Er, I recommend doing a little more historical research. The Golden Dawn didn't invent the circle with its four quarters; you can find that in Eliphas Lévi, who revived Western magic in the 1850s, and he drew on much older magical traditions. Here's a diagram of the magical cosmos from the writings of John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's court wizard:
The division of the circle into four quarters -- not "corners" -- is found in Western occultism from early Greek times onward, and it's also common in many other parts of the world; for example, the Native American medicine wheel is similarly structured.
As for what would have happened if the Golden Dawn hadn't been founded, why, one of the dozens of other magical orders active at the same time, using very similar kinds of magic, would have filled the same role. The GD simply happened to be the one that most people borrowed from, and that's because its magic is very effective and tolerably easy to learn and use. I can't speak for Wicca, as I'm not into that; I gather that it's a popular source of inspiration because it was so popular in late 20th century America and so it's a convenient place to start. Again, though, there were other movements in the same direction that would likely have filled the same role.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2023-07-03 07:18 pm (UTC)The division of the circle into four quarters -- not "corners" -- is found in Western occultism from early Greek times onward, and it's also common in many other parts of the world; for example, the Native American medicine wheel is similarly structured.
As for what would have happened if the Golden Dawn hadn't been founded, why, one of the dozens of other magical orders active at the same time, using very similar kinds of magic, would have filled the same role. The GD simply happened to be the one that most people borrowed from, and that's because its magic is very effective and tolerably easy to learn and use. I can't speak for Wicca, as I'm not into that; I gather that it's a popular source of inspiration because it was so popular in late 20th century America and so it's a convenient place to start. Again, though, there were other movements in the same direction that would likely have filled the same role.