Seeking the Western mysteries - what, where and who
The nature of this article is not so much to give a detailed history of each esoteric organisation that is included, but to give a brief overview of a number of schools or magical paths that may be suited to the man or woman who is initiating him or herself during a quest for self-knowledge. If you want the full story, I’ve included useful links at the end of each sub-section. If you’ve found this article, then I’m taking it for granted that you do know how to use Google and drive a mouse. Read, inform yourself and make decisions based on rationality rather than emotion.
As above, so below, by awakening and gaining self-knowledge, an initiate is better equipped to change reality in accordance with their will. Why? Life is, essentially, short and meaningless. As an initiate, whether it is in the school of life or some esoteric order, you seek to add value to your existence and reach beyond the limitations of your flesh.
Why join a school at all? There are a number of benefits. These included shared resources, a mentor system and the camaraderie of shared experiences. As an individual, it is so easy to get stuck in your own subjective universe that you can no longer function in the greater scheme of things. A school helps by serving as your reality check.
There are many schools out there that will suit different temperaments. I have attempted to collect a few. This list is by no means exhaustive and it is my hope that it will serve as a jumping-off point for those who are embarking on the most noble of all quests, to master one’s self.
Below constitutes my understanding of the relevant organisations and schools. I am, but human and my opinion is worth as much as you’ve paid for it. Make up your own mind.
Awaken! Seek the mysteries!
AMORC
AMORC, short for Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, seeks to help its members answer basic questions about purpose, self and the universe, and achieve mastery over their lives. Its followers seek attunement with life and heightened spiritual awareness. The organisation’s teachings aim to aid mastery all aspects of the self - physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. AMORC’s teachings look to the mystery schools of ancient Egypt and Europe, aspiring to move with the times. Its teachings are structured to provide knowledge of metaphysics, mysticism, philosophy, psychology, parapsychology and science.
Online resources:
http://www.rosicrucian.org/
Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn
The old Golden Dawn that Crowley used to be a member of is no more. It has, however spawned a number of organisations that claim an initiatory lineage that has been influenced by the original organisation. While investigating my options, I sadly also picked up that there was a lot of bickering and fighting between the so-called “official” orders of the Golden Dawn but, if you are prepared to look past this, there may be some gems along the trail. It’s just a case of deciding which you prefer to align with.
The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn claims to be true to the classical Golden Dawn tradition. It is an international fraternity that practices astral and long-distance initiations and is not tied down to a specific temple. Some of its teachings include the Golden Dawn system; hermetics and hermeticism, Qabalah; ancient Egyptian and Greek mysteries; Tarot meditation, magic and divinination; astrology, gematria and geomancy; astral travel/projection; Golden Dawn protection rites and banishing; scrying, clairvoyance and travelling in spirit vision; ceremonial magic and alchemy; Enochian and angelic magic and techniques; personal empowerment; complete grade initiations; the power of the elements (air, fire, water and earth); and talismans and amulets.
Online resources:
http://www.esotericgoldendawn.com/
Freemasonry
In a nutshell, Freemasonry lays claim to being the oldest and largest global fraternity dedicated to the brotherhood of man beneath the fatherhood of a supreme being. There may be an apparent dichotomy in its purpose, since it does not present itself as a religion, yet it does have religious aspects, urging its adherents to be true to their own beliefs.
Historically it is said to have originated among the craft guilds of medieval Europe. The organisation is made up of grand lodges, which govern set jurisdictions that contain lodges, where members regularly meet up. No single body rules all the grand lodges.
Freemasons are initiated into a lodge and may work their way through a degree system. Much signs and symbols are used to identify members and their various positions within the lodge. Lodges may be involved in charity and community service within their environs and membership to many groups is available only to men.
Online resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry
http://www.freemasonry.org/
http://www.exsequi.org.za/
Gardnerian Wica
During the 1940s, Gerald Gardner, who can be seen as one of the forefathers of modern witchcraft, or Wica - as I’ve seen it called on the assorted resources - set down the tenets for his conceptualisation of witchcraft. It is interesting to note that he associated with Aleister Crowley and also had connections to the OTO. Gardner claimed to have been initiated into a traditional coven of witches supposedly surviving since pre-Christian times. Practitioners follow a nature-based, mystery religion that honours the Goddess and the Horned God, functioning within a coven that meets to celebrate festivals and work magic. Knowledge is passed down through “lines” that lead back to Gardner himself. Initiates keep a “Book of Shadows” where they record their rituals and spells.
