The New Society Of The Golden Dawn In Bradford

Salutation on Remembrance Sunday by The Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford

2011-11-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

Very early on Sunday morning, we of The Horus Temple of The Golden Dawn In Bradford, held a special ceremony in honour of our most respected and Worshipful Ancestors.
We toasted The Ancestors, their war colleague Fallen Friends and of course The Lord Horus, ancient Egyptian Sun God, twin brother of the Lady Bast and son of the Lord Osiris and The Lady Isis.

We know that a million paper poppies will not make war right and nothing can make up for the wrongs done by the governments that cause wars to happen, as they have done for thousands of years, with their yearning need for domination and power over others. We can however, Respect those who bravely fought for their cause, however much propaganda they were forced to believe in to do this. lets hope, in the very end, it was all worth it. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

The Hawk On The Wall

2011-04-13T15:35:00.001-07:00

We recently took this photograph of a sparrow hawk nearby. Whilst the bird is a hawk and not a falcon, we think that the appearance of this bird was a sign from the Egyptian God Lord Horus, to carry on with our Horus Temple of The Golden Dawn in Bradford.

We have been a bit quiet of late, but that is because we have been wading through an awful lot of medieval literature, in order to find and explore the alleged original sources of the material used by 19th and early 20th century occultists, much of which they claimed as their own.

There are many people around who are not cabalists and who do not believe that everything in the universe, seen and unseen, exists within a different sphere of the cabalistic Tree of Life, for example. That is just one way of thinking, or making the parts fit.

Long ago people just named the zodiac by giving clusters of stars names. The stars in the sky don't really look like anything that they are called eg 'The Plough', etc. or the current zodiac symbols of your horoscope. There is no real evidence to prove that anyone acts anything like the characteristics associated with their so called birth sign at all. It could be said to be wishful thinking.

However astrologers may spend hours drawing up charts absolutely convinced of their accuracy. It's a matter of personal choice really.

(Traditionally, falcons and hawks belonged to the order Falconiformes. The emergence of the order Accipitriformes is the result of a recent DNA study which suggests falcons are not closely related to the Accipitriformes, the order to which hawks are now considered to belong. Furthermore, for the purpose of the sparrowhawk sighting, it need only be necessary for us to recognize the physical similatites between such birds from which we may infer the meaning of the sighting.)

Horus (Wikipedia)

Ghosts and the Slow Shutter

2011-04-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Does the slow shutter of a camera capture a person's essence suspended in time for real? Yes we know its all about light capture but even so, I'm sure there is a bit more to this question.

Its like the famous parapshychologist visionaries of old. Many of them went off and wrote one book, or two books, three books four books etc. and these books were acclaimed as brilliant at the time of writing as many of them still are today.

On closer inspection however, these famous persons often used someone else's ideas and put these ideas in to a format which was up to date in their lifetime and so on and so forth.

If you study this subject carefully you will see that the same ideas have been re-packaged and trotted out for hunderds of years and several 'great men or women' have taken credit in modern history for a foundation of ideas and systems that was not in fact originally developed by them, but was actually developed hundreds of years previously.

Every so often someone has come along, read some old books and re-packaged the concept as their own work. I have recently found that many of the works attributed to a 'golden handful' of very famous 19th and 20th century parapsychologists are merely re-packaged copies of very much older material and it is not the work or even the idea of the 'golden handful' at all yet even today, they take all the credit for apparently mainly working out these systems themselves.

Another thing that may make people in awe is that these scholars of old have a fondness for latin language. Now there is nothing particularly clever about using latin. In the UK today you can read a bit of latin on the back of your shampoo bottle.

Learning latin was part of the national curriculum in the UK right up to the end of the 1960's and many private schools continue to teach latin today. The Catholic church used latin in it's mass. It was reasonably normal to use latin back in those days, it didn't mean anyone was exceptionally bright or clever just because they used a bit of latin. Latin sounds more pompous than using English, that's all, but its not really, but people think it makes them sound posh.

My late brother could read both latin and ancient Greek fluently, but that's because he learned it at school. He had books like Virgil's Aenid in latin and one day my hamster found a piece of chocolate on top of this book, ate it and dribbled all over the book's cover and that about sums up my view of stuff written in latin!

Visit the Bradford Ghost Hunters website

All Along The Watchtower

2011-01-13T19:12:00.001-08:00

It would seem that every good occultist has had some sort of manic 'Carrie' style religious upbringing that has turned them in to some sort of 'nut' at least where the general public are concerned.

Even Joseph Stalin of Russia was the son of a priest. You could say that the 'mania' develops from being brought up in a religious household and goes on from there.
As far as the Golden Dawn is concerned, too many people think they 'own' It, own Its Rights, Its essence, itself. There are a good number of 'High Fallutin', 'factual' missives on the internet, including stuff about The Society of Dew and Light, like oh they actually KNEW David Lund personally.

Truth is my family really did know the Lunds, back in the 19th Century and yes some of the family were freemasons and members of other brotherhoods groups and sects back in good old Bradford as well as a number of other places.

Fact- the Stella Matutina was not the Golden Dawn but an offshoot of it. Dion Fortune belonged to the Stella Matutina not the Golden Dawn. Israel Regardie had a lot of manuscripts from the original Golden Dawn workings but he was NEVER a member of the ORIGINAL Golden Dawn, but another offshoot. So much of the stuff on the internet is factually incorrect, yet people brag and brag about their ownership of the Golden Dawn. Well good luck to them if that is their trip, but it is not the God's honest truth whatever they say.

Going on to The Watchtower this is another belief system, with Jehovah (God) as the great lord. it is still very interesting if somewhat bigoted. But then all religions are totally bigoted. It the 'my way or no way' syndrome.

Jehovah's Witnesses on Wikipedia

Angels in Islam

2010-12-07T20:50:00.001-08:00

In Islam Angels are a medium between Heaven and Earth. There are four main Archangels all of whom have specific duties; Jibrail, Mikail, Izrail and Israfil. Iblis is the Satanic Angel but every person also has two angels, Munkar and Nakir, who hover around graveyards and check that spirits of the departed have remained faithful to Islam.

In the ritual prayer of Islam, called the Saalat, the person ends with a peace greeting, first over the left shoulder, then the right. Negative forces are called Shaitans or Shytans who are seen as Djinns or fire demons, in Islamic theology.

Really interesting and well worth a mention we think.

Listen to Golden Dawn Radio on Blog Talk Radio

The Black Canon of Bolton Abbey

2010-09-14T16:53:00.001-07:00

One of the most famous fairly local landmarks is that of 12th century Bolton Abbey, which confusingly is really a priory, a priory being smaller than an actual abbey.
The ruins and local church are haunted by the ghost of a monk known as The Black Canon'.
As many people will know, monks wrote in Latin, often producing illuminated manuscripts,with fancy lettering.

Strangely enough, the writings of some religious monks is the foundation stone for a good number of magical philosophies and systems.

The Holy Qur'an and The Golden Dawn

2010-09-12T16:40:00.001-07:00

I couldn't write articles about different religions within The Golden Dawn and not also mention Islamic teachings as according to Wikipedia, Bradford has the largest number of Muslims outside London.

Islam arguably has had a 'bad press' from a number of western countries, most notably the USA when recently, Florida Pastor Terry Jones wanted to have a 'Quran burning day', before it was put a stop to.

Unfortunately, to many westerners Islam is seen as a religion recently associated with terrorists and the subjugation of women, because that is what is often put forward on the television news and in the papers about Afghanistan, the burka controversy and the 9/11 and 7/7 incidents.

It can be difficult therefore, for a non Muslim to understand why some (but not all)
Muslim women cover themselves up and wear long coats and head scarves and it can be equally difficult for some Muslims to understand why western women do not cover themselves up in such a way.

I bought a copy of the Quran, translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, which is supposed to be the most authentic English translation and spent several days reading it. This was because I had acquired a necklace with the letters 'AALA' on it. Out of curiosity I googled the letters 'AALA' and it went on from there, so then I wanted to actually own a copy of the Quran myself, to make my own mind up.

What I discovered, was not the kind of thing you read in the papers or see on the news. I think, from a personal point of view, that the differences that people actually see between Eastern and Western origins are mainly cultural and traditional more than actually religious. For there are many ways to interpret the Quran and many ways for the Quran to fit in to the indigenous Western lifestyle as well as in to the more traditional indigenous Eastern one. For example, a woman of western origins may interpret the command to dress modestly completely differently from the idea of modesty in the east but this would still be modest to them and their culture. The Quran gives an example of a woman falling from donkey and the need to be covered to preserve her modesty.

Ramadan, the month of fasting has just ended, but again how a person would interpret Ramadan and how they should behave is up to them and their interpretation of the Quran For example it is a time when help should be given to the poor or the old or those 'needing alms' according to the Quran How many people carry this command out | wonder? I checked out all the sunrise and sunset times and saw that they differed depending on what part of the country you were in.

Anyway, the Quran is well worth a read, even for members of The Golden Dawn. It is a loving and gentle book and absolutely nothing at all like I have ever seen it portrayed anywhere ever or by anybody. The Quran is written in Surahs and is about
some very common sense but often very misinterpreted teachings. To Allah, Peace be Upon Him.

Lord Buddha in Bradford

2010-09-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

The Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths are certainly something to contemplate. Lord Buddha is an exceptionally calming influence on any situation and so has a place in the Golden Dawn.

Lord Ganesha in Bradford

2010-09-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Lord Ganesha sits in his window shrine, nearby is a red plant and around him are all the sweet things he loves - his own honey and his sweets. The Golden Dawn can encompass all things and many different religions.

Thelema and Babalon in Bradford

2010-08-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

In 2005, whilst living in Huddersfield, I had a rather strange phone call from a man who told me he lived in Great Horton, Bradford. This man went on to say how valuable the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram was and also mentioned a ritual involoving a nine pointed star and the Rose Cross. The man then went on to talk about Aleister Crowley. He insisted that Aleister Crowley had indeed come to Bradford and that Mr Crowley himself had done ritual workings in a building on North Parade in Bradford.

With a little digging around, I found that one of the branches of the Theosophical Society (at one time there were two branches in the area) had once held meetings in the Yorkshire Penny Bank Chambers at the end of North Parade and thought it was possible from what I was told that this was the same building where Aleister Crowley had also held his rituals.

It should be remembered that Mathers and Crowley were once on very friendly terms, however, a person who actually has done the Abramelin ritual allegedly successfully is the author William Bloom.

I would say personally that it is not always necessary to do elaborate rituals to achieve such a thing, for if some being wants to see you, it will find you anyway and many people claim to have seen their Guardian Angel, just check out the psychic monthly magazines, without going in to retreat for a year.

People have said that they have had strange experiences in places that Crowley has lived such as Boleskine House and various flats in the London area. Crowley probably didn't bother banishing things from other realms that turned up, so they stayed put.

The house where I reside now is full of psychic phenomena, a number of people have experienced all sorts of things in the house, good and bad but we wouldn't banish it
we just leave it be.

If you've ever checked out details of former O.T.O Agape lodge member and rocket enthusiast Marvel 'Jack' or 'John' Parsons, who has a moon crater named after him, you will see that he involved himself in the Babalon working and although Cameron his partner sometimes saw herself as Babalon, Jack was looking for another Babalon
to turn up, possibly to his detriment.

As each city apparently has its own angel, then Bradford is perhaps looked over by the Lady Babalon of Thelema. Bradford is also mentioned in T. S. Eliot's poem 'The Waste Land.' Bradford's wasteland has flowered again, perhaps as the City of Pyramids and yet The Abyss is never far off as there is, behind the fences of the new Bradford urban Garden, a deep drop in to the empty basin originally prepared for the new Bradford Canal which has not as yet come to pass and yet in the maze of Bradford's Garden Magic or mage-ick, perhaps there Lady Babalon and Thelema can be found still. At least, I'm sure my phone caller would take this view.

