The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Founded in the late 1800s by a group of Freemasons, the Golden Dawn was an order of Ceremonial Magic and mysticism based on the ancient teachings of the Kabbalah and Hermeticism. Many great luminaries of the age, some celebrated in occult circles and others for their secular achievements were counted among the members of the Order. Some of these included Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, Florence Farr, W.B. Yeats, Bram Stoker, J.W. Brodie-Innes, Wynn Wescott and the infamous Aleister Crowley.
Splinter groups of the Golden Dawn sprang up after the demise of the original order, th most well-known of which was the Stella Matutina, whose members included Dion Fortune and Israel Regardie.
The effects of the Golden Dawn magical current are still prevalent today. Modern Wicca derives much of its theory and practice from an unusual syncretism of ancient British belief and Golden Dawn teachings, while the Order itself has been resurrected and continues today.
The teachings of the Golden Dawn were revealed slowly in 'parcels' of information known as 'knowledge lectures', each associated with a particular Grade, or level of initiation, that also corresponded to a sephira of the Kabbalistic Etz Chayiim, or Tree of Life.
Other important and informative aspects concerning the Order of the Golden Dawn may be found below:
Structure