Aurum Solis Vs. Golden Dawn Options

Hello all!

I have some questions about the Aurum Solis.

Over the past year I have become interested in the occult, mainly in Ceremonial Magick. Most of the info that I have read has been from the net and I have found a plethora of articles and sites that deal with the Golden Dawn but very little about the A.S. What little I have found about them intrigues me quite a bit, and, seeing it recommended a number of times, I purchased "Mysteria Magica" by Denning & Phillips.

So, what I am wondering about is what are the differences between the G.D. and the A.S. I understand that the former is a Rosicrucian style and the latter is Ogdoadic and from what I can tell, Ogdoadic has something to do with the number eight and deals mostly with Greek gods and seems to use the Greek language more so than Hebrew. Other than that I'm lost to the major differences between the two. The rest look to be more... for want of a better term, minor. For instance the Golden Dawn uses the Kabbalistic Cross and the Aurum Solis use the Calyx. They seem to be the same ritual to me! The G.D. has the LBRP; Aurum Solis has Setting of the Wards. Again, to my unseasoned eye, same thing! From reading articles and people's comments about magic and the occult, it is the subtlties that have the most impact. After all, the "Devil IS in the details".... I just can't see the little bugger! lol

Any help appreciated

-- G.L.B.

p.s. I apologize if I seem a bit incoherent. It's 0744 est , I just got home from work and my head feels like it's full of oatmeal

Salutations!
Thank you Praxis and Chaoscrowley37 for your replies! Still, after thinking about what Praxis said and comparing the two groups histories from the links Chaoscrowley37 posted, along with links from those sites and searching Google, I am still unclear about the differences between these two groups( In retrospect, I probably should have asked about the Major differences rather than the minor ones lol ). One site I looked at said that the A.S. sprang from the G.D. but didn't go into details about the how or why. Several sites only said, as far as differences go, was that the Ogdoadic traditions were more "Byzantium" inspired whereas the G.D. was more Rosicrucian inspired. The only thing that I understand about either is that Rosicrucianism was started or inspired by a man named Christian Rosenkreutz (sp?) while Ogdoadic, as stated from the second link C.C. provided,:

The Order identifies itself as a vehicle for the 'Ogdoadic' Tradition: "This venerable tradition, rooted in the mystical teachings of Byzantium and of the Near and Middle East, has for ten centuries run through Western history like a golden thread in a tapestry: flashing brilliantly when seen in a clear light, but in other conditions remaining strangely unperceived." ('Introduction to the Combined Edition', The Magical Philosophy,pp. xvii-xviii)

.and that

'Ogdoadic' simply means 'pertaining to the number eight' and was adopted by the Order to provide a retrospective analysis and identifier for this line of magical philosophy and practice.

I also looked through "Mysteria Magica" and could find no explaination either. So, if anybody could delineate those differences and/or point me in a direction where I can discover them I would be extremely appreciative!

Again, I apologise if I don't make much sense as I just got in from working 3rd shift and this is the only time of day that I have the time to read and post.

Much Gratuity

G.L.B.

p.s. Bym, thank you for your help! It seems someone else decided to move it though lol