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was completely estranged from the Golden dawn.

With all of this divide and change, it may be supposed that the Order was destroyed, but this was not the case. the divisions appeared necessary for the natual dissemination of the occult knowledge at hand. It enabled some of the modern, rich traditions that still exist to grow and open up the mysteries to many more of the masses.

The Golden Dawn per se changed its form. Within its sytem, it was divided into an outer order (the Golden Dawn itself) and an inner Order (The Rosae Rubis et Aurae Crucis). This latter, a Rosicrucian order, was the governing body of the outer. With the divide of the Golden Dawn, the RR et AC (as it was called) remained and continued its work in different forms. The Outer Order operated in a few temples in different forms. One offshoot was known as the Stella Matutina and was operated by a former member known as Felkin. Several other offshoots were also formed. After Mathers' death, the remaining Golden Dawn temples (known as Alpha et Omega) were operated by his wife, Moina Mathers and John Brodie Innes and the American Temples also remained. Then all of these also disappeared, leaving various of the RR et AC members to continue their own operations.A number of offshoots arose from the AO temples, one being the order established by Dion Fortune, known as the Society of the Inner Light.

In the 1950's, a man who was the secretary of Aleister Crowley, who then had a firm interest in the Golden Dawn and was initiated into one of the Golden Dawn temples after Mathers' death, resurrected the outer order in a different form. Israel Regardie, as he was known, later published a full set of the outer order teachings and some additiona material. This has since been used by other modern Golden Dawn incarnations to support their own work. In particualr this forms the basis of the work of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This was founded by authors Chic and Tabitha Cicero in the 1980s, Chic Cicero, a mason, having been a member of Regardie's group. This order operates currently and is highly masonic in orientation. Another Golden Dawn group, known as the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, grew from the remnants of the American temples and the American branch of the RR et AC. This flourishes today and is probably the largest Golden Dawn order in the world. It states that it aims to follow the orginal teachings of SL Macgregor Mathers as closely as possible and it is not masonic in orientation. Various other Golden Dawn groups and offshoots exist, including the Builders of the Adytum and the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn. These offer their own version of a system that has a rough base in Golden Dawn practice. Some information and links to these various groups can be found on www.golden-dawn.org.

What is most interesting about the Golden Dawn is that it continues to fascinate and stimulate people and inspires them to try to operate its sytem. Its system is very practical and complete, which makes it highly workable. Those who join a Golden Dawn order nowadays will be initiated formally (including taking an oath of secrecy) and then led through a structured system of tuition, often with the support of a personal mentor. This enables them to work the system gradually and learn the alphabet of magic, for future progression.

As a modern Western Mystery school, the Golden Dawn works well. It forms the basis for profound magical work and is probably the best grounding that a serious student of theurgy will need.

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