Cicero - Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition_Part 01

Introduction
xxvii
Geomancy and Tarot, and understand the fundamental techniques of ritual,
including vibration, visualization, skrying, and assumption of godforms.
Regardie's The Golden Dawn, although an excellent source book which contains
much of the Order's teachings, is often too complex and overpowering for
beginning students. All of the Golden Dawn's traditional Knowledge Lectures for
the First Order are given here; expanded upon in a format designed to increase the
student's comprehension of them. The Knowledge Lectures are not to be merely
dismissed offhand as dry intellectual information. Study work is the foundation
of the Hermetic science of magic. Just as a surgeon cannot be expected to perform
an operation without having committed to memory the rudiments of medical
knowledge, so too the magician cannot expect to perform an effective ceremony
without understanding the fundamentals of magic. In this book, we have also
incorporated much basic Astrological and Alchemical information in the Knowledge
Lectures that is unavailable in Regardie's The Golden Dawn. In actual Golden
Dawn temples, examinations are given to initiates before they can advance to the
next grade. Here we have provided quizzes on the Knowledge Lectures and other
materials, so that the student can test him/her self at a convenient pace. In addition,
extensive ritual and meditative work is provided for each grade.
In Chapter One the readerwill find a ritual detailing self-initiation into the
grade of Neophyte in addition to gradework and examinations suitable to the
0 0=0°. Chapters Two, Three, Four and Five cover the Elemental grades from Zelator
through Philosophus. Chapter Six focuses on ritual and study work for the
Portal grade, the apex of this course.
We suggest that the student who elects to assume the route of self-initiation
first read the material at the beginning of the chapter appropriate to the grade
about to be entered. Then the performance of the initiation ceremony can be
undertaken. This ritual may be performed more than one time, since proficiency
will increase with practice, and proficiency is, after all, what will determine the
effectiveness of the initiation. After that, the Knowledge Lectures must be put to
memory. Acertain amount of time must be spent in each grade in order to absorb
both the written knowledge as well as the initiation. This is especially important
for the solitary student, who, without the support of an official temple and the
help of peers, may have a tendency to rush through all of the work presented here
in a ridiculously short period of time. Any reader thus disposed must remember
that the process of spiritual growth is not a race, and it cannot be accomplished in
a matter of weeks or months, but rather in terms of years and lifetimes. Keep in
mind the old axiom of Solvitur Ambulando-solve your problems as you proceed.
One does not have to rush through in order to prove one's intelligence or spiritual
prowess. Because of this tendency to hurry through the grades, we recommend
that solitary students in particular spend sufficient time in the various grades in
order to fully assimilate the effects of each initiation. We suggest that the student
of this course spend approximately four months as a probationer prior to any
attempt at self-initiation into the Neophyte grade. The student should take this
time to prepare for initiation by practicing the meditations and exercises given at
the end of this introduction. Six months should be spentin the grade of Neophyte,