Symbolisms of the Golden Dawn

I just bought the Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn.
I am getting quite a rush from the artwork and symbols.
This deck has the potential to be truly amazing. There is a lot
of energy with this deck,very very promising.

I read a review of the deck and it recommended that you master the symbols and colors of the Golden Dawn to be able to properly and fully understand the deck.

What can I start studying to learn as much as I can about Golden Dawn symbolism.

I already have the Golden Dawn book by Isreal Regardie and have begun reading through it and studying it.

Is there anything outside of that I can read to learn even more about it all.

You can try some of those books:

- The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot - Keys to the Rituals, Symbolism, Magic and Divination by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero
- An Introduction to the Golden Dawn Tarot by Robert Wang
- The Magical Tarot of The Golden Dawn by Pat and Chris Zalewski

and, of course, the Liber T.

The main difference resides in the illustrated minors for the Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn.

Paul Foster Case was an American GD

writer and thinker and so for a curious flavor of GD 20th century writings and a BOTA tarot that costs from seven dollars on up to color yourself--but pip minors--search on BOTA tarot.

The colors of the 196Oish Albano Waite that you can buy in a mini version seems to follow Paul Foster Case/BOTA instructions...

Hope that is not too wayward.

Michael Dummett and Ronald Decker's books on tarot have an intriguing and factual compilation of factual reference.

Mary Greer's timeline on the divinatory tarot helps as well.

My own fascination with historic timelines and coloration on decks may seem too hit and miss for some, so excuse if these references seem not to follow a logical progression.

Cerulean

"Qabalistic Tarot" by Robert Wang.

I'd second the suggestions you have recieved already, and also add the Cicero's "Essential Golden Dawn". It's not about tarot, but will oriente you on their symbolism in a more user friendly way

Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys.

So far I am doing a good job at finding out what a lot of the symbolisms mean.
I am keeping a journal on each card and I try to decphier what each one means.

I see what the Golden Dawn has done. They took the basic meanings of the cards and then expounded upon it with the Golden Dawn knowledge. So now each card has double the meaning and even more value. But if you dont know what they teach then you wouldnt get the real meaning.

The Regardie book is helping out a LOT. I definitely will research with some of the ideas that have been presented here.

Update:

I am absoultely loving this deck.
I am linking up with it pefectly. I am keeping a notebook of the all the cards and the meanings that I pick up from them. I love how the Golden Dawn uses a more occult form of symbolism to bring meanings to the cards.

If someone doesnt have a interest in the Golden Dawn type of system they would never get anything out of this deck. This is primarily because they would never know where the Golden Dawn was coming from when they did the symbolisms for their tarot cards.

This deck deals with the higher spiritual aspects of issues which then can be applied to more mundane meanings. If someone doesnt understand that they would be lost with this deck.

This deck deals with the higher spiritual aspects of issues which then can be applied to more mundane meanings. If someone doesnt understand that they would be lost with this deck.

Click to expand...

I agree with you. I feel that with all Golden Dawn decks it's the classic reversed pyramid scenario: you start at the bottom with only the divinatory meaning, and, the more you study, the meanings and understanding grows exponentially, it enlarges your horizons and enables you to do more.

SuperTarot has many wonderful GD resources, Eliphas Levi among them

1. SuperTarot

http://supertarot.co.uk/adept/levi.htm

A great website where many many tarot topics can be explored and using a Golden Dawn deck with any of his exercises might be a wonderful test for how well the GD inspired decks work for you...

More detail on E. Levi and a Golden Dawn translater of the text, W. Wescott follows:

2. The Eliphas Levi text of the 22 majors is available free at hermetics.org:

www.hermetics.org/pdf/sanctumregnum.pdf

I was recommending this, as there are discussions of the tarot majors with a magical belief and mix of folklore common in William Wescott (translater) of the time--

3. William Wescott
http://www.golden-dawn.org/biowestcott.html

4. On Sanctum Regnum-- I know there are different printings of this particular text, I have one by Weiser done in the 1970's and a reprint by the Ibis Western Mystery Tradition. The Weiser one has colored plates, but even the later Ibis reprint text in black and white with monochrome scans is helpful to read.

I find as I enjoy revisiting further biographies of the GD luminaries, including Yeats, and checking out the museum online that shows his Golden Dawn tools---it makes for beautiful reflection on Western Mystery Tradition believers around 1900...how they really enjoyed tarot symbolism in their mystery plays/reanactments and magical belief...yet also, revived and extended the symbolism to work with their ideas.

I hope that is helpful to you and others and you all feel that it is related...for some reason, I found it relevant to enjoy with GD inspired decks!

Regards,

Cerulean

One more site with a lot of documentation about G.D.
http://www.goldendawnpedia.com/