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The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn–the last, and greatest, flowering of the Victorian Occult Revival–embodied the quintessence of the Western Hermetic Tradition and gave it a unique, practical expression. Its rituals have been publicly available for some 60 years, while its history has been clinically dissected as an academic exercise. But the Golden Dawn was, above all, a living organism, and R. A. Gilbert presents a new perspective on the Order, bringing it to vibrant life through the lives and works of its founders and members.

Gilbert uses photos and personal letters never before seen or published, and describes the rituals, structure, and personalities involved with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, from its creation in the late 1800s to the ignominious dissolution of its hierarchy in the early 1900s. From the initial birth of the movement by founding members William W. Westcott, William R. Woodman, and Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers, through the sensationalistic press the Order received during the trial of the Horos, to its eventual breakup as each personality split the Order further apart–Gilbert offers an intimate and cohesive history of this much-maligned, and often misunderstood group. This is a story of fallible men and women who aspired to a new vision of reality. It is their very humanity–their weaknesses as well as their strengths–that gives to their Order a nobility, grandeur, and purpose it would have otherwise been denied.

The Golden Dawn Scrapbook by R. A. Gilbert (Samuel Weiser, Inc., Sept. 1997) Limited edition hardcover, over 80 illustrations, ISBN 1-57863-007-X