TinWiki: A.'.A.'. (Argenteum Astrum)

The A.'.A.'. or Argenteum Astrum (L., Silver Star) is a magical teaching order created by Aleister Crowley after the breakup of the Golden Dawn, and the reception of the Book of the Law. The A.'.A.'. was also the highest of the 3 orders in the Golden Dawn system, an order of "Secret Chiefs" or hidden masters, and an order that no human can reach. Crowley, being Crowley, thus claimed it for himself. There are no "secret" teachings as all the A.'.A.'. material was published by Crowley and others. The only secret is the membership.

After the schisms that broke up the original Golden Dawn, in 1909 Crowley (along with George Cecil Jones) started a new order that would not have the faults that doomed the its predecessor. One of these was that no member would know any member other than the one who teaches him, and those whom he teaches in return. This prevents cliques from forming, power struggles, and politics of all sorts, that distract from the the task at hard - the teaching and learning of magick.

The way the system works is a student is given a list of books to study, and a list of studies (things like Yoga, Astrology, Tarot, Magick rituals, etc..) to practise. The student is to record his experiences and results obtained in a magical diary. When a student is ready for the next grade he is tested on the material to see how well he has learned and his diary is checked to see his progress. The process is reiterated for subsequent grades.





Relevant Discussion Threads

Who are the A.'.A.'. ?

External Sites

Book Of Shadows
Battle of the Secret Chiefs - Conspiracy Podcast
The A.'.A.'. official website.