Customer Reviews

Self-Initiation Into the Golden Dawn Tradition: A Complete Curriculum of Study for Both the Solitary Magician and the Working Magical Group

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is hands down the best do-it-yourself course in Magic. Challenging and well thought out, it will deliver on its promise to provide the resources for becoming a practicing Golden Dawn Magician. And even if you are already an experienced practicioner, this course is well worth working your way through to strengthen your understanding of the Art. I give it only four stars, however, because the Ciceros--in their usual way--have left out a great deal of practical instruction; e.g., a typical instruction will read something like "Now take a ritual bath and perform the LBRP..." Of course, a student who is a beginner will be baffled by this, and will not be able to glean the proper techniques from the Cicero's sketchy instructions (a skeletal outline of the LBRP is given, but it is truly the bare bones of the ritual.) This deficiency can be remedied by supplementing the course with Donald Michael Kraig's "Modern Magick" which is rich in practical instruction, but sometimes poor in intellectual depth--a feature that "Self-Initiation" has in abundance. Despite this failing, though, the solitary practioner cannot do better than this book!

If you are a beginner in the study of Magick, especially High Magick then you should get Donald Michael Kraigs "11 lessons in High Magick" first and go through it. This book is wonderful but it will be extremely overwhelming for someone who is new to the practice. This book is so jam packed with info and hard to stay focused if you don't have patience. I Love this book though very informative and great Lectures. A must read for anyone interested in the Golden Dawn Tradition.

Ok, I've heard a lot of praise and a lot of criticism on this pretty little book brought to us by the Ciceros. Now here's my opinion. You can take it, or you can leave it. That's up to you. People have been begging for an easy, inexpensive and practical carriculum of Golden Dawn material for quite a while, and well, they have one. This book gives all the essentials to the Golden Dawn current of Magick. So what's the problem? Why 4 stars and not 5? Simple: It's inexpensive, it's easy... But it's not practical. Sure, all this stuff is simple enough. You say this, you do this, it means this and you're doing it for this reason. Easy enough. But this stuff takes time! And lots of it! For those of us who may not have hours and hours of free time every day, you're screwed! This is a serious and useful book for those of us with time on our hands and who have a long lunch break, but for all of us unlucky folks who have an ordinary job with a family and ordinary stresses, we're hard-pressed to find the necessary time for these workings. But even so, buy the book! It still gives you the information you need to get started and with some imagination, you can come up with your own self-initiation derivatives herefrom.

I originally bought this book back when it was released in 1995. While I thought it was an excellent companion to Doc Regardie's Golden Dawn, it appeared to be a very daunting task. Eventually my original copy would disappear... somewhere.

A few years later a friend who was moving away gave me his copy of the book. He was heavily involved in Wicca and I was, at the time, an initiate of the Society Ordo Templi Orientis and deeply, deeply involved in my A.'.A.'. work. While I appreciated the gift and would occasionally reference it, I pretty much left it sitting on my shelf. In the interveing years I have slowly shifted away from Thelema, not totally, but in many ways I find I no longer feel the strong identification with the Current I once felt. Rather, and from my discussions with other magicians, it seems I have gotten beyond the point where Crowley and Thelema are necessary to my spiritual development while recognizing them as practical tools that helped me to get where I am and define my sense of identity. Thelema helped me to release the Ego in the sense of what I call the "I am the Beast" syndrome. Robert Anton Wilson writes about what I mean extensively in his "Cosmic Trigger". Think of it as a "Psychology of Liberation".

Like many of the reviews here though, I thought Self-INitiation was overly complex, contained too much information and impractical. I am now sitting down with it and rethinking the entire approach.

Anybody who says this book is too complex is simply trying to rush through the material or hasn't confronted their own inner laziness. It is necessary to begin with the introduction which explains the theory behind the book and gives practical instructions on beginning the work of Self-Initiation and explains the various godforms that are assumed in the rituals.

The Knowledge lectures, outside of the addition of more complete material on Astrology, are expanded versions of the same knowledge lectures presented in the Regardie books. While Regardie's work just listed symbols etc. the Ciceros have explained the symbols and expanded on them in interesting, if not always necessarily useful, ways. The expansion of the Astrology material alone is excellent. The key here is to take time with the material and to absorb it, not simply memorize the material. If you were going through a traditional Golden Dawn group these are the very same things you would be learning and using in your advancement through the grades and it seems, reading reviews and based on my own experiences, that many people just want the quick fix via a book rather than taking the time to absorb the material. The Ciceros suggest a 6 months period between the taking of each of the grades but this is based on the Self-Initiation rituals presented in the book. I think the material contained in the expanded knowledge lectures could be absorbed in a month or two quite easily, but take about 3-4 months just to be thorough.

The presentation is excellent and I wish this was how Regardie's book were laid out with each knowledge lecture preceded by the grade ritual corresponding. Also there is expanded ritual work when compared to the traditional Golden Dawn material that I think overall adds to the system in very positive ways. Also included are wonderful and updated reading lists reflecting modern developments in psychology, philosophy, science and occultism.

If anything in this book can be considered a flaw it is the Self-Initiation rituals themselves. They are almost exactly the original rituals with some modifications for self initiation but they require so much material to be constructed that they are not financially sound and the space required isn't always practical. I think that they should have stripped the rituals totally or used the Z documents to construct new self-initiation ceremonies that aren't nearly so verbose and complicated. While I don't think initiation should be a simple or easy affair, it is evident that simpler versions that are as effective as the original GD rituals are possible and do exist such as Crowley's Liber Pyramidos as published in the Equinox vol. IV no. 1. The elemental rituals also could have been reworked easily. The Watchtower ceremony could be used as the basis for this process with the elemental symbols of each grade worked into the candidates aura in the course of that ritual coupled with the Middle Pillar ritual to balance that energy.

As far as I care though, the rituals are unnecessary for advancement if the aspiration is pure. There is nothing like just doing the work to begin the process of initiation. The time period the Ciceros provide, 3 months for the beginning work, 9 months for the Neophyte and then 6 months for each of the elemental and portal grades is far longer than necessary for proper self initiation. Regardie in his Complete GOlden Dawn System of Magic writes that he thinks the performance of the Watchtower Ceremony and Middle Pillar ritual can self initiate a person and surmises that someone he knows that has performed this combination about 50 or 60 times has the credentials of a full initiate. This tells me that much could have been done with the Self Initiation rituals themselves. This system of self initiation is best done in a group.

But as I said, outside of the rituals themselves, the knowledge lectures are the best published, practical and thorough. You can not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the amount of material contained in the book, just take it one step at a time.

A final note on the question of self-initiation. There have been long standing debates on whether self initiation is possible and I have to ask... how did the first Master become a Master is there was no one to initiate him? The debate has really raged about the 5=6 ritual. I don't think it is self-initiation that is at question but the experience of the ritual that can not be conferred. Self-initiation is not based on system, it isn't based on orders, it is based on personal aspiration in the face of the darkness.

When I finally recieved this book, I was amazed at the wealth of information in it. I was extremely impressed at what an excellent job they did packing it with useful information. However, this book was written in such a fashion it's a bit like "jumping into the deep end"..so I recommend you do as I did, and purchase and read Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magick first in its entirety, then use the understanding gained there to move on to this book. Otherwise, when it mentions things like Qameas and whatnot early on, you are likely to get lost. One other thing: a chaote who reviewed this book referred to outdated dogma, etc., etc., and said if you want results, try these other books. I feel the need to point out that Golden Dawn magick isn't as much about practical magick results as it is about Spirituality, Mysticism, and reuniting with the Godhead. For those of you looking for magick for another end, this isn't likely to be a good path for you; perhaps you should look into other more "practical" books.

Since I am currently participating in the Neophyte grade of the Golden Dawn, I purchased this text as a supplement to my study regimen. While there is some disagreement among my proctors as regards the propriety on the Cicero's part in making this information for the outer grades available, it has been immensely valuable to me as a secondary resource, the the Ciceros have basically done nothing any more inflammatory than Regardie himself in the Publication of the Golden Dawn so many years ago. While the basic information in the various grade lectures is intact, there are also some differences in the perspectives and points of view, as well as some in the timing of information presented (an example of the latter is that the meanings associated with the Tarot cards is presented as if it were part of the Philosophus grade, whereas one is actually exposed to this material during the Neophyte and Zelator grades in the actual Golden Dawn). However, I must concur that "self-initiation" into the Golden Dawn is an onerous, if not impossible, task. It's like writing a text on "Self Admission to and Study of a Harvard MBA", or such-like. You cannot be part of the Golden Dawn without being intiated into it. The Golden Dawn is not a way of thinking, or a religious belief that one can associate with simply by having a like mind. It's an established magickal order, and to be appreciated by its membership, one must join it. This is much simpler than following the book. First, the Order is actually quite easy to contact, and generally welcomes everyone, at least in the early grades. Second, the course of study is difficult enough, but the initiatory experiences proscribed in the book, while very much the same as in the Temple, are FAR too complicated for a beginner to successfully perform, and completely omit the astral and essential benefit of the performance by ordained initiates of the Golden Dawn. Believe me, it's much simpler to pay your ?120 per year and go through the initiatory experience within the temple, as well as have a dedicated instructor/proctor to quiz you on the material. You would spend AT LEAST that amount of money on just the implements required for just one of the initiatory rituals included within this text. Finally, any organized Golden Dawn temple would likely refuse to admit or recognize the work you have done until you actually do take the plunge and JOIN, and even then you would be required to pass through the various grades (no Advanced Placement credit allowed, I'm afraid). If one is looking for a course in magick based on the Golden Dawn system of magick, Modern Magick, by DM Kraig, still stands as one of the best. If one wants to be part of the Golden Dawn, join it! It's easy to do! Then buy this book to supplement the order's already phenomenal course materials.

