Golden Dawn

I think I am confused. I originally looked for a Kabbalah newsgroup and this was the only one I found. However, I have no idea what Golden Dawn means. Can anyone tell me because I am confused. is Golden Dawn a group of Kabbalists? Thanks.

The Golden Dawn was a magical order, founded 1887 in London, England. Due to inner strain the order disbanded some 20 years later. The reason it has survived up to our days, is that all of the order manuscripts, rituals and so on was published by one Francis Israel Regardie just before WW2. Very many of today's student of occultism has got their knowledge from these books. Qabalah was one of Golden Dawns main topics.

D.K.D.G. the Warden of the Golden Dawn

Ian -

When I noticed this newgroup around, I was confused myself (why it was tied to kabbalah, I mean). The Golden Dawn was a magical order founded in the 1880's, and while it used kabbalistic models, they were derived from the hermetic kabbalah, the offshoot of kabbalah born as it became known to gentiles (like me (g)) in the Renaissance, and began accumulating connections to alchemy, evocation, and other magical practices outside the orbit of Judaic mysticism.

You'll find some connections to the main body of kabbalistic study in Judaism, but at two or three removes at best, and probably in terms that would have horrified a Luria or Abulafia.

There is an email list, QBLH-L, which deals with the Judaic kabbalah more closely and I'd recommend digging that out (it is on hollyfeld.org, but I forget the details for subscribing).

Regards,