Golden Dawn, Hermetic Order of the
Ideology | Defunct
1887 CE to 1903 CE
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Latin: Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae; or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn (Aurora Aurea)) is a secret society devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is active in Great Britain and focuses its practices on theurgy and spiritual development.
Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the center of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca and Thelema, are inspired by the Golden Dawn, which becomes one of the largest single influences on twentieth century Western occultism.
The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell Mathers, are Freemasons.
Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn.
The Golden Dawn system is based on hierarchy and initiation, similar to Masonic lodges; however, women are admitted on an equal basis with men.
The "Golden Dawn" is the first of three Orders, although all three are often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn"
The First Order teaches esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and personal development through study and awareness of the four classical elements, as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy.
The Second or Inner Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, teaches magic, including scrying, astral travel, and alchemy.
The Third Order is that of the Secret Chiefs, who are said to be highly skilled; they supposedly direct the activities of the lower two orders by spirit communication with the Chiefs of the Second Order.
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The Irish poet W. B. Yeats heads the Order of the Golden Dawn in 1900.
Toward the end of 1899, the Adepts of the Isis-Urania and Amen-Ra temples had become dissatisfied with Samuel Liddell Mathers' leadership, as well as his growing friendship with Aleister Crowley.
They had also become anxious to make contact with the Secret Chiefs themselves, instead of relying on Mathers as an intermediary.
Within the Isis-Urania temple, disputes are arising between Florence Farr's The Sphere, a secret society within the Isis-Urania, and the rest of the Adepti Minores.
Crowley had been refused initiation into the Adeptus Minor grade by the London officials.
Mathers overrides their decision and quickly initiates him at the Ahathoor temple in Paris on January 16, 1900.
Upon his return to the London temple, Crowley requests from Miss Cracknell, the acting secretary, the papers acknowledging his grade, to which he is now entitled.
To the London Adepts, this is the final straw.
Farr, already of the opinion that the London temple should be closed, writes to Mathers expressing her wish to resign as his representative, although she is willing to carry on until a successor is found.
Mathers believes Westcott is behind this turn of events and replies on February 16.
On March 3, a committee of seven Adepts is elected in London and requests a full investigation of the matter.
Mathers sends an immediate reply, declining to provide proof, refusing to acknowledge the London temple, and dismissing Farr as his representative on March 2.
In response, a general meeting is called on March 29 in London to remove Mathers as chief and expel him from the Order.