Magical organization
|
A magical organization or order is a secret society created to initiate members into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further their knowledge of magic. Magical organizations can include hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups that may use different terminology and similar, though diverse, practices.
18th century
The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (German: Orden des Gold- und Rosenkreutz) was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld. Candidates were expected to be Master Masons in good standing. Alchemy was to be a central study for members.
The Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe (French: Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Élus Coëns de l’Univers) or simply Élus Coëns (Hebrew for "Elect Priests"), was a theurgical organization founded by Martinez de Pasqually in 1767. It spread in France in the latter part of the 18th century and is the first branch of the Martinist tradition.
19th century
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (Rosicrucian Society of England), or SRIA, is a Rosicrucian esoteric Christian order formed by Robert Wentworth Little in 1865. Members are confirmed from the ranks of subscribing Master Masons of a Grand Lodge in amity with the United Grand Lodge of England. The structure and grades of this order were derived from the 18th-century Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross. It later became the grading system used in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor was an initiatic occult organization that became public in late 1894, although according to an official document, it began its work in 1870. The Order's teachings drew heavily from the magico-sexual theories of Paschal Beverly Randolph, who influenced later groups such as Ordo Templi Orientis. However, it is not clear whether Randolph himself was actually a member of the Order.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has been credited with a vast revival of occult literature and practices and was founded in 1887 or 1888 by William Wynn Westcott, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and William Robert Woodman. The teachings of the Order include ceremonial magic, Enochian magic, Christian mysticism, Qabalah, Hermeticism, the paganism of ancient Egypt, theurgy, and alchemy.
The Brotherhood of Myriam (Fratellanza di Myriam) is an Italian esoteric organization founded by Giuliano Kremmerz in 1899, blending Hermeticism with therapeutic practices and mystical traditions rooted in Western esotericism. Its philosophy emphasizes spiritual healing, the study of ancient texts, and magical science.
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) was founded by Carl Kellner in 1895 and is said to have been "reorganized and reconstituted" from the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light.
20th century
Alpha et Omega continued the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Following a rebellion of adepts in London and an ensuing public scandal that brought the name of the Order into disrepute, Mathers renamed the branch of the Golden Dawn, remaining loyal to his leadership to "Alpha et Omega" sometime between 1903 and 1913. Another faction, led by Robert Felkin, became the Stella Matutina.
A∴A∴ was created in 1907 by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones. It teaches magick and Thelema, a religion shared by several occult organizations. Thelema's main text is The Book of the Law.
Aleister Crowley reworked Ordo Templi Orientis after he took control of the Order in the early 1920s. Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica functions as the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis.
Builders of the Adytum (or B.O.T.A.) was created in 1922 by Paul Foster Case and extended by Dr. Ann Davies. It teaches hermetic qabalah, astrology, and occult tarot.
Also, in 1922, after a falling out with Moina Mathers and with Moina's consent, Dion Fortune left the Alpha et Omega to form an offshoot organization. This indirectly brought new members to the Alpha et Omega. In 1924, Fortune's group became known as the Fraternity of the Inner Light.
Fraternitas Saturni ('Brotherhood of Saturn') is a German magical order founded in 1926 by Eugen Grosche (also known as Gregor A. Gregorius) and four others. It is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. The lodge is, as Gregorius states, "concerned with the study of esotericism, mysticism, and magic in the cosmic sense."
The UR Group was an Italian esotericist association founded in 1927 by intellectuals including Julius Evola, Arturo Reghini, and Giovanni Colazza to study Traditionalism and Magic.
In 1954, Kenneth Grant began founding the New Isis Lodge, which became operational in 1955. This became the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis (TOTO), eventually renamed the Typhonian Order.
The Church of Satan, a religious organization dedicated to Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible, was established in 1966 by Anton LaVey, who was the Church's High Priest until he died in 1997. Church members may also participate in a system of magic, which LaVey defines as greater or lesser magic. In 1975, Michael Aquino broke off from the Church of Satan and founded the Temple of Set.
The satanic and neo-nazi Order of Nine Angles (O9A or ONA) was founded in the United Kingdom during the 1970s. Hope not Hate have lobbied to have O9A designated a terrorist organization.
In 1973, John Gibbs-Bailey and John Yeowell founded the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite, or Odinist Committee, in England. Yeowell had been a member of the British Union of Fascists in his youth and bodyguard to leader Oswald Mosley. In 1980, the organization changed its name to the Odinic Rite. It is a white supremacist organization.
In 1976, James Lees founded the magical order O∴A∴A∴ to assist others in pursuing their spiritual paths. The order's work is based on the English Qaballa.
Chic Cicero founded The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., in 1977 in Columbus, Georgia. At the end of the 1970s, this order was the oldest continuously operating Golden Dawn offshoot in the United States, as it had the only working Golden Dawn temple.
The Sangreal Sodality is a spiritual brotherhood founded by British writer William G. Gray and Jacobus G. Swart in 1980.
During the last two decades of the 20th century, several organizations practicing chaos magic were founded. These include Illuminates of Thanateros and Thee Temple of Psychick Youth. These groups rely on sigils. Their primary texts include Liber Null (1978) and Psychonaut (1982), now published as a single book.
On the Vernal Equinox of 1990, Christopher Hyatt and David Cherubim founded the Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn in Los Angeles.[b]
21st century
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (OSOGD) was an esoteric community of magical practitioners, many of whom came from pagan backgrounds. Founded by Sam Webster in 2002, it was based on the principles of the open-source software movement. The OSOGD was an initiatory teaching Order that drew upon the knowledge, experience, practices, and spirit of the system of magical training and attainment developed by the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The OSOGD ceased operating in September 2019.
Schools
- Wikipedia article: List of fictional magic schools
The Grey School of Wizardry ↗ is an online school in California that focuses on secular esoteric education. Founded in 2004 by former headmaster Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, it operates primarily online and is a non-profit institution.
Arcanorium College ↗ is an online school of magic founded by chaos magician Peter J. Carroll.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Magical_organization ]
External links
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root