Forum of the Order of the "Emerald Tablet". Eye of Horus - a symbol of heavenly protection Leaders and priorities
Magic symbols. All-seeing eye
Plato calls the eye the main solar instrument.
On the one hand, it is the mystical eye, light, insight, knowledge, intelligence, vigilance, protection, stability and determination, but on the other hand, it is the limitation of the visible. Ten thousand heavenly eyes are the stars, the eyes of the night, personifying omniscience and vigilance.
The eye (in a triangle or oval) was actually found in ancient Byzantine iconography (there are examples of the 6th century) and was a symbol of God’s omniscience. Some knights (in particular, the Templars, that is, the templars - the guardians of the Holy Sepulcher), it was taken as a certain symbol of “knowledge” or “knowledge”.
Therefore, starting from the 12th century. began to appear on some Western icons of the Holy Trinity.
From there he moved on to some icons in Russian churches in the 18th century.
And it was also called the “All-Seeing Eye.”
However, from the Templars, this sign passed into various Masonic symbols (even to the Grand Lodge of France, which explains its appearance on the dollar bill), and in the 20th century into occult symbolism.
In Christianity, the “All-Seeing Eye” is a non-canonical, although stable, image of Christian iconography. This symbol is also called the “Wakeful Eye of the Lord.” It is an image of an eye in a triangle from which rays emanate.
In relation to ritual architecture, the eye is a hole directed towards the heavens in the vault of a temple, cathedral, building or any other traditionally created center of the world, representing a solar door that provides access to the heavenly worlds.
The eye of the heart is a sign of spiritual insight, intellectual intuition.
The eye can also represent an androgyne, formed from an oval female symbol and a round male one.
One eye can symbolize evil, as in the example of the Cyclops and the destroying monsters.
The eye in the center of the triangle is the all-seeing eye of the Lord, a symbol of omniscience and omnipresence.
In the West, the right eye signifies the Sun, day and future, the left eye signifies the Moon, night and past.
In the East the situation is the opposite. The symbolism of the eye can be taken on by a pheasant feather.
Among the American Indians, the eye of the heart sees everything. This is the eye of the Great Spirit and omniscience.
For Buddhists, the eye symbolizes light and wisdom. The Buddha's third eye, the flaming pearl, is spiritual consciousness and transcendental wisdom.
In Celtic epic, the evil eye, symbolizing evil intentions and envy, is contrasted with a good heart, nobility and compassion.
In Chinese and Japanese symbolism, the left eye is the Sun, the right eye is the Moon.
In Christianity, the eye symbolizes the all-seeing God, omniscience, power, light. The light of the body is the eye (Matt. 6:22).
The seven eyes of the Apocalypse are the seven spirits of God.
The eye in the triangle represents the Head of God; and in a triangle surrounded by a radiant circle - her infinite holiness. The eyes are the emblem of Saints Lucy and Ottilie.
For the Egyptians, the eye has an extremely complex symbolism - the Eye of Horus, Atshet, the all-seeing. It was supposed to be the North Star and a symbol of illumination, the eye of the mind. The eye and eyebrow of Horus signify strength and power. Two winged eyes are North and South as two divisions of the heavens, the Sun and the Moon, celestial space.
The right eye is the Sun, Ra and Osiris, the left is the Moon and Isis. The Eye of Pa is also Uraeus. The Eye of Horus could be associated with the moon and its phases and, at the same time, symbolize offerings to the gods in temples.
In Ancient Greece, the eye symbolizes Apollo, the observer of the heavens, the Sun, which is also the eye of Zeus (Jupiter).
For Hindus, Shiva's third eye (the pearl in the middle of the forehead) represents spiritual consciousness, transcendental wisdom.
Varuna's eye is the sun.
In Iranian mythology, the Good Shepherd Yima possesses the eye of the sun and the secret of immortality.
In Islam, the eye of the heart is the spiritual center, the seat of absolute intelligence and enlightenment.
Among the Japanese, the right eye of Iza-nagi gave birth to the moon god.
Among the peoples of Oceania, the sun is a large eyeball. Plato believed that the soul has an eye, and the Truth is visible to him alone.
