by Carroll "Poke" Runyon
The Cipher Manuscript is
the most important Golden Dawn document to be published in years. The
initiation ceremonies and knowledge lectures of the Golden Dawn are
based upon this mysterious manuscript which was first revealed by Dr.
W. Wynn Westcott in 1887. The manuscript itself consists of about sixty
pages of old paper, upon which was written in brown ink the ritual
outlines of the Golden Dawn system in an artificial alphabet based on
the cipher of Abbot Johann Trithemius (1462-1516) in his book Polygraphiae.
For years several occultists and historians have speculated about the
source of the Cipher Manuscript. However, recent developments in the
study of the original Cipher Manuscript has Golden Dawn scholars and
historians more convinced than ever about its exact origins…
This book contains the complete,
original Cypher Manuscript of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in
facsimile along with a fully annotated decipherment, detailed synopsis
of the text and a fascinating history of the manuscript itself.
Foreword by Pat Zalewski. Afterword by R. A. Gilbert on Wynn Westcott's
Cypher Notebook.
Reviews
"This work has been long in
coming, as Poke Runyon is simply one of a long line of esteemed Western
Magick scholars attempting to make heads or tails out of what is in
essence a series of manuscripts comprising the charter myth of the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Many know the basic story behind the
founding of the Golden Dawn: three English Masons, Woodford, Mathers
and Westcott, somehow happen upon some strange papers in a vintage book
shop that leads them to Fraulein Sprengel, a high ranking German Adept.
When the original Golden Dawn group unravels, it comes out that this
story was a hoax, now generally known as the Sprengel ruse. [...]
Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript not only tries to set the
motives behind the Sprengel ruse straight, but investigates the truth
of the founding papers, who wrote them, what do they mean, and how they
are relevant for us. In this book it is asserted these papers comprise
the basis for the Golden Dawn's Outer Order rituals, and that these
papers were authored by Kenneth Mackenzie, possibly with the help of
Frederick Hockley or one of several other prominent Victorian era
occult aficionados.[...] Runyon's historical background, while a bit
uneven, is thoroughly fascinating."
Review by George Leake
"This is a resource book which
contains the complete Cipher Manuscript of the Golden Dawn--the
enigmatic coded document that is the foundation of all the Outer Order
rituals and Knowledge Lectures of the Golden Dawn. The original pages
of the Cipher Manuscript are shown in photo-copy, and are deciphered
and annotated by the author. Although we do not agree with the author
on every point or interpretation he presents, Mr. Runyon has done an
excellent job in the decipherment of the original Cipher Manuscript. He
has been especially diligent in the letter-by-letter decipherment of a
very difficult document, comparing his translations to all other
published versions and carefully reporting every instance of a
mistranslated letter, word, or scribal error. We found his translation
work to be first-rate. And the Cipher MSS itself is vitally important
to a complete understanding of the Golden Dawn rituals and Knowledge
Lectures."
Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, authors of The Golden Dawn Magical System
Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript
by Carroll "Poke" Runyon, M.A.
Siverado, CA: C.H.S., Inc. 1997
ISBN 0-9654881-2-8
Order directly from The Church of the Hermetic Sciences (C.H.S., Inc.)
P.O. Box 403, Silverado, CA 92676
E-mail: KingSword@aol.com
Fax:
714-649-4456
