An person recently approached a MOAA member claiming to belong to a Paris-based order which had lineage from the Stella Matutina (sic) and Whare Ra. He said that this group had been formed by a “notable American occultist” (who he named) who had received lineage from a long-time friend of mine (who he also named).
The Italian was interested in the idea of fusing transmissions of Whare Ra with that of Martinism and Builders of the Adytum. He also claimed that one of the leaders of this group (who he named) had been initiated into the tradition by my friend and held the lineage and transmission from Whare Ra.
This was surprising as my friend is a serious Golden Dawn magician and would never give out Whare Ra lineage to anyone who had not been trained through his system to a high level. The “notable American occultist” is known to me and has no lineage or contact with Whare Ra. He has history with the Fraternity of Hidden Light and Builders of the Adytum. None of these orders is like Whare Ra, although they borrowed some of its material and rituals. Both orders stopped before the grades where transmission could be granted (I assume because the leaders did not want off-shoots).
Interested to see what was happening, I checked if my friend had broken with the habit of a lifetime and given out his lineage to these people. As I suspected, he had never initiated this “notable American occultist.” He had initiated one of the names on my list to 0=0 (after which the person appears to have left). He did have some dealings with these people but refused to have anything to do with them.
Scam
This means there is a fraud being perpetrated in Europe by a group claiming lineage from Whare Ra without having it. Not only that, they are naming those who really have a lineage as supporters to give themselves credibility for the scam. This was not merely a mythological founding myth typical of 19th-century masonic groups, but an attempt to gain credibility for lack of magical ability and knowledge by pretending that those who have done the work have recognised you.
Golden Dawn groups are like a school. You cannot claim lineage unless you have been in that school and completed the course of study. There are no transmissions without years of study, training and practical work. The person who claimed he had Whare Ra lineage because my friend initiated him into 0=0 is a case in point. Sure, when you are initiated into an order, it does make some connections to your sphere of sensation. But these are temporary and fade after a year or two unless that the tradition is worked. Another connection is made at the 5=6 when your magical work begins, but this too is not enough to claim “lineage” in the Golden Dawn sense. To obtain Whare Ra lineage, you must be a senior member and be given the link after your 7=4 this means you can interact with the contacts yourself.
Whare Ra lineage
The good side about the Whare Ra lineage is that there are very few who have it and none of them is going to give it out alongside a “masonic or Martinist transmission.”
This does not mean that there are not some good GD groups out there whose leaders never had that lineage. What they managed to do is through years of arduous work they managed to align themselves and their group to the Golden Dawn current. Effectively they forged the link themselves and can pass it on.
But the Whare Ra current is an alive and working tradition thanks to former senior members of Whare Ra such as Frank Salt and Jack Taylor passing it on to a new generation. Those who have Whare ra lineage are secretive and focused on Whare Ra work. They are uninterested in forming groups through people they have not trained.
So, let’s be clear.
If a stranger tells you that they have Whare Ra lineage as part of a recruitment drive you can be 99 per cent certain that they are lying. Sure, you might be lucky and found a group with Whare Ra lineage, but none of them would use that as their opening line – few of the real ones try to recruit.
While other systems work well the Golden Dawn system is all you need. It provides the building blocks for any magical, spiritual path you want to ride in. Collecting certifications and transmissions for Martinism, gnostic or masonic groups does not interest Whare Ra based Golden Dawn groups.