In Sumerian-Semitic mythology, the eye personifies the Lord of the Sacred Eye, Ea or Enki, where it symbolizes wisdom, omniscience, and wakefulness.
Among the Phoenicians, Kronos had two open and two closed eyes, which means he was constantly awake.
The All-Seeing Eye is a complex symbolic and allegorical composition in icon painting, symbolizing the All-Seeing God. Appears in Russian iconography from the end of the 18th century under Western influence.
The All-Seeing Eye can also be called a symbolic image of the All-Seeing Eye of God, inscribed in a triangle - a symbol of the Trinity.
, the ancient Egyptian falcon-headed god, can be found on the tombs of Luxor, the pediments of Christian temples and even on American banknotes. This sign has passed through the centuries and has retained its meaning of patronage from above, protection from evil forces and personal transformation.Along with the ankh, the cross of eternal life, and the sacred scarab rolling the solar disk, the eye of Horus is one of the triad of symbols that have become in the modern world a kind of calling card of Ancient Egypt and its innermost mysticism. The image of the eye of a falcon-headed deity is called “wadget”. This name comes from the ancient Egyptian “irt waj”, which means “protecting eye”.
CHARM OF THE PHAROAH
Unlike most symbols, the origin of which is lost in the darkness of centuries, the wadget has retained its historical roots. It owes its origins to a dramatic story from ancient Egyptian mythology. The patron saint of chaos and death, the god Set, overthrew and killed his brother Osiris, one of the supreme inhabitants of heaven and the legendary king of Egypt. The widow of Osiris, the inconsolable Isis, conceived and gave birth to the divine child Horus with the head of a falcon from her dead husband, so that he, having matured, would take revenge on Set and regain his royal inheritance. In a victorious duel with Set, Horus lost his left eye, but Anubis, the guide of souls to the afterlife, managed to miraculously restore it. However, Horus ultimately remained a one-eyed deity. He allowed his healed eye to be swallowed by his murdered father in order to resurrect him. But Osiris did not want to return to the world of the living. He became the judge and ruler of the kingdom of the dead, appointing Horus as his sovereign governor and ruler of heaven and earth. Since then, every Egyptian pharaoh was considered an incarnation and living embodiment of Horus.
Starting from the III dynasty, which ruled Egypt in the middle of the III millennium BC, the image of the wadjet became a powerful amulet and a hidden symbol of posthumous resurrection.
“The Eye of Horus bestows eternal life and protects me even when it is closed,” such ritual praises are found on papyrus sheets of the Sarcophagi Texts and the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Wadget patterns are depicted on temple frescoes and obelisks, in rich paintings of sarcophagi and on precious talismans. Egyptian, and after them Greek, sailors placed the paired symbol of the eye of Horus on the bow of their ships in the hope that the gaze of the falcon god would grant them protection from storms and reefs.
WISDOM OF THE MOON
Along with the external symbolism of the wadget as an amulet against evil forces, there was also its hidden esoteric interpretation. The right eye of Horus was considered the embodiment of the Sun, and the left eye, which was traditionally associated with the dark abysses of the unconscious, with passive, yin, feminine energy. The loss and acquisition of his eye by Horus, and then the resurrection of Osiris with his help, in the allegorical language of Egyptian mysticism, meant a temporary descent into the personal hell of the subconscious, touching the dark hidden side of the soul in order to restore the integrity of the individual and gain divine wisdom. It is no coincidence that a similar plot of exchanging an eye for secret knowledge exists in Scandinavian mythology: in order to be able to drink water from the source of wisdom, the god Odin donated his eye to the titan Mimir. However, even among the ancient Egyptians, not everyone knew about the existence of such deep symbolism of the wadjet. But during arithmetic lessons, schoolchildren from the land of the pharaohs literally took the eye of Horus apart. The fact is that in ancient Egyptian mathematics, each element of the symbol (pupil, white of the eye, eyebrow and teardrop) denoted a fractional number in the range from 1/2 to 1/64. The total value of the components of the wadget was 63/64. According to legend, Osiris kept the last missing fraction for himself.
EYE OF GOD
After the abolition of paganism by decree of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I in 391, a number of ancient symbols were borrowed by the then young Christianity. The classic image of Isis with the baby Horus in her arms formed the basis of the iconography of the Mother of God, and the wadget became known as the All-Seeing Eye. Instead of a fragment from the Book of the Dead about the protective function of the Eye of Horus, the church fathers now used a verse from the 32nd Psalm: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him and trust in His mercy.” In the Christian interpretation, the wadget became not a protective amulet, but a symbolic reminder of the constant invisible presence of God the Father and his omniscience. In some medieval engravings and frescoes, the All-Seeing Eye sometimes appears as an ordinary human eye surrounded by rays of light, but more often this symbol is placed inside a triangle (an allusion to the Trinity). It is noteworthy that all symbols of the Eye always depict the left eye, which proves its origin from the ancient Egyptian wadget.
SEAL OF SECRET
The most famous images of the All-Seeing Eye in the modern world are the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States and the attributes of Masonic lodges. This circumstance gave birth to countless theories according to which the very emergence of the United States was a project of the Freemasons and the Illuminati with the goal of establishing a new world order. But, alas, the facts look much more prosaic. The All-Seeing Eye first appeared in a sketch of the Great Seal designed in 1776 by the artist Dusimtier. He was not a Freemason, but borrowed the image of the Eye from Renaissance literature. Among the Freemasons, the symbol became an element of ceremonial paraphernalia twenty years later, in 1797, and the image itself was first published in the book The Freemason Observer by Thomas Smith Webb. The main difference between the Masonic version of the symbol is that the rays of light from the eye are not directed evenly in all directions, but exclusively downward, towards the ground.
Protection and luck
The first thing you need to do when discovering the mysterious and mysterious world and talismans is to forget about all the prejudices that interfere with true knowledge, to open up to extraordinary and amazing things, which can be difficult to believe in. Only in this way can we, like the ancient Egyptians, take advantage of the beneficial power of these objects, helping those who approach them with an open heart and soul. The Eye of Horus represents the Sun and Moon, symbols of light and the victory of wisdom over darkness, taking away pain and suffering.
This amazing amulet attracts good luck and protects against misfortune. The Eye of Horus will be a wonderful gift for a suffering loved one and will help us cope with a difficult situation ourselves.
Today, the Eye of Horus often adorns jewelry: bracelets, pendants, earrings and brooches. We can also make a personal amulet by engraving the Eye of Horus on wax, leather or clay. If you insert a piece of lapis lazuli or chalcedony into such an amulet, this will significantly increase its strength.
It is necessary to distinguish between the left eye, which corresponds to the Moon and enhances our intuition and imagination, and the right eye, which corresponds to the Sun and is responsible for the purity of our thoughts and ideas, objectivity and wisdom.
You can not only wear it on yourself, but also place it in that corner of your home where we feel most comfortable or where the whole family often gathers. He will protect us and our loved ones from any misfortunes, including those caused by the envy of others.
This is interesting
One of the most famous eastern analogues of the wadjet and the All-Seeing Eye is the image of the eyes of Buddha on the lower tier of stupas in the Swayambhunath and Boudhanath temple complexes in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The world leader in the number and frequency of use of the Eye is Ukraine. This symbol is present on the coats of arms of the cities of Dublyany, Podkamen, on the 500 hryvnia banknote and on the frescoes of the Elias Church in Kyiv.
In monumental architectural forms, the image of the All-Seeing Eye can be seen in St. Petersburg: on the portico of the Kazan Cathedral and the bas-relief pedestal of the Alexander Column on Palace Square.
Since 1812, on the initiative of Alexander I, the All-Seeing Eye appears on almost all Russian military medals. The last award with this image was the medal “In memory of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905.”
Here is a list of magical Orders and Schools found on one forum:Of course, it is far from complete, but it will do for a general idea.
Order of Black Magicians “Legion” (http://dragos.chat.ru/)
We are not currently recruiting students.
