| Part of a series on the |
| Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn |
|---|
 |
Enochian chess is a four-player chess variant, similar to chaturaji, associated with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The name comes from the Enochian system of magic of Dr. John Dee (magus and astrologer to Elizabeth I), which was later adapted by Victorian members of the Golden Dawn into "a complete system of training and initiation".
Enochian chess was created by William Wynn Westcott, one of the three founders of the Golden Dawn, but the rules of the game were probably never completed by him. The game was finished by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, who put its rules into final form. [1]
The game was four-handed because each set of pieces corresponded to one of the four classical elements and their several watchtowers, and the game was used for divination as well as competition. The four sets of pieces were variously colored, and identified with Egyptian deities or "god-forms". The main identifications of the pieces were:
The chess board itself was also varicolored, and divided into four sub-boards in which each of one of the four elemental colors predominated. [3] The rules of the game were partially derived from shatranj and other historical forms of chess; the queen is played like an alfil, with a two square diagonal leaping move. [4] The four players would form pairs of two, with each player having a partner. MacGregor Mathers, who finalised the game's rules, was known to play with an invisible partner he claimed was a spirit. Joseph Hone, biographer of William Butler Yeats, claimed, "Mathers would shade his eyes with his hands and gaze at the empty chair at the opposite corner of the board before moving his partner's piece". [5]
The game, while complex, was in actual use; Georgie Yeats, wife of poet William Butler Yeats, relates actually playing the game as a part of her occult training in Golden Dawn circles. [6] Her husband took part in some of these games, as did MacGregor Mathers. [5]
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, more commonly the Golden Dawn, was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism.
A magical organization or magical order is an organization or secret society created for the practice of initiation into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups which may use different terminology and similar though diverse practices.
A pentacle is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and is usually made of parchment, paper, cloth, or metal, upon which a magical design is drawn. Symbols may also be included, a common one being the six-point form of the Seal of Solomon.
Enochian magic is a system of Renaissance magic developed by John Dee and Edward Kelley and adopted by more modern practitioners. The origins of this esoteric tradition are rooted in documented collaborations between Dee and Kelley, encompassing the revelation of the Enochian language and script, which Dee wrote were delivered to them directly by various angels during their mystical interactions. Central to the practice is the invocation and command of various spiritual beings.
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, born Samuel Liddell Mathers, was a British occultist and member of the S.R.I.A.. He is primarily known as one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a ceremonial magic order of which offshoots still exist. He became so synonymous with the order that Golden Dawn scholar Israel Regardie observed in retrospect that "the Golden Dawn was MacGregor Mathers."
In the Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah, and Hermetic Qabalah, the qlippoth, are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, the opposites of the Sefirot. The realm of evil is called Sitra Achra in Kabbalistic texts.
An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular occult discipline, such as alchemy or magic.
Tattva vision is a technique developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to aid with the development of the faculty of astral clairvoyance. They were derived from the elements or tattvas of Hindu philosophy and the Vedantic doctrine of pancikarana, as interpreted by the Golden Dawn.
A lamen is a magical parchment or pendant, sometimes acting as a protective 'magical breastplate' worn around the neck so that it hangs upon the breast over the heart. Its uses vary but, most commonly, the term refers to a symbol of authority and a focus of magical energies.
The Mathers table of Hebrew and "Chaldee" (Aramaic) letters is a tabular display of the pronunciation, appearance, numerical values, transliteration, names, and symbolism of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet appearing in The Kabbalah Unveiled, S.L. MacGregor Mathers' late 19th century English translation of Kabbala Denudata, itself a Latin translation by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth of the Zohar, a primary Kabbalistic text.
The Cipher Manuscripts are a collection of 60 folios containing the structural outline of a series of magical initiation rituals corresponding to the spiritual elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire. The "occult" materials in the Manuscripts are a compendium of the classical magical theory and symbolism known in the Western world up until the middle of the 19th century, combined to create an encompassing model of the Western mystery tradition, and arranged into a syllabus of a graded course of instruction in magical symbolism. It was used as the structure for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, after the manuscripts came into the possession of prominent SRIA members.
In ceremonial magic, banishing refers to one or more rituals intended to remove non-physical influences ranging from spirits to negative influences. Although banishing rituals are often used as components of more complex ceremonies, they can also be performed by themselves. Banishing can be viewed as one of several techniques of magic, closely related to ritual purification and a typical prerequisite for consecration and invocation.
The Stella Matutina was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known as Mystic Rose or Order of the M.R. in the Outer. When occult writer Israel Regardie released documents of the Golden Dawn to the public it was the teachings of the Stella Matutina that he revealed, not those of the original order. The Stella Matutina was one of several daughter organisations into which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fragmented, including the Alpha et Omega led by John William Brodie-Innes and Macgregor Mathers, the Isis-Urania Temple led by A. E. Waite, and others.
The Alpha et Omega was an occult order, initially named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, co-founded in London, England by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in 1888. The Alpha et Omega was one of four daughter organisations into which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fragmented, the others being the Stella Matutina; the Isis-Urania Temple led by A. E. Waite and others; and Aleister Crowley's A∴A∴. Following a rebellion of adepts in London and an ensuing public scandal which brought the name of the Golden Dawn into disrepute, Mathers renamed the branch of the Golden Dawn remaining loyal to his leadership to "Alpha et Omega" sometime between 1903 and 1913. "The title was usually abbreviated as A.O." and according to some sources its full name was "Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega". All of the temples of the order appear to have gone out of existence by the Second World War.
The Isis-Urania Temple was the first temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The three founders, Dr. William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, were Freemasons and members of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.). It continued as one of four daughter organisations into which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fragmented, the others being the Alpha et Omega, the Stella Matutina and Aleister Crowley's A∴A∴.
Magical mottoes are the magical nicknames, pen names, or pseudonyms taken by individuals in a number of magical organizations. These members were known and sometimes referred to in many publications by these mottoes. Members of these organizations typically adopted such a motto at their initiation into the neophyte grade of the organizations.
A watchtower or guardian in ceremonial magical tradition is a tutelary spirit of one of the four cardinal points or quarters. In many magical traditions, they are understood to be Enochian angels or the Archangels Uriel, Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel. They are also variously associated in other traditions with each of the four classical elements or stars. Originating with the Enochian tradition of John Dee, a version of it was popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which became hugely influential in modern Western Esotericism, including Wicca. The watchtowers are invoked during the ritual of casting a magic circle.
Charles "Chic" Cicero is an American esoteric writer. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He has been a practicing ceremonial magician for the past forty years.
Sandra Tabatha Cicero is an American esoteric writer and lecturer, best known for her work in the field of Hermeticism.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc. is a 501(c) non-profit organization associated with a modern magical Order of the same name. While bearing the same name as the historical Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888–1908), the modern Order does not have or claim direct descent or institutional lineage from the original Order or from the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. The order is run by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero.