When speaking of the Tradition we are essentially referring to three things:
- The Purpose of this System
- The Approach it takes to fulfill that Purpose
- The Style that garbs that Approach
Defining a Tradition in this way is key to understanding what a system actually promises and what it can accomplish.
- Understanding this adjusts the aspirant’s expectations, giving them a more accurate view of the possibilities and limitations inherent in a system.
- Such a definition provides a valuable metric for self-evaluation in determining how well one is or is not fulfilling the point of a Tradition.
The Purpose of the Golden Dawn Tradition is:
- to inspire the Initiate to devote themselves to the Great Work.
- to prepare the Initiate with the skills and character that are necessary to fulfill the Great Work.
The Approach of the Golden Dawn Tradition is:
- to provide the experience of Initiation laid down by the cipher manuscripts and interpreted by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and William W. Wescott.
- to provide instruction in the esoteric subjects taught by Mathers, Wescott and other Adepti of the late 1800s and early 1900s along with select later contributors.
The Style of the Golden Dawn Tradition includes:
- Hebrew Qabalah
- European Rosicrucianism
- Egyptian Paganism
- Hermetic Alchemy
- Hellenic Eleusinian, Kabiric, Neo-Platonic, and Neo-Pythagorean Mysteries
- Generic inclusions of other cultural methodologies that support or enhance one of the above.
What the Tradition is NOT
- an alternative society for the hobbyist, the lonely, or the outcast seeking attention. Enlightenment, not social satisfaction, must be your primary objective.
- a promise that you will accomplish the Great Work or become what society would consider a better person. Fulfillment of the Great Work or, to a lesser degree, the general improvement of the self requires that you take full and appropriate advantage of the benefits that initiation and instruction in these arts offer you.