Neophyte Grade 0=0
The Neophyte Grade is the first rung of the Golden Dawn initiationary ladder.
Unlike the Rosicrucian Orders that are connected with Freemasonry, Golden Dawn uses the Neophyte Grade as a probationary Grade; in Orders that require that a potential member be a Master Mason before applying, Freemasonry serves as the probationary stage.
The Neophyte ritual contains the essential and basic magical formula, veiled and concealed, used later by the Adepts of the Inner Order.
The Neophyte Grade, and its associated knowledge lecture, is the base of the future studies of the student of the Golden Dawn system. The Neophyte studies the Hebrew Alphabet and the basic symbols of the elements, astrology and kabbalah.
The underlying symbolism of the Neophyte ritual is based on the Hall of Maat, the Temple of Judgment of Egyptian mythology. While the Candidate undergoing the ritual may not know and understand the underlying symbolism, they nevertheless play the part of the recently deceased undergoing the weighing of the heart.