In his review of Names and Images by Peregrin Wildoak, the British
esoteric writer Gareth Knight said that the book shows that there is
a magical substance in the Golden Dawn after all.
The
Golden Dawn has become a bit of a joke in the land of its birth. It is
forever associated with people claiming high grades, flame wars,
court cases, using shedloads of magical gear, and wearing the
silliest of robes. In the UK magical scene you would never see a
trained magician shove 7=4 under their name in public even if they
were entitled to it.
It
is one of the reasons that the US Golden Dawn orders have had a
limited impact in the UK, because phrases like “Power Week” and
other hard sell language is seen as belonging to the other side of
the pond.
Many
of the perceptions of the Golden Dawn are based on what has been
written and its teachings. So British adepts look at this material
and say “interesting... so what?” The rituals, if seen on their
own, use dated language and lack magic.
In
the Golden Dawn, the serious magic was printed in the 5=6 and it is
that material which forms the basics of British magic today. But
that is the point. It is just the basics. If you were so minded you
could go through the pile of 5=6 material and understand it in a
weekend. You could probably construct some pretty good experiments
to try it out. But it is not magic in the way that the British magic
scene works these days. They look at the GD with its huge equipment
requirements and think that it is a dinosaur from the past.
To
be fair they are not the only ones. There are those within the
Golden Dawn community who see holes in what is available. There are
calls to expand the curriculum and add material which was lacking or
under developed.
In
my early days of training I can't say I ranked the GD system
particularly highly either. I liked the more inner approach of
godforms and inner work which was touted by the Inner Light
tradition. It was not until I read Pat Zalewksi's Z5 book that I saw
that what the Golden Dawn did and what I was doing in the Inner Light
Tradition was the same thing. Bits of what I had been told by the
Whare Ra people suddenly made sense and the Golden Dawn always had an inner tradition which had never been talked about before.
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| A 7=4 grade Titanic ego is about to find that his badge and flashy wand is just the tip of the real GD system |
Later
when I became involved with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn I
started to understand that the written material which was given was
just the tip of an incredibly complex iceberg. Those who thought it
was all about gadding about in robes and calling yourself the
Heirophant fast run aground on its unseen depths, and break up to the
horrific strains of Celine Dion.
This
was not something that was just more intellectual information and
none of it was written down. It was the idea which lurked behind all
the written words which inspired people like Dion Fortune. But even
these people missed some important stuff which can only be seen when
you have the order and its methods working in front of you.
Making
those techniques real is a lifetime's work, if you look at the
implications of what is said and, like Pat's Book, Peregrin's book
is a good starting place for those who want to make the system real.
Peregrin's
book shows the sort of work that people need to do bring the system
magically to life. True at times he adds stuff, there is something
on the unicursal hexagram which I have never seen before (although
the Whare Ra people used it for planetary force, they did not use it
the way Peregrin suggests). There is also a lot more material
bringing the modern charkra system into the Golden Dawn rather than
the Sphere of Sensation method which was used. Peregrin brings these
in and explains them so that they are not alien.
But
in my view where Names and Images is vital is when it is telling you
what you are doing at this point and why.
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| If you are Osiris and you know it clap your hands. |
It
differs from Pat's approach, which was tied to the rituals, and
instead branches out into the magical system of the 5=6. Ideas
related to the INRI formula for example.
There
are also rituals for the solo practitioner to try and feel the system
as well as aspects. The material here is solid and is peppered with
stories about Peregrin's experiences.
Yes
it is a book to study, but equally it is a book to do. You can't
read it but have to try out stuff.
That
is something which has been sadly lacking within the modern Golden
Dawn. There are systems, upon systems and then sub-systems upon
sub-systems within the GD, but that becomes a trap.
All
Golden Dawn work has to be seen on four different levels and the ritual and teachings only a
hint of what the magic is really about.
Peregrin's
book is the harbinger of what the Golden Dawn will become. It is an
introduction to the idea of a magical Golden Dawn which is firmly
rooted within the Inner. It might even be a Golden Dawn which
appears new to many, certainly it is a Golden Dawn which many will
want to suppress because it requires expertise that many “high
graders” lack.
Nevertheless
for the next generation of Golden Dawn student “By Names and
Images” is a vital part of any collection.