Order of the Eye - main directions - classical Western magic. (Necromancy, Elemental magic, Kabbalah, Battle magic) (http://www.ordenglaz.org/ - the site is closed, the Order has left the network). At the moment, training is only face-to-face. They open their branches throughout Russia through local adherents with 4 years of experience.
Moscow, Yekaterinburg.
Order "Red Dragon" (http://ozem.narod.ru/) classic black magic, warlocks, necromancy. Previously a member of the Order of the Chalice (see below).
At the moment, training is only face-to-face. They open their branches throughout Russia, through local adherents.
Order of the “Lords of the Golden Cloud”, School “Atlantis” (http://www.avvadon.org/) technomagic, study of a wide variety of traditions.
Peter.
“Temple of the Abyss” – Necromancy and black magic. (http://hrambezdni.narod.ru)
There are no signs of their current existence on the Internet.
Moscow.
The Order of the Templars (http://www.oto.ru/) is an attempt to revive the classic knightly-magical Order.
Moscow.
Order of Magicians (http://alfaren.boom.ru/) A combination of Western and Eastern magical traditions.
Moscow.
Melfo's magic workshop (http://melfo.h1.ru/) At the moment, training is only full-time.
School of Vadim Shlahter (http://www.shlahter.ru/) St. Petersburg. Magic from the perspective of irrational psychology.
Peter.
School of Astral Karate guru Averyalov
Peter
Further Energy Information Development (http://www.deir.org/) is not a complex system that can be mastered independently.
There are branches in almost all cities.
Practicing magician (http://real-magic-x.chat.ru/) - combat magic and necromancy. Training is paid.
Moscow.
Mysteries of the North (http://www.asatru.ru/index1.htm) – shamanism.
School of the “Solar Cat” (http://www.islander.dp.ua/) a system of working with low states of consciousness.
“The World of Magic and Enchantment” (http://www.magiaworld.narod.ru/) Distance learning
The main branch is St. Petersburg.
Order of the Northern Lights (http://magiclom.narod.ru) - a couple of newcomers are trying to create an order.
Order of the Guardians of Death (http://www.ordenxc.org/) Training is paid.
Uses materials very similar to those of the Order of the Lords of the Golden Cloud.
Peter.
Department of Magic (http://magic-faculty.narod.ru/index.htm)
The Order of the Four Elements (http://www.orden4.narod.ru/) is a gathering of newcomers.
The witchcraft “Order of the Black Stone” (http://darkstone.kzar.org/) is a gathering of newcomers. Currently not available online.
The Higher School of Gray Magic (HSSM) (http://hsgm.ru/) is an absolute profanation. Magic games.
Moscow.
The Angel School (http://mag-angel.ru/) apparently is something like VShSM.
Information is absent:
The Cassandra family is a Voodoo community in Moscow.
Order of the Black Eagle Headquarters - Lipetsk.
Order "Shadow Brothers" - no information.
Order of Mages of the Black Circle - no information.
Association "Sigma" - no information.
Order of “Initiated Adepts” Moscow.
Order of "Battle Magic" () training is paid.
Order "Veles" (http://veles777.chat.ru/) Moscow.
Freemasonry (http://semargl999.chat.ru/index1.htm)
World Organization of the Grand Lodge of Russia (http://www.freemasonry.ru/)
Silver “Winter Ice” (http://winterice.by.ru/winterice.html)
Clan "Glove" (http://www.perchatka.nm.ru/)
"NightinGate" (http://www.nightingate.boom.ru/) distance school.
Magician Balthazar (http://www.pentagrama.narod.ru/)
"Dark Synklit" (http://sinklit.org/)
Order of Mages of the Black Circle (http://blackcircle.narod.ru/l)
Shadow Clan ()
Order "OD" (http://od-magic.narod.ru/)
Order of Mages and Sorcerers “Key” (http://mag-ass.narod.ru/)
Order of Black Magicians (http://maska84.narod.ru/)
Order of Nine Angles (http://www.whiteunderground.com/ona/) Satanists
School of Black Magic ()
Broken up (rumored):
Order of the “Final Frontier” Combat sorcery, Runes, Necromancy.
