The Golden Dawn

by Israel Regardie

  HEG: The realm of chaos and of ancient night, ere ever the aeons were, when there was neither heaven or earth, nor was there any sea, when naught was, save the shape unluminous, formless, and void.

  HIEREUS: To and fro in the deeps swayed the coils of the dragon with eight heads and eleven horns. Eleven were the curses of Mount Ebal, eleven the rulers of the Qlippoth, and at their head were the dual contending forces.

  Hiereus and Hegemon lower weapons and step back.

  2ND AD: (Faces east.) Then breathed forth Tho-oth out of the unutterable abyss the word! Then stood forth Tho-oth in the Sign of the Enterer, on the threshold of the Hall of Time as time was born of the eternal. (Gives 0° = 0 sign.) So stood Tho-oth in the power of the word, giving forth light, while the aeons that were unbegotten unfolded before him.

  Philosophus directed to give 0° = 0 sign.

  2ND AD: And Elohim said “Let there be light.”

  The hand of the Chief Adept hands out the candle. Second Adept receives it and gives Sign of Silence. Philosophus is directed to make sign. Third Adept leaves Philosophus and comes east, takes candle and returns with Sol. He holds candle before Philosophus and takes Banner of the West in left hand.

  2ND AD: Honoured frater, what was the title you received in the 4° = 7 grade of Philosophus?

  PHIL: (Unprompted) Pharos Illuminans.

  Third Adept gives Philosophus candle and takes his station on the left hand of Philosophus.

  2ND AD: Honoured Frater Pharos Illuminans, we are here assembled to open for you the Portal of the Vault of the Adepti, which admits you to the Second Degree and brings you to the threshold of the Inner or Second Order.

  But because of the increased influence over the members of the Order that such advancement necessarily confers, and because of the increased power for good or evil that will follow if, with steadfast will and aspiration, you take this step in essence as well as in form, it is needful that you take further pledges, which however, as in the previous degree, contain nothing contrary to your civil, moral, or religious duties. Are you willing to take these pledges?

  PHIL: I am willing.

  2ND AD: Then you will take in your right hand the Banner of the West (Third Adept gives it to him) and place your left hand in that of the very honoured Third Adept, who is the living symbol of the black pillar which ruleth in the Outer Order, and touch the corresponding emblem, the black sash of restriction, on your breast, and thus bind yourself while raising the light which you hold, in witness of your pledge.

  Philosophus raises right hand holding banner and light, while his left hand, held by Third Adept, touches sash.

  2ND AD: Firstly, do you pledge yourself never to reveal the secrets and mysteries of these Paths and of this ceremony, either to the outer and uninitiated world, or to a member of the First Order, save in full temple and with due sanctions?

  PHIL: I do.

  2ND AD: Secondly, do you further solemnly promise to use whatever practical knowledge you may now, or at any future time, possess, for a good end alone?

  PHIL: I do.

  2ND AD: Thirdly, do you also promise to regard all the knowledge imparted to you as a trust, given into your hands, not for your selfish advantage, but for the service of all mankind, that the ancient tradition of initiation be kept pure and undefiled, and the light be not lost for those that seek it in this path?

  PHIL: I do.

  2ND AD: And lastly, do you solemnly promise to exercise brotherly love, charity, and forbearance towards the members of the Order, neither slandering, back-biting, nor reviling them, whether you have cause of the same or not, but uniting with them to form a fabric of mutual confidence and support; and do you further undertake, not to be a stirrer up of strife, of schism, or of opposition to the chiefs, but rather to uphold their authority in all loyalty?

  PHIL: I do.

  2ND AD: Then, realising the cross about your neck, you will lift up your right hand, holding the banner and the light, and say:

  “I undertake to maintain the veil between the First and the Second Orders, and may the powers of the elements bear witness to my pledges.”

  Done. Philosophus repeating words as directed. Third Adept leaves Philosophus and returns to his place, having replaced the Banner of the West.

