On Western Initiatory Orders and Their Grades
Before I can talk about western initiatory orders like the Golden Dawn, I need to talk a little about the evolution of religion in the west.
Basically, before Catholicism there were many religions, many temples, many groups. There were the public religions/temples that celebrated holy days (now known as "holidays" in the vernacular) and performed ceremonies and healings for the public; and there were the so-called "mystery" groups which were more secretive and focused on personal and group spiritual growth and the acquisition of spiritual/magickal powers. There were also itinerant practitioners ranging from charlatan to village wise-woman to shaman to magickian.
In short, the marketplace was wide open and abundant.
As Catholicism grew in power and stamped out rival religions, imposing an almost Orwellian mind-control on the middle ages, the only remaining diversity came from four sources: fraternal orders which were the province of the nobility (for example, Knights of the Garter); special orders within Catholicism itself (for example, the Dominicans and the Jesuits); and the Jewish communities scattered throughout Europe. Everyone else had to shut up or be persecuted.
It is rumored that some noble families and some fraternal organizations, societies, or clubs maintained certain "pagan" practices on the sly, hidden from the almost all-powerful Church. Outer fraternal and noble orders developed rituals and initiations for their members which were quas-religious in tone. So long as these groups were Christian on their face and didn't snub the Church, they could practice what they wanted. The Church wanted to dominate the nobility, but could never quite do so. Of course, the nobility had to publicly support the Church, which it did, except for the hilarious example of Henry VIII who schismed the Church so he could get one more divorce.
Within the Church, some priests and monks were rumored to practice magick, and the grimoires of fairly old pedigree suggest that something was going on. Although many portions of such grimoires are ludicrous, modern magickians have been able to adapt/decode them so as to produce startling results. No one would suspect that a monk or priest was practicing a grimoire, as opposed to keeping it around to recognize a witch or warlock when one appeared. The most famous acknowledged member of a Catholic order to practice magick was Eliphas Levi of the 19th century, who was taking orders before leaving to avoid a scandal for his occult writings.
Finally, since they were "off the map" from the standpoint of the Church, Jews were able to preserve the Qabalah and its associated mystical and magickal practices, and these two provided an invaluable contribution to western initiatory orders.
As the "Age of Enlightenment" began to replace the Dark Ages via the influence of "science," a humanistic movement emerged in the West. This was quite a revolution, to place man/woman at the center of the field of inquiry, rather than God. Once man/woman was at the center of inquiry, his/her personal spiritual development, as opposed to "being saved by grace," became a legitimate subject to explore.
The greatest example of a humanistic/spiritual emergence at this time was the famous Fama Fraternitas, supposedly a published call by a secret Rosicrucian society to meet to form a new religious order for a new age. The most likely explanation for the Fama Fraternitas is that no such Rosicrucian organization existed at that time, and that the Fama Fraternitas was produced by an inspired writer who wanted to tweak the Church's nose while motivating liberal humanists to perhaps establish such an order themselves - which over the following centuries, they did.
Another emerging influence were the Masonic orders, which were open to merchants and not just nobility. As a middle class emerged in Europe, the Masonic orders were very appealing, both as business and fraternal orders and as holders of secret "keys" to heaven. Masons included ritually awarded degrees or grades. As the Qabalah was studied by some Masons, it made its way into the degree structure of Masonry, but much of the inner lore of Masonry was hidden from its members.
The final impetus to the establishment of initiatory orders was the extensive contact with India and its systems of gurus and initiations. Finally, the connection was made between spiritual potency/knowledge and a staged system of "initiations" or introductions, empowerments. Just as the system of priestly ranks bestowed power within the Church, so the system of mystic grades in the Golden Dawn was intended to bestow power within the mystic structure laid out by the Qabalistic Tree of Life. In short, Masonic orders bestowed prestige with their degrees; Rosicrucian orders (for Rosicrucian underpinnings became an important part of the Golden Dawn) bestowed actual spiritual power and authority. This spiritual power and authority manifested on the "astral plane" where grade signs could be used to cross portals on the paths of the Tree of Life; and on the authorization to practice planetary invoking/banishing ceremonies, to open by watchtower, and to practice the Dee/Kelly system of Enochian magick.
The Golden Dawn is cetainly the most famous initiatory order to emerge out of this hodge-podge of influences. Although its founders, high ranking Masons, claimed to have discovered a cipher manuscript, originating from a Frau Sprengel in Germany, authorizing the establishment of a Golden Dawn temple in England, most students of the occult view this as a howler along the lines of the Mahatma letters Blavatsky used to justify her control of the Theosophical Society. In fact, Masons almost always demand some pedigree or higher authority, and the "charter" from an imagined German secrety society seemed to fit the bill.
That having been said, the founders of the Golden Dawn were brilliant, and made stunning use of Theosophical Society occult teachings; European occult teachings from Eliphas Levi and others; Qabalistic works (one founder translated Qabalistic writings); grimoires (the Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon, for example); Masonic principles of grade, rank, and ritual; and whatever Egyptology materials they could crib from the British Museum. They "stole" on a grand scale and put together an occult initiatory process that is unsurpassed to this day. The Golden Dawn materials published by Crowley and Regardie are truly "do it yourself" manuals for the budding occultist.
Which brings me to the topic of the day: how can you benefit from an initiatory order while keeping your political soul sane?
Basically, before Catholicism there were many religions, many temples, many groups. There were the public religions/temples that celebrated holy days (now known as "holidays" in the vernacular) and performed ceremonies and healings for the public; and there were the so-called "mystery" groups which were more secretive and focused on personal and group spiritual growth and the acquisition of spiritual/magickal powers. There were also itinerant practitioners ranging from charlatan to village wise-woman to shaman to magickian.
In short, the marketplace was wide open and abundant.
As Catholicism grew in power and stamped out rival religions, imposing an almost Orwellian mind-control on the middle ages, the only remaining diversity came from four sources: fraternal orders which were the province of the nobility (for example, Knights of the Garter); special orders within Catholicism itself (for example, the Dominicans and the Jesuits); and the Jewish communities scattered throughout Europe. Everyone else had to shut up or be persecuted.
It is rumored that some noble families and some fraternal organizations, societies, or clubs maintained certain "pagan" practices on the sly, hidden from the almost all-powerful Church. Outer fraternal and noble orders developed rituals and initiations for their members which were quas-religious in tone. So long as these groups were Christian on their face and didn't snub the Church, they could practice what they wanted. The Church wanted to dominate the nobility, but could never quite do so. Of course, the nobility had to publicly support the Church, which it did, except for the hilarious example of Henry VIII who schismed the Church so he could get one more divorce.
Within the Church, some priests and monks were rumored to practice magick, and the grimoires of fairly old pedigree suggest that something was going on. Although many portions of such grimoires are ludicrous, modern magickians have been able to adapt/decode them so as to produce startling results. No one would suspect that a monk or priest was practicing a grimoire, as opposed to keeping it around to recognize a witch or warlock when one appeared. The most famous acknowledged member of a Catholic order to practice magick was Eliphas Levi of the 19th century, who was taking orders before leaving to avoid a scandal for his occult writings.
Finally, since they were "off the map" from the standpoint of the Church, Jews were able to preserve the Qabalah and its associated mystical and magickal practices, and these two provided an invaluable contribution to western initiatory orders.
As the "Age of Enlightenment" began to replace the Dark Ages via the influence of "science," a humanistic movement emerged in the West. This was quite a revolution, to place man/woman at the center of the field of inquiry, rather than God. Once man/woman was at the center of inquiry, his/her personal spiritual development, as opposed to "being saved by grace," became a legitimate subject to explore.
The greatest example of a humanistic/spiritual emergence at this time was the famous Fama Fraternitas, supposedly a published call by a secret Rosicrucian society to meet to form a new religious order for a new age. The most likely explanation for the Fama Fraternitas is that no such Rosicrucian organization existed at that time, and that the Fama Fraternitas was produced by an inspired writer who wanted to tweak the Church's nose while motivating liberal humanists to perhaps establish such an order themselves - which over the following centuries, they did.
Another emerging influence were the Masonic orders, which were open to merchants and not just nobility. As a middle class emerged in Europe, the Masonic orders were very appealing, both as business and fraternal orders and as holders of secret "keys" to heaven. Masons included ritually awarded degrees or grades. As the Qabalah was studied by some Masons, it made its way into the degree structure of Masonry, but much of the inner lore of Masonry was hidden from its members.
The final impetus to the establishment of initiatory orders was the extensive contact with India and its systems of gurus and initiations. Finally, the connection was made between spiritual potency/knowledge and a staged system of "initiations" or introductions, empowerments. Just as the system of priestly ranks bestowed power within the Church, so the system of mystic grades in the Golden Dawn was intended to bestow power within the mystic structure laid out by the Qabalistic Tree of Life. In short, Masonic orders bestowed prestige with their degrees; Rosicrucian orders (for Rosicrucian underpinnings became an important part of the Golden Dawn) bestowed actual spiritual power and authority. This spiritual power and authority manifested on the "astral plane" where grade signs could be used to cross portals on the paths of the Tree of Life; and on the authorization to practice planetary invoking/banishing ceremonies, to open by watchtower, and to practice the Dee/Kelly system of Enochian magick.
The Golden Dawn is cetainly the most famous initiatory order to emerge out of this hodge-podge of influences. Although its founders, high ranking Masons, claimed to have discovered a cipher manuscript, originating from a Frau Sprengel in Germany, authorizing the establishment of a Golden Dawn temple in England, most students of the occult view this as a howler along the lines of the Mahatma letters Blavatsky used to justify her control of the Theosophical Society. In fact, Masons almost always demand some pedigree or higher authority, and the "charter" from an imagined German secrety society seemed to fit the bill.
That having been said, the founders of the Golden Dawn were brilliant, and made stunning use of Theosophical Society occult teachings; European occult teachings from Eliphas Levi and others; Qabalistic works (one founder translated Qabalistic writings); grimoires (the Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon, for example); Masonic principles of grade, rank, and ritual; and whatever Egyptology materials they could crib from the British Museum. They "stole" on a grand scale and put together an occult initiatory process that is unsurpassed to this day. The Golden Dawn materials published by Crowley and Regardie are truly "do it yourself" manuals for the budding occultist.
Which brings me to the topic of the day: how can you benefit from an initiatory order while keeping your political soul sane?
posted by Wm Blaker, printer at 4:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home