One of the questions I occasionally ponder is how the techniques and knowledge of Golden Dawn should evolve. Or if they should evolve at all. As the Chief Adept (Praemonstrator) of a Golden Dawn lodge, it is a question close to the heart of my role in the system. Over the years, I have seen several approaches to this question.

Some groups rule that the system can’t change, insisting that the Mathers-Westcott documents are perfect, and any deviation from them is an automatic error.

Other groups have chosen to splice religious ideas, from such systems as Thelema and Catholicism, onto the Golden Dawn tradition. My personal opinion is that Catholics and Thelemites are happier in systems that cater to their religious beliefs while those who are tolerant of, and in fact are students, other religions are happier with groups that hold open equal advancement opportunities no matter what the member’s current religious preference.

And there are those who seek to correct the errors they perceive in the system by stepping backwards. By going back to the sources that they believe Golden Dawn was drawing upon, they hope to gain greater understanding of the system. And a more powerful system.

Of course, the differences in approach may merely be a way to distinguish one’s Order from the other Golden Dawn based Orders and capture a portion of the small dues paying members market.

Now, as most of those who know me can tell you, I could care less about capturing a part of the Golden Dawn market; I still believe that lodges should have the right of rejecting any applicant that might threaten their continued existence. My concern with how the system should evolve is purely pragmatic. If the system can evolve and increase my understanding of the universe and the human mind, I am all for it. Bottom line for me can be summed up by the Four Hermetic Virtues--to know, to dare, to will and to keep silent. Well, maybe not completely silent, I was an archive officer long before I was made a Chief Adept; a certain amount of information exchange is good for the tradition as a whole.

So how do I approach developing the system? Simple. I expect Adepts to roll up their sleeves and test various methods while doing the work. Ok, maybe it is not that simple. But that is my approach.

In the end, we have to remember that the founder of the RC, centuries ago, was very much concerned with correctness of the techniques used. The RC, if you believe the legend, was formed to figure out the correct way of doing things. And considering that the Messiah hasn’t came yet, I think that we have a ways to go.