  2ND AD: The symbol of the first grade of Neophyte is 0° = 0 . To the first 0 is attached a circle—to the second, a square. The union of the circle and the square hath many meanings, of which one must be put before you, for this you must accomplish in your own person, ere you can advance further. For if in the mystic sphere of truth, the way of initiation may be trodden alone, yet in another sphere, it hath a threefold aspect. Part that can be given to man from without—part that can be attained by man himself—part that can only come from the divine. Now, in the Order, you were given intellectual teaching and won your grades in tests of what was taught. Here, you must prove that you have truly attained thus far of your own strength, and after, you may progress by the higher soul within you.

  Round your neck, you wear the symbol of the cross of four elements, equilibriated and equated. Establish it firmly in the sphere of your own being and advance with courage.

  Hiereus and Hegemon bar the way as in 1° = 10 .

  HIEREUS: Give me the signs and words of the grade of Zelator.

  Done. Hegemon returns to place.

  HIEREUS: Give me also the grip of the First Order.

  Done. He takes Philosophus to north, directing him to take up salt from before the earth tablet. They face north. Hiereus makes cross over salt with sword then stands in the 1° = 10 sign while Philosophus circumambulates with Sol repeating earth names.

  PHIL: Adonai ha-Aretz. Emor Dial Hectega. Auriel. Ic Zod Heh Chal.

  He returns to north. Hiereus makes earth pentagram over salt. Philosophus reveals lamp.3 Hiereus takes Philosophus to altar and directs him to place salt at north side of altar. Hiereus then takes him to diagrams in west.

  Maltese Cross of Four Triangles and Symbol of Malkuth

  Geometric Symbols

  HIEREUS: The cross of four triangles, called the Maltese Cross, is a symbol of the four elements in balanced disposition. It is here given in the colours of the king’s scale, and is also assigned to the four Sephiroth ruling the grades of the outer—earth to Malkuth, air to Yesod, water to Hod, and fire to Netzach.

  It is again, the cross which heads the Praemonstrator’s wand, who represents the Sephirah Chesed, the fourth Sephirah. Four is also the number of Jupiter, whose Path unites Chesed to Netzach. The cross is therefore a fit emblem for a Philosophus of the grade of 4° = 7 .

  In this diagram are represented the circle, the point, the line, the cross, the square, and the cube. For the circle is the abyss, the nothingness, the Ain. The point is Kether. Now the point has no dimension, but in moving, it traces the line. This gives the first number—unity—yet therein lies duality unmanifest, for two points mark its ends. The movement of the line maketh the plane or square thus: (indicates). The motion of the point at angles to its first direction and intersecting it maketh the cross. So therefore are the square and the cross but one symbol, deriving from the circle and the point.

  Below is shown the occult symbol of Malkuth, the tenth Sephirah. It is in four parts, corresponding to the Maltese Cross. They are fire of earth, water of earth, air of earth, earth of earth, as is indicated by the symbol. They correspond to the four grades of the First Order, which in one sense, quitteth not Malkuth, being the grades of the four lowest Sephiroth of Malkuth in Assiah. Upon them is surcharged a white hexagram in a circle. The six and the four make ten, the number of Malkuth on the Tree. The hexagram is also the sign of the macrocosm—of Tiphareth, and of the six upper Sephiroth, wherefore here it is white—spirit ruling over matter. Six is a perfect number, for its whole equals the sum of its parts.4 Six are the middle points of the planes bounding a cube, which derives from the square, and from the cross, if the centre point moves thus (indicates third direction).

 
In these numbers and figures are hid many revelations. Remember that the whole number of Malkuth is 496 5—which is again a perfect number. Malkuth must then be equated and perfected by the six ruling the four, and the link between six and four is the number of the pentagram.

  2ND AD: Having achieved the entry into Malkuth, it is needful that you should pass through the Path of Tau, the dark Path of the astral plane. Go, therefore, to the tablet of the east.

