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Biography of Golden Dawn Imperator, David Griffin

OurGoldenDawnCurriculum SinceAleisterCrowleyandIsraelRegardiepublishedtheGoldenDawn'sinitiationritualsandpartsoftheGoldenDawnmagicalsystem, GoldenDawnteachingshavehadahugeimpactontheentireesotericcommunity.Thishasbeenamixedblessing,however.ManyGolden Dawntemplesclosedbecauseofit,butithasalsoarousedagreatdealofpublicinterestinGoldenDawnteachingsandcreatedafloodof newlystarted"GoldenDawn"groupsbasedonthispublishedmaterial. Ourorder,theEuropeanheadquartered,HermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn,foundedinBritainin1888,isvastlydifferentfromthehost ofRegardiebased"GoldenDawn"startupgroupscrowdingtheInternettoday.Mostimportantly,whereas,mostRegardiebasedstartup groups"deadend"withwellknown,publishedmaterial,ourorderteachesandinitiatesintheentire"threeorder"systemenvisionedforthe Golden Dawn since its inception in 1888, from humble Neophyte all the way through exalted Magus and beyond! Our order offers supervisedtraininginritualmagicandHermeticalchemyatadistancetostudentsaroundtheglobethroughouronlineschoolaswellas True Golden Dawn Initiation with highly trained and skilled Hierophants and candidates each physically present in fully chartered and licencedGoldenDawntemples. OurFirstorOuterOrderistheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn.(H.O.G.D.).OurSecondOrderistheOrdoRosaeRubeaeetAureae Crucis(R.R.etA.C.).ThenameofourThirdOrderisacarefullyguardedsecret.In1906,S.L.MacGregorMathersgaveourordera nameforitsentirethreeordersystem,bywhichitremainsknownuntiltoday:theRosicrucianOrderofAlphaetOmega(commonly referredtoastheAlphaetOmegaorA.O.). InordertodistinguishourselvesfromthestartupgroupsengenderedbyRegardie'sandCrowley'spublicationsthatdeadendwherethe publishedmaterialleavesoff,ourorderdecidedin1999tocompletelyreformourSecondOrder,theRosaeRubeaeetAureaeCrucis(R.R. etA.C.),andmoveallmaterialthathadbeenprofanedbypublicationtoourouterorder,the(H.O.G.D.).Asaresult,wheretheRegardie basedGoldenDawngroupsleaveoff,ourSecondOrder,theR.R.etA.C.,justbeginswithtraditionalbutmoreadvancedmagicaland alchemicalpracticeandstudies.Thesocalled"SecondOrders"oftheRegardiebasedstartupgroups,ontheotherhand,aremostlyempty shellscontaininglittleornothingbeyondwellknown,publishedmaterial. Anotherimportantdistinctionisthatourbeginningstudentsimmediatelybegintostudyandpracticeritualmagicuponenteringourorder. TheRegardiebasedgroups,ontheotherhand,makestudentswaitforyearsjusttopracticeritualmagic,merelytodisguisethattheyhave nothingtooffertheirstudentsbeyondwellknown,publishedmaterialavailableinanyesotericbookstore. The distinction between our order and the startup groups does not end at the Second Order level. The Golden Dawn was originally conceivedin1888asmerelythebeginningofacompletethreeordersystem,comprisinggradesformNeophyte(0=0)throughIpsissisimus (10=1) with the R.R. et A.C. as the Golden Dawn's Second Order. Golden Dawn cofounder, S.L. MacGregor Mathers, received the materialtocreatetheR.R.etA.C.fromthe"SecretChiefs,"thatisfromthesecretContinentalEuropeanmysteryschoolthatcreatedthe GoldenDawnandwithwhomhereestablishedcontactinParisin1891. From these same "Secret Chiefs" Mathers also received certain advanced teachings, notably certain techniques of "Hermetic Inner Alchemy" and "Alchemical Magic," which were intended for eventual inclusion in the Golden Dawn's projected Third Order. Unfortunately, Mathers passed away before he mastered these techniques well enough to manifest the Golden Dawn's planned Third Order.Mathersnonethelessdidcommunicatesomeofthemoreadvancedteachingstocertainstudents,likeJ.W.BrodieInnes. The techniques of Hermetic "Inner" Alchemy comprise the highest wisdom and represent the capstone on the pyramid of the Western esoteric tradition. This alchemical practice uses the subtle fires of the body, including love and sexuality, to transmute the "lead" of the physicalbody(or"PrimaMateria")intothe"gold"ofasolarbody,intowhichtheAdeptprojectshisorherconsciousnessatthemoment ofdeath,thusbecomingconsciouslyimmortal. In2002,leadersofourorderwereinvitedtomeetwithrepresentativesofS.L.MacGregorMathers'"SecretChiefs"inParisonceagain.At thismeeting,weweregiveneverythingfortheThirdOrderthathadbeenenvisionedfortheGoldenDawnsinceitsinceptionin1888. ThesematerialsincludetheinitiationritualsfortheGoldenDawnsystem'sthreehighestgrades(called"Magisteria")MagisterTempli(8 3),Magus(9=2)andIpsissimus(10=1).UnlikethehighergradesofR.W.Felkin's"StellaMatutina"orofA.E.Waite's"Fellowshipofthe RosyCross"thesegradesarenotmerelynominalortitular,butcomewithsubstantial,extremelyadvancedteachings.Theorderwasgiven, forthecurriculumofthesehighergrades,avastesotericcorpusincludingnotonlytheelementarysexualpracticesfromHermeticInner AlchemyandAlchemicalMagicgiventoMathersbythe"SecretChiefs"forthefirstMagisteriumofMagisterTempli,butthecontinuation andculminationoftheseteachingsforthesecondandthirdMagisteriaofMagusandIpsissimusaswell. Unlike the newly created American groups calling themselves "Golden Dawn," yet having no legitimate connection with the Hermetic OrderoftheGoldenDawnfoundedinGreatBritainin1888,ourorderisadirectlinealdescendentoftheoriginalH.O.G.D.andthesole andexclusiveowneroftheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawntrademarkintheEuropeanUnion(reg.000063925).Weadditionally owntheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawnInternationaltrademarkinCanada(CIPOReg.TMA510387).IntheUnitedStates,we operate by legal agreement adopted by United States District Court as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, outer order of the

