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poke's new book--review

To: alt.magick
From: taliesin@NOJUNKmail.utexas.edu (G Leake)
Subject: poke's new book--review (Secrets of the GD MS)
Date: 8 Jul 1997 16:37:06 GMT

Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript, by Carroll R. "Poke" Runyon,
Jr., Church of Hermetic Sciences, 1997, Pasadena, CA., ISBN# 0-9654881-2-8

Review by George Leake


This work has been long in coming, as Poke Runyon is simply one of a long
line of esteemed Western Magick scholars attempting to make heads or tails
out of what is in essence a series of manuscripts comprising the charter
myth of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Many know the basic story
behind the founding of the Golden Dawn: three English Masons, Woodford,
Mathers and Westcott, somehow happen upon some strange papers in a vintage
book shop that leads them to Fraulein Sprengel, a high ranking German
Adept. When the original Golden Dawn group unravels, it comes out that
this story was a hoax, now generally known as the Sprengel ruse.

Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript not only tries to set the
motives behind the Sprengel ruse straight, but investigates the truth of
the founding papers, who wrote them, what do they mean, and how they are
relevant for us. In this book it is asserted these papers comprise the
basis for the Golden Dawn's Outer Order rituals, and that these papers
were authored by Kenneth Mackenzie, possibly with the help of Frederick
Hockley or one of several other prominent Victorian era occult
aficionados.

At times, it seems this work is a response to Ellic Howe's The Magicians
of the Golden Dawn. By all accounts, Howe's work is biased against not
only the founders of the Golden Dawn, but all practitioners of Magick.
Runyon questions his motives, and while I think he is entirely right when
he suggests that Howe, as a Mason, was trying to distinguish Freemasonry
from Magick due to the British tabloids' continual sensationalizing of
anything mystic, and paranoia among status quo masons who want to keep
their private club atmosphere free from the stain of the unwashed LSD
imbibing masses of the late 60s, I don't think that being a practitioner
automatically confers authority or that not being engaged in Magick
disqualifies one from writing a sensible history on said subject. The
proof is in the pudding.

That said, Runyon embarks on slippery ground almost from the get-go but
deftly keeps his balance. His suggestion (p.10) that this collection of
manuscripts served as a charter myth is as sensible as any, and Gilbert's
suggestion that Westcott found these papers amongst the possessions of
Kenneth Mackenzie's widow is quite plausible. So often, we look for
stunning truths or amazing coincidences. That the basis for the most
dominant strain of Western Magick today might have been found in some odd
shoebox wholly by accident (with perhaps a hint of incompetence) rings
true. Runyon sets a tone early that is honest, complete as possible
without being overly anal, non-blustery, and frankly, he's got a good
sense of humor, a sign that he's not talking to the mirror too much if you
know what I mean.

What strikes me most about the Cypher Manuscript text is its overwhelming
Masonic flavor. It occurs to me that one of Howe's motivations might have
been his brand of Freemasonry was likely not of the very mystical variety.
Though I am hardly an expert in Freemasonry, I wonder whether there's any
hint of Grand Orient influence in these manuscripts, or is it pure
Scottish Rite? Another motive for Howe's stance might be the Western
Magickal impulse to adopt a magical persona.

Runyon's historical background, while a bit uneven, is thoroughly
fascinating. One suggested motive for Westcott's invention of the Sprengel
ruse was to not alienate Madame Blavatsky, founder of the influential
Theosophical Society.

The text itself is based on a cypher invented by Johannes Trithemius (from
his Polygraphia, 1561), reprinted on p. 65 just before the body of the
cypher text begins. Runyon's translation seems on the up and up, despite
the many misspellings and mistakes by the rushed scribe. I tried my hand
at a couple of lines of translation, and on the first try found a scribal
error! Note line two of text on page 86--Qlipoth is rendered "KLLIPPOTH",
a variant I've never seen. In the notes, Runyon makes some astute
observations: for instance the mix-ups of thy and thine in the cypher
texts signal that Mathers was not the author. He also highlights the
phrase "LORD OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS" as a sublime turn of phrase; I
couldn't agree more. The Tarot Lecture is full of insight. I am tempted to
get into a lengthy discussion about how these manuscripts illuminate the
thought process of early Golden Dawn tarot, in particular some hints in
here on the switch of positioning of Justice and Strength, but I'd also
like to encourage as many people as possible to read this book and come to
their own conclusions.

One other fascinating aspect of Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher
Manuscript, are the number of 11 sephira trees of life presented here,
which accents the importance of Da'ath. There's much commentary on this
and its presence in these cypher manuscripts, its difficult to set on one
quote, but I think this sums up Runyon's attitude nicely:

The Secret Tree not only recognizes Da'ath; it accesses it!  Calling it
"The Tree of Life Before The Fall" was an inspiration. That concise title
communicates volumes of meaning. In our individual microcosoms [sic], for
instance, how much of our psychic capacities have we lost in "The Fall"
from childhood innocence? Using this analogy one might say that The Secret
Tree is C. S. Lewis' "wardrobe", Alice's "looking glass" or Dorothy's
"magic slippers."

-- 
Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.
-Tom Stoppard


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George Leake
taliesin@mail.utexas.edu

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