by Marcus Katz
A number of overlaps between secular and esoteric educational projects will also be taken as brief case studies, namely the Steiner educational establishments and the Point Loma School established by the theosophists.
We will also see that in one particular case – the Order of the Golden Dawn - it was a failure to meet this educational project which brought about the downfall of the organisation, rather than the more often cited political causes already examined. Whilst the social, personal and political schisms may have caused disruption, it will be seen – from the student’s perspective – that it was the disruption to the teaching which caused their leaving, not the mostly behind-the-scenes politics.
Introduction: Curriculum as Model
Squires describes the curricula, both beyond as well as within the educational process, as a “locus of tensions.”[166] He further goes on to say, with regard to vocational courses, that there will be a tension between “academic and professional criteria ... social and role elements... personal and role elements.”[167]
The precise definition of an ‘academic’ process is ambiguous. Whilst it is generally used in the secular sense of ‘higher education’,[168][169] Squires argues that its fundamental ambiguity has to do with “the nature of the activity, or activities, as now conceived and practised.”[170] Whilst there is general agreement that the process refers to the advancement and transmission of knowledge at a high level, there are shades between the teacher as researcher and the researcher as teacher. In the latter, this is less teaching – in the didactic sense – than revealing, allowing participation in the process of thought or reflection. In this, it is more a guild model, where the craftsman or master is observed at work by his apprentices and learning takes place by a process of intellectual osmosis.
In the former – teacher as researcher – the teacher makes available their research by delivery; that is, they transmit and interpret on behalf of the student, rather than discover and create in front of them in a participatory process, such as a philosophical debate.
Methodology: Analysis of Curriculum
We can attempt to evaluate the esoteric curriculum in terms of secular educational methodology by utilising a model adapted from Robert Stake,[171] given in Barnes.[172] In this methodology, we make key distinctions between intended and observed curriculum activities. In historical research, we will adapt this further to exchange ‘observed’ for ‘reported’ when looking at the student records of those following these esoteric curricula. We also examine through this methodology the proposed teaching and the actual teaching, with regard to antecedent. In this present context, this will refer specifically to the ‘grade requirements’ expected by the student when entering any particular phase of their study – were these specified and did the student actually demonstrate these antecedent requirements?
Intended antecedents <-> Recorded(observed) antecedents
Intended transactions <-> Recorded (observed) transactions
Intended outcomes <-> Recorded (observed) outcomes.[173]
Analysis of Content
I will also utilise a scheme derived from Eraut, Goad and Smith[174] to analyse the curricula material, particularly where it is relatively extant such as the case study I will offer for the Order of the Golden Dawn. Whilst this scheme offers a basic categorisation of material, and analysis of overt characteristics (i.e. how are they presented, what are their stated aims, etc.), I will make a focused use of the criteria by which conceptual presentation and the relationship between learning activity and content is formulated. This is of particular relevance to the teaching of material within ritual which is found within such groups as the Order of the Golden Dawn.[175]
The Self in Education
In secular education, the lifeworld (or Lebenswelt – Schutz, 1974) of the student – the changing inner landscape of meaning and value – is largely marginalised. In the business of education, “a good deal of teaching and learning is faith-in-a-hurry.”[176] However, in esoteric education, it is this very lifeworld which is the critical component and ‘inner school’ of the curriculum. It is perhaps this aspect that attracts students to overcome their resistence to education as presented within the WEIS.
A.E. Waite (1857-1942) referred to this Hermetic philosophical basis as “an actual, positive, and realisable knowledge concerning the worlds which we denominate invisible, because they transcend the imperfect and rudimentary faculties of a partially developed humanity.”[177] Owen (2004) argues that it was this promise of a marginalised education that attracted students to the Order of the Golden Dawn, in that “it was this kind of questioning that drew women and men alike into occultism, and occultism alone that seemed to them to offer the synthesized answers that religion, science and philosophy in isolation could not provide.”[178]
Perhaps it has ever been the case that the answers are never discovered in isolation, but in systems which are open enough to provide a synthesis which can generate insight.
Curricula as Content
In this section we will argue that the planning of curricula by the Western esoteric orders under discussion reveals a fundamental epistemological concern that is at once the root of the stated purpose of the group in its educational endeavour, yet at the same time undermines that self-same ambition. It will be seen that an adherence to the components of Western esotericism (Faivre, 1994) inevitably leads a group to an absolutist epistemology with regard to its delivery of content.
