Customer Reviews

The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites & Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Within this book there is genuine and useful information for the occultist regarding Kabala. But what happened to the true esoteric order that was established by such individuals as MacGregor Mathers, Westcott, and others? Where is the illuminated wisdom of Dion Fortune now?
Well, this book was meant to be kept a secret...and for good reason... As when something of this magnitude falls into the Left-Hands of those willing to use it for egotistical (money and power) intentions, we see the results (if you have studied the history of the order in question).
This book is meant only for the initiated, those who are given the keys to decipher it by their teacher or Master. One cannot just pick up this book and "do magick"...like some teenage fad or charlatan...
We must look into the depths of this ancient tradition. When you do so, I am sure you will find its roots profoundly immersed in Gnosticism.
Truly, GNOSIS is the aim of the original order. The Golden Dawn itself is related to the internal initiations of the Soul...Also called "THE MYSTERY OF THE GOLDEN BLOSSOM" (see the book by the same name). Just read the intro to The Golden Dawn and you might see that I am not just blowing smoke. It is Gnosis that developed this tradition, it is its enemies who degenerate it, and it is the GNOSIS that continues to live in its various forms, through out all of the cycles of humanity...(gnositicinstitute.org)
If you wish to read this book out of curiosity, I don't blame you, but you will not find much outside of the five preporatory lectures...
If you wish to learn these mysteries, read The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune or any book by SAMAEL AUN WEOR or ELIPHAS LEVI...

I am suspicious of the consecutive editions of this work since Regardie's death. Llewellyn, occasionally useful publisher of worthy 'occult' volumes, seems to have let Chris Monnastre, or whoever, stick their fingers into this volume, and muddy up some of Regardie's original edition, with dubious revisions of the original material.

Quite frankly, any reprinting of the Golden Dawn material should be left alone, if only for historical reasons. All over the internet, are versions' of the original Golden Dawn material, recklessly modified this way and that, leaving the sincere student to muddle with poorly documented material, free of Regardie's explanations, as well as free of access to the Golden Dawn material as Regardie knew it. To put it bluntly, I want the Golden Dawn material as Regardie originally knew, compiled, and explained it!

I read on the 'net that the New Falcon Press 'Complete Golden Dawn System' volume, although twice the price, or more, of this Llewellyn 'modified' reprint, is still available. Yet I read that it has been modified, in its subsequent editions, even worse than the Llewellyn edition has been.
Much useful material, exclusive to the Falcon edition, is added. Yet, it is said that Regardie's work has been tampered with in the editions since his death. I don't know what to think. After all is said and done, I wish the New Falcon people would stop adding to and modifying the edition Regardie oversaw before his death, and reprint their 'oh, so marvelous!' new insights into some sort of companion volume.

In short, I am not so sure that there are, as yet, worthy successors to Regardie, or to his original contents and layouts, in either edition ! This is so, in spite of the glitter/wonder boys like DuQuette, who would affect to follow in Regardie's footsteps as types of 'new expounders.'

Also, the past few Llewellyn editions features an index, by David Godwin. I might add a useful thought here, for students: the idea of a Godwin index is a little useless/ superfluous, as it takes time and patience to absorb the Golden Dawn material anyway. Regardie himself advises, 'a few pages a day' at a time. The presence of a large index may have been a fun exercise for compiler David Godwin, but I fail to see how it really makes the material so much easier to master. (Question: did Regardie ever feel an index necessary to his edition of the Golden Dawn materials ? Nowhere have I read that he did.)

In other words, patience is what's needed, not the use of some nervous index, likely to appeal only to the hesitant and unsure, and give them a false idea of the work to endure. What a waste of paper! I would rather they would stick everyone's 'modifications' back on those index pages, and leave Regardie's original text entirely alone !

At any rate, the additions of too much material, and 'addenda/ephemera' to the text, is at least a minor insult to Regardie. It is certainly a major insult to the structure of his work, which may have an integrity and wholeness all its own that ought to be acknowledged and appreciated, before anyone goes messing about with it.

Still, this volume is likely to serve you well, as being closer to the original Golden Dawn material as gathered by Regardie, than unreliable and random ramblings through any dubious websites that offer up the same material.

In the other, New Falcon edition, Regardie expands on the desirable recommended books he felt one should study along with the Golden Dawn material. These include a highly desirable list of recommended psychology readings, and also ' Nature's Finer Forces' by Rama Prasad, 'Kundalini' by Gopi Krishna (precious cautionary advice!,) and a few others, as I recall. However, useful recommended reads are also set forth in the Llewellyn edition. One can use these as a 'beginner's guide,' and acquire the 'New Falcon' edition later, following its reading recommendations.

You will need a guide through the occult maze, assuming you set out on it. Regardie provides that guidance.

