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For many people, religion is an important thing, moreso than spirituality. Although variations exist, the human animal has evolved socially in such a way that religion fulfills various important functions that are not adequately fulfilled elsewhere, and for the past several hundred years, in the west, these duties have been fulfilled mainly by Christianity. A church is a place for people to meet, to socialize, to find others of similar beliefs, to court, to find solace and guidance, and to celebrate, among other things. Many people would do just as well as Atheists, so long as they were allowed to keep their church. Meanwhile many Atheists form Atheist groups which are meant to fulfill the functions of the church, even going so far as to proselytize their spiritual beliefs, or in their case a lack ther.
Crowley recognized this basic social need for religion in most people, even those seeking spiritual enlightenment. Meanwhile Christianity, the current forerunner, generally frowns upon spiritual enlightenment, to say the least. Even considering the resent emergence of neo-pagan religions, these religions, at their best, barely manage to adequately meet the duties that even the smaller Christian churches can do quite well, while at the same time being just as detrimental, restrictive, and even malicious towards any individuals seeking enlightenment. The obvious solution would be for the enlightened to have their own religion, but in practice this idea fails as they tend to lack the necessary numbers to successfully perform the community functions of a church while their perspectives and beliefs are so dramatically varied and at times conflicting they lack the unity and cohesion of a religion.
Crowley's solution to this problem was Thelema. Basically he was trying to create a religion to socially and spiritually satisfy the masses, attracting a large enough parish to fulfill all of the functions of the church, while at the same time leaving the group open to, and open ended enough to attract, those seeking enlightenment. The spiritual aspect of Thelema was really only meant for the unenlightened among the masses, not the enlightened who were there to receive the social benefits of the religion, not the spiritual.
But in practice Thelema has failed miserably. The OTO, the biggest proponent of the religion, has already died and been resurrected. Although the group may be able to point to rising numbers, the group still hasn't shown large enough numbers in any single region for it to fulfill the community functions of the church, nor is it making significant gains to where we can assume this will happen within our lifetimes. Thelema has not done well in attracting general parishioners, who seem content to remain with Christianity, and without these parishioners there is no point in keeping Thelema around, because it fails to serve anybody in any capacity.
Absent Thelema, we are still left with Crowley's works. These are largely quoted as gospel truth, by people who often times can't understand the denotation of the sentences being quoted, and Crowley himself is transformed from being a practitioner's peer to a Christ figure that is assumed to have been at an unattainable level, in other words we cannot be as Crowley was, we can only trust in the truth of what he has imparted to us. Most of his followers assume that by learning and following Crowley's works they will eventually reach some spiritual attainment, a very Christian perspective, and in doing so they have become, like the neo-pagan religions, little more than Christians with different books.
One problem is there is very little attainment to be gained from what Crowley has left us. Even the great secrets of the OTO, which haven't been well guarded and are easy enough to find and read, offer very little. Crowley was a remarkable teacher and at his worst still a competent magician. I credit Crowley with being solely responsible for me being able to learn the tarot as well as I have, and also with introducing me to quite a few of the subjects that can be categorized under magick. But Crowley's works weren't comprehensive guides, they were beginner manuals. The great secrets of Crowley's works are the basics that lay the foundations for higher attainment.
This isn't to say Crowley only knew the basics. His tarot deck implies a far deeper understanding of magick and the universe then is ever betrayed in his written works. The Book of Thoth essay though is only an introduction to tarot, despite being typically described as an advanced text.
Crowley never meant for his works to be the alpha and omega of a person's spiritual attainment. They are just a foundation, enough information and ideas to get a neophyte to the next stage, and not necessarily filled with truth either, just being what the neophyte needs to know in the beginning. It is thought that any true practitioner will, upon completion of that stage, cast off Crowley's teachings and forge a path of their own, eventually reaching a point of enlightenment and attainment to where they can consider themselves an adept in magick and an equal to Crowley.
Those that are Thelemites, and followers of Crowley, who fail to cast off the shackles of their religion, who expect to find secrets to the universe in introductory texts, who see Crowley not as a man or a peer or something to be surpassed but as infallible and unattainable, will never know spiritual enlightenment, because they cannot spiritually evolve, and they cannot follow their spiritual path and find truth for themselves as all practitioners must.
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Scorpio teaches us that desire is worth considering. New Moon is traditionally a time to dive deep into the unconscious, discover your secret desires, and tap into the emotional energy you need to manifest as the moon waxes.
New Moon in Scorpio
26 OCTOBER 2011 AT 2:56 P.M. CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME.
New Moon in Scorpio gives voice to Desire and calls us to take a deeper look and release what has been holding us back, or those things which we have held back or tamped down. We confront our fears here, so this isn't just about naughty pleasure. This is where we touch the subconscious and either reveal hidden treasure or fall into darkness until we open our inner eye to see what we've avoided.
There is a good deal of energy available to use as fuel, if we accept our whole selves, strip away false doubts and limiting beliefs imposed from outside to reveal truth and use wisdom instead of whim to guide our paths. Thus, Scorpio is the sign of transformation, generation and sex or fertility.
Use journaling, meditation and set your intention for change and growth. Sure, you can do this at any time, but it's even better when you can align with the moon and the rhythms of the universe.
Just a few days after New Moon, Samhain and the Celtic New Year arrive. This is the time when tradition teaches us that the veils are thin and our ancestors and other spirits come close. This bodes well for tremendously deep delvings in divination or meditative work, as well as an opportunity to let go of old patterns and create new ones.
We also get bonus energy points under this new moon: Venus and Mars are also in Scorpio so it's a great time to plant seeds, ideas, anything which can bring out abundance of any shape or form. In fact, Jupiter is trine Pluto, and investments of energy, words or just about anything will have added influence and ripple affects. Use your words wisely and drop blessings abundantly!
NEW MOON MEDITATION OCTOBER 27TH (THURSDAY) 7-8PM at Eye of Horus Metaphysical
Thraicie Hawkner, Eye of Horus founder, Intuitive and High Priestess, will lead a guided meditation during this time for reflection and inner wisdom, capitalizing on the time of the earth's shadow on the moon. Join the circle of shadow-workers. Bring Notebook and Pen. Cost: 5 to cover expenses (or what you can afford) Please arrive on time, so we can close the door for privacy, and create sacred space.