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Biography of Golden Dawn Imperator, David Griffin

RosicrucianOrderofAlphaetOmega.WeholdprimaryGoldenDawnlineagederivingdirectlyfromthesecretContinentalEuropean orderofHermeticalchemists,commonlyreferredtoasthe"SecretChiefs"(GeheimeOberen),whoarethe"sourceoforigin"ofallofthe initiationrituals,teachings,andspiritualpracticesofallofthegradescomprisingallthreeorderssetforthintheoriginalHermeticOrderof the Golden Dawn. These lineages were transmitted through Kenneth MacKenzie in 1850 (for the H.O.G.D., our First Order), S.L. MacGregorMathersin1891(fortheR.R.etA.C.,ourSecondOrder),andthroughJeanPascalRuggiuandDavidGriffinin2002(forour Third Order). We hold auxiliary lineages that include R.W. Felkin's Stella Matutina, S.L. MacGregor Mathers' Alpha et Omega, A.E. Waite'sFellowshipoftheRosyCross,G.W.MacGregorReid'sAncientDruidOrder,MadelineMontalban'sOrderoftheMorningStar (Ordo Stella Matutina), and Countess Tamara Bourkoun's Order of the Pyramid and the Sphinx as transmitted by Desmond Bourke, CountessTamaraBourkoun,andMarquisNicholasTereschenko.WeadditionallyholdavastarrayofsupplementaryRosicrucianlineages and/oresoterictransmissionsthatincludetheGoldundRosenkreutzOrder(FraternitasAureaeetRosaeCrucis),theOrderoftheAsiatic Brethren(FratresLucis),theSocietasRosicrucianaofBackstrom,LesFrresAinesdelaRose+Croix(F.A.R.+C.,TheElderBrothersof theRose+Cross),theRoseCroixd'Orient(RoseCrossoftheOrient)andtheReauxCroix(ElusCohen)

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