The key elements of curriculum planning as given by Tyler (1949) – purposes, content, procedures, and evaluation – may also be used to determine the emphasis of the educational establishment which concentrates upon any particular element (Kelly, 2009). In fact, Kelly proposes a matrix of three major ideologies:[179]
Curricula as content <-> Education as transmission
Curricula as product <-> Education as instrumental
Curricula as process <-> Education as development
Kelly argues that in secular education the concentration on curricula as content reveals an “absolutist epistemology” which invariably leads to loss of freedom and status for the individual.[180] The planning model which derives from such a position asks first, “What kinds of knowledge enjoy this absolute status?” and education is defined, ironically in this context, as “initiation into intrinsically worthwhile activities” (Peters, 1965, 1966).[181]
Purposes
The objectives of a secular curriculum may be broadly derived and developed from several sources – both of which have their critics. The curricula may be extrapolated from a study of contemporary life; sometimes derided as the “cult of presentism” (Tyler, 1949) or from the subject specialists themselves.[182] However, an esoteric agenda may be considered to take an alternative account of “the conditions and opportunities of contemporary life.”[183] I will examine the nature of this account. The First World War brought about an immediacy of training logic related to the skills required at that time, and that logic continued afterwards to deal with “the critical aspects of this complex life” that was fast-changing thereafter.[184] There was no need to teach things which had been important 50 years ago.
In the esoteric curriculum, there is an explicit rejection of ‘contemporary’ notions of application and a critique of ‘presentism’. As Goodrick-Clarke commented, “the esoteric curriculum does not value information, activity or skills simply on the basis of current popularity, utility, or their adoption by a majority of persons.”[185] This argument goes back to Herbert Spencer’s essay, ‘What Knowledge is of Most Worth?’, which has characterised secular education for a century.
All too often the curriculum of the Christian school has been “a patchwork of naturalistic ideas mixed with biblical truth.” It is beyond this present work to explore how education has been funded by religious organisations, however, it does raise a point to consider. According to Frank Gaebelein, this has led to a form of “scholastic schizophrenia in which highly orthodox theology coexists uneasily with a teaching
of non-religious subjects that differs little from that in secular institutions.”[186]
Content
The content of a curriculum provides a wealth of material to analyse both the intrinsic logical structure of knowledge selected for teaching in addition to the ‘hidden curriculum’ of social and personal education gained via the study of that content.[187] In secular education, the school curriculum is described as “a selection from the culture”,[188] but does this same selection apply to the esoteric endeavour of a magical order such as the Golden Dawn? Whilst the curricular content can be examined for its logic, it can also be examined for its likely usefulness in the lives of its students; an evaluation more apt perhaps for a curriculum whose ambition is for the “adept” to discover “the establishment of poise and balance in his own consciousness, and the manifestation of his conceptions of justice in every detail of his own personal conduct.”[189]
In the examination of content, I will also propose a typology or classification of esoteric content, to reflect the secular categorisation schemes proposed by Hirst and, alternatively, Lawton.[190] These schemes allow for an evaluation of whether content “appears to have social utility” or otherwise contributes to the enhancement of a student’s life.[191] The contrast of Hirst’s ‘logical levels’ and Barne’s ‘organisational arrangements’ will find a parallel in the Golden Dawn’s hierarchy of graded teaching and organisation of correspondence to the kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Procedures
Whilst there are few classroom observations of Western esoteric teaching, there are records of student experience, lecture attendance and other material which I will draw upon to demonstrate the procedures used to teach the curricular content. These will be explored as ‘procedural methods’ derived from the content itself.[192] This examination of procedure will reflect upon the content and the appropriateness of the methodology to teach that content. I will then evaluate the effectiveness of the procedures within the classification of content in the prior section. I will ask whether the occult orders were more effective at teaching a skill such as ‘astral travel’ or turning out mature human beings better able to engage with the world.
Evaluation
We must first consider the difference between the evaluation of a course of study and its assessment. The evaluation of a curriculum in the secular sense is the process by which the ‘nature and desirability’ of a course is given ‘value or worth’; but to define the extent to which a course is ‘workable and effective’ requires a form – or forms – of assessment.[193] These forms of assessment create the basis for the evaluation of the effectiveness of a course in meeting the intended aim specified by those who create the course, understood by those teaching it, and received by those learning. We cannot cover all the arguments for various forms of assessments in this context (see Pidgeon and Allen, 1974; MacIntosh, 1976; and Rowntree, 1977), but we can summarise the following five categories (Gibby, 1978):
Tests and examination constructed to measure ‘cognitive’ development;
Systematic observation and recording of the learners’ progress made by those teaching;
Self-assessment records by the learner;
Personality and sociometric techniques carried out by the teachers and others;
Longitudinal studies of learners’ development carried out by researchers.[194]
No longitudinal studies have been carried out on the students of any particular esoteric curricula, to my knowledge. I would propose that this is because of the paucity of data, the fragmentary nature of delivery of esoteric curricula, the scantiness of student records over a consistent period of time, and perhaps the academic approach that content is a “palpable absurdity”[195] and an orientation to the esoteric project as “guild-structure” rather than “academic structure” (i.e. the perceived intent to control rather than educate).[196]
The examinations to measure cognitive learning were enshrined in the Golden Dawn through eight curricular areas of study, with practical and theoretical testing. As an example, the examinations to pass between the grades of Zelator to Theoricus Adeptus Minor in the Alpha et Omega temples (founded in 1900, 1913 and 1919) were listed as:
Preliminary / Obligation: Performance of the Rosy Cross ritual, Pentagram and Hexagram rituals
Elemental: Creation of the magical implements
Psychic: Tattva vision and astral projection
Divination: Astrology, geomancy, tarot
Magic: Talismans, ascending the planes, vibration of the divine names, ceremonies of invocation
Enochian: Attributions and a report of an astral vision
Symbolical: Explanation of the Neophyte ritual
Consecration and evocation: Method, execution and effect[197]
Differences Between Secular and Esoteric Curricula
In secular education, the task of delivering content as education is to assist the young pupil “to negotiate meaning in a manner congruent with the requirements of the culture”.[198] In an esoteric education, arguably counter-cultural, how are the “modes of representation”[199] created if there is no congruence with social norms?
Having compared and contrasted some important aspects of secular education with those of esoteric orders, we shall now look in some detail at the curriculum of certain particular esoteric orders, primarily the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Builders of the Adytum (BOTA): The Creation of a Curriculum
Before we move to the Golden Dawn, we will look at a popular off-shoot of that order – the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA). In 1922, Paul Foster Case (1884-1954) began the construction of a curriculum, The Ageless Wisdom. In 1927 a ‘substantial shift’ in the curriculum was made, as detailed instructions for working magic and meditation were taken out of public circulation and moved back into a private “Chapter” structure which Case had initiated in 1926-1927. A new 48-week course was provided, called the ‘Extension’ or ‘First Year Course’ which contained more tarot material than previously. This was quickly followed by a ‘Sound and Colour’ course, ‘Esoteric Astrology’ course and ‘12 Lessons on Alchemy’.[200]
In 1931-1932, Case produced ‘Inner Order’ teachings on the tarot-kabbalah hybrid ‘Cube of Space’ system.[201]
BOTA lay out their curriculum and ethos in The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order (1927). It is here that we see explicitly the association of the grade structure with states of experience within the student:
The main thing to bear in mind in approaching this explanation of the Rosicrucian Grades is that every path on the Tree of Life corresponds to some particular mode of human consciousness.[202]
Furthermore, the Neo-Platonic ideology that knowledge is a recovered attribute is stated:
... these descriptions are of vital importance, because they refer to mental states that are present in the life of every human being. Sometimes they are latent, sometimes they are active, but they are always part of the makeup of every man and woman.[203]
The finalised curriculum is:
7 lessons – Seven Steps;
11 lessons – Introduction to Tarot;
47 lessons – Tarot Fundamentals;
53 lessons – Developing Supersensory Powers (Ann Davies);
32 lessons – Interpretation of Tarot;
12 lessons – Master Pattern;
40 lessons – Tree of Life;
17 lessons – 32 Paths of Wisdom;
12 lessons – Sound and Colour;
52 lessons – The Great Work;
52 lessons – Esoteric Astrology (Ann Davies’ lectures using PFC’s notebooks);
52 lessons – Sexual Polarity (Ann Davies);
78 lessons – Oracle of Tarot (Ann Davies);
78 lessons – Vibratory Powers of the Qabalah (Ann Davies);
104 lessons – Meditation Ascent on the Tree of Livingness (Ann Davies);
68 lessons – Qabalistic Doctrines on Rebirth and Immortality (Ann Davies);
The
Seven Steps, Tarot Fundamentals, Interpretation of Tarot, and The Great Work are covered by the following books:
Occult Fundamentals and Spiritual Unfoldment, Volume1: The Early Writings;
Esoteric Secrets of Meditation and Magic, Volume 2: The Early Writings;
Esoteric Keys of Alchemy;
Hermetic Alchemy: Science and Practice – The Golden Dawn Alchemy Series 2;
Tarot Card Meanings: Fundamentals; Tarot Card Meanings: Interpretations;
Learning Tarot Essentials: Tarot Cards for Beginners.
Florence Farr
Whilst I will later contextualise esoteric teaching within the broad framework of social, personal or general education (Squires, 1987), I will first examine the nature of teaching and teachers through the occult order of the Golden Dawn. The tension in teachers between practice and teaching, knowledge-base and role-model, found within secular education I will argue is found in esoteric teaching. Whilst there is a similarity in that “such tensions are mitigated by the existence of teacher-practitioners, who perform a dual role”[204] there is, however, a significant difference in the esoteric teaching, in that the curricula itself is not controlled by an external body or organisation to that of the teachers. This difference will be shown to account for much of the difference in secular and esoteric teaching, where in the latter, transmission / tradition is to the forefront.[205]