A comprehensive, practical and intelligently laid-out manual to Golden Dawn Initiation and Ritual Magic designed so that anyone with perseverance and self-discipline can work the Golden Dawn system without having to run the risk of contacting questionable groups or teachers. It covers all the fundamentals of Hermetic Magic, including Cabala, Astrology, Alchemy, Tarot, Geomancy, Banishings, Meditation, Vibration, Godform Visualization, Invocation, Daily Rituals, and much more. And it does so with self-paced instructions and written examinations that allow the student to be her or his own teacher. The authors' experience as caring and knowledgeable teachers comes across loud and clear. Outstanding!

Self Initiation is an excellent presentation of material available in Dr. Regardie's Golden Dawn made accessible and easy to understand. Included are the oral lectures on the Hebrew letters and excellent presentations of the material in question. The Neophyte ritual is excellent but in serious need of simplifcation. The elemental rituals. The flaw with this book is the elemental grade rituals. They are way too complex. A better presentation would have been a variation of the Watchtower Ceremony specializing in the element. My suggestion is this, get this book for the Neophyte ritual and knowledge lectures, then use Modern Magick as your pacing. Each lesson in Modern Magick is 2-3 months of work and engages you in elemental work starting with Chapter 3. Otherwise, the book is just too danged expensive to work through, but not to buy.

I question Chic's decision to exclude any kind of study or application of the Enochian system for the outer order grades. He makes clear that Enochian is not appropriate for an outer order curriculum, yet the aspirant must nonetheless utilize Enochian words of power in the grade rituals.

There are aspects of this book which may curtail progress: The use of the lesser (Earth) invoking pentagram for all elemental invocations (and herewith the aforementioned exclusion of Enochian, in this case the names of God); The assumption of "Officer forms" instead of Godforms; The lack of pragmatics with key aspects of the grade rituals -- at certain points one must carry up to five objects simultaneously (viz,. the Portal Ritual); this is hard to pull off with only two hands attached to two arms.

The knowledge lectures are a useful collection of basic information. At times the depth and completeness of material rivals or exceeds Regardie's knowledge lectures. The geomamancy section is the best treatment on the subject I've seen in print. Another great thing about this book is the complete divine hierarchy (in Hebrew and English) given for all four Worlds of the Kabbalah.

This self-initiation system is probably best employed with seven people. Even with two people, the aspirant has an advantage over solo study. (Another disappointing thing about this book is that Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple is required in order to craft the officer implements used in the rituals. Moreover, if you purchase Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple and then discover that your personal workshop is ill-equipped for the instructions given therein on the crafting of implements, then you may have to get creative, employing simpler tools such as hacksaws, and employing simpler source materials, such as broom-handles ((for the basic staff unit)) ornamented with painted cardboard heads ((instead of painstakingly assembled wooden heads))).

Unfortunately, the writing style of this book is tainted by constant attention to politically correct pronoun usage: She/he, he/she, hers/his, herself/himself, and (worst of all) S/he. Since it is understood from the outset that women are eligible for the highest grades of the order, there is no reason to mutilate otherwise good writing with this clumsy and awkward (constant) game of pronoun gender qualification.

This book is for the serious. It is not a game or fantasy. This is the real deal. Do you want to be initiated? Buy this book and read it, and follow it to the letter. IT WORKS! Don't skip the introduction.If you do everything in this book you will be a magican and an initiate. This is powerful stuff that works.