Rating: 
Summary: Knowledge is.....
Review: If I say anythin too long, you would probably say I was probably paid or am a close friend. I can assure I am not. So, my review is simply this:EXCELLENT. There are other books that you need to acquaint yourself with, but once you follow the instructions laid down in the book you would understand the rating.
Rating: 
Summary: The deepest secrets at a glance.
Review: In the days when education was valued, magic(k)al knowledge was a closely guarded secret. Today, on the other hand (and unfortunately), if you want to keep something a secret, then you must hide it between two covers. This is the ultimate reference for any sudent of the occult, regardless of school. In it one finds the mindset of every original GD member (before they all became profiteering, drug abusing, egomaniacs) who started the Western occult revival. Absolutely anything you could ever think of concerning occult matters is here, presented and indexed in a manner that makes it easy to use. It should be noted that while this book reveals the ENTIRE Golden Dawn, any flaws in its philosophy are inherent to the book. No two systems, for instance, can ever agree on the crafting of tools and elemental weapons, or on their proper use. If one's own system is unclear on a certain point, however, this book can clarify it and/or supplement it easily.
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS EDITION!
Review: Maybe I am lucky... i have the original, limited edition New Falcon version.. even autographed by Chris Hyatt. I have owned the Llewellyn edition in the past, but disposed of it BECAUSE IT IS GARBAGE... incomplete, garbled... don't even bother with this edition. I believe "The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic" (New Falcon publications) is also still being sold on amazon.com. It is more expensive... but you truly get what you pay for. Don't waste your time on this Llewellyn garbage. I think ZERO stars would be more accurate...
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars, if you use this book correctly.
Review: Some of the other reviewers hit the nail on the head: this is not an instructional text, nor a self-initation manual. I'd recommend you obtain and work through (or at least understand) the Cicero's Self Initiation first, or at least Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magick. Use this for reference, read the lectures and information, but understand that this book isn't going to be terribly useful (or comprehensible) without some basic understanding. That said, it's full of rituals and information on a number of worthwhile and important subjects (some of which might be just way over the head of many "initiates", like the GD's interesting innovations regarding the Enochian system.)
This book is also as effective as a big Mag Lite for deterring theives and burglars. (It's dense and weighs more than some supermodels.)
Rating:
Summary: From Germany
Review: This book defines the Golden Dawn in 4 huge books. It is not an easy read, but after you get through the first few chapters you will start to understand more. I would recommend reading a few basic books first, and then moving on to this, but don't delay! It is the best book on the Golden Dawn system.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible compendium of the Original Golden Dawn
Review: This book in an incredible compendium of the original papers of the Golden Dawn. Isreal Regarde, when he broke ranks and published these papers, laid the foundation for the modern occult movement. This book contains everything the aspiring adept ever wanted to know about the rituals and teaching of the Golden Dawn (the only more complete work is "The Complete Golden Dawn" published by New Falcon). A warning though, the reading is dense and betrays the ethics, morality, and biases of the late Victorian era. Much of the ritual offers little in terms of practical magic to the modern magician (unless you are working on mastering the Golden Dawn system).
Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE for all serious Occult students! Really!
Review: This book includes most of the major rituals and teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Unfortunately, the GDs golden era is long over, but their teachings have lived on and continued to cast a great beam of brilliant light over the Western Mystery Tradition of Occultism. The stuff in this book is essential to the beginner and Adept alike and well worth the cash to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: A good beginning
Review: This book is a good beginning and intro into the Golden Dawn. It has serious errors within the contents, but is a must own for anyone studying the Golden Dawn system. Students of the HOMSI/GD should purchase the book and use in conjunction with grade materials and personal teachings.
Rating:
Summary: The real deal on the subject of the Golden Dawn
Review: This book is an excellent source of reference material. Anything you could ever want to know about the golden dawn. This deserves a place on the shelf of any serious student of the Hermetic Arts.
Rating: 
Summary: somewhat disappointing
Review: this book is not just for thelemites, anyone who is a member of an occult order, or magickians. i am sick of hearing about how you shouldn't go on until your order superior tells you, because the parts about the grades and the rituals/ceremonies associated with them do not constitute the whole book. you can still study it, though i wouldn't recommend practicing everything in it until you're at the right level of understanding and control. the system is outdated, but it still contains many fundamental, universal and archetypal concepts combined in one source to increase one's general knowledge - great for any student of gnosis, comparative religion or philosophy, magick, enochiana, divination (tarot, qabalah, geomancy, i ching, etc.) or otherwise. this is heavily influenced by hebrew, egyptian and greek aspects. perhaps the only book that is more in-depth with comparative qabalistic references (without practices, however) is 777, though incomplete. for tarot (specifically thoth deck), there is the book of thoth.
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