Online resources:
http://www.geraldgardner.com/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm
http://www.thewica.co.uk/Gardnerian%20Wica.htm
George Gurdjieff and PD Ouspensky
George Gurdjieff and his protégé PD Ouspensky are both responsible for a dynamic school of thought that has had a great impact on modern Western mysticism. The teachings centre around teaching aspirants to awaken from ordinary life to “real” life, using what was called the Fourth Way.
According to Gurdjieff: “There do exist enquiring minds, which long for the truth of the heart, seek it, strive to solve the problems set by life, try to penetrate to the essence of things and phenomena and to penetrate into themselves. If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him.”
Online resources:
http://www.gurdjieff.org/
http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Founded in 1977, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn looks up to the teachings of Dr Israel Regardie for its establishment. The organisation does not claim to be a religion, although it places importance on religious imagery and spiritual concepts. As a hermetic society, it dedicates itself to the philosophical, spiritual and psychic evolution of humanity. It acts as a school, maintains resources of knowledge and its students learn the basics of occult science, Western philosophy and magic. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn also claims to be tolerant of all diverse religious paths, teaching Qabalah, astrology, divination, inner alchemy, Egyptian magic, scrying and Enochian magic.
Online resources:
http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.org/index.shtml
Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO)
As far as esoteric schools go, the OTO, as far as I can tell, is pretty big on the works of Aleister Crowley, underpinning its teachings with the great magus’s work with two of Crowley’s Laws:
“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”; and
“Love is the law, love under will”.
Philosophy: The OTO offers a degree system and functions as a school, offering initiation into the mysteries and offering activities for its members. Perhaps it can be best summed up in Crowley’s own words:
"The OTO is in possession of one supreme secret. The whole of its system [is] directed towards communicating to its members, by progressively plain hints, this all-important instruction." Of the first set of initiations, "the main objects of the instruction [are] two. It [is] firstly necessary to explain the universe and the relations of human life therewith. Secondly, to instruct every man [and woman] how best to adapt his [or her] life to the cosmos and to develop his faculties to the utmost advantage. I accordingly constructed a series of rituals, Minerval, Man, Magician, Master-Magician, Perfect Magician and Perfect Initiate, which should illustrate the course of human life in its largest philosophical aspect." The initiation rituals after the V° are such that "the candidate is instructed in the value of discretion, loyalty, independence, truthfulness, courage, self-control, indifference to circumstance, impartiality, scepticism, and other virtues, and at the same time assisted him to discover for himself the nature of [the supreme] secret, the proper object of its employment and the best means for insuring success for its use" (p.701). (Source: Wikipedia).
Online resources:
http://www.oto-usa.org/
http://www.oto-uk.org/
http://www.seriousthelema.org.uk/
Process Philosophy
Process philosophy is an attempt at defining the nature of reality in the sense that natural existence is described in terms of processes rather than isolated objects - modes of change rather than fixed ideas. Change is examined in different aspects, be it psychologically, physically or organically.
Online resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_philosophy
http://www.ctr4process.org/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/
Rosicrucian Order
The Rosicrucian Order structures itself as a school of light and self-improvement. Its members apply themselves to a progressive system of study and practical application of what they have learnt, mastering their lives and planning ahead to become fully developed human beings. They seek to master their own existence without being a slave to destiny. Those belonging to the Rosicrucian order seek to understand the relationship between all people, the cosmos and god (however divinity is named or perceived). The organisation offers progressive initiation and graduated studies, its members either choosing to work on their own or to affiliate with a lodge.
