Any private organizations similar to Quareia?

Good luck. Groups keeping under the radar won't jump on the radar. Don't know about any, but spreading nets is a way to let them know that you seek them. If they find you worthy of your attention is another thing entirely...

Not to mention the possible issues and dangers with groups working behind closed doors...

Huh.
Astrum Sophiae is an offshoot of Aurum Solis. Never met anyone in them so thought they had all gone inactive or died out.

More on Aurum Solis:

Very British lodge-magic still , but less Masonic that the G.D. More Greek. I happen to like them and thought some of their invocations were beautiful.. Got their books way back when I was 12. I remember their book on Planetary magic , which was actually quite good. They also had a very practical use of Enochian that was not G.D.

As to any group that does what you're looking for. I have no idea.

Well, one of the co-founders of Aurum Sophiae is a craft Master Mason...

Those vows are for life, I don't see how he could operate a new lodge without their blessing...

But what do I know lol.

MorganBlack said:

Astrum Sophiae is an offshoot of Aurum Solis.

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Ordo Astrum Sophiae is the schismatic order that is still practicing the Ogdoadic magic of Denning & Phillips and that is still non-commercial, unlike the current incarnation of the Aurum Solis. The Aurum Solis these days is something else, and has been commercialized.

This is what I mean when I say that I practiced Ogdoadic magic. I avoid the names of the orders, especially Aurum Solis, to avoid confusing the past version under D&P with the current version.

I can tell you it's a powerful current, if your heart is in it. It produced a couple of shoicking TSIR experiences for me. I was also able to do some limited scrying in a crystal, which unfortunatley hasn't happened before or since.

If I was still practicing the magic of D&P I would joing Ordo Astrum Sophiae. But you should definitely read The Magickal Philosophy series by D&P before even thinking about joining. Make sure that style of magic is for you.

Lurker said:

This is what I mean when I say that I practiced Ogdoadic magic.

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I wasn't very clear there, I'm pressed for time. I mean that I spent several years practicing the magic that D&P wrote so extensively and passionately about. The only reason I stopped was out of frustration with the hierarchical nature when there weren't any initiating bodies responding to my attempts to contact them. However, Ordo Astrum Sophiae has reconstituted itself and is operating again. I wish anyone embarikng on this journey a good trip.

I know my own private organization Dascentian Academy of Arcane Sigils but I don't promote it much more than it is already for good reasons.
One reason I can share is that we promote self-empowerment more than what people are used with and we align with a specific type of individuals.
"We don't worship gods but we dine with them" kind of idea.
Not popular among the masses who still choose and need to explore lack of consequence for their action, fear based beliefs and stuff like that.
Lenani Pleroma Codex is a body of knowledge we develop because magic didn't changed but our interpretation of it did and so demons and possession are now replaced by channeling and extraterrestrials.
In that context, other experiences arise therefore old interpretation of magical manifestations are no longer aligned with the new framework.

Lurker said:

This is what I mean when I say that I practiced Ogdoadic magic. I avoid the names of the orders, especially Aurum Solis, to avoid confusing the past version under D&P with the current version.

Click to expand...

Holey moley! That is super cool, Lurker! I always wondered why the Aurum Solis was not more popular. Can I twist your arm - gently! - to make another thread and post more of your observations? If you have more thoughts about the traditions and current, and what you found useful about it earlier in your magical career, I know there are folks on the forum how would love to read your opinions and experience! I know I would!

MorganBlack said:

Holey moley! That is super cool, Lurker! I always wondered why the Aurum Solis was not more popular. Can I twist your arm - gently! - to make another thread and post more of your observations? If you have more thoughts about the traditions and current, and what you found useful about it earlier in your magical career, I know there are folks on the forum how would love to read your opinions and experience! I know I would!

Click to expand...

I may do that eventually, when I get time. Currently, work is demanding a lot of my attention, so it might be a while. But yeah, it was fun and eye-opening while it lasted.

I'll also add that, IMO, no one should join a magical order just for the sake of joining one. If you're going to join an order, then investigate the style of magic they practice. Start doing it yourself and make sure it really turns you on. Magic without passion seems rather hollow to me.

Groups involve collectivist energies and often turn into the LCD. Who are the leaders of these groups? It's good to investigate their attainment. For instance, if they feel a need to lie about the origins of their group (Aurum Solis was created in the 1970s or 60s at the earliest, not the 19th century as they claim), you might wonder why. The current Aurum Solis is run by a dodgy Frenchman who at one point said publically he would magically stop ISIS from destroying antiquities. That didn't work too well.

Does the group offer a path to immortality, or is it a rehash of shit that has proven not to lead anywhere except maybe some peak experiences that don't transmute the entirety of one's being? The latter is the case for all these public groups.

Yeah, groups. Make your own weirdness, folks

I'm interested in what folks did with the 20th century systems. That said, a magician can make just about anything work. Even playful forgeries like the Simon Necronomicon. If a story is interesting and fits mythic pattern, Geppetto breathes life into them, Pinocchio becomes real-enough boy for a while and does some cool stuff.