Occultism in a Creepy Old Building

2010-07-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

The occult is a science, which follows a particular order. It's not about who knows the most, about what, or where, or how or any form of 'show off' knowledge. True followers of any occult path are in it for the religion, not to show off, thats why many occultists in history were poor, including Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. Occultism is not a substitute for modern medicine, nor is it a placebo or blind faith, it is something more, a third element creeping in, or indeed being drawn in by a person or persons with enough knowledge of occult science in everyday life to make this happen.

The occult is not about a lot of male chauvinists in a rock band giving themselves or their band an occult based name to be 'really clever', its not about emo's or goths or anyone playing at being a pretend vampire and its not just for young people who dye their hair black, or old hippies from times past. The occult is really serious. It's one of the most serious things there is in life and it is there for anyone who has a genuine interest.

For those who are religiously minded, the occult doesn't actually go against anyone's God either, because it is not saying it is bigger than the Creator, just a part of creation and that could mean that your particular God created the occult too, so its not acutally about idolatry because all these created elements, perceived by some as idols could be seen as belonging to the Creator and being part of the Creator and therefore not idols at all, but part of the same picture.

The occult is not about arrogantly knowing the most about past occult 'heroes' or what happened to 'such and such' or where certain events happened. It's not about saying God is good or Satan is bad either. Anyone is bad who hurts other people with vindictive knowing. Anyone intent on harm is evil, whether they label themselves a follwer of God or Satan. Similarly anyone who helps others or does a nice thing for someone else is good whether they are a Satanist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or other.

I have spent the last few days reading, exclusively, The Holy Qur'an translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Before this I was reading all about Buddha and how to become a Buddha.

A lot of religious problems seem to be cultural rather than genuinely religious. To say a Satan is evil, end of, is not ackowledging the problems created by over zealous religous belief in GOOD which becomes evil because of the over zealousness applied.

I was suprised at how similar the Qur'an is to The Bible. A lot of it is so the same, why is everyone falling out? I have also read The Satanic Bible, by Anton La Vey and that man wrote in the main, some very helpful and sensible straightforward advice about looking after yourself.

Anyway, the upshot of it all is that we all repeated the Shahada quite seriously out loud which is what you have to do to become a Muslim so I suppose we have all become Muslims now too.

I think if someone tries to infiltrate your beliefs with 'false prophets' or the 'prophets of false' or false mockery, (whatever false means to you) or just plain nastiness, your only option is to infiltrate theirs as they tried to infiltrate yours. Hopefully it will all come out in the wash and everything will be OK in the end.

Meanwhile here is a creepy picture of the wreck of the conditioning house in Bradford, West Yorkshire, a truelly hideous, dangerous derelict building. Shalom.

The Minutes of The 21st Century Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn

2010-06-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

We discussed how the Golden Dawn has transmuted in to the 21st Century and also the possiblility of the Trithemius cypher being afected by Trismegistus teachings, or indeed El Morya, Babaji, or Melchizedek.

The basic energies needed to stabilize the cypher can also possibly be found in quantum physics. A case of splitting the atom to find the quark.

Listen to Golden Dawn Radio on Blog Talk Radio

Netta Fornario - A Truth Stranger Than Fiction

2010-04-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

We have recently spent a lot of time going through old records. In doing so we have found a lot of true facts about Occultist Netta Fornario who is usually senasationalised for her apparently strange death on the tourist island of Iona in November 1929.

As we have done all the research, we lay claim to being FIRST with this new information which up until April 2010 was never before published and much of which was available only by physically going through many old archived records.

To read a much fuller,previously unknown in the present day, true account of Netta and her family, see Netta Fornario: Mystery Within Mystery - Lady Garrote

The Minutes of the New Temple of Horus of the Golden Dawn in Bradford

2010-03-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

October 1983 Press Cutting

There was a toast to The Lord Horus. Then there was a toast to Mr Thomas Henry Pattinson, who ran the original Temple of Horus of the Golden Dawn in Bradford in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Then we must reflect upon the Sign of Horus which is 'Silence' that is do not say too much, 'If In Doubt, Say Nowt (nothing)' - however, conversantly, do not let others shut your mouth if you have something to say, for it is for them to be silent and not you. Do not hide your light if it is time for that light to shine, as the beacon of a lighthouse guided ships away form the rocks.

We fed Mother Earth with food and wine, as you should do from respect at any ceremony.

Lady Garrote and Psykik Solutions - Jack The Ripper in Bradford 1888

2010-02-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

Jack The Ripper's Black Magick Rituals is a book by Ivor Edwards. It is well worth a read and featured on Lady Garrote's BTR radio show of February 16, 2010. Was Jack the Ripper a Satanist? Did he kill his victims as part of a Satanic fertility Rite? Was Jack the Ripper Robert D'Onston Stephenson? Did he turn up in Bradford West Yorkshire UK? Listen to the show for more details and also see the Jack the Ripper in Bradford post on the Psykik Solutions blog.

Listen to Lady Garrote on Blog Talk Radio

The Society of The Dew And The Light

2010-01-23T20:35:00.001-08:00

The Society of Dew and Light (or The Dew And The Light), actually preceded The Hermetic Order of Golden Dawn. Samuel Mathers and Madame Blavatsky got in to quite a flap over David Lund, who was related to a well known Bradford photographer called Percy Lund, a man who later tried to join Arthur Waite's 'Holy Order of The Golden Dawn in London'.