Nowadays it has mostly disintegrated, but the Master of the Order (Gray Knight) and his colleagues and students (Navyana - necromancy) remain, conducting full-time training, you can access him through the website (http://dcircle.narod.ru/)
Moscow.
The Order of the Chalice has now collapsed.
"Black Dragon" Black magic and necromancy.
Order of the Trigrams - Now disbanded.
The Order of “True Necromancy” is a child of the HSSM. This says it all (see above). Now it has collapsed.
Organizations whose existence
The need to preserve and develop magical knowledge and skills presupposes the presence of special schools that provide training, as well as organizations (orders, guilds) of magicians that develop, preserve and protect the acquired knowledge from outsiders.
Like any other human community, the community of magicians, when a significant number of them appear, needs organization.
The organization is carried out in the following directions:
- professional (guilds), ensuring the production process (including the supply and delivery of artifacts and magical ingredients) and the distribution of clients (customers of magical services), which simultaneously ensures a stable pricing policy (price - quality of service ratio);
- managerial (order), ensuring the functioning of any direction in the magical community according to uniform rules (charter), training and advanced training of magicians, storing and organizing access to knowledge in the field of magic, attracting members of the order to certain joint events if necessary;
- educational (schools, academies), providing training for new and advanced training of existing magicians.
Guilds can include magicians of various types and specializations, in order to achieve the result required by the client (customer). Moreover, each guild member can keep his “professional secrets” from others, but cannot refuse to fulfill an order. If necessary, a “cooperation” of guild members can be formed to fulfill an order.
Orders specialize in a particular type of magic or magical specialization and ensure the improvement of order members only in this direction. For these purposes, magical schools (academies) and research units are created in the orders.
Considering that the vocation of a novice magician can be quite difficult to determine, several magical orders can create a joint educational institution (university), in which novice magicians are taught the basics of magic before choosing a specialization.
The initial search for students and their initial training can be carried out by magician guilds. Graduates of educational institutions can also be sent there.
Schools of magicians are created under guilds, orders, or training is carried out individually by an experienced magician with a small number of magicians in any territory.
The main task of the school is to obtain primary knowledge and learn skills in working with magic. These include the principles of constructing spells and working with their elements, as well as skills in using artifacts.
It is necessary to understand that an increase in the number of magicians beyond a certain threshold with a lack of resources (both magical and material or territorial, necessary for life) can provoke a struggle between magicians (“war of magicians”). Therefore, orders must pay the most serious attention to issues of their own security. Security is provided primarily for repositories of knowledge and artifacts, as well as for the shelters of magicians and educational institutions.
Considering that magicians cannot exist without people (the meaning of existence and the source of replenishment of the ranks are lost), objects that can be subject to magical attack are located in sparsely populated and hard-to-reach places.
Also, in order to prevent attacks, orders are forced, like states, to conduct reconnaissance and counterintelligence, and to protect their possessions.
Magic Academy
These are educational institutions that train magicians - specialists in any branch of the “national economy”.
In literature, academies often look like training courses for militants or advanced training courses for magical skills.
The following structure of the magic academy is proposed, taking into account its socially useful function.
Instrument-Making Faculty
The leading department is the general theory of magic.
Profile departments:
- Algorithms.
- Calligraphy.
- Theories of machines and mechanisms.
- Crystallography and jewelry making.
- Blacksmithing (metallurgy and metalworking).
Graduate specialty:
- Artifact.
Faculty of Medicine
The leading department is the magic of life.
Profile departments:
- Anatomy.
- Physiology of life.
- Rehabilitation therapy.
- Operative surgery.
- Plastic surgery.
- Cytology and infections.
Graduate specialty:
- Healer.
- Infectious disease specialist (mortner).
Faculty of Social Sciences
Leading department:
- The magic of entropy (probability).
- The magic of life.
Profile departments:
- State and municipal administration.
- Crowd psychology.
- Motivations for behavior.
- Propaganda.
- Financial management.
Graduate specialty:
- Manager (official).
- Advisor to the ruler.
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Leading department - state magic
Profile departments:
- Materials Science
- Sopromat
- General architecture
- Domes and ceilings
- Fortress structures and specially protected objects
- Lifting mechanisms
Graduate specialty:
- Architect.
