinist and Rosicrucian bodies.

This scorn against the notion regarding importance placed in lineage is a quite recent phenomenon and may almost be entirely restricted to the Anglo-Saxon domain or English speaking nations, although not if you trace your history further back than to the 1960’s when the old books by Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie were repulished and widely circulated, serving as the source for the establishment of new Golden Dawn Temples without any trace back in history. Thus today it is politically incorrect in the Golden Dawn Community to claim any lineage whatsoever, because of this situation, and any such suggestions immediately becomes ridiculed by the reconstructionalist cohort.

But I must emphasize that there exist several different traditions (although they are not that different in essence, only in culture and language) which are probably equally effective, both in the West and the East. The particular tradition that the H.O.G.D./A+O teaches in its higest Grades is part of the Western Hermetic Alchemical Tradition, which has many similarities with Hindu and Tibetan Tantra and Daoist Internal Alchemy; there are some differences but many similarities – they are all part of the Alchemical Tradition. But Cosmic Consciousness and Union with the ALL, and perhaps even conscious Immortality, may be achieve by other means as well, such as contemplative mysticism and Theurgy. However, those who have experienced the true Alchemical Tradition (both Occidental and Oriental) knows that its formulae of energetic manipulation and transmutative powers of matter are second to none.

Note: Furthermore there exists several different European bodies within the Hermetic tradition of the Occident that do possess these mysteries, or at least parts of it. But in the Golden Dawn Community these higher and traditional teachings are extremely rare, with some few exceptions, not because it’s not accessible to them but because most teachers and leaders with an reconstructionalist bent aren’t at all intersted in it or even doesn’t believe it exists; they are suffering from a blind spot.

So in the final analysis, the querent in part was right that the mysteries of the ALL talks to us all through Nature. But I hold that there also exists man made formulae, based upon millennia of experience amongst a long chain of initiates, and highly evolved teachers which can provide a species of “short cut” to experiencing states of consciousness which are the innate part of Nature. This formulae are conferred through lineage, both in the Occident as well as in the Orient.

S∴R∴

Golden Dawn och Aristoteles lära om Elementen

o

För ett tag sedan fick jag en fråga angående hur det kommer sig att Golden Dawn Traditionen placerar De Fyra Elementen på det sätt som görs i förhållande till väderstrecken, vilket frågeställaren ansåg vara unikt just för denna Tradition; Luft med Öster, Eld med Söder, Vatten med Väster, samt Jord med Norr.

Frågeställaren ifrågasatte Elementens attribuering till väderstrecken enligt detta arrangemang och förordade istället den lära som baserar sig på Aristoteles system av kvaliteter, dvs. torrt, fuktigt, hett och kallt, enligt arrangemanget nedan:


Detta arrangemang flyttar således på Elementen Vatten och Jord och får dem att byta plats med varandra, i enlighet med de diagonala tillskrivningarna av ”fuktigt & torrt” (Nordväst & Sydväst) samt ”varmt & kallt” (Sydost & Nordost). Jag anser dock att det finns en poäng med Golden Dawns korrespondens mellan Elementen och väderstrecken som jag presenterade ovan, vilket jag vill utveckla en aning.

Angående varför Jord bör associeras med Norr förklaras med att detta väderstreck är platsen för det största symboliska mörkret. Man kan se på de fyra väderstrecken som Solens resa under ett helt dygn, med soluppgången i Öster (Tempererat – Luft och Gult), solen i sin höjdpunkt i Söder (Intensivt – Eld och Rött), solen i sin nedgång (Tempererat – Vatten och blått), samt solen i sin lägsta punkt under horisonten eller i jorden (Inaktivt/passivt – Jord och Svart).

På samma sätt associeras årstiderna med de fyra Elementen; den tempererade Våren med Luft (det astrologiska/astronomiska nyåret där Solen ”föds” eller ”stiger upp” ur sin mörka dvala om vintern), den heta Sommaren med Eld (den varmaste årstiden), den tempererade Hösten med Vatten (den tid när Solen ”stiger ned” och går in i en nedbrytande ”döds-fas”, en årstid som ofta upplevs som fuktig och regnig), samt slutligen den kalla Vintern (den tid där solen är i sin mörka dvala och återigen befruktas vid vintersolståndet och tillåts gro fram till dess födelse vid vårddagjämningen).

En annan aspekt av det hela förklaras av den tantriska yoga-teorin om Tattwas eller Elementen (se illustration till höger). De utvecklas i ordningen Ande, Luft, Eld, Vatten och Jord. Tattwas är ju enligt detta österländska system ett uttryck för Solens prana (L.V.X. eller livskraft); för att återkoppla till Solens färd under dygnets fyra faser så ser man återigen denna följdordning från Öster och Luft till Norr och Jord i medsols ordning.

Det aristoteliska konceptet med Elementens ”dubbla kvalitéter” är Golden Dawn initierade väl förtrogna med – detta lärs ut redan till Neofyter. Men vi tillskriver inte det några väderstreck (vilket jag inte har hittat några referenser till att Aristoteles skulle ha gjort heller) och placerar inte direkt ut dem i Tempelrummet. Detta arrangemant över Elementen används mer som en alkemistisk illustration och tankebild om Elementens cirkulation och växlande karaktär.

Dock finns det ett viss antydan att man kanske gör det indirekt ändå i ett traditionellt Golden Dawn Tempel; i Salens hörn placerar man ut Horus Fyra Barn (de egyptiska kanopiska gudarna), vilket kanske något slentrianmässigt har associeras med Elementen. Det intressanta är att Jord och Vatten byter plats i Salen (Luft i Nordost, Eld i Sydost, Jord i Sydväst, och Vatten i Nordväst). Detta kan kanske istället vara en hänvisning till kvaliteterna: Imeshet i Nordost = fuktiget, Tuamataf i Sydost = hetta, Hapi i Sydväst = torrhet, och Kabexnuf i Nordväst = kyla. Vrider man detta arrangemang 45 grader i medsols riktning hamnar Elementen exakt som i Aristoteles system.

De Kanopiska Gudarna

Dock placerar man symboliskt i samma Sal Elementen i väderstrecken på det sätt som jag beskrev tidigare. Alltså betonar man den Solara kvalitéten i tillvaron. I mina ögon representerar de ”dubbla” kvaliteterna och kanopiska gudarna mer sinnliga aspekter av Elementen, medan det andra arrangemanget med Solens färd runt jorden och Tattwas succession belyser en mera exalterad och ”pranisk” eller ”eterisk” aspekt av Elementen.

S∴R∴

Dualism and the Golden Dawn

0

What is the position of Golden Dawn initiates on the subject of dualism? The answer to that question depends upon what one defines as being “dualist”. Golden Dawn initiates are NOT dualist as normally regarded by Christian, Gnostic and Zarathustrian doctrines. Thus we don’t believe in an evil force called “Satan”, or as the demiurge “Yaldabaoth”, or as “Ahriman”, in opposition to a good force called “God” or “Ormus”, etc. But we do believe in the two great polarities throughout nature, such as day and night, light and darkness, or male and female, etc. But as Hermeticists we also believe that these two great polarities are both part of GOD or The ALL. This relates the Hermetic tradition also with the Sabbathian Qabalistic tradition, where Evil is seen as part of GODHEAD. The seeming opposition between Evil and Good is only seen as antagonistical when viewed from the limited human perspective, but not if seen from the perspective of Godhead, where all opposites are reconciled. Here one must remember the teachings concerning the Triangle.