Suggested ebooks:
Anonymous - Beltane Pagan Ritual Of Interest To Neo Pagans
Ken Dowden - European Paganism The Realities Of Cult From Antiquity To The Middle Ages
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Here's a little more philosophy with which to wind down your week. In this article from Anthropoetics (Spring, 2010: 15, no. 2), Marina Ludwigs essentially makes the argument that we can never fully know the "other," in whatever form we conceived it - especially in terms of semiotics. (I think.)
This would seem to be her thesis statement:
What I would like to show, however, is that the nature of this transcendence is complex. It consists of three different types of transcendence that belong to three distinct cognitive domains that are unique to man and manifest three evolutionary milestones that have contributed to the emergence of the symbolic human species. Moreover, these three types of transcendence do not exist side by side, but inform and interpenetrate each other in intricate and abyssal ways, contributing to the paradoxical character of the linguistic sign and underlying some familiar inconsistencies and contradictions of our consciousness that, borrowing Gregory Bateson's term, I would like to refer to as the double-bind of freedom.Give it a read - it's very interesting, even if I am not sure I fully grasp what she is about here.
"Anthropoetics - The Journal of Generative Anthropology"
Volume XV, number 2 (Spring 2010)
ISSN 1083-7264
URL: http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap1502/ (this issue)
Here are some excepted paragraphs:
THREE GAPS OF REPRESENTATION / THREE MEANINGS OF TRANSCENDENCE
Marina Ludwigs
Theludwigs@comhem.se
In this essay, I would like to explore the idea of the multifaceted nature of transcendence that underlies symbolic representation in the form of language. It is commonly agreed that by creating a distinction between a sign and a referent, representation injects a discontinuity into our thinking. It introduces a gap between what is immediately present and what is possible, between an object and its imaginary recreation. It gives birth, in other words, to transcendence. What I would like to show, however, is that the nature of this transcendence is complex. It consists of three different types of transcendence that belong to three distinct cognitive domains that are unique to man and manifest three evolutionary milestones that have contributed to the emergence of the symbolic human species. Moreover, these three types of transcendence do not exist side by side, but inform and interpenetrate each other in intricate and abyssal ways, contributing to the paradoxical character of the linguistic sign and underlying some familiar inconsistencies and contradictions of our consciousness that, borrowing Gregory Bateson's term, I would like to refer to as the double-bind of freedom. Tracing the configurations and interplay of these three discontinuities will add to our originary understanding of the sacrificial nature of representation.
The first two of these gaps and their interrelation are succinctly elucidated in "The Metaphysical Foundations of Logic" by Martin Heidegger, who shows how they refer to two different ways of "going beyond" that are often confused or conflated. In other words, they manifest two distinct meanings of the term "transcendence." One of them is the transcendence that
can be considered the opposite of contingency. The contingent is what touches us, what pertains to us, that with which we are on the same footing, that which belongs to our kind and sort. The transcendent, on the contrary, is what is beyond all this as that which conditions it, as the unconditioned, but at the same time as the really unattainable, what exceeds us [das "Uberschw"angliche]. Transcendence is stepping-over in the sense of lying beyond conditioned beings. (MFL 161)
Heidegger uses the term "contingency" in the sense of "dependent on or conditioned by something else" or "subject to causality," meaning that the notion of the transcendence-that-is-the-opposite-of-contingency stems from our intuition about the necessity of the first cause, or an intuition that allows a theoretical possibility of a discontinuity in any chain of causation.
In other words, insofar as we picture the world is an aggregate of adjacent or nested boxes, we need to have a model of how communication between these boxes is possible in some causal form of signal-sending. This line of questioning leads us towards a theory of knowledge. This is why Heidegger terms this conception of transcendence--the transcendence that is the opposite of immanence--"epistemological".
This second type of gap, I would like to claim, is coterminous with the second important adaptation in the proto-human that paved the way for language. It is, what Peter G"ardenfors calls, the " theory of mind". At some point, early hominids developed a theory of mind, that is to say, an ability to impute thoughts, emotions, and intentionality to other sentient beings, according to G"ardenfors. It has been argued by some primatologists that higher apes also have a theory of mind. That this is plausible is inferred from a claim that primates are capable of deception.
The other being will forever remain somewhat of a mystery to ourselves--a closed book, a black box--and this mystery will make itself felt as an unbridgeable distance between two subjectivities. We could summon the help of psychology or neural science, but the former will, at best, be a heuristic tool, while the latter will reveal the workings of the brain rather than the mind. While the functioning of the brain, or the "hardware," might be both relevant and instructive, it is ultimately a different category, an experiential one, into which we are inquiring. The infinite, the impossible distance between our minds and those of others is the second type of transcendence--the transcendence that is the opposite of immanence. What comes first--the idea of subjecthood or that of transcendence? For Heidegger, it is the latter. He writes: "transcendence is not an additional attribute I ascribe to a subject, but the question becomes whether the essence of subjectivity can be grasped, first and foremost, through a rightly understood transcendence" (MFL 161).
Despite Heidegger's labeling the second transcendence "epistemological," it is the melding of the two concepts of transcendence that allows us to conceive of interactions between objects in terms of causality, given that the relationship of cause and effect is implicated both in our kinesthetic sense of self-movement and the expectation of resistance. As mentioned, kinesthesia and the experience of agency are inextricably bound up with each other and with our experience of agency, hinging on the experience of our expenditure of muscular effort originating "from a sense of actively imitating movement itself" (PM 426). Not only are we sensitive to our own movement, according to Sheets-Johnstone, but our sensitivity functions also by being attuned to the feedback and dynamic modifications of our environment, including the movement of others.
I would like to re-conceive this two-way responsiveness to the self and to one's surroundings in the light of what I would like to call an "effort/resistance schema", where resistance is understood as an attunement or sensitivity to the outside world, which is given to us as something permanent, something that stands in our way and resists our efforts to disturb or modify it. In fact, the notions of effort and resistance are cognitively indissociable from each other, since without the experience of the resisting milieu (including the experience of our own body perceived as a resisting object that is difficult to move), an effort would not feel like an effort, and a desire to achieve a goal that this effort was designed to bring about would not register as a desire, which has a built-in idea of a distance between a conception and its fulfillment. Instead we would be omnipotent beings with the power of instant gratification.
Heidegger, as well, recognizes that the conflation of the two transcendences is not simply a philosophical error but that they are entangled in profound and indissociable ways. For example, the idea of divinity is broader than simply that of the unconditioned. God is not only God-the-Creator but also the absolute Other, the latter being a concept which cannot be properly grasped without engaging epistemological transcendence.
