The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (OSOGD) was an esoteric community of magical practitioners, many of whom came from pagan backgrounds. It was an initiatory teaching Order that drew 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 The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ...

. The OSOGD ceased operating in September 2019.

History

The OSOGD was founded by Sam Webster in 2002 and based on the principles of the

open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Op ...

movement.Wicker (2005), p. 206. The organization grew out of a series of workshops on ceremonial magic held by Webster in 2001.Kean (2009) According to Sam Webster, According to ''The Manifesto of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn'',OSOGD (2002). the Order had undertaken to revise the teachings of the original

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn system to work more effectively in the 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 Thelema () is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. The word ' ...

, Duty,

Universalism Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching th ...

, and Form and Function.OSOGD (2002). In temple work, the OSOGD uses

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

Enochian Enochian ( ) is an occult constructed language — said by its originators to have been received from angels — recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who w ...

and

Thelemic Thelema () is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. The word '' ...

godforms in preference to the Judeo-Christian

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

s 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."OSOGD (2002).

Membership

To actually join the Order, a person must have had regular access to its Lodge, which was located in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. The Order did not conduct distance initiations, and required that all initiates attend initiation rituals in person.OSOGD (2002).

Influences

The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn drew heavily from Eastern sources,

, Paganism, and the works of

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

Notes

References

* Crow, John. "Interview with Sam Webster of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn" o
''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

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).

'. Retrieved June 1, 2006. * Wicker, Christine (2005). ''Not In Kansas Anymore - A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America''. Harper San Francisco.

External links