Thelema and Golden Dawn
Many people consider the terms "Thelema" and "Golden Dawn" to be synonyms. They are not.
Many people think that Aleister Crowley was the creator, or chief leader, of Golden Dawn. He was not.
Many people believe that the coursework and Grade structure of Thelema and Golden Dawn to be exactly the same. They are not.
Truth be told, Golden Dawn was created in 1888 by three members of the SRIA (Westcott, Mathers, and Woodman). The first formal meeting occurred in March of that year.
Aleister Crowley did not enter Neophyte (the lowest and first Grade of Golden Dawn) until 18 November 1898, a whole decade later.
Many Thelemites point out Crowley's rapid advancement in the Grades...they fail to mention, or simply ignore, the fact that the speed of his progress was normal for that period. For instance, Allan Bennett entered Outer Order in 1894 and advanced into Inner Order in 1895.
There is no denying that Crowley advanced to Philosophus (4=7). It is his entry into Adept Minor (5=6) that is open to debate; was he properly advanced and initiated?
His Mother Lodge, Isis-Urania #3, and its membership voted not to advance him to Adept Minor. Mathers chose to advance him. Why? Mathers' reasons are unknown. But it is probably safe to assume that it was a combination of desiring a loyal foot soldier (Mathers was fighting a war to maintain his control over the Order), and the fact that Bennett had already exposed Crowley to much of the Inner Order material of the RR et AC.
Needless to say, Mathers' attempt to rein in the Order failed, and Golden Dawn was split into numerous factions.
Crowley himself ended up creating what many consider to be a faction of Golden Dawn, the AA, which material was published in the organizational publication, The Equinox. One of the dilemmas of modern students is trying to separate what Crowley invented and what he borrowed from the Golden Dawn and RR et AC.
The biggest difference between Thelema and Golden Dawn concerns the Holy Books of Thelema. On April 8, 9, and 10th of 1904, Aleister Crowley made contact with an entity called Aiwass (Aiwaz), recieving the first of the Holy Books of Thelema: The Book of the Law.
It was on the basis of this recieving this book that Crowley would build the system of occult philosophy that he is famous for: Thelema. "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." Or more properly, Thelema is a religion meant not for the masses, but for the occult elite of the world. It is the fact that Thelema is a religion that separates it from Golden Dawn.
Golden Dawn is an esoteric Order that is open to members of all religions. Thelema, on the other hand, is a religion where one has to believe that the Holy Books of Thelema, especially the Book of the Law, is a revelation of higher wisdom and the proper way to conduct one's life.