Now both conceptions of transcendence, the epistemological and the theological, can be conjoined--something that has always happened and always recurs. For once the epistemological conception of transcendence is granted, whether expressly or implicitly, then a being is posited outside the subject, and it stands over against the latter. Among the beings posited opposite, however, is something which towers above everything, the cause of all. It is thus both something over against [the subject] and something which transcends all conditioned beings over against [the subject]. The transcendent, in this double sense, is the Eminent, the being that surpasses and exceeds all experience. So, inquiry into the possible constitution of the transcendent in the epistemological sense is bound up with inquiry into the possibility of knowing the transcendent object in the theological sense. (MFL 162)
I would like to diverge from this by proposing that it is, in fact, more natural to conjoin or entwine these ideas than to separate them. It is not possible to reach the Eminent Being because, as the absolutely Other, it cannot be known to us. At the same time, we cannot know it because it is unreachable as the absolutely unconditioned. Thus, both concepts are mutually implicated to a very intimate degree, together contributing to the notion of the Eminent--the absolutely Other and the absolutely exceeding.
The two transcendent experiences, constituted by the theoretical discontinuity between the phenomenologically immediate kinesthetics of effort of resistance and the ballistically disembodied system of representation, inform and complement each other's model of divinity. On the one hand, we have God who is the creator and originator, the rationally necessary source of the created universe to which everything points, the unconditioned ground for conditioned beings, the First Cause. On the other, there exists, in parallel to God-the-creator, the God of catastrophes and natural disasters, of plagues and desolation, surprises and unforeseen occurrences, the helmsman of destiny, God of prayers, supplication, and propitiation.
These two Gods touch us in different but mutually penetrating ways. We become conscious of objects outside our consciousness through the kinesthetics of effort and resistance, which brings us the knowledge of the phenomena that stand between us and our desire for gratification: substances we wade or squeeze through, things we bump into and walk around, the inhospitable elements that send us in search of protection, materials that resist being shaped to suit our needs. All of these fall under the category of necessity and jolt us into an awareness of the objective existence of something we might call "exteriority," which houses various "external" physical objects that make themselves felt and known by impinging upon our senses as appearances. In this way, an intuition that belongs to the realm of the intelligible makes itself known empirically through the phenomenological pre-understanding of cause and effect. In the reverse (and reciprocal) fashion, the intelligible pre-understanding of the outside allows us to conceive the notion of transcendence that exceeds the contingent. Namely, on its own terms, our phenomenological experience of effortful striving, of reaching out toward a goal does not take us out of the contingent or suggest the existence of a "beyond." But because we have an intelligible pre-understanding of the outside, we are capable of conceiving the unconditioned "beyond" of what impresses on us as the horizon of experience. Thus, in a symmetrical fashion, an empirical insight is achieved as a result of an intuition that is accessible intellectually.
But in talking about God, I am already getting ahead of myself, because the frame of reference in which the two Gods can be discerned already presupposes the third gap, which I have not mentioned yet--that between the center and periphery. This gap opens up when the final milestone on the way to language is established--that of joint attention. By "final," I do not mean the actual historical order of these adaptations. If anything, it represents another aspect of the theory of mind--a level of the development of interpersonal skills that evinces a very sophisticated capacity for imitation.
Read the whole article.
Tags: Philosophy, Self, other, Psychology, theory of mind, development, language, Marina Ludwigs, Three Gaps of Representation, Three Meanings of Transcendence, Heidegger, epistemological, theological, Eminent Being, God, effort/resistance schema, contingency, subject to causality, Anthropoetics, Journal of Generative Anthropology, symbolic representation
Suggested ebooks:
John Opsopaus - Interpretationes Of Ancient Herbs
Paul Foster Case - The Early Writings Vol Ii Esoteric Secrets Of Meditation Magic
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The A.’. A.’. is the Supreme and Eternal Inner School of initiates who have in all times overseen the evolution of consciousness on this planet. This order has assumed various forms and names throughout history. In all cases, however, its chief work is the preparation of the individual for Initiation. It is from the A.’. A.’. that The Book of the Law was issued to humankind, to announce the advent of the Aeon of Horus. The current outer form of the order was created by Frater P. and Frater D.D.S. under the guidance and instruction of the A.’. A.’.
This path of High Magick is not for most. The A.’. A.’. is the parent of all other viable initiatory systems. All others are but preparation (or specialized training) for those who will eventually aspire to this One Order of the Shining Star. Affiliation is for those — perhaps only for those — who dedicate themselves, with reverence, duty, sympathy, devotion, assiduity and trust, to the performance of the Great Work now, within this incarnation; and to dare, with courage undaunted, to perfect it.
Love is the law, love under will.