David Lund was interested in Indian magic long before Thomas Henry Pattinson revived and remodelled Mr Portman's Garuda rites around 1902. The police had a dislike of Mr Lund and combed old laws under which they could prosecute him, whilst other fortune tellers plied their trade freely in the Keighley area. Perhaps it was because David Lund was not London based, or perhaps it was because other men became jealous of the high number of women who sought his advice. It appeared that even Samuel Mathers and Madame Blavatsky were jealous of his abilities and so attempted to libel him in publications such as 'Lucifer' magazine.

However, David Lund still had a band of very dedicated followers, as the short film suggests.

Polyfaith Exploits of The New Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn With Dew and Light

2010-01-04T21:50:00.001-08:00

Cernunnos

Ibo-Ibolo

Horus

We know that 'Degree' ceremonies are meant to teach followers of certain concepts in small manageable steps. For instance, you could learn about the elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire (in Feng Shui, the five elements used, are- earth, fire, wood, metal and water). But in the same way you could attend Cambridge University, or you could equally attend the University of Life and eventually at some point your roads would cross.

It's the same with esoteric systems, there is more than one way to learn them and arrive at the same conclusion or destination as your counterpart. 'It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it' as the song goes.

If you are Polyfaith, then you can believe in everything at once if you feel like it, or be selective. We have a shrine to the Lady Epona, a Shrine to Lord Ganesha, paintings of the African warrior Ibo-Ibolo, the Lord Horus and also a painting of one of the oldest Gods of all time, dating originally from the stone age, Cernunnos, who is also known by various other names.

Netta Fornario, Fairy Tale and Bradford, West Yorkshire,

2009-12-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

The film on the link is about Occultist, Netta Fornario. The music video was filmed at Bradford's Garden Magic exhibition, which took place in August 2009, in Centenary Square, Bradford. The main sand statue figure is that of Charles Darwin, who is remembered for his evolution theory.

There is plenty of information on the web about Netta, who was buried simply as M.E.F. (Marie Emily Fornario), very hastily on the Island of Iona, Scotland. Netta also called herself Mac Tyler and reviewed 'The Immortal Hour' by Fiona Macleod, who was really author William Sharp, a member of the Golden Dawn. A link to another good piece, 'The Hotel of The Beautiful Star', also by William Sharp, can be found below. (To make sense of this post the reader needs to see the links.)

Incidentally, the piece featured on Google from the Bradford Telegraph and Argus entitled 'Was Occult Alive and Well in Bradford' by David Barnett, from August 7, 2009, apparently emailed by a 'David Richardson' is pure plagiarism. We wrote the piece word for word, supposedly forwarded as the work of 'David Richardson', on one of our many blogs. The drawing the Telegraph and Argus used in the same piece, was taken from a book by Marie Campbell, presumably also without permission. Plagiarism is stealing someone else's work and passing it off as your own.

The Telegraph and Argus also used other information from one of our paranormal blogs in a piece entitled 'Scariest Night of The Year' from October 27, 2009, again by David Barnett. We painstakingly research articles, or the information in our blog/website articles has been passed down to us by word of mouth. We would expect a request to be made and/or be given due credit for information that is used, by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, or any other media.

We have done a lot to promote The Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford,so that it is never forgotten, with a documentary and many blog posts over a period of time. We believe that Mr Mathers and Dr Westcott as well as Mr Thomas Pattinson have given us the authority to do this. Yet there are certain people who have tried to drive us away, either by veiled threats or by stealing our material. This is a very sad state of affairs, but as long as we feel it is right we shall carry on, in our own unique way, promoting both The Golden Dawn and The New Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford and we uphold The Lord Horus and all that The Lord Horus represents.

Netta Fornario Musical Mystery

The Hotel of the Beautiful Star - William Sharp

1888: The Golden Dawn In Bradford - Psykik Solutions

The New Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford - Update

2009-11-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

Salve Magister

Salve tu quoque Magistra

Visa per invisa firma

Nolo servile capistrum

Honesta quam magna

Virtus in actione consistit.

Henry 'Harry' Makepeace - Master of the Gild of St Anne

2009-10-14T23:40:00.001-07:00

I am sure Masons may laugh at our resurrection of the Horus Temple of The Golden Dawn in Bradford. Especially when a court case was fought in the USA over who could rightly use the title 'Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn' and others take stands over titles 'Alpha ET Omega' or 'Alpha et Omega' Temple, like there is a big fight on over who owns what.

I think Mr Westcott and Mr Mathers will be having a good laugh somewhere. Its like the World Wrestling Entertainment 'Triple Threat Match' or if they all turn up its the 'Royal Rumble or the Tables 'Ladders and Chairs' High Rite.

What right do we have to set up our Temple? Well firstly, if Mr Westcott and Mr Mathers set up the Golden Dawn (not forgetting Dr Woodman) then its not for anyone else around today to tell anyone else they can't do it. But the Golden Dawn is shared by all every day when the dawn rises, so it is not the exclusive property, esoterically, of anyone.

Back to credentials. Our direct ancestor, Henry 'Harry' Makepeace was Master of The Gild of St Anne's. He was born before 1479 in Burton Dasset, Warwickshire and died in April 1538, when mystic John Dee was still a child and well before the time of Eliphas Levi or a whole host of other mystics.

Another family member was steward to Sir William Parr, the uncle of Catherine Parr the 6th wife of King Henry viii. Our relatives bought Sulgrave Manor, Oxfordshire, which remained in the family (the Washingtons and their cousins the Makepeaces) until 1659.

All this was painstakingly researched by a distant cousin of ours who works as an economist in the city of London.

So, I think we do have a right to stake out claim in The Golden Dawn, 21st Century.

St. Anne's Gild (Guild)

Meeting of The New Horus Temple in Bradford - A New Dawn

2009-10-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Copyright © 2009. All Rights Reserved.

This is the Official ensign of The New Society of The Golden Dawn, designed by The new Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford. We think it is contemporary and modern, whilst at the same time holding on to both old and new values.

Vochi, One of Bradford's Great Pretenders?