Online resources:
http://www.rosicrucian-order.com
Temple of Set
Established in 1975, the Temple of Set, now a worldwide organisation, was formed by disaffected members of the Church of Satan who sought to align themselves with the essence of the Prince of Darkness as embodied by the Egyptian god Set. Setians seek self-knowledge in order to reinforce changes within themselves and, therefore the world at large. They work with many magical and philosophic systems that draw inspiration from relevant Western and Eastern traditions but, instead of seeking unification with the all and abnegation of the self, they aspire to align themselves with Set as an Isolate Intelligence. Their work is underpinned by a constant state of dynamic change as they evolve toward their own, essential divinity, worshipping individualism. This process is called “Xeper” which means to “come into being” and the Temple of Set recognises that the methods to experience Xeper are many and varied, differing between initiates and there is no fixed ideology.
Online resources:
www.xeper.org
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is a global fellowship dedicated to promoting the unity of humanity. Helen P Blavatsky, Henry S Olcott and William Q Judge, among others, formed the society in New York City in 1875. The organisation encourages the study of religion, philosophy and science in order to better understand the self and the universe. It proposes complete freedom of individual search and belief. Some of its core tenets include the belief that a single life pervades and sustains the universe and that the universe is a manifestation of an eternal, boundless reality - the essential oneness of everything. Human consciousness is seen as being identical with the supreme reality that unites all of us. The organisation recognises a cycle of manifestation and dissolution in existence and its members seek to reunite with what they call the One Divine Reality.
Online resources:
http://theosophical.org/
http://www.theosociety.org/
http://www.metroweb.co.za/~graeme/ (Theosophical Society in South Africa)
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/home/art-ol.htm (a collection of articles)
How do you choose the path that is best suited to you? Don’t be hasty. A good start is to look at the literary resources that the school you are interested in look toward. Buy and read a few of these books so that you can decide for yourself if there is some resonance with you. Afterward, I’d suggest contacting the administration officer of the organisation that you are interested in. Find out if there are any members who are willing to perhaps chat to you via email, to answer any questions. Then, sit back, have a good think, and if you’re still convinced that the organisation is the right one for you, then go for it.
As with anything in life, to attain success requires hard work and commitment from you. You will get out of an organisation only what you put in. If you begin to work with a long-distance group, remember that it may be more difficult to maintain your excitement. Be aware also that your fellows are also human and they are not infallible. No matter where you go, you will always encounter clashes in egos, controversy and disagreements. No organisation is perfect. There is always room for improvement and, perhaps you can become the change that you wish to see.
Lastly, I’d like to share an online resource that I find to be invaluable to serious seekers of truth:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/
As above, so below, by awakening and gaining self-knowledge, an initiate is better equipped to change reality in accordance with their will. Why? Life is, essentially, short and meaningless. As an initiate, whether it is in the school of life or some esoteric order, you seek to add value to your existence and reach beyond the limitations of your flesh.
Why join a school at all? There are a number of benefits. These included shared resources, a mentor system and the camaraderie of shared experiences. As an individual, it is so easy to get stuck in your own subjective universe that you can no longer function in the greater scheme of things. A school helps by serving as your reality check.
There are many schools out there that will suit different temperaments. I have attempted to collect a few. This list is by no means exhaustive and it is my hope that it will serve as a jumping-off point for those who are embarking on the most noble of all quests, to master one’s self.
Below constitutes my understanding of the relevant organisations and schools. I am, but human and my opinion is worth as much as you’ve paid for it. Make up your own mind.
Awaken! Seek the mysteries!
AMORC
AMORC, short for Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, seeks to help its members answer basic questions about purpose, self and the universe, and achieve mastery over their lives. Its followers seek attunement with life and heightened spiritual awareness. The organisation’s teachings aim to aid mastery all aspects of the self - physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. AMORC’s teachings look to the mystery schools of ancient Egypt and Europe, aspiring to move with the times. Its teachings are structured to provide knowledge of metaphysics, mysticism, philosophy, psychology, parapsychology and science.
Online resources:
http://www.rosicrucian.org/
Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn
The old Golden Dawn that Crowley used to be a member of is no more. It has, however spawned a number of organisations that claim an initiatory lineage that has been influenced by the original organisation. While investigating my options, I sadly also picked up that there was a lot of bickering and fighting between the so-called “official” orders of the Golden Dawn but, if you are prepared to look past this, there may be some gems along the trail. It’s just a case of deciding which you prefer to align with.
