Talk:Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
"He is primarily known as a founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical organization which doesn't exist today, although several modern fraternities claim to continue its tradition."
I think this could be more objective, Some of the modern G.D. groups might dispute it no longer exists, and the word "claim" is a bit leading.
The scholarly consensus is that the Golden Dawn ceased to exist as such just after the turn of the century, when it underwent multiple schisms, resulting in a variety of groups under new names, some of them still using rituals that closely resembled those of the original GD. These include the Alpha et Omega, Stella Matutina, and Rosicrucian Fellowship.
Late 20th century and 21st century groups advertising themselves as "The Golden Dawn" are obviously not, by virtue of the fact that the Neophyte obligation requires members to keep the name of the Outer Order secret from non-initiates. They may make arguable claims to be "revivals" of the original order, but in my estimation they are better described as "reenactments," in that (like medieval or Civil War reenactment groups) they selectively reenact certain aspects of the historical order that they find aesthetically compelling.
--Paradoxosalpha 15:06, 22 Sep 2004 (EDT)paradoxosalpha