Greetings Seekers!
Does this really need to be said? Sadly… yes it probably does. <SIGH>
Seriously… Fuck These Guys
Frankly, I don’t think anyone who has ever heard of the Golden Dawn is going to confuse us with the Greek neo-fascists Chrysi Avgi (which translates into English as “Golden Dawn”). But, those folks aren’t the problem.
The real problem is for those who have never heard of us before, and whose first introduction to the term “Golden Dawn” is through the popular media talking about the Greek party. (Do a Google search on the term now, see what comes up and in what order!) Then, if those people encounter an actual Hermetic Order of the G.D. book, website, or member they will jump to the immediate conclusion that they are seeing something fascist.
And that can bring real problems. Previously, if your boss or landlord or (in some cases) extended family discovered that you are into some kind of mysticism called “Golden Dawn”, they would likely think you were way too into Harry Potter and move on. Now, if those same people were to hear that you practice “Golden Dawn” they might think you’re a closet nazi – which could lead to serious problems for you.
And the real downer is that I don’t think we can do a damned thing about this. We can make all the noise we want – but the media is not going to take the time to say “…by the way, this Greek Golden Dawn party is not the same as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” after each news story about the Greeks. And most muggles are going to hear about those fascists long before they ever hear about us.
Some have even gone so far as to suggest we change our name. (Don Kraig and Nick Farrell, I’m looking at you! – find links to their blogs below.) Personally, I can’t support that course of action because:
Damn Skippy
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make some noise. Sure, by all rights these extremist whackjobs should be beneath our notice. But we might as well take the effort to state, in no uncertain terms, that we are not associated with these douchebags nor do we sympathize in the least with any fascist or nazi philosophies or tactics. In any country (or online).
My Order – the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn – has just released this disclaimer:
No Welcome Mat for Extremists
It has come to our attention that an extremist right-wing group in Greece has been making news lately. That in itself would not usually raise a blip on my radar screen, however this particular group calls itself “Chrysi Avgi” which unfortunately translates into English as “Golden Dawn.” They appear to be a Greek right-wing extremist group, employing many racist, xenophobic beliefs and repugnant tactics. You can read all about them here.
There is absolutely no connection between Greece’s fascist Chrysi Avgi political group and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Greek extremist group does not in any way represent the ideals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
I would like to state categorically that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn does not support the ideals and goals of Chrysi Avgi or any other extremist political group in any way, shape, or form. Anyone holding right-wing extremist beliefs or sympathies would be both unsuited and unwelcome in the HOGD. The HOGD has no political leanings in any form or fashion.
Normally I would not even address this topic. I’m certain that students of the Golden Dawn, the Greater Golden Dawn Community, and even casual students of alternative spiritual paths in general, already know instinctively that there is no connection between a Greek political group and any sincere Golden Dawn magical group devoted to the teachings of Westcott, Woodman, and Mathers. However, in this Internet age of abundant information combined with scant comprehension, I feel that I must act to dispel any possible confusion by the general public.
Other articles on this topic can be found here:
-Posted by Tabatha
‘Nuff Said.
LVX
Aaron Leitch (Isis Urania)
Ananael (The Secrets of Wisdom) 
Amen to the abundant information and scant comprehension. Add to that a superficiality which is breathtaking at times. Thanks for pointing this out. When I saw it on my Twitter feed I thought “Oh great. Just what the real Golden Dawn needs, a possible (in the eyes of muggles who do not take the time to verify) connection to a bunch of nutcases.”
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I would also add, however, that it is interesting how increasingly difficult it is to be detached from politics. Even as magickians we are affected by them. IMHO I think it behooves us to involve ourselves with politics and become savvy in their workings.
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My point about changing the name is the same one that the original Golden Dawn came up with to solve the problem of the Horos scandal. In that situation the name of the order was put in the press and forever associated with a sex scam.
It was enough for many people in the order to actually leave.
