The 3 Chiefs of the Golden Dawn

Both the traditional and the modern Golden Dawn Orders are run by a triumvirate - that is, by Three Chiefs. Although the term triumvirate is of Roman origin, for the sake of understanding the Golden Dawn’s triumvirate (or 3 Chief rulership) the best examples of such are to be found within the dynasties of China. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Excellencies

Order Chiefs  vs.  Lodge Chiefs

It must also be understood that the 3 Chief system applies not only to the Order as a whole, but also to each individual lodge/temple. Thus, a person can be both a Cancellarius for the Order, while being a Praemonstrator for their local lodge. The 3 Chiefs for Order decide the direction of the Order as a whole, while the 3 Chiefs of a Lodge, decide the direction of the lodge only (and  that, always in harmony with the decisions of the 3 Chiefs of the Order).

Sub-Chiefs

The traditional Golden Dawn stated that each Chief may appoint a sub-Chief to work with them. Thus the Praemonstrator may appoint a sub-Praemonstrator, the Cancellarius, a sub-Cancellarius and so on. This applies not only to the Order Chiefs, but also to the Lodge Chiefs. Thus a person may be sub-Cancellarius of a Lodge but have no such authority as regards the Order as a whole, while a person who, for instance is the sub-Praemonstrator for the Order may have no such responsibility as regards the individual administration of any particular lodge. The sub-Chief must, of course, agree to take on the responsibility of the position and cannot be forcibly nominated as such. 

Here is a description of the Chiefs, as I understand and interpret it -

Praemonstrator 

While, in the original Golden Dawn Order, the Praemonstrator was of secondary rank to the Imperator, in our Order, UOMS, the Praemonstrator is the highest ranked and is also the Supreme Chief of the Order (or individual Lodge, in the case of the Lodge Praemonstrator).

“Praemonstrator” is a Latin term meaning guide, advisor or counsellor

The Praemonstrator corresponds to Chesed (Mercy) and Jupiter on the Tree of Life, and is associated with Isis, the Mother of the Gods[i]. Being on the sphere of mercy and compassion (Chesed), the Praemonstrator leads in a gently persuasive and nurturing manner.  Where a more severe approach is required, this is the role of the Imperator to implement. As Chesed (the Praemonstrator’s sphere) is also the Sphere of Jupiter, the Praemonstrator is always concerned with ways and means to expand the Order and its teachings. The role of the Imperator is to “check” this otherwise rapid expansion, by ensuring that quantity does not come at the cost of quality.

The Praemonstrator was also (in the Stella Matutina) called the Daemonstrator[ii] – literally, the one who demonstrates or teaches the principles behind the Order, its lectures, its ceremonies and its functioning generally. The meaning is essentially the same.

Imperator

Imperator, literally one who gives an imperative, an order, a command that should be followed by all the officers and members. The Imperator is the “Commander” of the Order (or Lodge). In the UOMS, the Imperator is next ranked to the Praemonstrator.  The Praemonstrator leads with us, for in UOMS the primary function of the Order is to teach and guide, not to command. However, a certain amount of commanding is necessary that there be enough discipline and structure that the Teaching may be successfully communicated by the Praemonstrator. Thus, the Imperator (Commander) assists the Praemonstrator in the doing of her work. To give an order, really means to create an awareness of order, necessary for the running of an Order. Those who react badly to the idea of “command” or to the idea of the administration of orders, should realize that the function of the Imperator, as commander, is not to command individual members of the Order as such, but rather is to create and maintain a structure by commanding and directing the system of the Order in such a way to really be an ”Order”, in the true sense of what the word means – a tiered, structured system of Initiation and progress which will lead the initiate to an increased awareness and appreciation of the already existing Divine Order of the Universe - exactly as the name “Universal Order” implies.

The Imperator corresponds to Geburah (Severity) and Mars on the Tree of Life, and is associated with Nephthys, the darker twin counterpart of Isis.

Cancellarius

The Cancellarius is the next ranked of the Chiefs. He or she is the Record-Keeper of the Order.

From this word has come the modern "Chancellor", as in Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The Cancellarius corresponds to Tiphareth (Beauty) and the Sun on the Tree of Life, and is associated with the Godform Thoth, lord of Logic, communication and Scribe of the Gods.

The role of the Cancellarius being on the middle pillar of the Tree (at Tiphareth), is one of a Reconciler between the more extreme viewpoints of the Praemonstrator and Imperator. If the   Praemonstrator is overly gentle or the Imperator overly severe, the Cancellarius can seek for the balance between the two. This is the role of Thoth as Lord of Truth (ThothTut/Tehuti = Truth), as “Truth is discerned in the place of balanced powers”. 

The Cancellarius of the Order should seek to monitor all vehicles of communication of the Order’s teaching, such as hard-copy publications and, in this age of the internet, all websites, blogs and forums. The Cancellarius should ensure, by means of analysis and suggestions, that all these means are also suitable for the keeping of the Record of the Order’s Purpose, activities and general philosophy. A lodge Cancellarius should focus on keeping the record of all initiations performed in the lodge, all examinations passed, all other ceremonies performed and all meetings held; and should have access to all financial records, such as all lodge bank account statements (just as the Chancellor of the Exchequer does for a country).

Strictly for Trekkies

As this is a blog entry and we don’t have to be too formal, we can use a fun analogy and, since Golden Dawn folk appear to love Star Trek analogies, let’s use one from Star Trek Voyager. The Imperator is like Commander Chakotay, while The Praemonstrator is like Captain Janeway. Often in the series, you will see Janeway offer guidance and philosophical counselling (i.e. praemonstrating, directing and teaching) to various members of the crew as well as making the final decisions on where the ship (Order) is going.  The Cancellarius would be the vulcan Tuvok – the one who keeps a cool head, who brings logic and clear, unemotional observation to the table – this is the kind of person you need as a record-keeper (and remember The Godform of the Cancellarius – Thoth is Lord of Logic, in Greece, he was called the logos, the root of the word “logic”).

Make sure and choose the right people for the job of Imperator, Praemonstrator and Cancellarius of your Lodge and Order (Ship), so you can pilot many adventures together into “the Universe and Space”.

Bearing this in mind, now is a good time to go back to the Wikipedia article on the Triumvirate of the Chinese dynasties mentioned at the beginning of this blog article, and see if you can recognise - in its 3 forms of manifestation - the equivalent to the 3 Chiefs of the Golden Dawn –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Ducal_Ministers

 There is no exact correlation, but play around with it for a greater understanding of how the 3-Chief idea has been used throughout history.

[this article was updated on October 2012 to reflect the new name of our Order].

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[i] and in particular, the Mother of Horus, in UOMS, the Lord of Initiation.

[ii] According to Pat Zalewski in his “Golden Dawn Rituals and Commentaries” [p.436], in the Stella Matutina, they used Daemonstrator (Demonstrator) in place of Praemonstrator.