2009-10-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned Vochi here because he so craved fame and attention and would go to inordinate lengths to get it. Having said all that I think he was a snob, despite the fact that at the time I knew him he lived in a bedsit in Manningham, Bradford, but that didn't stop him getting grants for writing and I am given to understand he did some recordings with Red Rhino Records in York. He was one of those people you'd see, year after year,walking round town in a black leather suit or boots with silver platforms, like a peacock, with a dowdy peahen girlfriend in tow. Then he disappeared, either he cut his hair, got a car and moved to the suburbs, or he left Bradford. He's probably not even called Vochi anymore!

The reason he is mentioned here is because he was an unusual, though not very pleasant person. I think I tried to understand him, but some people have such big egos that it is impossible to have any kind of relationship with them. He claimed to have an interest in the paranormal. There was a bit of a scandal which was mentioned in the papers of the time, when a vicar banned a play Vochi had written from being performed in the local church hall. I'm sure it is easy to understand why that would be!

'Dracula' at Bradford Playhouse & Film Theatre

The Freemasons and Other Groups

2009-10-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

My great uncle was a Mason, he was also a lot of other things including a nice old chap, he really was kind too. My grandfather belonged to the Ancient Order of Buffaloes and my brother was a member of the Round Table, his wife being a member of the Ladies Circle.

When I was fourteen I attended a 'family night' at a Freemasons lodge in Leeds, along with my brother, his wife and their friends, the invite coming from Brian who was Worshipful Master of this particular lodge at that time and a friend of my brother.

We played cards in the ceremonial 'court room', where there was a black and white chess board carpet on the floor. My cards partner, Mike and myself sat at a cards table and played against another pair, before moving to the next table and playing again. There were quite a few card tables set up and you played and moved to the next table. I wasn't really sure what game we were playing but my cards partner, Mike and myself won a prize at the end which was officially awarded downstairs, where a party was held.

Because Brian was the Grand Worshipful Master and we were his guests, we got a few privileges such as using his downstairs room as a cloakroom. On the wall was a long black and white framed photo of a lot of men in pinnies.

What I never liked, even as a young person, was all this men's stuff. It was all about men and men being powerful, women being mere decorations. If you look around you, it doesn't matter if a man is old, or fat, he simply doesn't care, because no one sees this as a mortal sin, hes a MAN, it doesn't matter. But a woman on the other hand, is persecuted for her size and weight, or her age, her insecurities fed by a thousand adverts to make her feel she is not good enough in her own skin. So she becomes a pawn to the will of a man.

This is not a feminist request for a rantidote, merely a request for true equality; a few years ago, an educational publishers published an article of mine in one of their books about ageism towards women.

Unfortunately men's clubs and men's societies even today act as a barrier towards giving women equal rights. Yes there are now token women members of many groups but its not quite the same thing as having had EQUAL rights from the start.

The pictures show degree ceremony staffs of a different Order (such as 60° x 3 = 180°) and there we have an equilateral triangle or is it a pyramid? I suppose you could meditate upon this triangle or put an eye in it, or walk through it and end up in Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, great book, a childhood favourite).

Lets hope the New Dawn washes away old prejudices.

Followers Of The Astral Path

2009-10-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Golden Dawn and its offshoots hold the fascination of many across the globe. Pop and rock acts have called their bands 'The Golden Dawn', 'Secret Chiefs' and 'Dion Fortune' to name but a few examples.

One strange email discovered last Thursday afternoon was from a man who said he still held the 'rights' to the name Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford. We explained that an area may hold several churches of the same name e.g. St Mary's or St Peter's but that didn't make one more valid or less worthy than the other. The man said he was a member of the Ciceros, so we checked this out as well as the various other Horus Temple's around the globe and also The group which calls itself The Golden Dawn in the UK.

A lot of workings are based on Israel Regardie's publication of Stella Matutina work, an offshoot of the Golden Dawn of which Dion Fortune was once a member. As Israel Regardie was born in 1907 he wasn't even around when the original Golden Dawn were running and the magical papers he obtained were from the Stella Matutina who in any case had adapted many of the Golden Dawn's truly original rites. Below are are quite a lot of links to troll through for anyone who wants to examine this fact. In other words, all groups in existence today could be said not to be the true Golden Dawn of yesteryear even if they have copied and even perfected many or even all the rites, which were constantly being changed even in the time of Westcott and Mathers.

We think the Golden Dawn should belong to the People as it is a part of living history and not just to an elite and wealthy chosen few who have the money and means. Many people are not professionally well connected enough to become Freemasons and the original Golden Dawn was full of theatre people, artists and writers, many of them women who would not have been allowed to be Masons in those days. Basically it was for people with enquiring minds, who wanted more from life than what they saw in front of them.

Mathers and his wife Moina (originally Mina) were actually quite poor for much of their lives and at one time were supported financially by tea heiress Annie Horniman. Pamela Colman Smith died in acute poverty in 1951 and was always short of money during her lifetime, even in her younger days as a starlet painter.

Then you have to look at the fact that however clever the rituals, they didn't do many of the members of magical orders a lot of good in the long run, Dion Fortune died suddenly of undiagnosed leukaemia, despite being hailed even today as one of the most famous Occultists in the world, when she could go out on the astral planes all the time, why didn't she know she was ill and why didn't one of her Great Masters try to help her? Also, why was Mathers conned by some some people purporting esoteric knowledge they didn't have, if he was such an Ippissimus as everyone thought?

None of these people were very good at curing or assisting in the healing of illnesses it would seem, despite all their magic. That, overall, is a very serious flaw in the system. If Mathers could apparently call up and view an Archangel - did he really have that right and what did he want to do it for anyway? - then why couldn't he and all his followers after him cure illness? If they were that good they should have been putting their talents to work in hospitals, mass healing the sick and also saving lives and stopping wars. (Or they could have joined S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and ruled the world, were it not for James Bond!) Remember the cult 60s TV show, The Champions, featuring Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett, characters granted perfected human abilities by a secret Tibetan advanced civilisation? Doing good for the people. So why was this not the case with the original Golden Dawn posse?

