The Work
begins within.

Explore the philosophy here, follow a thread of study, contemplation and practice in our Temple in Scotland, which was established in Edinburgh on the 18th of January 2016 as part of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn^©.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D) is a magickal Order founded in 1977 in Columbus, Georgia. This Order’s mentor and guiding light was the late Dr. Israel Regardie. The modern-day Order does not claim institutional lineage to the original H.O.G.D, but it does claim initiatory lineage to the original Order through Israel Regardie.

The modern Order follows the traditional hierarchical structure of the original Golden Dawn Order in England with a ruling triad of Officers known as the “G.H Chiefs” who govern both the First or Outer Order as well as the Second or inner Order (known as the Order Rosae et Aureae Crucis or the RR et AC). The modern Order also follows the traditional teachings, grade structure, and ethos of the original Order. Temple officers are known as Temple Chiefs. Although it currently has a worldwide membership with temples in several countries, the Order is rather private and membership is by invitation only.

The H.O.G.D is also a non-profit Florida organization incorporated in 1988 by Charles “Chic” Cicero. The stated goal of the corporation is educational, spiritual, and philosophical. The primary goal of the organization is the continued preservation of that body of knowledge known as Hermeticism or the Western Esoteric Tradition.

This organization promotes the teachings of the original Hermetic Order of the Golden dawn, a magickal fraternity founded in London in 1888 by Dr. William Wynn Wescott and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, which ceased to exist under that name in 1903 but which continued for a number of years under the names of two spin-off organizations, the Stella Matutina and the Alpha et Omega.

The grades of the Golden Dawn correspond to the sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree of Life but also have elemental and planetary attributions. They are further divided into three separate groups known as the First or Outer Order, the Second or Inner Order, and the Third or Invisible Order (which is not attained by living Initiates but rather by inner-planes contacts.) The First Order is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which is a separate and distinct entity from that of the Second or Inner Order, known as the R.  R. et A. C. or the Ordo Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis.

The First Order includes the grades of Neophyte, Zelator, Theoricus, Practicus, and Philosophus. Between the First and Second Orders is a liminal grade known as the Portal. The Second Order consists of the grades of Adeptus Minor, Adeptus Major, and Adeptus Exemptus. The non-physical Third Order is comprised of the grades of Magister Templi, Magus, and Illuminatus.