The Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn® (H.O.G.D.) is a non-profit Florida
organization incorporated in 1988 by Charles "Chic" Cicero. The stated goal of
the corporation is educational, spiritual, and philosophical.
The primary goal of the organization is the continued
preservation of that body of knowledge known as Hermeticism or the Western
Esoteric Tradition. This organization promotes the teachings of the original
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical fraternity founded in London
in 1888 by Dr. William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers,
which ceased to exist under that name in 1903 but which continued for a
number of years under the names of two spin-off organizations, the Stella
Matutina and the Alpha et Omega.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D.) is also a
magical Order founded in 1977 in Columbus, Georgia. This Order's mentor and guiding light was the late Dr.
Israel Regardie.
The modern-day Order does not claim institutional lineage to the original H.O.G.D., but it does claim initiatory lineage to the original Order
through Israel Regardie. The modern Order follows the
traditional hierarchical structure of the original Golden Dawn Order in England
with a ruling triad of Officers known as the "G.H. Chiefs" who govern both the First or
Outer Order as well as the Second or Inner Order (known as the Ordo Rosae Rubeae
et Aureae Crucis or the RR et AC). The modern Order also follows the
traditional teachings, grade structure, and ethos of the original Order. Temple
officers are known as Temple Chiefs. Although it currently has a worldwide
membership with temples in several countries, the Order is rather private and
membership is by invitation only.