Although many of them are famous, it never quite really happened for them, heavily bringing their rituals, however fantastical, in to serious question as to why they did not do more good both for the users and for mankind in general, since they purported to be taking orders from 'Secret Chiefs' or Great Masters elsewhere on elevated planes. Maybe they misinterpreted what they believed they were meant to do?

And for the record...

August 21, 2009

On August 21, 2009 and September 29, 2009, respectively, we inadvertently photographed crosses in the sky in roughly similar areas of Bradford, both photographed by accident, when testing the camera and not seen until later – Golden Dawn symbol crosses seen early evening 'As the moon is rising give us the sign?' Is this the sign that we are meant to run the new Temple of Horus in Bradford, be it in our own contemporary, non traditional way, despite what anyone else may say?

September 29, 2009

Two other things happened, last Thursday (October 1). It seemed in my imagination that I was wearing a long cloak entirely made of blue and green feathers and I felt like I was wearing a headdress of feathers and the head of a bird with a yellow beak, as if I had become a bird priest. The image was so strong that I felt compelled to do a quick abstract painting of this bird image that evening. We again took this as a sign that we were on the right track with our new Golden Dawn Temple of Horus in Bradford, though the bird may have been a representation of Quetzalcoatl. The second thing that happened, was that a new book I had bought, still in a wrapper and not even read, fell open at an old photograph of a person wearing a hood, long robe and holding a finger to their mouth. Underneath this photograph is the caption 'The Sign of Horus: SILENCE.' Enough Said?

Quoting The Guide to Mysterious Iona and Staffa, by Geoff Holder;
'The members of the notoriously fissiparous magical groups were always in dispute…their entire lives seemed to be spent in a tragic-comic round of seeking elevated spiritual states, acquiring high faluting titles, and wallowing in base hatreds.'

Quoting Jo and Pete, who commented on an earlier post;
'A lot of what I have seen on the internet about the temple is not true: I was involved in clearing up the attic room in the late 1980's when it was owned by a friend of mine (Sirag). There were also connections to the old St James market, which was the repository of the ritual implements and I had the sword from the temple when the market was pulled down. I have kept rubbings of the ritual markings of the sword, which was identified as the Horus sword by Bob Gilbert (GD historian).'

Followers of the Astral Path

Stella Matutina

The August Order of Light

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888)

The Hermetic Order of the Golden_Dawn, Inc.

Chic Cicero

The Temple of Horus, Bradford

2009-10-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

We would like to thank anyone who has sent us interesting and uplifting emails. However there is always 'one' isn't there? The one who doesn't like what you're doing, or thinks you don't have a right. We received emails from a man who works at Bolling Hall, in Bradford on this and a sister site, doing a bit of 'fishing'. We responded politely and then got a strange email back from a man claiming to hold the charter of a now defunct Horus Temple in Bradford.

Really this is of no concern to us. Whoever left the premises in Godwin Street Bradford to rot and did not respectfully remove the iconic images if they were of no further use to them, is not in our opinion, respectful of the Divine to the level that they should be.

Our new Temple of Horus in Bradford is not about degree ceremonies, charters or pomp, - a lot of which turned out to be rubbish anyway. In the founding of the original Golden Dawn, Westcott and Mathers merely set up a lot of the stuff themselves with some help from other masons and manufactured all the so called intervention of Anna Sprengel who probably did not exist, along with the 'secret chiefs' it just sounded good at the time. Westcott and Mathers with a bit of help from a Dr Woodman really just used their own knowledge and ability to set up the Golden Dawn.

The Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn which we run in Bradford today is about philosophy, art, music, drama and respect for spirituality in general.

Hard Rock Halellujah - Official Anthem of the Golden Dawn in Bradford

2009-09-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

Opposing defamation of the Lord Horus and the Lord Garuda, whom rise, fronting a new aeon, their temple subsequently consumed and reformed as those intent to defame are devoured beneath the flame of the all consuming whom may devour such opposition.

Psykik Solutions - The New Society of the Golden Dawn in Bradford

2009-09-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Obviously The New Horus Temple and The New Society of the Golden Dawn in Bradford, has taken note of modern trends and some of our posts may seem a little unusual to traditionalists We have incorporated music, magick, philosophy and common sense in to our proceedings, as well as looking at the lives of some of those connected in some way to the original Golden Dawn. See link 'psykik solutions' for a connection to Jack the Ripper in Bradford back in 1888, which eerily parallels some of the later antics of 'Yorkshire Ripper' Peter Sutcliffe, in the 1970's.

Psykik Solutions

Marie (Netta) Fornario, Jimi Hendrix and the Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn

2009-09-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jimi Hendrix may have written his song 'Wind Cries Mary' for one of his girlfriends named Kathy Mary, but there is startling comparison to the death of Netta Fornario within this song.

Netta often called herself Marie Fornario and she is in fact buried under that name - Marie being French for Mary.

Hendrix, 'when all the jacks are in their boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed', (Netta) Marie wondered around Iona Island at night, contacting spirits;
'And the wind whispers Mary'
Hendrix, 'Somewhere a queen is weeping, somewhere a king has no wife'
Iona is the burial place of numerous Scottish, Irish and Norwegian kings.
'And the wind, it cries Mary'
Hendrix, 'The traffic lights they turn, uh blue tomorrow and shine their emptiness down on my bed'
Blue lights were seen near the body of Marie (Netta) Fornario and they are still seen near her grave today
Hendrix, 'The tiny island sags downstream, cause the life that lived is dead'
The tiny island could be Iona Island where Marie (Netta) Fornario was dead.
Hendrix, 'Will the wind ever remember the names it has blow in the past?
And with its crutch, its old age and its wisdom, it whispers, no this will be the last'
'And the wind cries Mary'

Is it not a startling coincidence that this song also fits in with the circumstances of Marie (Netta) Fornario’s activities and untimely death on Iona Island?

Even more strange is the fact that a number of people who have watched our Netta music video have experienced chocking feelings, or burning around the neck (as with one psychic who envisioned a man in his 30’s with a moustache as her killer) we think Marie (Netta) Fornario was strangled, probably by an Iona islander and the matter hushed up. But Jimi Hendrix also had a mysterious death, allegedly dying of asphyxiation (choking) due to inhalation of vomit on September 18, 1970. Many people are of the opinion that the death of Jimi Hendrix was no accident.

And now to the desecration of the Horus Temple in Godwin Street, Bradford, befitting this piece as the apparent humility of the physical may also experience such a fate.

Destruction through fear, physical destruction of depicted authority as means to enforce own perceived superiority. Uncertainty as to represented authority physical destruction perceived as spiritual superiority. They have taken their representation. Subjects are not defamed but defaced. Their representation is consumed. Dead bird symbolic - left to rot - consumed not defamed, Character irrelevant, representation destroyed. Existence not destroyed - overwhelmed by supposedly superior force - consumed. Existence not dismissed but devoured. Point taken then depicted or depicted through evolution in aggressor's chosen format. Religiously consumed by a supposedly religious evolutionary force; pseudo- epitome of all-seeing eye. Presiding over perceived inferior religions. Representation significant; remains depict superiority over inferiority. Remains necessary as affirmation of this perceived fact. Entire destruction undermines purpose. That failure to destroy may consume such host from within. If maggot be man in consumption of evil may minor be major as honest endeavour devours religious minors. Preserving existence, stripping identity; confined as prisoner. Physical embodiment retained, character removed.

Does the reality of everyday accommodate such a perception?

Furthermore (as) 'the traffic lights turn blue tomorrow' by coincidence, the blue, all-seeing eye of the Lord Horus, the Egyptian falcon headed God of the Sun and the family whose twin sister is the cat Goddess Bast or Bastet, is used as a symbol of the Wadjet eye in Ancient Egypt to ward off evil. Interestingly, the Going Forth of Wadjet was celebrated on December 25 with chants and songs. The Garuda is also a bird God of flight and the sky, so possibly there is a lot of similarity here as well.

Watch Jimi Hendrix 'Wind Cries Mary'

Watch 'Netta (Eh, Eh)'

Garden Magic in Golden Dawn Mystery of Netta Fornario Film

2009-08-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Although it was only put on the internet last weekend, there have been some reports from people who have watched the Netta Fornario video, of feeling strange or as in one case something worse temporarily. Does the video carry bad or strange vibes, even though it was actually made at a Garden Magic exhibition in Centenary Square, Bradford, as a substitute for Iona? There was a sand statue of biologist Charles Darwin, some floor sand, a boat and even another sand statue of a mermaid! Fountains played on the next block nearby. Brilliant as a location and also very mystical and very Golden Dawn.

Netta Fornario Music Video - She Fell Foul On Iona

Netta Fornario Music Video, the Thoth Tarot Deck and Fingal's Cave

2009-08-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

Whilst using the Thoth Tarot Deck known for its ability to cause hallucinogenic visions, probably because the pictures cause light hypnosis, about a month ago I picked up a cave with a serpent in it and a man in a hooded robe. I misspelled Fingal's cave and thought it was in the Outer not Inner Hebrides because I picked up Fingal's cave from the Thoth tarot deck. From Fingal's Cave, Staffa, I discovered you could see Iona where no snakes apparently live.

I'd heard of Netta Fornario from Dion Fortune's book 'Psychic Self Defence' which I rented from the library in the 1990s. Because I'd picked up MacRae, I looked in to the Netta Fornario death again. Another book said she lodged with a Mrs MacDonald and then with the Cameron family, arriving on Iona in August 1929 when she was in her early 30's and dying mysteriously in November 1929 on Iona. Something very odd happened to Netta Fornario and probably someone on Iona even today, could answer those outstanding questions.

I'm still puzzling as to where Ice Cube (the man) comes in, possibly the film Anaconda, given the (lack of a) snake connection with Iona. Note the fact that I actually mentioned a sea monster in my psychic scribbles. Netta's tale features in the Golden Dawn music video, filmed in Centenary Square, Bradford, at the recent Garden Magic exhibition,(as a suitable stand-in for Iona and the Green Ray). This post also covers the society's minutes for week ending 22nd August 2009.

Watch the (Golden Dawn) Netta (Eh, Eh) Music Video

Fingal's Cave

Jesus Shining Light Over Bradford?

2009-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

This rather miraculous photo of a large, shining luminous white cross in the sky was taken by the writer of this blog at 1841hrs, on Friday, August 21, 2009, at a retail park near Bradford Cathedral. I held the phone camera up in the air and photographed towards the sun whilst looking in the opposite direction. I was taking a number of photos and found this one literally less than half an hour ago, whilst going through my snaps. I think it is truly esoteric and perhaps even Holy, as it was in the vicinity of the Bradford Cathedral. Strange indeed.

Netta Fornario and The Golden Dawn

2009-08-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

There is a serpent in a cave, but it is a good serpent. The serpent is in Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. It watches Iona, where no snakes are apparently allowed. A man in a hooded robe walks by. Netta Fornario, with her long black plaits and silver cross turned black was found naked and dead in southern Iona, November 1929. She was in her early 30's and an accomplished psychic healer and writer, from London.

Much blarney alongside smoke and mirrors occurred at her death. We only have the islander's word for anything that took place, but surprisingly, no one questioned any of the feeble outpourings that took place about her apparent activities between September and November 1929. Was it Wicker Man? (have you seen the film?) or 90's conspiracy writer Jim Keith's nemesis Burning Man (look it up) all conspiracy, no theory. What happened to Netta, aka Marie aka Mac Tyler Fornario? She was a healer using the Green Ray, that is the nature ray (e.g. natural therapies) in her work.

