What You Should Know about the Golden Dawn

by Israel Regardie

Lifts the cloak of mystery which has shrouded The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, The Rosicrucian Fraternity and The Masonic Lodge. From his close personal associations, the author reveals the true nature and actions of such leading Occult authorities as Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, S L MacGregor Mathers, Dr W W Wescott, and others.

Genres: Magic, Magick, Occult, Nonfiction, History, Spirituality, Witchcraft

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Israel Regardie (born Francis Israel Regudy) was considered by many to be the last living Adept of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. At an early age, Regardie worked as Aleister Crowley's personal secretary. In addition to his extensive writings, Regardie practiced as a chiropractor and as a neo-Reichian therapist. He taught psychiatry at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and contributed articles to many psychology magazines.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had been in my queue for quite a long time and now that I finished it I regret not reading it before.

It goes into detail about the "behind the scenes" of the mysterious organization that was (and is) the Golden Dawn. The author explains the several reasons why the secrecy was in itself one of the prime reasons the organization never quite took off, talks about the scandals, hubris of their chiefs, controversy about examinations and the consumption and corruption of the grades and original philosophy of the order.

It later gives delves into the history of the order, its speculated and theoretical origins; critics about the research of other authors and complements itself with original manifestos from the once chiefs of the "original" order and some of its branches.

A much valuable piece of work for anyone interested in the history of the order or anyone wanting to know the actual and theoretical reasons of its short life and greater relevance in the occult world.

[Nico Starlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a breath of fresh air amongst the mounds of egotistical and vain Inner Order material.

Regardie spells it out simply; there is only one grade of adeptship and eons of advancement therein. The "grades" of the Inner Order and the practices of the attainment of such do miss the mark. This was clear in Regardie's telling of the fall of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Such vanity and egotism is displayed within this book as the cause of the revolt of its most illustrious members.

I came to this book in dismay after reading some Inner Order material written by Zalewski, and I have to say, this is what I was looking for.

[Teleri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic historical info.

[Damien · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once again, Frank proves what a self-serving hypocrite he is. He spends the whole book ranting about how nearly every single person in the Golden Dawn and Stella Matutina were incompetent and unworthy fools (even Mathers is called a "poseur"), and how nearly all of the female leaders (save two) were little more than psychic nymphomaniacs; then he goes on and on about how the Golden Dawn system is the greatest thing EVER in the whole universe. Ultimately, this is nothing more than a long advertisement for his Stella Matutina book (which he himself later criticizes), using self-important rhetoric as an excuse to publish all the secrets of a degrade Order full of Inepts that he came to despise. The main text of this was from his 1936 book "My Rosicrucian Adventure" which was then revised and expanded in 1983 in order to advertise his second Golden Dawn book which was just about to be published at that time.

[Joseph Inzirillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regardie definitely had some things to say about the Golden Dawn in the 30’s.

As much as this book is a history, it is also a criticism and revelation. Many of the myths and legends about the so-called “evil” deeds done by the order are dispelled and much of the drama within the order is brought to light.

An interesting read for anyone familiar with the Golden Dawn or curious to what it was.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting insight of the secret society that Aleister Crowley started with.

[Sue Dounim · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for details on the decline and fall of the Golden Dawn. Regardie expresses regret for the loss of what he saw as the mystical/magical/spiritual potential of that order. This book was originally written right before Regardie made the decision to make all the Golden Dawn material available to the public. Much of the book is his rationale for that, since members were sworn to secrecy. Does the vow persist even the order basically implodes and splinters? He felt it did not and his explanations are cogent and seem sincere.
The first (1936) edition is very rare and collectible in its own right, but for content the second (1971) edition is strongly recommended, since it adds a large amount of information to and corrects many omissions and errors in the first.

[David dharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

A detailed look at the decline of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
It also includes two documents that Regardie chose not to publish in The Complete Golden Dawn, and an explaination of why some other documents were omitted.