> How would you respond to some of the points Nolte raises above?
The Golden Dawn is fairly hierarchical, the best way I can describe it is a 1890's view of how a university curriculum in magic would look - complete with exercises, exams and regular 'graduations' (initiations).
I don't think anyone uses that to judge other peoples spiritual worth, although it's possible I'm just oblivious to it. It's more a way to state their level of knowledge and the work they have put into that, just like a freshman vs. a more senior student. The difference is about what exams they have passed, not their intelligence or personal worth.
Since there is an element of teaching to all degrees beyond Zelator, most people are both teachers and students. IMHO, teaching is almost always a great learning experience.
> What kind of work and study are you encouraged to do?
Golden Dawn is a lot of work.
The full Adeptus Minor curriculum, includes a basic understanding of Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Enochian. It covers Kabbalah pretty thourougly, gematria, divination, tarot, elemental and planetary workings, angel (and qlippoth) hierarchies, projection, alchemy (both theoretical and practical) etc. Basically a solid foundation - what you'd expect from a university degree in magic.
There is an emphasis on daily practices specific to the degrees - typically 45-60 min. per day. There are also meditations, spiritual exercises, alchemical experiments and tools construction, so the investment is probably about 1 1/2 hour a day for 2-4 years to get to Adeptus Minor, which is the final degree in the first order.
The second order is, you guessed it, graduate work. The idea being that each adept chooses a specialty and presents a new body of work that adds significant new discoveries (uncoveries) to the world of magic.
I'm not suggesting this would work for everybody, but I've grown fond of this level of structure. |