Pamela Colman Smith and the Golden Dawn in Bradford

2009-08-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Corinne Pamela Colman Smith born February 16, 1878, Pimlico, London, died September 18, 1951, Bude, Cornwall, England is most remembered for the fact that she designed the Rider-Waite Tarot, travelled with the Lyceum Theatre Company headed by Sir Henry Irving (who's manager was Bram Stoker, author of Dracula) Ellen Terry and with influence from Florence Farr.

Pamela Colman Smith had a Jamaican mother and American father and she both toured and lived in Britain and America as well as spending substantial time in Jamaica. There are a number of grossly contradictory reports about her life, but it is known that one of her cousins was the actor William Gillette and another of her relatives wrote the Uncle Remus Br'er Rabbit stories.

None of this however did Pamela much good. She was nicknamed 'Pixie' and is mentioned in the 1907 book Bohemia in London by Arthur Ransome under the name of 'Gypsy'. Men seemed fascinated by her but, none seemed to want to marry her. When she died, her companion was Mrs Norah Lake, her friend of many years. Was it that Pamela was not interested in men, or was it that men saw her as a pretty exotic plaything but not marriage material?

There is much flowery frivolity about Pamela. Secretly, she probably hated being called Pixie and most likely left her bohemian life and Occultism behind because she was unfulfilled.

Her supposed friend, John Butler Yeats actually wrote some rather rude things about her and her father and also said she could not paint. Good job he never met David Hockney then, a figure despised by many a ten year old artist. If you are well known you can paint rubbish, if you are unknown you are rubbish. All looks yellow (or perhaps gold) to the jaundiced eye; why are we all here? - Because we are not all there! Why is David Hockney considered an artist? Nobody knows. The New Golden Dawn personal mottos of the 21st Century, who needs Latin? These days, Mozart would not be allowed to teach music because he would not hold a degree in music! Shakespeare couldn't teach literature for the same reason.

We've depicted Pamela Colman Smith as an angry lady. The Pixie turned angry; E.T. Unfulfilled and unforgiving of those who snubbed her. They must have done for she allegedly died in poverty in 1951, her goods sold to pay debts. A sad end to a life that originally held so much promise.

Selected References to Pamela Colman Smith

Minutes of The New Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in Bradford

2009-08-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Some topics covered at the meeting of Friday August 14, 2009 were:
What are the values of Ray Healing? Tracking dark energy spots in Bradford. Cloud working. Was Fingal's Cave, Staffa, Scotland, dedicated as a Temple of Osiris? Words of Power. Closing ceremony.

Minutes of the Second Meeting of the New Bradford Golden Dawn

2009-08-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

Discussion of the book - James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, questioning the role of the wizard, the bad aunts,the giant peach and James. Is this story some sort of allegory and how can it be applied to other everyday situations? What would have happened if the peach was an orange and would the outcome have been the same? The second meeting of the New Bradford Golden Dawn took place on August 7, 2009.

Minutes of the Meeting of The Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn

2009-08-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

Copyright © 2009. All Rights Reserved.

The first meeting of the Bradford Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn in the 21st Century took place on July 29, 2009. We have resurrected The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn's Horus Temple in Bradford West Yorkshire, now called The New Society of the Golden Dawn.

Topics that came up for discussion were the desecration of the old Horus Temple, but we understand that after so many years this may happen. Members watched a YouTube video regarding the desecration. A cleansing reaction was undertaken by members of the meeting which broke up soon after with a decision to look in to these matters further. Various esoteric systems and beliefs were also discussed at the meeting.

The Golden Dawn in Bradford

2009-07-27T16:29:00.001-07:00

The film charts the history of The Golden Dawn in Bradford, focusing on Mr Thomas Henry Pattinson, leader of the Bradford Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn and later, co-leader together with Dr Edwards, of The August and Oriental Order of Light Garuda, based on the teachings of a Mr Portman who had spent much time in India and who revived the Indian Cult of Garuda, the bird God of Hindu and Buddhist religions. Mr Pattinson was also a very prominent Theosophist, following the teachings of Madam Blavatsky.

The kingpin to all this was Dr William Wynn Westcott, a Freemason, Theosophist and one of the founders of The Golden Dawn along with Dr Woodman and Mr Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. Dr Westcott visted Bradford, in West Yorkshire frequently and also attended meetings of the Theosophical Society in Bradford. He knew Mr Pattinson and it was Dr Westcott who authorised the setting up of both The Golden Dawn Temple of Horus in Bradford and also later persuaded Mr Pattinson to co-head The August and Oriental Order of Light Garuda, along with Dr Edwards, with the agreement of Mr Portman who had studied the teachings of the Cult of Garuda in India.

There are many conflicting stories about exactly what went on. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Bradford, West Yorkshire was bursting with very earnest mystical societies.

One version of the Bradford Horus Temple re-surfaced again in 1983, when Salvo and Sindy IIardi discovered it in the attic of their newly purchased restaurant, New Gobbles, the event was even mentioned in The New York Times, as the fame of the discovery had spread. Mr and Mrs IIardi tried to re-furbish the temple to turn in to a local heritage landmark. Although the temple was clearly a replica of the original Horus Temple of the Golden Dawn, confusingly, it had also been used as a Garuda Temple. The original Garuda Temple was in premises at Kings Arcade, Bradford, (now demolished) and had the Garuda painted on the back wall in place of Horus, the art work done by a lady who had spent much time in India.

By 1984, Mr and Mrs IIardi had ordered ceremonial magical equipment for display and had parts of the temple repainted. One expert brought in, insisted the original paintings were from the early 1900's, but had been replenished in the 1950's. Predictably, the IIardis ran out of money and left the premises, their dream unrealised and the important find largely unrecognised after the original bursts of publicity.

Curiously, the author of the piece was witness to the temple during a visit to the building in 1986. It is now understood that there remains little to suggest the property at Godwin Street, Bradford, was once home to such a significant faction within the occult fraternity.