Golden Dawn initiates don’t regard physical existance to be an illusion or evil. We believe that the World we are living in actually exists. However as Hermeticists we believe neither in “Matter” nor in “Spirit” as absolutes in themselves, but rather regard these being denominative expressions signifying the two extremes in the continuum of frequency in what we could call a “substance”. Thus there exist only an illusion regarding what constitutes the true nature of matter, rather than that the world of action doesn’t exist as a phenomenon. There is no actual differentiation between LIGHT (L.V.X.), LIFE and CONSCIOUSNESS, or between the Subjec(ive) and the Object(ive).

Thus Golden Dawn initiates are NOT dualist in the sense of separating Spirit from Matter, or Soul from Body, which is often implied when defining the word “dualism”. But this kind of dualism is also related to the one I mentioned previously, as expressed through Gnosticism and some forms of Christianity, where matter or worldly existence is regarded as being the realm of the Evil One, while heaven is restricted to God.

It is true that Hermeticists and Qabalists, as well as Golden Dawn initiates, regard matter as in a fallen state. But with this fall also God fell down into the realm of Man and the World of Action and Manifestation. This created the separation of the Goddess aspect of Godhead from the God aspect, the former being trapped in Matter below while the latter was restricted to the Heavens above. But that both are of a divine nature is clearly evidenced by the Hermetic axiom “that which is above is as that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above”.

This is seen in many faiths and pantheons, even in the Gnostic worldview where Sophia is trapped in matter. But Matter was not created by an evil entity, as in the Gnostic narration; it was created by the supreme Godhead (God-Goddess). But because of a cosmic catastrophe the feminine aspect of Godhead, the Divine and Great Holy Mother, became trapped in our World. In Qabalah this is known as the Shekinah, the presence of God in the World of Action. In the Tantric myth this referred to as Shakti, who ever longs to unite with her heavenly consort Siva.

The Alchemical Wedding

Thus the Great Work lays its emphasis upon this Alchemical Wedding between Heaven and Earth, aiming to erase any notions of separation between them. In Tantra and Yoga this is pictured in the awakening of the Serpent Power or Kundalini (the Shakti power), while in the Qabalah this is described as the “raising of the sparks” in the Tikkun ha-Olam. This is furthermore depicted in the Rite of the Qabalistic Cross. In its simple symbolism this rite resumes the entire purpose of the Great Work; the UNION of the Opposites, both in a “horizontal” and “vertical” manner. It is the foremost symbol of the Alchemical Wedding which conceives the Christos in the heart; the Universal Androgyne or Alchemical Hermaphrodite.

But it must be emphasized here that the primary goal in Hermetic Magic and the Great Work doesn’t imply any “ascension”, as is normally implied by this term; the main objective is to invoke and have the L.V.X. descending into matter (body) to raise its vibrations. For me “ascension” often implies leaving the body and matter behind, which in my opinion is counterproductive for all true spiritual work; it is a sign of escapism rather than spiritual attainment. The goal of the Great Work should be to integrate spirit and body into One Whole Unit for it to be able to create this Holy Alchemical Hermaphrodite. The outcome of this is cosmic consciousness or unity with the ALL – which is both spirit and matter, transcendent and immanent.

Read the second part of this essay here.

S∴R∴

Insurgence in the Golden Dawn

o

On winter solstice of December 21st, 2010, at the time of the Greatest Darkness, the world experienced a full lunar eclipse, meaning that the Sun and the Moon stood at direct opposition towards each other in their relation, Sol throwing a shadow instead of light over Luna. This implies a great unbalance between the two great opposites of existence, the divine feminine and masculine, the Great Mother and the Great Father, between the black and white Pillars, between mercy and severity, etc. This, I am conviced, has created a great cosmic occurrence. In my personal life – the microcosm – me and my family, and some of my relatives, immediately experienced disruptive currents, such as serious accidents and severe somatic sickness. Macrocosmically, we have lately seen uprisings and revolutions amongst the North African Arabic nations, first in Tunisia, then in Egypt and now in Libya.

Thus we are right now experiencing the direct effects of these severely disruptive and highly unbalanced currents, expressed as discontent and resistance against oppression of tyrants in our world. We have also seen this happening lately in the Golden Dawn community with the news of Robert Zink being expelled from the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn (E.O.G.D.). Exactly one month ago, on February 4th, this announcement, apparently written by a G.H. Fra. I.C.L., about Robert Zink’s expulsion from the E.O.G.D. was published on various official sites on the Internet. I now quote it in full:

Greetings in LVX,

It is come to the point where we of the Second Order have to take the unfortunate action of deposing former G.H. Frater P.D.R. (Robert Zink) of his highly influential position and expelling him from the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn. He received the grievances from the Adepti of the Second Order, but was still given a great deal of time and opportunity to reform his ways. In response to this, he persists to hold himself above accountability and has gone to great lengths to secure his own position through surreptitiously ensuring as much of the Order’s assets were under his sole control as possible. There are many grievances that the Body of Adepti has brought to him, however the main points that have lead to this final decision are as follows:

1. Robert Zink has taken thousands of dollars from Initiates and Adepti in return for promised products and services that he did not deliver on, nor refund. His poor business practices continue to afflict many Initiates and Adepti and, despite many promises of reform, he has shown no signs of changing or even slowing down.

2. Robert Zink has used the forums, materials and name of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn in connection with his personal products and services against the will of the Second Order and has refused to stop doing so. The result has been that the public and our own initiates perceive that our Order endorses his products and services. Let it be clear that the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn does not endorse his products and services, nor do we approve of them at all.

3. Robert Zink has created and uses several blogs and forums that he has connected with our Order’s name to make personal attacks on other members of the Golden Dawn Community especially, but not limited to, David Griffin. Let it be understood, that although David Griffin’s Order and ours operate under very different philosophies and interpretations of the Golden Dawn Tradition, we do not condone these attacks by Robert Zink and they do not reflect the attitudes of the Adepti of our Second Order.

4. Robert Zink has abused his position of influence along with his well-studied knowledge of techniques such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming and psychological manipulation to endear a substantial number of Outer Order initiates to his personal unpaid servitude. We find this practice cultish, detestable and in no way a reflection of the true principles and practices of the Golden Dawn Tradition.

5. Robert Zink threatened and in several cases has admitted to performing magic intended to cause harm upon several initiates and Adepti when they attempted to hold him accountable for his poor business transactions and mistreatment of members of our Order and their non-initiate family.

As a result of the above points, Robert Zink has sullied the spiritual and magical development of a great many initiates of our Order. In addition he has caused great and in many cases irreparable damage to our Order’s reputation and the reputation of the Golden Dawn Tradition as a whole in the eyes of the public.

It is for these reasons and many others not mentioned here that Robert Zink, formerly G.H. Frater P.D.R., is stripped of his rank, position, and authority and expelled from the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn.

Let it be understood that due to his surreptitious actions, the websites of our Order under the names of www.golden-dawn.org and www.esotericgoldendawn.com are under his personal control. All moneys, inquiries and applications sent via these websites currently go to him personally and do not go to our Order. Any personal information provided to his sites will ultimately be used by him as part of his marketing database to promote his personal products. No Temple of our Order supports him nor will perform initiations on behalf of those from whom he accepts money and applications. As such, any promise of initiation, astral or otherwise, that he makes will be a deception.

For the time being the official websites representing the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn as a whole will be those of our two Grand Temples: info.eogdisis.com and www.templeptah.org.

