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The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (OSOGD) was an esoteric community of magical practitioners, many of whom came from pagan backgrounds. It was an initiatory teaching Order that drew upon the knowledge, experience, practices and spirit of the system of magical training and attainment developed by the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The OSOGD ceased operating in September 2019. [1]
The OSOGD was founded by Sam Webster in 2002 and based on the principles of the open-source software movement. [2] The organization grew out of a series of workshops on ceremonial magic held by Webster in 2001. [3]
According to Sam Webster,
The Open Source Order was founded on the principle that true spirituality is omnipresent and access to it cannot be owned or controlled by any group or individual. Sufficiently skilled practitioners can and do modify the practices to serve specific purposes or to take advantage of the century-plus development in the craft to improve their effect. [4]
According to The Manifesto of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn, [5] the Order had undertaken to revise the teachings of the original Victorian era Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn system to work more effectively in the 21st century. This redaction of the original rituals has taken on the aspect of a number of principles, listed in the Manifesto as Open Source Magick, New Aeon, Freedom of Information, Thelema, Duty, Universalism, and Form and Function. [5]
In temple work, the OSOGD used Egyptian, Enochian and Thelemic godforms in preference to the Judeo-Christian Archangels typical of the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. According to the Manifesto, OSOGD teaches "a progressively tiered system of spiritual development designed to invoke the Higher or Divine Genius latent in every human being." [5]
To actually join the Order, a person must have had regular access to its Lodge, which was located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Order did not conduct distance initiations, and required that all initiates attend initiation rituals in person. [5]
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn drew heavily from Eastern sources, Thelema, Paganism, and the works of Aleister Crowley. [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.
Thelema is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy, as well as a new religious movement that was founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. Central to Thelema is the idea of discovering and following one's True Will, a unique purpose and calling that goes beyond ordinary desires. Crowley's system begins with The Book of the Law, a text he said was dictated to him by an entity named Aiwass. This foundational work lays out key principles, including the central axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law". This principle emphasizes personal freedom and the pursuit of one's true path, while being guided by love and finding one's authentic purpose.
Theurgy, also known as divine magic, is one of two major branches of the magical arts, the other being practical magic or thaumaturgy. Theurgy describes the ritual practices associated with the invocation or evocation of the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis and perfecting oneself.
Ceremonial magic encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.
A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal, plastic or stone. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which could have large ornamentation on the top.
The Bornless Ritual, also known as the Preliminary Invocation, is a ritual with a long history and deep roots in various occult traditions, particularly within Western Esotericism. It is often associated with ceremonial magic, in which it has been generally used as an Invocation of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, since it was introduced as such by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It is also called the "Headless Rite" or the "Invocation of the Bornless One".
The Typhonian Order, previously known as Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis (T.O.T.O.), is a self-initiatory magical organization based in the United Kingdom that focuses on magical and Typhonian concepts. It was originally led by British occultist Kenneth Grant (1924–2011) and his wife Steffi Grant, and is now led by their deputy Michael Staley.
The New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn is a Wiccan tradition founded in 1967. Despite its name, has little or nothing to do with the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
A lamen is a magical pendant or 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. Aleister Crowley described the lamen as "a sort of coat of arms. It expresses the character and powers of the wearer." Crowley and DuQuette have proposed that the magical lamen might be a modern adaptation of the priestly breastplate of the ancient Hebrews.
The body of light, sometimes called the 'astral body' or the 'subtle body,' is a "quasi material" aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, posited by a number of philosophers, and elaborated on according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. Other terms used for this body include body of glory, spirit-body, luciform body, augoeides, astroeides, and celestial body.
Within Thelema, the Great Work is the spiritual endeavor aimed at realizing one's True Will and achieving a profound mystical union with the All. This path, crafted by Aleister Crowley, draws inspiration from Hermetic alchemy and the Hermetic Qabalah. The cornerstone of Thelema is the Book of the Law, received by Crowley in 1904 through a communication with the entity Aiwass. This text became the central scripture, heralding a new Aeon for humanity and outlining the principles of Thelema.
In ceremonial magic, a magical formula or a word of power is a word that is believed to have specific supernatural effects. They are words whose meaning illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise means to communicate very abstract information through the medium of a word or phrase.
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.
Sam Webster is an American writer, founder of Concrescent Press, and an advocate for open source religion—the use of the open source paradigm in the field of spirituality. He is a Thelemite, a member of the Golden Dawn tradition, Bishop Tau Ty of Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis, and an initiate of Wicca.
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.
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.
Hermetic Qabalah is a Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, has inspired esoteric Masonic organizations such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, is a key element within the Thelemic orders, and is important to mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross.