Temple of Set Reading List: Category 10 - The Golden Dawn

 "Temple of Set Reading List:

Category 10 - The Golden Dawn" (3/1/86CE)

Reprinted from: _The Crystal Tablet of Set_

(c) Temple of Set 1989 CE

Weirdbase file version by TS permission

by Michael A. Aquino, Ipsissimus VI* Temple of Set

Electronic mail: MCI-Mail 278-4041

 

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a turn of the century British 

Rosicrucian/ceremonial magic society. Drawing from the legacy of Eliphas 

Levi, the Theosophical Society of Helena Blavatsky, and the Societas 

Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.), the Golden Dawn nevertheless succeeded in 

achieving a sophistication and an artistic elegance all its own. While it 

may be going too far to say that it became the prototype for all initiatory 

orders of this century, it certainly was the forerunner of Aleister 

Crowley's A.A., and its initiatory grade-structure would later influence 

those of the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set.

10A. _The Rites of Modern Occult Magic_ (British title: _Ritual Magic in 

England_) by Francis King. NY: Macmillan, 1970. (TS-3) (CS-3) AL: "A 

comprehensive survey of the Golden Dawn and other magical orders. Contains 

more actual, no-nonsense information than can be gleaned from the ponderous 

writings of the orders covered." MA: "A compact history of late 19th-century 

Rosicrucianism in England, the rise & fall of the Golden Dawn, the impact & 

influence of Crowley's A.'.A.'. & O.T.O. organizations, and comments on 

various pre-1966 offshoots, primarily in England. Readable, informative, and 

objective. A good introduction to the social context of the G.'.D.'. [If 

#13C is representative of King's research methods, however, his selection 

and emphasis of facts may not be as rigorous as could be desired."

10B. _The Golden Dawn_ by F. Israel Regardie. River Falls: Hazel Hills, 1970 

(2 volumes, reprinted as 1 volume in 1974 by Llewellyn). (TS-4) MA: "This is 

the third edition of the famous and still definitive study of the G.'.D.'. 

It is perhaps the only published work in which the artistry and atmosphere 

intended for the G.'.D.'. are clearly evident, untarnished by bitter 

accounts of petty personality conflicts. Looking through this work, one can 

see the authenticity and sophistication that the G.'.D.'. projected, which 

accounted for its attractiveness to the intelligentsia of a cynical and 

restless Victorian England. In spite of this, the G.'.D.'. was crippled by a 

lack of scientific and historical precision in its doctrines; this too will 

be apparent to the reader. Compare, for example, the Enochian Keys with the 

original Dee manuscript [included in _The Crystal Tablet of Set_]. 

Nevertheless _The Golden Dawn_ remains a classic - and Regardie's _magnum 

opus_. [Not recommended is Regardie's 1984 work _The Complete Golden Dawn 

System of Magic_, which is a confusingly-organized product of a variety of 

authors, some apparently original/authentic and others modern/pretenders - 

most identified by initials/mottos only, so that the reader cannot easily 

distinguish between them.]"

10C. _Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and "The Golden Dawn"_ by Ithell 

Colquhoun. NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1975. (TS-3) MA: "An account of the 

G.'.D.'. and its principal figure, Mathers, by a devoted Mathers admirer. 

This bias, together with scant documentation of arguments in the text, makes 

it necessary to take this book with a grain of salt. Its primary value is as 

an update and supplement to #10A. The Enochian section is best ignored as 

unsubstantiated. An interesting feature of the book is the inclusion of 

G.'.D.'. membership and 'spinoff' lists, which offer clues to the legacy of 

the G.'.D.'. in some later initiatory contexts."

10D. _The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra=Melin, the Mage_ by S.L. 

MacGregor Mathers (Trans.). NY: Dover Books #23211-5, 1977 (reprinted from 

the 1932 de Lawrence hardcover edition). (TS-4) MA: "In the pristine Golden 

Dawn this grimoire was thought to be particularly 'dangerous', but by Setian 

standards it is merely quaint. Yet it was the text that inspired Aleister 

Crowley to begin serious Workings as a magician. Now of historical/collector 

value only, it is a translation of a 15th-century manuscript in the 

Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal in Paris. Included is an extensive introduction by 

Mathers."

10E. _Eliphas Levi: Master of Occultism_ by Thomas A. Williams. University 

of Alabama Press, 1975. (TS-3) MA: "Amidst all the confusion surrounding 

Levi, this little 174-page biography stands as an island of scholarship. 

Williams discusses the facts of his life, philosophy, and writings 

succinctly, suggesting prior influences and subsequent legacies. Today most 

of Levi's doctrines are thoroughly outdated, but in many ways he was the 

Columbus of modern occult science. Extensively footnoted, with a good 

bibliography and a list of Levi's own works."

10F. _The Magicians of the Golden Dawn_ by Ellic Howe. NY: Samuel Weiser, 

1978. (TS-3) MA: "A documentary history of the rise and fall of the G.'.D.'. 

by a historian, not an occultist with an axe to grind. Hence it is objective 

while stopping short of cynicism. This history is based upon various 

personal and group interactions among the membership, not upon the evolution 

or development of magical theory. The book is valuable as an illustration of 

the stresses and strains upon an occult order and of how various individuals 

- some well-intentioned, some not - attempted to influence the situation. 

The ultimate lesson is that an occult society which becomes obsessed with 

interpersonal intrigue to the neglect of magic and philosophy is on the path 

to self-extermination." Howe is also the author of #14W.

10G. _Yeats' Golden Dawn_ by George Mills Harper. NY: Barnes & Noble, 1974. 

(TS-3) MA: "The best account of W.B. Yeats' encounter with occultism - first 

via Blavatsky's Theosophical Society and then with the G.'.D.'. after 1891. 

A picture of the conflict between Yeats the poet and Yeats the magician. 

There is an extensive documentary section, including Yeats' key pamphlet 'Is 

the RR&AC to Remain a Magical Order?' and the 'Bye-Laws' of the 1st and 2nd 

Orders of the G.'.D.'. as of 1900 and 1902 [after the Mathers & Crowley 

schisms]. Also included is the Hermetic Library Catalogue of Wynn Westcott, 

now obsolete but charming for its historical quaintness."

10H. _Yeats and Magic: The Earlier Works_ by M.C. Flannery. NY: Harper & Row 

(Barnes & Noble Import Division), 1978. (TS-4) MA: "This is neither as 

lengthy nor as G.'.D.'.-focused as #10G, but it is interesting because of 

its explanation of the influences of #19S and Blake [see #6F] in Yeats' 

magical philosophy. It is also more probing than #10G, seeking to illustrate 

Yeats' personal approach to a magical philosophy rather than his dealings 

with the G.'.D.'. organization."

10I. _Egyptian Magic_ by Florence Farr. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: 

The Aquarian Press, 1982. (TS-4) MA: "The actress Florence Farr was one of 

the more famous initiates of the G.'.D.'. and was a particularly close 

friend of Yeats and G.B. Shaw. This little paperback is a very readable 

summary of the Egyptian magical tradition - as abbreviated as may be 

expected in 85 pages - but is nonetheless notable for its section on gnostic 

Christian philosophy as developed in post-dynastic Egypt. Herein may be 

found the G.'.D.'. roots of the 'AEonic' system into which Aleister Crowley 

would propose the AEon of Horus."

10J. _The Golden Dawn: Twilight of the Magicians_ by R.A. Gilbert. 

Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: The Aquarian Press, 1983. (TS-3) MA: "This 

little paperback might best be described as a '_Reader's Digest_ condensed-

book version' of #10A/C/F/G with some ritual samples from #10B tossed in as 

appendices. If you want a quick and unconfusing look at the Golden Dawn, 

this is as good a cook's-tour as any."