Sincerely and in LVX,
The Chiefs and Adepti of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn


APPROVAL RECORD:
The undersigned represent the entire body of the Second Order. With the exception of only a couple verbal responses, all approval statements are on file. It should be noted that all the Chiefs and Adepti of our Order, including the dissenting votes, agree that the accusations given above are true and that something must be done to protect the public and our own initiates. Those dissenting disagree only with the action of expulsion. With 3 Chief Adepti vs. 1 for expulsion and one abstention and the overwhelming approval of the Adepti of the Second Order, this act of expulsion is confirmed.

Approve, GH Frater AA, Chief Adept
Approve, GH Frater ICL, Chief Adept
Approve, GH Frater SI, Chief Adept
Abstain, GH Frater BT, Chief Adept, Nuance: Agrees that the accusations are true, agrees that Robert Zink's contact with the Outer Order should be cut
Disapprove, GH Frater TDL, Chief Adept, Nuance: Agrees that the accusations are true

Approve, VH Frater IC
Approve, VH Frater SD
Approve, VH Soror CMU
Approve, VH Frater CDD
Approve, VH Frater P
Approve, VH Frater VMP
Approve, VH Frater OOA
Approve, VH Soror RT
Approve, VH Frater MD (Ptah)
Approve, VH Frater MD (LLL)
Approve, VH Frater PV
Approve, VH Soror AEI
Approve, VH Frater ID
Approve, VH Soror POIO
Approve, VH Soror VPP
Approve, VH Frater FOF
Approve, VH Soror SM
Approve, VH Frater SA
Approve, VH Frater CE
Approve, VH Soror B
Abstain, VH Frater SLS, Nuance: Agrees that the accusations are true, agrees that Robert Zink's contact with the Outer Order should be cut
Abstain, VH Soror P, Nuance: Agrees that the accusations are true, agrees that Robert Zink's contact with the Outer Order should be cut
Disapprove, VH Frater DN (D), Nuance: Agrees that the accusations are true
Disapprove, VH Frater DN (T), Nuance: Agrees that the accusations are true, agrees that Robert Zink's contact with the Outer Order should be cut

Information regarding what has been actually happening behind the scenes has been very scarce, no doubt because of an ongoing power struggle within the ranks of the E.O.G.D. And we all know from history that the first victim of war is the Truth. The first impression one did get from the scarce information that was given to the world outside of the E.O.G.D. was that all Temples, including the “Grand Temples” of Isis and Ptah, had left Zink, only leaving him with his official E.O.G.D. web sites, and perhaps some few loyal Adepts. But recent information suggests that there actually is a serious power struggle going on amongst the original Grand Temple of Isis, located in Los Angeles, as it still seems to initiate people who apply through Zink’s web-page.

The first five people mentioned in the “Approval record” seems to be the governing body of the E.O.G.D., appointed by Zink himself as Chief Adepts of the Second Order, all being Greatly Honoured Fratres. And as we may see in the above quotation both of the G.H. Fratres B.T. and T.D.L., the former the Cancellarius and the latter the Imperator of the Isis Temple, have abstained or disapproved of Zink’s removal from the Order. Now, the other day G.H. Fra. B.T. wrote a quite interesting, albeit angry and frustrated, blog which sheds some more light upon what has really been going on for the last decade in E.O.G.D.s Second Order; it has a quite long history. Let me quote him:

You see, back in November of 2002, I believe it was, Robert [Zink] announced to the Second Order that he would now be the “full time viceroy” of the Order, and would therefore be collecting every cent of dues and fees from all the correspondence members of the Order. Then, when that wasn’t enough, he would call one of the Chiefs of the Temple of Isis at the time, and tell them what emergency it was he needed money for, and money would be sent to him from the Temple’s funds as well. This went on for years. When it came time to pay the Temple rent, or have the lights turned back on, or whatever, calls would go around, people in the Second would all pitch in, and usually it was GH Frater TDL and VH Frater ICL who would pay the most toward rent, since they made a bit more money than the others from their real-world jobs.

Then came times of uproar. Robert fucked the wrong people, threw the wrong people out of the Order (because they knew about his having fucked those people, because he told them, and they didn’t tell his wife, then when it all came out his wife demanded that he throw that individual out of the Order) and various things like this, along with all the other crap with taking money from people and all that.

Anyway, most of the Second Order was pretty pissed off at this time, so at Corpus Christi 2009 Robert appointed 5 “Chiefs of the Second Order”, hoping that would help. The Imperators of the Temples (of which there were 3 at the time) were appointed Chiefs, GH Frater TDL was pointed *THE* Chief, and myself and VH Frater ICL were appointed as co-chiefs who’s task was to assist GH Frater TDL in his role as Chief of the Second Order. The whole group of 5 were then supposed to be considered “The Chiefs of the Second Order”, and Robert declared that he himself would basically retire, go into the background, and act as a “Chief Advisor” to any of the Chiefs who wanted to consult him for advice.

Now, as you might have guessed, this was short-lived. By the following “Power Week” Robert announced that the Third Order (the invisible one that only Robert talks to) had made him “The Chief Magus” which is a new position that is above all the Chief Adepts. Then, later, like December of ‘09, a conference call and an email outlined the rules for how the whole Chiefs thing would work. It worked like this: Robert has veto power, but the Chiefs call the shots, except what Robert does. And, if Robert, TDL, and one other Chief says “we’ll do this” that trumped the other Chiefs. After some resigned and disgruntled mutterings, that proposal was left hanging without any signatures on it.

Anyway, since then there has been all kinds of uproar. […] The next day, ICL was moved by a contact with the “Third Order” (clearly not the same as Robert’s “Third Order”) to call everyone and ask them “do you agree that the accusations are true? do you agree that Robert should be taken out of contact with the Outer? do you agree that he should be thrown out of the Order?” and to post what he posted a couple weeks ago based on what people said.

So, it seems there is a power struggle going on between the G.H. Fratres I.C.L. (who seems to have been the one assembling the Adepts of the E.O.G.D. together to make the vote and writing the above quoted declaration) and T.D.L., the latter still supporting Zink even to the point of writing for his defence and still acknowledging him as “Chief Magus” of the E.O.G.D., in a typical propaganda style counter-declaration as an desperate attempt to gather back the flock into the fold. Now it seems that T.D.L. will be expelled as well by the same list of Adepts who expelled Robert Zink, if he doesn’t stop initiating candidates for Zink. So, what we probably are facing are two different E.O.G.D.s, both using the same name and probably making a fierce competition for members. This will probably become quite ugly, as Zink won’t leave without a hard battle, like some Gaddafi fighting against his own people until the bitter end. What we now are seeing are the signs of a possible civil war of the E.O.G.D.

Robert Zink & Muhammar Gaddafi

Now, I have been almost silent about this latest E.O.G.D. affair and about Zink’s expulsion, other than on Facebook and some short comments that I have made on other peoples blogs. My main motivation for this reluctance of mentioning to much to soon about it on my own blog has mainly been that up until now all of the information has been so scarce. The other reason has been that I have a hard time being civil when it comes to Robert Zink, so I prefer to shut my mouth. But because of the latest developments, which shows potential danger to the overall Golden Dawn community, I have decided that the time is ripe for me to finally express my official opinion. And already on the onset I want to applogize for my relentless attitude and severe opinions regarding Robert Zink, that I now finally have dared to air in the open.

Well, it shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise that I’m not a great fan or admirer of Robert Zink. In my opinion, without taking account for his cultic, manipulative and criminal behaviour against his own rank and files of the E.O.G.D., fitting all the necessary criteria in the DSM-IV to be diagnostized as a psychopath (which is a irreversible sickness of the soul), he has turned his own vision of the Golden Dawn into a New Age franchise, which I fully reject as being anything but “Hermetic”. I have written quite extensively about this spirito-capitalist phenomenon on this blog before, having had Zink all the time in the back of my head, regarding:

1. Astral initiation; defending traditional physical initiation and its relation to the Emerald Tablet of Hermes.
2. Angels workshops.
3. Ruah healing.
4. The Law of Attraction.