Certainly one should acquire Regardie's 'Tree of Life' volume (even if it's the Cicero's!) It is in 'The Tree of Life' that Regardie provides the understanding necessary to appreciate the spirit of both the Golden Dawn and the much maligned, yet worthy, Mr. Crowley material. Having done that, one can add 'Gems from the Equinox' to one's bookshelf, the second major important volume to study along with 'The Golden Dawn,' even in the edition set forth by Llewellyn.

Truly, we shall not be setting in gear with Golden Dawn or Regardie to much of anyone's benefit, until more of Regardie's material is reprinted ( and I might add, the magic books of W. E. Butler.) It is in Regardie's various books that guidance is also provided, as well as his recommended readings in various authors, not completely discussed elsewhere.

Enough of this 'word to the wise.' If you have a nose for the best, you will not be distracted by lesser 'occultarians.' and Regardie will appear to be the 'man to go with.' I especially enjoyed having my Llewellyn Golden Dawn (before anyone started to 'revise' it) as I originally started on this road, to augment my work with the 'middle pillar ritual' (see Regardie's 'Art of True healing.') Benefits accrued, as Regardie would say. And they continue to.

Proceed cautiously, but proceed. And don't fall for the 'glitter kids' of the occult scene, before spending some time reading and contemplating Regardie's efforts, and learning to understand and practice them. Complete comprehension will gradually arise, all in good time. As Regardie says in an essay currently out-of-print, though accessible on the internet, ' The benefits are such as to make this effort extremely worthwhile.'

Get your currently preferred edition (Llewellyn's is smaller than New Falcon's) of the Golden Dawn material. Start studying a few pages a day. And practice the Middle Pillar ritual every day, as you will find Regardie recommends in his books. It is a 'sine qua non' of magical practice as Regardie sees it, and practically the entire central essence of his conception of the Golden Dawn.

If anyone has doubts, I reassure the reader that the edition I am (carefully!) working with now, is the 6th edition of Regardie - much as I resent what appear to be a few 'modifications' from previous Golden Dawn editions I have owned! ( At least they solved the 'page 103 misplacement issue' with the inauguration of the Llewellyn paperback edition.)

Anyone who has attempted to read a book from good 'ole Israel has surely noticed, it's not an easy read; so 800+ pages is enough to give the most sophisticated a tumor. This book is not at all practical to any student, unless s/he wants to start his or her own Golden Dawn temple. So, if you want a book on magick, I recommend something practical like: Bardon, Kraig, Greer, or many others.

(revised, corrected: 6/16/'04)

1. The Golden Dawn material has parts that are more or less easy to grasp, although a full, rich, deep meaning can take quite some time to thoroughly evolve into useful significance for the student.

2. Golden Dawn volume is particularly useful for the insights about life, mind, magic, and everything else one can think of, from Regardie's own words. Reading his work is not necessarily a mistake. Given its quality and pertinence, and since we have so little of it -- he wrote, but not massively prolifically -- many may as well attend to whatever they can get a hold of by Regardie.

3. If the "Outright confused" reader wants a perspective on what difficult reading can be all about, s/he could try reading Kant's first 'Critique,' Heidegger's 'Being and Time,' and Hegel's 'Phenomenology of Mind.' . It is said that much of these writers can take twenty years to get any where near to an appreciation for them, let alone a full, rich, thorough-going understanding. Yet people still read, study, and get something out of them. Even Kierkegaard presents reading problems for many, yet he claims many adherents.

It has been said, that rising difficulty in studying is no surprise: it is the age of learning disability pnemonena that have been presumed to gather under the label, 'Attention Deficit Disorder.' Such difficulties I believe, by some unfortunate principle of reverse or convoluted psychology, have even come to be worshipped under such labels, as though in a kind of chapel.

4. Part of the educational value of worthy yet difficult reading, is what it can impart, perhaps namelessly and unquantifiably, to the student, as a result of the sheer effort of study.

5. Another disillusionment a student may go through, is the stigma associated with meddling with things like the Golden Dawn. Recall the 'four powers of the Sphinx:' 'to Know, to Will, to Dare, and to Keep Silence.' Drawing alot of attention to your involvement with the Golden Dawn material, is sure to draw some kind of disrespect on your head, although such prejudice may be less proximous for many in these presumably (presumptuously?) more 'enlightened' days.

Sharing your enthusiasm with others on the occult, the Golden Dawn, or anything else that can be interpreted as 'colorful, glitzy, superstitious nonsense' to the uninitiated, is as unhealthy as revealing any other interest one may have in the wrong company, say, in cheap detective novels, which in some circles, is also likely to bring condemnation.

6. It should be pointed out, that you don't have to study the Golden Dawn all at once. It isn't like some dull or difficult novel you try to cram the night before an exam, or something like that. It is MEANT to be assimilated slowly, til you see what value it has. Regardie's writings, and those of WE Butler and Gareth Knight, may provide some useful insights into the desirability of studying this material.

