Evening everyone, I am considering beginning my training within the dolmen arch, and my question is for anyone who has completed the training and also has experience within the Golden Dawn (if there is such an individual) how do they compare? I have been going back and forth, both are a considerable investment of time and energy. Thank you everyone in advance 
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Have you looked at the Celtic Golden Dawn system?
I do not have experience with the Dolmen Arch system…
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Oh cool, I haven’t looked into that, thank you for the suggestion. I’ll have to look it up
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I have completed the Dolmen Arch training and am currently an instructor. As a student I was fortunate to have John Michael Greer as my mentor and I asked him this question since I too was interested in the Golden Dawn. JMG told me the systems are not compatible to study together and he suggested I do one at a time. I agree that you should look at both systems before making a decision. As a rule, I tell my Dolmen Arch students to focus on Dolmen Arch studies alone if they truly want to understand the system and become proficient at the practices.
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Another way to answer this question is to note that the Celtic Golden Dawn is focused on magic and thus power, while the Dolmen Arch is focused on occultism and thus wisdom.
I agree that looking at both systems before making your choice is wise. Since both are available as books, you can see if your local library carries them or can get them to you via interlibrary loan.
FWIW, I’m also a graduate and a teacher of the Dolmen Arch course. Wisdom interests me; power, not so much.
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Thank you so much for this answer, I really appreciate it. I am definitely interested in pursuing the dolmen arch, but have decided to begin my self-initiation journey with the Golden Dawn tradition first
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This is a nice way to think about the systems…one I’ll keep in mind.
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I would respectfully disagree with the characterization of The Golden Dawn being about acquiring “power”. While I am not currently initiated into the Golden Dawn, I have studied it for a number of years. The goal of Golden Dawn practices and initiation, is simply the attainment of union with the divine. It stems from Hermetic Qaballah. The purpose of the Great Work, is to achieve spiritual enlightenment and self-transcendence, symbolized by the creation of the philosopher’s stone. It involves integrating unconscious aspects of the self into conscious awareness to attain a higher state of being and understanding of the universe.
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I absolutely agree with this idea as well. My agreement with the aforementioned statement was really meant to side with the idea that The Golden Dawn tradition is one focused upon Magic (whatever that may mean) and that the Dolmen Arch may be likened to a more generalized philosophy of Occultism.
Most modern commentators upon the Golden Dawn Tradition, I’m thinking of Pergrine Wildoak and Nick Farrell in particular, are very vocal about the tradition being focused toward a sincere communication with the Divine in order to create a better reality for self and others.
The more one reads in the Golden Dawn tradition, that is the letters and practices of its individual Mages, one begins to see a rich exploration of reality that is deeply centered on divine inspiration and lifelong sincere exploration of that divinity in the life of those individuals. Power is probably the least of concerns in those records.
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