The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot

The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot – Cicero

Introduction

For centuries the Tarot, an illustrated textbook of ageless, esoteric wisdom, has been used by occultists, mystics, and magicians for the purposes of divination and meditation. It has captivated the imaginations of many; from mere curiosity seekers and dabblers to famous artists, poets, magicians and psychologists. Although many people who are unfamiliar with the Western magickal Tradition think of Tarot cards as charming but strange devices for telling fortunes, the Tarot is in fact a complete and elaborate system for describing the hidden forces which underlie the universe. It is also the key to all occult science as well as a blueprint for unlocking the various parts of the human psyche. A comprehensive study of the Tarot is a task which is very nearly equal to acquiring a college degree in both psychology and theology. Each Tarot card is an astral mirror of the human mind. Each is also an astral mirror of the human soul.

The origin of the Tarot remains a mystery. It has been claimed by some that the Tarot has existed since the time of the Egyptians and even earlier, its knowledge dating as far back as Atlantis. Another theory says that the great esoteric minds that witnessed the burning of the library at Alexandria met in secret and decided to save the wisdom of the ages from being lost by hiding it in a game of cards. Still others say that the Tarot came from the Far East or from the Gypsies. As romantic as all of these stories may be, they remain to this day unencumbered by facts. To our knowledge, the Tarot was invented in the early 14th century and was used as a tool of instruction for those who did not know how to read. It was also used for gambling. However, by the 1800’s the cards were almost entirely used for fortunetelling. The decks of this era were based upon what is known as the Grigonneur deck, which was owned by Charles VI of France. Many of the so-called Medieval decks are variations of this deck.

With the mid-1850’s came an occult revival in Europe inspired

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by great esoteric thinkers such as Eliphas Levi. With this rebirth came serious study of the Tarot and continued Qabalistic associations to the symbolism contained therein. And although the exact origin of the Tarot remains a mystery, along with the unanswered question of whether or not its inventors intentionally placed Qabalistic symbolism into the cards, the Tarot itself remains untarnished. The fact remains that the two systems of Qabalah and Tarot are so strikingly similar in theory that they easily compliment and describe one another. If they indeed came from different origins, it would only serve to prove how universal is the Divine Truth behind them both.

With the nineteenth century came the full blossoming of what is known as the modern Hermetic Tarot based upon the principles of the Qabalah, the mystical wisdom of the ancient Hebrews. This Hermetic Qabalah was the primary focus of the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Founded in 1888 by a group of Qabalists, Freemasons, Theosophists and Rosicrucians, the Golden Dawn was formed as a magickal initiatory fraternity of men and women whose task was the study, teaching, organization and survival of the Western Mystery Tradition. This unique Order managed to develop a structured curriculum for the study of Western magick, at the same time unifying the various elements of Qabalah, astrology, Tarot, Hermeticism, geomancy, and Enochian magick. Virtually all of the best books on the subject of Western magick and mysticism were written by or, at the very least, influenced by members of the Order. S.L. MacGregor Mathers, Dr. W. Wynn Westcott, Dion Fortune, A.E. Waite, Aleister Crowley, Paul Foster Case and Israel Regardie were among the best known of the Order’s members whose works are still highly sought after by today’s practicing magicians. In fact much of the Order’s teachings have been copied or used by authors, persons, or groups without any acknowledgment of their Golden Dawn roots.

Israel Regardie, V.H. Frater Ad Majorem Adonai Gloriam, is the connecting link, between the Order’s past and its present. A deeply spiritual and magickal man, V.H. Frater A.M.A.G was committed to the Order’s goal of preserving the Western Mystery Tradition. Therefore, in 1937, when it was apparent that the last remnants of the Stella Matutina, an off-shoot branch of the original Order, was atrophying, and a very real possibility existed that the Tradition would be lost forever, Regardie published the Stella