Faculty of Transport
The leading department is the magic of measurements.
Profile departments:
- Portal theories.
- Flying mechanisms.
- Means of data collection and transmission.
- Closed spaces and spatial pockets.
Graduate specialty:
- Portalik.
- Signalman.
Faculty of Agriculture
The leading department is the magic of time.
Profile departments:
- Genetics.
- Useful properties of living organisms.
- Defensive and attacking elements of living organisms.
- Acceleration and deceleration of biological processes.
Graduate specialty:
- Biotechnologist.
- Druid.
Climatic Faculty
The leading department is energy magic.
Profile departments:
- Theories of climate zones.
- Controlling the movement of air masses.
- Control of sea currents.
- Creation of temperature anomalies.
Graduate specialty:
- Weatherman.
- Ship magician
Faculty of Xenobiology
Leading Department - Spiritual Magic
Profile departments:
- Inhumanity.
- Unliving science.
- Theories of the movement of souls and soul substitution.
- Demonology.
- Astral influences.
- Mental influences.
Graduate specialty:
- Xenobiologist.
- Demonologist.
- Confessor (mind mage).
Military Faculty
Leading departments:
- The magic of movement.
- The magic of space (spontaneous schools).
Profile departments:
- Tactics of using magical influences.
- Operational art of command and control.
- Organization of storage and delivery of artifacts.
- Organization of deployment and transfer of troops.
- Creation of fortresses and fortified areas.
- Intelligence and sabotage activities.
Graduate specialty:
- Managerial officer (command staff).
- Specialist officer (engineering staff).
- Supply officer (rear personnel).
The degree of proficiency in magic (art) in a certain area determines the degree of the magician. The following gradation is usually accepted:
- 1st degree - pupil (student);
- 2nd degree - adept (graduate student, adjunct, assistant, bachelor, apprentice for applied areas);
- 3rd degree - master (candidate of m. sciences, associate professor);
- 4th degree - master (doctor of m. sciences, professor);
- 5th degree - grandmaster (academician).
The degree indicates the area of magic in which this degree is achieved.
Magic and the occult have always interested people. Some people are doing this quite superficially, others are trying to make money from it. And someone strives in this area to achieve such a result in order to rise above the world.
And just one of these people was Samuel Mathers, the founder of the famous Golden Dawn movement.
Emergence
The Order of the Golden Dawn was officially formed in 1887. But 7 years before that, key events for its appearance took place.
In 1880 A.F. Woodward (an English Masonic clergyman) discovered ancient manuscripts in the Rosicrucian library. They, in his opinion, carried great secrets. After 7 years they ended up in the hands of the London Rosicrucian William Westcott.
He successfully deciphered these records and realized that he had become the owner of the teachings about the ritual ceremonies of the Rosicrucians.
He also found a note from Anna Sprengel in this book. It contained her address. Westcott contacted the woman. She gave him the idea of creating the Golden Dawn organization in England.
Westcott was faced with the task of developing detailed secret rituals. He entrusted this task to a Jewish friend of his from Scotland. The name of this Jew is Samuel Little Mathers (there is another interpretation of his surname - Liddle Mathers). He devoted a lot of time to studying secret knowledge. And at first he gave the impression of a harmless and strange guy.
But just 3 years after the start of Golden Dawn’s activities, a confrontation between Mathers and Westcott emerged. And Samuel increasingly took the lead.
Concept
The Hermetic Order "Golden Dawn" received this status for a reason. This is a society in which the concepts of the occult and the magical teachings of Hermes are comprehended. Here they developed magical traditions that had formed in Europe many centuries before the founding of the Order.
The knowledge of the Rosicrucians played a huge role in its development. Its magical structure covered all areas of occult theories and practices.
The Golden Dawn had a huge impact on the esoteric movements that emerged in the 20th century. She created the foundations of ritual magic.
Leaders and priorities
The Order of the Golden Dawn has identified the following priorities for itself: magical secret ceremonies, initiation rites in Masonic lodges, obtaining secret knowledge and potential.
In addition to Mathers, the initial leaders here were two William: Westcott and Woodman.
A photo of Westcott during the formation of the Order is placed below.
We also present to your attention a photo of Woodman during a similar period.
Thanks to them, contact was established with the followers of Steiner's anthroposophical treatises and many influential people before the reign of Nazism. After Woodman died and Wescott left the Golden Dawn, only Mathers became its full master.
The next head here was William Butler Yeats.
The society included some famous people, for example:
- Sax Romer - writer.
- Florence Farr is a theater director.
- Alan Bennett is an engineer.
- Aleister Crowley - architect.
About Mathers himself
Mathers was a rather mysterious person. At one time he was an active participant in the Celtic society, fighting for the revival of the Stuart clan. Once he called himself James the Fifth and an immortal adept. He demanded total submission from the people who were part of the Golden Dawn. To do this, he used his astral connection with the mysterious flagships of the order. He very jealously protected her from other members of society, citing the fact that not everyone could withstand such a load. And the secret leaders gave him sacred knowledge and rituals. And then he shared them with the Order. In 1892, in Paris, he founded a branch, located in his system above the main branch. Thus, the Order of the Golden Dawn received the status of an external community. This is how an internal organization was formed.
The rituals of the Order of the Golden Dawn, developed by Mathers, were based on the legend about the grave of the founder of the Rosicrucians, Christian Rosenkreutz.
In this process, the candidate entered a crypt which had seven walls, an altar and a tomb. Mathers himself lay in the coffin. He portrayed that same founder there. The walls here were all covered with symbols. At the end of the ritual, the initiate had to swear to protect the secret and devote himself to the great teachings.
Mathers warned that if the secret was violated, the adept would be paralyzed. This is how the secret leaders will punish him.
As head of the Paris branch, Mathers showed the characteristics of a dictator. He once stated that he was the only one chosen to go to the “Third Order”, where you can communicate with invisible rulers.
The Paris branch was named "Ruby Rose and Golden Cross".
Exercises
The training course of the Order of the Golden Dawn is presented as a percentage, where:
- 50% is occupied by Kabbalah.
- 20% is dedicated to Enochian magic.
- 15% - Tarot card meanings.
- 10% - astrology.
- 5% - geomancy.
This is the so-called synthetic teaching. Here, priority was given to depth. The different components are consolidated according to their internal common meaning. A harmonious system is formed. In it, each element is connected with others by the law of relationships.
The Order of the Golden Dawn was able to connect various teachings into a single whole. And the method of connection was the vision of the perfect laws of the world. According to this concept, there is a natural connection between all objects and phenomena.
The student had to understand and consolidate the meaning of the sefirot. To do this, he studied the potential of the planets using astrology.
Symbols in geomancy were associated with the horoscope and the Hebrew alphabet.
To comprehend Enochian magic, one had to have excellent mastery of all other knowledge.
The Role of Kabbalah
The leaders of this order largely based their teachings on Kabbalah.
The order itself arose on the ideas of the Rosicrucians. Its symbolism includes a rose and a cross. This in no way conflicts with Kabbalistic principles. After all, the Rosicrucians themselves developed Kabbalism.
And Kabbalah seemed to be the development of the occult movement of Ancient Egypt. The leaders of the Golden Dawn viewed it as a universal tool. And according to the plan, the adept comprehended the language and concepts of Kabbalah. And the adoption of the Jewish religion was not a mandatory action.
In the teachings of the order, a lot of space was devoted to Egyptian deities and symbolism. Even the temples of this organization were named in tribute to these gods.
And many Golden Dawn adherents took the position that Kabbalah had Egyptian roots.
Hierarchy
Since the Order of the Golden Dawn paid great attention to Kabbalah, it studied its basics. These are 10 sefirot. They were seen as levels of man's ascent to the great mystery. This is the path from penetration into matter to the highest spiritualization.
