Self Initiation and Golden Dawn Magic

It was the opinion of Israel Regardie that the continued use of such rituals as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, the Middle Pillar Ritual, The Opening by Watchtower, as well as performing the Initiation Rituals with the active imagination, could result in the student initiating themselves into the elemental energies and the current of the Golden Dawn.

In 1995, two senior Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, published a book entitled "Self Initiation Into the Golden Dawn Tradition" This book is essentially based upon the Knowledge Lectures given to students within the Outer-Order Grades. (See "The Golden Dawn" by Regardie) The original published versions of these Lectures were merely a student's notes, and not a full course of study. Therefore, the Cicero's, and the Sanctuary of Ma'at adepts have revised and expanded the material into a full curriculum for students and seekers of the Golden Dawn Tradition including additional lectures and study material, as well as tests at the end of each Grade section.

Furthermore, the Ciceros and the SOM adepts have included and revised two alternate versions of the Grade Initiation Rites (from Neophyte to Portal), designed for use by the solo practitioner. While the Self Initiation ceremonies do not confer official Golden Dawn Grades, they do offer the student some hands-on experience with the magical formulas of the Outer Order.

Self Initiation with the Hermetic Sanctuary of Ma'at

The Hermetic Sanctuary of Ma'at (HSoM)- or "Virtual Sanctuary"- exists in cyberspace and provides Self Initiates worldwide with resources and a means to communicate with their instructors and other members. This provides benefits to people who do not have access to a local Golden Dawn Temple, but desire to practice the 'Traditional' GD system through the path of a physical Initiation, rather than so called "astral initiations." Our teaching and learning methodology is unique and innovative, and requires active participation from the student.

The Hermetic Sanctuary of Ma'at provides resources, guidance, and instruction for solitary seekers who wish to go through the path of Self-Initiation. Once a member has completed the recommended Probationary work required for Self-Initiation a personal proctor is assigned to the student. This proctor is responsible for providing guidance and help during the entire Outer Order grade of the Golden Dawn Self-Initiation system which can be a daunting task if done unassisted.

Here are some key notes for those interested in working with the Sanctuary of Ma'at through Self-Initiation:

Solitary practitioners start their path at the Probationary grade. This grade prepares the candidate of Self-Initiation by providing instruction on the techniques needed to perform the solitary initiation rituals.
Solitary practitioners must perform the Self-Initiation rituals as described in the Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition book by Sandra Tabatha and Chic Cicero, or the alternate Self-Initiations written and provided by our adepts.
Solitary practitioners receive an Official Certificate of Completion for successful completion of the grade requirements and advancement examinations.

Solitary practitioners and members at a distance who cannot travel to one of our local temples to receive physical initiations can access their grade curriculum and related multimedia files, participate in our scheduled online classes and grade discussion forums, check their mastery of the grade curriculum through our online quizzes, and take their advancement examinations in the HSoM.

For more information about Physical Initiations and the Ordo Stella Matutina please visit our main website.

In LVX

The Chiefs,

Ordo Stella Matutina

Sanctuary of Ma'at Order of the Golden Dawn ® 2001 - 2010