The following article is from a journal entry I wrote some time ago after reading "The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage" by Dion Fortune. It is just musings over the information I had just absorbed from the book and how I interpreted it in my own mind. It is not necessarily established doctrine although it draws heavily from the works of experts. I believe it is a good introduction for explaining the purpose behind the G.:D.: initiatory system. That is why I have included it here.
It may be useful to note that the information contained in the book mentioned above has some relevance to the G.:D.: and its history. The author, Dion Fortune, was a member of the G.:D.: at the time this book was written. At that time, S. L. Mathers had died, and his group, the A.:O.: was headed by his wife, Moina Mathers.
Now this was the time in which Israel Regardie entered the G.:D.: scene. He had written A Garden of Pomegranates and The Tree of Life, both in 1932. Both are considered classics in Western Occultism. However, they were not received well by the G.:D.:. Regardie had been the secretary and student of Aleister Crowley, and the leaders of the various offshoot orders, although generally unable to agree on so much as the color of shit, were however unified in their resentment of Crowley's actions during the revolt of 1900. "One of the leaders of the Alpha et Omega, E. J. Langford-Garstin, went so far as to write Regardie in a letter condemning him in no uncertain terms and asking him to never again mention the name of the Golden Dawn in print." (Cicero, 1999, Introduction to the Third Edition of The Tree of Life) Dion Fortune instead defended him in her article in the Occult Review in January of 1933. This article, however, upset the leaders of the Stella Matutina, the other main offshoot order, because it inadvertently revealed more about what the G.:D.: really was to the public at large, and at the time, the order was still secret. The chiefs of the Stella Matutina instead wrote a letter to Fortune agreeing with her point of view while at the same time writing a letter to Langford-Garstin criticising her irresponsibility. The two letters ended up in opposite envelopes, the critical letter going to Fortune and the supportive letter going to Langford-Garstin.
At about the same time, Fortune was having her own troubles with the cheifs of the order, particularly Moina Mathers. There was of course the article in the Occult Review, but prior to that even, as early as 1923, which is when The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage was published. The information used to write this book was obtained via inner plane contacts using Fortune as a medium. The same contacts were later used to receive The Cosmic Doctrine. Moina Mathers disapproved of Fortune's activities as a medium. "She considered that the contacts responsible for The Cosmic Doctrine teaching, whatever tehir merits might be, were not those behind the Golden Dawn. As for the publication of The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage, she was highly distressed on the grounds that they betrayed high initiatory secrets to the world at large." (Knight, 2001, Introduction to What Is Occultism by Dion Fortune) It was later pointed out to Mrs. Mathers that Fortune had not advanced to the grade within the G.:D.: in which these teachings were given. Thus, Fortune was not bound by oaths of secrecy against revealing the teachings found in this book.
Yet, in spite of all that Fortune had gotten away with, she continued to cause problems within the order. She published Sane Occultism (which is now retitled What Is Occultism?) which is somewhat reminiscent of Regardie's My Rosicrucian Adventure (also retitled as What You Should Know About the Golden Dawn), in that it expresses the extreme frustration that was generally felt by many students of the order against how the order was being run at the time. Although there are no names mentioned, Fortune used a great number of pages attacking certain practices common in Occult Lodges. This ended up being the last straw for Mrs. Mathers who expelled her from the order. I am not aware of any evidence which suggests that Mrs. Mathers was party to these practices, but her actions would seem to indicate this.
There is also a particularly dramatic episode at the end of this story which particularly describes the abilities of both these women. Fortune describes it in Psychic Self-Defense. She does not give any names. However, it was later revealed that the woman in this story is Moina Mathers herself.
"The Vernal Equinox was now upon us. I must explain that this is the most important season of the year for occultists. Great power-tides are flowing on the Inner Planes, and these are very difficult to handle. If there is going to be astral trouble, it usually blows up for a storm at this season. There are also certain meetings which take place on the Astral Plane, and many occultists attend them out of the body...
"In the ordinary way, when an occult attack is afoot, one clings to waking consciousness at all costs, sleeping by day and keeping awake and meditating while the sun is below the horizon. As ill-luck would have it, however, I was obliged to make one of these astral journeys at this season. My attacker knew this as well as I did...
"These astral journeys are really lucid dreams in which one retains all one's faculties of choice, will-power and and judgment. Mine always begin with a curtain of the symbolic colour through whose folds I pass. No sooner was I through the curtain on this occasion than I saw my enemy waiting for me, or, if another terminology is preferred, I began to dream about her. She appeared to me in the full robes of her grade, which were very magnificent, and barred my entry, telling me that by virtue of her authority she forbade me to make use of these astral pathways. I replied that I did not admit her right to close the astral paths to me because she was personally offended, and that I appealed to the Inner Chiefs, to whom she and I were responsible. Then ensured a battle of wills in which I experienced the sensation of being whirled through the air and falling from a great height and found myself back in my body. But my body was not where I had left it, but in a heap in the far corner of the room, which looked as if it had been bombed. By means of the well-known phenomenon of repercussion the astral struggle had apparently communicated itself to the body, which had somersaulted round the room while an agitated group had rescued the furniture from its path.