The Golden Dawn name not only changed but never came back for 112 years. The fact that it had a different name meant that Regardie’s publishing of the name in the late 1930s also did not harm the working orders either.
Maybe it is the insistence on keeping the Golden Dawn name which is attracting more problems than it is really worth. Not only is the name becoming associated with a neo-fascist organisation, it is associated with idiots using it in the Internet wars of the 90s and 2000’s. If you say the name Golden Dawn, if people don’t think of Greek fascists, they think “oh those are the people who are always arguing over who is the real one, who has the correct lineage, court cases, or that group that ripped of its followers for tons of cash.
Whether we like it or not, that name for the last 112 years has been associated with problems and scandals and until the 1970s it was not associated with a credible “Golden Dawn” order. This means that for a small slice of its history, the name Golden Dawn has been unimportant to that tradition. When it is activated, maybe it causes problems.
Yeah it might not be our fault, but equally it is something we have to do something about. It is one of the reasons that the Order, and the names of the Temples are kept secret as part of the 0=0 oath.
Magically a name links things and while it connects us to the original order, it also connects us to Nazis, and every fuck-wit who has thought they could set up a golden order for nefarious purposes.
Interestingly it also does not connect us to the “Golden Dawn” that we know and love. The Golden Dawn which was founded in 1888 split apart soon after the introduction of magical techniques a process that took some years. What most of us think of as “Golden Dawn” is actually Stella Matutina. If anyone was stupid enough to go back to the original Golden Dawn system they would have a quasi-masonic order with a rudimentary and under-developed form of magic strapped on.
What is important is the work and the developed system. Calling it Golden Dawn is only important for marketing and now it is starting to look like that is a liability.
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We chose a different name for our order. That was already the case before the Greek problem surfaced. My problem with the name Golden Dawn were and are the flame wars.
Now this Greek problem comes on top of the existing ones. The similarity in name with the greek Nazi-party will attract people from outside the magical community with Nazi ideas who think the Golden Dawn is a platform for their political ideas. By consequence this means that every new member needs to be screened more cautiously to prevent this problem spreading as an infection inside of temples and groups.
We as a community don’t have the marketing tools to counteract the confusion caused by the Greek Nazi’s. I like to invest my energy in positive goals and I want my order to develop in a healty way: I can do without the Greek problem.
In our order we made a strategic decision years ago, to communicate ourselves as working in the Western Mystery Tradition. This connects us with the history and the roots of our western esoteric culture. A historical background that takes us – with a few gaps – back through history into ancient Egypt and Sumer.
This choice is proving to be very fruitful, since it emancipated us: away from the corner of the weird nutcases into the eggregore of specialized and sofisticated mystical topspecialists that the tradition produced throughout the generations.
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Laurie, you said a mouthful. Neutrality is not an option.
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Neutrality is not an option because we as magickians are not passive recipients of all the geopolitical, or for that matter, any, forces. If we were, it would lead to our demise.Instead, we observe, study and act.
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Nick has a good blog post on the prevailing “politics” og traditional European esoteric society here :
http://nick-farrell.blogspot.com/2013/08/evola-and-myth-of-being-special.html
Useful detailed follow-ups are in the works of Milko Bogaard, which can be found quite easily by googling, such as :
http://www.hermetics.org/fudosi.html
http://fr.scribd.com/doc/45286690/Manifestations-of-the-Martinist-Order-Milko-Bogaard
http://fr.scribd.com/doc/5443360/1914-THE-ORDER-OF-THE-LILY-THE-EAGLE
http://fr.scribd.com/doc/5573649/FRERES-DORIENTConstantinople-1054-or-1090
http://fr.scribd.com/doc/5573716/ROSECROIX-CATHOLIQUE
Further trails lead to the organisations known as “The Watchers” (“les Veilleurs”), the “Polars” (“les Polaires”), and more recently, “CESNUR”…
Best wishes
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