So, naturally my initial reaction to the news of the E.O.G.D. expulsion of Robert Zink was an all out satisfaction. But the matter is of course not that simple and definitely not as easy at it might have seemed at the outset. My initial feelings of content soon transformed into some form of prudent hopeful expectation. Today I am quite worried as to the amount of influence that Zink still might have upon the E.O.G.D.; is he still pulling the strings at least on part of its operation?

The reactions to this “rebellion” or expulsion have not been wanting from other quarters. Some are overly positive, some others are questioning the right of any body of Adepts “expelling” its Chief Adept, which I agree definitely is against traditional Golden Dawn protocol. The only right thing to do now, according these same critical voices, is to change the name and create a wholly other egregore, as the E.O.G.D. egregore supposedly “belongs” to Zink as he, being its Chief, innately created it and its peculiar culture in the first place. Either this latter position, or a total silence, has also been the norm of official reactions from other Golden Dawn organizations, with the exception of the Order that I represent in Scandinavia, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Outer Order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega (H.O.G.D./A+O), who immediately offered its assistance towards the E.O.G.D. independent of Robert Zink.

Some days ago Soror F.S.O. / P.O.I.O., who has been something of a spokes person for the “non-Zink” E.O.G.D. on both Facebook and her blog “Flight of Hermes”, answered this whole question regarding the right to vote for the expulsion of Zink. Let me quote the relative portions from her blog, which I feel needs to be repeated:

First and most importantly I want to be very, very, clear that Robert was not expelled due to a vie for power amongst the Adepti of our Order, nor because we did not “like” the way Robert was running it. Robert Zink was expelled because he was victimizing the students who joined our Order through the illegal activities of theft, credit-card fraud, and inappropriate sexual advances to the female members of the Order. These activities became so gross and so often (daily) that as an Order (Outer and Inner) we were forced to take extreme measures.

Secondly, I would like to make it known that Robert was not the “founder” of our Order. Although he may have been appointed Chief and held that title for many years, he did not start the Order. The Order was started by a group of individuals, who after seeing a time of intense growth within their group decided to vote on a Chief after a round of testing. Robert was voted in as Chief, along with two other Chiefs (three in all) and as such he was voted out and expelled when he failed for over twenty years to fulfill his duties as a spiritual leader.

Thirdly, I would like to point out that throughout the history of our Order, the culture, presence and current was created by the group of people who worked very diligently to make this Order grow and thrive despite Robert’s continued efforts to sabotage it...not by Robert himself.

Lastly, we have not changed the workings of the Order thus far because it is the Order that we love, an Order that was created by the blood, sweat, and tears of many, many people with the markings of all these people’s efforts. For as long as I have been around I have not seen Robert put one cent into the Order, nay he has spent many years instead draining Temple funds, scaring away our students by charging gas, snacks, and little league parties on their credit cards without permission. Every Temple, every tool, every Power Week has been accomplished because of the sheer will and dedication of the members, and it is to the members that the Order shall go.

My personal opinion about this voting business held against the insurgents of the E.O.G.D. is quite simple. What actually is truly fantastic in this whole saga is how a self-initiate can proclaim himself to be a “Chief” of a Golden Dawn Temple (and a “true custodian of the Golden Dawn Tradition”) in the first place. That is beyond me. No Adeptus Exemptus that I know or have heard of either initiated Zink through the Grades or authorized him to become Chief Adept over a Golden Dawn Order. According to Zink’s first wife, Sonya Neiman Zink, who supposedly was a co-founder of the E.O.G.D. back in the days when it was referring itself to as the “Eternal Circle of Light”, soon to be known as the “Hermetic Order of the Eternal Golden Dawn International”, both she and Robert Zink self-initiated themselves using published literature and the guidance of an Ouija board, the latter technique soon developing into Zink becoming the one and only true vehicle of “The Third Order”.

Thus I fully support the insurgence against Robert Zink and of the E.O.G.D. ousting him out. This has been long overdue, as can be proved by the official accusations made against Robert Zink from his own people, which are extremely severe and compromising indeed. It is my opinion that the public should be told without any reservation about Zink’s true character and that whatever he represents has nothing whatsoever to do with neither the Rosicrucian tradition nor the Golden Dawn current. So, in fact I do extend my personal salutations to all E.O.G.D. members, Outer Order initiates and Second Order collage Adepti alike, who finally has shown the courage and determination through these times of test and trial.

Today the Collage of the Adepti of the E.O.G.D. does a greater service to the public than they ever have done before. Accusations of this kind against Zink from others and outside of the E.O.G.D. may easily be dismissed off as simple “rumours” or “slandering”, especially if they come from other Golden Dawn leaders or representatives such as yours truly. Today, nobody can deny that all the rumours and accusations held against Robert Zink in the past, either by ex-members or other parties, were true all along. So, today I may speak freely for the first time ever about my own experience of the E.O.G.D., when it was known as the Hermetic Order of the Morning Star International, without the risk of anyone denying the truth in my words.

I believe it was back in 2002 when Robert Zink and his organization was experiencing their first severe crisis which almost destroyed it, resulting in an entire Temple leaving him, and even his web page closing for some time. Just prior to all of this happening one of Zink’s loyal Adepts living in Sweden by a sheer fumble happened to send a e-mail to the admin of the H.O.G.D./A+O, which happens to use the same domain name as the E.O.G.D. with the exception of .com instead of .org. So, this Adept sent us an e-mail writing @golden-dawn.com by mistake. Whatever information was contained in that letter was outrageously compromising. It seems that Zink was using a network of Adepts to perform a Saturnian working with the intention to bind the parents of children, being members of the same soft ball team as his own child, because Zink was experiencing some kind of opposition from these parents. Thus Zink was manipulating his own Adepts, being members of a Collage who traditionally are expected to work the Magic of Light, to instead perform black magical operations just to serve Zink’s own selfish ends. I happen to have read this letter myself, although I don’t have it anymore as that computer has crashed a long time ago. But reading that letter I became personally convinced that Robert Zink was truly evil and his Adepts were acting as partners in crime.

So, naturally we must address the issue of shared responsibility of abuse made against E.O.G.D. members and others, amongst the rank and file of the E.O.G.D.s Collage of the Adepti. The remaining members of the E.O.G.D. are going to face a juridical process of its own ranks in the Hall of Maat, as has often been the case in countries that has overthrown years of tyrannical oppression. As some have pointed out, Zink’s systematic exploitation of his own members couldn’t have been so effective without either the active participation or passive consent of other members and Adepts of the E.O.G.D., of which I myself obviously have seen proof. Hopefully, most of Zink’s fellow perpetrators have followed with him, but probably not all of them. Thus there have been voiced several accusative opinions and feelings of bitterness from ex-members also against the rebels amongst the E.O.G.D. Adepti. What took them so long? Why didn’t they react earlier than now?