In fact, there may be some real 'training effect' value hidden within the process of self-paced learning, so often overlooked when studying material like this. Study something too fast, and you mess up. Study something too slow, and there may be a similar problem. Somewhere in the middle, is the most productive pace for you, personally. And so it goes.

7. As to purpose, we might well ask Regardie himself:

" ...to provide some more or less intelligible approach to the subject so that, given an initial glimpse of the bright light flooding the world of magic, more people may be disposed to devote just a little of their energies and time to its study. The advantages and benefits are such as to make this effort extremely worthwhile...

...Magic is a series of psychological techniques so devised as to enable us to probe more deeply into ourselves.To what end? First, that we shall understand ourselves more completely. Apart from the fact that such self-knowledge in itself is desirable, an understanding of the inner nature releases us from unconscious compulsions and motivations and confers a mastery over life." -'Foundations of Practical Magic,' 1979.

Similar material from Regardie can be quoted, from his various writings. Extensions of these ideas are possible. However, you can search quite some time, high and low in the popular literature, overall, for such enlightenemnt and insight about and towards life. Regardie's writing provides perspective and guidance of all kinds, and is useful, practical and enriching.

There are other recommended readings throughout Regardie's writings. If the Golden Dawn and Regardie appear to make themselves 'their own university,' as is said of Shakespeare, it at least is not an unworthy university. And the time and money one spends aquiring and studying this material might be more well-spent than say, the cash, energy annd time one may unproductively squander on several nights in a bar. It's all a matter of priorities, isn't it ?

In short, real self understanding just might be some job! Whether you choose Regardie's route, or some other, just make sure you don't cheat yourself, and end up with a mish mash of misunderstanding. Be objective. Determine your parameters. Don't listen to the nay-sayers, but dont spend all your energy in their negative, and even violent proximity, either.

This book contains some of the best knowledge about magical studies I have ever seen. As a book, I would not suggest reading from page 1 and then move through the book to the end. Treat this more as an encyclopedia of magical knowledge and studies. Look up whatever you are interested in learning, and use the book for reference. It is an excellent source of knowledge, but should not be the first book you buy if you are just starting out. It may discourage you unless you have previous experience in this field already.

When it comes to the subject of ritual magic and the occult, I would be hard-pressed to think of another book that one should buy. True, it contains information that can be found in a dozen other books, both older and newer than this one. What matters is the presentation. The most important achievement of the Order of the Golden Dawn was to create a working system of magical training. By reading this book and performing the exercises it prescribes with regularity and detail, the occult student embarks on the voyage of "becoming more than human". The study program in this book is intended to train the mind to be capable of working magick, not just provide a series of rituals that are fun and entertaining. Aleister Crowley said that magic isn't just a tool to be picked up and put down according to necessity and desire, its a change of lifestyle that necessitates a complete transformation in behaviour and thought. This book is, in my opinion, the first step towards doing just that. If you are interested in becoming a practicing magus, buy this book, practice the rituals inside with regularity and you won't be sorry.

This book may be a great reference book to the occult but thats all it is. It cannot be possibly read straight through from cover to cover. It is too long, borning at times, unorganize, mumbo jumbo i have ever read. What kind of book is this, its more of a big puzzle. You have to have a huge foundation of the order to even comprehend the first lecture. It is way to breif and mixed about. Not to be read out of sheer interests. YOu need to have studied for awhile, and frankly i just dont care to learn-nor do i have the patients for "high" magick.

When I purchased this book, I was under the impression that it would contain a course to guide me through the Golden Dawn system. I was wrong. This is merely a collection of writings/notes by Regardie, and is not meant to be used alone.

If you are looking for a course through the Golden Dawn system, I would recommend the book _Self Initiation Into The Golden Dawn Tradition_ by Chic and Sandra Cicero. I'm not sure how easy it is to find this book still, but it is possible to purchase from the publisher's website.

this book is not just for thelemites, anyone who is a member of an occult order, or magickians. i am sick of hearing about how you shouldn't go on until your order superior tells you, because the parts about the grades and the rituals/ceremonies associated with them do not constitute the whole book. you can still study it, though i wouldn't recommend practicing everything in it until you're at the right level of understanding and control. the system is outdated, but it still contains many fundamental, universal and archetypal concepts combined in one source to increase one's general knowledge - great for any student of gnosis, comparative religion or philosophy, magick, enochiana, divination (tarot, qabalah, geomancy, i ching, etc.) or otherwise. this is heavily influenced by hebrew, egyptian and greek aspects. perhaps the only book that is more in-depth with comparative qabalistic references (without practices, however) is 777, though incomplete. for tarot (specifically thoth deck), there is the book of thoth.

If I say anythin too long, you would probably say I was probably paid or am a close friend. I can assure I am not. So, my review is simply this:

EXCELLENT. There are other books that you need to acquaint yourself with, but once you follow the instructions laid down in the book you would understand the rating.