The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn claims to be true to the classical Golden Dawn tradition. It is an international fraternity that practices astral and long-distance initiations and is not tied down to a specific temple. Some of its teachings include the Golden Dawn system; hermetics and hermeticism, Qabalah; ancient Egyptian and Greek mysteries; Tarot meditation, magic and divinination; astrology, gematria and geomancy; astral travel/projection; Golden Dawn protection rites and banishing; scrying, clairvoyance and travelling in spirit vision; ceremonial magic and alchemy; Enochian and angelic magic and techniques; personal empowerment; complete grade initiations; the power of the elements (air, fire, water and earth); and talismans and amulets.
Online resources:
http://www.esotericgoldendawn.com/
Freemasonry
In a nutshell, Freemasonry lays claim to being the oldest and largest global fraternity dedicated to the brotherhood of man beneath the fatherhood of a supreme being. There may be an apparent dichotomy in its purpose, since it does not present itself as a religion, yet it does have religious aspects, urging its adherents to be true to their own beliefs.
Historically it is said to have originated among the craft guilds of medieval Europe. The organisation is made up of grand lodges, which govern set jurisdictions that contain lodges, where members regularly meet up. No single body rules all the grand lodges.
Freemasons are initiated into a lodge and may work their way through a degree system. Much signs and symbols are used to identify members and their various positions within the lodge. Lodges may be involved in charity and community service within their environs and membership to many groups is available only to men.
Online resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry
http://www.freemasonry.org/
http://www.exsequi.org.za/
Gardnerian Wica
During the 1940s, Gerald Gardner, who can be seen as one of the forefathers of modern witchcraft, or Wica - as I’ve seen it called on the assorted resources - set down the tenets for his conceptualisation of witchcraft. It is interesting to note that he associated with Aleister Crowley and also had connections to the OTO. Gardner claimed to have been initiated into a traditional coven of witches supposedly surviving since pre-Christian times. Practitioners follow a nature-based, mystery religion that honours the Goddess and the Horned God, functioning within a coven that meets to celebrate festivals and work magic. Knowledge is passed down through “lines” that lead back to Gardner himself. Initiates keep a “Book of Shadows” where they record their rituals and spells.
Online resources:
http://www.geraldgardner.com/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm
http://www.thewica.co.uk/Gardnerian%20Wica.htm
George Gurdjieff and PD Ouspensky
George Gurdjieff and his protégé PD Ouspensky are both responsible for a dynamic school of thought that has had a great impact on modern Western mysticism. The teachings centre around teaching aspirants to awaken from ordinary life to “real” life, using what was called the Fourth Way.
According to Gurdjieff: “There do exist enquiring minds, which long for the truth of the heart, seek it, strive to solve the problems set by life, try to penetrate to the essence of things and phenomena and to penetrate into themselves. If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him.”
Online resources:
http://www.gurdjieff.org/
http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Founded in 1977, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn looks up to the teachings of Dr Israel Regardie for its establishment. The organisation does not claim to be a religion, although it places importance on religious imagery and spiritual concepts. As a hermetic society, it dedicates itself to the philosophical, spiritual and psychic evolution of humanity. It acts as a school, maintains resources of knowledge and its students learn the basics of occult science, Western philosophy and magic. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn also claims to be tolerant of all diverse religious paths, teaching Qabalah, astrology, divination, inner alchemy, Egyptian magic, scrying and Enochian magic.
Online resources:
http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.org/index.shtml
Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO)
As far as esoteric schools go, the OTO, as far as I can tell, is pretty big on the works of Aleister Crowley, underpinning its teachings with the great magus’s work with two of Crowley’s Laws:
“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”; and
“Love is the law, love under will”.
