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More than just Supplementary Guide to the Golden Dawn SystemJuly 1, 2008 Firstly, I will explain why this book only received four stars from myself. This text opens under the assumption that you are a practicing magician, and that you are well versed in basic rituals such as the LBRP, the Middle Pillar Vibratory Technique (I don't know how else you would intend to create the astral shells for the initiations), and that you own Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple and are skilled with your hands. It also assumes that you are a true occultist and that you are seeking more than launching some sigils to make manifest your "will." However, this book is a great piece of work that stands on it's own as does Regardie's Golden Dawn, Crowley's Liber ABA, and to a much lesser degree Peter Carroll's Liber Null and Psychonaut. In fact, all of these books are must haves by serious students. I would not know how someone could study Crowley's system of magick without being well grounded in the magick and rituals of the Golden Dawn (Crowley places great emphasis on the Neophyte Ritual and refers to the Z-documents about five times in his book). So, my fellow thelemites stop bashing the GD please! You make us all sound like fools! Moving on. The information contained within this text is absolutely indispensable, not to mention the chapter that deals with astrology! The Cicero's put a great deal of care in compiling a text book, for those magicians who really want to bring their understanding above par. The pace of the book is a little slow, but we tend to fall down when we run to quickly. If you are looking for a book that will initiate your level of understanding of your magical-self and your magical-universe, then this is the book for you. However, if you are on the fast track to enlightenment, (which is oftentimes the fast track to failure) then by all means move on don't waste your money and continue delude yourself. Remember: it is our understanding that provides the mortar for the building blocks of experience
A Wealth of InformationFebruary 26, 2008 This book offers more information than most will want to deal with, yet it is a great place to get familiar with the teachings of the Golden Dawn. One will probably seek initiation into the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn to get clarification on the rituals and knowledge presented in this book, though.
Great Book....but what happened to it?August 5, 2007 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I saw this book when it first came out in 1995 and was thrilled with it. At the time however, I was attempting to go down the road of Wicca. So, I did not pick it up. Eventually, I realized that the path I was better suited for was that of the Golden Dawn and I wanted to buy this book to supplement my studies. One of the things I remembered vividly were the color plates near the middle of the book. I loved them because they were so much brighter and evoked much more emotion to me than the plates in Regardie's Golden Dawn book. So, I ordered the book but it was the 2002 edition and suddenly the color plates were in gray scale?!?! I found the 1998 edition and they too were in gray scale. The current edition 2006/07 does not even include the plates at all, even though the book refers you to them at various points.
To get full use of the book the color plates as they originally were in the 1995 edition I feel are needed. Thankfully you can see these pictures scaled down on the author's website, but they do not hold the same magic to me on a computer screen.
Overall the material is a great reference and I recommend it to anyone. I just don't like the changes that the company has implemented.
Awesome CourseJuly 10, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Those who wish not to expend serious time and effort into their conscious spiritual awakening need not waste their money on this book. This book is for the serious seekers with an interest in ritual and who feel that "pull" into the GD current. The important factors in a valid initiation are intent and the activation of relevant symbolism within the initiate's sphere. This book supplies the knowledge to utilize the latter - the former is entirely up to the student. This book contains such a wealth of information on many aspects of the Western Esoteric Tradition. My gripes however are two in number: 1. Towards the back of the book spelling and grammatical errors become increasingly common-not a huge deal (as none of them occur during the rituals) but it's just something that a literally-anal person like myself catches notice of; and 2. Lack of completeness in regards to having everything basic that the student needs (i.e. ritual implements)-they should really have devoted a section in each grade to construction of implements. I understand that they want the seeker to get in the habit of consulting other sources, which is good, but completeness in the basics should be mandatory. All in all an awesome and wonderful opus by 2 superb writers -- maybe I should take back my first sentence of this review, for even those who are not willing to seriously work themselves into the GD current can benefit greatly from reading the Knowledge Lectures and contemplating the words and readings from the grade initiations. 5 stars was an easy decision for me on this one.
What is initiation into the Golden DawnJune 21, 2007 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is largely a response to another reviewer who claims it is impossible to "self-initiate" into the GD. That is true, but not for the reasons given. See, the Golden Dawn no longer exists. It fractured into the Stella Matutina and the Alpha et Omega in the early 20th C.; neither of these factions survived very long, except for one Stella Matutina temple in New Zealand which survived until the 1970s. No temple since then has had chartered lineage. There are people around who can claim initiatory succession from original GD magicians, such as the Ciceros who received their initiations through Dr. Israel Regardie. But Regardie maintained that despite the order being dead, it was quite possible to study the system and initiate oneself. Seeking initiation from someone of a higher grade than you is great, but ultimately they are not the One True Initiator, just a handy tool in the process. It's between you and the powers that be. I should note there is one group who claim to still be operating under an original charter; they claim to have revived a temple after it had been essentially dead for upwards of 50 years. Which seems a bit iffy to me. So don't be put off by not being "legitimate". No-one is. Just do it. Yes, find someone wise and competent to take you through if you can; that's invaluable, and will save you huge amounts of work. But you can still use this book and work through the grades regardless.
