The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn had a lively Equinox weekend September 18 – 20.

Friday night, 9/18, we enjoyed an excellent dinner at Arkadia. The fabulous pasta, salads, + dessert were then followed by the OSOGD Talent Show. Some of our Order’s artisans displayed their creations: Sr. HKnA showed off her mystical jewelry; Sr. PEVV unfurled a delicious line of intricate weavings; and Fr. HOSV provided a selection of his handmade books for our perusal. And then, some of our Order members performed: Sr. R danced “The Sugarplum Fairy” from “The Nutcracker”; then, Sr. HKnA regaled us with a Scottish dance, “The Lilt”; Fr. QES followed with an a capella, + pagan, adaptation of “Locomotive Breath”, + a fine rendition of “Solsbury Hill”; Sr. TS then dazzled us all with her sensual, + sword-infused, belly-dancing; Fr. MSS was our entertaining MC for the evening, + additionally displayed strong guitar + vocal chops on his Led Zeppelin renditions; Sr. SN shared her ethnomusical talents (deftly accompanied by her husband Chris) by performing + singing the Sumatran Pants Dance, followed by “Shallow Brown”, a sea shanty call + response. And then, in a surprise, guest appearance, Fr. HWMK performed a haunting rendition of “The Long Black Veil”. In conclusion, our ad hoc iPhone orchestra jammed on interactive music apps, segueing from there into a general jam session also involving drums + guitars.

Much fun for all who attended.

Saturday, 9/19, we held a full day of Equinox activities at the Temple. At 11:00 AM, some of us gathered for coffee + pastries. At 12 Noon, we held our biannual Business Meeting, including reports from our Technipate and Grand Neophyte. At 1:00 PM we heard the State of the Order Address by our First Adept. At 3:00 PM we had a Mentor’s Meeting (addressing significant new features of the OSOGD educational process). At 5:00 PM, we had our Dinner Break, a 50-50 split between Mexican + Vietnamese. And finally, at 7:00 PM, we held our Autumnal Equinox Ritual, at which there was a drastic changing of the guard. In case you didn’t know, the incoming officers are:

Sentinel: Sr. TS
Dadouchos: Fr. CMS
Stolistes: Fr. IH
Kerux: Sr. PEVV
Hegemon: Fr. NNV
Hierus: Fr. SVP
Promagister Potissi: Sr. EUOM
Promagister Soli: Sr. LAAR

Finally, on Sunday 9/20, at Arkadia, Fr. QES hosted “an extended ritual to invoke Hermes Pantos Apolytos and activate His wrathful power to remove material and spiritual obstructions from our lives, based on the Tantric invocation” that he’s previously taught. This ritual was followed by dinner.

(+ there will probably be an update by someone who was there, on how things went)

Also, thanks for wading through a long blog entry, + I apologize for any mistakes I may have made in this humble report. Some editing might follow…

Fr. NNV

9/30/15