Fraudsters peddling fake Whare Ra lineages

There is an attempt across the channel and the pond to form a Golden Dawn group using a bogus Whare Ra lineage.

For those unfamiliar with Whare Ra, it was the last Golden Dawn temple with a direct lineage to exist. It closed its doors in the 1970s, and while some people have high grades from that Order, they were given after the temple closed its doors.

Now Nick Farrell claims that a member of his group was approached by another Italian who claimed to have lineage from the Stella Matutina (sic) and Whare Ra.  He said that this group had been formed by a “notable American occultist” who claimed to have received lineage from a long-time friend of Farrell's.

The Italian was interested in the idea of fusing transmissions of Whare Ra with that of Martinism and Builders of the Adytum.  He also claimed that one of the leaders of this group (whom he named) had been initiated into the tradition by my friend and held the lineage and transmission from Whare Ra.

“This was surprising as my friend is a serious Golden Dawn magician and would never give out Whare Ra lineage to anyone who had not been trained through his system to a high level,” Farrell said.

 The “notable American occultist” is known to me and has no lineage or contact with Whare Ra. He has a history with the Fraternity of Hidden Light and Builders of the Adytum. None of these orders is like Whare Ra, although they borrowed some of its material and rituals. Both orders stopped before the grades where transmission could be granted (I assume because the leaders did not want off-shoots).

Farrell said that this was a fraud being perpetrated in Europe by a group claiming lineage from Whare Ra without having it.  Not only that, but they are also naming those who have the closest thing to a lineage as supporters to give themselves credibility for the scam.

“This was not merely a mythological founding myth typical of 19th-century masonic groups, but an attempt to gain credibility for lack of magical ability and knowledge by pretending that those who have done the work have recognised you,” he said.

He pointed out that the good side about the Whare Ra lineage is that there are very few who have it and none of them is going to give it out alongside a “masonic or Martinist transmission.”

“If a stranger tells you that they have Whare Ra lineage as part of a recruitment drive you can be 99 per cent certain that they are lying.  Sure, you might be lucky and found a group with Whare Ra lineage, but none of them would use that as their opening line – few of the real ones try to recruit,” Farrell said.