The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (OSOGD) is an esoteric community of magical practitioners, many of which come from pagan backgrounds. It is an initiatory teaching Order that draws 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.
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History
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn was founded by Sam Webster in 2002 and based on the principles of open-source software movement.[1] The organization grew out of a series of workshops on ceremonial magic held by Webster in 2001.[2]
According to Sam Webster,
- The Open Source Order is 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.[3]
According to The Manifesto of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn,[4] the Order has undertaken to revise the teachings of the original Victorian era Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn system to work more effectively in the culture of 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.[4]
In temple work, the OSOGD uses 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."[4]
Membership
To actually join the Order, a person must have regular access to one of its temples, which are located in San Francisco, Seattle, and Manchester (UK). The Order does not conduct distance initiations, and requires that all initiates attend initiation rituals in person.[4]
Influences
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn draws heavily from Eastern sources, Thelema, Paganism, and the works of Aleister Crowley.[4]
See also
Notes
References
- Crow, John. "Interview with Sam Webster of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn" on Thelema Coast to Coast #28: June 24, 2006.
- Gasperson, Tina (2006). New-time religion in NewsForge: The Online Newspaper for Linux and Open Source (May 17, 2006). Retrieved June 1, 2006.
- Keane, Sam. "Open to Revisions" Search Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 19, May-June, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009
- Krengel, Eric. Open Source Religion Explored Again -- Beyond the Western Traditions, January 16, 2007
- OSOGD (2002). The Manifesto of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn. Retrieved June 1, 2006.
- Wicker, Christine (2005). Not In Kansas Anymore - A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America. Harper San Francisco. ISBN 0-06-072678-4
External links
- Website of The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn
- Temples of The Open Source Golden Dawn, America and Europe
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