Questions of this kind are understandable. One of my clients, who was abused as a child in a juvenile institution, recently told me that the worst abusers wasn’t the people beating him up, but the other members of the staff who chose to look the other way. Thus I can understand the sentiments of bitterness amongst the victims of Robert Zink and his loyal staff. But in most democratic nations there has always been room for amnesty in cases where former perpetrators, that is the tools of tyranny not the tyrants themselves, both has admitted to their crimes and been transparent in their confessions, furthering the juridical processes with their own testimonies. As Rosicrucians – being that of Christian Esotericists – we must also practice the way of the heart, i.e. that of compassion and forgiveness, after a needed period of severity, being the revolt itself. Remember the adage taken from our sacred Neophyte Ceremony:

Study well that Great Arcanum, the proper equilibrium of mercy and severity, for either unbalanced is not good; unbalanced severity is cruelty and oppression; unbalanced mercy is but weakness and would permit evil to exist unchecked, thus making itself as it were the accomplice of that evil.

The words “accomplice of that evil” is what I have address in the last two paragraphs. However, Robert Zink himself, as well as the actual tyrants themselves, is beyond redemption, or at least it is not the karma of the E.O.G.D. to forgive him for his sins against its integrity, in the same manner as it isn’t the responsibility of the raped woman to forgive her rapist. I may sound harsh here, but I again invoke the words of wisdom from the Hall of Neophytes, as well as my own therapeutic knowledge regarding psychopathology of this severe kind; there are no working remedies against severe psychopathic personality disorder such as Zink apparenty is displaying. So all of this blessing that lately have been seen on the Internet, sent toward both the remaining ranks of the E.O.G.D. and towards Zink himself in the same message, is ridiculous and naive. It is the insurgents of the E.O.G.D. who really needs our blessings and full attention in this though process of healing and therapy, which they undoubtedly will have to face in their egregore as a collective.

Furthermore, this shared responsibility also applies to the broader Golden Dawn community leadership who has giving Zink their passive and active consent in his activities during the last decade, being quite aware of the cult-like behaviour of his organization. Not that long ago Zink were invited to a Golden Dawn conference hosted by a well known and respected Golden Dawn leader, participating with the lot of the leaders and other well known authors of various Golden Dawn factions. Quite recently another well respected Golden Dawn leader and author even recommended enquiring candidates to enroll to Zink’s astral initiation scheme, because of the competition that it provides against the H.O.G.D./A+O. Thus officially, Zink has been adopted by the Golden Dawn family, and his authority as Chief has never been questioned by the other Chiefs. Perhaps some of this phenomena may be explained by the axiom of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”?

Thus I’m only aware of one Golden Dawn organization, and leader, openly criticizing Zink for his activities for the last decade – the H.O.G.D./A+O and David Griffin. And because of this both the H.O.G.D./A+O and David Griffin has been severely criticized not only by E.O.G.D. members and Zink himself but by many others as well, even to the point of some individuals being cynical in their opinion regarding the recent gesture made by the H.O.G.D./A+O towards Zink’s insurgents. Therefore it is comforting to know that all of the attacks from Zink against the H.O.G.D./A+O don’t at all represent the attitudes of the E.O.G.D. Adepti. All this time, it was Zink’s own personal war, nothing else. Manipulative as he is, he surely also took advantage of the naivety and dependence of some of his members and used his skills in power tactics to make them throw accusations against the H.O.G.D./A+O, David Griffin and even against yours truly. However, I have also received secret e-mails from some Adepts of the E.O.G.D. in the past who actually has appreciated my critique against Zink’s practices outside of the hallmarks of our Tradition.

So it is easy to point fingers towards the Adepti of the E.O.G.D. who finally, albeit late, took their responsibility and said “Enough!” instead of looking at the mirror and asking oneself, “what could I have done to prevent serious fellow initiates and innocent spiritual seekers to be victimized by the predator Robert Zink?” Nobody from the outside gave Zink’s victims nor his own opposition within the E.O.G.D. their support, other than the one exception already mentioned. What I have understood, outsiders criticizing Zink and the E.O.G.D. have instead been told by their Chiefs to shut up and minding their own business, i.e. “doing the Work”. It seems that this policy hasn’t changed even in the face of a total revolution. Contrary to this I hold that the Golden Dawn community must be vigilant and take its responsibility against all abusers calling themselves the Golden Dawn. Does the Golden Dawn community need another Horos Scandal to finally awake?

Robert Zink + Laura Horos = true?

And against the accusations why it took so long for G.H. Fra. I.C.L. and his followers to take action, I might give my tentative answer: Timing. Breaking the shackles of oppression takes time, preparation and above all timing. Not just timing in a sociological and psychological sense, but also in a cosmic or astrological, of which I spoke in the opening paragraph. Just look at the insurgencies spreading through North Africa as we speak; here we really can talk about timing and synchronicity being a necessary prerequisite. Why then, some have asked, stay for so long while these kind of abuses continues without any hope for bettering on Zink’s part (remembering he is a psychopath)? Perhaps because one has the hopes that at least if I do my work properly in guiding serious aspirants to the limits of my ability, perhaps I can do something to alleviate the damage done by the perpetrator.

I have always sensed that there are really serious and good Adepts and teachers in the E.O.G.D., despite of whatever Zink teaches and trains them to do, and despite what shocking information I might have read in that misdirected letter back in 2002. There are obviously members of the E.O.G.D. that have been benefited by their membership, not because of Robert Zink but despite of him, thanks to hard working Adepts and senior members. I’m convinced that it is possibly to feel responsibility and loyalty towards the Golden Dawn Tradition as a whole, trying to ignore the bad apple who also happens to sit as Chief of the Order one belongs to. And to me it seems that those who finally has taken the initiative to make such a severe opposition, being so honest about it and whatever damage their expelled Chief has done towards both themselves, their organization and the greater Golden Dawn community over the years, are guided by people who feel such a loyalty towards the Golden Dawn itself and towards their students. That’s why I support them, and that’s why I will turn my back against Robert Zink and all the bad apples that for whatever reason feel the need to follow him and partake in his continuing evil mischief making.

Now, Robert Zink in his messianic fervour has identified himself with S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the majority of the Collage of the Adepti of E.O.G.D. with the rebels of the Stella Matutina, delusions of gradure that are quite usual amongst schizoid paranoid types such as Zink. I have seen this myself on Facebook in some of his commentaries. Therefore I believe that it is highly dangerous to compare the E.O.G.D. revolt with the original Golden Dawn schism, as I have seen being implied by some outside observers. This is exactly what Robert Zink wants to hear, he himself of course assuming the dead ghost of Mathers. History don’t repeat itself in this instance as one cannot honestly compare S.L. MacGregor Mathers with Roberts Zink; Mathers was not a criminal whatever beliefs we may have of him and whatever lies Crowley may have spread about his former mentor.

But whatever will be the outcome of this insurgence against Zink, he will surely continue with his New Age business of “alchemy” mentoring of the Law of Attraction, overpriced “communion with angels” and Reiki style “ruah healing” workshops, despite of him being sacked from his own Order. I just wish he didn’t append the Golden Dawn label to it anymore and in the future, which he probably will anyway.

In ending I personally wish the best for the remaining membership and staff of the E.O.G.D. and hope they find strength to pull this insurgence through all the way, without any interference from either Zink or anyone else, me included. However, I must finish with one important advice to the current leadership of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn: for God’s sake (and for that of your initiates), please drop the practice of “astral initiation”. Now, in these times of great change, it is also the right timing to change your own current ways to comply with the hallmarks of the Golden Dawn Tradition, and to that of Rosicrucianism. Other than this, steer your body of initiates steady on the straight and narrow pathway; live well and prosper in Light, Life and Love.

S∴R∴

A few notes on energy work

o

The other day I commented upon a blog post made by Frater A.I.T. where he proposes that meditation constitutes energy work, especially meditation of the kind that uses “prayer” to aspire towards God or the ALL. He mentions Alchemical Masters who often admonished their students to use Prayer in their workings. My good Frater also proposes extended practice several hours per day as the true key to aquiring immortality, warning the student against becoming content with the standard daily half or whole hour exercise. I basically agree with Frater A.I.T. in almost every word, with the only exception of contrasting energy work with ritual. Meditation surely is “energy work”, or is “energetic” in its nature; and with “energy” I am referring to both astral, etheric and physical forms in this context. Furthermore, meditation also has the great benefit of simplicity. I myself often meditate on the tram to and from work, and sometimes while I walk along a street.

My own experiences, that I would like to share with you for the first time since I started this blog, has taught me that it is the Words of Power (or the “matram” to use an equivalent oriental term) used in meditation that makes the energetic work done. The power of words triggers it; or at least the logos has some important part in all of this “raising of energy”. I have found out, through my own intuition, that a particular set of vowels really gets my energetic juices flowing so to speak, even if I only “say” them mentally (i.e. silently without using my mouth), which is how I do it in the majority of cases because of meditating in the public. The simple thought and focus upon the Word triggers the energy!

This meditation of my own device, silently using a power “mantram” of the Western Esoteric Tradition, and with no particular visualization, together with another energetic meditative exercise which I was taught in the R.R. et A.C., which make use of both vibrated Words of Power and visualizations, in fact “awakened” or “activated” my energetic body, centered along my spinal column.

I have always with ease felt etheric “energy” while doing invocations, especially in working God-Form Magic and intoning the Enochian Keys, but that feeling of energy has more been of a gentle type, even though I have felt it being spread through the whole of my physical body, either as a shower falling from my head or as a surge raising from the feet. Since I awakened my Serpent Fire along my spinal column, using the aforementioned techniques of meditative nature, the sensations has been much more intensified, as physical nerv currents of electricity and sometimes approximating orgasmic sensations; also regular invocations using Supreme or Greater Invocation Rituals (of the Pentagram and Hexagram) awakens this latter flow in my energetic body centered in a never before felt intensity along the spine.

I have been hesitant to share this highly personal gnosis with you, my dear reader, but feel that I must deviate from my principles of secrecy to make you understand that I base my opinions on my own practical experiences. So I must add to what Frater A.I.T. have stated in his blog, that also Ceremonial Magic – the use of ritual by and of itself – constitutes true energetic work. Thus I see no actual difference between meditation and ritual in importance, other that the use of ritual requires much more preparation and cannot be performed everywhere as with meditation. Thus it is simpler and more practical to use meditation as the basis for one’s work. But one shouldn’t substitute ritual work with meditation as I believe that the former is crucial in manifesting it fully in the physical body, because of the physical movements and different postures being done. Lets not underestimate the value of movement and posture!

To use a comparison between the traditions of the occident and the orient. While the meditative exercises may be compared to Hindu Yoga or Tibetan Buddhism, Ceremonial Magic may be compared to Taoist energetic work such as Qi-Gong, or Thai Chi, etc. Both perspectives on spiritual exercise work splendidly and should be seamlessly integrated in the Adept’s work, and also in that of the Aspirant’s, constituting a work in two parts.

So, in the final analysis I agree that meditation should be extended and used in prolonged application also outside of the traditional ritual Oratory, as often as one may find moments of opportunity in the daily affairs of life, simply because it is manageable to use in this way. And that this is the key to success I can attest fully with myself as a living example. It is always when I devote myself to the work fully, and in most aspects of my life, when I harvest the most true results.

I also agree with Frater A.I.T.:s advice to study the Western Alchemical Tradition in conjunction with the Eastern counterparts, as the latter are so related to the Western equivalents when it comes to energy work and alchemical applications, especially the traditions of Tantra, of Hatha Yoga and the practices of the Nath and Rasa Siddhas. A very good introduction to the Eastern tradition for the western Alchemist and Magician is David Gordon White’s books, such as The Alchemical Body and Kiss of the Yogini. While being academic works they also gives ample references to the original source and canonical texts. These books have the advantage of describing Tantra and Yoga as it was meant to be when these text books were written in the mediaeval times, i.e. the historical point of view, not the New Age stance on these topics that often divides matter from spirit, as well as energy from the body.

S∴R∴

Mentalism in the New Age

o

The latest hype of commercialism in the New Age market is the so-called “Law of Attraction,” promoted and profited through the movie from 2006 entitled The Secret, which a year later developed into the book bearing the same title. This book and movie presents the Law of Attraction in a manner giving the impression that this has been an occulted and guarded secret passed on between initiates; we have to thank The Secret for its disclosure. In this little essay I will try to put this term into its proper context. This is especially important as the Law of Attraction lately (and after the release of The Secret) has become associated with the Golden Dawn Tradition because of Robert Zink, one of the original founders and recently expelled Chief of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn (formerly known as the Hermetic Order of the Morning Star International and Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn International).

The Secret presents the Law of Attraction in a way that easily may be summed up as: “You get the life that you deserve, your thoughts and ideas attracts the attention of the universe and you must reap what you have sown.” Or to simplify matters even more the entire philosophy may be summed up as: “Like attracts like.” The truth is, however, that this book or movie doesn’t present anything new at all – nor does it present a secret. Actually the Law of Attraction is nothing more than the reused and repackaged philosophy centred on the principle of Mentalism, being part of the movement known as the “New Though”.

New Though was an early precursor of the New Age movement that formed already in the late 19th Century but grew into a major force in the early 20th Century, with authors as Napolian Hill and William Walker Atkinson (1862 – 1932). The latter often wrote using different pennames, such as “Yoga Ramacharaka” and “Magus Incognito”. It was actually the latter author who coined the term “Law of Attraction” in his 1906 seminal work Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World. He soon used the two terms “Law of Attraction” and “Mentalism” interchangeable. Or rather, it seems that the term “Law of Attraction” was the more popularised term used in the various self-help books spread in the early 20th Century, while the “Principle of Mentalism” was used in a more occult context, attached to both Western Hermeticism and Eastern Yoga.

William Walker Atkinson

One such example of the latter case is the book The Kybalion, written in 1912 by “Three Initiates”. This book presents seven Hermetic laws or principles, the first and foremost being that of Mentalism, the other principles being that of Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender. Basically the principle of Mentalism teaches that the world is actually a thought form of God. And since man (the Microcosm) is made in the image of God (Macrocosm), it must be logical to assume that the human mind also has a similar creative ability as does God.

Incidentally, a quite similar book as that of The Kybalion was released in 1949 by Magus Incognito (who, remember, was one of the pennames used by William W. Atkinson), entitled The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians, which presents seven principles very similar to those in The Kybalion. Hence one must conclude that the identity of one of these “Three Initiates” to be non other than Atkinson. It has also been proposed, at least amongst the members of the B.O.T.A., that Paul Foster Case and Michael Whitty where the other two “Initiates”.

Paul Foster Case

It is historical fact that Paul F. Case knew Atkinson personally, interacting with him in his early formative years to the point of becoming heavily influenced by his thoughts. Michael Whitty was the leader of the Rosicrucian Order of the Alpha et Omega (Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn) in the U.S. and initiated Case into the New York based Thoth-Hermes Temple No. 9. Supposedly the three “Initiates” met together and wrote The Kybalion prior to Case’s admisson into the A∴O∴ in 1918. There are also unconfirmed (and perhaps unsubstantiated) rumours that William W. Atkinson himself was initiated in the Alpha et Omega, a fact that has been used by Robert Zink to promote the Law of Attraction in the context of his Golden Dawn franchise. And I bet we will continue to see him promoting his New Age teachings in a Golden Dawn wrapping even after him being ousted from his own Order.

The principle of Mentalism, in its original non-diluted non-New Age form, can also be found in the occult organization known as the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), which was founded by Paul Foster Case in 1923 after he had left (or been forced to leave) the A∴O∴ two years previously. B.O.T.A. teaches an occult system through Paul Foster Case’s (and his successor Ann Davies’) correspondence courses, which basically is a synthesis and development of the Golden Dawn Tradition, New Thought, and (to a limited extent) Eastern Yoga. Both The Kybalion and Paul F. Case however, argue that the idea of a mental universe is much older than the modern occult revival and the New Thought movement, which even The Secret tries to confirm in some romanticized scenes. I concur with this belief that the principle of Mentalism is and always has been part and parcel of the Ageless Wisdom.

Paul Brunton

Similar teachings may also be found in both Zen Buddhism and in Yoga. The English yogic guru Paul Brunton is credited with making the occident aware in the early 1940’s concerning the origins of the principle of Mentalism, the unity of Spirit and Matter, as being that of the esoteric doctrine of the Orient. However, similar thoughts may also be extracted from the works of Eliphas Levi or Alphonse Louis Constant (1810 – 1875), as early as in Dogma de la Magie from 1853 and Dogme et ritual de la haute magie from 1856 (translated into English by Arthur Edward Waite as Transcendental Magic), predating the New Thought movement by several decades and proving that there exists earlier occidental teachings with many similarities to that of the oriental esoteric doctrines.

In his books Levi expounds upon his theory regarding the “Astral Light” used in Magical workings, which takes it forms according to the intents of the Magician through his will and imagination. This idea is in fact the very raison d’être of the magical doctrine as propounded by modern Rosicrucian Orders such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. However, I personally don’t believe that Levi concocted up this theory himself but that he simply drew and expounded upon a much older tradition with its roots in Hermeticism.

Eliphas Levi

Later Sigmund Freud argued in his Totem and Taboo that these beliefs are rooted in the earliest forms of animism, in the belief systems of primitive tribes, which precedes that of religion. He calls this the “all power of thoughts” and compares this phenomenon with the primitive and narcissistic mind of the child. This “magical” thinking also forms the basis for regressive tendencies in pathological compulsive neurosis, but in a much more severe and darker form; the fear of what the mind may cause to one’s surroundings and the accompanying feelings of self-reproach and guilt. Thus one may conclude that the principles of Mentalism forms the very foundation of the Hermetic magical philosophy, while we in animism may find a ancient and primitive form of a human belief system regarding the relation between man and his environment.

To problematize Freud’s assumptions, which are not factually inaccurate per se, his colleague Carl Gustav Jung furthermore holds that the ego of the child’s is in a union with the Self (The Higher and Transcendental Self), at least initially, but that the process of Individuation (maturing) creates separation between them. However, Jung also proposes the possibility of reunion between the ego and Self on a mature level, later in adult life. Making a comparison between animism and Hermeticism, the former may bee seen as a naive but intuitive understanding of real existential facts while the principle of Mentalism could bee looked upon as a more mature notion that aims at seeing beyond primitive personal omnipotence into a divine and sacred one instead.

Sigmund Freud

This being said, I still believe it is wise to make a distinction between the principle of Mentalism of Ageless Wisdom (in both the occident and orient) and that of the New Age concept regarding the Law of Attraction. The main difference is that in the Law of Attraction, at least as it is presented in The Secret, we basically are presented with a extremely infantile form of narcissism, while with the principle of Mentalism we have a mature form of a concept which tries to see the innate correspondence between Spirit and Matter, but at the same time not denouncing any divine intervention or cosmic fate.

What in particular disturbs me about the New Age form of Law of Attraction, as may be seen in The Secret and the flock of New Age gurus flooding the market, is the constant focus on creating money using this technique. I feel as if the filmmakers / authors are trying to make some sort of bastard union between the American dream and the Ageless Wisdom of the Orient and Occident, which feels quite baroque for a Swedish traditionalist as me.

Carl Gustav Jung

Something that also bothers me with The Secret is the open denunciation of the existence of God (as in transcendent or higher power than man) and of destiny (as in a Macrocosm greater than the Microcosm), or something along those lines; that man is the sole creator of his own existence, etc. This is pulling the principle of Mentalism to the extreme, which makes the whole thing quite absurd and detestable. It is also what some theologians justly have criticized The Secret for – that it makes man into the sole God. Thus, The Secret is quite stereotyped in how it confirms the prevalent phenomena of New Age perversion of old mystery traditions. It is sad to see that these perverted ideas has found its way back to teachers who purports themselves to be teachers of Hermeticism and the Holy Qabalah.

Creativity is a divine attribute which makes us all part of God’s creative impulse. To believe that the ego in itself, or man himself, could create something from his own ability and will power, separate from the Will of God or from the larger Whole, is a pure delusion when seen in the light of traditional Hermeticism and its principle of Mentalism. It is certainly the best path to failure in the application of the principles of Mentalism; it may only lead to spiritual ruin if prolonged. Only by ensuring that Man and God (or the Great Creative Power, or whatever you want to call it) are as One in this act of Will and Imagination, i.e. that the human will and creative ability are but manifestations of the divine, may these principles (such as described in The Secret) lead to any real success. It thus requires a good dose of self-distance and humility.


Thus it is a serious fallacy to believe that the ego of man alone has the ability to create something, or anything, because of their “own” or “personal” ability and willingness. No matter what any deluded individual may believe it is still God (or the One) who is the sole Creative Power and Will of the Universe or Macrocosm, where the human will and creative ability is but a Microcosmic manifestation of this divine creative impulse. Man is the instrument of Divine Will with a special purpose and divine mission in this present incarnation.

This notwithstanding, it still is possible for a human mind to create something by the sole means of the imaginative faculties and willpower resident at the level of human consciousness, as is described in The Secret, even if the individual lacks any religious sentiments or even doesn’t believe in God. Individuals may even nurture the belief (which is a delusion) that they are the sole creators of their personal universes in order to achieve some “progress” in their life with the help of the tenets of The Secret.

But this progress is purely materialistic and only concerns worldly affairs (which The Secret seems to use as the major measure stick of success). The question is whether this is characteristical of real “success”. With an atheistic, agnostic or materialistic approach one may only affect the physical existence, which is limiting indeed. There is no greater spiritual development worth mentioning in these instances – at least until the individual along the road to his material success eventually does realize that there is more to life than pure material pleasure; he may find his true mission in life and real Self in the process. There is a chance that he finally realizes, when the money starts to flow, that this doesn’t answer all his questions of the meaning of life, or even cover all his needs; somehow he may realize or sense that there has been a higher power all along that has had a hand in his success. When this happens he begins to turn his attention to the true creative power and thus takes his first steps in his search for life’s true mysteries.

From Darkness to Light

Apart from this, self-help philosophies of this kind often neglect all aspects of life, especially the darker ones. It’s no surprise then that some theologians in their criticism of The Secret have pointed out the truth that life by necessity also must go through pain and suffering, as well as success and happiness. This is as simple a fact as there is a day and a night, and expresses the 4th and 5th principles of The Kybalion, that of Polarity and Rhythm; opposites are two sides of the same coin and changes into each other through regular intervals. The Secret on the other hand totally neglects the need of darkness in one’s life, and even blames the individual himself for encountering it. But it fully misses the truth of this matter that any difficult moments in our lives also provide us with valuable time for self-reflection and knowledge of our self (or Self with the capital “S”), to find our true place in life and purpose of our lives. Life is never and shouldn’t ever be a bed of roses, as portrayed in the movie The Secret, just because we choose to believe in only ourselves and that we by our own power have the ability to reshape our lives.