Philosophy: The OTO offers a degree system and functions as a school, offering initiation into the mysteries and offering activities for its members. Perhaps it can be best summed up in Crowley’s own words:
"The OTO is in possession of one supreme secret. The whole of its system [is] directed towards communicating to its members, by progressively plain hints, this all-important instruction." Of the first set of initiations, "the main objects of the instruction [are] two. It [is] firstly necessary to explain the universe and the relations of human life therewith. Secondly, to instruct every man [and woman] how best to adapt his [or her] life to the cosmos and to develop his faculties to the utmost advantage. I accordingly constructed a series of rituals, Minerval, Man, Magician, Master-Magician, Perfect Magician and Perfect Initiate, which should illustrate the course of human life in its largest philosophical aspect." The initiation rituals after the V° are such that "the candidate is instructed in the value of discretion, loyalty, independence, truthfulness, courage, self-control, indifference to circumstance, impartiality, scepticism, and other virtues, and at the same time assisted him to discover for himself the nature of [the supreme] secret, the proper object of its employment and the best means for insuring success for its use" (p.701). (Source: Wikipedia).
Online resources:
http://www.oto-usa.org/
http://www.oto-uk.org/
http://www.seriousthelema.org.uk/
Process Philosophy
Process philosophy is an attempt at defining the nature of reality in the sense that natural existence is described in terms of processes rather than isolated objects - modes of change rather than fixed ideas. Change is examined in different aspects, be it psychologically, physically or organically.
Online resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_philosophy
http://www.ctr4process.org/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/
Rosicrucian Order
The Rosicrucian Order structures itself as a school of light and self-improvement. Its members apply themselves to a progressive system of study and practical application of what they have learnt, mastering their lives and planning ahead to become fully developed human beings. They seek to master their own existence without being a slave to destiny. Those belonging to the Rosicrucian order seek to understand the relationship between all people, the cosmos and god (however divinity is named or perceived). The organisation offers progressive initiation and graduated studies, its members either choosing to work on their own or to affiliate with a lodge.
Online resources:
http://www.rosicrucian-order.com
Temple of Set
Established in 1975, the Temple of Set, now a worldwide organisation, was formed by disaffected members of the Church of Satan who sought to align themselves with the essence of the Prince of Darkness as embodied by the Egyptian god Set. Setians seek self-knowledge in order to reinforce changes within themselves and, therefore the world at large. They work with many magical and philosophic systems that draw inspiration from relevant Western and Eastern traditions but, instead of seeking unification with the all and abnegation of the self, they aspire to align themselves with Set as an Isolate Intelligence. Their work is underpinned by a constant state of dynamic change as they evolve toward their own, essential divinity, worshipping individualism. This process is called “Xeper” which means to “come into being” and the Temple of Set recognises that the methods to experience Xeper are many and varied, differing between initiates and there is no fixed ideology.
Online resources:
www.xeper.org
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is a global fellowship dedicated to promoting the unity of humanity. Helen P Blavatsky, Henry S Olcott and William Q Judge, among others, formed the society in New York City in 1875. The organisation encourages the study of religion, philosophy and science in order to better understand the self and the universe. It proposes complete freedom of individual search and belief. Some of its core tenets include the belief that a single life pervades and sustains the universe and that the universe is a manifestation of an eternal, boundless reality - the essential oneness of everything. Human consciousness is seen as being identical with the supreme reality that unites all of us. The organisation recognises a cycle of manifestation and dissolution in existence and its members seek to reunite with what they call the One Divine Reality.
Online resources:
http://theosophical.org/
http://www.theosociety.org/
http://www.metroweb.co.za/~graeme/ (Theosophical Society in South Africa)
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/home/art-ol.htm (a collection of articles)
How do you choose the path that is best suited to you? Don’t be hasty. A good start is to look at the literary resources that the school you are interested in look toward. Buy and read a few of these books so that you can decide for yourself if there is some resonance with you. Afterward, I’d suggest contacting the administration officer of the organisation that you are interested in. Find out if there are any members who are willing to perhaps chat to you via email, to answer any questions. Then, sit back, have a good think, and if you’re still convinced that the organisation is the right one for you, then go for it.
As with anything in life, to attain success requires hard work and commitment from you. You will get out of an organisation only what you put in. If you begin to work with a long-distance group, remember that it may be more difficult to maintain your excitement. Be aware also that your fellows are also human and they are not infallible. No matter where you go, you will always encounter clashes in egos, controversy and disagreements. No organisation is perfect. There is always room for improvement and, perhaps you can become the change that you wish to see.
Lastly, I’d like to share an online resource that I find to be invaluable to serious seekers of truth:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/