Love in IslamA KHUTBAH BY MAHMOUD MOSTAFA BISMILLAHI RAHMANI RAHEEM Praise be to Allah. We bear witness that there is only one god who has no partners beside Him, and we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. Praise be to Allah who blessed us with the guidance of His prophets and messengers. Praise be to Allah whose Mercy encompasses everything. Praise be to Allah who knows our needs and answers our calls and brings peace to our hearts. Praise be to Allah who breathed into us of His Spirit and placed the light of His guidance in our inmost being. Whomever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whomever Allah misguides, no one can guide. We put our trust in Allah and seek His forgiveness, aid, and support. A man once came to the Prophet (puh) and asked him about the hereafter. The Prophet asked him, " And what have you prepared for that time? " The man replied, " Nothing, except that I love Allah and I love you. " The Prophet (puh) answered him, " You are with the ones you love. " Dear brothers and sisters, the guidance of Islam is the guidance of love. The innate, natural and ancient religion that is Islam is the religion of love. The Prophet (puh) came to guide us to love and to make clear the love that is at the core of all religion. Our purpose as human beings is to consciously manifest Allah ' s love in our lives. This is the most significant meaning of Khilafa and Ibada that can bring purpose to us and transform our lives. When we reflect upon the history of the Prophet (puh) and the spread of his message we will realize that Islam could not have taken root in the world without the love that filled the heart of the Prophet and was clearly manifest in his way of relating and interacting with people that brought out their own deep and profound love for him. Without this mutual and abiding love, none of us would be here today. Without this love Islam would not have been possible. Today, it seems that we too often hear and read much that is harsh and heartless about Islam and not enough that is loving and beautiful. There seems to be too many messages of prejudice, literalism, legalism, violence, and oppression. The superficiality, ugliness and darkness that is too prevalent in today ' s Islamic discourse is nothing like what the Prophet brought us. I would like to share with you part of the first sermon ever given by the Prophet (puh) in Medina. This is what he had to say to his companions, " VERILY, THE BEST DISCOURSE IS THE BOOK OF ALLAH. ONE IS TRULY SUCCESSFUL WHOSE HEART ALLAH HAS ADORNED WITH THE LOVE OF HIS BOOK, AND WHOM, AFTER LIVING IN DENIAL, ALLAH HAS CAUSED TO ENTER INTO SUBMISSION TO HIM, AND CAUSED HIM TO PREFER HIS BOOK ABOVE ANY HUMAN DISCOURSE. THE BOOK OF ALLAH IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND ELOQUENT OF DISCOURSES. LOVE THAT WHICH ALLAH LOVES! LOVE ALLAH WITH ALL YOUR HEARTS! GROW NOT WEARY OF HEARING THE WORD OF ALLAH. DO NOT STOP REMEMBERING HIM. DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS GROW HARD TOWARD HIM. FOR VERILY, ALLAH HAS PREFERRED HIS BOOK ABOVE ALL OF CREATION. INDEED, ALLAH HAS ENDOWED IT WITH GUIDANCE TO THE BEST OF DEEDS, AND MADE IT AN EXAMPLE FOR THE ELECT OF HIS SERVANTS, AND FILLED IT WITH RIGHTEOUS DISCOURSE, AND HAS MADE CLEAR IN IT WHAT IS LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL FOR YOU. So, serve Allah alone, and associate with Him no other. Be ever conscious of Him. Be truthful to Allah in what you utter from your mouths. Let the Spirit of Allah be the source of love between you. " Can you hear the love in his words? Can you hear his urgent call to our hearts? Can you sense the profound purpose in his teaching? Love is so central to Islam that without it there can be no real faith. The Quran tells us clearly what following the Prophet is about, 3:31 " SAY, IF YOU LOVE ALLAH, THEN FOLLOW ME AND ALLAH WILL LOVE YOU GREATLY AND FORGIVE YOUR SINS FOR ALLAH IS FORGIVING AND MERCIFUL..." And even more decisively it says to the people of faith that, 5:54 " O YOU WHO HAVE FAITH WHOEVER AMONG YOU TURNS BACK FROM HIS RELIGION ALLAH WILL SURELY BRING FORTH A PEOPLE HE LOVES AND WHO LOVE HIM WHO ARE HUMBLE BEFORE THE FAITHFUL AND EXALTED BEFORE THE DENIERS. THEY STRIVE IN THE WAY OF ALLAH AND FEAR NO BLAME FROM ANY BLAMERS. THIS IS THE FAVOR OF ALLAH, HE BESTOWS IT ON WHOMEVER HE WILLS. FOR ALLAH IS ALL-ENCOMPASSING, ALL-KNOWING! " In these two tremendous verses we can understand some remarkable things. We can understand that faith and faithfulness are defined as love between God and the people of faith. A Mu ' min is one who is deeply and profoundly in love with God. It is this love that motivates us to strive, to seek, to turn back to Allah, to give up our worldly attachments and return to our Rabb. It is this love that gives us the power and strength to face the various trials of our faith throughout our lives. It is this love that teaches us humility, compassion, trust, obedience and honesty. It is this love that enables us to sacrifice, to give of ourselves and of our possessions for the sake of God. It is this love that opens us to submission, to Islam. We can also understand that this relationship of love is a special, precious gift bestowed by God upon us. Without His will and generosity we would be heedless of His love in our hearts. We can also understand that the abandoning of religion in the context of this Ayah is to turn away from love because the consequence of this abandonment is that God promises to replace us with people who have this relationship of love with Him. And we can understand that the way to God ' s love is to follow the Prophet (puh), to be in his footsteps, to strive to be like him and in this striving our love is made greater and greater by God. In a Sacred Tradition Allah says, " I WAS A HIDDEN TREASURE AND I LOVED TO BE KNOWN SO I CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH THAT I MAY BE KNOWN. " One of Allah ' s names, one of His attributes, is Al Wajid. This word has several meanings among them is to bring into existence. It also has the meaning of intense, existential love. Reflecting upon this divine name, we can see that there is a relationship between love and creation. And reflecting upon the sacred tradition we can see that God ' s love to be known is the primary reason for creation. In this way we can come to a truly profound insight; Allah ' s love is the very cause of existence. We are alive today because of His love, the whole Universe is here because of His love. The relationship of love between us and Allah, between us and others, and between us and all of creation is essential to reaching our full potential as human beings. When we nourish our hearts with love, when we manifest Allah ' s love in our lives; with our families, with our friends, in our work, in our prayers, in everything that we do, the entire meaning of life changes for us and our own experience of our humanness is transformed; we become adorned with the beautiful characteristics of the Prophet. This is the meaning of following in the footsteps of the Prophet (puh); we follow him by adorning ourselves with the qualities of his noble character. We follow him by striving to become like him in our humanness, in our quality of relationships, in our conduct in society, in our service to humanity. The noble character of the Prophet (puh) has been best explained by his cousin, Jaffar Ibn Abu Talib, when he was asked by the King of Abbysinia to explain his religion. Jaffar replied: " We were a people lost in ignorance. We worshipped idols, we back-stabbed one another in gossip, we committed sins without shame, we severed the bonds of mercy among us, and we were unkind neighbors. The strong among us devoured the weak. Thus we were until Allah sent to us a messenger from among ourselves, well-known to us in his nobility, honesty, trustworthiness, and tenderness. He called us to unity and to devoting our worship to Allah alone and to removing the idols from our hearts. He commanded us to be truthful when we spoke, and to fulfill our trust, and to preserve the bonds of mercy among us, and to be kind neighbors, and to desist from violating what is sacred. He called us to turn back from our sins, and from falsehood, and from devouring the wealth of orphans, and from defaming honorable women. So we believed in him and in his message and we followed what he received from his Lord. " Brothers and sisters, the Sunnah of the Prophet is about the kind of character that manifests God ' s love in existence. His Sunnah is that which ennobles us, that which transforms us into better human beings. It ' s about becoming kind and tender human beings who are deeply and profoundly in love with God. The Prophet's love, awe, and longing for Allah comes through with overwhelming clarity when we reflect upon his prayers. Here is just one example: "O MY GOD MAKE ME LOVE YOU, MAKE ME LOVE THOSE WHO LOVE YOU, MAKE ME LOVE ALL THINGS THAT BRING ME CLOSER TO LOVING YOU. O MY GOD, MAKE ME LOVE YOU, AND YOUR ANGELS, AND YOUR PROPHETS, AND ALL OF YOUR CREATION. O MY GOD, MAKE MY LOVE FOR YOU DEARER TO ME THAN MYSELF, AND MY FAMILY, AND MY WEALTH, AND MY CHILDREN, AND FROM COOL, PURE WATER TO THE THIRSTY." May Allah bless us with His love, and the love of those who love Him. May Allah fill our hearts with love. Allah bless Prophet Muhammad, his family, and companions. Peace be with you and Allah ' s mercy.