  Philosophus goes to east. Hiereus and Hegemon bar the way, points of implements downwards and touching. Hegemon demands 2° = 9 sign and words. Hiereus returns to place. Hegemon leads Philosophus to tablet, gives Philosophus rose leaves, makes cross over bowl and directs Philosophus to circumambulate repeating names. Hegemon stands in 2° = 9 sign while Philosophus traverses Path of Tau in the names of Shaddai El Chai, Raphael, ORO IBAH AOZPI, and Bataivah. Philosophus returns to east. Hegemon makes invoking pentagram and directs Philosophus to uncover lamp. Hegemon takes Philosophus to the altar and directs him to put rose leaves at east side, then, standing east of the altar in Yesod, Hegemon shows Great Hermetic Arcanum.

  Great Hermetic Arcanum

  HEG: This symbol represents the Great Hermetic Arcanum. The feet of the figure rest upon the earth and the sea. In the hand are represented the hot and moist natures, symbolized by the torch and the horn of water. These are further strengthened by the solar and fiery emblems of the king and lion, and the lunar and watery emblems of the queen and dolphin. Above the whole figure rise the wings of the aerial nature, the reconciler between the fire and the water. Compare this symbol with the angel described in the tenth chapter of the Apocalypse of St. John: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face as it were, the sun, and his feet were as pillars of fire, and he had in his hand a little book open; and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth, and he cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth, (the Green Lion, the Path of Leo above Tiphareth, referring to Teth) and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices (seven aeons, represented under the regimen of the planets).” The dragon issuing from the cave represents volcanic fires.

  Hegemon leads Philosophus once round, and hands him over to Hiereus in the north and returns to place.

  Vision of Nebuchadnezzar

  HIEREUS: This is the image of the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, which was showed you in the passage of the twenty-seventh Path, leading to the 4° = 7 grade of Philosophus.6 “Thou, O king, sawest and beheld a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was pure gold, his breast and his arms were silver, his belly and his thighs were brass, his legs of iron and his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet, which were part of iron and part of clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away and no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole Earth. Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God in heaven hath given unto thee (makes Qabalistic cross) the kingdom, the power, and the glory!”

  Thou art this head of gold. (To Philosophus:) Thou art this head of gold! Thy head represents in thee the dominion of the divine ruling over the rest of the body. The silver is the world of the heart, the brass is the material passion, the iron is the firm purpose, and the feet, part of iron and part of clay, are the mingled strength and infirmity of the natural man. And the stone made without hands is the eternal stone of the wise, which will become the mountain of initiation, whereby the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God.

  Hiereus takes Philosophus to second diagram.

  HIEREUS: This tablet shows the symbolic manner in which certain names have been used by our ancient brethren. You will note that the initials of this sentence make the Latin word vitriolum, sulphuric acid. Furthermore, the words vitriol, sulphur, and mercury each consist of seven letters, answering to the alchemic powers of the seven planets. The initials of the following sentence in Latin—the subtle fluid, the light of the earth—make the word S.A.L.T., salt, and further, the four words of the sentence answer to the four elements—subtilis, air; aqua, water; lux, fire; and terra, earth. And the four words united yield twenty letters, that is, the product of four, the number of the elements, multiplied by five, the number of the pentagram. The words fiat lux, meaning “Let there be Light,” consist of seven letters. The letters of fiat form the initials of flatus, air; aqua, water; ignis, fire; and terra, earth. (Hegemon goes to south.) Which four names again yield twenty letters as in the previous case. And the word lux is formed from the angles of the cross, L.V.X.

  He leads Philosophus once round and then to Hegemon who awaits them in the south.