"I was somewhat shaken by this experience, which had not been a pleasant one. I recognized that I had had the worst of it and had been effectually ejected from the astral paths; but I also realized that if I accepted this defeat my occult career was at an end... So I told my group to pull themselves together and re-form the circle because we must make another attempt; I invoked the Inner Chiefs, and went out once more. This time there was a short sharp struggle, and I was through. I had a Vision of the Inner Chiefs, and returned. The fight was over. I have never had any trouble since." (Fortune, 1930, Psychic Self-Defense, pp. 161-163)
This is one of my personal favorite stories simply because I am a history buff, and to know of a private account given in such vivid detail in which the drama of the past truly comes alive is but rare. Secondly, it gives us a sample of the true power of magic, although in this case it is being abused by one of the characters. The whole book is full of little bits of true magic that makes the modern understanding of the term seem like a game or a fantasy by comparison, and I would highly recommend it to the beginner in order to instill in their mind a standard by which to measure the explanations of all other authors and would-be magicians.
So I will close down this rant. The following is the promised journal entry mentioned at the beginning of this post.
7. Monad
6. Rays
5. Spiritual
4. Astral/Mental
3. Emotional
2. Etheric/Instinctual
1. Physical
The order in which the bodies manifest or come into existence flows down, or in other words begins with the 7th Body and ends with the 1st. Control of the bodies flows in the same direction. In other words, a complex or developed mind will control emotions, which acts on the instincts or passions, which acts on the physical body.
Once this process is complete, the bodies experience a path of return in which each body is fully developed. This flows in the opposite direction as the path above. This is usually the type of consciousness that is under immediate awareness. The human race is generally operating between the 3rd and 4th bodies.
When a body reaches development, it has greater control of the bodies "under" it. In other words, the 5th body may have a certain amount of control over the lower four bodies in their development, but development of these bodies usually removes most of the control unless the 5th body is sufficiently advanced enough to be equal to the other bodies in development.
It is important to note that this is directly related to reincarnation, and demonstrated why the normal person has no memory of their past lives. The lower four bodies are considered "mortal" while the upper three are considered "immortal", insofar as our concept of the flow of time is concerned.
Now, how this works is when a Monad breaks off from the Macrocosmic Monad (i.e. Kether), it develops cloaks or shells, like a grain of sand forming a pearl, until it reaches its greatest density as the physical body.
Once this happens, it begins the reverse process in order for the Monad to achieve the complexity of the other bodies before returning o the Macrocosmic Monad.
The 1st and 2nd bodies are developed b the process of evolution, and are therefore the aspects that are passed on to the next generation via genetics.
Following this is the 3rd body which develops itself through non-physical interaction with others, and is therefore limited to a single lifetime. It is the duty of the older generation to impress onto the younger as much of its experience as possible in order for the younger generation to advance past the level of their parents and sustain further development.
The 4th body is very similar to the 3rd body in that it is limited to a single lifetime and must be actively impressed generation to generation, although it is more difficult than the 3rd body. The 4th body is developed through its relationship and interaction with non-sentient forms as well as through its relationship and interaction with itself. Therefore, the new generation must play a more active role in the the development of its own 4th body.
Up until this point, the 5th body acts mostly as a witness to these processes except for periods between incarnations when it is no longer weighed down by the denser bodies, figuratively speaking. During this time of free motion of the 5th body, it records the developments of the lower bodies of that incarnation, then makes arrangements for further development in the coming incarnation. This is analogous to our concept of predestination. However, this is never exact, and the spiritual body loses the majority of its control in the first few years. The amount of control it retains is directly related to its own level of development. Any intervention is usually very subtle, and more obvious exceptions, perceived as miracles or visions, require great exertion on the part of the 5th body and must have certain conditions conducive to such an event.
This provides insight into the Law of Karma, the idea that in each life we are met with the effects of the circumstances of past lives. Because the 3rd and4th bodies are particularly unique to an incarnation and require participation and engagement of that body, the 5th body must continually reciprocate the actions of these bodies in order to maintain equilibrium that is necessary for its own evolution.
At a certain point, however, the 5thbody develops to such a degree that its control of the lower bodies surpasses their weight. Karmic adjustment is better understood,and therefore more easily tolerated. The mind begins to have vague recollections of past lives that increase in clarity. Various skills learned in previous incarnations are remembered, and the individual sees to have superhuman powers. Very soon afterward, however, the 5th body no longer requires the lower four bodies fr development and Karmic adjustment, and it ceases to incarnate in order to function fully on the inner planes. That is not to say that they are dead and lost to the rest us, simply that this body is no longer bound to the physical microcosm. When necessary, certain of these ascended spirits will provide guidance to those who remain in the physical world by acting on their student's 3rd and 4th bodies, and occasionally on their 2nd or 5th.
The developments past the stage of the 5th body are of no concern to us at the present moment because they are worked solely on the inner planes and are beyond our understanding.
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