Suggested ebooks:
John Arnott Macculloch - Eddic Mythology
Christopher Siren - Sumerian Mythology Faq
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On the Heavens Within Earth blog and on HP Morgan Drake Eckstein's Gleamings from the Dawn blog, bizarre recent comments give the appearance that Golden Dawn members Eckstein and Peregrin (a Buddhist convert caught posing as Pagan while trashing the faith) are attempting to ignite a full blown WITCH WAR dragging the Pagan community into a decade old Golden Dawn conflict.
The incident began when Peregrin alleged on the Heavens Within Earth blog that Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento claims something or other about an alleged initiatic connection between Gerald Gardner and Italian occultism. The Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Tradition immediately put rumors to rest with the publication of the following official clarification:"NEITHER STREGHERIA DEL BOSCO SACRO OF BENEVENTO NOR THE GREAT RITE MAKE ANY CLAIM WHATSOEVER REGARDING ANY INITIATION OF GERALD GARDNER. ANY STATEMENT MADE BY ANY INITIATE CONTRARY TO THIS WAS CLEARLY MADE IN ERROR."In a fashion that has typified the Golden Dawn flame war throughout the last decade, for maximum strife stirring value, Peregrin repeated the original allegation on different venue, in this case on HP Morgan Drake Eckstein's Gleamings From The Dawn blog, to which Eckstein then replied:"Hmmm, this reminds of how many times errorous information has been removed from [their] other claims. Sometimes I think it would be easier if they quit making claims, rather than correcting the ones that they make in error." [Note how Eckstein here deliberately conflates Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Tradition with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (AO) although they are completely separate entities, the first being a Pagan religious Tradition and the second a secular, magical order outside the Pagan faith].The additional Witch War tactics underlying this incident can be best understood in light of the decade old Golden Dawn flame war. Several of the rhetorical tactics that have been routinely used against the HOGD/AO and its leaders have been:
* HP Eckstein's present allegation, repeated over and over across multiple fora, blogs, websites, etc, that the HOGD/AO has somehow "shifted its story" over time, when in fact our order has been quite consistent all along.
* The frequent repetition of deliberate misrepresentations across various fora, websites, and blogs, ignoring all refutation, but instead merely repeating the same talking points, over and over, propaganda style. This has resulted in HOGD/AO having to refute the same unfounded allegations, over and over, ad nauseam.
* Depriving through moderation HOGD/AO all right of rebuttal on the various fora, blogs, etc., where tactics 1 and 2 were being waged against our order as part of the ongoing flame war.
It is sad to witness Peregrin and HP Morgan Drake Eckstein suddenly reviving these failed Golden Dawn flame war tactics across the Blogoshpere. The time is long overdue for the Golden Dawn community to put all divisive flame war behind it once and for all - and to begin instead to heal the wounds left by over a decade of strife in our community.
The above exposition reveals the attempt of two Golden Dawn Adepts not merely to rekindle the Golden Dawn flame war, but also to drag the greater Pagan community into the conflict, escalating it into a full blown WITCH WAR.
Admittedly, Frater Peregrin indeed reposted the official clarification as well, although he is at least guilty of reposting allegations across venues in a manner typical of the Golden Dawn flame war. Peregrin, therefore, may only be guilty of bashing Pagans yet again, although this time at least not posing as Pagan as he has done in the past. HP Morgan Eckstein, however, deliberately attempts to conflate the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (AO) with Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Tradition.
Perhaps Peregrin and Morgan do not yet realize how the greater Pagan community is far less tolerant towards War-mongering Witches than the Golden Dawn community has been over the last decade. In the Pagan community, it is considered in extremely bad taste for one Pagan Tradition to wage Witch War against another, and War-mongering Witches may quickly find themselves shunned by the entire community.
Clearly, any attempt to drag the greater Pagan community into an old Golden Dawn conflict will not be well looked upon by the greater Pagan community. Attacking the Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Pagan Tradition by attempting to conflate it with the purely secular, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (AO) clearly constitutes nothing other than WITCH WAR.
I have been carefully studying a recent transmission from the spokesperson for the secret chiefs of the HOGD faction of the Golden Dawn, translated and edited by David Griffin for the benefit of everyone. This transmission is entitled "Traditional Initiatic Meaning of the Three Grades of the R.R. et A.C.," and was written by Lux Et Tenebris. You can find the article here. I managed to copy the text into a word-processing file so I could print it out and truly study it. I don't often bother doing that with the blogs that I read, but this one merited a more careful study. What was being transmitted was truly remarkable, and it was obviously far beyond anything else that I have read on the same subject. The only problem that I had with this writing is that is was prompted by the never ending conflict in the GD community, and the need to distinguish a true revelation from one that is contrived or "reconstructed." The constant conflict is a sad reminder about how polarized and fragmented the GD community is in these dark Typhonian times.
Most of the Golden Dawn organizations seem quite unable to write about anything substantive when it comes to the degrees beyond Adeptus Minor. I would suppose that it might have something to do with the fact that the Golden Dawn material which is in the public domain only goes that far, and the various degrees and lore beyond that point have been, at least up until to now, merely suppositional. Some might say that the higher degrees of the second order (5th, 6th and 7th) are too secret and mysterious to talk about, or that those who could talk about them are oath bound and constrained to be silent. Of course, that hasn't stopped some in the Golden Dawn community from writing and talking about nearly everything in a public forum, so I suspect that it mostly has to do with the fact that the higher degrees are essentially undiscovered country for most GD organizations.
Yet in this specially transmitted document are the definitions of the initiatic degrees of the vaunted second order of the Ruby Rose and Golden Cross, written by someone who is the gate-keeper for the third order. You should expect that such a revelation would be quite remarkable if it were indeed a communication from the secret chiefs. Such a communique would have to walk a very fine line between being revelatory, and revealing confidential and oath bound information. I have carefully read over this transmission and I have found it to be profoundly revealing and truly amazing. Here was the blue-print to the second order of adepts written out for all to read and ponder, and little or nothing was remarked on it in the blog-sphere by other GD organizations.
