Universal Order Morning Star - Universal Order of the Morning Star

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Probationary Grade. Welcome to the Probationary Grade of the Universal Order of the Morning Star. We ... Book “Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn. Tradition”.
Universal Order of the

Morning Star Probationary Grade Welcome to the Probationary Grade of the Universal Order of the Morning Star. We hope that you will embrace the work of this important grade as the beginning to an amazing journey of self-discovery, self-empowerment and enlightenment. The purpose of our Order is to reveal to the aspirant, through various stages of Initiation, training and reflection, the beauty and perfection of the Universal Order that is all around us at all times yet perceived only by those who have opened their inner eye of Vision to this mystical and sublime Truth, while at the same time assisting you to discover your True Purpose, True Will in life, and start to live it. This we believe was always the objective of the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions, of which the Golden Dawn, Stella Matutina, and now the Morning Star are a modern manifestation.

About us The Order you are working with is a modern development of what what previously called Golden Dawn and Stella Matutina. The original Golden Dawn like a Tree, began to grow different branches and one very strong branch changed its name to Stella Matutina, which was Latin for Morning Star, it is from this that we take our name. Our Order does not claim any direct institutional lineage from the Stella Matutina, but rather claims to have taken the basic teachings and, we believe, with divine guidance, updated and improved these teachings so as to suit the times we are living in.

Our work begins with both theory and practice Right from the beginning we recommend everyone starts with a daily practice of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (sometimes referred to simply as “The Pentagram Ritual”). This Ritual can be found in many Golden Dawn books and related websites. There are some variations, based on difference of opinion, on exactly how it should be performed. None of these are necessarily better than the others. They are just different ways of doing the same thing. We recommend you choose one way and start to work with it. Do at least one Pentagram Ritual a day. Perhaps first thing in the morning, perhaps last thing at night, or during the day – any time that you feel works for you. The main thing is to do it daily.

Keeping a Record As Probationer should keep a daily record of all your magical practices and studies, even if it is just to record that you have done the Pentagram Ritual for the day. We recommend that you record the time of doing the ritual and how you felt at the time (or after) or any experiences you had while doing it, before or after doing it. Note down any other interesting relevant experiences or thoughts or realizations that come to you (in relation to your probationary work) in the course of the day.

Reading for the Probationer ­ The “Green Book” As soon as possible you should attain a copy of the Book “Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition”. For short hand, we will refer to this book as the Green Book (as that’s its colour). Should you move beyond Probationary Grade and become a full member of the Order, this book will serve you well throughout the entire course of your outer Order Work. While this book talks about Self-Initiation, and you do not need to perform any of the self-initiation rituals in the book in our Probationary Grade, this book is recommended to you as it is an excellent teaching manual and an excellent reference book.

The book is both practical and well-equipped with much of the general Golden Dawn theory you will need to both understand and apply the system of our Order. On obtaining the book, you should make sure and read the introduction carefully and make notes where appropriate. There is a good well-established and very traditional version of the Pentagram Ritual on p. 83 of this book. Although this is shown in the Neophyte section of the book, all members of our Order are required to practice this ritual right from the beginning of the Probationer Grade.

Other practical Work to be done in the Probationary Grade Using the Green Book You should also make sure and do the Preliminary Meditative Work described in the introduction pages xxviii – xxxvii. This is important magical work and should be done daily to build up positive magical energy and most importantly connect you to your Higher Self and to what we call The Universal Order – represented in Egyptian Tradition as the Goddess Maat (Maat means Truth or Order). Before you join an Order, it is important that you find Order within yourself, so that you can be receptive to the Teachings of the Order from Neophyte onwards. These daily exercises therefore, are, for the probationer absolutely crucial.

Attendance at Meetings The various lodges of our Order hold regular classes and Temple Meetings. As a probationer, you should attend as many of these as you can. The classes held every week or at least every fortnight will teach you basics of such subjects as Qabalah, Egyptian Mysteries, and good ritual and meditation practice. The classes are also an excellent opportunity to ask questions. The probationer is also required to attend as many Neophyte Ceremonies as possible, so that they can imbibe the energy and decide if this is a ceremony that they wish to go through. In the old age, such a ceremony was considered a secret and something a probationer was not permitted to see, but we believe now that the need for secrecy is greatly diminished and may nowadays even be detrimental. That said, it is not suitable for the eyes of everyone. Probationers can see a Neophyte Initiation performed as they are aspirants to this Initiation and to the Work of the Order.

Membership of the Order Probationary membership should be viewed as a partial membership of the Order. Full membership is only achieved by taking the Neophyte Initiation in a lodge of the Order. The Probationary Grade – while not a full membership of the Order – should still be considered an important Grade in its own right, for it is here that the serious applicant lays a firm foundation for all that is to take place if and when full Order membership is granted.

Final tasks of the Probationary Grade In the final month of the probationary period – assuming the Chiefs have confirmed that a Neophyte Initiation is to go ahead – the Probationer is required at that point to: Decide on a magical motto (suitable for a Neophyte) Obtain a black robe Obtain red footwear