So in the final analysis, The Secret, which has become the new gospel of the New Age movement in its belief of the Law of Attraction, is a fairly gross over-simplification of life and the true meaning of living and leading a life as a compassionate human being. In my opinion it gives the reader or student serious blinkers which may make him miss the actual mark and create a serious stumbling block in finding his own path of return. The classical motto or axiom of Per ardua ad alta, which translates as “Through difficulties to the heights,” expresses much more truth in its four words than does The Secret through its more than 200 pages or 1½ hours of film. The true path of the initiate is best expressed through the motto Post tenebras lux or “from darkness to light.” Enough said.

S∴R∴

B.O.T.A. Chapter work

o

Before I came to be initiated into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the middle 1990’s I was a “Associate Builder” of the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) for a couple of years prior to my Admission, and also continued with my B.O.T.A. studies towards the end of the millennium in tandem with my Golden Dawn study and work; I found its lessons blend so well with the original Golden Dawn curriculum. I also enjoyed my study of Paul Foster Case’s correspondence courses immensely, and to a certain extent also Ann Davies’ lessons, in their own right and still keep them with me for reference.

Paul Foster Case quickly became my favourite Golden Dawn initiate, when everyone else of my fellow brethren revered either Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie or S.L. MacGregor Mathers. Even though I regard the latter to be one of the greatest initiates of our modern era, P.F. Case came close and surely was the greatest American initiate of all time. So, for me it is naturally to notice and gather any information that I can get on either Case or the B.O.T.A.

I have made some notes before on this blog regarding Case’s involvement in the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, from which he found his main inspiration to form the B.O.T.A., where I also quote some interesting information from Tony DeLuce regarding the B.O.T.A. Chapter work, the equivalent of a Temple in the Golden Dawn. Now recently I stumbled upon a interesting conversation between Tony DeLuce and Tony Fuller, both of them initiates of both the B.O.T.A. and the Golden Dawn Traditions, and whom I trust for their scholarly integrity and honesty, from which I have gathered some very illuminating information regarding the Chapter work of the B.O.T.A.

Ann Davies standing in front of the Banner of the East

When still a member of the B.O.T.A. I was told by people I trust that only one permillage of the members ever reached the Chapter levels, and that there probably only existed one Chapter serving the entire Europe and one in the U.S. So information regarding B.O.T.A. Chapter work is very scarce ideed; I have always known that they work a version of Golden Dawn ritual equivalent of the Outer Order and the Adeptus Minor 5°=6° Grade. Case clearly states in the B.O.T.A. lessons that his organization doesn’t initiate anyone beyond the 5°=6° and that all initiations above that is solely made between the initiate and his Higher Self or Holy Guardian Angel. But other than this, one won’t find any more information from B.O.T.A. itself regarding Chapter work, which is an extremely secluded affair althogether. One must search in different quarters. Now, the latest news says the following:

1. Paul Foster Case brought into the B.O.T.A. the Outer or First Order rituals already used in the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega (A∴O∴). This means that the First Order rituals of the B.O.T.A. Chapter is neither that of the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (G∴D∴) or the later Stella Matutina (S.M.) revisions; they follow the particular A∴O∴ formula. Here I must add my own observations regarding the “Elemental Grades”, i.e. that of Zelator (1°=10°), Theoricus (2°=9°), Practicus (3°=8°), and Philosophus (4°=7°). Between the G∴D∴, and later A∴O∴ and S.M., there are very few and only minor differences, mostly alternative wordings, etc. It is the 0°=0° Ritual which differs the most between the original G∴D∴, A∴O∴ and S.M. In the case of the A∴O∴ this is mostly seen in the so-called “antiphony”, a unique exchange of words made between the principal Officers, which has never seen the light of public before. Other than this the A∴O∴ 0°=0° Ritual differs very little from the original G∴D∴, contrary to the S.M. which has added the initial “…by Names and Images…” and changed the wordings throughout the Ceremony of Admission to make the ritual more Christian oriented.
2. However, Case changed the wordings of the A∴O∴ antiphony somewhat. Besides taking away all the Enochian references from the “Elemental Grades”, he also introduced new elements into the 0°=0° and 2°=9° which is based upon his teachings of the Cube of Space, and also brought in portions from his own The Book of Tokens into the 0°=0°. This brings my attention to the Pronaos Ritual of the B.O.T.A., which serves as a species of preparation ceremony for the 0°=0°, and the overtly stage directions made there to the Cube of Space diagram. It also seems that Case modified the Double Cubical Altar which resembles Aleister Crowley’s instructions from Book 4. Furthermore, Case, in his version of the 0°=0°, somehow emphasized the division between the opening / closing ritual and the initiation ritual. The 1°=10° seems to be virtually identical to the original A∴O∴ version, which is also the case with the 3°=8° and 4°=7° if it weren’t for the fact that considerable portions of the Officer’s speeches were removed from the latter two. When it comes to the Portal Grade Ceremony, Case didn’t use the G∴D∴ / A∴O∴ version but the one practiced in the S.M. instead, which he found in Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn. If the source isn’t mistaken there is also supposed to be a lesser amount of diagrams in the B.O.T.A., and those that are there are the same as the diagrams published in Crowley’s The Equinox Vol. 1 No. 2, i.e. quite few of them. It looks as Case added his own diagrams to make up for this lack. This last detail recalls something I read or heard a long time ago, that Case had returned all his A∴O∴ documents after he had resigned, and that he recreated the rituals from memory with the aid of Crowley’s The Equinox.
3. In the early phase of the B.O.T.A. Paul Foser Case only presented the 0°=0° and 1°=10° Grade Rituals for his Chapters until the 1930’s, when he supposedly closed most if not all of the Chapters. However, he later reactivated some of them and by then had written the 2°=9°, 3°=8°, 4°=7° and Portal. Case didn’t administer the 5°=6° until the early 1940’s, when he reluctantly opened his own Second Order under pressure from his Portal members. Supposedly this was done as a coup of sorts; Case’s members built a Vault of the Adepti while he was absent because of a lecture tour. Thus they took seven ping-pong tables (which have the dimensions 5 foot x 8 foot), assembled them together and painted them according to the specifications taken from Regardie’s The Golden Dawn. Case upon his return had no choice but to indulge his members. But Case produced very little 5°=6° curriculum, beyond a few papers. One of these supposedly was Charles Stanfield Jones’ (a.k.a. Fra. Achad’s) I.N.R.I.: De Mysteriis Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis! I wonder if he disregarded of the Thelemic undertones in that one!

So, the only conclusion that I can make from all of this, and the former information gathered in my previous essay, is that Paul F. Case’s version of a Golden Dawn Order were quite a diluted copy of the original, especially in its Second Order which practically were void of teachings other than the 5°=6° Ceremony itself. According to earlier information Ann Davies made no changes to the Chapters; they were operating exactly as they had been left by Case in 1954 and at least until Davies’ death in 1975. I doubt that any changes were made after that. However, the use of the Cube of Space is quite an interesting additon, even though much is also lacking in the First Order, especially in the 3°=8° and 4°=7°. The fact that Case chose to use the S.M. version of the Portal Ceremony, which introduced the foreign and masonic “Three Degrees” formula, also means that he inadvertedly took hold of a current which, figuratively speaking, invoked Rudolf Steiner’s ghost.

S∴R∴