I have shared this transmitted document with my peers, and they all agree that it is remarkable and quite amazing. I have seen nothing like it in the various Golden Dawn material that I have in my possession or have ever read about. It is deep, profound, and also, quite insightful. I found myself saying, "Of course, it was all so obvious!" at various points while I was reading it. If anything could convince me that the various claims made by David Griffin of being in contact with secret chiefs were true, this brief transmission should prove it beyond dispute. So I was that impressed by what I read, yet I saw immediately that there were some distinct differences between the second order as defined by Frater Lux Et Tenebris, and the way that the second order is defined in the Order of the Gnostic Star. They are analogous, but also different.
The second order initiations and ordeals of the Order of the Gnostic Star were developed by me over a long period of time - in fact over thirty years. I had an initial vision and plan that I was following, but I also discovered that it could be determined by the Sephiroth and Pathways of Tiphareth, Geburah and Chesed. There would also be a crossing of the lesser abyss that separates the lower sephiroth from the higher, but that would also be covered by the various ordeals associated with first four elemental degrees. There is indeed a theme of death and resurrection involved in the transition from 4th through 5th degree, and it reaches a climax in 5th degree. But beyond that point, the other themes associated with the second and inner order of the Gnostic Star are quite different.
Once the soul is challenged and mortality truly realized in an integral manner, then life itself becomes sacred, reaching its summit when an initiate undergoes the rites of the Sanctum Regnum and masters the Seven Rays of the Hierophant. If fifth degree is that of the sacred magician-priest, then the sixth degree is the sacred kingship (or queenship) and the seventh, that of the master of the initiatic temple as hierophant or magician-bishop. Each of these three adept degrees requires a mastery of a whole new level of being, and are quite distinct from each other. The three degrees of the adept in the Order of the Gnostic Star represent the resolution of three very important aspects of life itself, these are self-mastery, mastery of one's world, and mastery of the double gateway of the spiritual source. Let me briefly discuss each of these initiatory grades and their associated ordeals, although I will not be able to reveal the actual details, such as the ritual workings and how they might be deployed. That information is, of course, still confidential and keyed to obligatory oaths.
As I said, these three degrees are based on the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, as are all the degrees of the Order. The Tree of Life is the map for achieving the ultimate states of illumination and spiritual mastery. Magickal ordeals that can encapsulate the Sephiroth and associated Pathways will likely emulate the actual internal processes that powerfully transform and spiritually evolve a person, from individual consciousness to cosmic consciousness and at-one-ment with the Godhead. The essential theme for the second order for the E.S.S.G. is that of the Tetra-sacramentary and the Stellar Rites of Gnosis. The four sacramental systems are associated with the four essential gnostic systems of initiation and magickal transformation. These systems are called Thelema, Agape, Thanatos and Eros, and they represent the transformative powers of the True-Will, Love, Death and Desire, which join together to formulate what is known as the Star of Individuation, or Astris. The Star symbolizes what is known as the Stellar Gnosis, or where the individual reaches a maximum state of spiritual autonomy and self-determination, and only then is brought into union with the presiding and internal Godhead. In this manner, the Atman is awakened and made ready for the next series of ordeals, which are begun with the abysmal crossing.
If we look at the Sephiroth of these three degrees, we can determine the logic and wisdom of the initiatory ordeals and understand the ascension of the adept into the high adept.
TIPHARETH - This is the fifth degree, known as the Adeptus Minor in the GD, and it represents the process whereby the initiate has overcome the obstacles of the four elements, and now is able to constitute the quintessence, which is pure Spirit. The initiation ordeal is where the candidate undergoes the spiritual knighthood of Sol Invictus and the Osirian mystery of Death and Resurrection. There is also an ordination and elevation to the sublime station of magician-priest, and there is the first attempt at the Bornless One Invocation Rite. The candidate also begins the long process of performing the first in a series of the Transdimensional Gate Vortex workings, where he or she enters into the domain of one of the eighteen triangular shapes found in the lattice structure of the Tree of Life. (Still, the key to this degree is the complete mastery of the self.)
GEBURAH - The sixth degree, known as the Adeptus Major in the GD, is where the initiate must master the very processes of life itself and the world that he or she lives in. This is a process of distillation, purification and the elimination of the irrelevant. The initiation ordeal is that of the Sacred King or Queen, and the establishment of the Sanctum Regnum. The ordeal is where the initiate has successfully constituted the four complete temples of Thelema, Agape, Thanatos and Eros, including their avatars, sacramental relics and spiritual hierarchies. Mastery of the Tetra-sacramentary is absolutely necessary before this ordeal can be considered fully accomplished. Often, it is also important for the initiate to complete all of life's tasks in regards to establishing a material basis for life, building a home, bonding with a mate, raising a family and becoming an important functionary in one's community. Some of these accomplishments are more important than others, and they are relative to the life path of the initiate.
CHESED - The seventh degree, known as the Adeptus Exemptus in the GD, is where the initiate must take the manifested Tetra-sacramentary and forge it into the fifth sacrament, which is the Star, or Stellar Gnosis. From this fusion emerges the true mystical and spiritual power of the Seven Rays and the underlying pattern Undecigram. The sacred pattern of the eleven consists of the seven spiritual virtues of the Goddess merged with the four powers of the God. I can only give these hints to you without much details, thereby showing that these mysteries are fully developed in the lore of the Order. At this stage, the initiate also performs the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal and fully manifests and merges with his or her higher self, in preparation for the ultimate abysmal crossing. The initiate of the seventh degree is also consecrated as a magician-bishop (hierophant) and learns to master the seven rays system, which is based on the planetary attributes (and deeper correspondences) of the seven Sephiroth of the Qabbalah. A successful resolution of these tasks and ordeals will help the initiate acquire the mastery of the double gateway of the Absolute Source (as the Supernal Triad).
What I have communicated here may seem somewhat opaque or full of symbolic jargon, but they can represent actual accomplishments in the material world, analogous to the highest achievements of a truly gifted mastery of life. The three degrees can be thought of then as representing the ordeals and achievements of self, community and one's ultimate legacy, but within a completely occult context. To become an adept is to become spiritually wise. Looking at these achievements in this simplified manner should make them appear to be quite transparent, despite the magickal context of the Order and its symbology. An adept level of initiation is then a mastery of one's life; and what lies beyond the life cycle of a mortal human being consists of the mysteries of the higher adept and the Supernal Triad of the Tree of Life.