  Alchemical Names

  HEG: The seraphim in the vision of Isaiah are described as having six wings: “With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.” That is, his synthesis is to be found in the hexagram and in the idea of the seven, more especially dominating the planetary region. But the Kerubim of Ezekiel have each four faces—those of the lion, the bull, the man, and the eagle—counterchanged with each other by revolution, whence the symbolic forms of the wheels beside them, wherein was the spirit; and with two of the wings they covered their bodies and two were stretched upwards one to another. So the synthesis of the Kerubim is found in the revolving cross, in the pentagram, and in the idea of one spirit dominating the four elements. But the Kerubim of St. John’s vision in the Apocalypse are uncompounded, having single heads, but they have six wings and thus unite the powers of the seven with the four. And their cry is similar to that of the seraphim of Isaiah: “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

  Hegemon returns to place. Second and Third Adepts bar way in southwest and ask for 3° = 8 words. Third Adept comes forward and conducts Philosophus to west, gives Philosophus cup of water, and directs Philosophus to go round repeating the words while he remains standing in the 3° = 8 sign. Philosophus returns to west. Third Adept makes invoking pentagram of water over cup. Philosophus removes shade from light. Third Adept takes him to altar where he places cup in the west.

  Second and Third Adepts then bar way and ask for 4° = 7 words. Second Adept comes forward and conducts Philosophus to south, Third remaining at altar in 3° = 8 sign, while Hiereus and Hegemon come to north and west of altar and stand in grade signs. Second Adept in south gives Philosophus incense, and makes a cross over it. Philosophus walks round repeating 4° = 7 words while Second Adept stands in 4° = 7 sign.

  Philosophus returns to the south and removes shade from lamp. Second Adept takes him to altar, directs him to place incense at south. He takes cross from Philosophus’s neck and places it in the middle of the four elements. Philosophus is directed to stand west of altar in 4° = 7 sign, Third Adept behind Philosophus, the four officers in grade signs.

  HIEREUS: From the centre outwards, so moveth the point as it traceth the line and the cross. Equated and equilibrated lie here the four elements of the body of Osiris slain.

  2ND AD: May the corrosive cross return upon itself, from without inward from the four quarters to the centre, and become by sacrifice and transmutation, an offering acceptable, a body glorified.

  Chief Adept unseen sounds gongs once.

  2ND AD: (To Philosophus) You will now quit the temple for a short time, and on your return, the ceremony of your advance will be proceeded with.

  Philosophus gives Sign of Silence and is led out by Hiereus.

  The Ritual of the Pentagram and the Five Paths

  Portal Temple 2

  Temple arranged as in diagram. Second Adept sits on dais at southeast. Third Adept sits on dais to northeast. Altar in Yesod under hanging pentagram. On it are the four elemental em
blems—incense, cup, rose leaves, and salt. In middle, Greek cross of five squares. Hegemon west of altar facing west. Hiereus in west facing east. The admission badge is the lamen of Hiereus. Temple lighted as at end of part one.

  2ND AD:

  3RD AD:

  HEG:

  HIEREUS:

  Chief Adept parts curtain, makes pentagram with torch, knocks, and withdraws.

  2ND AD: Honoured Hiereus, you have my permission to present the Philosophus with the necessary admission badge. Instruct him in the proper alarm and admit him.

  Hiereus salutes, makes Qabalistic cross, and goes out. He gives lamen to Philosophus who knocks . Hegemon opens door. Philosophus enters, gives Qabalistic cross. Hegemon returns to place. Hiereus takes Philosophus to west and points out diagram of Malkuth.

  HIEREUS: Herein has been established the equated cross, which is ruler over the kingdom of matter. This symbol may be found even upon the crowns of the kings of this earth.

  Hands Philosophus the Tau portal.

  The letter Tau leads from the airy quarter of Malkuth into Yesod. Air is uppermost in the symbol as in the planet Earth where the atmosphere is farthest from the core. Moreover, the letter Tau signifieth the cross, the impact of spirit upon matter. My lamen is given you as your badge, for I am the ruler in Malkuth, and the guardian against the underworld. I am also lord of the Path of Tau, the link between the First and Second Degrees, and also between the outer and the inner. This Path of Tau, dark and full of mystery, under the presidency of Saturn and the tarot key of the Universe, leads, as you have learned in the 2° = 9 grade, through the astral plane. Therefore, in the ritual of the thirty-second Path, you were passed by the four Kerubic stations, as a foreshadowing of the rites of the cross, the full completion of the First Order which you have now accomplished.