This easter-weekend post has the potential to deeply upset some folks, so consider carefully if you'd like to read it or not.

If you happen to be a serious golden dawn or thelema practitioner, and you're getting good results from either of those traditions, then do NOT read on! A discussion of some very concerning aspects of those traditions follows here that has the potential to ruin your faith in them.

You've been warned!

I was raised a christian, and before I renounced christianity I was a very serious christian. I had read the bible from cover to cover in multiple translations in multiple languages, including the original hebrew of the old testament. For those who don't know, the name of the god of the bible is in fact YHVH (Yahweh); his name just isn't seen in english translations because there is a tradition that the name is too holy to speak, and so whenever you see "the Lord" or "God" written in all caps, it means that in the original hebrew is written YHVH. Now, laid out in the bible are two covenants: the old and the new, and the devotee can choose either covenant to come into fellowship with YHVH. The old covenant is the covenant of orthodox judaism; it's extremely rigid and strict. The new covenant was instated by Christ (the son of YHVH), and is much more relaxed in nature, placing a lot of emphasis on things like love and faith rather than strict rules.

Although the bible is unclear about many issues, some of which include magic, it is perfectly clear regarding issues of things like idolatry (the worship or service or invocation of other gods), and it's also perfectly clear on the fact that YHVH will not have anything to do with you if you're outside of his two covenants. In both covenants, any kind of interaction with other gods is strictly forbidden by YHVH himself. I'm not going to quote the relevant bible verses here, I'm too lazy to look it all up, but if you've ever read the bible from front to back, the impression that YHVH is a jealous god is pretty much burned into your mind. He does not allow any kind of offerings to other spirits or gods, nor worship or adoration. In fact, devotees are advised not to even take the names of other gods upon their lips (psalms 16:4). Read the prophets of the old testament to get an idea of YHVH's feelings on the matter.

Then arrives the hermetic order of the golden dawn. Now, I haven't read all there is to read on GD and Thelema, but I've read enough of their rituals to know that these entire traditions seem to be carefully constructed systems of blasphemy against YHWH. That's right; I said BLASPHEMY. And I feel certain that the people who crafted the rituals knew this and intented it to be so.

There are a number of passages that strictly forbid sun-worship in the bible, and as I've said, the worship of other gods. Yet egyptian gods, and others such as baphomet and pan, are invoked ritually. See Crowley's solar adorations for sun-worship. At the beginning of any ritual, the LBRP is performed, which begins with the Qabalistic Cross, which includes the "our father" prayer of Christ in hebrew (for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever), and various hebrew names of YHVH are vibrated. The INRI formula as well is a perversion of a christian concept. (The word was written on Christ's cross.) And of course, the thing that bothers me the most, is that the aim of magical practice is to be symbolically taken into the cup of babylon. Anyone who has read the bible will know that babylon, especially as represented in the book of revelations, symbolizes the spiritual enemy of YHVH. In other words, the aim is to become fully integrated into the enemy of YHVH! All the while using his name in rituals for power and protection, and then also invoking other gods.

If the judeo-christian cosmology was real in the objective sense, then there couldn't be a worse way to oppose YHVH than to engage the practices of either GD or Thelema. It's like a demonic joke played on practitioners. Its blasphemy is never revealed in the practices, but it's undeniably there. Satan would be very pleased with a system like this, because its practitioners for the most part seem to be undiscerning.

Now, if you happen to be left hand path and blasphemy is your thing, then that's fine, I have no problem with that. However, for you right hand path guys who are interested in things like ascension and divinity, you might want to seriously consider what you're doing when you take part of their rituals.

Peace.

(If I've confused concepts from GD and Thelema I apologize, I'm not fully versed in them.)

This post has been edited by Green Lantern: Apr 19 2014, 12:37 PM