Frater Barrabbas
Wiccan altar puts teacher, officials at odds
By LEE ROOD o lrood@dmreg.com o March 2, 2010
GUTHRIE CENTER, IA. - A high school senior's desire to build a Wiccan altar in shop class has forced a community debate about free expression.
Dale Halferty, who has taught industrial arts at Guthrie Center High School for three years, was placed on paid leave Monday after he acknowledged to district officials that he told the student he could not build the altar in class.
"This is not a beef that I have with the district. It's not me against them," said Halferty, who has been an educator for much of the past 20 years. "But this kid was practicing his religion during class time, and I don't agree."
Halferty said he previously told another student he could not build a cross in shop class because he believes in the separation of church and state. "I don't want any religious symbols in the shop," he said.
His viewpoint: "We as Christians don't get to have our say during school time, so why should he?"
School officials say Christians actually do get to express themselves in the same way.
More than one school policy, as well as state and federal law, prohibit discrimination against students who express religious beliefs through school assignments.
Superintendent Steve Smith and Principal Garold Thomas said they placed Halferty on leave while they conferred with the school's attorney to decide what to do.
Both Smith and Thomas said the incident has become emotional for the high school's 185 students: Almost 70 signed a petition late last week saying they didn't want witchcraft practiced at the school.
"I think it's fear based on some of the old ideas people had about witchcraft," Smith said. "It's fear and a lack of knowledge about the unknown."
Neither Smith nor school officials identified the student at the center of the controversy, and the boy's father declined a request made through Thomas to be interviewed.
Smith acknowledged that some people have expressed fears about satanism or sacrifices.
He said they too could use some educating: Though Wicca is often subject to such myths, it is nonviolent and based on a shared reverence for the Earth and all living things.
Halferty was sent home for the first time Friday and told to think about what he was doing.
He said he had no beef with the student or his project - until the student told him he was a practicing witch.
"I said, 'Ah, you're kidding, right?'"
When the student said he wasn't, Halferty told him he could work on his project - a table that would become the altar - provided he kept religious materials at home.
However, he said, the student kept returning to class with a book of witchcraft.
Halferty said he thought about it, and decided allowing the student to make the altar "was wrong on every level."
"It scares me. I'm a Christian," he said. "This witchcraft stuff - it's terrible for our kids. It takes kids away from what they know, and leads them to a dark and violent life. We spend millions of tax dollars trying to save kids from that."
But Smith said school policies prohibit teachers from denying students access to varying points of view without just cause, and prohibit employees from denying students participation in activities on the grounds of race or religion.
The U.S. Department of Education has written guidelines for public school districts to ensure students' First Amendment rights are protected.
Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, said the clash appears to be a simple case of religious discrimination. All students, he said, have the right to religious freedom and to be treated equally in school.
Stone said: "The teacher may have good intentions. It's a learning process. But he needs to respect that students can exercise their religious viewpoints within the context of an assignment."
See
Suggested ebooks:
Anonymous - The Laws For Witches
Anonymous - The Lawes Against Witches
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Book: The Heart Of The Master by Aleister Crowley
I am one of a concourse. All, or nigh all, seem fallen into heaviness, not from exhaustion of labour, but from lethargy. The plain is vast beyond eye to mark it's bounds, even were not all dark with blight of fog and thick with marish damp. A few of us are half awake, gaze dumbly on the East. No light responds.
Alas for me who am too much alive with the horrible and hopeless ache for sleep of one half-drugged! Dazed, stupified - I know not who I am - I know not whence I came - I know not whither I go. Vaguely I say within my dull heart: I must not sleep because I am a soldier. But of what captain, in what war? I cannot guess.
There is but a dim shape as of some disaster long, oh! very long ago - the dusty memory of some leader who failed, some plan that broke its spine - I am sure of this: that all discipline is done, all courage quashed, all purpose perished. Behind me - strange! - the gloom is less obscure than in the East to which the eyes yearn feebly. Do I feel it by instinct - the form of a vast pyramidal hill of stark black rock? I am too weary to turn my head to look.
All of a sudden, far behind me, far beyond that crest, if it be one, rings out a voice, clear, firm, courageous, confident. It is a soldier's voice, the accent of command, the valour of manhood. None can mistake - I am assured - that ringing call. Truth, Victory, in each trumpet tone: Listen!
Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: The Heart Of The Master
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"THE ORIGINAL SUPREME RITUAL OF OUARDA THE SEER, WITH A SPECIAL VERSION ADAPTED FOR USE IN THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR OF THE HOLY THELEMIC CHURCH."
(COVER ART BY FRA.'.121.)
93
With the onset of Spring, we have entered into the 106th Year of the Thelemic Age, Anno IV xviii. To celebrate this important occasion, we present "The Supreme Ritual of the Holy Thelemic Church", a ceremony to usher in the Thelemic New Year based on the ritual devised by Rose Kelly, a.k.a. Soror Ouarda, to establish the critical link with the 93 Current that flows freely through the mystical veins of many parts of the world today. See the Library section of the sidebar.
Happy New Year and a Joyous Spring to all!
Suggested ebooks:
Aleister Crowley - The Heart Of The Master
James Allen Chisholm - The Eddas The Keys To The Mysteries Of The North
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Bind runes are runes symbols that have been combined to form a powerful symbol - "these symbols can be used for protection or love, or just about any other thing you need. Using two powerful rune symbols - the Perthro rune symbol and thgeAlgiz rune symbol, and BINDING them with INTENT, provides very effective protection against African spells. As the runes are a FORCE FOR GOOD, and revenge spells and love spells are thrown using BLACK WITCHCRAFT, they have added power - "that is the power of GOOD AGAINST EVIL. Runes work with your OWN POWER, and connect you to your higher self - allowing you to choose your future by conscious thinking and actions.
Bind rune of protection
RUNE MAGIC is a powerful way of accessing your INNER POWER and your connection to the "other side" Whilst protection spells by African witch doctors have much power if they are correctly formed, they often struggle to overcome a good revenge spell - also thrown by an African witch. A simple bind rune, using the rune of protection, and the rune of love, CAN BE A VERY POWERFUL PROTECTION AGAINST REVENGE SPELLS and love spells by witches who practice voodoo and African witchcraft. Do not worry about what is the more powerful - western or African witchcraft - hold the belief in your own power and goodness, this will help to overcome any bewitchment. It seems that in South Africa a simple issue can become the need to use powerful revenge spells - this is wrong and highly dangerous - revenge spells can easily backfire - once it is cast, and it cannot perform, it will come back to you with increased power - beware of WITCH DOCTORS who sell these spells - these people are not on the side of good, and "once you have been tainted by a African witchcraft of the evil kind, your life will never be the same again."