And the degrees of the Order of the Golden Dawn were formed according to the principle of these levels. There were also 10 of them.
| Astrological position | Order and plans of existence | Degree in the order |
|
| First: Keter | Main driving force | Third Order. Mental Design | 10 - Ipsissimus |
| Second: Chochma | 9. Mage | ||
| Third: Bina | Correspondence to Saturn | 8. Master in the temple | |
| Fourth: Chesed | Correspondence to Jupiter | Paris branch. Astral design | 7. Free Adept |
| Fifth: Gevurah | Correspondence to Mars | 6. Adept with senior status | |
| Sixth: Tiphareth | Analogy with the Sun | 5. Adept with junior status. | |
| Seventh: Netzach | Analogy with Venus and fire. | 4. Philosopher | |
| Eighth: Year | Analogy with Mercury and water | Order of the Golden Dawn. Physical design. | 3. Adept with practical knowledge |
| Ninth: Yesod | Parallel with the Moon and Air | 2. Adept with a theoretical basis | |
| Tenth: Malchut | Earth analogy | 1. Zelator (beginner) |
This table does not represent the sephira Daath. Its designation is the abyss. It just doesn't have an equivalent in the organization's degrees. In this hierarchy, the sephira rising above Daath were conventionally called the Third Order. This is the level of invisible adepts, people without a material shell. And Mathers claimed that it was with them that he established a connection.
The acquisition by a person of one degree or another was realized by a special ritual.
Moreover, the first 5 rituals were borrowed from found manuscripts. The rest are already the developments of the leaders of the Order.
The main attributes of temples
The Order of the Golden Dawn had 5 temples. They were organized according to the principle of Masonic lodges. The following attributes stood out in the temples:
- A pair of symbolic pillars. The right one is white with black images. The left one is black and white. Their meaning is a reflection of the dualism of the world.
- Altar. In its shape it resembled a double cube. According to the concept of the Order, it is a folded sephirotic cross. It is formed by 10 squares. Each corresponds to one sephira.
On the altar there were symbols of all the elements. They concentrated on the cardinal points. Between them was the emblem of the Order.
The equipment of the altar was changed for a specific ritual:
- Enochian tablets.
- Tarot cards depicted large on the walls.
The entrance to the temple was located on the western side. From here they brought the newcomer - the initiate.
Features of rituals
The participants in each ritual were:
- The initiate himself.
- The Hierophant is the chief priest.
- Priest - gave tests to candidates.
- Hegemon is a guide.
- The torchbearer is the illuminator of the path.
- The preparer cleansed the candidates with water.
- Herald - announced the beginning and end of the ritual.
- Guardian - protection from unauthorized persons.
The standard ceremony algorithm is as follows:
- All strangers leave the premises. The prayer of the Order of the Golden Dawn sounds, praising the Lord of the Universe.
- The candidate is brought into the room. His eyes are covered with a blindfold. He himself is tied with rope three times. This is spiritual blindness and the chains of matter. Before entering the holy area, it was cleansed with water. The initiate swore allegiance to the Order. In this, 6 ministers formed a hexogram around the candidate.
Here the prayer words differ from standard church texts. They follow the unawakened secrets of the soul. For example, the text of the prayer of the Order of the Golden Dawn sounded like this (excerpt below):
“The voice of my eternal soul said to me: Allow me to be on the road of Darkness. Perhaps I will find the Light there. I am the only one in the Darkness...”
These words were spoken by the hierophant after the initiate’s oath.
The initiate, led by the hegemon, walked around the room several times. The priest and the hierophant took turns blocking him. At each circle, a purification procedure was carried out using water and fire. And at this moment he was obliged to name the one who was in front of him. And from this minister he received instruction.
The Hierophant taught the newcomer the concepts of balance and the interchangeability of opposites.
- The neophyte knelt before the altar, listening to the last phrases from the three main servants.
- The blindfold was removed from his eyes. He saw the light, the faces of the servants. Received brief explanations of key symbols, as well as passwords and special characters. He was assigned his tasks and actions to obtain the next degree.
- Completion of the ritual. Mystical meal.
Conclusion
The Order of the Golden Dawn is a rather mysterious organization. Its leaders pursued the highest spiritual goals. For this purpose, many teachings were competently assimilated. As a result, it formed its own religion. Although it had analogies with Kabbalah, Egyptian beliefs and Judaism, it acquired the status of unique.
