Rating: 
Summary: Excellent? Yes. Practical? MAYBE
Review: Self Initiation is an excellent presentation of material available in Dr. Regardie's Golden Dawn made accessible and easy to understand. Included are the oral lectures on the Hebrew letters and excellent presentations of the material in question. The Neophyte ritual is excellent but in serious need of simplifcation. The elemental rituals. The flaw with this book is the elemental grade rituals. They are way too complex. A better presentation would have been a variation of the Watchtower Ceremony specializing in the element. My suggestion is this, get this book for the Neophyte ritual and knowledge lectures, then use Modern Magick as your pacing. Each lesson in Modern Magick is 2-3 months of work and engages you in elemental work starting with Chapter 3. Otherwise, the book is just too danged expensive to work through, but not to buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent as a resource, but not a course in itself!!!
Review: Since I am currently participating in the Neophyte grade of the Golden Dawn, I purchased this text as a supplement to my study regimen. While there is some disagreement among my proctors as regards the propriety on the Cicero's part in making this information for the outer grades available, it has been immensely valuable to me as a secondary resource, the the Ciceros have basically done nothing any more inflammatory than Regardie himself in the Publication of the Golden Dawn so many years ago. While the basic information in the various grade lectures is intact, there are also some differences in the perspectives and points of view, as well as some in the timing of information presented (an example of the latter is that the meanings associated with the Tarot cards is presented as if it were part of the Philosophus grade, whereas one is actually exposed to this material during the Neophyte and Zelator grades in the actual Golden Dawn). However, I must concur that "self-initiation" into the Golden Dawn is an onerous, if not impossible, task. It's like writing a text on "Self Admission to and Study of a Harvard MBA", or such-like. You cannot be part of the Golden Dawn without being intiated into it. The Golden Dawn is not a way of thinking, or a religious belief that one can associate with simply by having a like mind. It's an established magickal order, and to be appreciated by its membership, one must join it. This is much simpler than following the book. First, the Order is actually quite easy to contact, and generally welcomes everyone, at least in the early grades. Second, the course of study is difficult enough, but the initiatory experiences proscribed in the book, while very much the same as in the Temple, are FAR too complicated for a beginner to successfully perform, and completely omit the astral and essential benefit of the performance by ordained initiates of the Golden Dawn. Believe me, it's much simpler to pay your €120 per year and go through the initiatory experience within the temple, as well as have a dedicated instructor/proctor to quiz you on the material. You would spend AT LEAST that amount of money on just the implements required for just one of the initiatory rituals included within this text. Finally, any organized Golden Dawn temple would likely refuse to admit or recognize the work you have done until you actually do take the plunge and JOIN, and even then you would be required to pass through the various grades (no Advanced Placement credit allowed, I'm afraid). If one is looking for a course in magick based on the Golden Dawn system of magick, Modern Magick, by DM Kraig, still stands as one of the best. If one wants to be part of the Golden Dawn, join it! It's easy to do! Then buy this book to supplement the order's already phenomenal course materials.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource, But Buyer Beware!
Review: The Cicero's "Self-Inititation into the Golden Dawn Tradition" is a complete & well thought out book; offering the profane layperson an entrance into the world of the G^D^.
However, this book is not for those who are only beginning to satisfy their curiosity into the G^D^ or the "Occult." This is a mid and/or high-level Magickal text, that later will provide a neophyte student with an understanding and working knowledge of the Qabalah, astrology, tarot, geomancy, spritual alchemy, and general and advanced Golden Dawn Magick.
To place it into proper perspective for a prospective buyer, the tome allows the student to progress or "self-initiate" from the 1st Degree or "Neophyte Grade" up through the System to the 6th Degree or "Portal Grade." That alone is alot of material that must be augmented by other studies and books. This book alone simply cannot take the student through that journey unaccompanied.
Make no mistake about it, this book is a Keystone in every High Magickal libary. I purchased the book in 1996 and could only come back to it years later after I had researched all of the Magickal lexicon or terms and the grand philosophy behind the book, and the G^D^ Tradition.
I love the book, but it is only to be used by knowledgable beginning students who have done their homework and are prepared to self-initiate with a proper philosophical and Magickal understanding and background. That is why I rated it 5 stars. But it is not for the simply curious beginners. He or she should start with and Israel Regardie text.
Rating:
Summary: At Last a Book for Those Who Want to WORK the System!!!
Review: The Ciceros bring obvious expertise and experience to this clear and well-ordered presentation of the Golden Dawn system. Regardie's presentation, indispensible though it still is to the student, was not laid out for the aspiring practitioner who wished to work the system as designed, beginning with Neophyte Grade, progressing to Zelator, etc. This book admirably fills that need, supplemented by much additional material to enrich the experience. Excellent work!
Rating:
Summary: execllent, an essential for beginners
Review: The Ciceros have done an excellent job writing Self Initiation. For anyone interested in initiation into the Golden Dawn system of magick, this is a must have. Everything you need to advance from Neophyte to Portal is in here. I would suggest combining this book with Kraig's "Modern Magick."
Rating:
Summary: Useful, yet not for those not willing to sacrifice
Review: This book is an excellent fount of information that does and does not appear in other places, yet is compiled in one tome. For those who say it is too hard for the everyday person, I say that's true. Magick is NOT for the the everyday person, it's for someone who is trying to be extraordinary. It is not for the fools or the lazy, to the lions with them! One doesn't look at the Freemasons and say "This is too hard, you want me to memorize a whole bunch of ritual words and symbols to pass to the next degree?" does one? Actually, many do, and hence the one-day classes. However, there, as in the GD current, the repetitve working and memorization AND meditation on the symbols presented forces the psyche to accept their meanings as valid and second nature . . . remembering what Pachad is without having to look it up or think about it. This book (if worked) takes less than one hour per day, and will work for those who wish to program themselves in the R+C/120 current of the GD
Rating:
Summary: A Golden Dawn book of quality!
Review: This book is excellent despite the fact that some G.D. groups have had a definite agenda to malign it at every opprotunity. Regardless, the material speaks for itself and I believe that the Cicero's have combined their vast experience with solid G.D. theory.Make no bones about it; this book is crucial for both the solitary magician and G.D. group. This book is not a "correspondence course" and it stresses that the aspirant actively participate in his/her own initiation ritual(s). I'm not affiliated with any particualr G.D. faction, however, I can stand up for quality and sincere effort when I see it. Kudos for the Cicero's!!!
Rating:
Summary: Folks, this is real Magick!!!
Review: This book is for the serious. It is not a game or fantasy. This is the real deal. Do you want to be initiated? Buy this book and read it, and follow it to the letter. IT WORKS! Don't skip the introduction.If you do everything in this book you will be a magican and an initiate. This is powerful stuff that works.
Rating:
Summary: This book fills in many gaps in Regardie's GD
Review: This book is not meant to eliminate the work of a group or an Initiating Adept, if they are available, but to fill in the gaps of Regardie's original book. In the introduction to that book he says such a work should be done. Those brief outlines are lacking, especially to those serious about the Golden Dawn, but far removed from a good working group. This book adds structure to what has been in existence before. For the solitary seeker, this book will make sense of what has been cryptic and vague. It makes the system workable. And to those who do not believe in self-initiation, that's fine, but it must start somewhere. It's better to work at Initiation without an Initiator, than to give up and do nothing.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for any serious student of Western Magic
Review: This is hands down the best do-it-yourself course in Magic. Challenging and well thought out, it will deliver on its promise to provide the resources for becoming a practicing Golden Dawn Magician. And even if you are already an experienced practicioner, this course is well worth working your way through to strengthen your understanding of the Art. I give it only four stars, however, because the Ciceros--in their usual way--have left out a great deal of practical instruction; e.g., a typical instruction will read something like "Now take a ritual bath and perform the LBRP..." Of course, a student who is a beginner will be baffled by this, and will not be able to glean the proper techniques from the Cicero's sketchy instructions (a skeletal outline of the LBRP is given, but it is truly the bare bones of the ritual.) This deficiency can be remedied by supplementing the course with Donald Michael Kraig's "Modern Magick" which is rich in practical instruction, but sometimes poor in intellectual depth--a feature that "Self-Initiation" has in abundance. Despite this failing, though, the solitary practioner cannot do better than this book!
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