Suggested ebooks:
Marcus Cordey - Magical Theory And Tradition
Wouter Hanegraaff - Dictionary Of Gnosis And Western Esotericism
Hermes Trismegistus - Book Xiii Of Sense And Understanding
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Almost everyone that is interested in the Golden Dawn and that reads the internet is aware of the "Golden Dawn Flame War" that accompanied recent litigation. Anonymously published attack blogs and websites, falsely alleged everything from Nazi Golden Dawn connections to Golden Dawn death cults led by Satanists. Typical of these "anonymous attack blogs" is "The Golden Dawn Insider" - with a clear ties with Robert Zink's, Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn.
In March, 2008, our order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, launched an initiative to end the flame war and to promote greater harmony in the Golden Dawn community. As part of this initiative, I publicly and repeatedly condemned anonymously published websites and blogs attacking ANY Golden Dawn order, and publicly appealed to those misguided individuals attacking the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn to stop. Thankfully, they did.
Robert Zink, however, refuses to do the same. Thus is is quite clear that anonymous attack blogs like "The Golden Dawn Insider," that this week resumed attacks on the HOGD/AO and its leaders, are published with the full knowledge and approval of EOGD leader, Robert Zink. This week the "Golden Dawn Insider" wrote:
"Does anyone find it odd that there has been a time of peace and quiet in the online Golden Dawn community recently, not in and of itself, but that it was broken simultaneously by David Griffin and his cohort "Frater Sincerus Renatus (SR)" AKA Tomas Stacewicz. This is just recent. Within a couple of days we have David Griffin blogging (scroll down below the video) about how Robert Zink's Golden Dawn order is nothing but new age garbage, and almost simultaneously we have Frater S.R. bashing Pat Zalewski's group. Are you guys just bored? Did you think nobody would notice?"The Robert Zink sponsored "Insider" here conflates with "flame war" with legitimate and healthy debate in the Golden Dawn community. In truth, I do not personally even object to Robert Zink reforming his EOGD in the decidedly New Age direction he has taken it. Diversity in the Golden Dawn community is a good thing. I have come to understand that there is plenty of room in the Golden Dawn community for New Age Golden Dawn orders as well as for Thelemic Golden Dawn orders. Such diversity is how our tradition grows.
The EOGD is certainly not "garbage" either. I have met privately with a number of EOGD members. They are hard working individuals that are very dedicated to the Golden Dawn system. Moreover, I am also the first to applaud Robert Zink when he does something good. For example, Robert Zink's initiative to help Haiti deserved to transcend inter-order politics, so I jumped on his bandwagon.
All I truly DO object to about Robert Zink - is his dishonesty in marketing. There is nothing wrong with New Age innovation. It is, however, highly dishonest to present New Age innovation as "traditional Golden Dawn" practice.
"It is highly dishonest to present New Age innovation as 'traditional Golden Dawn' practice."
In truth, there are significant and profound differences between various Golden Dawn orders - and the public has a right to know and understand these differences. For example, on his website, Robert Zink claims that his "Astral Initiation" can make you a "full Golden Dawn initiate" without ever leaving your own living room. All you have to do is send him 185 - and for your trouble - he will even throw in a free CD on how to "Unleash Your Inner Adept!"
The HOGD/AO, on the other hand, as a classical Golden Dawn order, insists on traditional Golden Dawn initiation while physically present in real Golden Dawn temples. We honestly and openly admit that the Golden Dawn is a spiritual path demanding an enormous amount of time, energy, discipline, and dedication.
In another essential difference, Robert Zink claims on his "The Golden Dawn Blog" that the Golden Dawn is really about "the coming New Age shift in 2012" and elsewhere that the Emerald Tablet of Hermes is really about "The Law of Attraction" as popularized in New Age film, The Secret. The HOGD/AO, on the other hand, understands that the classical Golden Dawn is rooted in the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions, teaching the ancient Egyptian Royal Art of Alchemy, Astrology, and Theurgy (Magic) with the ultimate aim of accelerating energetic evolution in order to attain Solar Ascension and Conscious Immortality. This is diametrically opposed from Robert Zink's "instant gratification" Golden Dawn promises.
Next the Robert Zink sanctioned, "Golden Dawn Insider" sock goes on to claim that HOGD/AO's Sincerus Renatus recently "attacked Pat Zalewksi's group."
In truth, Sincerus Renatus' article is not an "attack" at all, but rather a scholarly presentation of the very real differences between the HOGD/AO and Pat Zalewksi's "Order of the Golden Dawn." As Sincerus Renatus correctly points out, Pat Zalewksi (whose name is not even mentioned in the article!) believes that the Second Order of the Golden Dawn (the R.R. et A.C.) should be devoted to an intellectual study and analysis of the outer order rituals. This is extremely different from the HOGD/AO, where we teach a traditional Hermetic and Rosicrucian curriculum in advanced Hermetic and Rosicrucian magic and alchemy in our Second Order, remaining completely faithful to the classical Golden Dawn.
These clearly are essential differences between Golden Dawn orders and the public has a right to know. Such outlining of the actual differences between orders is certainly not "flame war" but rather scholarly debate.
There is one thing that I must agree with the "Insider" sock puppet on, however. He is absolutely correct that a great deal of rather unflattering and unfraternal material about the EOGD and the HOGD/AO still remain on one another's websites, fora, and blogs. There remain, for example, thousands of posts attacking our order in the archives of the EOGD forum. The EOGD websites and blogs are riddled with attacks on our order as well.
I completely agree with the "Insider" troll that it is high time to take this old "flame war" stuff down. For over two years now, I have offered to do so on a reciprocal basis with Robert Zink. The problem remains that Robert Zink completely and utterly refuses to take down any material attacking our order from the EOGD websites, blogs, etc.
Nonetheless, the HOGD/AO remains completely committed to harmony in the Golden Dawn community and against flame war.
The time is long overdue, however, for Robert Zink to renounce sock puppets, anonymous websites and blogs attacking other orders - and instead to make the same firm commitment to harmony in the Golden Dawn community that I have made - and that the HOGD/AO has championed for well over two years!
Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua
David Griffin
G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis
Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega
"Ex Deo Nascimur.
In Yeheshua Morimur.
Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"
